October Update

We realized we’ve been a tad bit slow on posting updates. So one of the New Year’s Resolutions is to be more timely. Here’s a catch up of October….

The girls had fun at the Train Park…

And with an Army Jeep outside Home Depot.

We took in some concerts at the Scottsdale Quarter…Ali loves to dance!

Our community had a fall festival. Ali actually sat still enough for one.

Ava did it all by herself.

Ali’s school had a Halloween party…they made little dog outfits. Here’s Ali at school (note the concentration!)

And home posing with the other dog, Pepper.

And of course the girls were excited about Halloween. Here’s Batgirl!

Dorothy (the girl’s friend Samantha), Anna (Ali), and Batgirl (Ava).

And the whole crew before going around the neighborhood.

More updates to come…

September Update

We’ve been a bit slow (again) on posting updates. So here’s a whole month of activity at once…..

School

Ali is in the swing of things, with school 2 mornings per week. She loves going – we barely get a goodbye as she runs into her classroom. Here they are doing lego block painting.

And looking for lizards at recess.

The kids got a visit from the police talking about safety too.

Over at Ava’s school, Ava and her classmates are having fun outside at recess…

and the girls posed on pajama day.

Ava says she has fun with all her friends.

 

Birthdays

Mo(m) celebrated her birthday this month. She got a birthday greeting from our friends the Baar’s in Australia.

Ava and Mom in the kitchen.

Ali with some birthday party cupcake …

 

Water Fun

Both girls have fun with the water. Whether it is running through the splashpad.

Note the same pose.

Or floating in the pool.

And our (wetter than normal) weather has given Ali ample opportunity to run through the rain.

Land Fun

Ali likes taking Pepper for walks.

and running through the grass.

Sometimes the girls practice their bear crawls on the sidewalk.

Or even do a little mirror drawing while we are shopping.

Doing the slides at the park

Or playing in the little house.

Soccer

Ava started her soccer team this month as well. Ava and her teammates have fun at practice.

Ava looks serious!

Ava in action…

 

More to come next month…

Camping

Several of our neighbors were going camping over Labor Day weekend “up North” near Payson. Ava asked (and Dad agreed) to go for a night. Let’s just say it was an interesting 24 hour trip.

We left on Friday afternoon. Due to a major accident, it took us almost 4 hours to make the less than 2 hour trip. By the time we got to the campsite it was dark – nothing quite like setting up camp in dark, under al the stars. Luckily Ava and the other kids kept busy having fun.

Pretty soon it was time for bed.

The next morning Ava slept in a little bit.

Still sleepily walking out…

…with a killer view!

Ava and her friend (also named Ava) took time to pose for photos.

And played lacrosse with the boys.

She got to shoot a BB gun.

Later we went for a hike in the creek.

Climbed across some rocks.

and practiced our balance.

then it was time for a group photo.

before we drove home….Ava slept most of the way home…

It was a quick trip…

Minnesota

Our annual trip to Minnesota was timed around Mo’s high school reunion and around NeeNee and Pops’ 50th wedding anniversary celebration. So the girls got to miss a little school for the trip, but more than made up for it with experience at the farm, on the boat, etc.

At the airport, Ali kept wanting to see “more” planes….

Ava too wanted in on the better vantage point.

Once we got there, we took advantage of cool (for Arizonans) weather and headed straight outside. Ali and Pops started building with blocks.

The girls loved going to Kay’s farm. Ali and Ava took turns feeding the horses.

Even getting nose-to-nose with Zorro.

Taking turns with the kitty.

Ali shaking hands with the kitty. Of course now she wants one for home too…

Click the image above for a video of Ali with the kitten.

Ava riding NeeNee’s horse.

Click the image above for a video of Ava riding the horse.

 

Mom and Dad went to Mom’s HS reunion…

Mom with her friends…

We all got to go boating on Pop’s boat. Ava and Pops even did a little fishing – Ava caught (and lost) her first fish.

Ali loved the wind in her hair. She kept saying to go “fast”

There is a great park nearby that we went to a bunch of times. There is even a merry go round at it.

Ava had fun climbing, with Ali trying to keep up too.

Ali at the top (with a little help).

Around the house the girls generally played pretty well together. Sometimes we could get them to dress alike…

Ali loves shoes by the way. And does great in Mom’s heels.

And stacking blocks around the house.

More time at the park near the house.

Ali loves the water, whether it is rain…here she is catching the runoff on her nightgown one morning.

Waterfalls….crossing a bridge near a waterfall.

Or the lake…throwing rocks into the lake.

When Mom and Dad headed up to Minneapolis for a night, Ava and Ali got to do their cookout.

Ava and cousin Issac had fun at NeeNee and Pop’s anniversary celebration.

As did Ali.

From the airport, Ava played in the plane.

While Ali drove the baggage cart.

As much fun as we had, it was good to get home to our normal routines…