Summer is ending!

Summer has come to an end, but unfortunately the summer heat has not. Mckayla has begun her 4 year old preschool at the same school she was at last year. She really enjoys it and seems to really learn so much. She also loves to be with kids her own age. She is excited because one of her closest friends from last year is in her class again this year.

Mckayla continues to be a very active, very busy and quite talkative young girl. Her newest thing is playing a lot with her baby doll. She has to wake her baby up and give her breakfast in the morning, feed her and put her down for naps, pretend to give her a bath, read her stories and put her to bed. And baby's grandma and auntie (Mommy and Izzy) are asked to babysit when Mckayla goes to school!! Then when we pick Mckayla up she will ask if her baby took a nap or if baby had a bottle. Sometimes I think my girls are not that much like their mommy, but then I see glimpses of it- when I was little my doll Sue came everywhere with me and I pretended just like Mckayla does! So cute!!

Izzy is growing and learning with leaps and bounds. She is continuing to talk more and more and learning new words all the time. She loves to follow her big sister around and try to play whatever her sister can convince her to participate in. She can be a little stinker at times too though. Izzy likes to have two of everything- one for each hand. She had a small baby doll- similar to one of Mckayla's. Actually Izzy had two little dolls, but they did not match. So she would chase Mckayla around for her doll that matches with one of Izzy's. Well eventually we found another old doll in the toy box that matched Izzy's so she is somewhat happy with that. However, she knows Mckayla does not like it when she grabs her's, so she still attempts to take it when she gets a chance. Actually now, Izzy will spot it laying on the couch and yell "Mine!" and run and grab it. Wonder where she heard that. I also wonder if Mckayla will realize at some point that lots of what Izzy does to her, Mckayla herself has taught her through her own words and actions!!

The mom's group that I am a part of has started up again. It meets two Tuesdays a month at the Gilbert campus of our church. We used to attend the Gilbert campus but recently changed to the Tempe one, as its closer to home. I am a table leader, which means that I organize playdates and mom's nights out for the ladies at my table as well as help facilitate discussions and make people feel welcome. I enjoy being a part of the group- even though parts of being a leader can be frustrating at times.

In August we went on a lovely vacation to San Diego with my dad, step-mom Molly and rest of the family. My dad and Molly rented a condo and we stayed there a week and the rest of the family (my step-sister Patty, step sister Melissa and her husband Jason and little boy Parker, and my sister Heather) came and went as their schedules allowed. We enjoyed going to the zoo, sea world, the beach and some playing on the playground. It was a great trip and we look forward to going again next summer!!

Anyway thats a brief update on our lives right now- just keeping busy!

Below are some photos from our San Diego trip!