Mini Vacation

Over the weekend we took a little road trip to Phoenix, met up with Rik (Thomas' twin brother) and his family, and stayed at the Arizona Grand Resort, the home of the Oasis Water Park.  We have little kids, but the older of the two is a fish and the younger is training to be a fish, so the Oasis was perfect.

Davin and Charis both enjoyed the kiddie pool, Davin more for splashing and Charis more for relaxing with Thomas.  I think Dav really liked the idea of being able to stand on his own two feet in the water.  The lazy river was a hit for everyone except Charis, who didn't appreciate the life vest she had to wear or the arches of water spraying over the river in certain places.  Davin loved the wave pool, especially after he discovered the water lapping onto the "beach" and splashing over his feet and legs.  He also got a kick out of standing in the shallow part of the wave pool, holding both my hands, and letting the waves lift his feet out from under him!

Charis liked the water if she was snuggled with Daddy (and didn't have to wear that dang life vest), but she really prefered being dry and warm!  Once everyone else followed suit and headed for the shade, we got some refreshing drinks and food.

 Rik's fiance, Paola, is expecting a baby girl in December.  Charis will have a little cousin to play with!

Davin really loved the chocolate shake that was brought to him at his own request (he couldn't live without one once he heard Dinem order one)!

 Although the Littles are too, well, little to go on the slide, Thomas had to try it out (he's my big fish).  Once he got to the bottom there were guys giving him fist bumps and congratulating him on his speed coming down the slide and the size of his splash at the bottom (Thomas doesn't know what a stranger is, he makes friends with everyone he meets).

 After so much water and sun (not that we don't love it), it was time for cooling down in the room, naps, and then a yummy dinner at Grimaldi's.

Thanks so much to the other Dupont branch for vacationing with us, we had a blast!

Weekend in Pictures

This weekend was all about
-Smiles
-Loads of family
-Pretty new outfits
-Tickling
-Making music with cousins (and annoying them with it)
-Driving
-Coca Cola from a bottle
-Perfecting the golf swing
-Soccer
-A Harry Potter marathon
-An awesome gator hat

Saturday was all about...

-Stretching out on the floor
-Hangin' out with Daddy
-Watching the baseball game
-Using the iPad like a pro (Davin uses it better than I do)
-A sweet baby girl snuggling with Mommy
-Finally starting to understand how to play a game of Memory (knuckles!)
-Flip Flops
-Driving a car through the grocery store with a chocolate smoothie close by
-A venti Caramel Frappuccino for me, too!

Happy Birthday, Davin!

While Independence Day is a very special day to me in the same way it is to all Americans, July 4th is also the day I gave birth to my first child, Davin. I am always so in awe to watch this spunky little man who is now two years old. He is so full of energy and curiosity, and is definitely very opinionated these days.
One week ago, Davin gained a new little sister, which threw him a bit of an emotional curve ball. He has handled the whole situation quite well, though, and as a reward, he had today, which was all about him!
Of course we went to the parade, where he was most impressed by the fire trucks and Smokey the Bear. Then it was back home to see his big birthday gift, his very own power wheels Jeep. That's right, no more sitting in the front of people's cars and pretending, no more mini cooper. A car of his very own!
Later, we had Davin's birthday party at Brenda's house, where he got to swim, swing at a pinata, and just play around. By the way, take a look at that cake Mariah made for him and tell me the girl doesn't need to go into business! She is so good! Davin couldn't wait to take the cars off the top of it!
Happy Birthday, Davin! I love you, Little Man!

Charis Ann Dupont

Introducing our new little princess, born June 27.

Big Boy Bunk Beds

It's official, Davin moved into his Super Cool Big Boy Bedroom today with his Super Cool Big Boy Bunk Beds. He was so excited, he's been playing on the bed and in the chairs all day long. The transition has been pretty easy as far as sleep goes, too. We just have to remind him every once in a while that his bedroom is now on the right side of the hall instead of the left, because he forgets! Now it's time to redecorate the "Baby Room" for a little girl!

Mini Cooper?

This is Davin's "car" right now. He's had it since he was tiny and had no idea what to do with it. But, these days, he is obsessed with cars, so he's been driving this tiny thing all over the house. Good thing there is a larger "4 wheel drive" car waiting in a box somewhere in our house for a certain 2 year old's birthday in a couple weeks. He is constantly trying to get into the driver's seat of our cars so he can pretend to drive, and his favorite toys in the house are, you guessed it, his cars. Incidently, once he figured out that I was trying to take a picture of him on his car, he decided he needed to show me all of his cars so I could take pictures of them.

9 Years ago....

9 years ago I married my best friend. He has been my rock, my partner in crime, my cheerleader, and an amazing parent to our son! He's in New Mexico today; he had to leave at 3:00 this morning to catch a plane for Farmington, but I'm thinking of him and missing him on the anniversary of our wedding day. I love you, Thomas!

Happy Easter!

This pretty much sums up our egg hunt for the day, stopping to eat the candy inside the eggs!

Soccer Star!

Dav took the soccer ball out in the yard today and kicked it around like there was no tomorrow!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween has been so fun this year, and I think it will just be more fun as Davin gets older and gets the concept a little more! On Friday night, we went to the TMS Carnival, Dav loved picking the ducks out at the duck pond game, and ate two suckers in a row and got mad when I took them away because we were both a sticky mess! Tonight we went trick-or-treating, which he doesn't really get the concept of yet, but he was constantly digging in his bucket to pick out candy, and he discovered carmel apples at Grandma's house.

Tomorrow we have a birthday party for Grammy with the whole family. Her birthday was actually today (yesterday, I guess, since it's after midnight now)! Happy Birthday, Grammy!

Big Update

So, we just got back from our road trip vacation to Bullhead City, and we had a blast! Among other things, we visited the burros in Oatman, fed the fish at the Lake Mojave Marina, and hung out with Dad, Stephanie, Grampa, and Jeannie.

We spent the evening last night carving pumpkins for Halloween. Davin was so intent on watching me carve the faces for a while, then he occupied himself with climbing and digging, and taking the pieces of discarded pumpkin and offering them to Thomas. I love Halloween, and I'm so glad I have a good excuse to go all out on it again (meaning Davin)!

I spent some time this afternoon with Davin playing outside on his little slide and swing set. Playing and exploring outside with him never gets old! The weather today is amazing, too (so far). This is the reason I love Arizona, it's the end of October, and we are still playing outside in shorts and sandals!

Pumpkin Patch

Grammy grew pumpkins this year, and invited us over so that Davin could pick one. She had all types and sizes, but Davin immediately went after the biggest, brightest orange pumpkin. As he wandered more, though, he discovered he really liked the smaller pumpkins, as well, because he could lift them. He kept throwing them like he does his ball at home!

Summertime....

Davin loves (no, that's not an exageration) cold water.... even for baths. So, for him, sprinklers are the perfect summertime refresher!

Our Firecracker is One!

Davin turned one year old yesterday. I cannot believe how fast this year has gone, but it has been so wonderful and amazing! We had his birthday party yesterday evening, and were so fortunate to have so many people- family and friends- join us to celebrate. I was excited to see all the "tiny people" come to play, as well. Davin loves other kids! He was especially fascinated by his cousin, Dinem, who he got to play with a little extra because Rik, Paola, and Dinem stayed the night with us. We did the standard cook-out, birthday cake and gifts, with a little patriotic flare of fireworks and sparklers. Davin was a little shy and uncertain about tearing into his cake and gifts, but with the help of all the other tiny people (and bigger people) he finally figured out what it was all about! Thank you to everyone who came over to spend the evening with us! And, Happy Independence Day!