Silly Girl

We were trying to get a family picture this year for Christmas cards and when I was looking at them later about 90% of them Katie had a face similar to this. She is so silly! Never a dull moment with her around.

SHE WALKS!!!!!!

It finally happened and she couldn't be happier! A whole new world has opened up to her and she is loving her freedom. About the second week in December she finally let go of our hands and took those steps all on her own. It only took 19 months but she got there. I doesn't matter how many kids you have, it is always so fun to see them grow and take their own steps for the first time.

There are still lots of falls but she just gets back up and starts again.

Her sisters and brother are just as excited for her a I am.

The Secret Weapon

Joey finished another soccer season. He loves to be part of a team. He is learning to go after the ball more and get in the game. He has always been so timid and doesn't want to do the wrong thing. He had a great coach this year that made him feel like he was an important part of the team. He ran up to me after one game and said,"Mom, guess what the coach calls me? He says I am the secret weapon!" He was so excited!

Great job Joey!

Field Trips

Joey and Nicole both had field trips in December. Joey was nervous about going without me so I came along as a chaperon on his trip to the Wildlife World Zoo. We had such a fun time. This is a great zoo. I like it so much better than the Phoenix Zoo. It is a lot smaller, so not as much walking and you see way more animals here. They have a place to feed the giraffes. Here is Joey with one.

I love how long their tongues are.

I don't remember what he was looking at here, but it must have been amazing!

My group of kids to keep up with. Not an easy thing. I am glad I wore my running shoes.

My favorite animal we saw was this baby monkey. He was only six months old and was the cutest thing. The kids wanted to stay and look at him for the longest time.

We also liked these baby deer. They were all over the place.

You can take a train ride and they take you right up to the animals. They just wander all around you.

I had a fun time with Joey at the zoo. It was a little far but so worth it. Hopefully we can go back soon with the whole family. They just opened an aquarium that is supposed to be huge. Can't wait to go back.

Since I went on Joey's field trip Nicole wanted me to go on hers. It was really hard figuring out sitters for my little ones but I am glad I got to spend time with my big kids. Her class went to a mining town out by the Superstition Mountains. I don't remember the name but I was a fun place to go and see what a real mining town would have been like. Her class just finished studying Arizona history and so they got to go and learn hands on. We even got to pan for gold!

Nicole picking out the gold, fool's gold and garnet. She got to bring it home in a little jar. All the kids thought they were rich.

We went down into the mine where it was pitch black.

They have a main street that has shops and a church, jail and courthouse. I'm not sure what this is for but the kids thought it was fun.

I love spending time with my kids and it love seeing them with their friends from school. I am glad they were so happy to have me come along with them. I better take advantage of it now while I can. They are growing up so fast.

Nicole is 10!

Nicole turned the big 1-0 last week. Wow! I can't believe she is growing up so fast. Someone recently asked me if I realized her life living at home with me was half over. No, it really can't be. She is such a joy to have around, I just can't think about how fast time is going by. She did have a really fun birthday.

Happy Birthday Nicole!

She had a birthday party at the new Polar Ice. She is a great ice skater. She was skating backwards and doing spins and jumps by the end of the party. She has such fun friends.

Katie gave it a try too. It was a lot of work skating with her. She didn't seem to mind falling all the time, which was good because we spent a lot of time on the ice.

It was a good work out for me. Skating with Katie was a funny adventure. She did love it and made the comment that she was the "best skater ever".

Birthday parties are so fun!

"Take a picture of me, Mom!"

"I got my ears pierced!"

Nicole really wanted to have her ears pierced. I decided that she could have them done for her birthday. We went straight from her party to the mall. This is the before shot.

She did really great. I think she was a little nervous when the time came but it was all worth it.

She loves the after look. She has done a great job making sure she cleans her ears and is so careful with them. That is one good thing about having her wait until she was a little older. You look so beautiful, Nicole!

Katie's Dance

Katie has been taking a little dance class at a friends house for the last few months. She really loves to anything girly, so she just having so much fun.

Plus, she gets to spend more time with Tatum and Sage. She wishes she was the third twin. (I guess that would make triplets.) She really loves these girls.

Thanks to Becky for teaching the girls. She is so fun with them and a great Mom!