Tu-Tus and Tap Shoes

I got to sit in on Rachel's second ballet/tap class. Just as I suspected, she is loving every second of it. She loves that she gets to take the class with her cousin too. They are so darn cute in their little outfits.


Trying to get that 3rd position.

I had a friend once tell me that she couldn't decide what her favorite childhood stage was, and I'm beginning to understand. Every new stage is so much fun, being able to watch Rachel learn and grow. Of course my friend didn't have teenagers at the time...

Camping at Sly Park

We finally took a family camping trip. We went up to Sly Park which is only about an hour and half away. I didn't realize how beautiful it was up there. For those who know me well, they know that I am not a camper. But I realized that I have been missing out on so much and will definitely be taking more camping trips in the future. It was so much fun to let the kids explore, build fires and have s'mores, throw rocks in the lake, and just relax and enjoy nature. I got to go on a run through the woods, and wish I were back there right now!

Of course, camping is dirty. While Bryan was setting up camp, Rachel fell into the fire pit and got ashes all over herself. Luckily there was nothing hot in there yet and she learned her lesson before it could do much damage.

What could be better than roasting marshmellows? Mmmm...s'mores.

Dirty, but happy, kiddos! Good times, good memories!

Rachel's 5th Birthday

Rachel turned 5 last Thursday. She was so excited to bring cupcakes to her kindergarten class. She decided on purple frosting and sprinkles. As we walked to her classroom she kept telling her classmates with a look of satisfaction, "I brought cupcakes!" She had a fun day at school, then we had a family party that night.

We started with a princess crown pinata. Dad ended up having to bust it open, though Taylor might have eventually broken it with her strong swings. Next we had a water balloon toss (which of course turned into a water balloon fight, which I unfortunately lost), then we had fun with bubbles.

Finally it was time for presents and cake. Rachel told me that she wanted a "crown" cake. Luckily I found a cute little crown with Disney princesses to top the cake with. Rachel is wearing the crown while cheesing it with Taylor, Robyn and Grandma.

Rachel is such a sweet girl. She has a beautiful smile and the prettiest blue eyes. She is a true girly-girl who loves to wear makeup, paint her nails and wear dresses. Rachel is a great big sister to Ben and they have so much fun together. She is good at including him in her make-believe world. She starts a ballet and tap dance class tonight and she is thrilled. Whenever we go to a performance she will ask me if she gets to go on stage too. This time she will be able to be the performer she so wants to be (thanks Barbara!). Rachel loves school and is doing great with her school work, but she mostly loves recess. She can read all of Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See and is working on learning new words all the time (though she gets frustrated just like her mom when she doesn't know something). She loves to play games, especially matching games, Hi-Ho Cherry-O, Uno, Go Fish and Bingo. She loves to go to the park and with Mom on all of her errands. We love Rachel and glad that she is part of our family.

Gold Rush Days

We took the kids to Old Sacramento on Labor Day for Gold Rush Days. This was our first time going and we had a great time. We took a horse-drawn carriage ride along the dirt roads and the kids got to pet the horse afterwards.




Ben and Rachel driving the paddy wagon.

This is inside the schoolhouse. They let them sit in the desks and draw on the slates. We also got to paint the fence outside like Tom Sawyer. They learned pretty quickly though that it was actually work, so that was short-lived.



We watched a little of the gun fight show but the kids thought it was too loud. They loved panning for gold and spending the money they earned on rocks, marbles and sheriff's badges.