House updates

Our house is due for some updates and we've picked out some things we like.  There's a lot of tile in our house and we're talking about replacing it with the two options below.  It's hard to see against the dark floor at the tile company but it's a 20" ceramic tile that looks like Travertine and the plank tile that looks like hardwood floors.  

Have you seen this stuff?  It's so awesome because it looks like hardwood but it's ceramic tile and so easy to maintain.  The guy told us it handles the beatings from kids and pets really well.

 I also love these cabinets.  They are white with a caramel glaze or chocolate glaze.  We won't be replacing our cabinets but painting & staining instead.  I want the majority of the cabinets to be white and the island cabinets to be a dark brown/espresso color.  Our painter came over yesterday to give us a quote.  We'll see.

We also tore out the BBQ in the backyard and relocated it to the side yard where we hope to build a patio area with new pavers and turn a window into a door.  Big plans. We'll see how soon it all comes together.

Fun with Mimi

Ryder boy loves going to Mimi's house.  There's always so much fun stuff to do.  

Today he spent some time hosing off outside

 and making HULK faces while eating his lunch :)

Swim lessons

Sometimes it takes some coaxing to get this little into the pool for swim lessons.  But once he's in he turns into a little fishy.  We did swim lessons again with Ms. Mary (aka the swim whisperer) and it was amazing.  Ryder, Will, & Colin took group classes together that were so much fun.  On this particular day, Ryder had the privilege of getting a private lesson with Ms. Mary.  He did so awesome jumping off the board and swimming in the deep end.  It's so fun to see his skills improving each time he goes.

Training wheels

Someone is learning how to ride a bike!  He hopped right on this bad boy and skipped the entire tricycle phase.  He loves it and wants to chase his sisters everywhere on his new wheels.  This little Radio Flyer bike is the perfect size for our Ryder boy.

 We are anxious for the weather to cool down so we can spend lots of time riding outside :)

Tyson Zane has arrived!

Tyson Zane Ryan was born 9/14/12 at 8:57am.  He weighed in at a healthy 8lbs. and 21 inches long.  My kids were under the weather a bit so I opted to snap some photos of the first few moments through the observation glass.  There were some really sweet moments with Grandma Julie, Jared, Mimi, & Papa.  It's so fun to have another baby around in our family!

I went back on day two and snapped a few more photos.  He was so sweet with his eyes open and I can't believe how blond he is.  He looks like a blond version of Will to me.  

I love this sweet family so much! 

Pajama Day

Reese & Ryan were supposed to have pajama day at school today because their class won the Box Tops contest and the kids voted on PJ day for the party.  It's been a rough week because the girls got sick on Wednesday, came home from school with sore throats & fevers, and stayed home the past 2 days.  They have been crying about missing school and Pajama Day.  I tell myself that loving school so much that tears form when they miss is a GOOD problem to have.  We decided to have our own pajama day at home today.  They had their new matching PJs on and were in them all day until about 3pm.  It was a great day and I assured them that our pajama party was just as much fun.

Are you ready for some fun?!?

 Our sweet little girls.

 They have been really excited about their birthday and kept asking me how long.  We counted 63 days until the big day and made a paper chain with 63 links that they could tear off each day.  It's like waiting for Christmas :)

 Then we made a reading fort in Ryder's room and everyone enjoyed some good books.  It was some nice quiet time for everyone.

 There's the stinker face!

 Now we're a bit bored.  What's next?

Tour de Tavern

We have some great people in our neighborhood and we recently went out with a group of them.  Our friends, Jacky & Brent, purchased a Groupon for Tour de Tavern in Scottsdale.  It's basically a pub crawl but you all ride on this bike contraption that 2 guys invented.  Hilarious, but so much fun.  We stopped at three different bars over 2 hours.

Here's Cory and the group pedaling hard!

It was great with a group of 8 people together.  We would totally do this again for a fun night out.

My view of Ryder

Yup, this is what I usually see when the girls are working on their homework.  He'll say, "Mom, can I see your phone, PWEASE!!" and then he'll sign the word please as he's begging.  How can I say no?  Plus, it gives me some time to help the girls without tons of distractions.  He's usually watching the PBS kids app but once in awhile I hear crazy voices or some cartoon in Spanish and that's when my Iphone takes a break.

Then he'll move on to the marker bucket and make finger swords.  

But sometimes he'll actually sit still and pose for me, kind of.

 Worlds. Biggest. Stinker. 

 Sometimes he'll even sit in my lap and pose for a picture.

 Look at that hair and that face.  He's crazy, but I love that kid more than you know.  

Homework....

There's a good amount of it for Kindergarten but it's what we expected since Reese & Ryan are in the accelerated class.  The teacher told us that things would be moving at a faster pace but I'm amazed at what they are already working on.  They get a packet at the beginning of the week and have until Friday to complete.  They also have a calendar for the month and they have to do at least two activities each week.  We had fun with that in August-checking off the activities and turning in our journal.

Reese working away on her homework.

 Ryan being oh so studious.

And then they took a break to cheer for homework. Yay for phonograms!

 Okay, time to get serious again :)

Each night they are required to read a book to themselves, read a book to mom or dad, & then we each read a book to them.  That's 6 books a night and we don't rush it, so it's added about 30-45 extra minutes to our bedtime routine.  I have to say it's one of my favorite times of the day.  It is so incredible to see them sounding out words and putting it all together.  Their favorite books to read to us are the BOB books and Dr. Seuss books like, "Go, Dog, Go!"  They adore school and I'm so happy they think learning is so much fun.  It truly is a blessing.