SIX

Another year has flown by and our girlie is SIX!!! This year was extra special because our friends, the Wests, were in town from Baltimore. Which meant that Maura was here for Sammer's party. This year we were going to have a party at a park by our house but in a random act of nature it was stormy. So we decided to have a bowling party. Samantha had been saying for a while that she wanted to try out bowling so we did! It was so great. The kids had a blast. It was a little tough for Cole but he hung in. He had so much fun watching I don't even think he cared that he wasn't really playing. And the adults had some fun too:)
Samantha told me the next morning, "Mommy, I was having so much fun last night that I almost forgot that it was my birthday party!" Guess it was a hit.
We are so proud of you Samantha.  We love your generous heart, how you love to laugh at your brother, how smart you are, how well you read, how you dance, your songs that you make up, and mostly we just love that God let us be your mommy & daddy. It is SO fun watching you grow up! -xoxo-

Spring Break Retreat

We have had so much going on lately and a trip up to the cabin was just what we needed. The pictures really speak for themselves, but here are some of the highlights...
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Aaron, Christina, Camille and Diego came up with us Saturday afternoon. The rest of that day was filled with outdoor play, frisbee catch, football, driving the big wheel jeep and smores.

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Sunday we got up and went for a little walk to some ruins, went in to town to window shop, walked around town square and headed back to enjoy Aaron's famous Sonoran dogs (hot dogs wrapped in bacon, served with onions, tomatoes, salsa and mexican crema.) SO good. The rest of Sunday was filled with relaxing indoors and out.

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Monday we walked down to the creek. The kids had so much fun exploring and making "bark boats" and racing them down the stream. I have so many memories at this creek and am happy to add this one to my bank:)

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Monday afternoon the Avila's went home and Peter decided to dig a trail for the kids up to the fort. I played on this mountain when I was little and to see Peter building a trail to my old fort was a bit surreal.  

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And this morning when we woke up we looked out the front window and saw 15-20 deer walking right through the property! A great end to a great trip.
Driving home we asked the kids what their favorite part of the trip was. Cole's was driving the jeep. Samntha's were: doing crafts, playing the creek and bilding the fort with Peter. :)

Renaissance Festival

Peter thought it would be a good idea to try out the Renaissance Festival this year with the kiddos and I am so glad we did. They ahd SO much fun! What's not to love...people dressed up, princesses, queens,kings, knights, jousting, dragons, wands and swords, yummy snacks, a petting zoo, birds of prey show, fun music and just lots of good people watching.
It was a great day. Samantha got her hair braided-which we could not believe and Cole rode the butterfly carousel swing. It was so funny-everytime he went around he'd wave and yell, "Hi Mommy!"
Grandma and Grandpa came too. It was such a fun day.
We also spent a lot of time petting and learning about retired greyhounds. Adopting one is in our near future. They are so sweet and such great family dogs. Peter fell in love, I know, Peter!!! And he's a hard sell. they are THAT good!
As we were walking out Samantha said, "Mommy, that was WAY more fun than I thought it was going to be." LOL

 This honestly looked painful!

 Grandma and Samantha

 What's better than chocolate?

Chocolate with M&M's on top!

 Smore on a stick.

 Buds.

 Our little thrill seeker!

 Samantha's souvenir, a rose wand.

 Cole chose a sword of course!

This is when you KNOW he had a fun day!

Father Daughter Ball

Samantha's school had a father daughter ball this year. It was so sweet how excited Samantha got about it. She got all dressed up and more importantly, wanted me to curl her hair! This was a first. We'd never curled her hair before and she loved it. I was curling her hair for the rest of that week!
It's so fun having a daughter!
Highlights of the night as told by Peter and Samantha: dancing with daddy, dancing with friends and having dinner at school.