This summer we have been camping a couple of times. The girls really enjoyed it! They thought staying in a tent was awesome! :0)

Fun times. Hopefully we'll get to sneak of to the mountains again sometime.

Its been awhile since I've posted but...here goes. We have had an excellent year so far. Loren and I actually went on our first little adventure together without the kids! My wonderful mother came and took care of Lacey and Marina while Loren and I enjoyed a couple of days in San Francisco! We had a nice time. We didn't want to have to rent a car so we walk A LOT! but it was a great way to experience the city. We absolutely loved where we stayed. It was a Bed and Breakfast near the Presidio we liked the area because it seemed a little quieter and more local. Loren and I enjoyed the little parks that were scattered in the neighborhoods. The houses we especially enjoyed looking at since that is kind of our interest. And of course the tour of Alcatraz was very interesting and surprisingly beautiful.

 

 

 

We weathered the holidays fairly well, considering that most of us caught the dreaded stomach bug. It started with Lacey and then we decided to go ahead and drive down to Tucson to see my parents. We were feeling fine and then unfortunately everyone got sick that weekend. Oh well! We still had a good time in Arizona. We attended a wedding and enjoyed time with my mom and Dad. Lacey stayed with Grandma and Grandpa for a couple of days by herself! When I called one day to see how she was doing, all she said to me was "hi mom. I'm having a snack" Ha! So much for missing mom! Poor Marina has gotten in 5 teeth in last two weeks! Four of them being molars.

Can't believe another year has come and gone! Ready to start a new year and hopefully it will be even better than the last.

 On October 26th Marina turned one! It is unbelievable how fast her first year went! She has been so much fun. She enjoyed her little birthday party...she tasted her first bite of cake and ice cream and was fairly dainty about it...just like her sister was! She loved opening her presents and playing with her new toys.

Marina is walking now. She really took off on her birthday. She had been walking a few weeks before but that was just a few steps here and there.  After her birthday party, walking became her new game. She still crawls but more and more often she's starting to walk around the house instead.

She doesn't say much. Lacey still does all the talking! :) But we know when she tries to say bottle, ball, bath, dog, dad, mom, and the word more.

Marina is are little ball of fire. She keeps moving and loves to be busy. She is quickly learning how to defend herself (her toys) by screaming when Lacey seems like she is coming too close. Haha I can see the days of arguements ahead!

We all have enjoyed our little Marina and can't wait to see how she will continue to change!

Motivation

I have always been sort of a dreamer. Someone who thinks and dreams of all the things that they want to do but never really puts them to practice or gets them done. I don't want to be that way but I have more ideas than I ever really get done.

I used to work at a place called the St. James Tearoom. I loved it. It was really fun and I always had wanted to have a little tea party of my own at my house. But of course I always thought about it and never did it! Until....
My friend Heidi is the opposite of me. She is a doer! She thinks of something she wants to do and she immediately starts planning. So one day over a pot of tea, I told her my tea party idea. She whipped out her pen and a piece of scrap paper from her purse and said, "When? What are you going to make? Lets write down who we are inviting."  Whoa! I did not know I was going to just jump into it but I went along with her. That day we planned a date, our menu, and all the things we would have to buy.

One month later...I had a beautiful tea party for my friend Courtney's birthday! All it took was a little shove and a lot of help from a good friend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Tuesday was Lacey's first day of preschool! She was very excited! We had talked and talked about how she was going to go to school and how mommy couldn't stay with her there. Lacey can be a little timid so I was hoping she would do all right. Well...we got there and the teacher had a little activity for the parents to do with thier child, so I stayed for that. Then the parents were welcome to stay while the teacher read the kids a book. So...I thought I would stay for that until Lacey looks back and me and whispers, "Mom, GO!" and motions me towards the door! So I left! She was ready for school and was NOT one of the children who cried! haha I guess she is ready to do something on her own. =) Hope she continues to have a fun year!

We had a very nice Labor Day weekend. We drove up to Bayfield and stayed with Loren's parents. Lacey had spent the previous week there and had the oppurtunity to ride Papa's horses so....this is what we also did when we got there. Lacey rode the horse every day!

Marina liked the horses too...

her Papa is back there making sure she is stays on! She also took a short ride with her daddy.

We all had a good time! Enjoyed seeing friends and family!