time for cake

Happy Birthday Charlie!

Charlie's birthday started out with a card.

Given to him by his Big Sis...

She anxiously awaited his reaction to her meticulous work.

And this would be where she said, "Charlie, you ripped my heart!"

He loves his card!

It sings, Who Let the Dogs Out. Makes for GREAT dancing!

(Aunt Robyn helped Ella with the spelling in her sentence, but she came up with the words on her own. She is very excited to find uses for her new sentence writing skill.)



Our engineer has officially turned 3!

To see some more pics from Charlie's day click HERE.

if you're wondering, that is a pan on her head

Ella made this fantastic hat in honor of Johnny Appleseed. I wish I could have gotten a picture of the entire class as they were lined up at the curb for pickup. Sixteen flushed red faces with pans on their heads, what a sight! Ella loved learning about Johnny Appleseed and today she brought home genuine apple seeds to plant in our yard. Hmmm...not sure how this is going to work in Arizona...

our own field of dreams

This week, Ella and her fellow Muckdogs, played in the opening game for our new INCREDIBLE ball field.

This field was built by the Diamondback Foundation through the "Diamonds Back" program. It features a signature electronic scoreboard, lights, sod, dugouts, and stadium seating. It's truly the most amazing little league field I've EVER seen (or heard of).

Our community has been given a very unique gift, one that we will enjoy for many years.

Thank you to our Arizona Diamondbacks!

my daddy is a rock star

While making dinner the other night, I could hear Sophie giggling...

...the source of entertainment: Daddy - mowing the grass.

Each time he would pass by, he would wave, and she would do a happy dance complete with giggles, waving hands, and stomping feet!

I love him too Sophie! Isn't he the greatest!

tear jerker

Click HERE (once on the page, place your cursor over the Legacy Videography emblem in the large black box, select the arrow that appears in the center of the box) to view a snippet of video from the Father/Daughter Dance. 

It's completely precious.

Ella can be seen 3 times (00:09, 02:43, 04:32).

beat the heat

With the late September temperature hovering around 100 degrees, we decided to check out the location for our upcoming birthday party, the community splash park!

With the sprinklers, buckets, and water guns, as well as the nicely shaded ramadas, the heat seemed bearable. We all had a blast; it promises to be a great party!

another train adventure

Last weekend, Charles and I took the kids up to Anthem to ride the Daisy Mountain Railroad.

Daisy is powered by a steam-outline engine built by Jerry Shipman of J & E Enterprises in Chandler, Arizona.

She runs on a 24 inch gauge railroad that loops around the Anthem Community Park.

Tickets Please!

On our journey we saw a waterfall, went through a tunnel, and passed by some amazing playgrounds!

It was a great train ride. 

General concensus ~ it's STILL hot.

Our patience wears thin...we must have faith...cooler weather WILL come...eventually.

a kindergarten lunch

This week, Loraine (a.k.a. Gracie & Nate's mom), joined this group of crazy kiddos for some very healthy HOT lunch!

Ella sent me a special I love you via photograph!

Ella loves school lunch. It seems like all kinds of interesting things happen there. I can't wait for my own special lunch with these great kids.

daddy daughter dance

Last Friday, Ella and Charles attended our neighborhood's 1st Daddy Daughter Dance. Ella was SO excited.

First, after much deliberation and many drawings of how she expected me to do her hair, we opted to go to the beauty salon.

Her hair turned out exactly like her picture!

Adorable, I must say!

The flowers that Daddy presented to her before the dance.

She was very proud to have her own bouquet!

And off they went!

(Doesn't Charles look smashing in his new duds!)

Ella had SO much fun! She couldn't stop talking about it all weekend. It was a very special evening, one that both Daddy and Daughter will never forget.

Red Sandals

I bought these shoes for Ella years ago, shortly after she turned one. I believe their original purpose was for a Fourth of July outfit.

They recently made their way back to me after circulating through the cousins (Gwen & Mira). They are my absolute favorite pair of children's shoes (although the pink Mary Jane Crocks are a close second). 

Sophie is drawn to the color red. She loves her red silky snuggle blanket above all others and of late she follows me around carrying her red sandals saying, "Ma Ma, Ma Ma," until I place them on her feet, and she runs happily around the house!

Click HERE to see another Mae girl who loves red shoes!

introducing our Muckdog!

Last week, Ella had her first tee ball practice.

She practiced using her glove.

She practiced batting and running to first base.

And she smiled the entire time!

spooky lady

Doesn't she know that Halloween isn't for another month?

This is the second black widow we've found recently.

Fortunately they like our garage, not inside our house.

Unfortunately, they don't like it better outside my garage in the great outdoors.

Maybe this will keep the scorpion population in check?

Hmmm...

cleaning closets

charlie can't sleep

Last night, Charlie was having trouble getting to sleep...so he joined me on the computer. I decided to show him some pictures of the location we chose for his birthday party. I pulled up an internet window, and my personalized Google page appeared with the National Geographic picture of the day.

This is the Bernina Express Train in Switzerland.

Now of course, when Charlie saw this picture, he immediately thought that this was the location for his birthday party. I explained that unfortunately we will not be traveling to Switzerland with all his buddies, and I did show him a picture of the Splash Pad at the community park.

Poor guy.

I did some research on the Bernina Express, and it sounds like a very unique train ride. Per the National Geographic website, "The Bernina Express crosses a stone bridge during its rapid yet stunning journey from the Alps of Switzerland to the meadows of Italy. The train's roller-coaster route through scenic canyons and forests includes a freestanding loop, mountain switchbacks, and curving bridges."

It sounds amazing. I would LOVE to take this trip.

Click HERE to see an outstanding video of this train on YouTube.

Some day, Charlie, I hope you ride this train.