Plentiful....oh alright....PITIFUL Harvest

We planted a very small garden for the girls this year. We put in 3 very short rows - like 2 feet long - of carrots, 3 very short rows of onions and 3 of corn. Well, something got at the corn. We think it is the quail that frequent our yard but, regardless, it was attacked and never recovered. Of the 40 some odd carrot seeds we planted only 2 carrots made it. And we planted about 20 onion plants and as you can see, a few survived but I don't know that I would really call them onions. We might have harvested a bit early but, quite frankly, I was getting tired of watering the garden knowing that it would be a weak harvest at best. Matt and I have decided that it is a good thing that we aren't trying to "live off the land" as we would have a hard time stretching our 2 carrots and 6 minature onions until next spring. Alexandra thought we did great though and I guess that is what matters. Now, I'm off to the grocery store!

Is there a doctor in the house....well, actually, there are three.

We had dinner with our friends Christen & Gibson the other night. The kids had a blast making "grass soup" and having a picnic tea party. The highlight was the doctor kit though. All three of them were busy!

Paging Doctor Alexandra.....

Paging Doctor Gibson....

Paging Doctor Avery.....

Pre-School Artwork

Alexandra made these pictures on her first day of pre-school. She has come a long way with her coloring and works hard to stay in the lines.

Alexandra heads to pre-school!

Today was Alexandra's first day of pre-school. We were both prepared for the worst as typically she is pretty shy and doesn't do well around new people. SHE LOVED IT!!! We were thrilled and are wildly proud of her. We started the day with a couple of surprises - a new locket with pictures of mom/dad inside and a purple backpack. She immediately packed her backpack full of pre-school essentials like her make-up, dress up shoes, a book, her leapster and a movie. Once we were done though she ended up with a sweater, sunscreen and sunglasses. Matt took her to pre-school and though hesitant, she took her teacher's hand and shortly thereafter started coloring with a table of other children. Matt said good-bye and left without any tears. She barely wanted to leave at the end of the morning and was sad that she didn't get to have lunch at school with the other children. I am so happy that this went well for her and that she is looking forward to going back!

She wasn't much in the mood for posing for a picture today so this is the best I could get on her first day of school.

Snowbird Fun!

We went to Snowbird on Sunday and the ladies had a blast! The weather was beautiful and there were not too many people there so the typically long lines were short and manageable.

Here the girls venture into the "bounce house". Avery wasn't too sure about it at first but once Alexandra went in with her she loved it. She loved it so much she wouldn't come out. We had to send Alexandra back in for her and when that didn't work we had to bring out the big guns...her favorite blankie and a quick hand to grab her when she got close to the entrance.

Alexandra loved jumping high on the tramp!

I just loved the sun flare in this photo.

Daddy and Alexandra on the alpine slide - this was a hit too!

While daddy and Alexandra were on the slide Avery was busy chatting away on my cell phone. Here she obviously received some surprising news!

Fancy Doors

My friend Carrie has a Cricut letter cutter. I designed these and she tracked down the paper and made them come to life! I am so excited with how they turned out. I put them on the girl's bedroom doors a couple of weeks ago and just love them! Thanks so much Carrie - I am sure I'll have more projects for you in the future!

Princess Tea Party

Last week we went to a park and met a few other little girls all decked out in princess attire for a tea party. Alexandra received this pink sleeping beauty dress for her birthday and was very excited to wear it - she was certainly a beauty!

Here she is making a tiara.

Alexandra prepares the tea!

Silver Lake

Last week Sunday we did the little trail around Silver Lake. It was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed being outside. Our friends the Shinalls joined us too.

The girls really enjoyed hanging out with the ducks.

Daddy and Alexandra hiked up this rock face.

Alexandra's Actual Birthday

I am a week behind but here are a few highlights from Alexandra's birthday last week Tuesday.

She received a few presents in the morning. Her favorite was the Lincoln Log set which she worked on all morning.

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Then, the highlight, our new pet.....Finn the Fish. Alexandra has wanted a "nemo fish" ever since seeing the movie "Finding Nemo" and while I realize this isn't an actual clown fish this orange betta fish seemed to do the trick.

Practicing their fishy faces.

And here is Finn's new home, a bubble bowl hanging on the wall nice and safe from prying little fingers.

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After lunch we had cupcakes with chocolate frosting. Both girls spent a lot of time decorating with tubes of frosting.

Avery's cupcake face.

The Birthday Girl!

Avery's Circles

Avery loves to draw circles. I know they don't all look like perfect circles but she will sit down, pen/crayon in hand, and meticulously draw circle after circle....left handed too. Sometimes she will look up and shout "Circle!" and then get right back to work. Sometimes she spends about 5-10 minutes working on a picture - true art.

Happy Birthday Alexandra!

Today my darling, sweet girl is four years old. Hard to believe yet it feels right at the same time. I took a photo trip down memory lane last night and wanted to share a few photos from her first few months of life. Adorable then, beautiful now.