The month of March got off to a busy start, and now that I am in school our social calendar is packed pretty full- from weekend parties to fundraisers, we go NON-STOP! Mom complains that time is going by WAY TOO FAST, and has been more crazy than ever with the incessant picture taking (she claims that she must document EVERY moment as I grow). I guess I have grown up a ton in the past couple of months- I mean, look at how big I am and how long my hair has gotten (straightened)...
Macie is a WHOLE different story- she has the stubbornness of a teenager with the mentality of a toddler; it's not necessarily a good mix, but we still love her to pieces. Mom claims that she is reminiscent of Dennis the Menace (there's just something mischievous behind those eyes)...
but after many failed attempts on our own, lost focus. Macie was the first to go- Mom knew it was over when she started to use the obstacles on the course as props for posing...
When she started to try and crawl on them the family decided it was time to try something else.
Macie and I spent the next hour running, laughing, and riding rides with friends.
After we had worked up an appetite everyone from the party gathered together in the tiger room for some pizza! I sat next to one of my favorite friends from school; Catalyna!!!
After the pizza was done we sang Tate the birthday song and then dove right into the cupcakes. I am not kidding, Macie literally DOVE into the cupcake...
When the cupcake started to crumble she opted for a fork.
After she had eaten it all she looked like she was in a coma.
We played around Jambo for a short while longer, but were exhausted from a long morning and knew we needed to get back home and get some rest. Macie barely made it out of the parking lot before she passed out...
I guess the morning's events had left Mom exhausted as well, so she made a last minute decision to throw together a crock pot and take a nap with Macie and I. Both of us were ecstatic that she made that choice because we LOVED the chicken drumsticks and each had 3!!!
The following week our family attended my school's art fair. I was really excited to show everyone all my masterpieces.
Mom couldn't believe that I had created this floral piece all by myself! (she liked it so much that she had it framed and put up in our house).
My favorite was this purple plaster flower.
Macie's favorite part of the exhibit was the desert table. Good thing Uncle Will was there to keep an eye on her!
The rest of the week was uneventful in the public forum, but full of fun at home. Mom made me "Riley" eggs one morning before school, and even let me eat them on the couch!!!
Macie sat on the bench and demolished her masterpiece quickly.
The afternoons we spent at home included some much needed time with our animals.
Macie tried hard to play ball with Jackson using the Chuck-It, but didn't seem to have much luck...
5% of the time she managed to actually throw the ball, but she discovered that hitting Jax was just as fun.
I took Eddie Van Halen on lots of scooter rides throughout the house and, believe it or not, Eddie didn't seem to mind.
Eddie has been a part of our family for about 8 months now, and he has made himself quite comfortable. Despite the fact that both Mom and Dad aren't "cat" people, they both secretly love having him around (they must considering he snuggles with them in bed EVERY night). Eddie must be in a new stage of life because as of recent he has become quite the terrorist- jumping out at us behind walls, biting our ankles as we walk up the stairs, etc. I think Mom got the worst of his terror one evening while sitting on the couch reading...
Eddie got her with the sneak attack and went straight for the jugular. Instead of coming to Mom's rescue, Dad got his camera so that he could document Eddie's attack:
Needless to say, Mom now keeps an eye on Eddie at all times!
Towards the end of the week both Macie and I were ready for some action so Mom turned our back yard into an obstacle course and used her favorite movie Full Metal Jacket as an inspiration.
(will insert video later- Mom can't get it to upload)
We had a blast taking hot laps through the course.
That Friday we took a day off of obligations and played dress up at home. I almost passed out when Mom decided to let Macie and I choose our own outfits for a quick trip to the fabric store. She couldn't help but laugh at our fashion choices as we both told her we dressed up like mother's so that we could buy our sewing stuff. With heels and all we shopped at Hobby Lobby, and using money from our own purses, got to pick out one item that we could afford!
Look out Golden Girls...
With Tax Day quickly approaching, our family made a last minute weekend trip to San Diego to visit with our accountant and our family. While Mom and Dad sat in an office crunching numbers, Macie and I sat on the beach and played in the sand with Grandma.
I took a break from beach play to take advantage of the gorgeous California sunshine and snap some pictures for my portfolio...
Come mid-day, both Macie and I started to get cranky and tired, and poor Grandma had a rough time managing the both of us. By the time Mom and Dad arrived at the house we had managed to destroy Grandma's house and her mood (over tired and cranky kids are, apparently, difficult to handle). Grandma and Dad left the house for a bit while Mom tried to fix the damage done- too bad we already were too far gone. She gave us numerous chances to improve our behavior, but after many failed attempts gave us an ultimatum: Shape up and stay in San Diego hanging out on the beach for a few days, or continue to misbehave and head back home to Arizona right away. Macie and I decided to call Mom's bluff and continued to back talk, throw things, etc. You can imagine our shock and horror when Mom called Dad, packed our car, and drove back to Arizona. We made a quick pit stop on the way home to hug Pa and see his new kittens, but didn't get any extra's on our long drive home.
Because we didn't arrive home until 3am we slept in the following morning and took it easy at the house. After much needed naps Uncle Will came over and all of us went on a ride around the block.
Will and I rode scooters while Macie choose to ride her trike.
Too bad she has a terrible attention span and couldn't make it half a block without stopping to inspect the surroundings...
Mom took Macie back to the house so that Will and I could fly around the neighborhood. Macie enjoyed her alone time and showed Mom how good she is getting on the swings.
On the 15th of the month we celebrated Dad's birthday! To kick off the day of celebration we had a BIG birthday breakfast with lots of Dad's favorites- bacon, peanut butter and banana pancakes, it was all there!
Mom let loose of the reigns at breakfast and let Dad control the fun, so we played drums with the bacon.
It was an awesome way to start the day!
While Dad was at work, Mom, Macie, Will and I, all worked hard to get the house ready for his dinner party that night. When the house was clean and the decorations were up, Mom started the food while Macie, Will, and I played outside. 20 minutes into the fun Macie had an accident on the swing (she let go of the chain and fell backwards to the ground and somehow skidded backwards and hit her head against the concrete wall). Poor Mom almost had a heart attack when Will frantically came into the house with a sobbing Macie. After many Mom hugs Macie stopped crying, so Will put some frozen peas on her head and Mom let her eat some candy. They both watched in silent hysterics as Macie stared at the wall in a daze...
By the time Dad came home from work Macie was back to normal. She was so normal, in fact, that during dinner she told Dad all about the trails and tribulations of her day.
The family had a fun birthday feast, and ended the meal with three awesome deserts!
We sang a beautiful rendition of the birthday song, and watched as Dad made a wish and took a deep breath in preparation of the big task at hand: blowing out all the candles on his cake.
Good thing Macie helped him blow them all out.
It was sure fun celebrating Dad's birthday together!
That Friday at school we observed St.Patrick's Day and I celebrated by dressing for the occasion!
Macie and I went to Open Gym that afternoon and ran around spreading our leprechaun cheer!
Mom had made special shamrock goodies, and Macie had literally eaten so much sugar that she was literally jumping of the walls.
On the weekend we fulfilled Dad's one birthday request and took him to the Renaissance Faire. Dad was worried that we wouldn't be there when the gates opened, so we drove separately so that Mom, Will, and Macie could take their time getting out the door.
Uncle Will drove Mom and Macie in his hot rod and they listened to Macie's new favorite tune. Listen as she tries to sing along (priceless):
We all met up at the faire and both Macie and I wandered through the crowds taking in all the sights, sounds, smells, and antics taking place around us. Since it was "actually" St.Patrick's Day, Mom had dressed Macie in green so she wouldn't get pinched...
Too bad it was little mischievous Macie that did most of the pinching...
There were TONS of fun rides at the Faire, but Macie and I liked the butterfly ride the best!
I took a ride on a flying horse and got to go super fast through the sky; it was almost like I was flying!!!
After rides, the family wanted some food so I talked Dad into buying me a drumstick!!! Mom couldn't believe the ferocity with which I attacked that turkey leg.
Tired from the excitement, and full from our feast, the family sat down to enjoy some music and dancing (I was enthralled by the belly dancers and now practice in front of the mirror in my room).
The long weekend left Mom exhausted, so we didn't do much during the week. She focused on sewing some new outfits, and boy am I glad she did because check out this number...
While I posed for the camera Macie rode her trike around the driveway in her "favorite" outfit (I am sure you have never seen this one before- lol)...
I wore my new outfit with PRIDE and smiled all the way to school!
The days following were spent modeling some of Mom's creations and playing around the yard. Macie and I were pretty well behaved for the most part, but from time to time managed to stir up a little trouble:
Macie quietly snuck into Mom's makeup bag and we both played beauty parlor. I made sure not to make a mess, but I didn't stop Macie when she decided to use Mom's red lip stain as mascara...
Since it was hard for Mom not to laugh at the outcome, we barely got punished!!! Too bad Mom now keeps all the fun stuff hidden in the drawers that are out of reach even when we use our step stools.
Not only did the makeup get hidden, but the following day we lost access to the markers when Macie came out of my bedroom looking like this...
All silliness aside, here are a few of Mom's favorite modeling pictures form the week:
Because our week had been so mello by the time the weekend came we were ready to party!!! Mom and Dad had promised us a trip to Lifetime Kids Club, so we were super pumped when the family loaded into the car and drove to the gym. The whole way there we talked about all the fun we were going to have together,
and couldn't get into the club fast enough (though we did stop for a few pics).
Mom can't figure out what is up with the "neck tilt pose", but it is our go-to under pressure:
We made it into Kids Club at 5:50 ready for some fun, but were informed at check in that they closed at 6pm. Thanks a lot Mom for checking the club hours (guess that tells you how often she gets to the gym). We sulked all the way to the car, and continued sulking until we got home. Good thing Mom and Dad made up for it by having a rock out party at the dinner table.
Axl Macie:
Riley Rose:
Macie got super into playing the guitar,
and actually has some pretty smooth dance moves:
On Sunday Dad took Macie and I over to Bella's house so that Mom could coupon in peace (it is pretty time consuming to cut up 8 newspaper inserts and catalog them in her coupon binder). She was very grateful to be able to get it done without distraction.
It was super fun at Bella's house; we got to play with all sorts of new toys (new to us)! Macie, or should I say, "Animal"(from the Muppets), spent lots of time banging on the drums.
Bella and I spent most of our time in the Jeep trekking through the yard.
When Macie became bored with the drums she joined us.
Dad now knows where they came up with the term "Hell on Wheels"...
During one of our hot laps we heard a sound coming from down the block. It was a catchy tune that lured my attention away from our current task and redirected it towards the apparatus from which the sound was coming. It was a big white van with pictures of yummy treats all around it! By the time it reached Bella's driveway all of us were shrieking with excitement as we gazed with wide eyes at the Ice Cream Truck parked in front of us (even the adults were pumped up)!
Everyone chose an ice cream,
and we all sat and enjoyed them with big grins on our faces.
We are super lucky to have such fun friends to hang out with!
Monday morning after Mom dropped me off at school she drug Macie around town to do some "couponing." I guess they were able to get all sorts of free (and useful) items, and Mom said Macie was an awesome helper!
Often times Mom finds (or hears about) last minute deals that are "just too good to pass up" and all of us have to suffer through the shopping experience. Thank goodness Uncle Will comes along from time to time and keeps us occupied. Here we are making silly faces to pass the time (Mom says they look more sinister than silly, but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves):
That week we went to gymnastics a few times and practiced some new moves. Here I am showing Mom how I can jump to the bar and flip:
After Macie watched me do it she was inspired to try it herself:
As I take a step back and assess our lives, I find that Mom is right- Macie and I are growing up SO fast! Every day we learn more, do more, experience more; it's crazy. In retrospect I am glad that Mom takes the time to document our lives because we can never go back and recreate these magical moments.
Next month should be lots of fun; with Easter, tons of birthdays, and all sorts of events, so expect some pretty great stories and pictures to come.
