13 weeks!

Made it through 13 weeks of pregnancy. 

I was hoping that my vomiting would go away completely at 12 weeks (like it is supposed to!), well the constant nausea is gone, but there are still a couple days here and there where I will throw up or feel pretty yucky.  Here is to a wonderful 2nd trimester! We love you baby!

Cousin Ethan

If you ask Ryann who her best friend is, she will say, "Ethan. My best cousin friend is Ethan."

These two had so much fun playing together on the trip. I really wish they could spend more time together. 

Best Part of the Trip

The very best part of our trip to Napa was the hotel bathtub.

SERIOUSLY?

Well, that is what they said this morning when I asked them the best part. 

Bike Riding

When we were in Napa the girls got to spend some time riding their new bikes... and Daddy of course spent some time on the barbie scooter. I mean, what manly dad wouldn't get out on a barbie scooter to play with his girls??

 Ryann is doing really well on her bike and I think in the next month or so we will take off her training wheels. She says she is ready for it!

 Cara wasn't as happy at first because she couldn't go as fast as everyone else, but she caught on quick. 

Mullet House

The Sunday before Christmas we all made gingerbread houses. Each kid had their own and the adults shared a house. Since Rich wasn't there, Zach and I made a house together. It was called the mullet house.

Business in the front (courtesy of me and my awesome decorating skills) 

 Party in the back! (courtesy of Zach)

The kids also had an awesome time decorating! Thanks for this fun night!

Hazel Pop

So Hazel turned 1 while we were in Napa and she had her first birthday party. Thankfully we hired a photographer, because NONE of these pictures show how cute she actually was! 

She could have played with those balloons all day long. Uncle Pete was pretty impressed by her balloon skills, walking from one balloon to the other, back and forth, back and forth. Man it was cute. 

Christmas Eve

We had a fabulous Christmas Eve, playing games, being silly, eating amazing food...

 And an attempted re-enactment of the nativity. I think we need more babies/ grandkids to play these parts. We didn't even have any sheep!!

Christmas PJs and Uncle Zach

Zach spent some time with us over the vacation. Unfortunately he had to leave early to go propose... ugh.. i mean... YEAH! We are so happy for him and Aunt Madeline!  Yahoo!

Anyway, he sang us some lovely songs.

 All of the cousins also got PJs from Auntie Erin and Uncle Pete. It was so fun to watch them all get so excited about these presents. 

 Cousin Dean wouldn't pose for the picture, but this was a pretty good shot- Ryann especially loved her horse shirt! Auntie Erin knows how to pick em. 

 One of the cutest things that Miss Addie does is say, "I look cute, right?"  or "I am smiling for the camera, right?" or "I am listening, right?" or "I am eating my dinner, right?"

So basically everything that I had to scold Cara for, Addie would chime in to remind me that she was doing it right when everyone else wasn't.  Not gonna lie, this is her mother's daughter. I do believe growing up Ashley was the super good kid... well, at least until her teenage years, right??

It cracked me up every time she did it. What a little smarty pants. 

Chickens

After the goats we got to play with the chickens!

 Dean is good at catching the chickens. I caught one too.  Cara and Auntie Erin were NOT about to catch any chickens. 

 Cara did like to look for eggs and liked holding this one. 

 Uncle Cory let the girls roam free and go exploring. He also gave them really good sticks to hit the trees with. What a great uncle. 

 Ultimately though, the slide was Cara's favorite part of the day. 

Goats

We spent some time out with Cory, Katie, Dean, Lulu, Mavis, Arizona, Sally, (the other goat who I forgot its name), and a bunch of chickens. 

Cara was not a fan of the goats. 

 Ryann liked the goats but was very wary of them. She pet them, but wasn't a fan when they tried to eat her clothes or her boots. 

 She especially liked the goat Sally. Sally is one of her favorite names. (like the name she picks for every doll or toy or animal)

We also tried some goats milk while we were there. Delicious. No complaints at all. 

Thanks Cory and Katie for the fun times with the goats!

Where to Start

When the girls and I got into Napa we went straight to my parents house and fell asleep. Then my family showed up so I let them wake us all up and we played for awhile. Then we went back to sleep.

Then the girls woke up at 6. 

Everyone else was dead asleep. So the girls and I showered/bathed, got dressed did our hair, put on some "makeup", watched 3 episodes of my little ponies and then FINALLY Devyn and Hazel (the birthday girl!) woke up. 

So we headed out to our favorite Napa breakfast spot. 

Buttercream Bakery!

 Cara eating sugar of course. 

 Ryann being good like usual. 

 Sweet baby Hazel and her 1st maple bar!! 

On her first birthday! What a way to celebrate.

The girls then wanted a picture with the baker Santa. I obliged since I was camera happy already. 

Best Way to Spread Christmas Cheer

Is singing loud for all to hear!

I love that my girls love Christmas music. I catch Cara singing Christmas songs all day long. Sometimes we even love to make up our own words to the songs.

Unfortunately most of the songs end up with the word "poop" in them if it is Cara making up the words.

Good thing she is so cute.

Here is a picture from our church Christmas party a couple weeks ago. How come these girls won't smile like this when I ask them to??

Broken Tricycle

I guess it is about time.

This awesome hand me down tricycle has served both of our girls (and a couple other girls before them) very well. The Arizona sun and heat finally got to it.

Ryann was riding it and it broke.

The girls were devestated. I tried to explain to them that Santa might get them a new one... hint hint... but they insisted on trying to fix it.

They pulled out the tool  box and realized that the saw in the toolbox probably wouldn't help it. I quickly snatched that away and they went back searching in the garage for tools.

Very clever little girls.

Here is Cara nailing a screw into the wheel.  I don't think that Rich has taught them much, and if you know Rich you know he didn't teach them this.  However, he has taught them how to use a hammer and they had more nails and screws hammered into those wheels than I could believe.

Cara hit the head on the nail almost every time.

We finally made the tricycle a fairwell and off it went to the trash can.  Thank goodness Christmas is just around the corner!

Fun Run

Thank you for all who sponsored Ryann with her Fun Run! Her school is trying to earn money to have a new shade structure put up at her school so they can play outside even when it is scorching hot!

 Thankfully Rich was able to go to the fun run. He said Ryann did awesome and we were so proud of her for running like she did. 

 She loved to give high fives and she waved at her daddy every time she passed by him. Smiles the entire time. 

 Her shirt shows that she did all 36 laps. Rich says she snuck in one extra lap for a total of 37!

 Way to go Ryann!

Letter from Ryann

When Ryann got home on Monday afternoon she wrote a letter to Rich and gave it to him while he was in his office working. I think we figured out what it said...

 "Dad
I have
to fun run
tomorrow"



 And I
have some
rules
and
they
are

 1. you have to eat and drink
2. I tell us to go to the fun run tomorrow for Ryann

Basically this girl is trying so hard to learn how to write and it just melts my heart. I love her!