Open for Business!

So, for those of you who don't know... between my mom, sister and I, we have recently opened some shops on ETSY (handcrafted goods & supplies website). They aren't to make tons of money or anything (we wish!), but really just a place to sell some of our creative stuff we love to make. If you have some time, check them out!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/scrappytwins


http://www.etsy.com/shop/sillybananas


http://www.etsy.com/shop/ToyRainDesign

And if nothing else, at least go explore ETSY.com if you've never visited before, it's amazing!

Fall... are you there yet?

Ahhh... this Phoenix heat... it truly is something else. Wow, it's hard to do almost anything outside, walking to and from the truck is hard enough. Some days, we just don't even leave the house and I've been working hard to keep Rylie busy inside lately. Let me tell you, it isn't easy. Unless of course you don't mind picking up a room full of books and other scattered toys about five times a day. I'm really trying to work with her on helping me pick her things up, but so far I haven't found the trick to that. I'm thinking a sticker chart in the near future? We'll see, this girl is just so independent and really makes up her own mind about when she is going to listen or not. (Does that sound familiar to anyone? I'm going to say she gets it from her daddy... hehe).

A typical day in Rylie world:

Play-dough!! Why did I wait so long to introduce this stuff?!

Playing in the fan, a favorite pastime...

Sometimes you just need an ice cream after a hard day...

It's hard to get a picture of this kid sometimes, she's always on the move!

Drawing with daddy on one of his last trips home:

Awww ;)

We also got to visit Chris recently in Needles, CA for a couple of days. It was nice, we had a good time, but boy was it HOT down there (felt even hotter than Phoenix, yikes!) But at least we had the Colorado River right outside the door to cool off in :) Just had to make sure we had a hand on Rylie at all times, this kid is brave and wanted to keep on swimming downstream!





So, we are now just waiting for this heat to finish up and give us that wonderful fall weather that we love. Hopefully mom and Todd's pool will be done soon so we can play in it while it's still hot - Rylie is all ready with her new pool robe. And I'm totally enjoying my new "toy", our new treadmill! I think Rylie enjoys it too, these kids are just way too smart sometimes! (And no, I do not let her use it, it's always unplugged and off when I'm not on it).

Never knew Goldilocks was so funny!

This is still cracking me up! Enjoy!!

I'm an Auntie!

Ok, time to catch up here! It's been a tiny bit hectic with our newest family member around here, meet Mr. Chase Ryan Callies - my adorable nephew weighing in at a healthy and chunky 9lbs, 14oz, and 23" long!



Tracy and Jason really lucked out here! Not only is he the cutest little boy baby ever (I can say that because I had the cutest girl baby ever, of course), but he is really good and laid-back, only crying when he is really hungry (he probably got that from me, haha!) I've had so much fun getting to know this little man, and have gotten to practice juggling him and Rylie every so often when I'm left alone to babysit both of them. Rylie has been pretty good with him, besides the occasional "tough love" pat here and there. But she does give him the sweetest kisses. :) Tracy is becoming a great mother right before our eyes, it's so amazing to see such an incredible bond created within the first moments of mother meeting her child. Jason is a great daddy as well, and we love having him around too!

In other news, we are getting used to Chris being gone more again sadly. But at least he isn't as far away this time, and hopefully once his schedule gets more consistent, he'll be able to come home at least once a week. He's about three hours away, working out of Needles, CA at the moment. But he's enjoying it, and thanks again to Todd for letting him borrow your RV! It's definitely come in handy! We miss you daddy, but I know we will see you soon!



So as of now we are just trying to beat the heat around here, swimming when we can and enjoying inside activities. Hope you all are having a great summer so far!!

Daddy's Home and Rylie is TWO!!

When people told me our lives would never be the same when Chris started working for the railroad, I wasn't sure what they meant. But let me tell you, it has been quite a ride so far... but I hope this change will be the most long-lasting so far! From Trinidad, Colorado one week, back home to Phoenix the next! Chris was able to snag a spot here and decided to take it while he could, which we could not be more happy about (except for the two days of road trip and packing up an apartment into one pickup!) We are hoping that once he gets "familiarized" with the tracks here in Phoenix that he will be able to work out of Winslow, AZ (about three hours away) and come home a couple times a week. We are just happy that he is closer and we get to see him more! And I'm also glad to not be packing up my entire house just yet...

In other news, Tracy is about to pop out Mr. Chase Ryan any day now!! (Sooner rather than later we all hope!) Her official due date is June 15th, we were hoping maybe her little one would share Rylie's birthday, but no such luck! ;) She's been such a trooper, but is getting sick and tired of being pregnant, and we all want to meet the little man very badly!

Miss Rylie turned two this week!! It sorta snuck up on us in the midst of Chris moving back home and starting work here, but we had a pretty fabulous day/weekend! A couple of days before, she received her first presents from Nana Brock and Grandaddy, a cute new baby doll and monkey towel! I love that she is practicing feeding and holding her (just in time for little Chase!) On her birthday, she woke up to a big box of what else -- "Olivia" books!! She was super excited about that as you can tell. We spread out the presents and surprises throughout the day (I learned my lesson from this past Christmas...) and she was excited again about all of her new outfits and more "Olivia" stuff! We concluded with a wonderful evening out on our "new" deck, that we are finally being able to use thanks to Nana Lene and Grandpa Todd for paying for deck railing! We love it out here, and it's especially nice because it's shaded right at the best time in the evening for some outside play!

And on another note, we want to again thank my Dad and Jeanette and Aunt Denise and Jo for taking in our cats for us and providing them good homes full of love. It was a very hard decision to decide to give them up, but in the end it's what our family needed to retain sanity (mostly my sanity from dealing with FIVE animals and a toddler) and also make moving/being away from home a little easier on everyone involved. We are happy too that we will be able to visit them and get updates from you all, which you have been fabulous about doing for us! I leave you with the last photos of Cleo and Gracie here at home, we are glad they are doing well in their new homes and hope that they continue to become acclimated :)