Bye Bye Training Wheels

Shayla came to the conclusion yesterday that she wanted to try riding her bike without training wheels. Daddy helped her and in less than 30 seconds she was riding like a pro! I worked more on stopping and starting with her today and she is catching on so fast. I am one proud mama!

Fun with Reading Week

Shayla had a special reading week at her preschool where she got to spend time reading in different places; on a blanket outside, in the bathtub, upside down... Us girls had a great time doing it and Shayla even earned a little surprise at the end of the week for her hard work.

A Pirate Princess

Shayla has found a joy for playing pirates lately. She likes to get all dressed up with Eris and search for buried treasure in the back yard. Of course she doesn't like to look like a true pirate, more of a princess with a patch over her eye. She's becoming a bit of a girly girl with all of the glitz and glitter, talking on her phone and driving her pink bug around. The funniest part is that she tries to drive it with her legs crossed! I used to think that she'd be all about sports but today I asked her if she wanted to play soccer and she responds by saying, "No mom I want to be a cheerleader when I get big!"

Naughty Stage Not Over

I thought that Shayla's naughty stage was getting better but have recently found that it is probably getting worse. She is sneakier and more destructive than ever before and has now brought Gavin in on her little plots. The other day I was shocked to find Gavin covered from head to toe in marker. Shayla had even gone to the trouble of coloring his toenails bright pink! Apparently Gavin colored on my comforter while Shayla cut my curtains with scizzors and of course all of this happened within a couple of minutes. It was so ridiculous that I almost laughed when I caught them with markers and scizzors in hand. The looks on their faces were priceless. Luckily I kept my cool, snapped a couple of pics and had a good talk with them. We'll see how long it lasts before something drastic happens again. :)

Happy 4th Birthday Shayla!

I can't believe my baby Shayla is already 4 years old! She had a very happy birthday filled with 2 fun parties, one with family in Orem and the other at home with cousins. She received many wonderful gifts but chose to focus most of her love on her new polly pockets, balloons, gum and a "My Little Pony" card. It's possible that she could have been even more thrilled at the watermelon, animal cookies and pink cake and ice cream that she got to eat. Oh, the simple joys of life!

The Style of Shayla

As previously mentioned Shayla is big on keeping her own unique style. Although she is very active and crazy she loves to dress up. She has been dressing herself since she was 2 and loves to accessorize with purses and jewelry. She also insists on doing her own hair most days. She rarely wears anything that isn't pink and her outfits usually have to include a dress or skirt. She loves to play "mom" and "teacher". When she grows up she wants to be Eris' teacher. She is full of fun and lots of energy and makes us all laugh with her particular and sometimes very interesting preferences. Some examples include; insisting on sitting on the same middle chair at the table or the same middle cushion on the couch or choosing to eat foods like pancakes with ranch dressing. Unlike her mom, she has a very strong opinion about almost everything. She is a handful but lots of fun!

Gymnastics Show

The girls participated in a gymnastics program during the holidays and both did a fantastic job and looked beautiful! They are both improving so much and seem to love every minute of their classes. Eris is doing well in her intermediate class and learning how to perfect her cartwheels, bar, beam work & trampoline and is extremely close on her splits and roundoffs. She is learning the beginning steps of a front tuck. She can also reach the top of the 30 ft rope and touch the ceiling. Shayla is exceeding her coach's expecations in her preschool class. She too can climb to the top of the rope which has been unheard of in her coaches 8 years experience and can also flip herself onto the bar without any help. She does fantastic somersaults, great straight, pike, tuck jumps and balances very well on the beam. Great job girls!

Dashing through the... Snow?

So it's definitely not snowing here in the beautiful sunshine but Gavin and his sweet play date, Issy, are taking a sleigh ride anyway. She is so much fun and I can tell you that I wouldn't mind adding this pic to their wedding video someday! She also loves spending time with Shayla reading stories and playing dress-up. Here is a pic of Shayla playing teacher as she reads to "the class". She has even picked up on the licking her finger before turning the page thing.

Hop, Skip, & A Jump Away

It looks like Shayla is following in big-sister's footsteps (and maybe some of her mom's too). She is loving to learn the jump rope. She has already mastered doing all sorts of tricks on the trampoline, & skipping around the house but she is still working on the fun things that Eris has recently learned to do; hopskotch and jumping rope. She's quickly catching on though and before we know it, they'll be in head-to-head competition.

Mr. GQ

Gavin showed off some of his handsome clothes today at church! It was so cute to see him in his button-up shirt and tie strutting his stuff.

Spa Day with Auntie Whi!

Auntie Whitney came over to give the girls a spa day. Not only did she paint their fingernails and toenails in beautiful shades of pink, red and blue but also designed them with fun decals of stripes, presents, ladybug spots and sparkles.

Fun with Dress-up

Grandma Sharon set up a dress-up room for the girls to play in; complete with dresses, jewelry, shoes, wigs, and the mirrored dresser from her childhood. The kids loved to adorn themselves in all of the pretty outfits, smile in front of the 3-way mirror and strike a pose for pictures!

Practically Perfect Park Weather!

We have all been enjoying the nice high 70s low 80s weather the past couple of weeks. I don't know if I will ever get used to the fact that it is almost mid-November and we are still experiencing what I call "perfect weather." Some of our favorite activities lately have included; walks, bike rides and lots of trips to the park. Sometimes we'll find ourselves visiting 2 or 3 different ones throughout the day. The kids love it and its a nice change from the super hot 120s and the not so hot 50-60s that are coming. We'll live it up while it lasts!

Drama Queens

Shayla loves to play mom! When she plays pretend, she is usually the mom and gives the rest of us a part to play. In this picture Eris was the baby and mama Shayla was taking care of her. It's so fun to see their little imaginations come to life as they immerse themselves in different roles. Both of the girls are quite the little drama queens. Afterwards, Eris played dance teacher to Shayla. Shayla has recently postponed dance lessons to focus on gymnastics but she still loves to learn new moves and especially loves to rock out and make up her own.

Happy Halloween!

We were able to decorate the pumpkins from grandma Sharon and grandpa Neily a few days before Halloween. Spencer used his skills to complete a Sleeping Beauty princess for Shayla and a skull for Eris. For Halloween Eve I took the kids to the city Trunk or Treat. It was a crazy line this year that wound all the way around the city buildings. It was probably a 45 minute wait for a dozen or so cars but it was still fun. Then we went trick-or-treating around the neighborhood and the kids were more than thrilled with their buckets half-full of candy! Halloween is exhausting but as long as the kids are happy, I am thrilled!

Shay, the Monkey Fairy

Shayla has recently learned how to do the monkey bars all the way across and was super excited to show it off at the ward party. We had a blast there, all dressed up for food and fun carnival games for the kids. Afterwards, Spence and I got to go to an all-out Halloween Extravaganza where we dressed up as motorcycle riders, went through a quite intense haunted mansion decorated to the "T" and ate tons more food. Then we danced the night away with our close friends in the mansion's driveway. Spence even got his groove on! It was a great night!

Our New Love...Smoothies!

The kids and I have found a new love and appreciation for the goodness of fruit smoothies. I've always been a fan but ever since I started this health craze thing, they are a must-have! The kids love to enjoy them with me, even when they do have traces of spinach or beets included. I have come to find out that hiding the veggies in something delicious are the best way for the kids to eat them. I heard that Jerry Seinfeld's wife, Jessica Seinfeld, even came out with a cookbook "Deceptively Delicious" which includes simple secrets on how to get our kids to eat healthy foods. One of the most popular brownie recipes includes spinach and the kids apparently can't tell the difference. I am eagerly awaiting that book to check out from the library!

Best Buds

Shayla and Gavin are the ultimate brother/sister duo. They are either attached at the hip while laughing, sharing and playing together or they are fighting like cats and dogs. Either way, you can tell how much they love each other!

Shayla, a Prissy Tomboy

Shayla loves to dress up and play princesses or mom to her dollies, usually wearing make-up or jewelry. She loves to carry around her purse and play in my high heels and talk on her little cell phone. You'd think that she was the epitomy of prissy; however, she still has the tomboy attitude that she has always had. Going outside to jump in the mud, riding her bike in the puddles or with daddy on his motorcycle, and helping him in the garage are some of her favs. This particular picture was when she was helping me put together the bike trailor for the first time. I have come to find out that there comes a time in a girl's life when she needs to learn to fix things, and with Shayla's help we did it!

Field Trip to the Fire Station

Last Wednesday I took Shayla and Gavin and 3 of their closest friends on a field trip to the fire station. Spencer was on shift and gave us a tour of the fire truck, ambulance and the station itself. The kids have been learning fire safety in preschool and were quick with their answer of "stop, drop and roll" when asked what to do in a fire. Spencer put on his full gear for them to see and then they were able to try his turn-outs on too. We ended the day with official junior firefighter tattoos. It was overall a great field trip!