Final Galaxy game

This was such a wonderful season for Natalie with a new coach and a new group of kids! Natalie is already looking forward to next season, hopefully with the same coach.

The mini Casa de Hayes

Our neighbors a few houses over offered us a playhouse that their kids had outgrown. It was an amazingly cute house (complete with electricity) and mommy knew the kids would love it. This spawned the installation of the fake grass and then the location for the playhouse. After a few months, the foundation was set and we were all ready.

Finally... moving day! Out comes the house from behind our neighbors fence. The guys just rolled it right down the street.

And here it is... the mini Casa de Hayes!

As soon as the kids discovered it, they were in love. Even Gus likes to go in and check things out or play house/school/restaurant.

And then, mommy decided to take off all the weathered windows and doors and use the paint leftover from when our house was painted to paint the house so it would match. Complete with a blue front door. Our house numbers will soon be on the side of the door, but aren't there yet. The windows were mostly trash so we are currently deciding if we want to make new ones or leave it open air. In the meantime, it has no window shutters.

A week or so later, the kids down the street decided that the mini Casa de Hayes would be a most excellent place to store all their play kitchen stuff. We agreed. And then Nat organized it and mommy was so proud to see that her OCD organizing genes have been passed down.

Most recently, mommy painted the floor a very light gray (leftover paint from the computer room) and spray painted the stools hot pink.

February 2017, in photos

We sat outside in our new "grass" in one month more than in our old grass in five years. It is so much more functional and the kids and Gus LOVE it.

The day after Grandpa and Grandma left and everyone was sad and crabbly... Natalie drew a picture of her and all her neighborhood friends at the park with Grandpa Huxter and Grandma Becky flying above them in an airplane.

Never a dull minute with car trips to and from school. Bookworms one day, party animals the next...

 Doing homework together...

Sadly, this will be the last Hayes wearing the super cute Osh Kosh overalls with pink hearts.

Eloise and mommy had to get a flat tire repaired on Mommy's bus. Naturally, Eloise was fascinated.

And later that day, Eloise was fixing the tire on her toy bus with her toy screwdriver. :)

 Lunch time for all the babies...

Mommy managed her first braid in Eloise's crazy curls.

The girls began to LIKE to dress alike and do things together, like brush their teeth and simultaneously snuggle with daddy.

We were reminded that Eloise is indeed a two year old.

And Eloise also began to show interest in riding a bike like the big kids...

Final Running Club race

For the final Running Club race, Natalie was surprised to see she was competing against our neighborhood school. She was even more surprised to run into her neighbor friends, Connor and Caleb.

Despite the boys being in 3rd grade, Natalie walked right up to Caleb and said "you're going to lose to a kindergartner." I admired her confidence. Turns out she didn't have the juice to catch them. But it was fun to have a little friendly neighborhood competition.

 Poised with her friend at the starting line.

President's Day weekend

Mommy's old high-school friend, Miss Chrissy, came to visit for President's Day weekend and Daddy and Natalie decided to get away and went on an adventure together.

First order of business was finding Miss Chrissy some Mexican food and margaritas.

Then shopping for sandals. Eloise was quite helpful.

Meanwhile, Natalie and daddy went out for dinner at Magpies in Tucson to watch the U of A game together. And then they got all all snuggled in at the "giant bed" in the hotel.

 Complimentary breakfast at the hotel = heaven for Nat.

Mommy, Eloise and Miss Chrissy went for a cold, windy and rainy hike at South Mountain Regional Park (locals just say South Mountain) followed by cheeseburgers and beers at Uncle Bear's Brewery.

 

Daddy and Natalie went to the Sonoran Desert Museum and Saguaro National Park, where Natalie earned her Junior Ranger badge.

 

And on the way home, they made a pit stop at the Ironwood Forest National Monument.

Galaxy soccer

Nat's winter soccer team is called the Galaxy.  Her new coach really connects with her and she is having a lot of fun this season. Little sister is too.

Daddy promised her a donut if she scored a goal...