Abbie's Bday Party

Abbie's party this year was "P" for Party!
The party plan:
Nail Painting
Pizza
Pajamas
Princess Bride movie
Pillow fight

Luckily my mom took Lucy and Penny for the evening, because these girls partied hard!

When the girls arrived they made their own pizzas. While the pizzas were being cooked by our handsome chef Brad, they were all treated to a lovely manicure

Then, present time!

After presents, they settled in to watch The Princess Bride. Seriously, one of the best movies ever made. Then, who could resist a massive pillow fight after the show. Let's just say things got a little out of control. Who knew 13 eight and nine year old girls could be this crazy. I think my ears are still ringing from all the squeeling and high pitched giggling.

Birthday cake to finish off the night. Don't worry, the whole neighborhood heard the Happy Birthday Song. "cha, cha, cha's" and all!

The bday group. I'm so grateful that Abs has such great friends.

Field trip with Lillie's class

I was able to volunteer for a field trip with Lillie's 1st grade class this fall. The trip was to follow directions through the neighborhood until you arrive at a secret location. The best part was the secret location was our house! Lillie and her friends were surprised and it was such a fun morning. Unfortunately, it was a wacky 100 degree October day! We were all melting, but still had fun. After we ended at our house, the kids got to have Root Beer Floats and play at the park.

Notice Lillie's bright red face

We named our group the Diva Explorers cuz they were all girls. These girls really lived up to the DIVA name with their sassy walks and poses!

October birtdays at Nana's house

We celebrated some of the Oct birthdays at Nana's house. Abbie, Lillie, and cousin Sarah thought it would be fun to try out the October freezing pool.

Grandma June with Penny and I.

Aunt Chicky

Nathan

Hula-hoop contests

Conference Weekend

We headed up to my parent's cabin for conference in October. It's alwasy to much fun to go up there and get out of the heat. My Grandma June also came into town.

Who says you can't ride a motorcycle in pajama pants?

Penny was soooo close to walking the whole weekend.

All the ladies with Grandma June. 4 Generations!

Fun at the Mesa Youth Museum

We went to the Mesa Youth Museum with Aunt Kristen and Wesley this fall. I haven't been in so long. When Abbie and Lillie were little we came here so much. It's changed a lot. The kids had a blast.

Penny even made a new friend.

First Day of Preschool

In September, Lucy started Preschool! She was soooo excited and couldn't wait to tell me that I was not staying with her at school.

Lucy and one of her preschool friends Quincie. She is doing a group where us mom's take turns teaching. I have December/Jan and it has been so cute seeing how these little kiddos interact with each other. I am enjoying spending that time with her and her little friends (5 other girls!). I am also being reminded of the fact that I will never be a full time preschool teacher :)

Lucy...

Lucy's turning 4 in a couple months, so today I asked her what kind of birthday party she wants. She said, "A string cheese party. Ha, ha ha ha!"

(she was eating string cheese at the time)

I can never get a straight answer out of this girl. She is such a crack up.

Abbie's Birthday Part 1

Our sweet little girl (not so little anymore) turned 9 in October. It ended up being 2 weeks of birthday fun. She started off her day with breakfast in bed.

She had been asking for a beach cruiser for her birthday since last May. She loves it and looks so cute riding it.

We had several parties. This one was the Randall side at the park for Abbie and Lillie

First Day of School

Abbie started 3rd grade and Lillie started 1st grade this year. They were so excited/nervous/anxious on the first day. It was fun being able to walk them to school. Lucy had to wear her back pack too!

It was a busy morning so Penny went to the school in her PJ's...she didn't mind.

When I went to pick them up they were all smiles. They loved their teachers and had a great first day. I told them to make their most exhausted faces for this pic. Pretty good, huh? So good it reminds me what great actresses they can be with the emotions :)

San Diego Trip

The Sunday before Labor Day, we were driving home from church complaining to each other how we were so sick of the heat. We wanted to do something fun for Labor Day, but we were all burnt out on swimming. Soooo... why not pack up the car and head to San Diego? My sister Lisa and her family moved to San Diego in August, so we decided we should pack up right then and go visit the Becker family. As we were getting ready, Brad had a brilliant idea that we should leave Penny home with my mom. Luckily, my mom was up for a few days with the little munchkin. We loaded up the Civic and finally got a hold of my sister after about an hour into the drive. Good thing they love us because they were super excited for the surprise.

We spent all of Monday at the beach. Adam and Aaron are getting pretty good on their surfboards already. The water was FREEZING, but that didn't stop the kiddos, or Brad.

Me and older and wiser sister Lisa.

Monday night for FHE we visited the Mormon Battalion Museum in downtown San Diego. This was an amazing museum and great to hold even our kids interest. I highly recommend it if you are in the area.