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