AG and Cousins

There's not much better than an afternoon with your cousin...

Ok maybe an afternoon with your cousin and playing American Girl Dolls:)

(Sadly we're missing Afton and Halle...

I'm sure that would have made today even BETTER!!)

Pretty with paint

Rylee painted her nails solo for the first time last night. She received some bright cheerful polish from her Nana for Christmas and begged to use it. After permission she went straight to work, taking her time, making sure she covered every bit of nail. I thought she did a pretty good job!

Christmas art

Rylee's been working hard this month creating beautiful Christmas art!

Here are some of her masterpieces... Enjoy:)

Silly Jack

Jack's gone fishin! Rylee loves to wake up in the morning and look for Jack! He's been crackin her up:)

Jolley

Rylee had her big end if year tumbling performance tonight. She did a fantastic job entertaining an enormous audience. She's made such a big improvement in her skills since her last show in May. Rylee practices very hard for hours each week. She was one of a few in her class who did 4 backhand springs in a row! Such a superstar!

Jack is back

Our family elf Jack found his way back to our house a couple weeks ago. Jack is pretty sneaky and a little naughty this year. His hiding spots each morning when he comes back from the north pole are pretty silly. This morning he decided a bubble bath sounded fantastic. He sure is a crazy little elf!

Christmas spirit

We're still trying to get the through our heads christmas is on it's way... Quickly!

Okay, maybe it's just me.

Rylee is ready and excited!

After much begging we finally got around to decorating our tree tonight:)

Hip hip hooray!

Rylee has 2 big performances coming next week!

She finally got to take home her cheer uniform tonight...

And the best part are the fancy pom-poms.

Surprise surprise!

Removal #2

Here is the before and after of session 2. Pain was much worse this time!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving this year was spent in Saint George with Grandpa Walker and Granny Kate. We went to Entrada for a yummy lunch, played outside, went for a long drive, and talked about all the things we're thankful for. We all agreed that our family is pretty amazing and decided to put them on the top of our "thankful" list:)

Truth be told...

I saw this and it made me laugh bc it's SO true:)

Thanksgiving Feast

Today rylee had a thanksgiving day feast! Rylee woke up extra early this morning in anticipation of her exciting day. She was told yesterday at the end of class that she shouldn't eat lunch before school because they would be eating in the cafeteria. Rylee took this direction very serious and thought it would be best not to eat breakfast either. I convinced her that breakfast was something she should eat and promised she'd still be hungry to have lunch.

When you are 5 years old and in Kindergarten eating in the cafeteria is possibly the coolest things EVER. Rylee said that she thinks this is as cool as getting to ride a school bus!!

BIG DEAL!

This is Rylees adorable class all ready to party!

Routines

Routines...
We thrive on them around here.
This year has been a crazy and wild ride.
Our schedule is hectic Mon-Fri.
The one thing that pulls me through
all the craziness is knowing that my night
will always come to an end the same way as the
nights before....
Laying in my 5 year olds bed,
side by side,
discussing the exciting parts of our day...
along with the not so exciting parts.
...Followed by stories, a kiss, then snooze time

The time of night this event occurs
decides how many books we will get to read.
This past week Rylee has been bringing home a new book
each night she is supposed to read to me,
then send back the following day.
We start off with her reading to me then
when she's all finished and feels like shes
got it down pretty good its my turn to read.

Rylee has tons and tons of books.
We love going to B&N together to stroll
through the children's section.
Over the past 5 years we've acquired a pretty
impressive collection.

Last week upon browsing we came
across the Junie B. Jones series.
Rylee has been asking for a chapter book so we
decided to give Junie a try.
Junie B. is absolutely hilarious.
We've had a great time laughing our heads off at this girl!

Tonight while trying to decide which story to read
Rylee kept asking me to find her "tractor" book.
I COULD NOT
figure out what she was talking about.
Stories around this house consist of
girl::girl::girl::
Tractor books just aren't part of our collection.
I started asking more questions about this so called tractor book.
I asked if it was about Curious George?
No mom.
I asked if it was Are you my mother. The one about a bird.
I think it has a tractor in it.
No mom.
Well, can you give me a little more to go on than a tractor??
Yes, It has that girl Junie in it.
Tractor??
Rylee... do you mean your chapter book?
Yes mom that's what I was telling you!!!!!!

Cousin lovin

I snapped this pic of these 2 darling ladies last week. Rylee sure does love having 2 adorable baby cousins near to hold and kiss on a regular basis :)

Airborne

My great friend Shalyce and her son Maddix came to spend a few days with us from WA. We've been having a great time showing them around SLC! Today we decided to bring them down to the local trampoline warehouse! Such a fun way to kill a few hours and let the kids blow off some energy:) Maddix is just about to turn 2 and loved bouncing around! He also loved his first taste of Sunny D! What a tasty treat!

Happy Halloween

Scary witches at your door, ghosts and goblins spooks galore. Jack-o-lanterns smiling bright, wishing you a haunting night:)

Trunk"or"treat

Tonight the Fullmer family invited us to their ward trunk or treat. Rylee and Josh man had a great time showing off their darling costumes while filling their pails with candy:) Josh was dressed as a monkey, Rylee was a peacock, and sweet Ava was a ladybug. Thanks for the fun evening!

Cousins

I am in love with this picture Nana took over the summer of Rylee and her cute cousin Halle. These silly girls are just 6 months different in age and are adorable together. I love when summer time rolls around and our days involve fun family that we don't get to play with as often as we'd like. I would sure love it if we could hurry past these cold winter months and get back to the pool, slurpees, and loved ones!

Meow

Happy early Halloween:)

Auntie::Niece

Over the past few months I've been fortunate enough to have 2 new adorable nieces added to the collection. I absolutely LOVE all my Nieces and Nephews so it's a lot of fun to have 2 baby girls around to hold and kiss as often as I'd like:) Lucky for me, the parents of these adorable Nieces let me play with these beauties so often!

Yesterday sweet Ava came over for a little play date. She's at the cutest age right now. She smiles at everything, giggles, focuses on my every move, and has started to hold and chew on toys. When she gets sleepy she lays her little head on my shoulder and snuggles me(her mom says she doesn't do this with just anyone;) I sure love spending time with her!

Ella is the newest addition thus far to the Walker family. We think she will be the first brown eyed grandchild yet... She must be lucky #12! My heart melts when I see her. Shes so sweet and reminded me so much of her daddy. I haven't gotten my Ella fix in a couple weeks now so if her parents read this... Send her my way please!

tattoooooooooo

SO...
I got this super cool tattoo when I was 17.
For some reason I thought it would be
awesome if I engaged in the trend of
what is known as the "tramp stamp".
I was sorely mistaken.
Much to my dismay tattoos are only as cool
as the current second they are being placed... if that.
I've absolutely hated my stamp of disapproval since the day
I decided to brand myself.
It's been a burden and an embarrassment since the
moment of placement.
UNTIL NOW...

I went in for my first tattoo removal session today!
After much anxiety and pain
I have officially completed step 1 of 12!
(hopefully)
It was the weirdest...
sound,
feeling,
and
sight
that I have yet conquered thus far into my 26 years of bliss.
I am not excited about the 2 years of removal ahead of me,
but I am confident that the end result will be well worth it;)

Mail

As I went out to the mailbox last week, I found this sitting inside. Rylee is obsessed with getting mail lately. She is also consumed by "sending" notes. This note was all folded up... With a 44 cent stamp stuck to the front. Along side if the stamp was the name NANA, written in the best N's and A's this shorty is capable of. Wouldn't it be nice if life were that simple? This kid continues to crack me up daily. I'm the luckiest mom in the whole world. I sure love my Roo:)

Gardner Village

We went to Gardner Village with JaNee today
The whole place is decorated for Halloween!
Witches and pumpkins were everywhere!
We had a great time!

Rylee felt like getting her picture taken...
...Surprise Surprise;)

A pony ride was a must today!
Rylee is absolutely, positively, obsessed with ponies.
She asks daily for one of her own.
Even though the ride was a little lame,
and didn't last long,
she was still super excited.

::Happy Fall::

Back-handspring

this is a video i captured of the diva!
Enjoy;)

Rockstar

This rockstar accomplished something brag worthy today...

She's been working for months on
her round-off back-handspring
and finally did it
ALL BY HERSELF!
Such a proud moment;)
(for both of us)
Way to go short stuff!

Twenty something...

I am officially on the downhill slide to 30.
Depressing.
All I can say is the older I get the better the years.

Today I had a fabulous birthday.
I am so blessed to have such amazing people in my life.
I was greeted with phone calls all day long
which showed my how loved I am.
My close girl friends took me out to lunch and shopping to celebrate
then Dad, Sarah, Andrew, Josh, Ava, and Rylee
all spend the evening joining me in dinner outside
at the country club, followed by bowling and amazing cake.
When we got home Rylee surprised me with
a birthday card, beautiful picture of her and I
with a gumball machine, and $5.00 :)
Prefect ending to a prefect day!

Happy 26 to me:)

Little Sunflower

Rylee and I drove past some pretty
sunflowers
and decided to jump out and take a advantage
of a cute photo opp;)

I thought they turned out pretty cute.
Helps that Miss Thang is SO photogenic!

Rylee Kate the cartwheel queen

Rylee is obsessed with
-cartwheels-
...round offs...
-handstands-
...handsprings...
-walkovers-
...flips...
and
-trampolines!-
She tumbles
ALL DAY
EVERYDAY!!!

We've been up to Park City a couple times this Summer,
and these trampolines are a huge hit.
She would jump and flip all day long if she could;)

First day of Kindergarten!!

She started school this morning,
And she seemed so very small.
As I walked there beside her
In the Kindergarten hall.

And as she took her place beside
the others in the class,
I realized how all too soon
Those first few years can pass.

Remembering, I saw her as
She first learned how to walk.
The words that we alone made out
When she began to talk.

This little girl so much absorbed
In learning how to write.
It seems as though she must have grown
To girlhood overnight.

My eyes were blurred by hastily
I brushed the tears away
Lest by some word or sign of mine
I mar her first big day.

Oh how I longed to stay with her
And keep her by the hand
To lead her through the places
That she couldn’t understand.

And something closely kin to fear
Was mingled with my pride.
I knew she would no longer be
A baby by my side.

But she must have her chance to live,
To work her problems out,
The privilege to grow and learn
What life is all about.

And I must share my little girl
With friends and work and play;
She’s not a baby anymore –
She’s in Kindergarten today.

Kindergarten testing

Its still so hard for me to believe
that my baby is starting
KINDERGARTEN
on Monday.
We went today to meet Rylee's
Kindergarten teacher,
Mrs. Homer,
and see her classroom.
Rylee got to pick out her seat,
check out where to hand her coat and bag,
and put her name on a cubby.
It was so fun to watch her interact with her teacher.
Shes been looking forward to this day for a couple
years now. It always seemed SO far away to me until today!