Basketball and a field trip

1/20--Ella found this cute display at the library and took the opportunity for a photo session!

1/21--Ever since Arizona, I'm obsessed with ORANGES!  They aren't quite as good, but they will do.

Love these two friends!

1/26--Basketball season started!  Josh really improved over the last year and was super fun to watch! Their team was pretty good and won several games. 

1/27--Ella goes to Miss Heidi's dance studio once a week.  She loves it!!

I made these cute little cupcakes for a baby shower.  It was my first time using my new cake decorating tips.  This isn't one of my strengths (just look at any of my kids' birthday cakes), so I was pleased how they turned out! lol

1/28--Ella went on a preschool field trip to the fire station.  The boys were out of school too, so Luke came with us.  Ella was not a fan of the whole experience and was pretty much glued to my hip the whole time.  It was hard to get pics of her at that angle. 

They got a call and had to leave in a hurry!

Andrew played basketball too.  This was his first season.  Their team struggled, but Andrew did very well and seemed to be a natural! 

1/30--Girl's Night Out!  Love these fabulous neighbors of mine!

Trip to Arizona!

For my birthday last year Darrin gave me plane tickets to go see our dear friends, the Bywaters.  They used to live in Oregon, but have since moved to Arizona. 

The weather when we left OR was far from nice.  We couldn't wait to see some SUN!

1/13--I ended up taking Ella with me so Darrin could work and because I knew she would have a blast with their 3 girls.  And it was super fun to have a girls trip away without any boys!  

We got there, got settled and went to bed.  

1/14--The next morning we got up and went to a train museum with a park and a train ride.  

For some strange reason, Ella freaked out on the train ride.

Afterwards we went to lunch at a super yummy Mexican restaurant and then to a bakery to get some cookies.  The little girls were having a blast together!

We also drove by the Mesa Arizona temple.

1/15--We got up and went to see Dr. Brad!  It was fun to see his office and see him in action!

Then we drove to a dairy farm and had fun seeing lots of animals.

We fed the goats, horses and the donkey.  Avery loved doing it.  Ella just wanted me to do it for her.  

Then we went on a hayride to see all the dairy cows and learn about the farm and how they take care of the cows.  

Ella got to drink some flavored milk.  She chose banana.

After the farm, we went on a quest to find a "u pick" orange orchard.  We couldn't find one, but we did find several orchards.  I'd never seen an orange tree before so it was super cool to see them!

We did find a fruit stand where they sold the fresh oranges.  

They were HUGE!!  And the best tasting oranges I've ever had.  

On our way back to the house we drove past the Gilbert AZ Temple.  

That night Brad babysat all the girls, and Ang and I went to get our nails done, eat dinner, and do a little bit of shopping.  It was just like old times.  

1/16--Ella had a blast while we were there!  

After seeing that Ang and I had our toes painted, the little girls had to get their's done as well.  

These 3 played so well together the whole time.  Kenzie was great at entertaining Ella and Avery!  She organized all kinds of things for them to play: family, school, dance, etc...

My trip was coming to an end, and I really wanted to see a saguaro cactus up close.  So we went to find one that was close enough to the road that I could jump out and take a picture with it.  They really are the strangest looking things. lol.    

On the way to the airport, Ella fell right to sleep.  We definitely wore her out!

I brought the kids and Darrin back several souvenirs.  One of them was even a real life cactus.    

We had such a fabulous trip!!  It really was the best birthday present ever.  Thanks for the great time, Angela!

The big 4-0, snow, and a haircut

Darrin had his birthday!  We had Chad and Julie over to play games and eat fajitas.  

We had the annually requested German chocolate cake and normal chocolate cupcakes for the lightweights.

Since it was Darrin's birthday, we had to play the games that he wanted to play.  We (the girls) tried to be nice and not complain.

1/3--It snowed again!  It was Sunday, and Darrin had already left for church, so I had to be brave and drive to and from church in the snow.  Coming home was the worst because the snow started to transition to freezing rain.  

The kids couldn't get out and play in it fast enough.  Shorts and snow boots.  They are silly.  

This guy has decided he appreciates warmth and didn't go play in it.  I guess he's growing up or turning into a boring kid.  lol.  

They played until it got dark.  

1/4--School was cancelled the next day and the kids continued to play in the slush!  

1/5--This came up on my pinterest board.  How did it know I have this problem?  Ugh.  Gotta love boys. :)

1/8--On a whim about 9pm on a Friday night we loaded up the kids and took them to Krispy Kreme to get doughnuts.  It was fun to do something spontaneous at a time of day when the kids are usually heading to bed!  

1/8--I did a Fitbit challenge with some friends!  I didn't win, but got a record number of steps for me. I felt good about my effort :)

1/12--Ella got her first haircut!  My amazing neighbor came over and cut it.  She looked like such a big girl afterwards!