Last day of being five

It's the day before their 6th birthday and I had to snap a few shots before they went to school.  For some reason they wanted to dress exactly alike and this rarely happens.  They looked so cute in their Hancock Heat shirts and denim jackets. 

 Reese & Ryan, our sweet little girls.  Say bye-bye to being five!

I got a photo of Mr. Grumps.  He is so NOT a morning person and was less than thrilled when I was snapping photos of him.  I'll never get over that bed head of his.  It's so hilarious and so stinkin' cute!

Our crazy super hero

Typical Ryder.  First he ran away from me down the street while we were playing outside.  I was in work clothes/shoes trying to chase him.  He was barefoot and ran all the way to the greenbelt.  That's a stick lighter in his hand.  He is my little crazy kid that loves adventure.  What can I say?

40" Rapunzel

We went to Costco today and it was one of those trips where you are there for hours and you walk out scratching your head, wondering what you just bought for the obscene amount of money you spent.

The girls found a life size Rapunzel doll in the toy aisle and Cory and I both said, "No way, we are not buying that".  1) It's way too close to Christmas AND your birthday. 2) The doll is slightly creepy (we didn't mention this to them but it is. 3) It's has 3 feet of doll hair that is going to get tangled in 2.5 seconds and she will look like White Trash Rapunzel as soon as she's out of the box. 4)  She cost $50! We never spend that much on dolls or toys.

We walked out of there without buying her but it was big time meltdown mode for both of them.  I told them they had money in their piggy bank and they could come up with the money to buy her.  They literally raced into the house, opened their piggy banks, put all their money together, and called Mimi to go right back to Costco.  I made my mom swear that she would NOT buy it with her money and make them use their own.  I was kind of sick about it but it was their money and they've never really spent any of it.

So now Rapunzel lives with us. They dress her up in their clothes and play with her.  I come around the corner sometimes and she freaks me out.  The other day I walked out in the garage and she was standing up against a bike.  I screamed. Loud.

And I was right about her hair.  She's WT Rapunzel now and my secret name for her is RaChucky.

I guess if the girls are happy that's all that matters.  

Ryan Team CAP party

We had the Ryan Team Client Appreciation party today and we couldn't have asked for a better day.  The weather was perfect, the food was good, & the company was wonderful.  We are so blessed to have such amazing clients, friends, & family surrounding our team.  Mother Nature's Farm was the perfect place to host the party and I'm already looking forward to next year.  

I only snapped a few photos because the main goal was keeping track of Ryder boy.  Tell you what--chasing after him is a full time job.  

Here is my cousin, Carrie & her daughter, Cambrie.

 Ryder was pretending to eat the carrots that we were feeding to the animals.  Silly boy!

Love the wooden cutouts.

The corn maze is always a hit.

 Reese was having a blast climbing up the dirt hill and running on top of the hay bails.

 Ryan's top tooth fell out right before we got to the party.  She is a full fledged jack-o-lantern!  

I adore that gap toothed smile.

Dinner out with friends

We started a dinner group that goes out once a month and each month someone gets to pick the place we dine.  This month's was Alex's choice, Arrogant Butcher, in downtown Phoenix.  It was so delicious.  They have these little pretzel nuggets dipped in cheese & a salted caramel pudding that's to die for.  Everyone's food was so good.  It was a great night out.  Can't wait for December's choice!

Girl Scout Investiture

Reese & Ryan joined Girl Scouts at the beginning of the school year and it's been such a fun experience for all of us.  There was a meeting at the beginning of the year and all the moms were trying to figure out how to start our troop and who was going to lead.  I knew that I couldn't lead the entire troop but I stepped up to be a co-leader (we all know I have a problem saying no to volunteering :)

There are 4 of us leading a group of 12 girls and it's been a blast so far.  The girls had their investiture ceremony today where they received their patches and petals and are now official Daisy Girl Scouts.  SO so cute.

Here is Reese saying her part of the promise and posting her daisy petal on the board.

 Ryan was reciting her line to "Be a sister to every girl scout".

 Then it was time to put the vests on inside the circle of daisies.  Reese went first...

 then it was Ryan's turn.

 I love that sweet, sweet smile on my Reesey girl.

 Reese, Rylan, & Ryan.  

 Ryan was so excited to get some fresh flowers as a parting gift.  Love this spunky little girl.

A superhero Halloween

Our Halloween was so much fun this year.  The kids are all at such a great age and it was so awesome to walk the neighborhood without using a stroller.  We all dressed up as superheros and it was a hit in the neighborhood.  I have to say that Halloween is my new favorite holidays!!

Ryan the sassy little Batgirl!!  

She just took out her Mexico braids for a nice wavy 'do.

 Reese was here to save the day as SuperGirl!!

 Ryder had a repeat of Spiderman even though we purchased Captain America & Iron Man costumes in the correct size :)

 Our entire trick-or-treating crew!!

 Cory and I were the masked, caped crusaders.  He was looking for the Bat sign in the sky.  Such a funny dork!

 Love our superhero family SO much!!

 Can't wait for next year :)

Neighbors

We love our neighborhood.  It's so fun to live in a cul-de-sac where the kids can run, bike, & play safely.  Lately we've had Juhi & Kira over a lot.  Juhi is in 4th grade and we love her.  She's so smart and such a sweet girl.  I love when she comes over to play. The other day she wanted to play with Reese & Ryan but I said they had to finish homework.  She came inside and helped both of them.  They thought it was the greatest to have a 4th grader helping them out.  

Kira's parents work a lot so she spends time at our house in the afternoons.  Sometimes we pick her up from school and she'll play for awhile.  The girls & Kira get along really well and she's so sweet to Ryder.  It's nice having her around.  

The other night we decided to Boo both Kira & Juhi at their houses.  Kira lives deep in the cul-de-sac so we had to hide in the bushes while Cory rang the doorbell and ran across the street.  I tell you what, it brought me back to my teenage days of TPing and was more fun than I've had in awhile :)  The kids had a blast and I think it's our new Halloween tradition.

Tooth #4 for Reese

The tooth was dangling but she needed A LOT of convincing to pull it.  Cory is really good at that stuff.  I tend to get squeamish and want to rip it out quick so it's over with.  Here he is analyzing the situation.

 It truly just popped out and there was barely any blood, so you know that sucker was ready to come out.

Here she is showing off the gap to all of us.

  I've been trying to take photos at night, indoors without using my flash.  It's tricky because the ISO has to go way up but then the quality of the photo gets compromised.  I'm still working on it but this was one I took without using the flash and it turned out OK.  I adore all their sweet smiles!  Ryan is holding up the tooth fairy pillow I used when I was a kid.  They each have their own but prefer to use this 'vintage' one of mine

After that we assumed the usual position for bedtime stories!

Reese got a really special treat from the tooth fairy--gum and a $1 bill.  We never chew gum in this house and she's been begging for it lately.  The tooth fairy must have heard her pleas and decided she was responsible enough to chew a piece once in awhile and then brush her teeth right after.  We'll see.

Fall trip to Mexico

Our blog is in need of some major updates.  I'm starting with the most recent and trying to work backwards for the past month.

We just got back from Mexico and as usual, had the best time.  The weather was perfect, the beach was beautiful, and we just relaxed and hung out as a family. We kept the Rocky Point economy thriving with the following purchases: 6 bracelets for the girls (3 each), 5 bracelets for their friends, 3 beach dresses, 5 pairs of sunglasses, 2 silver rings, a truck & ukulele for Ryder, braids for the girls, & a 45 min massage on the beach for mama.  They could smell the gringos and their money coming!  I busted out some of my Spanish for some tip top negotiations on our purchases.

The Ryan team retreat was Saturday night and I didn't get many photos of that because we were chasing Ryder around the entire night and that's not an exaggeration.  Keep that kid out of trouble and danger is my full time job and I think that's why I feel so behind in life.  He is the most fun but he runs me ragged some days :)  Anyhoo, here are the latest photos of our fun vacay:

 We ALWAYS get the hair braided.

 Love playing in the sand.  Mimi brought Roxy down and she had fun frolicking on the beach.

Reese is starting to look like a full fledged Jack-o-lantern. She's lost 4 bottom teeth (another post on that to come) and the top two middle ones are vewy vewy loose!

I'm always so surprised at how patient they are to sit there while this stranger is braiding their hair.

 Sassy little Ryboo!

 I was trying to figure out when I took the photo below and then realized that Ryan stole my camera and was taking photos of Reese.  They were playing 'fort' underneath the draped 8' tables at the party.  So hilarious!

Ryder's cheeseball smile is too much!  It's SO him right now.  

I see that face all the time, especially when he wants something he knows he's not supposed to have.

Our sweet family of five :)