Houston, We Have a Driver!

Heather and I went to the DMV today so she could get her permit. She passed the test and is now officially allowed to drive a car. Well, after she completes her six hours of behind-the-wheel training. But she's on her way! Awesome job Heather!

Decorating for Fall

As I packed up the Halloween things there wasn't enough room to keep everything. I decided that the girls' Kindergarten items probably needed to go since they were starting to disintegrate. Before tossing them, I took a photo so I could remember their cuteness.  The spiders were from Kindergarten in Mrs. Crandall's class, and the pumpkins were from Ms. Dillon's class (2nd grade for Jenna, 3rd grade for Heather). I then piled the Thanksgiving decor on the fireplace which looked quite festive. I'm getting slower at decorating, but not sure why. I used to love it, but now the getting boxes out and putting them away seems daunting. I'll probably be purging more in the season to come so that there isn't quite so much stuff to deal with.

Jenna's First Day of Last Year of Middle School - 8th Grade

The day before school started, we went to get Jenna a mani-pedi. She was very happy to get this last item done before school started.  And then...

She was all dolled up and ready to start her first day of middle school.  Can't believe how fast she is growing up. It seemed to take forever to get here, but 7th grade flew by.  I'm sure 8th grade will go faster.  Can't wait to see what fun adventures Jen will embark on this year. She is on the Yearbook staff and will be trying out for sports teams.  I love being her mom and watching her grow.

Last Week of August - Heather and Mom

It's the last week of summer before school starts.  No wait. School starts for Heather this week. Boooooooooo! Heather started her first day of 11th grade this week (8/27). High school is half way over for her (cue Heather cheering in the background). I was on campus the second day for something and ran into her and her friends in the office. Luckily they are all used to their camera-happy moms and so obliged me with a picture. We had a back-to-school Starbucks run to catch up with dear friend, Grace, since she's not at FVHS with the gang. So fun to hang out and visit for the girls and for their moms! Tammy opened up her pool, and it was heaven sent. I had taken to going out to the driveway to sit in the trailer and run the air conditioning. The heat makes me so grumpy and lazy. We are blessed to have such a great neighbor and friend in Tammy. Jenna and Dad are off exploring Zion, and they will have their own featured post.  Here we go Junior year!

Pictures with Judy

We spent the day out in Murrieta with Judy. She is such an amazing photographer, and she took us to her friends house to shoot the girls. Heather is 16 and Jenna 13.5, and we couldn't be more thrilled. Judy took Heather's first picture when Heather was just over a year old. We have amazing documentation of our girls' growth, and we're so thankful that Judy does this for us.

We got to explore the grounds for a bit (awesome treehouse, tennis court, front porch) and take some pictures with different backdrops.  I love the sisters pictures that the girls sit for. One day these will be such a treasure, more so than they are now.  We also go to visit Winston for a bit and have lunch with Judy. Winston still remembers us.

All Hallow's Eve

We packed a ton into this Halloween day and evening. Heather went back to school this week for bits and pieces, but we're glad she's able to go to some of the school day. We've been off our schedule the past six weeks, so today we played catch up.

First up was visiting a pumpkin patch. The girls care not about this, but since it's an annual tradition, we popped onto the lot at our local fruit and vegetable stand for a picture. I wish their pumpkins weren't so pricey! We found our pumpkins at Walmart one day when Heather was home. Super affordable and not bad looking.  We carved them in the late afternoon. Kelly was the master carver and oversaw the carving. The girls, and Kelly, too, did an outstanding job on their jack-o-lanterns!

I did some last minute decorating for our neighborhood Trick-or-Treaters, and the girls got decked out again in their costumes.  Madi and Kenzie joined Heather in our neighborhood while Jenna went with friends in the Greenbrook neighborhood. Ironically, our neighborhood was the place to be. The older girls collected about six pounds of candy each, some candy being full size bars! There isn't much activity in our neighborhood, but the neighbors still hand out candy. The result is handfuls of candy being distributed. After traditional candy trading, Heather did share a lot of her candy with Jenna which made Jenna's not-so-great stash a little more tolerable. What a nice big sister she has!

Happy Halloween!

p.s. - Girls, will you still come home to Trick-or-Treat when you're in college? I'm going to miss this terribly!