This post has been a long time in the making...

Well, I've skipped a whole month+ of blogging.  Life has been crazy, to say the least.  With Madeline in school and all her activities in full gear, we've been busy.  I figured I had better download some pictures, though, as we have some big weekends coming up!

Shortly after school started, we took a quick trip to Tucson over Labor Day. 

When on a 6+ hour road trip with a toddler, never give her a marker and assume the silence means she is coloring nicely in her book.  She got quite mad when I took the marker away and cried, "I need a purple marker for my other leg."

A long drive sure does make these little girls tired!  They were excited to sleep in the same bed.

While trying to find a way to escape the Tucson heat, we opted to take Olivia to her first movie.  We saw Planes and she did pretty well.

She would easily say the popcorn was the best part of the show.  Once the popcorn was gone, she passed out.

Madeline gets a ride in the "Princess Car"

 

The Tucson gang back together.  We had a great time catching up, and look at all of those little girls!!

Grandma and Grandpa Handl then came to town on their return trip from Fiji.  They spent a long weekend with us in San Diego.

Modeling their new Fiji dresses and coin purses.

Time for a good night book

Enjoying the view from Torrey Pines State Park

Displaying her strength at the local Greek Festival

Zoo Safari Park

Look at all those monkeys!

Lots of other things have been happening too...

Daddy has been hard at work in the garage working on a special project.  When he emerged with his pachinko machine encased in a shiny new frame the girls were super excited.  They still suddenly decide they want to go play "daddy's game" and both squeal with excitement when they hit a jackpot!

 

Check out this little cutie who is getting so big!

Daddy had his weekend Pedal the Cause bike ride, which gave us the opportunity to have a girl's weekend.  We enjoyed...

...ice cream by the fountains

...followed by fountain play

...a fun trip to the Children's Museum

...all topped off by meeting daddy at the finish line.  Check out these silly faces!

The girls both had fall dentist appointments and maintained their status in the No Cavity Club.  Going to their dentist is like a trip to a party; they always leave with balloons and goodie bags with all sorts of (non-edible) treats.

Olivia was so proud she carried her certificate, balloon and goodie bag around for the rest of the day!

Madeline displays her award!

Reading is exhausting!!

Sad Selfie!

Happy Selfie!

Stylin!

 Big Girl News:

One awesome reminder that she is growing.  Potty training is going great!  She's using the potty most days and we're only having accidents every now and then! 

In other big girl notes, the dentist said it was time to lost the paci.  We snipped the end off of it,and through tears and a trembling voice she said "Purple binky is broken, I need a new purple binky."  She slept fine and 2 days later we actually lost purple binky around nap time.  We searched high and low but couldn't find it.  She did great without it, and so she has no idea that I actually found it a few days later hiding under her toys.  Guess she solved the binky problem on her own.  It was easier than I though, as she really did love "purple binky!"

Their bedroom door was completely ruined with stickers and missing paint when we moved in.  They are now redecorating it with their own stickers.  Skateboard and surfer stickers are quickly being replaced by princesses and unicorns!

Daddy breakfasts make everyone smile!!

She now insists on bringing a toy to school everyday.  Which is allowed, as long as the toy "naps" in her cubby all day.  Today's selection was a cat, decked out for school with his backpack.

One Saturday morning we enjoyed a breakfast picnic in the park.  I can't say that it was healthy with donuts and chocolate milk, but we had a great time!  We followed it up with a trip to the local farmer's market where we picked up some fresh veggies, so we called it even!

This little beauty was out of school on Monday of this week so we got to spend the whole day together, just mommy and Olivia.  She is such a big girl now, she carries on a full conversation and is happy to just play and entertain herself!