After much consideration (and a not-so-subtle poll of my friends) I decided that Mikayla's earings were not quite even. SUCH a bummer. So, today I took her back to the mall to have one ear re-done--But we couldn't go alone! Paige and Emily both came with us to help distract her (and eat ice cream, of course). Because the line was short, we stopped to say hello to Santa on our way out. Aren't they cute? People kept thinking they were sisters. Be grateful you weren't in the car with us on the way home, though. I couldn't hear myself think over all the giggling :)

When Mikayla asked me, I told her that she could get her ears pierced when she decided that she was ready for that responsibility (and the pain). Several months passed, until she decided she wanted to go for it when she turned 7. So, as a birthday gift from Grandma Cori and Papa Craig:

Before (with a few butterflies)

..and After
She wanted her friend, Paige, there with her for moral support. The two of them giggled the entire time we were at the mall.

Now, we have 8 weeks of cleaning 3 times a day. We'll see how that goes!

Happy Halloween!

My darling girls all ready to go trick-or-treating:

It was so fun having Grandma Cori with us this year!

My little troublemaker

Aubrey and I have been having a lot of time alone together now that Mikayla is in school all day. It's been really nice to sit and play just the two of us--and she definately keeps me entertained with her funny little jabber (I'm lucky to get a word in edgewise).

Yes, I sure do love my Aubrey-girl, but lately she has been giving me a run for my money. Here's the proof:

Nice. But she wasn't done yet. I cleaned her up and sent her out of the kitchen so I could clean up the floor, so she decided to head upstairs and...

get out every game she could reach. Honestly, this wouldn't be so bad if she would then play with them for more than 5 minutes.
Then, not too long ago, she decided to mix the powdered sugar with the flour. Not sure what she was trying to make, but here's the lovely result:


At least she tried to sweep it up before I found her :)
Thanks for keeping me on my toes, Aubrey!

My little first grader

I've been neglecting my blog this summer, but this is too big a moment to ignore. Mikayla was so very excited to start school and here she is on her first day:

This year she has the greatest teacher--Mrs. Johnson. I am so impressed with her...and the best part?? She doesn't believe in giving 1st graders homework! Just daily reading :) Aubrey and I took her to school for the first day (it's a long story), and it was a challenge for me to get a picture with just Mikayla. Aubrey wanted to be a part of every one. You can see her little elbow in the picture above, 'cause she thought she was in that one too! Here they are together:

I felt a little emotional leaving my daughter in the care of another for the whole day, but it was Aubrey who cried on the way home! Those two are such good friends (most of the time).

Our summer was pretty layed back. We spent a lot of time in the backyard doing the usual: swimming pool, sprinklers, trampoline...and playing with all the neighborhood kids.

But we also took a lot of day trips--and spent nearly every Monday night at The Gardens!

(This was taken the evening of "Christmas is July" at Thanksgiving Point. Mikayla was happy to get cozy with Santa, but Aubrey had a tight grip on me and wouldn't even look at him).

OK, let me explain this clip below. I took the girls to yet another activity at The Gardens--This one was a giant slip-n-slide. The video I have of Mikayla is long and boring--but this guy (that I do not know) gave everyone a great show:

Such a great summer--