Back to School

I can't believe another school year has begun. This year we have kids at three different schools!

Ashley and Madison are both in Primary School.

Ashley is in 2nd grade this year.

Madison is now in 1st grade.

Welsey is in 4th grade at the Elementary School.

Allen is embarking on the adventure known as Middle school, in 6th grade.

They are all so excited to be back at school! We are so happy with the teachers they have and their choice in friends. This is going to be another amazing year:)

As for mom and dad...Chad returns to school the end of the month, and Aubrey will be Substitute teaching again as well as spending time with PTO for all three schools. Nothing slows down around the Pena home.

Merry Christmas!

If you didn't get your card yet, its on its way...if it doesn't come, let me know:)

Happy Halloween

Direct from Alice in Wonderland...I Present to you-

Allen-as the Mad Hatter (yes everyone got this one right)

Wesley-as the Caterpillar "Who are yoooou?"

Ashley-as the Queen of Hearts "Off with their heads!"

and Madison- as Alice!

Hope you had as much fun last night as we did!

(Thank you Grammy for our amazing costumes!)

Madison's funnies

Allen was telling us about his day at school where someone got hit in the arm and had a big purple bruise on their arm...
Madison's response - " Well, do they like purple?"


We found a cricket that needed relocating. I asked Chad if he could come help because it was going to take some finagling to get to it...
Madison's response - "Will finagling kill it?"

Madison is 5! Happy Birthday!!!

Madison Riley, the Princess of Purple

After Ashley was born we felt so strongly that we were still missing a piece of our family. We knew someone else was coming, we just didn't realize how soon she would be there!



Madison Riley had the same due date (just a year later) as Ashley. Yes that was a surprise. We decided pretty early on that we wanted them to each have there own special day. So, when the time came to schedule her delivery, we made sure it was the day after Ashley's birthday. We had Ashley's 1st birthday party at my parents house in Gilbert and then brought my sister, Meghan, back with us to help so I could go to the hospital the next day. What a blessing it was to have her there! Madison narrowly avoided being a C-section baby (there were 17 people in the room for her delivery because she was prolapse and they were prepping me for emergency surgery!) Then an overzealous nurse decided she looked like she wasn't breathing well - she was bruised from the delivery- and put her in the NICU. So we were there for 3 days.



Madison is so mild and patient. She wears her heart on her sleeve, so sometimes she can be a little too teary eyed. But she loves like no one else!




One of my favorite things about Madison is that she will tell you like it is. There is nothing malicious or mean spirited about anything she says, but she will tell you if you are "doing it wrong" or if you "don' t know all the facts". Sometimes its just so stinkin' funny you can't take her seriously.:}

Madison started Kindergarten this year. There were a few reservations from teachers and administration because she is obviously on the youngest end of the class list. (she even added to these reservations by getting a little teary eyed for the first few days.) But she is just thriving now. She loves to learn new things and explore new ideas! Happy Birthday Madison!

We love you!!!

The Christmas Tree Nazi....

( NOTE: Not a personal account, but I didn't want my

children to write a version of this in the future!)

"My mother is The Christmas Tree Nazi. Where most families decorate the Christmas tree as a family, my mom does not like anybody decorating the tree other than herself. As a kid I would decorate the Christmas tree and then my mother would say:
"Oh Baby that looks nice. You did a wonderful job. But you know if you just move this piece here and this piece there...."
And before you know it the whole tree would be rearranged as mom saw fit. It was disheartening. My poor little feelings would be hurt. Now I don't even try to decorate the tree. I have learned that there is no hope that I will ever decorate another Christmas tree as long as I am at home with my mother. It's just not possible.
We (well my mom) just managed to decorate the tree tonight even though the tree has been up for a couple of weeks. And what can I say, she stayed true to form. She put the kids to be, begin to decorate the tree, and didn't ask for my help until she needed me to fill in some holes on the side and the back of the tree. You know the areas where no one is going to look.
Yep. That's my mom. The Christmas Tree Nazi."

I read this and decided that I needed to relinquish my throne. The kids are having a blast, and they definitely have some of my obsessive tendencies. Our tree is looking better than it ever has!

Halloween

We're off to see the Wizard!

Allen was a perfect Tin Man. Wesley was a great Scarecrow. Madison was made for the Role of the Cowerdly Lion, and Ashley pulled off Dorthy like no one else!

First stop Mrs Feerick's house.

On to the heart of the trick or treating with Deni as Glenda the Good witch, Blair as the Wicked witch of the west, and Chad, Pam, and I as the Lollipop Guild. Madison and Deni really got into the candy collection this year - running from house to house, sampling the goods, it was a blast!

The Kids looked AWESOME. I know I'm going to miss the themed Halloweens but I promised the kids they could pick anything they wanted next year and that they didn't have to have a theme.

The end of the night...one more picture before the sugar feast!

Dance-Mania and people's weird questions

"No they are not twins...Yes they are sisters...Yes they are both mine..."you get the idea!

The girls are in the same dance class this semester and loving it. They have this crazy teacher named "Mr. Rogers" (totally his real name) who plays games and teaches them all kinds of fun things. But you would be a little appalled at some of the questions I field each week. I just have to remind myself that I live in Tucson and people are different here!

Happy Birthday Ashley and Madison!

I can't believe my babies are 3 and 4! I just brought Ashley home from the hospital and now she is in Pre-school! How did that happen?

And Madison was my heart stopper with her delivery issues and her time in Nicu and now she just tells you how she wants it and makes sure that is the way things happen!
I think Ashley's reaction was something to the effect of

" what is that and why is it here?"

The day we brought Madison home from the Hospital...yeah there wasn't much difference in their size then. It's no wonder that Madison passed Ashley a while ago!

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait for tomorrow,
For babies grow up, I've learned, to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust, go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep.
(Ruth Hulburt Hamilton)

"Even if the water balloons are gone, there's still water in here mom!"

At any rate, I don't know what I would do without my sweet Princess of Pink and Princess of Purple. They have both been able to roll an adventurous and fearless attitude with a girly charm into two amazing packages. I love you Ashley with all of your strong will and fiestiness! I love you Madison with all of your patience and observance for detail. This will definitely be a magical birthday!

What time is it?...SUMMERTIME!

It wouldn't be summertime at the Pena house without swimming lessons!




The kids look forward to their pool time and it is a great
bargaining chip if their chores aren't getting done!

Sonoran Desert Museum

Wesley's joke last week was..." are all the animals tired since it's the snorin desert museum?" -insert bent over giggles here. So, with that we decided to spend the morning checking on the "sleeping" animals, and make good use of our family pass! Saguaro Cactus blossoms

Ashley with the fish.

(She totally fell off right after we took the picture!)

Wesley got a little tired so Allen

volunteered to push him in the stroller!

The blessed backpack!

Madison just being so stinkin' cute!

Kindergarten Field Day

There is nothing else quite like the Parachute!

Takes me back to elementary every time! We are so blessed to have found amazing

teachers that let all of the kids participate. The girls love it!

"Madison Riley...

...is a pretty baby!"

We sing this little phrase to Madison all the time and have since she was a baby (she still is a baby isn't she?)

Christmas Day

Christmas morning always starts at home. After we have gotten through that ciaos, we drive to Grammy and Umpa's house in Gilbert for the rest of the day!

Christmas Eve (I am so far behind!)

We have a couple Christmas Eve traditions that the kids have come to love ! First we read Luke and talk about the Savior. We let the kids tell how they feel about Christ's birth and life. It is fun to watch the symbolism come to life for them. Then we read the book
I Believe in Santa Claus by Diane Adamson and M. Chad Randall. This is a wonderful book if you've never seen it! Then Chad reads the kids The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore and Christian Birmingham. After all the books are put away, we sing Christmas carols (Chad liked to pick and then let me sing because he didn't know the words in English-mission flashbacks!). Finally the kids are allowed to open the little gifts that they got for eachother. It was a wonderful night!