June's Random Ramblings

ABIGAIL:

• Abby: Mommy, I really need a pedicure - there is no polish left on my toes. Mommy, Daddy needs a pedicure too and a massage. He hiked for 3 days and his muscles are sore!
• Abby calls granola bars, granilla bars even after I have corrected her a million times.
• Gram cracker gave Abby a bite of her peppermint patty and Abby said, "Yum, those are good did you whip them up yourself Gram Cracker?"

OLIVIA

• Olivia calls my mom Cracker instead of Gram Cracker.
• If Olivia gets in trouble for doing something she will turn her head to one side and say "Hi" in the sweetest voice she can muster.  I guess she thinks her sweetness will make up for when she is naughty.
• Olivia's new favorite phrase is "I'm fine".  She replies with this often.  As in, "Olivia, finish your dinner"...."I'm fine."  "Olivia, be gentle with the cats."......"I'm fine."

Tiny Town

We made our annual trip to Tiny Town and the girls had a lot of fun as usual.  It was fun because Olivia really liked it this year.  We looked at all the little houses, explored the ones that we were able to go into, we had a picnic lunch, played at the playground, and went on the train.  It was a wonderful way to spend the day with my girls and I am so glad that Olivia felt better this time around.  When we went last year, she spike a 104 fever and ended up with a horrible double ear infection....this year was much better!!!

The girls by the front entrance to the "World Famous Tiny Town"

This is the Firehouse

Olivia checking out the Harley's

Abby by the dance studio

The girls by the cute little Dr. Suess house 

The girls by the windmill

"Peek-a-boo"

"I see you!"

The girls having a picnic at the kid size picnic table.  I made Olivia a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich and instead she wanted to eat my veggie sub from Subway.

The girls on the train

Denver Zoo

My sister Ana and I took the girls to the Denver Zoo with my friend Josie and her 7 month old son, Ryland.  We had a great day, and the weather couldn't have been better.  We brought a picnic lunch, took a train ride, and Ana took the girls on the carousel.  We saw tons of animals and the girls really liked the elephants.  I love the Denver Zoo, and if we lived here we would for sure have a membership so we could go whenever we wanted.

Ana and Olivia outside the zoo by the giraffe statue.

Oh, a scary alligator!

Checking out the elephants

Abby is as tall the emperor penguin.

Josie and her sweet baby boy, Ryland on the train.

Abby and Ana on the train.

Olivia, myself, Josie, and Ryland

Olivias Furry BFF

Olivia's BFF in Colorado has got to be my Dad's dog, Roller.  Olivia LOVES her.  She is the first one Olivia asks about when she wakes up in the morning and she spends most of the day following Roller around, giving her hugs, kisses, and dog bones.  

Abby's Dance Recital

After months of practice all of Abby's hard work in dace was to be shown off at first ever dance recital.  Both of her grandpa's were able to be there for her debut performance and she did an outstanding job!  She was a bit nervous and told me before hand that she was a little scared, but when she walked onto that high school stage in the auditorium packed full of people with a huge smile on her face you wouldn't have known it!  I am so proud of my little dancer!! I am hoping she continues dance because it is fun to watch and the confidence that she gained from it is something you can't put a price on.

Unfortunately I did not get a lot of pictures.  It was SUPER hot outside so we were going to take more when we got there, but of course it was crazy and the girls changed out of their recital outfits for the finale so this is the best picture I got.  I did get a few of her in her outfit from another day but they are on the other computer so I will have to load those later.  She was absolutely adorable in her red, white, and blue though!

Me and Olivia before the recital.  It was about an hour and a half long and Olivia did really well.  She was very excited to see her sister dance.

Abby afterward getting her flowers, she was very proud of them.

Daddy and his little dancer.

Here is a video of Abby's dance.  Sorry the quality isn't so good, it was taken on my camera from kind of far away.  Abby is 3rd from the left.  I will try to upload a better quality video soon.

Grand Canyon Train Trip

Memorial Day weekend Andrew and his buddy John planned on camping outside the Grand Canyon and hiking to the bottom and back up in one day.  While I enjoy hiking to some extent a 15 mile hike into and out of the Grand Canyon did not sound like my cup of tea.  I did however want to see the Grand Canyon one last time before we moved away from Arizona.  After a little research and some collaboration with Susan we decided that she would fly out that weekend and she and I would take the girls on the train from Williams to the Grand Canyon.  It was a bit ambitious, the train ride was 2 hours and 15 minutes one way and I was a little worried how the girls would do on such a long ride.  I packed lots of little toys, coloring books, the Leapster, and snacks and hoped for the best.  After the long car ride (with lots of traffic) up to Williams I was even more concerned about the train ride than before.  Maybe a yummy dinner, a dip in the pool, and a good night's sleep would do us all some good.  The next morning we woke up bright and early and went to the western show that was put on before the train took off.  Abby and Olivia were not too excited about the show, they didn't like the loud booms of the fake guns.  Next, we were off to board the train.  The girls did so much better than expected!  They really enjoyed riding on the train and the on board entertainment that was provided including cowboys singing, Grand Canyon facts, and of course a trip to the cafe car!  I didn't get out the toys or coloring books at all on the way there!  We got to the Grand Canyon about lunch time, so after a few breathtaking views of the canyon and a few quick pictures we headed over to have some lunch.  We opted for a light lunch and ate it outside with the most amazing view in the world!  During lunch I got a text from Andrew saying that they were only about an hour away from reaching the top so we decided we would meet up with them.  We headed over to the visitors center when Abby got her "passport" stamped, took in some more awe inspiring views and then caught up with Andrew and John when they made it to the top of Bright Angel trail.  It took them a little over 8 hours to make the 15 mile hike, which was much quicker than originally anticipated.  The girls were over the moon to see their Daddy and, poor Andrew wasn't able to put Olivia down.  I tried to get her to walk or let me hold her, but she only wanted her Daddy!  The boys wanted to have a celebratory beer so we all headed over to a little pub so they could rest and celebrate a bit.  By then it was about time for our ride home on the train so we said goodbye to Andrew and John and boarded the train for the journey back to Williams.  On the return trip there was more entertainment to keep everyone busy, more cowboy music, all the kids went to the front of the train car to tell a joke (Abby even did it), and our train was even stopped by some nasty train robbers who came aboard to take all of our money.  Abby was a bit scared but she loved telling the sheriff which way the robbers went!  When we got back to Williams we headed into town and found a great Mexican place to eat dinner, which was followed by a dip in the pool and then we all headed to bed.  It was a great trip and I am so glad we did the train, it was lots of fun!

This is the pre-train ride Western Show

This is how Abby spent most of the 20 minute show

Abby and Grammy on the train

"Where are we going?"

"This is fun!"

Olivia and Grammy

Mommy and Abby

Abby wanted me to take this picture of her walking between the cars on our way back from the cafe car. She was so proud that she could do it all by herself!

My girls!

Pictures do not do this place justice.

It is simply amazing and I highly recommend a trip if you have never been.

Abby, Olivia, and Grammy

Checking out the amazing views.

John and Andrew after their epic adventure.

Andrew and John with their celebratory beer.  Way to go boys!

The scary train robber

Myself and the girls at dinner after a long day!

Going Away Play Date

The week before we left my friend Silvia (she is Abby's friends' Angelina and Thomas' mom) had a going away play date for Abby and us.  We were so touched that so many of Abby's school friends came to wish us farewell.  Abby's teachers Mrs. Beatty and Mrs. Stees were even there which was such a nice surprise for Abby!  Silvia made her backyard into a water wonderland with sprinklers, water tables, spray bottles and squirt guns, the kiddos had so much fun.  On top of all the playing there was a ton of food and it was great to catch up with some of the moms from school.  I feel so blessed that these people welcomed us into their lives so easily and without hesitation.  I am used to forming fast friendships with other military wives, but thought it might be harder this time since we weren't near a military base but in the 10 short months that we were there I made a few close friends that made our time in Arizona a lot more enjoyable and I will forever be grateful for that.

 **I wish I had more pictures, but my camera battery died just after we went out to play**

The cake that they made for us

The kids playing before we made our way outside.

Abby and one of her teachers Mrs. Stees.  Silvia had all of the kids put their painted handprint on a tote bag for Abby, it turned out really cute and its a great keepsake from our time in AZ!

The kids getting ready to get wet

Some of the outdoor water toys

Mrs. Stees even got in on the squirt gun action!