Ostrich Fest 2012

Last weekend was a jam packed fun filled weekend. Friday night we kicked it off by going to see The Lorax, the new Dr. Seuss movie that is out. I loved it. It was Drew's first time to get to take the girls to a movie so he really enjoyed it too. Then on Saturday our little Braelyn was dedicated at church. And on Sunday we went to the Ostrich Festival. They have the Ostrich Festival in Chandler every year, but this was our first year to go. Here is what I will say about it: very fun, but very expensive. They had booths with vendors, an area to pet animals, ostrich races, food and a carnival area. It was the carnival area that did us in! It was pricey to ride the rides, but we had a great time so it was worth it.

The Brantons (minus Mike) met us there too!

So proud of my left handed batter!

So proud that Colbie missed every ball batting right handed and then really whacked one when she went to her left side!

Say What?

Never a dull moment around here. Here are some I'd like to remember:

Me: "Colbie, I think you are going to be the star at ballet!"
Colbs: "No, I think I'll be the heart." (which was kind of true, she has more heart when she dances than any kid I know!)

Me: "Do you remember our bible verse?"
Colbs: "With God, all things are popsicle."

Colbie: "God is in my heart."
Me: "Yes He is Colbie!"
Colbie: "Not in my boobies, or my bellybutton. No, only in my heart."

We had just gone over the story of Adam and Eve and the serpent.
Cambry: "So is Satan a snake or a man?"
Me: "Well, he can change forms. In this story he was a snake."
Cambry: "Oh so he could be a reindeer, or Santa, or a hamburger, or undies, or a dolphin, or teeth if he wanted to be?"

I also have a very random moment that happened this morning. I had been reading my bible in my closet (sounds weird, but it's quiet in there) before the girls got up. I read Philippians 3 and 4. Whenever I find a good verse for the girls to memorize I write it on the last page of my journal. I came across Philippians 4:13 and thought I should put that on my list. Cambry was in our bed asleep but I heard her wake up and say "Mommy, can you come lay with me?" I was done reading my bible so I left it in my closet, but had a few more thoughts to jot down in my journal so I took it to bed with me to finish. I laid next to Cambry and scratched her back for a minute then began to open my journal and finish. I had it open to the page where I was writing my prayers, but not the back page where I had written the verse that page was completely covered. Cambry was facing the other way and asked me how my time was reading my bible. She asked if I was reading Philippians. (She has a crazy memory so I'm assuming since yesterday I read Philippians 1 and 2 I must have told her that the day before.) I said yes I read Philippians. THEN, she said "Did you read Philippians 4:13? We should read that." What???! I shut my journal, rolled her over, and grilled her on how she new that. She didn't even have an answer, and she didn't know what the verse said. I've thought about it all day. It is now our verse for this week, and maybe for life!
Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."

Colbie goes to the dentist

Colbie had her first dentist appointment last week! It's so fun for me to take the girls to the dentist because I genuinely enjoy going so I feel like my enthusiasm rubs off on them. For some reason it seems like they already know to be a bit apprehensive about going even though they have never had anything bad happen there. I'd blame Drew, he is bit of an anti-dentite, but he never says anything bad about the dentist in front of the girls so it's not his fault. I think they just know. Luckily, this dentist is determined to make it as fun as possible and the office staff is too. They were amazed at how great Colbie did letting them do all of her cleaning and really get in her mouth. She was so brave!! She did have to sit on my lap the whole time, but that's okay some kids just like to be held more than others. I believe I was that kid too. Had my mom gone to the appointment with us she probably would have been holding me while I held Colbie and we all would have been happy. Cambry also had her second cleaning and was like an old pro at the whole thing. She was very interested in the tools and using them. The hygienist told Cambry she was so good with them she should be a dentist, but Cambry told her she already wanted to be an astronaut doctor.

I love this sweet picture.

Here the girls are working away on the stuffed alligator. The staff was so great letting them take their time and use all the tools on the gator.












Happy smiles here after we went and got their first ever Starbucks Drink. (Not a coffee drink I haven't lost my mind, just a strawberry drink)

Ballet Finale

I'm still trying to catch up from February and my lack of blogging for that month. On the 28th we had the last day of the girls ballet class. The girls practiced with their teacher, Ms Jenny, for the first 15 minutes and then the last 15 minutes the parents got to sit in and have a show of everything they had learned over the past 8 weeks. They had multiple costume changes and did a variety of dances, and practiced balance with beanbags on their heads. It was so fun to watch them show off. They were such hams with us in the room!

Random outfits and hobbies

This is the random outfit I see most around my house lately. The hat: brought to us from Uncle Mike from India. The t-shirt: a craft Cambry and Grandpa Bonnie painted together. The pants: my end of the season score for $1 at Walmart last year. The fancy jeweled shoes that top off the outfit: courtesy of the Gap putting them on sale for $1.67!! She was also insisting on acting like a dog why I took this picture.

This is the girls helping me plant flowers. After going to Kansas and hanging with their Aunt Angie, who is a master gardener, they are really into gardening.

Cambry has been taking swimming lessons now for about four weeks. She has always been a bit afraid of the water from not wanting any water in her face in the tub to not wanting to leave the step at my parents pool. I really want to not have a fear of water and to know what do do when she is in the pool. Through my friend, Kristin, I found EVO swim school and I love it. It is a really nice facility on Gilbert and Guadalupe with a large heated pool, a play area for siblings not swimming, and a nice seating area for parents waiting. Her instructor's name is Dave and she really likes him. (In the pictures her instructor was Kelly who filled in when Dave was gone and did a nice job) It took a little time for her to warm up to this whole idea though. The first day she cried for the entire 30 minutes that she swam. There are four kids in her class and they all screamed the entire time. They actually called my name at one point and I thought it was to go in and get her, which I was soooo ready to do, but they actually asked me to go to the seats where Cambry couldn't see me. I was crushed but I did it. I sat there for two weeks, but by then she was fine and now loves to go and I can cheer her on from the sidelines. I'm so proud of her to overcome such fear! I am definitely keeping her enrolled for a while because she is improving so fast. I'll try to catch better pictures next week, but it's hard to take them and watch at the same time.

Floating on her back for the first time!

We're not in Kansas anymore...

But we were a few weeks ago and it was super fun! The only bummer is that I did a really poor job taking pictures, so I blatantly stole some from my sisters blog - thanks sis. (We share everything it's fine :)
I really wanted to go to Kansas to visit my family and friends there, but it's so hard to schedule a family trip around Drew's crazy schedule. So I decided, hey, I can go by myself and the girls. Then I thought, hey, I bet my sister would like to come. Then I realized Mike was going to India and I thought, hey, I bet we could go while he was gone to eat up some of her alone time. (I usually start my sentences with "hey" when I talk/think to myself.) I started looking into flights and sure enough the weekend that I wanted to go had the cheapest tickets! A sign from Jesus? I think so. So I conned my sis into going and away we went. People would ask -How are you getting your stuff through the airport? What about car seats? How will you have a car big enough for all of you to ride in? I'm not much of a worrier, so I kept saying oh we will work it out, it will be fine - we can totally do it.
Then, I had my first -what the hell was I thinking- moment when I pulled up to airport and unloaded two children, two children's purses that they were "in charge of", THREE carry on bags, two carseats, and luckily my dad. (I didn't unload my dad he unloaded himself, and helped us to get through the airport!) I was surprisingly comforted when I saw my sister in a pile that was equal to mine in the check-in line. We just kept smiling and laughing. Everyone who walked by looked at our mountain of goods and their eyes bulged out of their heads. I know what they were thinking 1.) Glad that's not me 2) I DONT want to sit by that circus! They can eat their words though because all of our kids were perfect and pleasant on the plane. In fact they were much more well behaved than one 30 year-old-arrogant-man that sat in front of me -but that's a whole nother story.

Thank goodness for their leapfrog "computers", as the girls call them, that kept them busy.

Playing outside at Aunt Angie's. A giant yard is something these girls are not use to!
Braelyn and her papa that she had wrapped around her finger

My dear friend Shelley that I grew up with! It was such a blessing to see her and hug her, hang out with her husband, see the home that she has established, and meet her beautiful daughter Izzy!

Izzy and Colbs

The best pic I could get of these crazy girls

We went on a hike around my grandparents neighborhood and Cambry collected everything she could find!
And then she had a breakdown and needed a good o -spankin-in-the-woods. It was really funny and her little tiny hand trying to block her bootylicious booty just makes me laugh. My sis and I agreed before we went on our trip that we would take pictures through the good, bad, and ugly on this trip. I'm so glad she captured this moment. I'm sure as Cambry gets older she will be just thrilled too!
These are some of our childhood friends! The last time I saw Nick (on my left) he was maybe nine and I was way taller than him.


And our wonderful cousins Branden and Dustin came up from Texas to see us! It was wonderful and all four of our girls just love them!
It was wonderful to be back there, and the moments that my sister and I shared together were priceless! Thank you for everyone helping us have a wonderful time. We love you!!!