A Dalmatian Celebration

For Carter's 6th birthday she wanted a dalmatian-themed party. We did our best but there was not much selection of dalmatian gear in the stores. So, we had a homemade party back in Mesa. It was good to be with old friends and family to celebrate! Brooklyn and Carter Raylin saves a puppy from Cruella De Vil aka the fish pond
My Mom made a cute dalmatian cupcake cake

Make a wish

Thanks to everyone who helped make Carter's day extra special, she had a great time!

Facepainting

My Mom showed her facepainting skills at Carter's party by painting whatever these kids came up with. Some requests were rather funny but they all ended up cute!

The hit though, were the mustaches. Pretty soon the girls had them too!

A Very Merry Christmas

I had to post a few pictures from Christmas, even if they are a month late! What a fun time to spend with family and friends in celebration of the Saviors' birth.

New Job + Moving +...

a trip back to the valley for Christmas + lots of Christmas parties + unpacking + laundering everything that was unpacked + cleaning + first day of primary + starting a new school + more laundry + a bad earache and medicine that causes baby blowouts + more laundry...breathe...+ searching for blow dryer in the middle of boxes + a weekend trip to St. Johns and Show Low + more laundry + organizing new house + more cleaning + starting dance classes + another trip to the valley + Carter's 6th birthday party + more laundry = no time to blog. I'll try to post sometime soon, if I can find a minute...and I still haven't found the blow dryer yet.

Sparks vs the chihuahua

Robert took the girls out to try their new jeep when this little guy (sporting a festive Christmas sweater) let them know they had crossed over into his territory. Good thing he was just a wimpy chihuahua and was afraid of blue jeeps.

Then, the next door neighbors came in their new ride and they cruised the streets of Safford together. Nate and I watched the drama play out from inside. We already feel like we are a part of the neighborhood.

Sitting on Santa's Lap

The outtakes

We took some family pics to use for Christmas cards and Gabs was in a mood. Let me just show you:

The "I'm not smiling no matter what you say" face

The "she's touching me" face

The "fake like you're asleep so maybe you can go home" face

The "I'm naughty and I know it" face
Oh Gabs.

Helping Out

We got to go to the park last weekend for a family picnic. The big kids took a turn pushing the little kids in the swings. We will miss being close to all our cousins!

Thanksgiving '09

There was a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, too much to list. We had a fun day filled with family, awesome food, playing, crafting, football, feeding chickens (Carter's favorite part) and naps. A perfect day!

Turkey Trotters

Carter biked, Gabs and Nate rode in the stroller, everyone had a blast!

Gabs in Boots

Flying

with a little help from Dad

First Haircut

Nate was looking a little too scraggly, it was time for his first haircut. Auntie Amy did the honors.

What a handsome little guy!

3 cheese

We are moving...

to somewhere in the Gila Valley! Our life is crazy! Robert got a job there and we'll move up after Christmas sometime. It wasn't what we had planned on but we are really excited to tackle this next adventure. We went up a few weekends ago to meet with the Dentist and had a fun time.

This was Gabby's first time to stay in a hotel (that she can remember) and she was sooo excited. We were all in bed and she was still running around checking things out, opening drawers, playing with the little soaps in the bathroom etc. Finally, she got tired, came over to me and said, "Mom, can we all sleep here tonight?" She was one happy camper sleeping in that big, cozy bed.

The next morning we went downstairs to get breakfast. Holy cow! I have never seen my two little girls eat so much food. They had to try everything and hardly ate the rest of the day. We spent the day house hunting and played with friends (our girls can't wait to live by the Tenneys again!)
We are very happy for this blessing and I'm sure we'll love it there.
Oh yeah...

if anyone wants to come up and do a little yard sale shopping, there's plenty to choose from. We had to chuckle driving by this corner :)

Mini Maestro