School has Officially Began!

I can't believe that everyone is growing up so quickly...

Not only did we start school this week, but Macie celebrated her 6th Birthday- so much excitement!

 This year Macie entered the First Grade; she could hardly wait to see all her friends!

I started the Third Grade this year, but wasn't nearly as excited as Macie. I knew that the start of school meant the end of fun and the beginning of schedules.  Not to mention getting up early- yuck!  You can tell by the look on my face that I am exhausted and was simply placating Mom by smiling for all the pictures she took that morning.

 Mom was sad watching us walk down the steps- she wished Summer would last forever!

The day after school started Macie celebrated her 6th birthday.  Mom surprised her with an early morning birthday breakfast, and Macie was thrilled to see a big pink box of donuts sitting on the table!  She couldn't believe that the family had done all of this just for her (it was really sweet).

 Mom let Macie pick out her own clothes for school that day, and we were all pretty impressed with her choice- it was festive, and everything matched (not a usual occurrence).

 Mom, Uncle Will, Presley, and Nixon, all joined Macie for lunch at school.  Mom offered to bring Macie food from ANYWHERE in Vegas, and poor Macie couldn't think of a single thing she wanted to eat besides cupcakes.  After picking up 3 dozen mini cupcakes for her and her classmates, Mom made Macie a grilled cheese and Macie was happy (she is fairly easy to please, most of the time she just wants to be included or recognized).

To celebrate her birthday, Dad took Macie and I ice skating while Mom stayed home with the little ones.  We couldn't wait to get back out on the ice!!!

Dad made us do 20 laps around the rink using the skate trainers before he allowed us to free skate.

When we finally finished, Macie spent most of her time stalking the professional skaters, trying to mimic their tricks!

 After we were finished skating, Dad treated us to some gumballs (which we are usually not allowed to eat),

and on the way out we got some Powerades and popcorn-talk about a FUN afternoon!!!

 

When we got back home Mom surprised us with some trays of yummy treats.  Cake balls, chocolate covered fruit; we were in Heaven!!!
 

That night we had a big birthday dinner to celebrate Macie turning the big 6!

 A few days later poor Nixon had to have surgery to fix a minor problem.  Despite being woken up at 5am, he was in good spirits and had a smile on his face the whole time.

Poor Mom had a difficult time watching them wheel him into the operating room, but his smile couldn't help but warm her heart!

His surgery went exceptionally well, and he came home happy and hungry.

The following day Nixon had to go to the doctor for his follow up, and Presley was SUPER excited to see the DONKEY!  She spent most of her time in the hallway making hee-haw noises at the wall.  To Mom's disgust she even kissed the painting.

Nixon got two thumbs up from the doctor, so Mom took the little ones back home to celebrate.  Presley found Macie's birthday hat and ran around singing the birthday song over and over.  Mom couldn't decide if that was better than the donkey noises...

The first few weeks of school went well for both Macie and I.  Macie's favorite part of her day is lunch and recess while mine is library.  I must say, I also REALLY enjoy our morning photo shoots before school!

I love coming up with different poses.  Sometimes, when we are running late, Mom gets frustrated because I insist upon taking several different shots.

The other kids like taking pictures as well, but Mom finds it hard to get Macie to stand still long enough to snap a picture.

 

Presley enjoys taking pictures from time to time, but her smile still tends to look more like a grimace:

Check out this cute pair of shoes Mom decked out for Presley; she looked adorable wearing them!

A couple of weeks after school started we had picture day.  Mom let us pick our our own outfits (her approval was required), and she was excited with our choices.  Macie wanted to wear my dress that I wore for my first grade picture (can't believe we wear the same size), and I chose a new dress that Mom adores and lovingly named the "June Cleaver" (I guess she was Mom's idol; a character whom she aspired to be when she grew up).

 First Grade School Picture Day:

Third Grade School Picture Day:

Presley and Nixon have been enjoying their time home alone with Mom.  Lots of fun and laughter fill the house...

Nixon continues to get better at climbing up and down the stairs, and boy is he crawling FAST now:

Mom can't keep him in one spot for long.  The only place that he will remain sedentary, and enjoy it, is the Johnny Jumper.  He outgrew the one we had, so Mom had to get creative.  She shortened the strap so that he can jump adequately, and he LOVES it again!!!  Presley's favorite thing to do is swing him back and forth.  Mom discourages it, but when no one is looking...

They have a great time together, and despite Mom's verbose disdain for noise, she wouldn't know what to do if she found herself in a silent house (;

 We have lots more fun things happening through the rest of the month.  The soccer season is about to start, and we have lots of visitors coming our way, so check back soon to hear all about the fun!

No Better Way to Close Out the Summer!

We had just finished unpacking from Wisconsin when Mom announced that we were making one more trip to the beach before the start of the school year.  We were SO excited we could hardly wait to get there!  At the end of the week we made the drive down to San Diego and arrived with HUGE smiles on our faces:

The following morning ALL of us were up early eager to go to the beach.  Grandma and Paul had bought Presley a new wet suit and she couldn't have been more excited to be part of the big girl beach club.

At the beach that day both Macie and I tried surfing for the first time and did a fantastic job.  We took a bunch of rides in the soup before venturing out a tad further.  Thanks to the long boards, and our little size, catching waves proved to be easier than we expected.

Here are a few of the first waves Macie caught:

Here I am catching a wave on my first try:

Macie and I stayed at the beach that whole day while Mom took Presley and Nixon back to the house for naps.  They had so much fun that morning that they slept well and both woke up ready for more fun!

We spent our entire week at the beach living the "beach bum" lifestyle.  After breakfast each day we walked down to the ocean where we rode, ran, and played until our exhausted little bodies begged for some rest.

After a long day at the beach a bath is super relaxing.  I think Nixon enjoyed bath time a little more than the rest of us.

He is becoming more and more active with everyday.  Not only is he crawling and getting into EVERYTHING, but he is also waving, doing "so big", and playing ball.  He is growing up SO fast:

While Mom was packing lunches each day Macie and I would keep our selves occupied- that's not tough at Grandma's house, there is ALWAYS something fun to do.  One morning we played dress up and tried on our favorites cover ups from Grandmas closet.  Mom couldn't believe how grown up we both looked...

Mornings were also spent having fun with Nixon.  This little guy is going to be surrounded by girls his whole life- I don't think too many people feel sorry for him...

 This week Nixon became fascinated and obsessed with all things at the beach.  He LOVED the water and really enjoyed playing in the wet sand.

On days that Mom wanted to keep Nixon sedentary she would bring his booster seat and strap him in the wagon.  Nixon wasn't too thrilled that he couldn't get out and move around, but Presley sure enjoyed pulling him around for rides in the sand!

When Presley wasn't harassing Nixon she was in the water.  She developed a love for waves this trip, and enjoyed catching rides on her body board:

After a few days she decided that she wanted to give surfing a try...

 

After some practice on the shore, Grandma and Paul took her for her first ride...

She laughed the whole way in and was so proud of her accomplishment.

After seeing all the girls in the water, Mom decided that Nixon needed to give it a try as well:

At the end of the week Mom and Grandma Judy took us over to Belmont Park.  Nixon enjoyed all the sights and sounds around him while Macie, Presley, and I rode the rides over and over.

 Mom felt bad that he had to sit out on all the fun, so she took him for a ride on the carousel.  He wasn't too thrilled sitting on the horse.

Once the carousel started, the fearful look on his face was replaced by one of apprehension.  He didn't break into tears, so Mom counts it as a win!

 That afternoon we drove out to see Pa, Michelle, and Grandma Jean.  We were excited to see Pa's new house on Mt.Helix and couldn't wait to run around with his new chickens.  While all of us girls were in the coop,

Nixon stayed indoors and stuffed his face full of food while showing off his new skills to the crowd.

Macie and I had a sleepover at Pa's house and we got our very own room.  I couldn't believe my luck when I saw where I would be staying...

It was "everything I ever wanted in my WHOLE life"!  Both Macie and I were awestruck and hope that Pa never repaints!!!  

Mom picked us up the following morning and we spent a lazy afternoon at the beach- it was a great way to close out our week in California.  The next morning while Mom packed the car and cleaned the house, Grandma took Presley, Macie, and I to the beach!  Presley was sure being silly that morning; she kept us entertained the whole walk to the beach.

All of us were grateful to have some fun before our long drive home.  We are NEVER ready to leave San Diego, but after a long day in the sun we were exhausted and ready to rest.  Mom was hoping we would all pass out in the car, but Nixon turned out to be the only one that slept during our 5 hour drive back to Las Vegas.

The next morning we woke up bright and early and ran to the yard to see our animals.  To our dismay only Savannah was there.

 That was when Mom told us the terrible news.  Not only were some kittens missing, but while we were in San Diego Eddie Axl Fluffy Van Halen was hit by a car and killed.  All of us were devastated and sad; Eddie was a great cat and we will miss him a ton.  The only thing that makes it a little easier to handle is knowing that he is together in Heaven with Jackson again.

 We had one more week before school started, so we spent lots of time at home while Mom got everything ready for the coming school year.  It was still too hot to enjoy many activities outside, so when we weren't swimming we were indoors playing dress up.

Mom must have been so impressed with our outfit choices because she was speechless...

Playing with Presley is becoming increasingly difficult.  She now knows what she wants and is very headstrong.  She does not like to follow direction, so Macie and I often banish her from our activities.

It's a great thing that she doesn't mind and is able to find all sorts of ways to entertain herself.

During the week Uncle Will took me to Apple Camp at the Apple store.  I was really excited for camp and couldn't wait to learn how to make and edit a movie!

I learned how to make my own music on the first day, and couldn't wait to shoot video footage to use for my film, so Mom and Uncle Will took us to the Springs Preserve.  There were so many wonderful things to film that we spent a few hours running around and making the magic happen.

Macie enjoyed playing with the props and getting into character...

Thanks to the new dinosaur exhibit I was able to film authentic looking animals.

Mom was thrilled that Nixon loved the T-Rex!

The next day I woke up eager to get to camp.  Mom had worked some magic overnight and turned my camp shirt into a new dress.  I couldn't wait to work on my film in style.

The 2 hour camp went by way too fast, but I learned different editing techniques and was really proud of my short film.

On my final day of camp I got to present my completed project- I was SO proud of myself!

Here is my very own movie, made all by myself.  I was the director, writer, editor, sound technician, you name it; I did it all.

The Epic Adventure a short film by Riley J. Frankwick

I can't wait until next year when I get the opportunity to take another camp at Apple!

 A few days before school started Mom enrolled Macie and I in dance classes.  Both of us were enthusiastic about starting mainly because of the costumes and makeup.  We are eagerly awaiting recitals already...

Although we are sad that our summer is coming to an end, we were incredibly fortunate to have experienced so many wonderful things.  All of us have fond memories of our travels and the family and friends we were able to share our time with.  With school starting on Monday Mom knows that life is about to get real crazy.  Hopefully she survives this coming  year of over committed schedules, and hopefully I can find time to post some new pictures soon...