Sleepover at Aunt Aimee's

Friday night I met my sister & she took the girls for a sleepover. She took them to a place called Johnny Rockets & they ate hot dogs & hamburgers and you can tell by the pictures it is a place for kids & they loved it!























Then they went to Cold Stone & ate ice cream, watched the fountains light up at Westgate & then got to sleep in Aunt Aimee's bed all night (mostly because she couldn't get them to stop playing in their sleeping bags on the floor).


While the girls were having a blast with Aunt Aimee, David & I were eating at Olive Garden & then played Trivia. Saturday morning we went early to the temple & then picked the girls up & took them to Bass Pro, where they got to take a picture with Santa for free but their favorite was looking at all the fish. It was a fun weekend for all of us. Thanks Aunt Aimee!

QUESTION OF THE DAY: DO ZHARA & ALYSSA LOOK LIKE TWINS? I have people ask me this all the time. Saturday we had 2 people ask us & when I was at the store on Monday another lady asked me. I don't see it but I guess Alyssa is creeping up on Zhara..watch out big sissy

Charity Arabian Horse Show

Last Saturday night we went to a charity event to raise money for March of Dimes.

It was an event at a place called Westworld that is actually right behind our apartment. We've lived here for over 6 months & never really new what all the big lights & voices coming from over the hill were until a few weeks ago.

We were there to see who could cheer the loudest for their horse to win the most money. It was an event for the horses to see how they reacted to noise. It was kind of sad because the horses were completely freaked out but we did raise 2500 bucks for the March of Dimes (we won). It was fun.

The girls liked watching the horses, although when we took a picture by the horse they weren't too sure about it.

Zhara's dance recital

Zhara has been in a creative dance class for 6 weeks & Thursday was her last class. This is her dance recital. I wanted to share it with all those family members who are too far away to be there to see her. Zhara of course had to potty as soon as it started & if you listen carefully you can hear me say "after the dance". She makes me laugh everytime I watch this. If you could see her face during "so a needle pulling thread" you would crack up. It was so cute but she is ready to go back to gymnastics because it "makes her strong" & it helps her balance too. So I hope you all enjoy this video.

A Tribute to Hunting

Normally at this time David would have been gone for a week hunting for an elk to shoot, but as we are in Arizona he was not able to go this year...the first time in 5 years. I would like to say how proud I am of David. Hunting is something he looks forward to every year. It is a time that he gets away from the world for 10 days & spends in prayer & reflection. In order to vote he had to get his Arizona license & because he would have to buy an out of state tag it would have cost us over 500 bucks just for the tag, so even though there is probably nothing he would rather be doing right now, he is here in Arizona working his tail off.His brother called him yesterday to let him know how hunting was going & true to Gould luck they have seen more elk this year than ever before & it's snowing (for the past 4 years it's been unusually warm while they hunt)which pushes the elk down off the mountains, which makes it easier to find them. I will say that I am glad he is not hunting, 10 days is so long to not be able to see or talk to your very best friend.So here is a tribute to hunting & a picture of the elk that David would have shot had he been able to go.

A Very Eventful Halloween Weekend

Our weekend was very busy for Halloween. It started on Thursday. Zhara got to dress up for school & then had a Fall Festival carnival that night. We went shopping at a crazy cheap sale at Fry's (King Soopers for most of you) & the girls got to decorate their own sugar cookies. It was funny because Alyssa just licked her icing off & when I was putting the groceries in the car I looked over & Alyssa was laying on Zhara's lap while Zhara was licking her napkin & wiping Alyssa's face off. After the festival we drove home, changed clothes, ate some dinner & I took the girls to Page to see my parents. David stayed here, as most of you know from the post he made about losing his keys.
Friday grandpa stayed home from work so we got to hang out with him. The girls picked leaves, played in the dirt, went hiking and watched the balloons practice for the Balloon Regatta. After grandma got home from work we carved a pumpkin, something my dad hadn't done for like 10 years and then after a trip to Walmart we headed out for trick or treating in 70 degree weather. It was beautiful and this was the first time that the girls actually went house to house. After a fall into the really annoying goat head sticker bushes here, Alyssa was a little upset & ended up going back to the house with grandpa & aunt Aimee while grandma & I took Zhara for another hour. She had a blast.
After a late night, high on sugar we got up early Saturday morning to watch the hot air balloons take off. The girls were amazed, well I think I was more amazed than they were, at how big & loud they were. The girls loved the ladybug balloon the best. Every year Page has the Balloon Regatta & they shut down main street & line up the balloons and light them up. It was indescribable. The girls were scared of the fire at first but after clinging to grandpa they realized it was okay & enjoyed all the lights.
It was a fun weekend, we missed Daddy and I'm sure he was really missing us while sleeping in the car. He did find his keys by the way Monday morning locked in another guy's office. I've made a slide show of all the pictures that were taken this weekend.