Winter in Tucson!

Gotta love 80 degree weather in February!

Kid Updates(so I don't forget...)

Sophy~ almost 2

Sophy is the baby and she knows it! She is quite the little ham talking in her silly voice and then laughing hysterically. She loves to do everything her siblings do, but also loves to be held...a lot...like all the time:). She is daring and fearless, climbing up and going down the huge slides at the park all by herself. She is so proud that she has mastered jumping(now actually leaving the ground an inch or 2). She has really taken off in her speech and surprises us everyday with new phrases(like when she copies Hayley's talking doll and walks around the house saying, "Oh, I just made a stinky!") Her favorite phrases are, "Hold you Mommy!" and "This mine??" She plays with her baby and play foods the most and is so sweet to watch as she rocks her doll and sings it "Jesus Loves Me." Her favorite books right now are Bear Snores On, But Not the Hippopotamus, and The Very Hungry Catapillar. She is pretty much potty trained although we are having some issues with #2...I"ll spare you the details but it involves a lot of laundry! She said bye-bye to her beloved num-num(pacifier) and is now even more attached to her soft purple blanket. Just moved to a big girl bed and loves it! We all love her to death and have decided that she is going to have to stay 2 forever!!

Hayley~ 4
Life would sure be boring without Hayley! She is the funniest, smartest, silliest girl(or "gill" as she would say in her little accent). She is sometimes difficult to discipline because she's just so darn funny that I have a hard time keeping a straight face. She loves her gymnastics class and can't wait to play soccer next fall. She was begging me to teach her to read, so I thought I would humor her...low and behold she is actually reading!! She still has lots to learn but she soaks stuff up so quickly that it won't take her long! For example a couple weeks ago I was praticing counting by 5's with Myles and the next morning she walked out of her bedroom and said, "Mommy, I can count by 5's." And then she did...all correctly...to 100! She's also really good at memorizing verses. She is the most outgoing of the kids so far(we're not sure about Sophy yet:)) and she loves to talk! She always has a twinkle in her eye that makes you wonder what she's up to. She is a daddy's girl and he loves it! She mostly plays with stuffed animals and it's hilarious to listen in on her pretending! She plays well with Kyra and Myles and lately has really taken on the big sister role and included Sophy in her play. It's so fun to watch! She's dramatic and everything is "super"...super fun, super yummy, super bad, super tired, super hungry. We love you Hayley G.!

Myles~ almost 6

Myles is a one of a kind boy. I can truely say he's my favorite boy(Daddy is my favorite man:)). He has this wonderful crazy boy side which sends him racing around the house shooting nerf darts in all directions, and at the same time he is gentle and sweet with his little sisters. Myles is my prayer warrior! He'll often stop me when I'm busy or frustrated and say, "Mommy, do you need me to pray for you?" To which I always respond, "YES!!!!" Myles is a super talented athlete. He had a great soccer season scoring lots of goals, but also making lots of assists. He is in a 7-9yr old gymnastics class with Kyra and is one of the best in the class. Our living room is actually just a runway for round-offs, cartwheels, and handstands! Lately he has been loving shooting baskets with Daddy at the park, and of course their nightly sword fights. Much to my dismay he really likes Daddy's Christian spanish rap music and can dance with the best of them. Even though it's winter, Myles prefers shorts, no shirt, and flip flops. He loves cars and trains and Legos. This year in school he has really taken off. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from him, but he has surprised me in all areas! Every week he becomes a better reader, and math seems to click so easily for him. Myles loves to build and create things and is always coming up with new "inventions". I love that one of his most consistent prayers is that Sophy will become a Christian. It is such a blessing to have Myles along with this sea of girls, plus we need someone to take care of things when Daddy's at work!

Kyra~ 7 1/2

Our Kyra...my best helper, my right hand girl, thoughtful towards others and loves her family. Loves to lay in bed and read in the morning long after H and S have left the room. Loves mysteries, loves crafts and cards, loves horses, loves playing with her american girl doll and stuffed animals. Her favorite books are American Girl mysteries, Magic Tree House, and some classic starts-Anne of Green Gables, The Little Princess, Secret Garden. Kyra has really come out of her shell in the past year and been more outgoing with others, at church, out running errands etc. She had a great soccer season and loves her weekly gymnastics class with Myles. She will be in her first spelling bee next month and she is studying hard. School comes very easily for Kyra- she's a great speller, excellent reader, loves science and history, and sometimes likes math:). She delights in making notes, pictures, and scavenger hunts for her siblings...which they all love! When she grows up she wants to be a trail guide for horseback riding at Lake Tahoe:). She recently started doing 1 load of laundry a day to help me out-the fact that Daddy
promised her $2 allowance a week instead of $1 if she helped with laundry might have motivated her a little! I love spending a little time alone with Kyra in the evening because she always has big thoughts, interesting ideas for new crafts or science projects, or funny stories and I love hearing it all! She will always be our special girl- love you Kyra!

The boxes are on their way!

We packed shoe boxes this year for Operation Christmas Child. As we watched some of the videos they have online of kids around the world receiving boxes, Myles, Kyra, Hayley and I were struck with a desire to pray for these kids and their families. We also were reminded once again of how much we have...WE ARE RICH!! in Christ as well as material things. Each of the kids packed a box for a girl or boy their age and filled it with fun toys, school supplies, and hygiene items. They each took great pleasure in picking out things that they thought "their boy or girl" would like. I was proud of them as we went through Target and Dollar Tree- we picked out lots of toys and not one was for them and there was no complaining!(miracles do happen!!) We have been praying for the girls and boy who will receive our boxes and that best of all, they will hear about Jesus. We can't wait to see where the boxes end up!!

Costume Fun!

The ninja, butterfly(having a meltdown), and cowgirl.
Kyra the cowgirl with her friends from Narnia: Aslan and Reepicheep

My most favorite cowgirl!

Myles the ninja!

A beautiful butterfly on Halloween morning!

The costume that keeps on giving!! Grandma made this costume for Kyra when she was 1 and all the kids have worn it since! Actually, Kyra and Myles each wore it for 2 years! So...it was Sophy's turn to be a puppy!

Sophy and her puppy twin!

The kids had a great time dressing up, getting together with friends, and hayriding around the neighborhood for candy!

Fall Fun!

We've been busy with fall fun!

Carving,
crafting,

decorating,

visiting Bearizona,

visiting Flagstaff,

getting ready for Halloween,

hiking in Grandma and Papa's woods,

being silly,

treasure hunts with clues,

and enjoying Flagstaff's beautiful fall weather!!!

Shopping spree with Auntie Wobin(aka Robin)

I've been meaning to post this since early October...when Papa Bob and Auntie Robin were in town, after having a fun day together Robin offered to take the kids to Target to pick out one small thing each. The kids' eyes grew large thinking of all that Target holds:). It was fun to see them look, decide, change their minds, pick out something else...and in the end they each picked out something that fit their personalities and current interests perfectly!

Kyra picked out 2 foam art projects from the craft department. This girl shares my love for crafts, always asking "What can I make?" "What can I sew?" I don't always have a project laying around, so she makes up her own:). Her choices were special because she picked out a pirate ship to put together for Myles and a castle to put together for Hayley. Great choices and encouraging for me to see her thinking of others.
Myles(shirtless of course) picked out a surprisingly durable foam sword! He is into all things boy, weapons, ninjas etc. Hey, all us girls need someone around to protect us when Daddy is gone all day!


Out of all the things at Target, Hayley picked out a sugar cookie mix and sprinkles. We make cookies from scratch all the time and she loves helping in the kitchen. I tried to talk her into something else, but then realized that this choice was not about cookies, it was about her baking in the kitchen with Mommy all by herself. She got to do all the pouring, mixing, stirring, icing, and sprinkling without having to take turns. She was very proud of her finished cookies and shared them with the fam.



Mommy "helped" Sophy pick out some cute brown shoes with flowers on them. She needed new shoes, but she also has a serious shoe fetish(?). All day long she takes off and puts on all kinds of shoes, mostly other peoples. First thing in the morning she asks for her shoes, and going through a shoe section of Walmart or Target is a very loud ordeal. So shoes were the perfect pick:).

Thank you Auntie Robin for making our afternoon!

Today's science- Taxonomy and Binomial Nomenclature:)

New school year! Fall 2011

We're off and runnin' with the start of this school year! Here's the first day complete with homemade chocolate chip cookies(our first day of school tradition!).