I love this time of the year!!!!!!!!

I haven't posted on here in forever, so here's a recent pic of my little monkeys. I can't believe it is already almost Halloween! How is time flying by so fast? Last Saturday I took the kids to make pumpkins at Michael's again. (I can't believe it's already been a year since we did them last)

Here's Cade with his best bud Kennedie.

Kylah and Khloe could have cared a less about doing a pumpkin and only wanted to play with each other.

And here's my little guys finished masterpiece.

Now that the weather has actually cooled down, we have started going to the zoo again. I made the mistake of taking the kids to the water area with out swimsuits. For some reason I was crazy and thought they wouldn't get wet..... YEA RIGHT!

They of course soaked themselves in the water, but they had tons of fun so it was well worth it!

These two are turning into the best of buds. It is so much fun watching them play and interact with each other. I love these two!!!!

It's Me.....Again!

It's official I have evolved into "one of those bloggers!" I always mean to blog, but somehow I always forget.
Anyways, to begin, a couple weeks ago my little guy started preschool!!! I can't believe I am at that stage in my life where I have a preschooler! It is so mind boggling that Caden is that old. The good news is that he actually loves it! He is so stinkin cute with his little backpack! He has homework everyday, and thinks he is so big because of this. My parents are so amazing, and take him two of the three days a week while I am at school. He has adjusted very well to this, and I am so thankful for that.

Speaking of being big, Kylah is 18 months now!!! The best part of that is that she can go to the nursery at church! She is the exact opposite of her brother, and absolutely loves it. Thank goodness!!!!

I know I am a dork for celebrating an 18 months mark, but I am trying to relish all of her stages right now. McKylah's cousins come over and we ate cupcakes in celebration of her year and a half mark. Below she is with her BFF Khloe. They're just hanging out thinking about how life is good with their pacifiers!

I had to throw this pic in the post because Caden is in such a Kennedie phase right now. If you can't tell he has to be exactly like her. She spent the night, and he had to wear his Max & Ruby pj's like her, and I can't forget good Ol' Mr. Bill. That morning they made donuts with Papa and sprinkled the heck out of them! He loves his Kennedie so much, and thinks he is going to marry her. I've tried to have the we don't marry our cousins talk..... but I don't think it is sinking in! :)

***Updates***

So I have been the biggest blog slacker ever! I finally decided to write a quick update just so I can say I blogged.
Well I am officially moved in now! It is so nice being only two miles away from Wet N Wild! Cade loves going there, especially since it is of the only things you can do in the summer here. The kids are doing great, and Caden thoroughly enjoys looking for bunnies every SINGLE morning! Kylah has adjusted pretty well, and her appetite is a strong as ever! Hands down she eats Caden under the table!
As for me I started school today!!!!! This is a very exciting move for me, however very weird being back in the whole school setting again. I am lucky to have the wonderful parents that have, and they are helping out with the kids so much while I go through the program. This is a very exciting venture for me, and the best part is the I will be a RN in just two years!!!!
Well I think this about covers it for me, and I it buys me a good month or so of no guilt for not blogging!

Pics of Cade and Kylah

I had these pictures done a couple of months ago, and have been meaning to post them forever. I have been so busy with the move etc, that I haven't got a chance. Here are a few of my favorites. Thanks Brandy, I love them!

Little Miss Naughty

Yesterday, I made chocolate cupcakes for Caden's birthday. Kylah, being the piggy that she is grabbed my hand, brought me to the kitchen, pointed at the counter where the cupcakes sat, and made her usual AAAAHHH noise. I thought that since they weren't frosted yet, she wouldn't make too much of a mess, so I gave her one. Big mistake! Rather than eat it, she thought it would be a lot more fun if she crumbled the whole thing up in Mommy's hair drawer! (Side note the picture does not do justice!) Once, she was done with that, she put my high heels on and walked onto her next task........

How can such a little person cause so much havoc???????????????? :)

All in a days work

Some of you may not be aware of this, but McKylah has a full time job. She has many jobs that she does around the house to help Mommy out. Today, she woke up and decided that she needed to help Mommy by unrolling the whole roll of toilet paper. Isn't she such a good helper! After that very tiring job she needed to help Mommy redecorate the house. What better way than to add green crayon on three different walls in my house?

Aren't I so lucky to have her constantly coming up with new "chores" to do?

But, just when I think she is the reason for my gray hairs, she gives me the cutest smile while thinking she is so hysterical wearing a shirt on her head and playing peek a boo. Then I realize that I wouldn't trade any of her "chores" for the world!

Preschool Graduation

My little guy is growing up way too fast! Yesterday we did a preschool graduation for him and his friends. A special thanks to Denise for being brave enough for us to do it at her house! We did a little mock ceremony, and as the pictures shows it was sort of impossible to get them to sit still long enough to take a few shots. Cade manged to keep his hat on long enough for me to get my camera working, and then took it off right before I snapped the picture. I figure at least he is holding it in the picture! Oh well the kids still had a blast, and really only cared about playing anyhow. Regardless, it was still so cute, and I thought it came together real well. Thanks Moms! McKylah was just happy to be one of the big kids and run around the house with everyone else. As of lately if she sees the camera she immediately pulls out her cheesiest smile. Got to love that little girl!

What would Kylah do.....

If she found out she was only one, and not as big as her brother??? This little monkey has no idea how little she is. She totally thinks she is big like everyone else. Here she is wearing Caden's backpack thinking she is going to preschool. Not only have I had to give up the high chair, but I have recently given up the booster chair as well. Kylah is determined to do anything and everything that her "little" brother does. I can hardly wait for her to turn into a teenager............

***P.S. I am not a bad mother she just has that wild of hair!

Always up to no good....

To say that my McKylah is a curious little girl is an understatement. Never have I met another child that will find a way to do anything that can cause some sort of havoc. If she knows it is something she shouldn't do, the more she does it. For example, she loves to climb on top of the table and stand! This of course sends my heart into the pit of my stomach every time she successfully gets up there. She has an amazing knack of destroying anything she can get her little hands on. Today I came into the family room to see that not only had she pulled a flour sack out, but that she managed to put a hole in it and empty out the contents! That girl sure is a handful, but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Easter

A couple of days before Easter, a few of us mom's from church held a Easter egg hunt. Everyone brought at least a dozen eggs, and while the kids were off playing we hid them. Below is a picture of all of the kids. As you can tell it was impossible to get a picture of everyone looking at the camera. From the opposite side here is the mom's trying to get the kids to look at the camera.

Caden lucked out because the first set of kids to go were kids 3 and under. Two months shy of his 4th b-day Cade managed to go with the little kids. This meant finding his eggs was an easy task. It also meant I had time to go through his eggs and pick out all of the ones with peanuts and quickly put them back in the grass before anyone noticed!

McKylah didn't want to do any of the work of finding the eggs, but she was more than willing to eat the jelly beans inside them.

Lastly, on Easter morning the Easter Bunny brought Kylah a stroller for her babies. Of course she immediately had the better idea of the baby sitting on her lap while Cade pushed her around! Easter time was a lot of fun this year now that Caden understands the concept. If you ask him what Easter is about he first says toys from the Easter Bunny. Then I give him the look and then he'll say Jesus's Resurrection. I figure getting it the second try is close enough!

It's Easter....Almost.

This year the plan has been for us to go to Tucson for Easter. Therefore, we spent this past Sunday doing a Pre-Easter celebration with my family. Just like any kid would Cade loved this idea because he gets two Easter's.
Before we got to the park, my parents hid eggs all around the grass. We lined the kids up, and set them loose! The kids ran wild in search of all of the eggs.

I really thought Kylah would get into it because she loves carrying around purses and putting objects inside of them. However, she just wanted mommy and was content just holding onto her bag.

Now for the exciting news....Drum roll....... Caden was the winner with 21 eggs! He really doesn't know the difference between 21 or how he says, "eleventeen". But he knows he got the most, and that is all that matters!

I figured it is always a good way to end a post with two kids using their nebulizers! I spent the night at Mel's house for a couple of days to help her with her AIMS testing. Each night we had these two little asthmatics take their breathing treatments together and take their singular together. My what special we have! :)

Birthday Weekend

This past weekend was Gabe's B-day as well as his Mom's. To celebrate it we went down to Gabe's parents vacation home in Sonoita. Caden has been dying to ride Tata tractor, and we got a free babysitter for that night! Everyone came out ahead.
Each night Cade had to say good night to the tractor in the garage. He had so much fun driving it around. He even said he doesn't want to go to Tucson anymore because it doesn't have a tractor there!

On Monday we went to Kartchner's Cavern. I have always wanted to go there, and we were finally able to organize it. It was so much fun! Caden would have liked it more if it went a little bit faster, but he still thought it was cool. On the way back from the cave we drove through a passing with cows everywhere. Of course this made Caden's day. He loves any and all animals, and loved seeing them that close.
While in Sonoita we dyed eggs. Everybody was being bums, and didn't want to dye eggs except for me and Bernie. Luckily, Caden has us! They missed out because we had so much fun mixing the colors and decorating the eggs.

Here is the finished product! He really got into dying them this year, and since then we have had to eat them with everything!

It's Summer Time!

It may still me March, but it is time to break out the swimsuits because it feels like Summer! Trips to the park are becoming way too hot, so on Friday Mel and I opted for the splash park. This was Kylah's first time around water (that she can remember) and she absolutely loved it! She would go up close to the water, and when it would start going off she would run away laughing.
Mel and I got the the girls matching swimsuits and I think it is safe to say they were darling!

After all the fun in the water we took the kids on the train that goes around the park. The kids were getting hot so we got them popsicles to cool them down. McKylah who has no idea that she is not one of the big kids, and had to have one too. Here she is chowing on her first encounter with a popsicle. It was a success if you don't count all of the juicesthat dripped all over me. Maybe we won't get her another one until Gabe is there to hold her!

St. Patty's Day

On St. Patty's Day we went to Ikea with my brother and sister. It is the best middle point for all three of us being that we live on complete separate parts of the valley. Somehow we managed to stay there for a shocking 5 hours! In the kids area McKylah had to be a big kid of course and sit in the big chairs. However, she was willing to give up her big girl ways, and nestle in a highchair for her one true love, food.

We ended our long day with our traditional trip to Carlos O'Briens. We have been going there for the last six years to get Mexican food from this Irish Mexican restaurant.

Last but not least Naomi gave this adorable outfit to Kylah. She made the onezie with the tutu attached, the baby legs, the bow, and even shoes for her! She makes the cutest stuff! If anyone is interested in any of it she sells it online at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5638789. Thanks Naomi!

My little monkey's

You know your son is cool when:
You walk in the room to find him dancing and singing in front of the mirror while singing the chipmunks. Cade's latest obsession is Alvin and the chipmunks. His favorite one is Simon because he is the biggest (go figure). I even have to do his hair like his, and here he is wearing glasses so he can look just like him. Got to love that kid and his obsessions. You know your daughter is cool when you don't even have to try to make her hair look crazy.

And when at 13 months she refuses to sit in a highchair and she needs to sit in a chair to eat because she is big like her brother.

I have such little monkey's, but I sure do love them!

Everyone knows about this coveted drink at Disneyland. It's the delicious one right outside of the Tiki Room. We love these, and when we were there in January they were closed the whole time! So imagine our delight when these were at Duane's birthday party.

The reason I haven't been blogging lately is because I have been busy packing on the pounds. Here is a picture of me in my March swimsuit edition. Actually our good friend Duane hosted a Hawaiian Luau. He had giant sumo wrestling outfits for us to wrestle in. Shockingly I didn't get past round two.

Duane and Leah went all out for this party. Leah actually painted this backdrop with surfboards. A special thanks to wonderful TJ for letting us borrow some of your hot Hawaiian attire. Gabe's flowers are covering them, but he is wearing a coconut bra! What a hottie!

Here is the birthday boy himself. Thanks for a great time guys!

We're Back!!!!!!!!

After 18 days in Maryland we are finally back! We had so much fun visiting family, but it is so nice being home. The kids have been so busy the last couple of days reacquainting themselves with all of their toys. I still have random pictures from my trip that I need to post. On Monday we drove out to Ocean City with all of the kids. I think we picked the best day to go, because we froze our little butts off! It was truly painful being outside. The wind was blowing so hard that my ears actually hurt! Being in places like that remind just why we live in Phoenix. I will take the heat over the cold any day.

While there our plan was to walk the board walk and do all of the shops. But in turned out that most people are smart and don't go there in the dead of the winter. Practically every shop was closed, it was a total ghost town. We went into the few shops that were open, not to shop, but to warm up! After a very short time being there we decided it was seriously too cold to be there. So we quickly showed the kids the ocean and got the heck out of there. All that driving to get there and we were there for maybe 30 minutes! What a day!

Valentine's Day

On Valentines Day we gathered the kids together for a little gift. Everyone was excited except my "sweet" McKylah. And being the good mom that I am, I made sure to captured this moment.
However, once McKylah realized it wasn't all that bad, she joined in on the fun too. We got all of the kids stuffed monkey's and Caden actually likes his. He has never been into stuffed animals, but since his cousins like theirs he likes his too. He even sleeps with it at night! McKylah also likes hers, but she really had a lot of fun carrying around the gift bag and tissue paper.

For Valentines Night the adults enjoyed a wonderful dinner at Ruth Chris Steakhouse. My sister has great connections, and we only had to pay for the tip. How awesome is that? All in all it was a good day.

This might be the worst picture displaying it, but Kylah can wear her hair in ponies now! But more importantly she was reunited with her Daddy on Thursday. When Gabe flew in it had been 10 days since the kids saw him. Of course my husband being the mountain man that he is had more than enough time to grow in a beard. When Gabe walked in the door and came towards McKylah she immediately started crying. It took a good ten minutes of seeing Gabe holding Caden for her to realize he wasn't scary after all. When she finally went to him she laid her little head on her Daddy's shoulder, and gave him loves. It was the sweetest thing ever.

The past week we have been freezing our little buns off. Then out of nowhere it totally warmed up and the kids were finally able to play outside. Caden has been dying to ride Chase's new jeep that has just been calling to him in the garage. When he started driving McKylah who is 1 going on 3 had to jump in too. She just giggled the whole time. I was even able to take the kids to the zoo too! It has been so cold here that you don't go outside for any reason, so it was a real treat to enjoy a day outdoors.

McKylah turns one!!!

Today we celebrated McKylah's birthday for the mere third time. Today is her actual birthday, and we celebrated it with both Grandparent's before I left Phoenix. Below is a picture of my second attempt at getting McKylah to eat a cupcake. I set her in a highchair and she immediately went for it. But then we all started singing to her and she just lost it. It is safe to say she can go from zero to 60 in a matter of seconds. The good news is that she got over it, and actually ate a cupcake for the first time! She didn't eat too much, but at least she tried it!

On Super Bowl Sunday we celebrated with my parents. Take note of her adorable Cardinals cheerleading outfit.

She didn't get into the opening of the presents too much, but she loved it when they were put together!

A week ago we met up with Gabe's parents in Casa Grande to celebrate with them. Her favorite toy was of course her baby. She just loves all babies.

Nana and Tata were so good and even got a present for Caden. He may have to cheat in the game but he still loves it!

I can't believe that it has already been a year since I gave birth to my little fire cracker! Happy Birthday Kicky!

A slumber party & the zoo

A couple of weeks ago Cade's cousins came over for a sleepover. For sleeping arrangements we made a massive bed in Caden's room. And as to be expected the bed became a bouncing toy, and sleep was the enemy. Even so they still had a ton of fun including McKylah who thinks she is just one of the big kids. The next morning we loaded the kids into the car for a zoo day. Cade and Kennedie have become such good buds now that they are getting older. I just love it!

And the best part of the day wasn't seeing the animals, but when Mel got her hair stuck in a tree! Mel got up from the table and her hair got tangled in the branch. She started yelling for me to help, and instead I quickly grabbed my camera and started taking pictures like the good sis that I am. Luckily Jake was willing to help her out while we were all dying laughing. Thanks for providing the entertainment Mel!

Our Adventures at Disneyland!

At the beginning of January oor little family of four went to Disneyland with Robert and Bernie AKA "Nana & Tata". We spent three days in the park and truly had nonstop fun. Caden keeps asking when can we go back, and for some reason thinks he is going there on his birthday... McKylah was a good baby as usual, and pretty much went along for the ride. Nothing stood out too much for her, but while packing it was a lot of fun for her to get in and out of my suitcase!
Toon Town was one of our first stops in the park. Minnie and Goofy were the first characters that Caden got to see. All went well until Goofy made the mistake of covering up Cade's eyes while he looked into the wishing well. Anyone who knows my kid knows he has his personal space and doesn't like it to be invaded. Naturally from then on Caden did not like Goofy and still tells me how he didn't like seeing him. Okay moving on...

Is there a picture cuter than this? I really don't think so. These two have so much fun with each other and I just love how they are just smiling at each other.

So remember when I mentioned Cade's personal space? Well he is just one of those kids that doesn't like anything out of the norm. That is why we were shocked that Caden loved all of the "Big" rides in the park! We started him off small with the roller coaster in Toon Town, but it didn't stop there! His favorites were Thunder Mountain, and Splash Mountain! I can't believe he is even big enough to go on them let alone actually like them. What a stud!

To recap my child likes all of the scary rides, but when it comes playing instruments and singing with other kids count him out. When asked to play along Caden was too scared even though I was there playing an instrument too! You really never know what kind of reaction you will get with this little guy!

Meanwhile McKylah is thinking, "When aren't these people going to give me a nap! Can't they see how tired I am!" McKylah was such a trooper the whole time we were there. Each day she only got about a 40 minute nap. The funny thing was that every time she fell asleep it was was riding Pirates of the Caribbean. Which means parents take note if you want your kids to take a nap, go on that ride!

Out of all of the people in the world that I could run into at Disneyland I run into none other than LISA! She thought we were going a few weeks later, and on a whim her and Ben drove there before school started up again. It was so funny running into Lisa of all people because I have been to Disneyland with her a handful of times before. On the last night that we were there Gabe and I put the kids to bed and left them with Gabe's parents and we went out with Lisa and Ben. So not only did we have fun in the park, but we managed to squeeze a late night date in too! Score for us!

At California Adventure there is a spot for kids to take pictures with Tow Mater & Lightening McQueen. And of course Cade loved shining these guys.

Thanks to Robert and Bernie and rider switch passes, Gabe and I got to ride all of the rides! It was such a good time of the year to go. We walked right onto so many rides!
What better way to end this post than with a picture of Caden on "Pride Rock", or at least what Caden referred to as that.

We had so much fun at Disneyland and even Gabe and I can't wait to go again. Thanks for coming Robert and Bernie!

I am very lucky because McKylah is a really good eater. However, the little stinker does not like fruit or any sweets for that matter. I mean what kind of kid doesn't like fruit??? But, the good news is that two weeks ago I finally got her to eat some watermelon! Granted it probably lacks the most nutritional value of all the fruits, but hey it's a start. On top of that when we were in Disneyland she ate applesauce for the first time! Hopefully, she will start liking sweets, (but not like her mother does...)
On the other hand when it comes to vegetable this kid can't get enough. She just loves them. She eats green beans for breakfast! One night we had corn on the cob for dinner. Caden got up to go to the bathroom really quick, and this little monkey stole his corn! Here she is caught red handed!

Speaking of being caught red handed here is Caden picking his nose! We went to Build a Bear for Kennedie's party, and apparently he really needed to get this one out. Thanks for making your mother so proud!

A Christmas full of Traditions

We have waited 4 Christmas's for Caden's turn, but this year he finally got to put the baby Jesus in the manger! It is a tradition in Gabe's family for the youngest child to do this on Christmas Eve. We all sing silent night as we walk into the room while the baby is placed in the manger. Caden got to be Joseph, and Ruby was Mary. I was so afraid that he was going to get up there and not want to do it, but he totally was into and did a great job.
Oddly, the intent of this picture is not to showcase Caden's really cool ear, but to show another tradition of laying out cookies for Santa, and carrots for his reindeer.

Christmas morning was such a blast. Caden was so cute, and wanted to open up McKylah's presents first. This year was the first year that he really got into it and it was so much fun just watching his expression. McKylah on the other hand really didn't care and was mad that her slumber was disturbed.

Once he opened up a few of Kylah's presents, Caden realized that it was that much fun after all. Naturally he quickly transitioned and began to tear through all of his.

After taking a four plus hour nap McKylah was ready to be happy and play with all of her new toys. We had a wonderful Christmas and lucky for us Caden is already asking when Christmas is coming again!

Happy Anniversary!

I can hardly believe it, but today Gabe and I celebrated our 6th year anniversary! My how the time has flown. I have had a wonderful 6 years, and look forward to the many more that come.I truly have a great husband who is such a perfect match for me. Six years ago I would have never of guessed that one day I would be the mother to these little monkeys. They have brought so much joy to my life and I am so thankful to have them. Happy Anniversary babe! P.S. You might be wondering what is going on in this picture.. Kylah is playing the fun "sit on your head" game with her bother. Caden thought it was so hilarious when she would sit on him. All weekend long in Tucson they played in the port o crib just playing with each other. I am so lucky to have these two.

Au Revoir My Beloved Diet Coke!

So it totally pains me to do this post, but my New Years resolution is to can diet coke (no pun intended.) I have totally become a pop-aholic and drink one everyday. It is such a gross thing to be loading my body up with, and I figure the new year is a great time to quit. So since I am an addict, and can't just go cold turkey I have developed a plan of action. Starting today I can only have Diet and Caffeine free Coke. I am starting with that to get me off of the caffeine addiction that I have to my best friend Mr. Cola. Then once I get over all of the headaches and wanting to shoot everyone with in close proximity of me, and I will stop drinking all together. I am crossing my fingers that it won't be too hard to do because lets face I only drink it for the caffeine anyways! I am hoping that by posting this for everyone to read, I will stick to my guns for fear of everyone thinking I am a failure. So everyone raise your diet coke's as we toast to a new years of quiting! *Disclaimer*
This email may be deleted in a couple of days when I come to my senses and realize I never want to quit!

I am a little behind on my postings due to the holidays. So here is a few things we have done the past month. Two weeks ago we went with one of my favorite friends Linsdey and her husband Greg to Glendale Glitters. It is a free fair that is held down town every year. There is a bunch of bouncers for the kids to play in, yummy food, tons of lights, face paintings, and of course ponies! Anyways even though we were freezing our Arizona bums off it was a lot of fun for everyone.
Off to the right Cody is sliding down the Lightening McQueen slide. What you don't see is him going back up again for a second time until the worker stops him.

Here is me shoving my finger into Lindsey's ear. Sorry about that!

Okay enough with the Glendale Glitters, the day after Thanksgiving we met up with my brother and his family at Desert Ridge. Lucky for us we got there just as they were doing a free "The Little Gym" show. After watching Tatum and Paetyn play on stage for a couple of minutes, Caden decided to join in on the fun two. Nash and Kylah got to hang out in the stroller while they watched their siblings act like dinosaurs.

Speaking of dinosaurs here is one below. To quote Naomi here is a, "Cadeosaurus."

If you look closely at this picture you will see that Tatum and Paetyn are running together holding hands! I can't wait until my munchkins do that!

Always up to no good...

McKylah is at that wonderful stage where she loves to get into everything and fit into everywhere. But, with a smile like that, can this little monkey do any wrong?

I really don't think so.

Life has been pretty hard for us lately having to already celebrate two Christmas's. My parents are ditching us this year, so we had Christmas on Tuesday. Melanie, Michael, Matt, and their families came to my parents to play X-mas with us. To say that it was overload of presents would be an understatement. Here are some random pictures of our gathering:

Matt, Naomi, and Nash

Mel, Jake, Kennedie, and Khloe

Michael & Carrie

Below is a small glimpse of the mess. My mom spent countless hours shopping and wrapping, only to be left with this mess in a matter of minutes.

Kylah and Khloe are only six months apart. Right now McKylah tries to steal her pacifiers and eat her head, but one day they will be best friends.

Two days before that Gabe's sister Lupe and her husband Sharif came up for another pretend Christmas. And of course this is the only picture I managed to get. Here is Caden opening up his webkins lion. When choosing a name for his lion, he decided on a really unique one so he chose Simba... Go figure.

It's Christmas Time!

In efforts to cut down on expenses Jeanne and I swapped kids for a date night with our hubbies. When it was my turn to watch the kids we watched Christmas movies, and made a ginger bread house.Things to take into account is: the picture on the box is always deceiving, and half of the candy is going to be eaten by the time the house is done. With that in mind I think it turned out pretty well.
On the subject of X-mas, two weeks ago we put up our Christmas tree while Gabe's parents were in town. And of course it is one those trees that you have to put every single branch on. Right about the time we got done fluffing, and decorating it, the dang thing toppled over! The poll was pretty bent from the year before, and only got worst. We tried everything we could to fix it, but it kept falling over. Just when we thought we had it working again, it fell over right next to McKylah. So as you can guess we figured it probably wasn't the best of ideas to keep it up. So later that night we went to the store and bought a pre-lit already assembled tree. We made sure it was one of those easy ones made for people who had already put one up earlier in the day, and didn't want to go through the hassle of doing it again.

So it maybe smaller now, but it was a lot less work which means it is a lot better!

The Train Park

The day after Thanksgiving we spent the day at the Train Park in Scottsdale. It was our first time going there, and it was such a cute place. It is a massive park with old trains, a carousel, a cute little shop, tons of playground equipment, and there is even a train that rides around the park. We packed lunches with the left over turkey and had a picnic. Afterwards the kids explored the park, rode the train and the carousel. Here is little Miss Khloe happy as can be because she has her mommy. McKylah actually rode on a horse while her Papa held her.

This is the front of the train we rode around the park.

Here is some of us while we are waiting for the ride.

Thank you everyone that went with us. It was a lot of fun, and I think we need to make it a tradition to go there after Turkey Day.

Bear Down Arizona-A post from Gabe

So I have been waiting for this day to come........U of A football finally coming around with a winning season and most importantly kicking the Scumdevils A#$!!!. It wasn't even a game U of A put up a total of 389 offensive yards to ASU's 162, yes that is over twice as many yards, and we put up 24 second half points, with a final score of 31 to 10. The best of all is not only do we have the bragging rights back but we kept ASU from a bowl game and ended their wonderfully nice, extremely humble (Sarcasm noted) QB's college career with a wooping. Now comes the Las Vegas Bowl and the BYU Cougars so bring on those dang Mormons........

Deep thoughts by Caden

Here is a sample of our conversation while I am folding up laundry:

Caden: "Hey, Mom did you paint me?"
Mom: "What do you mean Bud?"
Caden: "Who painted all of the kids, did you?"
Mom: "Do you mean how were all of the kids made?"
Caden: "Yeah, how did you make me?"
Mom: "Actually, even though you and your sister grew in Mommy's belly, Heavenly Father made you."
Caden: "How did he make us, did he use clay?"

Turkey Day

We spent Thanksgiving this year at my parent's house. My siblings and I arrived shortly around noon. We then stuffed our faces with appetizers to prepare our bellies for the feast to come. Afterwards we headed outside for a walk around the neighborhood (as if that was going to help the damage we were about to do). Here are my two favorite boys in the whole world!

So these pictures are all jumbled up. Here are is my niece Paetyn holding my other niece Khloe (Kylah's future BFF).

This is one proud Papa holding two of his 14 grandchildren.

We were so glad that Matt, Naomi and their kiddos were able to make it this year. We had such a fun time!

Here is a random picture I took on our short hike behind my parents house.

Just by chance McKylah and Kylie happened to wear the exact same outfits that day! While Kylie looked cute, I will always think my sweetie looks the cutest! Sorry Mel. :)

After our Thanksgiving dinner it is tradition for everyone to go to the movies. We saw Madagascar, and it would have been a great time at the theatre if it wasn't for the fact that Caden had diarrhea...... on me! I was holding him on my lap when I felt something wet on my leg. I then felt his pants and realized they were wet too. He got so into his movie, that he didn't want to stop and go to the bathroom, and apparently something at dinner didn't sit right. Ahh the joys of parenting! But wait it gets better. Once, we got back to my parents house McKylah started throwing up..... on my lap. So with in a matter of 2 hours I had one kid poop on me, and the other throw up on me. It was a Thanksgiving to remember!

It's Zoo Season Again!

We have annual passes to the Phoenix Zoo, but really only get to go 6 months out of the year due to the weather. Therefore, during those months I try to cram in as much zoo time as possible. The weather is finally nice enough to go, and we have been so excited about going. Last week my sister and I started our zoo trips up again. Here is Mel with little miss Khloe. She is such a good baby! She just laid in Mel's Pod the entire time! Speaking of good babies little chunky McKylah was happy as long as she had food on her tray.

I accidentally forgot my camera, and Mel's girls were more than willing to take pictures of themselves for me. Here is Kennedie apparently practicing her balancing abilities.

Thanks Sis for coming with us we had a lot of fun!

Spider Webs and Cows

The other day Caden was playing in the backyard with his friend Dillon. While playing, I was in the kitchen feeding McKylah her favorite food green beans. A few minutes into her feeding Caden came into the house and told me he made a spider web outside. I then said,"good job bud" not really thinking about it figuring that he probably drew a web with chalk. He then said, "come and see it." So I cleaned up McKylah and walked outside to amuse him, only to see he wasn't kidding about making a spiderweb! The kids found one of Gabe's old baseballs, and unraveled it! So while this was a ton of fun to get down, I thought it was pretty amusing that it really was a spider web. Since we are on the topic of Cade's creativity here is one of his masterpieces. While I was making dinner, Caden was busy building with his blocks. He told me he made a cow. And of course I congratulated him on his project not really thinking he made a cow out of blocks. But, when he went to show it to me I could see how he really thought it was a cow. Caden explained to me that the brown wood was his body, the orange block was his tail. The red cylinders were horns, the red squares were his eyes, the orange triangle was a mouth, and the green block was his hair! This kid cracks me up, and I just love all of the things he comes up with. I needed to blog this so that I could remember some of his artwork.

I've been tagged....

My cousin tagged with the whole quirks email. I have been real lazy about doing it, but I finally decided to get it over with. So here are 6 quirks about me.... (quick side note, who seriously comes up with all of these tags???)



1. Okay so this quirk started during pregnancy and just won't go away. I don't sleep with just one pillow, but a whopping SIX pillows! That is right I sleep with two for my head, one behind my head, one for my tummy, one for my back, and one for my feet! It is seriously out of control. When we go out of town our trunk is full of pillows.



2. Meat grosses me out. If I could I wouldn't eat meat at all. However, in efforts to be healthier I try to incorporate it into my diet for protein. And when I do eat meat I have to dissect the heck out of it to make sure all of the "gross" things are out. My reasons for not liking it are strictly mental, but regardless it is still such a gross concept to me.



3. I hate it when people smack their food! It is simply a matter of bad manners to me.



4. I am a clean freak and that is an understatement. I seriously can't go to bed if our house isn't clean. No matter how busy my day is, I will still make time to make the house tidy. Even if I am running late for something, I can't help but clean up messes while I am getting ready.



5. I have to always be doing something. I can't just sit and do nothing. Even if Gabe and I are watching movie, I typically will fold up laundry or do something to keep me busy so I am just not sitting. One of the downfalls of this is that I have a hard time just relaxing. At night it takes me forever to fall asleep because I just can't relax. I would like to blame my father for this! (I still love you dad!)



6. I am addicted to water! I know that this is a good thing, but I have to have it with me at all times. I have to have it in the car, at the store, I even drink a least a full cup during the night! And of course this doesn't help with me not sleeping well either. I just can't help it. I hate having my throat feel dry. I am even drinking some as right now as I type!

Okay so now you all know all of my weird quirks. I would now tag someone, but I think pretty much everybody has already done this tag. But, if anyone hasn't I tag you@!

I was in jail

Okay so maybe it wasn't a real jail, but saying that is a definite attention grabber. The jail is actually a prop in a mock western town. This past weekend we went to Tucson and took pictures with Gabe's family. We all wore our U of A clothes. Little miss McKylah wore the cutest cheer leading outfit, and looked so darn cute! And of course I don't have any pictures of it. Earlier in the day we went to the Desert Museum. Here is Kylah riding on a coyote.

McKylah was such a good baby the whole time we were at the zoo. She even fell right to sleep on her daddy.

Here are the kiddos with Nana, Tata, and Auntie Lupe.

Below is three generations of the boys. This is also what Caden referred to as "Pride Rock". If you didn't already guess Lion King is his favorite movie, and everything has to do with it.

Speaking of lions, here is an up close picture of one. The zoo had a little window that viewers could look through to see the mountain lions. It just so happened that one of them was sleeping right next to the glass. Which means outside of the glass, I was just inches away from him!

Lisa got married!!!!

On Friday my best friend Lisa suckered a guy into marrying her! :) Okay just kidding about the suckering part. She actually had a beautiful ceremony at the temple that Gabe and I literally made it to one minute before it started! I would like to blame it all on traffic, and take no responsibility.

Here were are on the temple grounds. Caden kept refusing to smile for the picture. I can't remember what we were threatening him with to smile....... But at least it worked. At the reception my long lost friend Simone from EAC came! I haven't seen her in 3 and a half years! I had no idea she was even coming. It was such a wonderful surprise to see her and catch up. And of course I can't forget Kara. Kara I love you so much and I am so glad that you are living so much closer now!

So I can't believe what little pictures I took. I got such few ones of the Bride and Groom. The pixels on my camera got so messed that none of them turned out. :( Here is Lisa and Ben the happy newly weds. Lisa your dress was so gorgeous and you looked beautiful!

So I have been so bummed because I didn't think I got any pictures on Halloween. But, when I was looking on my camera I found some that Gabe must have taken! On Halloween night we met with friends to go trick or treating. Before we went out everyone in Jeanne's culdesac ate pizza and the kids ran around. By the time it was time to actually go out for the candy, little miss Kylah was all tuckered out. We knew she was just going to fall asleep so we took off her adorable Tinker Bell outfit. Therefore, she never actually wore it for Halloween. :( Anyways Nana bought her this cute little pumpkin outfit so she was still festive at least. Here she is sleeping while Darin pushed her around the whole time. Thanks!

So you might look at this picture and think what on earth happened to Caden's room? The answer is preschool of course! It was my turn to teach preschool this week. Here is the result of the kids hard at work at my house!

This week we made scary Halloween hands, and caterpillars. Notice in the picture one of the kids has a bad mom and let him go shirtless.......

Last Weekend

Last Sunday was my adorable little niece Khloe's blessing. She had the cutest dress in the world, but of course I never got a picture of it. :( However, I did get a picture of Kylie. Kylie who is also my niece, is holding 10 inches of her hair in this picture! My sweet Kylie wanted to cut off all of her long hair to send it into Locks of Love. For those of you who don't know what Lock's of Love is it is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. (So I didn't type all of that up, I copied it from their website.) Anyways, I just wanted to include this on my blog because I thought Kylie was being a wonderful example by doing this. Way to go Ky! Earlier that weekend we went with Gabe's parents to the pumpkin festival in Queen Creek. Even though it was pretty hot, we still had a lot of fun. The first ride we tried to get Caden on was the airplanes. He was all for it until he realized we couldn't go with him. So here he is having a grand ol' time.

So while Caden was not too keen on the scary airplanes he was all about the roller coaster! I couldn't believe he really wanted to go on it. So we stood in line with him fully aware that last minute he would back out. Bu he actually went on it and loved it! His smile was priceless! I wish I could have captured it on camera. He even wanted to go again! However, Gabe and I did find it rather funny that he would go on a roller coaster, but not an airplane. Got to love that kid!

There were so many things to do on the farm. Here is the Boys (Gabe, Caden, & Tata) doing a ball toss.

After that we went on a hay ride through some of the farm. One of the stops was seeing this group of deer. In the middle of the picture was the male deer. He was surrounded by all female deer. And whenever a male deer came close to the females he made the loudest noise to make them back off. It was the most amusing thing to witness. He just sat amongst the women while the male deers were further off. If one of the female deer got near a male deer he did the weird belching noise again. It was very interesting to say the least.

Lastly, they did a pig show. They let kids choice who they wanted to win, and then they had the pigs do a quick race around a half circle. It was pretty funny!

Palin & Obama are together!

Yep, that is right Palin and Obama went to a Halloween party together. On Saturday our friend Tina hosted a Halloween party. The only problem was we didn't know what to go as. Then it hit me. How hilarious would it be if we went as Palin and Obama! With a homemade presidential pin, glasses, and hair extensions I was able to pull off Sarah pretty well if I do say so myself. Of course the real funny one was Gabe. We bought some theatrical face paint, and you can't tell in this picture, but his ears are fake! Gabe has really small ears and Barack has pretty big ones, so we needed to buy bigger ones. They actually are elf ears! Crafty Jeanne cut them, and moulded them to look more like Obama's ears. It worked and Gabe looked awesome! Anyways, our costumes turned out to be pretty funny, and we had a blast at the party. Thanks Tina!

Costumes & Showers

On Sunday we did a mock Halloween at my parents house. All of the grandkids dressed up and went over to Grandma and Papa's. Of course Caden went as none other than Peter Pan. He then insisted that McKylah be TinkerBell. And as luck would have it Gabe already had stuff to be a pirate. All Gabe needed was a wig and a hat, and Darren had both of them! So here is my Neverland family.
And everyone knows it isn't Halloween with out Papa's famous Spooky Town. I think I developed my love for Fall from my dad. He loves this time of the year, and gets so into it. At his house he has a table set up when you walk into the door of what the grandkids have named Spooky Town. It's a spooky Halloween village that lights up and makes scary noises. The kids (and Papa) love it. So Dad now this can be the envy of everyone who reads my blog.! :)

On Tuesday of last week with a lot of help from my mom, I threw a shower for Lisa. For the little bit of effort that I put into it, it turned out pretty well. Thanks Mom!

But more importantly only two more weeks to go Lisa!!! I can't wait!

The Quiroz Kiddo's

The following is what happens when I let Caden chose his clothes. In 150 degree weather he wants to wear monster socks to his knees, gloves, a cowboy hat, and of course his perfectly matching Lightening McQueen crocs. He has an amazing fashion sense Last Sunday Cade decided he needed to look just like daddy. He had to wear a red shirt and jeans like him. And of course don't forget the backwards U of A hat. Then Caden told me, "I am getting so big like Gabe, and pretty soon there will be two Gabe's". So apparently he takes the term "being just like daddy" literally.

And for the best news of all, my baby is crawling! Once I figure out how to add a video on here I will post one. This past Thursday my little baby whom I am refusing to believe is getting bigger crawled for the very first time! It is so funny to see how amused she is to go everywhere around the house. It is like a new little world for her.

Pumpkins and Dinner

This past weekend Gabe actually had three days in a row off! It was so nice! Caden loved spending so much extra time with his daddy. On Saturday we met with my parents at Michaels. ( I just love that store) Anyways for just five bucks you got a pumpkin and you got to decorate it in the store. It was such a fun idea. I helped Caden pick out his pumpkin, and Papa helped draw the face. Then a worker cut the face out. Afterwards Cade got to decorate his pumpkin however he wanted. Here is the finished project. I think it is safe to say his pumpkin was a one of a kind. Thanks Mom and Dad Caden loved it!

Later that night we actually we went out with friends. We went to one of the new restaurants at Westgate. We got there at 6:30 and did not sit down until around 8:30! We were there forever! We were going to go to a corn maze afterward, but it would have been closed by the time we got there. Even though it took so long at the restaurant we still had fun. After all it was a night with out the kids. Considering that we could have starred at a wall and still had fun!

While waiting to be seated brave Sarah decided to ride the mechanical bull. They give you two tries, and she rode it the full 8 seconds! Way to go Sarah! Thanks for providing the entertainment!

Seeing Friends

This week I have been double lucky. I have been able to catch up with some friends that have moved away. On Tuesday I met up with Lisa and Kara. The three of us were able to do a session. It was so much fun to do it together. Next time we go Kim you just need to fly in, I don't care how far away Hawaii is. :) On Thursday night me and some other girls from church met up with cute preggers Lindsay. She is town for a couple of weeks, and we were able to squeeze in a quick GNO. We met at Applebee's, and then went to Westgate to hangout. In this picture you can hardly even tell she looks pregnant! You make me sick! JK It was good to see you Lindsey and you look so good!

Tolmachoff Farms

On Monday Jacy, Lindsey, and I took our kiddos to Tolmachoff Farms. This was our first time going, but it was so much fun! It is definitely catered to little kids which is perfect for Caden. Here he is grinding corn to feed the chickens. On the farm there were little bikes and tractors for the kids to ride around in.

Here are the mommies.

There was an extremely large horse there that was very ferocious and scary.

Or it was a little pony, and this is as close as Caden would get to it.


I was so proud of Caden for being such a big boy and going in the car by himself with Cody. Here they are having the ride of their life.

Oh wait, he did that for maybe five seconds, and then cried until I got into the car with him. So here we are on our drive.

The good news is that Caden was not the only kid to be scared. Here is Jacy hopping in with Payson.

We had so much fun on the farm. Thanks ladies!

Why the heck are my kids so big?

On Saturday we went with Gabe's parents to pick out a pumpkin. Of course I brought my camera and had to get pics of the kiddos in the pumpkins. But little did I know that it was going to be so sad! Here is my 8 month old McKylah looking so dang big! While I was looking at it I remembered getting a pic of Caden like that when he was little. So I pulled it up and realized he was only 4 months old in this picture! That is younger than McKylah even is! When did my babies get so old!!!!! I am looking into time machines so if anyone knows of one please let me know.

However, on the upside of my Caden and McKylah getting bigger, they are becoming the cutest little friends. I walked in the room later that day to see them sitting in the same position watching TV together. It was the sweetest thing. So while it is so sad that they grow up so fast, I am loving this too.

WE'RE BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This past Saturday my mom and the kids and I left beautiful Maryland. Below is a picture of Mandy's neighborhood. Almost daily I would ride my bike through what Caden referred to as, "the forest." When we left the weather was in the 60's and rainy. When we landed in Phoenix it was around 100 degrees and hotter than heck! I normally wouldn't be excited to come home to this, but I was dying to see my husband. The kids and I missed him a ton.

While I was gone Gabe became a mountain man. Only my husband can grow a full beard in just two weeks! When Caden saw him he asked him, "Where did you get your hair at?" He thought he bought it at the store. Anyways we had so much fun, but we are so glad to be home again!

Still in Maryland........

So we are still here, and we are still having so much fun. This past Saturday was my niece's b-day party. It was in my sister's backyard, so McKylah played on the grass for a lot of it. Oddly, I think it was her first time playing in it. It has been so hot in Phoenix so she hasn't got a chance to experience it yet. When I sat her down she entertained herself in it for the longest time. It was the coolest thing for her to run her little hands in. Here is the birthday girl herself! I can't believe she is already ten years old!

They had a massive slide as well as a bouncing machine. Shockingly Caden actually went down the slide! Caden is normally so cautious and doesn't like trying new things. However, seeing his cousins do it made him want to join in on the fun.

A trip to the park

On Wednesday I went to take the kids to the zoo. There is a beautiful zoo in Salisbury, and the best part is that it is FREE! Anyways I loaded all the kids in the car and drove to the zoo only to find out it closed at 4:30! And of course it was about 4:25 when we got there. So I made the kids walk as fast as their little legs could carry them. We were able to see the llamas and buffalo's before they announced on the speakers that they were kicking us out.

The good news is that right outside the zoo is the cutest park ever! I am pretty sure the kids were more excited about the park than the zoo.

The park was massive and had tons of playground equipment. I even joined in on the fun.

There were all kinds of animals just roaming the park. They were obviously used to people, so they would just walk right up to you.

I think it is safe to say that this park beat out all of the parks by our house.

Missing Gabe...but loving Maryland!

Early Saturday morning, after the Twilight Party (I'll post those pictures later), the kids and I boarded a plane and headed for Maryland. The kids actually did pretty well with the five hour flight with all things considered. It is so nice to come back here and visit family, not to mention Maryland is absolutely beautiful this time of the year. I actually put McKylah in long sleeved yesterday! It is so refreshing to get away from the heat and come here. Everything is so green and Caden has had a blast playing with his cousins. Here is a picture of what green grass actually looks like. While my brother in law was mowing his lawn he found a nest of mice underneath the dog's house. At first I thought seeing it would be gross, but when he showed them to me I too thought they were pretty cute.

It is amazing to me how wooded the backyards are not mention the lack of fences here. When we drove in Caden thought we were in the forest.

Here is my little sweetie. She too has been having a lot of fun. She is totally enthralled by the cat, and tries to get him.

I was taking a picture of Kylah by the staircase and naturally the girls needed to jump in to.

We are having so much fun here, but of course we are missing Gabe like crazy! See you soon!

Hall & Oats Baby!

So this weekend our friend Jennifer invited us to a charity event supporting six different charities. Gabe and I along with four other couples were picked up at Jennifer's house by none other than a limo. It was such a snug fit with all of us, but that made for that much more fun! Here's a picture of some of us while we drove to the Arena.

It is hard to make out in this picture, but the court was filled with tables for the event. Each chair had a bag that was loaded with all kinds of goodies. For dinner Out Back Steakhouse catered the entire thing. And of course it was soooo good. Considering my distaste in the majority of meat, Gabe was very happy that they served fish and steak, because that meant double the helpings for him.
After dinner they did an auction to raise money for the charities that were involved.

To end the night Hall & Oats did a concert. Gabe and I are not fans, but we did have to admit that it was a fun concert. Our table was right in front of the stage. Towards the end Natalie, and I were brave and stood in the front of the stage. We were literally a foot away from the band. It was a total blast! Thanks Jennifer!

The next night we went to my parents house to celebrate my nephew Kai turning one. Here he is with my sister in law.

I can't believe that my baby is already big enough to play toys with Kai. They are going to have so much fun when they get older. (Assuming I let McKylah get any bigger. :)

Preschool, messy kids, & goodbyes

Me and six other moms recently started a joy school for our three year old's. I was the one who "lucky" enough to start it off. For two hours two days a week the kiddos rotate between houses. I think that the week went pretty well, however I am so EXCITED that I don't have to do it for 6 more weeks! It was an adventure in itself just getting the kids to sit down at the table. Even though it was a little hectic having that many kids here, I think this will be a good thing, and I am excited to see how it plays out. This picture is a what happens when a mom asks her husband to feed the baby. I honestly think he had to paint the food onto her face to get her that dirty. I know Gabe was thinking if I do a bad job Meg won't ask me to do it again.... Well jokes on him! It was just a bigger mess for him to clean up!

Wednesday we did a little going away party for Alina. She is back to Idaho for the school year. I just don't see why she can't wait until after the Twilight party. I mean hello! Anyways it was a lot of fun to say our goodbyes and just be girls. We'll miss you Alina!

What a "crappy" week!

For starters I would like to thank everyone for all of the advice on little McKylah's bum. Thank goodness it is finally getting better! I found it pretty funny that I think every mom uses butt paste. We love that stuff too. However, it wasn't doing a darn thing for her. What finally worked for me was cooked flour! Cheri gave me the idea and I was willing to try anything. Shockingly it actually worked. So thanks Cheri! We will have to remember that one. This past Saturday was my neice's Paeytn's birthday party. It was the cutest little theme. It was Diva's & Pirates. It is kind of hard to tell in the picture, but my sister in law made the cake, and the topper is a purse! She is so dang crafty it kills me! Anyways naturally McKylah got diarrhea all over her dress on the way to the party. Thank goodness though because Naomi had the cutest dress ever for her to wear!

Here is Caden and Papa AKA Pirates! I think my dad enjoyed it more than Caden! :)

Naomi did all of the girls hair, and painted their faces. Here is Kennedie showing off how cute she looks.

Here are my other diva neices strutting their stuff. The party theme was so cute. You did such a good job Naomi!

How did Gabe ring in Labor Day? By killing 14 doves of course! Gabe woke up at 3:30 in the morning to go dove hunting with my brother and friends. Here are his and Michael's birds lined up. And don't worry all of you anti hunters, Gabe eats the meat. However, that will be one meal that I will let him cook himself!

Lastly, Dillon & Ethan came over the other day and the boys made snow. It was so much fun! I even played in it!

Going back to the basics...

McKylah has a horrible diaper rash as a result of her teething, and her diapers are only making it worse. Therefore, I am going back to the basics; CLOTH DIAPERS!!!! Oddly I already have a ton on hand (long story) for her to wear. This is just a temporary thing until it clears up. But until then I have a felling I am going to hate my life!!!! But on the bright side how stinkin cute does she look in them? If anyone has any recommendations of any ointments I would love to hear. I have tried all of the traditional ones, and it still looks horrible. :(

Afro's & Teeth

My little sweetie cut her first tooth! It is barely breaking through the skin, but it still counts. If it wasn't for her drooling, and chewing on everything I would have never even known that she was teething! I don't know where I found this kid, but she is such a good baby at everything! When Caden was teething I wanted to pull my hair out! I really got lucky with this little girl.

Oh and regards to the wig.....
Gabe and Darren were playing dress up the other night.....and they each took turns wearing Gabe's 70's wig. After everyone wore it, little Ethan wanted me to put it on McKylah. How hilarious does she look??? I think it might be a good look for her... So you really can't tell at all in this picture, but here is her first tooth.

A quick funny....

Okay so I love the random little things that Caden comes up with. The other night when I was putting him to bed he told me that he knew what he wanted from Santa. I of course asked what it was. He then replied, "dust!" Then he jumped out of his bed and through his arms in the air, and said, "I want fairy dust so I can fly like Peter Pan!" How cute is that! The funny thing is he really isn't kidding. He really thinks he would be able to fly if he had fairy dust. Reasons like this are why are really don't want Caden to get any older. I love how naive he is.

And here is my constant sweetheart enjoying any food that goes into her mouth. I love my kids!

Khloe is here!

My beautiful sweet niece Khloe arrived yesterday. The little chunker was a few weeks early, but yet she was still 8lbs 3 oz. We have been awaiting her arrival for a long time, and are so glad that she is finally here. She is a good little girl so far, lets cross our fingers that she will remain that way. Here are the future BFF's. That's right McKylah and Khloe are going to be the best pals. Sadly, my little girl looks ginormous next to her. When did McKylah get so big? :( Anyways these girlie's are only six months apart, and they will be in the same grade. They are going to have so much fun together.
Oh and I can't forget to give a special thanks to Melanie for carrying my adorable niece for nine months:) We love you guys!

Brea's Birthday

On Friday a group of us girls got together at Tif's house to celebrate Brea's birthday. We did a potato bar, and Tif being so dang cute served it to us in a margarita cup! The food was so yummy, and of course her chocolate cake was too die for! To celebrate Brea's b-day, everybody brought her 28 random things. It was hilarious to see what everyone brought. Afterwards we all headed out side with kiddos, and enjoyed some time in the pool. Thanks for the party Tif, and happy birthday Brea!

Twilight......My happy place

So last night was the long awaited release of the fourth book in the Twilight series. As many of you know I am an addict. Luckily, for me many other women are too. We met together at Barnes & Nobel at 10pm for midnight release. It was so fun! It was pretty amusing to be moms surrounded by a bunch of teenagers. At 11:59 we even did a countdown. We are such losers!

The night before the book came out a bunch of us girls went over to Jeanne's house to make t-shirts to wear. Since we met at Jeanie's she sent Darrin and her kids to my house so we could party at hers. When I got home that night I found the three of her kids lined up in my bed sleeping. How cute do they look!

Here we are making a shirts and just being girls.

Thank you ladies for playing along with my obsession. I had so much fun! I guess we need to start planning for the movie now.....

Bowling with the Turners

For FHE we went bowling with the Turners. It was Caden's first time bowling, and he had so much fun. Of course Cheri and I had to still be moms and didn't really get into it, but Gabe and Cory were totally competing. It was really amusing to watch them. I am pretty shocked at how good both of them were. They were neck and neck, and Gabe ended up winning by one point. Way to go Gabe. But according to Brady we were all winners. :) Here is Gabe doing his cute bowling pose

I would say this is cute Cory, but I will leave Cheri to say that.

While we were busy bowling Kylah was mastering the art of holding up her own bottle. It is a very involved task.

Lastly here is Cory helping the little guys bowl on a ramp. They were so cute to watch!

Oh and you might notice there are no pictures of me and Cheri. We both made a truce to not put each other on our blogs. :)

Last week

Okay so this is going to be a long post, but I am behind on updating. So here is a summary of what went on from today to last week:

Tonight we went to a good family friends wedding. Here I am with Helen my childhood best friend.
Caden had so much fun there. He was pretty much the only guy there. He spent the night chasing all of the little girls around. It was hysterical to watch him. He literally asked one of them to dance with him. However, when they got to the dance floor. She started running around, and he just chased her. Way to go Caden!

Last night we went with Matt & Naomi to Starry Nights at the zoo. It was really cool to see the animals out at night. However, holy crap Phoenix truly is the hottest place on the planet! At 8 o'clock at night we were still sweating like crazy, and I seriously poured a bottle of water down my shirt just to cool down. From now on I will remember that outdoor activities should not be permitted here in the summer.

Here's Caden with his cousins while they take a break from running around.

Nash is getting so dang big, and he is so darn cute!

Luckily, the splash park was open to somewhat cool the kids down.

Earlier this week I came into my family room to see that Caden & Hadlee had taken all of the cushions off the couch. Apparently, they needed to build a fort to keep their animals safe. Thanks a lot Papa for giving him the fort building idea....

Here is my sweetie while those two were busy having a messy party.

And lastly last weekend we went to Gabe's parents vacation house in Sonoita. On the way back it rained so hard they we literally had to go five miles an hour while Gabe tightly gripped the steering wheel so we wouldn't go off the road. I have never seen it rain that hard in my entire life. It was so scary/ cool driving in it.

Caden helped Nana make homemade banana ice cream......

And he ate every bit of it!

Lastly, here is Lupe hanging out with little Kicky.

Collective Soul Concert

This past week Lisa and I went to the Collective Soul concert. I am shocked by how many of you don't know who the hech they are. They have been around for 20 years! I guess I am just a loser. Anyways to enlighten all of you I took it upon me to put some of their songs onto the top of my playlist. So while you read this you get to listen to the music. Anyways, here we are in the car before the concert.
Inside of there it was so dang hot!!! Here we are sweating like pigs! We stood the whole time crowded around a ton of people. But it was still totally worth it.

Here's the band while they played. We were only feet away from the stage!

The band Live also played. I like them too, but not nearly as much as Collective Soul. All together the concert was a blast. It was five hours long! I didn't get home until after 1 in the morning. Which is just wild for boring old me. :)

Girls Night Out.... Again!

Okay so I am so bummed. For some reason the pixels on my camera got all screwed up, and the pictures came out really blurry. I decided to post them anyways because you can still see them somewhat. Anyways to sum this up some girls from church and I went over to Sarah's house for some food, chatting, and most of all a break from our mommy duties. Even though we could have done a potluck Sarah insisted on cooking for all of us! It was sooo good! I ate so to the point of wanting to throw up. Overall, tt was so nice to just hang out with the girls, and not have to worry about the kids. We stayed there until 11 pm! It was so much fun, and I learned about some hidden talents that some people have.......Now in regards to the kids, before you start feeling bad for Gabe for having to stay home with the kids, know that he had fun himself. He and Stephen took the kids over to Darrin's house to swim. When Jeanie and I got back to her house to the house the kids were sound asleep, and the guys were up watching a movie. While they finished it up Jeanie and I decided to talk by the pool. Some how we stayed out there until 1:30 in the morning! Since I have been a mommy I never get to stay up that late, unless it is with sick kids. It was so nice to have some time just to myself. We seriously need to do these little get togethers more often. They are so much fun. Thanks Sarah for hosting this one. It was a blast!

Notice anything in common in these pictures? Yep, the boys are blond and brown hair twins. Cody came over to play with Caden and they just happened to be wearing the same camouflage shorts, and gray shirts. Funny huh? Got to love Target! Carson & Brady came over this week for a slumber party while Cheri went to the hospital to have her beautiful little girl. Aside from a few little fights they actually had a lot of fun together. Congrats Cheri!

While the boys were off causing havoc around the house, Kylah made her own fun in her jump-a-roo!

For the fourth of July we went to a friends house to swim. McKylah is thinking..."Mom what the crap did you put on my head!"

Here are some of the kiddos swimming on Independence Day since there is really nothing else to do in Phoenix because it is so dang hot!

Weekday Getaway!

Last Tuesday Gabe and I dropped the kids off at my parents, and drove away really really fast.

Okay so what really happened is for a graduation present my parents offered to watch the kiddos for us while we went on a short get away to Flagstaff. It was my first overnighter away from McKlyah. :( Anyways we went to the cutest bed & breakfast in town. It was such a nice break. When we drove into Flagstaff that day the weather was a whopping 56 degrees, and rainy! When we stepped out of our car you immediately smelled the rain and the pine trees! Being a welcomed change from Phoenix, it was overcast the whole time we were there. Even though I missed the kiddos like crazy, it was really nice to get away. We definitely need to do these quick trips move often.
Here we are driving in town with something you don't see that often... rain.

This is the front yard of the bed and breakfast that we stayed at.

This was our cute little room.

This is the gazebo out back where they served breakfast.

Our comfy bed.

The dining area downstairs.

Caden's Party

So I am pretty late about posting this, but I have been busy. Anyways, we had a little birthday party for Caden and his friends from nursery. We went to Peter Piper (everyone hates the pizza but me) and let the kids run loose. The best part was that my house didn't get messy! Of course the party theme was Caden's alter ego, Diego. I think I will stick to pizza parties from now on, they are so much easier, and the kids enjoy it.

Camping

Last weekend our family and three other families from church went camping near Strawberry. The weather was great compared to Phoenix, and the kids had a blast.

McKylah was so good on her first camp out. And of course she slept the night through even though there were coyotes howling, and other kids crying. She is such a good little girl!

To say that the kids got dirty was an understatement. It was impossible to keep them clean because they just wanted to play in the dirt. However, Mac beats them all with his dirt eating.

Drake turned three while we were there. Natalie and Scott brought up some spider man masks, and silly string for the kids. Of course Caden was not too keen on the mask, but he really liked the silly string.

Here are the creepy boys. Enough said.

How cute of an expression does Drake have while we sang him Happy Birthday?

Here is everyone just hanging out.

Preston was all of the kids favorite because he brought up his paint ball gun. He let all of the kids shoot from it, and of course they loved it.

I think that the highlight of the whole trip might have been when we went down by the water, and all of a sudden there was a massive bull that came out of nowhere and was only like 20 yards away. Naturally it freaked us all out when it started towards us. I think that Owen literally flew into the truck. While all of us smart people jumped in, Scott on the other hand decided to "moo" at it. Luckily, however it left after he got some water. Later that night a female cow came by our camp ground. It is kind of hard to see in the picture, but she is black, and is right in the middle.

Thanks to everyone that came. We had so much fun camping, and we can't wait to go again!

Gabe finally graduated!!!

Here is what went on last week:



On Thursday Gabe finally graduated from nursing school! We are so dang excited for him. He will be such a good nurse.
My good friend Liz is moving to California. Here are us girls for one last lunch before she left. I am going to miss you Lizzy!

We threw my sister a baby shower last week. She is having a girl and she is going to be best friends with my little McKylah.

My oldest sister Mandy came into town for two weeks. While she was here the family went to The Original Garcia's. It is in a bad part of town, but it is a tradition to go there. We grew up going there as a family, and being there brings back so many memories. Ghetto or not I love that place!

My little Piggy

So we tried McKylah on rice cereal for the first time the other day. Here is what she is thinking...


"What the heck is this stuff you are putting into my mouth?"
"Wait, let me lick this off my lips, I might like this stuff."

"This eating stuff is fun!"

*Update*

This little stinker is such a faker, and has not touched the stuff since then.

The happenings with the Quiroz's

So it has been a while since I have blogged. My sister is in town, and any extra time I've had has gone to my new love in life....The Twilight Series. The good news is that I have finished them, and I am ready to be a part of the blogging world again. Here is a quick recap of what has been going on:

We did park day at my house yesterday. Here is Caden and Cody. Cody has a sword, and Caden has a drill. I wonder who will win..... My money is on the sword.
We did slip n slide in my nothing of a backyard. And it was just too hot!

Here is some of the kiddos in my humongous pool.

I am everything my mother hates! I got McKylah's ears pierced! She hardl cried, and got over it the second she found her hand. I think she looks adorable.

Caden turned three last Wednesday. Since then he constantly asks, "mommy is is still my birthday?" Too bady he still has 357 more days until his next one.

A quick update

So here is what has been going on in our lives post reading Twilight. (It kind of consumed me for a couple of days) Anyways, this week we went to Cabella's because they were doing catch and release for kids. Here is a picture of Caden reeling in a fish. However, once the fish got close to his face, he was no longer excited about it.
On Sunday Gabe's family came into town. Caden turns three on Wednesday, so we did a little early b-day celebration for him. We made a cake and he wanted to dye the frosting red. After we did that, he decided he wanted to add blue dye to it. Naturally he ended up with purple frosting by the time we were done. Go figure. I then let him decorate it, and he did a great job! When he opened his presents he could care a less about what he was opening, he just wanted to keep opening them. Later that night some friends came over to watch the game. Here are the 3 boys sitting a little too comfortably on one small couch. Oh and Scott I edited the picture sorry. :)

Holy Crap, I am dying!

Okay so I am not seriously dying, but I am totally DYING to read the sequel to Twilight. So everyone I know has read the dang book, and have been telling me to read it. I have been adamantly against it. After all who wants to read a romance novel about vampires??? It is totally not a book I would ever be interested in. Nonetheless, I finally gave in and got the book. I casually started reading the book on Wednesday while McKylah was napping. And like everyone else, I could not put it down. I have been going to bed late and waking up extra early the last couple of nights just because I have been obsessed with this book! It is almost midnight right now and I just finished reading it as well as the little "sneak peak" at New Moon. Let's just say oh my gosh! How can she leave me hanging like this? Even though it is midnight I am so tempted to go out and buy the sequel just so I can start reading it. I am so on the edge of my seat right now and it is too late to talk to anyone about it. Wake up guys, I need to talk! So here I am venting on my blog about how I am so anxious to read a sappy love story. I am everything I hated! I would like to personally take time now and thank everyone that told me to read this book, and for ruining my life. I am sleep deprived and am dying to find out what is going to happen next. Thanks a lot!

McKylah's first time swimming!

Today the kiddos and I went up to Anthem to swim. It was McKylah's first time in the pool! Of course she had to sleep the majority of the time we were there, but she thought it was pretty cool. Caden had a ball playing with his cousins and eating a popsicle in the water. Oh and Melanie I figured you would love it if I included a picture of you pregnant in a swimsuit. So here you go! :)

This picture had nothing to do with swimming, but how stinkin cute does Kylah look in this hippie onesie???

I've Been Tagged

Here are the most recent family pictures of us with the kiddos.

Tagged
I have been tagged by my friend Lindsey

3 things on my list of things to do today:

1. Sleep in until noon

2. Get the kids out of the bath....they've been in there a long time....

3. Learn to read

3 snacks I enjoy:

1. Fried elephant

2. baby birds

3. Lard

3 places I've lived:

1. An old van down by the river

2. The state penitentiary

3. PO Box 207

3 things people don't know about me:

1. I look exactly like Angelina Jolie

2. I am actually 7 foot tall... I just walk around on my knees

3. I have five kids, but I only let Caden and McKylah out

Okay so I was just having fun with this. I figured most people don't read these anyways, so I might as well have fun. Anyways, now I tag : TJ Tiffany Sarah Natalie Meaghan Liz Lindsey Lindsay Kim Kenzie Karla Kara Jill Jenny Jacy Ginger Desiree Denise Cheri Cassie Brea Brandy Brandy Amie Amber Alena Cami. I might have just done my whole list...... Way too much time on my hands.....

The innocence of children

So the whole family,(except McKylah) has had a stomach bug since late last night. Today Caden was talking to Gabe and asking him what was wrong. Gabe replied, "I don't feel good bud." Immediately Caden said, "lets say a prayer daddy." Of course Gabe says, "okay." So Gabe and I are thinking that Caden will do his rehearsed pray of, "help us to be safe, and bless the food amen." However, in this prayer he said, "Heavenly Father please make my daddy feel better." So by the time he gets to amen Gabe and I are almost in tears because of his sweet innocence, only for Caden to say, "daddy I prayed, now you feel better!" How sweet is it that my little guy thought that since his daddy wasn't feeling good all he needed was to say a prayer, and once it was done he would be better. Even though Caden is a handful Gabe and I are truly blessed to have him.

Oh and to update Caden's daddy is feeling much better. :)

She's already sitting up!

Okay not really. She has the help of her bumbo in the pic. But how cute does she look in her little pioneer looking jammies? Anyways, I posted this pic because in it she looks so much like Caden did at this age. She is growing way too fast! :(

While the boys are away...The girls will play!

This weekend was the long awaited Father and Son's Outing. When I hear the words Father and Son's Outing I can't help but smile. My sisters and I longed for the weekends when our brothers would go. We would have so much fun while they were gone, and were always so disappointed when they came back. Now that I am married with kids, there is no reason to stop the tradition. So last night while our husbands and kids were gone, we all went out and had fun with out the Boys. It was so much fun! We went to Westgate and just hung out. I am thinking that these camp outs need to happen more often!

And you thought Caden was white.......

So to all of you who say that Caden can't get any whiter...... check this out! For some reason the pic came out like this. Pretty amusing huh? Anyways I said we were done going to the zoo until the fall, but the weather was so great today that we had to go. It was a perfect overcast day, and we had so much fun. Of course McKylah was her usual perfect self, and was content the whole time. While we were eating lunch a squirrel came up to us and literally started eating off of the table! When I got up to change Kylah's diaper he took my chicken! Caden thought it was hilarious. He then referred to the squirel as Lenny from "The Wonder Pets" What a day!

Erin's Wedding

Us with the Bride

Meg and Gabe

Hanging with Cleme

This weekend we went to Tucson for a wedding for one of Gabe's friends that he went to Salpoint with. It ended up being a EAC flashback for me. On the way to Tucson we talked on the phone to good Ol' Aaron from Eastern. It has been a few years since we spoke to him, and it was good to hear from him. Later at the wedding we ran into Cleme, who we knew from Eastern too. He is still up to the same old stuff, and eating lots of bananans..... Anyways the weekend ended up being a blast, reminding us of the fun we had at E.A.C.

Reasons why I love Caden:

So on Thursday Gabe took Caden to the mall to get my Mother's day present. When Caden got home that afternoon he told me "I bought you a present." I then said, "don't tell me what it is". Caden then looked at me and said," I won't mommy, it is not a swimming suit!" As you can probably guess I happened to tell Gabe I wanted a new one. Gee I wonder what I will be getting tomorrow......

McKyah's many talents.....

Kylah says, "Thumb sucking is for wimps, I can do it with my whole hand!"

I've Been Lazy

So I haven't got around to posting lately, so here is a brief recap. This past weekend we went to Michael and Carrie's for a barbeque and to swim. It was too cold, so the only swimming that went on was for these two in their bath. Little Kai is such asweetie! I love that little guy. Him and Kylah are going to be best pals.

Here a pic of my little gal in her crib. She loves going in her crib to look at her mobile go around and around. Naturally that is a pretty tough job, so she usually gets so tired and falls asleep. One last thing. This week my little McKylah did her first laughs! It is the cutest sound in the whole world! She is at such a sweet age. If only she could stay little!

Caden Has Been Tagged!

Caden was tagged by Conner. I need to list 7 reasons why I love my little Caden. Here they are:

1. He is such a good big brother to McKylah. He loves on her all day long, and jumps up to give her a pacifier if she cries. He is constantly trying to get her to smile at him. Every morning when he wakes up he finds her and lays with her. I always walk in the room to see him holding her hand. He loves his little sis.

2. Caden is hysterical! He loves to try to make me and Gabe laugh. He comes up with the silliest things to get us to laugh. Once, we start laughing he covers his eyes because he gets embarrassed because we tell him how funny he is. Each night when Gabe and I are in bed I tell Gabe all of the funny things that he did that day and we just crack up over that kid.

3. He is such an affectionate little guy. He tells me that he loves me all through out the day. He loves it when I just hold him. He loves to give me and McKylah kisses all the time There is nothing more that Caden likes than to sleep in the bed with mommy after daddy leaves for work. He has to be touching me whether it is his hand on me or his foot on my head. He just needs to know I am right there. I love that!

4. He adores his daddy. He tries to do everything Gabe does. He constantly tells me how when he gets big he is going to shave like daddy, and be a nurse like him. He loves to eat fish and steak with Gabe because he thinks it will make him big and strong. There is nothing sweeter than seeing how much he loves his daddy.

5. He is such a talker, and asks questions about everything! I love the conversations that Cade and I have, and the questions he comes up with. It is so funny to see how a little mind thinks. Caden talks all day long, and I am always having to explain exactly what I am doing, and why I am doing it.
6. He is like his mommy and likes things clean! Yep, that is right I have created a monster! He of course makes messes, but he likes things to be clean. I am ruining my kids!

7. He has the best smile in the world. I can't help but smile when he smiles. It makes you forget what a little monster he can be. I am such a lucky mom to have my little guy!

Now Caden is tagging his friends: Lili, Tate, Rylie, Cody, Carson, & Alex! List seven things and tag 5 more friends!

What a stud!

Gabe and Caden went fishing this weekend, and here is Caden holding up the fish he caught! So maybe it is just a little blue gill, but he was so proud of himself for catching it with his Shrek fishing pole. The only downfall is now he asks me everyday when he can go fishing again! Way to go Caden.

Happy Birthday Lisa!

Today Lisa and I went out for her b-day lunch. We went to the Spicery. It is the cutest little restaurant in the historical Glendale district. We grew up going there, and I even had a dress up party there when I was 8. We hadn't been there in years, and were bummed to see that they had changed the menu. Even though the food wasn't the best we still had a great time. Happy Birthday Lisa!

Got Diapers?

This weekend my mother in law threw me a "Meet McKylah" Party for the family. Since I am pretty well set on clothes, we did a shower for diapers and formula. I think it is pretty safe to say that I got a good amount of diapers. The final tally on diapers was over 1,100! The sad thing is that I will use all of them. We did the math and this will last be about 150 days! Gosh babies are expensive!

Future Helmet Head

Okay so take a long look at this little girl wearing bows, because pretty soon they'll be replaced by a HELMET! Yep, that is right the doc thinks her big nogin will need a helmet because her head is so dang big! We have a follow up appointment in June to decide. In the mean time I will be praying that her head will stop growing, otherwise I'll have to glue her bows to the helmet!

Somethings you just can't do yourself

Okay so for starters do I look evil in this pic or what? So today I had the great idea to put blond in my hair. Well it is safe to say that was not a wise choice for me. My hair looks awful! Now I am anxiously awaiting for Gabe to get home so I can fix my hideous hair. Note to self, leave highlighting to the professionals!

Future Love Connection?

How cute is this? Here is my sweet Kylah with Trevor. We went to our ward barbeque, and these two were totally content just lying together. What good babies!

Our Second Home

Okay so this is one of those things that you don't admit out loud, but we go to Peter Piper all the time. It started out as a craving I had during pregnancy, and is now a way of life. Here is Caden with his best bud Hadlee. He tells me he is going to marry her, and when I ask where will they get married at, he says, "at Peter Piper". I have ruined him!

Learning to Blog

Today Cheri came over to show me how to do some things to my blog. Soon after Jill and Suzanna showed up. Luckilly I am not the only one that is clueless when it comes to blogging. Here are the kiddos playing while we were busy doing my latest hobby.

A Day at the Zoo

So could Kennedie have posed any better for this picture or what? I think one of their favorite parts of the zoo was not seeing the animals, but playing in the sprinklers. Either way they had a blast playing together.

Flashback to Young Women's

Here is me, Amber, Liz, and Krista at Liz's shower. I can't believe it has been so long since our Young Women days. Lucky for us all of our parents still live in the same ward, which it makes it easy for us to still stay in contact.

Still holding out for blue eyes...

Miss McKylah has become so smiley lately. Eating is so hard because she is too busy smiling at me. I love this age!

Need A Haircut?

Caden found one of Gabe's old Halloween wigs, and thought he looked pretty cute. And it wouldn't be a picture of Caden if he didn't have his hands on his ears, and a sippy hanging from his teeth.

Blessing Day

Here is Caden getting ready for McKylah's blessing with Nana. They made a lamb cake after the lamb of God. It is a tradition in Bernie's family to make them for these occasions. The nose is made from a cherry which Caden ate the whole jar of while making it! When it came time to eat it, naturally Caden wanted me to cut the ears off so he could eat them.

Our sweet McKylah was blessed on Sunday. Even though she only were her dress for 2 hours, I still needed to make sure she looked darn cute. And if I do say so myself I think that was accomplished. Take notice that my sweetie is wearing her bracelets from Brea, and Grandma. And of course we don't leave home with out those cute headbands. What a cutie!

Just relaxing

Life can be pretty intense swinging and staring at your toys.