Halloween 2012!!

Every year our neighborhood has a Pre-Halloween Block party on the Saturday before Halloween. This year was our 6th year getting together. Most of the kids wear their costumes and it is a big potluck. The kids love it every year and this year was no exception.





Every year I carve pumpkins for my girls. I let them pick what they want. I have carved Elmo, Max and Ruby, Hello Kitty etc! This year Ryen wanted Ariel sitting on her rock (Little Mermaid DVD cover art) and Ella just wanted Justin Bieber's name (Thank God, cause hers was easy and fast ha ha) 5 hours later they were both done!



I love making Halloween special for these girls with these traditions!




Halloween Morning Daddy got the girls ready for School while I was at an early Doctors appt (hence the hair). Ella wore a BOO shirt and Ryen had a costume party at preschool and went as a fairy.



Later it was time to get my Mermaid and Ladybug ready for Trick or Treating



Supermom and her sidekicks!!




Almost ready...



Trick or Treating crew 2012 :)



Trick or Treat!!




Daddy and I have never seen Ryen move so fast in our whole life. She was sprinting to keep up with all the big kids and was like a ping pong ball bouncing from house to house! (see her in the background struggling to keep up with El)



A good time was had by all except maybe the people that ended up here... ha ha ha

Ella and Ryen's Cupcakes and Cones Birthday Party

For our girls 4th and 6th birthdays I asked them what do you want to have? Ryen answered cupcakes and Ella answered ice cream cones. So we decided to have a joint birthday party again since their birthdays are only 29 days apart. We called it "Cupcakes and Cones". Here are the pics from our party! We had a great day! :)








My Birthday Girls!



Love these babies! :)




Face paint,snow cones and friends. Life is good...






Ryen's party guests



Ella's party guests



Weeeeeee!!



Pinata time!




Then it was time for presents and an impromptu sleepover with some party guests :)





Thanks to everyone who helped make our babies celebration of life so wonderful! :)

Fall Break Fun!

Fall Break Fun at the Children's Museum of Phoenix :)

The No Expectation Vacation Part II

One of my besties, Trish talked me into going to California during Fall Break. It didn't take much convincing as I was dying to go back and so were the kids. Now that I have the pimpin mini van the trip was easier than ever. However, we took a similar trip 2 years ago when her two and my two kids were 2 and 4. We decided to go into that vacation with very low expectations in hopes of things being calmer and us being more relaxed and laid back. The trip was great but a nightmare at the same time. So this time, with our children now 4 and 6 and she and I a little older and wiser, we decided this trip was going to be the NO expectation vacation. It was perfect! :)

Here we are hitting the open road. Trish was asleep within 5 minutes of hitting Interstate 8 which takes you all the way to San Diego from Arizona.



The kids had all sorts of games, toys, and movies to entertain them on the ride too.



Soon we saw the California sign!!



Then we saw two more (but different) signs that let us know we are in California. One was the windmills, the other was the GAS PRICES. ha ha



Soon we were are our hotel and other than a long wait for our room that should have been ready, we had little hiccups on the way. And off to the beach we went! The sun was settling and the kids threw off their shoes faster than I had ever seen. And they were in the water within minutes even though it was freezing!




Love these kids!



Then we headed over to The Wavehouse for dinner and so the kids could watch the "indoor" surfing.







As the sun went down we headed over for some fun around the fire pits.





Then we took the kids over to the Mission Beach boardwalk for Amusement rides. We had some height issues causing some headaches for many rides, but in the end the kids had a great time and we made it work!



The next we day we headed to Legoland!!!



Checking out our map and establishing our game plan



Off for some fun we go!






On our way out we stopped next door at SeaLife Aquarium for some fun!





After a long day at the park we headed for some dinner and then home to bed. Everyone was tired. But we had a plan to get up and hit the beach one more time the next day! So we drove to Ocean Beach. We found this cute dog outside a coffee shop on Ocean Beach.



Then we sat and let the kids play in the water for a couple hours before grabbing some lunch at then driving 7 hours home.






This trip was a lot smoother than the last, and we had a blast! And Ocean Beach was a great way to end The NEV II. Can't wait for the next one!! ;)