6 years ago

Our sweet little Lauren turned 6 years old on September 6th. She's such a great little girl and I love her so much!! She brings joy to my life every day and I am so grateful she is part of our family. Lauren is sweet and loving and generous and kind and tender and easy going. Much to my dismay, she's growing out of her days of playing dress up and pretending to be princesses and moving on to playing school and learning how to do "teenager" stuff. She is already into the latest fashion trends and has a good eye for it. She likes to be "hip". Lauren is really looking forward to becoming a teenager. Thankfully, Lauren is still hanging on to her childhood because she still plays with her dolls and is a WONDERFUL mother to them. I hope these tender moments last a lot longer!! I don't want Lauren to be a teenager just yet.

The day before her birthday was Labor Day

and we headed to Disneyland for a fun filled day

It was our first time on Star Tours since it re-opened.

Lauren wasn't a fan of the 3D glasses but the

ride was Ah-mazing!! It's Parker's new favorite

It was also our first time on the new Ariel ride.

I must say--it was also amazing!! Disney

sure knows how to do things right

Parker went on the Tower of Terror with Jeff

& Maddie. He didn't know what he was in for

but he really wanted to go. You can tell from

this picture AFTER the ride that he didn't like it

We always seem to find a dog...everywhere we go

Lauren got a birthday souvenier. Another dog..sigh..

Birthday morning Lauren got breakfast in bed

French toast with powdered sugar, strawberries,

and hot chocolate. Just what she ordered

All the goods...

Parker gave Lauren her favorite treat

You only get sugar cereal once a year at

our house....On your birthday...and

you DON'T have to share

Maddie gave Lauren a Monster High Doll

Her new outfit

Birthday treats to share in class

Minky pillowcase from Grandma Georgia

THANKS!! It's just like Lauren requested

Grandpa Karl always sends a sweet treat

Parker Boy started pre-school

WHAT!!?? I am home alone twice a week

for 3 hours. What will I do??

He was excited about it until we got there.

Then he was grumpy and I left him crying

Thankfully the tears didn't last long and he

was so happy when I picked him up

He had so much fun that he had to go

home and take a nap

Grandma Farrell came into town that

weekend & brought a birthday present with her

SURPRISED!!

I love the look of pure excitement!!

Thanks Grandma for the American Girl

Doll horse!! Just what Lauren wanted

...and finally, we went to BJ's for a

birthday pizookie. A favorite tradition!!

First Day of First & Fourth

The girls were very excited to start school. In fact, they were so excited they got up EARLY and got dressed, made their beds, and brushed their hair before I was even out of bed. It was great!! Lauren and Maddie are at the same school this year. YEA!! That makes me happy!! Lauren is looking forward to being with her BIG SIS this year. I don't usually get teary but this year it was hard leaving my kids at school. Who knew first and fourth would be so tough!?

All dressed and ready to go

Lauren is so proud of her Monster High book bag

Love that face! First grade here we come

Maddie was excited to find a Chip and

Dale shirt. She loves little critters

Love that face! Fourth grade here we come

Parker wasn't going to school but he got

a book bag too. He can't be left out!

It's going to be just me and my little

buddy all day

Now that's a good looking bunch!

That's a BIG stack of books!

Maddie has two AMAZING teachers this year

that job share. Mrs. Green and Mrs. Calise.

They are young, spunky, and adorable.

They even wore matching outfits-

Maddie is excited to be in their class

Lauren and her teacher Mrs. Petruzzelli

Lauren was most impressed by her

bright red shoes and sense of fashion.

Parker was so sad when we got home and the

girls weren't with us. He really wanted to

go to school. Little does he know that

we have fun filled days ahead of us

with no sisters to tease us

We headed to the duck pond with friends

to ride bikes and feed the ducks

Enjoyed the fountain

Climbed on rocks

and left soaking wet.

Isn't that face a look of pure joy??

End of Summer

Summer was most definitely eventful this year. The last week before school started was jam packed full of fun. We have wonderful friends who let us swim in their amazing pool.

Look at that crystal blue water

There's even a Parker sized pool

The water fall is perfect for jumping

Lauren's jump ended in a belly flop

Parker enjoyed putting rocks in a cup

We went mini golfing at Pirate's Cove

Maddie putts and putts and putts......

it goes in

Lauren putts and...

is oozing with excitement

from her hole in one

Parker putts and....

is jumping with joy for his hole in one

Parker enjoys wearing the same shirt as his dad

I'm so lucky they're mine!!!

Lauren woke up early to go running with

Jeff before he went to work. She loves it!

Running Buddies

Stretching with a grin on her face

....and they're off

...and they return. 1.5 miles later.

Lauren wasn't even tired. She

wanted to keep running

The day before school started the kids in the

neighborhood all gathered at my house.

THE CHALLENGE.....build the best

course for the matchbox cars. They

literally worked for hours. They worked

with minimal arguing. TEAMWORK!

Nearly every toy in our house was outside

in our front yard. It was great!! The cars

went over, under, through, around, and

ended with a jump into the gutter