Back to school

It is hard to believe that another school year is starting and I have a kid in jr. High!!

I didn't want to embarrass Garrett by taking pictures at the bus stop. I was still in jammies when he left ;)

visiting santa 2012

This year we went to our usual place to see Santa. We have gone to Bass Pro Shops every year that we have been in Arizona. They have a great Santa and lots of fun activities for the kids to do while we wait in line.

They also have a free carousel for the kids to ride. I think Garrett decided that this would be his last year riding it.  He is getting a little to old for that, of course he will still be part of the Santa picture. He really has no choice about that. :)

baseball {fall 2012}

Garrett has really improved his hitting this season. During this game he scored two times! On his first at bat, he hit the ball straight down the middle and made it to first base. He was able to steal 2nd and 3rd and eventually slid into home for the score.

It was very exciting for us and for Garrett. 

halloween 2012

Phew! We made it through all the tricks and treats this year. We all decided on a pirate theme for our family and we just went with it. I made the tutu skirts for Grace and myself so we could be pirate princesses, of course!

The boys got good old store bought costumes because I ran out of time, but I think they look great! I picked up all the eye patches and swords at goodwill for cheap to complete everyone's look. 

I even got extra ambitious this year and made coordinating trick-or-treat bags for everyone. I think they were a big hit!

As you can see, I even got into the spirit of things and dressed up myself. It is hard to see in this photo, but I have a skull and crossbones painted on my shirt and a big pirate princess skirt.

And of course we made it out to Glendale for Erika's annual Halloween pizza party and trick-or-treating. This is our 3rd year going and we always have a great time. 

A bunch of cute girls!

And a great group of boys!

And lastly, here is our annual girls photo. It is fun to think that we used to trick-or-treat together when we were kids growing up and now our kids get to do the same thing!

garrett for student body president!

Garrett ran for Student Council President and here is his campaign speech.

Unfortunately, he did not win :( He did make the cut for the school talent show playing his violin, so keep an eye out for that next week!

destroyers baseball 2012

Garrett is playing baseball again this season, his team is the Destroyers. It is a really great team and his coaches are great, but we are looking forward to a break this summer :)

Garrett has had the opportunity to be one of the team catchers this season. He likes it because it is more action than being in the outfield. He is pretty good at it too!

disneyland - day 2

Our first official day at Disneyland was a huge hit! We got to see lots of characters and we made it through about half the park.

For dinner we had late reservations at Goofy's Kitchen. It was so great! There were a bunch of characters walking around to each table so that everyone had a chance to meet them without the craziness of the park. By the time we got to our table, Jack was totally worn out. He fell asleep at the table and we could not wake him up!

Monday was also Kyleigh's birthday and we celebrated in style!

Stay tuned for day 3 at California Adventure! If you want to see more pics you can visit my fb page.

disneyland - day 1

We arrived in California on Sunday afternoon and decided to head over to Downtown Disney. The kids each picked out a hat to wear and we wandered through the Disney shops. For dinner we went to a yummy pizza place. While we were there a cute guy in high school was earning extra money by making balloon creations for the kids. Grace and Kyleigh each had him make a princess crown, of course. Garrett got a ladybug bracelet and Jack got a fire breathing dragon. Hopefully, Carol took some pictures of those with her camera because this is all I have from that day.