The Great And The Not So Great

We pulled off the big surprise,  and it was fantastic seeing all the family again.   We celebrated birthdays with family, had swim lessons, and saw beautiful Show Low with its carpet of flowers, saw Jason's team play, Natalie's band, "Pumped" our bodies, said good-bye to gray and hello to blonde, climbed Camelback, debated, picked veggies and berries from the garden, and so much more.   The big surprise came when we got home.  We opened the door to an 'off' sort of smell.  I thought it was just our cats letting us know their displeasure of being left alone for that long.  Turns out it was a leak in our bathroom.  We now have a nice hole in our living room ceiling.  Our Cable box quit on us and my car has a flat.  Vacation was nice and now reality has greeted us and I am ready to go back to Arizona.  All of these inconveniences will soon be fixed and forgotten, but the memories that we (kids especially) made will stay in our minds forever.  I had planned on posting pictures and reminiscing, but the real world is beckoning me to snap to it and take care of things.  To those that we saw, thank you for the laughs, love, and priceless memories. I'll post pictures soon.

Four Years and Full of Grace

Malena Quotes:

God ‘decorated’ us.

He is my kisser. (Talking about boyfriends during playtime.)

Mom, get me out of babyland. (Said while Colin was tackling her.)

It’s time to brush the kid’s hair. (Translation: please brush my hair.)

Stop it mom, you aren’t real! (Apparently, my English accent while reading Angelina Ballerina leaves much to be desired.)

Each day she brings laughter and joy into our home. As she turns four, Chris and I continue to be amazed with her ability to defuse any situation with her charm. Her days are spent doing playschool, coloring, making up stories, singing, dancing, and acting. The latter is a new skill she spends her time perfecting. She will be so angry, sad, scared, or some other dramatic emotion. I will go investigate and she will turn around with a huge smile and laugh, “I’m just acting mom. Don’t worry.”

She desires to be just like her big sis until that same big sister imposes her will upon her. Then she will turn stubborn and refuse to do anything that Caity desires. She wants to play with Colin until she realizes that he is just about as strong as her. They are the best of playmates and the worst of playmates.

Being stuck in the middle of the craziness can’t be easy. Not big enough for some activities and too big for others. I worry about her place in the family sometimes, but her middle name is Grace. That couldn’t be more fitting for how our half pint of love, joy, and laughter handles life.

Happy Birthday Gracie-Face!

Just one

I have just showered after putting Colin down for the night and I don't expect my other loved ones home for a while.  Chris, the king of surprises, took the girls to a show for a Daddy date night and I was stuck here with Little Man.  Being stuck meant that we could go on a solo walk, play cars without a story line, sing little kid songs, bath time, and enter bed with a song or three. I must confess that bath time is usually just a quick stop on the way to bed, and  I was amazed at the way Colin could entertain himself with the simplest of toys.  I will spare you the long list of Colin's evening entertainment and sum it by saying that his face right before bed says it all.  I hope I get stuck again soon.