New House, New Kitty

We got the keys to our new house on July 11th.  Grandad flew in that night to help us move.  I had a couple hours before I had to pick Grandad up at the airport so I played "Frozen" on my laptop in the closet under the stairs for the girls while I tried to line as many shelves as I could.  (Joe's red flag exercise at work had just started that day too.) Crazy Timing.

Moving was exhausting but at least we had a comfortable couch to relax on.  And there was also a new ceiling fan too, thanks Grandad.

This is what the front of our house looks like.  I really like the separate garages (even if they're small).

The girls got their new/old bikes back when the movers delivered our storage stuff from Florida.

Bike Posers

Summer in Las Vegas definitely calls for a pool though.  Luckily it's a short walk across the street to our neighborhood pool.

Jessica just barely learned to swim in the past week.  Here's a video of that:

Jess Swimming!

At first, our backyard was just dirt and rocks but the girls pretended to dig for dinosaur fossils.

 We weren't in our house a week when I found the perfect kitty for us on Craigslist.  We named him Taz because he was purring so loud one morning that Jess said he sounded like a Tazmanian Devil. (She had just watched that episode of Wild Krattz.)

 I think this kitty was made for our family.  He LOVES to play and he is real easy going.  He gets really excited when I open the door to the girls' bedroom in the morning.  I can hear him purring as I turned knob and he pushes in ahead of me.  I swear he'd be yelling, "It's PLAY TIME!" if he could talk.  But, he can barely even meow.  He is very forgiving of the girls.  I heard him squeak one morning and I looked over to see Allison carrying him upstairs.  I yelled, "put him down".  Allison calmly replied, "No, he has to go to the doctor."  I said, "You're hurting him!"  Allison had an answer, "sometimes the doctor hurts".

Trying to make the girls be gentle with their little feline counterpart is a daily struggle.  But, I swear he likes it.  There is no coincidence that he is in all the pictures I take of the girls.  He doesn't want to miss out on any of the fun their having.

Bath Time

Curious Kitty

He plays when they play, he naps when they nap.

Taz should know better than to fall asleep in front of the girls (but he never learns).

Jess playing with Taz's Tongue

Two Kitties Eating Together

Pouncing

The girls (and Taz) are probably mad at me for getting rid of all the moving boxes.

Playing in Boxes

Box Play

Box Play 2

Box Play 3

Meema came for a week to help me when the movers came.  I don't know what I would have done without her, especially since Joe was working from 4pm to 6am for his Red Flag Exercise that week.  Meema built an an awesome fort.

And, she took the girls to the pool almost every afternoon.

Meema Shark

 The girls took Meema to The Natural History Museum (their favorite spot).

 Notice the Anna doll in Allison's hand.  She says, "Can I bring Anna to the museum?  I will hold on tight to her!"  How do you say no to that?

Dinosaur Dress Up

The girls' new hangout spot, the island.

 Allison had a really tough time waiting for the chocolate chip muffins to bake one morning.

 I use to get so upset when Jessica would throw two year old tantrums.  But, with Alli, I just go grab the camera.

 See.  She didn't die!

 Oh, Allison, you amuse me so!

Remember that dirt backyard?

 I HAD to do something about that.  So I gathered up some bids and got it taken care of.

 The girls watched as the guys poured the concrete.

Watching the Concrete Guys

Concrete Guys Clean Up

 The concrete patio was a nice edition. It made for an easier clean up of my little rug-rats.

Watching the landscapers

 The awning and landscaping make the backyard one of our favorite hang out spots now.

Backyard Rockstar

Bubbles in the Backyard

If you listen carefully you can hear Allison telling me that she is making dinosaur tracks in this video.
Playing in the hose

Playing in the hose 2

Playing in the hose 3

Watch the look of devious delight on Joe's face when he turns to look at me in this next video.
Playing in the hose with daddy


Lady made the girls some really awesome costumes.  Jessica is an alien princess.

 Allison is a Disney Princess.  Allison's dress is already getting worn out because she wears it so much.  She doesn't even want to take it off at bedtime.

Lady's Costumes

Playing in Costumes

Gangnam Style

Waiting For Our Home

The wait for our new home was agonizing.  But, we were able to keep busy and we checked progress often.  I drove by and took pictures for Joe when ever a play date brought me to the general area.  We liked trying to figure out what progress was being made that day (floors, appliances, etc.) 

 We drove to the home site every Sunday after church and walked through it.  On this particular Sunday we discovered that the cabinets and counter tops were in.

Like I said, we kept busy with play dates and other fun stuff like that.  One of the play dates was a pool party.  Jess went swimming and Allison decided the snacks that everyone brought looked better than the pool.

We met at Chuck E Cheese for another play date.

Ball One

Ball Two

 The girls spent the afternoons on the patio at the apartment.  Here they are showing off their new "Barbie potty training Blissa Kitties".

Popsicles on the patio became a daily ritual.

 And Allison would amaze me with her ability to make messes.

Meema and Grandad sent a surprise box with tattoos, press on nails, butterfly wall stickers, cute dresses and more.

 I got ambitious one day and took us all out for hair cuts.  Jess was afraid her hair would lose it's magical powers if it was cut (Thanks Disney Rapunzel!) but I assured her that it would make it grow faster and more powerful.

 Allison was a sport about the haircut.  It's grown out now and looks much better.  Hee hee.

 We went to movie night at Centennial hills park.  I only put myself through it because they were playing Frozen and Lady had just made the girls Elsa and Anna capes.  Every one loved the capes.  Jessica found another Anna (sorry Alli) and waited in line to take a picture of her freezing Anna's heart.  The little blonde girl totally photo bombed Jess.

They sold snow cones at the movie and let all the kids go to the front of the stage and sing Frozen together.  Jessica, decided to face the opposite way of all the other children so I didn't get as much on video as I would have liked to. 

Jess Singing Frozen

Jess Still Singing Frozen

Allison was too shy to go up with the other kids but she couldn't help but mouth the words.

Allison Singing Frozen

Daddy had his 38th Birthday and we helped him celebrate.

Frosting Daddy's Cake

Boring Present

Singing Happy Birthday

Blowing Out Candles

Jessica takes pictures when she gets a hold of my phone.  Here are some of those pictures.

Telling Daddy a Story

Dance Interpretation of Frozen

Play Disagreement

Playing Dress Up

 This is at the Natural History Museum downtown.  Totally cheesy exhibit for adults, but a wonderland for little ones.

 The girls love going to Las Vegas.  I don't blame them, there's so much to look at.  But, it's not all appropriate for little eyes so we try to be careful.  I'm surprised the Jabawokeez didn't give them nightmares, or maybe it did...

 Here is Allison at a park near our new house.

Spider Monkeys