We had a nice week here in AZ- getting back on schedule, playing with friends, resting up (Josie has been sleeping fully through the night- it has been heavenly!!).  Jenna and I did some Christmas baking....and this is one of the "cowboy snowman" pretzels she made for her friends- super cute.  She did a great job with them and was so proud to give them to her friends.

I shared with many of you that poor Cleo had a reaction to her shots on Thursday- she has had a reaction before about 7 years ago....but it is just so pitiful to see....so I took a picture (this is after she had had benedryl and the swelling had started to go down- note how her eyes are almost shut and so pink).  Thankfully, she is okay and was back to normal in about 24 hours!

Saturday, we drove to Tucson and went to the Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum....basically it is a zoo of local AZ animals....we had a blast!  Both the girls totally enjoyed themselves- it is so neat to have Josie be at a stage where she enjoys our outings too!

Jenna had so much fun and particularly enjoyed the snakes...."WOW!  Mommy- look at this!"  Ben likes to call this photo "kissing a rattlesnake"....he and Jenna kissed the glass to say hello to this very alert snake.

Jenna also loved touching a snake (non-poisonous of course)- we are so proud of our girl for trying new things!  She loved it-

This racoon was SO close to the wires- making the signs that said to keep fingers away from the wires very pertinent!

Just cute- riding a javalina statue

We actually planned the outing to Tucson to visit with my cousin, Tecla, and her husband Dusty....they flew out to Tucson for a weekend get-away.  Had a nice lunch with them and then went to San Xavier Mission.  Jenna wanted to hold Tecla's hand the entire time.

Great visit....we had a blast!

Today, I took Jenna to her 1st movie at an actual theatre!  She was so cute and so excited.....

She did great through the movie (despite the VERY dark and evil villain....why does Disney have to do that?  Very frustrating)- clapping along to the music and loving her popcorn and juice.  She is such a sweet little girl- I love experiencing new things through my child's eyes.  It is so precious.  Fun weekend- we are all tired from all the activity (esp the girls), so it will be an early night. 

Another quick posting to share some pictures from Josie's birthday....we opened "family" gifts on her actual birthday- Josie wasn't so sure about the whole process at first, so Jenna was more than happy to help with the process!  Josie received so many nice gifts....here are some photos of a few from far away relatives....

And from her sister

Afterward, we went up to Prescott to Lynx Lake to go kayaking- super fun!

Josie's birthday party with friends was on Saturday- I found a photo of this cute lamb cake, and made a "theme" off of that. 

The cake was a hit with the kids, esp all the marshmellows on top! 

Josie really enjoyed her party....I love this photo of her enjoying her new chair from her little friend Jenny!

And post-party balloon fun....Gordon and Jenna have a balloon war!

That's all for now....will try to post more on facebook tonight....

One last posting before we head into the excitement of this busy week- my parents' visit and Thanksgiving and Josie's birthday week!  We have been staying busy at our house- mostly with just "daily chores", running errands, play dates, etc.  The girls are both doing great and tons of fun.  Josie has pretty much decided that she is completely done crawling....and is taking off with speed- with her new walking ability, she doesn't want to be still or be held pretty much at all anymore....so, entering a new world of toddler challenges and joys...here is a short video of her walking- pretty big change for 1 1/2 weeks from the last video, huh?

The girls love to play together- it is so fun to watch them bonding.  One of their favorite places to play (for some odd reason) is our shower....

Here is a picture of Josie in my favorite "celery" hat- loved it on Jenna and love it again on Josie!

Jenna continues to do well with school- she has been working through number identification, writing skills, learning some songs for Thanksgiving and is on the last segment of learning Ps 23- this is the first "bulk" passage she has learned- and she is doing so well.  Very proud of her!  We are finishing up our unit on countries (Jenna has loved these Disney country books- very great for kids her age to introduce them to different cultures)....about 1 1/2 weeks ago, we did a unit on Switzerland- and they talked a lot about fondue....so, we had a special dessert fondue that night.  Super fun!  Jenna says, "This is the best dessert ever, Mommy!"

One of the things that I love is to be organized....and also to find a good deal when buying something.  I was super excited to find some great deals at a garage sale this weekend- this storage shelf system was one of them....we can always use the extra room for toys and books, etc!  Josie is, um, "helping" me get thing organized!

And, just because it is so cute- here is a video of Jenna showing off her moves to celebrate OSU victory!!  Kind of a long video, but it is pretty funny, so I had to include it.

Since I probably will not get to post again before the holiday- Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.