"The Golden State" Vacation

Reagan & Cousin Ashley had fall break from school October 13th-17th. We decided to go to California to visit Great Grandma Maxine and Company!

Our trip began early on Monday morning (early meaning 6:00am). We left at a great time and hit NO traffic in Phoenix. The girls tried to keep themselves entertained with the DVD player. Poor Riley, she just could not figure out the headphones!

We stopped after five and a half hours for a much needed leg stretch and lunch break. We stopped in a cute little town, Glendora, and got Subway for lunch and found a park to play at. The girls ran around and got out some energy for the remainder of our trip (which was about another hour and a half).

We arrived at Aunt Betty's house, Monday afternoon around 2:00. Within a hour, poor Riley's face started to breakout ... having some sort of reaction to something (we still don't know what the culprit was). We spent the afternoon playing with cousins and running around.

By Tuesday morning, Riley's face got worse. We finally decided to get her some Benedryl, which seemed to help some. Cousin Aiden spent the morning with us, and after all the rest of the cousins got out of school, we went to Chuck E Cheese and the BEACH!

At the beach, they had a zip line with a rope on it. The kids all had such a blast riding the zip line. Reagan held on tight and got pretty comfortable by the second trip ... she was being daring and leaned out of her "death grip".

Ashley had to get in on the action too. They wanted Mommy to do it, but watching five kids under the age of six at the beach was a little much for mommy.

Once Aunt Betty got there, we got to relax a little bit and enjoy the beach. We walked down to the water, got our feet wet, and enjoyed running around the sand.



Riley even got her feet wet a little bit, but did not last long on the beach. Mommy took her back up to the playground and let Ashley, Reagan, & cousin Hannah enjoy the beach without a screaming baby! Riley and cousin Haley Rose swung together and had a blast, while the girls were running around the beach.

Ashley was so great with the girls, she had them digging for sea shells and exploring the entire area.

What a beautiful afternoon at Ventura Beach. We were so happy to be there!

On Wednesday morning, Ashley and Mommy got ready and went to the outlet mall for some shopping. We were actually on a mission to find Reagan some shoes, since on Tuesday, she lost one of her flip flops and was shoeless for the rest of the day. We found her some cheap sandals and had a fun time together. We got home just in time for nap time and the rest of the kids to get home from school. Then it was off to the Pumpkin Patch. All the cousins got a small pumpkin, Thank You Aunt Betty, and had a fun time getting all dirty.

What a cute shot of the girls!

Back at Aunt Betty's house, we played outside with cousins Tyler and Haley Rose. Reagan and Tyler were having a great time trying to do gymnastics. Ashley & Mommy decided to join in and everyone was doing cartwheels and flips in the front yard.

Reagan loves her cousin Ashley and ran up to her to hug her, which caused her to topple over.

Thursday morning, we went to the Santa Barbara Zoo. We had beautiful weather and enjoyed the great little zoo. We got to see some animals that we don't have at the Phoenix Zoo, especially the Gorillas. The zoo was not very crowded, so Riley got to run around without being tied to the stroller ... that made her very happy!

Mommy & her girls, posing in front of the elephants.

We loved watching the Gorillas. There were two Gorillas, and they were up and walking around their cage ... they were really cool.
Three years ago, we came to the Santa Barbara zoo and saw this Giraffe. I told the girls all about him and we were so anxious to see him again. Unfortunately, he passed away this past January, but they had little "remembrance" boards about him all around the giraffe cage.
Friday started at 9:00 am with the drive home. We had a pretty long, rough drive, as Riley decided to stay awake from midnight till 3:30am the night before. She serenaded the entire house with her blood curdling screams, so we were all exhausted for the drive home. We had to make a few more pit stops than the trip out to California, but we were still making good time. We managed to not hit any traffic in the Los Angeles area, but we did hit Phoenix traffic right at 5:00pm. We rolled into the drive way at 5:30, unpacked the car, trashed the house, and went to sleep.

We had a little vacation. Thank You Betty & Sam for the great hospitality. We had a wonderful visit with everyone and you will all be truly missed by my girls.

Arizona State Fair

Last weekend, we had beautiful weather ... high in the upper 70's. No better way to celebrate that beautiful weather than with an outing. We spent the morning at the Arizona State Fair. We had a great time.

Reagan & Daddy playing the water gun game ... Reagan, of course, won!

Reagan & Mommy riding a fast, round & round ride ... Reagan could not stop laughing, and of course, Mommy got motion sick!

Reagan riding her first roller-coaster ... the Crazy Coaster. She had so much fun, she turned right around and rode it again (the second time with Mommy).

Reagan & Daddy on the ferris wheel. Reagan was nervous about it at first, but once she got on it, she loved it. Daddy said she was looking over the sides, straight down, from the top!

Reagan, Riley, & Mommy riding an elephant. Riley loves elephants! We were suprised about how pokey their skin/fun was.

The Posti girls feeding the goats. Riley had no fear about sticking her fingers near the goats mouth ... luckily, she did not get bit.

Let's Go Yotes!

Last night, we went to the opening night of the Phoenix Coyotes NHL season. We had awesome seats and the girls had a great time. We got there a few hours early and enjoyed the cooler weather, just hanging outside the stadium.

Reagan loved the big blow up hockey players ... Riley was terrified of them!

Riley enjoyed watching the water fountain spraying.

Mommy & her girls.

The girls got Yote Tattoos for their faces and thought they were so cool!

Watching the Coyotes warm up ... they really liked going to the glass and being that close.

They were facinated, pressing their faces up against the glass.

This is so much fun!

Let's Go Coyotes!

Fun Zoo Day

Today, we went to the zoo with our friends. It sure was hot, so one of the first things we did was go to the "waterpark" at the zoo. There is waterfalls, caves, slides, small rivers, and water spouts. All the kids seemed to have a great time. Riley was a little nervous about it at first, but she warmed up quickly and had fun running up and down the little river. Reagan was nervous about the cave because there were fake bats and raccoons in there, and she was scared of them. But they had a great time. We got a bunch of cute shots of the girlfriends all together. We are glad we have such great friends!

Reagan coming out of the cave after seeing the bats.

Riley starting to enjoy the cool water.

Whoa! I need a drink! The water shoots out of this hole and she stood up about 2 seconds before it was going to shoot her in the face.

Look at that sis! (Not sure what they are looking at, but thought is was a cute pic).

Our group of friends.
(Brielle, Rylee, Cooper, Aubrey, & Reagan)

The girlfriends.

What little hams we have.

Enjoying the carousel.

Riley's first ride on the carousel. As you see, mommy is NOT with her as she would have vomited from the spinning! Ms Heather held on to her and Riley had the death grip on Heathers neck the entire time.

"Halloween" is in the air!

Since school has started, Reagan does not get a lot of playtime with her girlfriends in our neighborhood. So, some of us mom's in our neighborhood set up a great play date/craft day for the kids. About every thirty minutes, the kids went from house to house to enjoy doing a "Halloween" related craft. Afterwards, we went to the park, for the first time since summer started (since it is so hot).

1st: Posti House ~ We painted wooden jack-o-lantern faces and added great embellishments, such as glitter and stickers.

2nd: Bower House ~ They made ghost footprints & ghost lollipops.

3rd: Boberg House ~ They all made a fun snack together and read a cute Halloween book.

4th: Crum House ~ They made flying bats and colored pumpkins.

FYI

The playlist has been removed ... like I said before, I don't really like sites that have music, I just wanted to hear that song a couple times. I have enjoyed listenening to it when I work on the blog, but it has been enough. The name of the song that fits my girls so well is

"Daughter" by Loudon Wainwright.

Hurricane Ike Pictures

If you were wondering what things looked like after Hurricane Ike hit League City, check out these photos on this link. Someone went out on their boat and took most of these pictures ... all of the Clear Lake area where Dad Dan lives. It is truly devastating to see some of these pictures. Thanks Lesia for sending these pictures to us.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ehmorrell/HurricaneIke#

Dancing ...

The girls love to dance. Every movie that contains music, they dance and sing along to. Every song they hear on the radio, they dance and sing along to. It is quite fun to listen to and watch. They got new dancing skirts today, that have little bells on them. So, of course, they had to get home and try them out. They play together very well, when they want to, and dancing is something they love to do together.

These are their new skirts, or tutu's as they are really called!

Sorry, the video's are really dark (thanks to the tomb we live in).

The girls dancing, together, to Shrek music.
WARNING:
The camera is moving around a lot, to try and keep up with the girls ... may make you dizzy!

Reagan dancing like a ballerina. Notice she is watching her reflection in the TV.
Maybe I should seriously consider dance lessons!

18 Months and Growing

Today was Riley's 18 month check up with Dr. Leavitt. For some reason, mommy scheduled this appointment for 8:00am on a (pre)school day. We all woke up and rushed around to get out of the house by 7:45. We had the first appointment, so it sure was nice to get there and get in right away. (Those of you who use the same doctor's office know how long of a wait we usually have). Dr. Leavitt said Riley is just perfect. She luckily only had to get one shot, and goes back for another appointment when she turns 2.

Just Perfect!

Weight: 24 lbs 4 ozs (50th percentile)

Height: 31 inches (30th percentile)

Head Circumference: 18.5 (60th percentile)

That's My Daughter(s)!

Playlist

Ok, I am usually against having music playing on my blog. I am the one who, first thing on other people blogs, scroll down to the playlist and pause it, so I don't have to listen to the music. Not that I am opposed to music ... I LOVE MUSIC. I find it distracting on the blogs, and then, if you have video posts, you have to turn off the playlist anyhow to watch the video. Plus, they always seem to be very LOUD.

With that said, I added a playlist to my blog ... as you can hear. It has only one song, as I heard this song, fell in love with it, and found it fitting to my girls.

Please feel free to turn it off while looking at our blog. I put the playlist at the top, so it is easily accessible to turn on and off. Who knows how long it will last on the blog, but for now, it is something different.

Enjoy!

Who would have known this could be so much fun!

(OK, you will want to disable the playlist music for this video!)
The girls got new shirts the other day. These shirts have a little red, blinking light. They think these shirts are so cool. When daddy got home from work, they were so excited to show their new shirts to him. Daddy got out his laser pointer, and Reagan thought her shirt was making the red light on everything. Riley kept calling it a bug ... bug, bug, bug! They had so much fun, chasing the laser pointer and laughing. I have been trying to catch Riley's laugh on video for over a month now ... we finally got it.

Visit from Grandpa Joe & Kelly

This weekend, Scott's dad, Grandpa Joe and his wife, Kelly came to town. We kept very busy, trying to get lots of visiting in within a short amount of time. We ate lots of yummy food, went shopping, and the guys even got in some golfing. Saturday night, we went to Roy's Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine for dinner. The girls stayed with a babysitter and we had a great night out. Dinner was FANTASTIC. If you have never been to Roys, you should go ... but beware, it is a bit pricey, but a great place to go for special occasions.

Poor Little Thing

Reagan woke up at midnight, Saturday night, with a fever. All day Sunday, she kept a fever, even with Motrin in her. So, Monday morning, we went off to the doctor again and once again, they swabbed her throat (cleaned her throat, as she would say). This time, it turned up positive for strep throat. We are now on antibiotics, and feeling much better. Hopefully, it won't spread to everyone else in the family, as we had lots of family over at the house on Sunday.

It sure is terrible being sick!

"Tomorrow"

Reagan's new favorite movie is Annie. She loves to watch this movie, over and over again. She had all the songs memorized within a day or so. Riley even knows how to sing along (in her own little way). They were singing together the other day. I got so tickled listening to them, I just had to try and capture it on video. The video is a little blurry, but it is pretty darn funny to hear Riley chime in when she knows what to say! Hope you enjoy and it puts a smile on your face!

Reagan got to laughing so hard, it made her choke! She thinks it is so great when Riley says somthing that she understands!

More "IKE" Information

We spoke to Dad Dan tonight and he is back at his League City house.
Here is the info he gave us ...

• Power is back on as of Tuesday morning (way quicker than we had thought)
• The water is back down to normal level, in the canal where it should be
• The pool is black, with fish and shrimp in it (it will be drained, cleaned, and resurfaced)
• The yard is filthy with trash, shingles, siding, wood, etc.
• The garage was flooded, therefore all the boxes and stuff that were on the floor are ruined (unfortunately, some of those boxes contained photos and important papers)
• The roof is badly damaged
• The walls, ceilings, & carpet are damaged where the roof leaked
• The house is very musty smelling, due to the leaks and not having power

The funny side of the "damage" is there is a very large sailboat between Dad Dan's house and his neighbors house, sitting in the yard, waiting for its owner to come find it and take it away!

They have begun cleaning up the yard already, and tomorrow they will start on the garage. The insurance adjuster will be coming out hopefully by this weekend to assess the damage to the house. The first major project will be to fix the roof before they get anymore rain!

Steven (Dad Dan's friend) took some pictures and videos throughout the storm and Lesia got some aftermath pictures, before they started cleaning up. They are going to try and get those pictures uploaded and emailed so I can post them on the blog. I will update you again when those arrive.

Hurricane Ike

Dad Dan's house did survive the hurricane this past weekend ...

• There is NO power
• The roof was damaged and leaked into the house in several places
• The water was just a couple of inches from entering the house, but NO water got in the house
• The garage did flood
• The air conditioning unit and pool equipment were covered with water
• The debris in the water and all around is terrible
• The boat survived, rose with the water, and did not break the lines ... it is still located at the dock, in the backyard!

All in all, Dad Dan should be very pleased with the outcome. He was in San Antonio for the storm, but had a friend who did not evacuate and he stayed in Dad Dan's house for the storm. It is great to have him stay behind so we know what the house has endured. The areas around his house were damaged pretty bad ... Kemah was completely underwater and severely damaged ... SO SAD!

We are not sure when Dad Dan is going to go back to his house, as there is not power and authorities are telling people not to come back to the area yet. There is not much he can do until the water recedes, as of yesterday, the water was still covering most of the driveway. We will all be anxious to have him get home and see things for himself. I hope that his friend took some photos of the water, as it has NEVER been that high before.

We wish we were there with Dad Dan to help with all the clean up, as he will have a lot of cleaning to do once he gets back. Hopefully the power will be restored soon (authorities are saying it could be at least a month before the power and utilities are working again) and he can try and get his life back in order. We are just all so pleased that there was nothing major to deal with.

Bounce U

This morning, we went to Bounce U for open bounce with Reagan's friend, James from preschool. The girls had a great time running around, bouncing, and sliding for two hours. Reagan got over her fear of slides (if you remember, she had her 4th birthday party at Bounce U and would not get on any of the slides). She spent probably 85% of her time sliding down the Super Slide. Riley loved the slides, too. Mommy had to climb her up to the top, but she would slide down those big ole' slides all by herself. After all the fun, Riley passed out and took a 2 1/2 hour nap (which is GREAT for her). What a fun morning we had!

Riley playing in the bounce house, that had a smaller slide.

Reagan in the tunnel.

Riley climbing through the tunnel.

Reagan being such a good big sister, trying to help Riley climb up (even though it did not work).

Reagan on the Super Slide.

Reagan & James, holding hands, going down the Super Slide.

Way to go Riley! All alone on the big Super Slide.

Oh, how I wish ...

I wish I could ...

~ fall asleep within the first five minutes of laying down

~ sleep in any position and be comfortable

~ sleep through someone walking into my room (or taking a picture)

~ stay asleep while someone picks me up to move me into a better position

~ sleep for 10+ hours without waking up several times a night

~ wake up in the morning, refreshed and energetic, ready for the day

Oh, to be a kid!

What a Handsome Boy!

In an attempt to help Irbe with his shedding problem, I decided I would get a special "Shed Ender" brush and brush his hair away. After only 20 minutes, there was hair all over the backyard. I am sure my neighbors now have big ole' hair balls in their backyards too! Irbe was such a good boy, he just stood there and let me brush away. I think he secretly enjoyed it. Afterwards, he looked so smooth and shiny. Maybe if we can make this part of our daily routine, we will have less dog hair floating around the house. Won't that be great!

Here is a pile that I swept up ... there was a lot more hair but it had already blown all over the yard and it is too hot for me to worry about it now! The shoe is to give you perspective on how much hair we got off ... WAY GROSS! Now I know why I have to vacuum ALL THE TIME!

The writing's on the wall ... or should I say "mirror"

Mom: Reagan, is that my lotion I smell?

Reagan: Yes.

Mom: Where did you get it?

Reagan: On your bathroom cabinet.

Mom: Let me see your hands ...

Reagan: I rubbed it in already ... all over my body. Don't I smell good?

Mom: Oh Yes, but next time, please ask mommy for permission first. OK?

Reagan: OK, I will.

Here is what I found after our conversation ...
I guess she was too slippery after all the lotion, she needed help from Mr. Mirror to get off the cabinet. Either that or she enjoyed seeing her handprints and couldn't contain herself!

Do sisters really look alike ... or not?

I was looking back at old pictures of Reagan when she was Riley's age, and found this picture of her. Riley happened to be wearing the same outfit, so I had to take a picture for comparison reasons. They are such different girls ... Reagan was such an independent, happy, and easy child. Riley is clingy, loud, and has to have things her way. However, when you look at their pictures, they look so similar.

What do you think? Do they look like sisters? I am interested in what you think.


Riley (18 months)

Reagan (19 months)

Riley (18 months)

Reagan (19 months)

Things I see:

~ They both have the curly hair in the back (even though Reagan's was a little longer)

~ They both have the same arms (chubby & cute)

~ They both look like they have the same mouth
(however, Riley's is rarely closed, so it is hard to tell)

~ They both have such beautiful, bright, blue eyes

~ Reagan definitely had more hair, longer & fuller. I could put her hair into piggy tails and pony tails at this age.

~ Riley has a rounder face, without the defined chin

~ Not that you can see it, Reagan had a full mouth of teeth and Riley is still very sparse with her chompers