Cambry's first day of school!!!

I knew at some point this day would happen, and I have been dreading it for five years now.  School!!!  It was a struggle for me because I feel like for the past five years I have had the best job I could ever have, and school means that it is changing.  I don't love schedules, mornings, or really responsibility for that matter I try to avoid it at all cost.  School is schedules, EARLY mornings, and loads of responsibility.  As much as I denied it was going to happen, it happened.  Cambry is loving it though, so that is great.  Her teacher's name is Miss Jones who is so kind and just the personality I would pick for Cambry's first teacher.  It has only been three days and I can already tell Cambry is going to thrive in school. 

Here is day one's wake up call!  She looked so comfy I just wanted to snuggle up with her go to sleep.  We made a wise choice though and got up, made pancakes, and began the process of getting ready. 

 

Originally I was not a fan of uniforms, but after seeing how cute she is in them I am starting to be okay with the idea.

 Colbie, dragging around some of Cambry's school supplies.  Not the happiest helper, but she helped.

Cambry and Miss Jones! 

Swim lessons 2013

 The girls have been taking swim lessons now for a couple of months.  Cambry took lessons last year and she really picked up where she left off.  Colbie was super excited that for the first time she would be able to swim instead of sitting on the sidelines.  On the day of the first lesson Colbie went bounding through the doors of the building and exclaimed "BEST DAY EVER!!!"  Then once the lesson started and she realized she was going to have to get her face wet and go under water the excitement was gone and she was fighting tears.  She didn't cry though and I will chalk that up to two things: 1. Her sis was there with her.  2. Her instructor Jordan is the sweetest and really took his time with getting her to trust him.  She LOVES him now as does Cambry, and they both love going to swim and are getting good!

Day one.  See the excitement on Colbie's face?

 

This is Jordan helping Colbie kick.  He is doing all of this with a little boy who was too scared to be put down, so he let him hang out around his neck. :)

Sister support at the pool. 

 

Oh, and I forgot to mention my favorite part...The swim caps. :) Because I care about their hair, and my entertainment. 

 

I feel like they will be doing this when they are in their nineties too.  Sitting at a pool together in their swim caps.  

Today Cambry graduated to the next level!!  She is moving up!

Huntington Beach 2013

 Oh the beach.  We love it.  We can't get enough of it actually, and that is why pretty much any vacation we have we end up in the sand.  Specifically Huntington Beach it is our favorites with the surfers, shops, and wonderful atmosphere!  We are back from spending a week there and it's a bit rough getting back to 110 degrees, Drew having to work, and no one making my bed.  I guess that's life though. 

 Best day ever!  We randomly walked into Jacks surf shop that had "Jack's Kids Day" (only held ONE day a year) where all of their vendors (Billabong, Roxy, Volcom etc.) had booths set up we received amazing kids hats, sunglasses, wallets, t-shirts, tanks, face painting and balloons all for FREE!! It was maybe the best day of my life. 

And mostly we played on the beach and relaxed as a family. 

And ate. And ate. And ate. 

The girls loved feeding the fish at the hotel.

We spent one morning at the Aquarium of the Pacific which was super fun.

We also went to Knottsberry Farm.  Fun, but probably wont go back for a while until the girls can ride more. 

My favorite thing we did was ride bikes.  We attempted to ride one day with the kids on the back of individual bikes, but whoever was on the back of my bike cried like they were dying because I was a rather wobbly driver.  We opted for a sturdy four person bike that was tons of fun.  There was a bell on it that Colbie rang for every who passed by.  

Colbie was quite the photographer on the trip.  (ps. she pulled out her hair on top that's why she looks like a dinosaur.  I did not style it like that)

Kindergarten assessments

On May 4th Cambry had her kindergarten assessments!  She passed with flying colors!  Drew, Cambry, and I went to her school and had a pancake breakfast, met her teacher, talked with parents who have had children in the school for years, and Cambry toured her classroom and took her assessments.  It was so hard to let her go with her teacher and other students while the parents had to wait for their kids in the gym.  I wanted to pull her teacher aside and tell her 100 things she might need to know about Cambry if she was going to be watching her for the next hour, but I didn't.  I fought back tears and waited.  When she FINALLY came out with a smile on her face I wanted to sprint to her and push all of the other children out of my way to get to her, and pick her up and tell her she never had to go back if she didn't want to, but I didn't.  I was proud of her for a couple of reasons.  First of all, she passed with no problems.  Yay!  Second of all, things didn't go perfectly in that room and she was still okay.  On our way home as I was asking a million questions and she gave me an answer that made me uncomfortable.  She said some kids were making fun of her.  My blood boiled.  I asked her what the said and she told me they were telling the teacher that she cut up her paper butterfly that she had colored and some girls were saying "Look what she did! Look what she did!"  Ugh! Cambry is so sensitive and a perfectionist I knew this had to really bother her.  I asked her if she did cut up her butterfly and she said yes.  I asked her why and she told me because she thought it was cutting time.  Made sense to me so I instantly began to try to picture which little snot faces it was making fun of her.  I wanted names, but she didn't know any.  I wanted addresses and phone numbers, but luckily she didn't know.  I wanted to know who the parents were so I could rough them up a bit too, but she didn't know that either.  Then it hit me...This is life.  This is going to happen to her time and time again.  When Jesus was on earth people were less than kind to him, and God didn't send him here to have everyone dote on him and tell him how wonderful he was.  However, Jesus always knew that God was in his corner.  That people could be mean, but God would be his safe place.  Jesus changed lives through his story, and his story wasn't easy.  I know people are going to hurt my girls, and I will want to hunt those people down.  But I need to build my girls up at home so that when I send them out they will have a strong foundation to stand on while their stories are being written.  One of my favorite songs right now is by Chris Tomlin called "Whom Shall I Fear."  The chorus says:   

I know who goes before me
I know who stands behind
The God of angel armies
Is always by my side

There is nothing in this world that any of us need to fear if you have God by your side.  It's not going to be easy to send either of the girls out into this world, but my peace will come from God and trusting in his will for them and not mine.  If someone could remind me I said this on July 29th when Cambry starts kindergarten that would be great.   

Cambry's favorites at 5!

It has taken me a while to get back into the blogging swing of things, but we have a bunch to catch up on!!  My sweet wonderful Cambry turned five on April 30th!  I cannot believe that it was five years ago that our adventures as a family really began.  On her birthday she wanted to dress up like Merida, have some friends over, and see family for the rest of the day.  Oh, and open presents of course.  On the girls birthdays I ask them twenty of the same questions every year and tape it so that I will remember their "favorites" of that year.  I know that she will look back one day and crack up, and probably say "MOM! Why did you let me wear that!"  I can't wait for those days too.  Every phase with her is so wonderful and seems to only get better. 

Cambry Ryan, you have stolen my heart.  I can still remember bringing you home from the hospital and feeling so lucky and completely scared out of my mind that God would put me in charge of you.  You have eternally changed my life for the better and I'm so grateful.  You have shown me how to love, and how to receive love in a different way than I ever knew.  I am so imperfect and you are so forgiving of my short-comings.  God has given you compassion in your heart greater than I have seen in most adults.  You are so generous with your sister even when she is undeserving.  You are amazing at putting others first.  Thank you for being a great role model to her, and loving her unconditionally.  The role of a big sister is full of sacrifices and you do it graciously.  I can truly see Jesus in you and I can feel him doing work in your heart.  Thank you for your laughter, and the joy you bring to my heart!  Thank you for your dance moves and booty shakes and all of the songs you sing.  Thank you for being such a free bird to spend 95% of your life naked.  Five is a huge year and I'm so excited about the journey you are getting ready to embark on!  School! A wiggly tooth!  Sweet-pea, you are unstoppable and I want you to follow your dreams! Mommy and daddy are so proud of you!! We love you!

2013

I guess it's time to post for the first time in 2013.  To be honest I have been dreading it.  To be completely honest I never really wanted 2013 to come.  This year scares me.  This is THE year.  The year Cambry starts sc..sch...schooo... schooo.... schooooo. You get the idea.  Even when I start to say the word, or apparently type it, it makes me cry.  2012 was so dreamy with two kids that I got to play with all the time, and we went where ever we wanted whenever we wanted to.  No schedule, no one dictating what we did except us, and certainly no one went to school.  I wanted to hit the rewind button and do it all over again and for the rest of my life because I feel like it can't get better than all of that awesomeness.  If every January 1st was January 1, 2012 I would be so happy.  I know Cambry is going to be great at school, and I'm sure she is going to love it and I know somewhere deep inside of me their is a piece of me that is excited for her to go on this adventure.  I think that feeling is just covered up by the crazy part of me that lays in bed at night and cries because this is THE year that it's going to happen.  For now I have realized that just because I stop blogging about our life doesn't mean that our life is not happening, so I might as well document it as we go along.  The girls where riding their bikes and kept looking behind them to see where they had been and I found myself saying "Don't look behind you or you will crash, look ahead so you are ready for what's coming!"  So I guess I need to take my own advice and look ahead.  

So..Two months later...

 Sorry about the lack of blog posts!  I just checked my blog and I haven't posted since Halloween and here we are at almost Christmas!  You haven't missed out on a ton, maybe that's why I haven't posted much because there hasn't been a ton to write about.  This season the girls have enjoyed decorating for Christmas, their elf Gumdrop Piggy Elf-Elf is back and we find him every morning, their advent calendar to countdown the days, zoo lights, hot chocolate Christmas walks at night, and sending out Christmas cards (still working on this one!).  I have captured some cute pictures leading up to Christmas that I just have to post.

The girls decorating their own tree

The culprit of many broken ornaments

Showing me what cranky elves would look like 

One of the favorite mornings when the girls found Gumdrop roasting a marshmallow on a candle

Only in Arizona can you put up Christmas lights naked.  You should have seen Drew. :)

Cambry's favorite day of finding Gumdrop.

Yes...I will make my children dress as elves as long as they will let me!

Halloween 2012

 Since Cambry has had her Halloween costume since June I thought that it might be a bit anti-climactic by the time that October 31st actually rolled around.  However, she could have not been more excited.  Every day in October she woke up and asked if it was Halloween.  Finally when the day arrived she was so excited, and we gave her one final touch that made her day.  "Crazy-curly hair that's orangy-red" as she called it.  She has been waiting to sleep in sponge curlers, have her hair sprayed orange, and have freckles added. I took out the curlers, put her in the tub to spray her hair, added her freckles, and then I lifted her up to my mirror so she could see the end result.  Her eyes bugged out of her head and her smile was beaming.  She WAS MERIDA!!!  I think it was the best day of her life.
As for Colbie she flip-flopped a lot over who she wanted to be from a cucumber to a giant.  Her number one choice was Prince Cornelius.   Who is that you might ask?  I would like to know as well.  Apparently he is some random prince who has wings in the movie Thumbalina a movie that I, and I would say most people, have not seen.  I envisioned myself going door to door to our neighbors with my baby girl as this winged prince claiming to be Cornelius.  Funny, but for the sake of having no idea how to get a Cornelius costume I steered her into another directions.  She loves cats and specifically loves a girl cat, Kitty Soft Paws, from the movie Puss In Boots.  That I can handle.  Unlike her everything-has-to-be-exact sister, she didn't have to have every detail of Miss Soft Paws, so she was comfortable in a black cat outfit and just corrected people on her identity if they had mistaken her for merely a black cat.  

 

My favorite picture of Cambry, I mean Merida, of the day.  That's her "Merida" face. 

 Oh the curls and sprayed hair that brought so much joy.  Some even thought is was a wig, but it was her awesome hair. 

 If pictures had sound all you would hear is meowing.  She meowed all. day. long.

"I'll shoot for my own hand!!" She said in her Scottish accent.

A goofy lunch

I'm not sure why the girls were so hyper, but they were cracking Drew and I up at lunch the other day.  The funniest part of this video is about 15 seconds in when Colbie (who turned three and has become a comedian) makes the most random face and voice.  You can hear by my laugh it was the first time she had done it and I captured it on video! Yes! The rest you may not even think the rest of the video is funny but I do and i wanted to remember what life is like at this stage, and I think it will might entertain your kiddos. 

New gig

As most of you know I have been doing hair out my home for years now.  It's been a great blessing to have clients who are dedicated enough to forgo the salon experience and stick their pretty little heads in my kitchen sink.  It's been a huge blessing to stay home with my children and work while they are with me.  Up until recent times things have gone very very smoothly, however, this ideal situation quickly went down hill.  The girls became very aware what they could get away with while mommy had her hands full.  This involved multiple pee's on the carpet (thank you Colbie T.), mental breakdowns, milk wars, emptying the paper shredder and leaving a shredded paper trail all through out the house, and mean streaks.  Mischief and disobedience in many different ways started to rear its ugly head.  Unfortunately, when I was with a client there was not much I could do until they were gone to put out the fire and discipline the fire starters.  And let me tell you they were turning into little pyromaniacs.  I was feeling disheartened and frustrated at what had gone on with the girls after each client.  They were getting into so much trouble, but being that they are unsupervised three and four year old's of course they were.   It didn't seem fair to them, to me, or to my clients. What was working in the past was no longer working.  Not just because of the girls, but I was also getting exhausted taking my kitchen and turning it into a salon and turning it back into a super clean hair-free kitchen multiple times a week.  It pretty much came down do two options: a very early retirement, or going to work in a salon.  I really love doing hair, so I picked going to a salon.  I'm so glad I did!!  I had my first day last Monday and it was awesome!!  I didn't go into work until 2pm so I had all morning with the ladies.  We went to had breakfast, went to dance class, did some schooling, played, had lunch, and then I got ready for work.  It felt like I got to see them and and then Drew was home by 5 so he had a fun evening with them.  (Don't worry there was a sitter in between those the time I left and Drew got home)  I'm only working one day per week so it is nice that I have all of my clients in one day and the rest of the week to be a mom.  It was a magical day and a huge confirmation that I made the right choice.  It seems that everyone is happier and we actually have more time together.    

Colbie is 3!!

Today Colbie turned 3!!!  What a year of growth for this little lady!  I love this little girl so much for all of the ways that she keeps this family on our toes.  She is such a goofball that most people don't get to see because she saves it for us, but I can't tell you how funny she has become.  She excels at anything that has to do with language like learning bible verses, or Spanish, or correcting me if I pronounce a word incorrectly.  She loves cats even though in her video of favorite things she says she loves chickens.  I don't know where that came from she is totally going to be the crazy lady with a ton of cats when she is older.  She loves to dance and be twirled around the room.  She has the softest buns I've ever laid a hand on.  She loves to wear her hair down "in a bob"(though I get final say:)), and loves to brush mine which I love too!  She loves to play with her Disney dolls and prefers that they are all in their undies like she prefers to be.  I guess I will let her tell you the rest on her video. 

Started her birthday off with a little cooking. What's under that apron???

Those soft buns!

Then we went to Discovery Park to feed the ducks and turtles

Daddy stopped by too!

We ended our day with a little Swirl It, and called it a night.

The habit that daddy has passed on..

They loved the new chalkboard wall at Swirl it.  What's that?  Both kids are using their left hands?? Yes!!! (to be totally honest I think Colbs is a righty, but I'm still encouraging her to keep her options open)

Colbie T. we love you so much!  We are so so proud of all of your accomplishments!  You are one cool cat and I'm lucky to spend my days with you.  Happy Birthday kiddo, now stop growing up!