Summer Fun in AZ!

After our two weeks in Ohio, we returned home to find Summer was underway in Arizona. Mom wasn't too thrilled about the prospect of driving around town so Macie and I could play at parks in the hot sun, so she and Dad made an executive decision and began the process of turning our backyard into an all-inclusive play place.

We started to acquire new toys for the yard, but when the box with our swingset arrived I was too excited to sit still. Poor Dad worked from sun-up to sun-set on his "day off" (doesn't get too many of those) to put it together by hand. Mom watched from a distance, wanting to help, but unable to do so- according to Dad it was a "one man job." It took him about 18 hours, but he managed to finish it on his own. Macie and I spent the whole next morning having a blast on our new toy while Mom and Dad worked tirelessly to "summer-proof" our yard and get it ready for the heat of summer. From sun shades to tents, they hoped to make our play areas tolerable.

Check out how cool our side yard looks now:

Macie and I spent the entire week playing at home and enjoying the beginning of summer. When the weekend arrived we went down to the Lifetime in Tempe for a pool party and had a blast out in the sun. Macie and I watched Dad get "dunked" in the Dunk Tank and thoroughly enjoyed all the attention we got from Dad's employees and pool-partyer's alike. The sun was hot that day, and both Macie and I were feeling its affect. I chose to sit under a lawn chair while Macie opted to play indoors in the Kid's club. Mom dropped her off, but nervously sat by the pool feeling guilty that Macie was tired and should probably be napping instead of playing. After 30 minutes Mom disappeared indoors to check in on Macie. What she found brought both laughter and tears as she discovered that poor, exhausted Macie had fallen asleep on the climber in Kids Club...

Mom marveled at her sleeping "baby", feeling both guilty (for not taking her home to nap), and overwhelmingly happy (that her little girl was so peaceful). Macie was the talk of the gym as she slept- people kept coming in to take pictures of her. Mom decided it was best to leave her alone, so she came back out to the pool party. 30 minutes later the staff called to let her know that Macie had finally woke up- an hour nap on the climber- Macie is quite the trooper!

The following weekend Mom left for New York to attend Aunt Hayley's college graduation. Because it was going to be extremely expensive for our whole family to travel for the ceremony, Dad had opted to stay home with Macie and I while Mom went to represent the Frankwick Family. Mom hadn't been apart from Macie and I for over a few hours EVER, and Dad hadn't been alone with us for over a few hours EVER, so there was a little anxiety about the 3 days. Mom stressed the whole week before leaving, not because she didn't think Dad could handle us girls for 72 hours, but because she didn't know what she would do on her own.

I guess she managed to survive without us, and when she got back she showed us what we had missed- I don't mean to be rude, but it looks like all I missed was a bunch of sitting around. Here are Hayley, John, and Holly (yes, Holly got to walk in the ceremony), during the ceremony,

and here are the happy grads, diploma and all:



Dad, Macie, and I didn't have ANY problems surviving without Mom. Dad turned out to be even more "SUPER" that we could have imagined! He managed to keep us fed, clothed, and entertained for 3 whole days- here are a few videos of our weekend:

Macie and I on the swings eating bacon and listening to Iron Maiden:



Macie and I making the most of summer fun in the sprinklers:

With Mom back home our lives returned to normal- not bad, but not nearly as much fun as our time spent with Dad. According to Mom he said that those 3 days were "the best 3 days of his ENTIRE LIFE."

That following Sunday was Father's Day, and we spent the Day spoiling our special Dad!

The day began with a big breakfast with all of our favorites,

and afterwards we dressed in our summer attire (baithing suits, or as little as possible) and played outside with Dad's new basketball.


The family enjoyed Dad's special day. While we slept Mom took him to be pampered, and then Aunt Hayley and John came to the house for a Father's Day barbecue. I hope we were able to express our feelings of love and gratitude to our awesome Dad- we are so lucky to have him!

Macie and I continued to enjoy our fun backyard, making up games and playing in the water to stay cool. Often times Mom would sit inside and sew while Macie and I played with one another- I didn't realize she was constantly spying on us through the windows...

Even after we tire of swings, sprinklers, and trampolines, Macie and I never have a problem finding ways to have fun...



Towards the end of the month we got a surprise visit from my friend Maddox and his new baby brother Dash. I had a blast playing, swimming, and hanging out with them!

One of my favorite things about summer so far this year has been the fun Summer camps at gymnastics! Each week has a different theme and every day has different activities. Mom and Dad allowed me to sign up for all my favorite themed camp days, and Mom made it extra fun by dressing me up every day for its corresponding theme.

Here I am on crazy hair day:

Can you believe they colored my hair??? It was awesome- I got to choose my favorite colors, they didn't have purple, but the green looked just as cool!

As you can imagine, my favorite camp themes have been those involving princesses.

Here I am with miss Rachel and my class on Snow White Day:

Macie is still too young to attend camps (since they run from 9-12, a long time for someone her age), so after Mom drops me off at camp she takes Macie to the train park for, as Macie calls it, "mommy my camp."

They ride the train,

as well as the carousel!

Here I am dressed as princess Belle, I brought a rose (one from Mom and Dad's wedding bushes) to show my class since there is one in the movie.

The night before Jasmine camp Mom put me to bed disappointed that I didn't have a Jasmine outfit (the only princess dress I don't have) to wear the following morning. While I was sleeping Mom apparently stayed up late working her magic and managed to sew me a genie outfit appropriate for camp (it didn't show my belly like Jasmine's does, but I didn't complain too much).

It had genie pants, a vest, and bracelets all adorned with beads that made noise when I shook!

Here I am showing Mom what I learned in dance that day:

My next day at camp was Rapunzel day and I wore my favorite purple princess dress.


Check out the cool Rapunzel crown and hair I made at camp (I didn't need to add much hair since my own is so super long)!


While I was at camp Mom and Macie went to the train park and toured the "Rapunzel" tower.

Macie enjoyed going up and down the stairs,

and practicing her skills on the "balance beam."

Despite all the other fun, she still enjoys the train ride the most!!!

When Mom picked me up from camp my fellow campers and I put on a show by demonstrating a few of the cheer and dance moves we had learned that day:

After the mini recital Mom took Macie and I over to Open Gym so that we could run around and get out a little more energy before nap time. I spent my time working on my flips on the bars,

While Macie showed off her "signature" moves with the hula hoop:

That weekend we accompanied Aunt Hayley to the horse stables to see Bugs and say goodbye to the barn animals since he would be moving to a new facility the following morning. Dressed in proper "horse stable attire" Macie and I helped Aunt Hayley hose him off (since the average daily temperature has been at LEAST 100 degrees). He loved being brushed, cleaned, and pampered, and Macie and I loved helping out!

We made sure to give proper goodbyes to the chickens, goats, and horses, but saved our best goodbyes for the donkey as he is our favorite.



The month of June has been filled with fun at home in Arizona, but once July hits our family will be back on the road. With a couple trips to California planned, the upcoming month promises to be filled with lots of fun and excitement-check back soon for details!

OHIO: Part Two!!!

Week two in Ohio turned out o be as fun-filled as week one! Mom had an agenda planned for everyday so that we would be able to fit everything, and everyone, in our schedule. I was really happy when Mom took us to Lifetime to visit some of our old friends from the child center. After playing with them in the climber we got to sit in the cafe and have lunch together! Lifetime ROCKS!


In the afternoon, after nap time, Mom took Macie and I over to see Kiera and the twins! All of us had a great time playing with one another, and we even got to stay for a pasta dinner! It was so much fun playing with Kiera that I pouted (a lot) when Mom insisted it was time to go home and get to bed...

Early the next morning we went with the little Grzelak's (Ashlyn and Riley) to the Zoo. Watching Ashlyn and I walk into the Zoo made Mom and Miss Elizabeth a little sad as they reminisced about the "good old days" when we did this often.

Inside the Zoo we visited the house and climbed over the letters. Here we are posing just like we did on our last day in Ohio before moving to Arizona- can you believe Macie is big enough to join in the fun now!?!?!

We did all sorts of things together at the Zoo, including riding the train...

climbing on the animals,

and enjoying our time together with friends!

That evening we went to Open Gym again and played with our gymnastics friends one more time! In the morning the girls (Mom, Miss Elizabeth, Macie, Ashlyn, and I) got dressed and headed to the beauty shop for some makeover fun!

Here we are posing for some before shots:

Inside the salon we sat down and had our nails painted. Ashlyn and I even got to pick out our own nail polish color- bet you didn't guess that I choose purple and Ashlyn chose pink...

Even Macie sat still while the nail tech painted her fingernails!

She was fascinated!

After our nails were done we were moved into salon chairs to have our hair done. Since Macie doesn't have much hair to work with, she just sat in the chair and twirled while smiling at herself in the mirror.



Of course I loved sitting in the chair and looking in the mirror as the stylist worked her magic- I wish I had one of these chairs at home!!!

I chose the princess up-do, and was glad I did because she did an amazing job!!! Poor Mom needs to take some lessons on how to do cool braids like this!

Once my hair was done it was time for makeup, and boy was I excited! They put princess sparkles on my eyelids,

blush on my cheeks,

and finished off my look with a sparkle tattoo and some lip gloss!

When Ashlyn and I were done we looked like two little divas who spent the morning at the salon- poor Dad has NO IDEA what he is in for when Macie and I become teens!


In the afternoon, because of all the thunderstorms, we went to an indoor trampoline place-it was awesome, there were trampolines everywhere!



The following day we spent time with the Grzelak family, sad that our trip was coming to an end. At night we ran around the backyard and played while Dave grilled us a feast on the BBQ. After dinner we roasted marshmallows and ate smores outside.

Before bed I spent some extra special time with my best buddies!

We woke up Monday morning to a big feast, with cinnamon rolls and all!

After breakfast we dressed in warm clothes (it was storming outside) and went to Kroger to say goodbye to all our friends at the grocery store. All of my favorite people were there:

Rose,

Michelle,

and, of course, Jeannie, who took us back for, not only balloons, but for princess rings and donuts as well!!!

Once again it was hard to say goodbye to Kroger, grocery shopping at home just isn't the same...

After another gymnastics class, Mom took Macie and I to visit the "bone store." We don't have any "bone stores" (Key Bank, whose logo happens to look like a bone key) in Arizona and I missed driving by it. I made sure to pose outside the store so that I would have pictures at home to remember.



Inside the "bone store" I met all the employees and told them how much I loved where they worked. They were so delighted with me that they gave Macie and I some lollipops for the road!

We spent our last night in Ohio at Chuck E Cheese with the whole Grzelak Family!

We rode rides, ate yummy food, and enjoyed spending time with our special friends.

Despite Mom's belief that I have not grown much, I am finally BIG ENOUGH to reach the pedals!!!

It was incredibly difficult leaving the Grzelak's house that following morning. We all enjoyed a big family style breakfast together, and I begged Mom to let us stay for a little longer. My efforts wer in vain, and shortly after everyone finished up we packed our rental car, gave our friends the biggest and bestest hugs, and drove off to the airport to fly home to Arizona.

The ride to the airport was filled with tears and screams of "goodbye __________" as we passed all of our favorite places along the way. By the time we arrived at the airport my spirits had picked up. I realized that we were going to see Dad soon, and couldn't wait to jump into his arms!


Macie and I "hammed" it up at the airport until it was time to board our plane and embark on our 4+ hour plane flight home.

Our flight home was fully booked, so after take off Mom built me a fort on the floor and I watched a movie and ate some snacks. Macie took a little catnap while Mom and I kept ourselves occupied, but once Macie was awake I wanted to play. Poor Mom switched places with me (she sat on the floor underneath Macie's and My seat so that I could color and mess around with my sister. Before we knew it we were back home in Dad's arms in Arizona. As much as I enjoyed all the fun I had in Ohio, nothing can compare to the feeling I get when my family is all together.

We are incredibly grateful to all the people who helped make our trip to Ohio comfortable and successful. The Grzelak family is one in a million and we will miss them more than they know- good thing we are already planning a trip to go back and visit again soon!!!