Phoenix Zoo

We went to the zoo this morning. They open at 7am this summer and it is a good thing because by 9 it was barely tolerable. Here the kids pose in front of elephant skulls.

Nikolai and MaryKate acting scared going through these two overgrown palm trees... oooh, spooky!

MaryKate pretending to be a joey inside this large kangaroo.

MaryKate caught in a giant spider web... watch out the giant spider is coming!

Nikolai climbing a large cactus... ouch, you'd think the spines would hurt?

All three on a mommy elephant and her baby. Look at Sara's eyes... they are sooo big.

Goofy girl riding.
Nikolai is protecting the girls by holding the alligator's mouth shut. After I snapped the picture he yelled for them to run because he was getting loose.
Sara LOVED the goats in the petting zoo. (And yes Marilee, we washed then sanitized our hands VERY well afterwards)
Surfing on the tractor.

Sara fell fast asleep in the heat while the older kids played in the water.

MaryKate is hugging Nikolai in the water fountain.

We all cooled off with snow cones when we were done, Sara especially enjoyed hers. (Note the purple lips)
And Nikolai turned blue, he was so cold in the 100 degree morning.
Believe it or not, we actually did see many animals we just didn't get pictures of them this time. We go so often to the zoo as a family that I actually only take pictures about twice a year and rarely take them of the animals anymore.

Our funny baby

Sara got a hold of a pen while sitting on my lap while I was on the computer one day. She was actually not helping me type so I made sure it was closed and let her play with it. She somehow figured out how to open it and then proceeded to draw all over her legs. Her first drawing!
At Zach's birthday party Sara was having so much fun with her Pappa Frank. I love this picture of the two of them smiling at eachother.


My friend showed me how to set up a box like this for Sara. She is almost sitting up by herself and wants to all the time but still needs a little support. The box is lined with rolled towels to make it soft and to offer her support. She loves sitting there and playing while I sit nearby working on my own project. I had been debating whether to give in and buy a Bumbo seat because she was so frustrated at this stage and this box was a lot cheaper (ummm... how about free?) and served the same purpose.
Nikolai got out of the bath one night and came over to play with his sister before he got into pajammer's. I thought it was adorable how they matched (white diaper, white towel) TOO CUTE!

Sara Phone Pics

This was at dinner tonight. Sara was feeding herself mashed potatoes (note the blurred waving spoon) and was too cute with her "thinking" finger against her cheek. It looks like she is saying "Hmmmmmmmmm...."
Kevin caught this moment at the pool between these sisters on his phone.
I love these little moments that we catch with the convenience and quality of cell-phone cameras.

Father's Day

Look Ma! I'm on T.V! Kevin got a new T.V. for our bedroom for father's day. He's been wanting to buy one since Christmas time and I wouldn't let him, telling him it had to be a present for something so he begrudgingly waited until Fathers Day. I just love this picture of Kevin and Sara. It really showcases their relationship. Just look how happy they both are!

The Phoenix Zoo is open this summer on Friday evenings from 6pm till 9pm. The kids and I went this last Friday and had so much fun. It was dusk when we got there and we went and saw the animals that were on display. The birds were especially cool because you got to hear their going to bed calls.
Sara saw her first zoo animal, the giraffe! Follow the line of her eye and you can see she was looking up very far.
Nikolai and MaryKate got the opportunity to ride a camel! It was dark by then so this is the best picture I got of them.
MaryKate, "I just rode a camel!" dance
They also had several large water slides and the kids spent the last hour we were there riding down them and the 40 foot water slide. They were freezing when we drove out about 8:45 but it was a blast!

Nikolai Dancing on Water

We go to our local pool at Stapley Junior High almost every day. I love this picture of Nikolai jumping off the diving board, it looks like he is tip toeing across the water.

Kevin

In California, at the Bubba Gump restaurant, he's sitting in Forest Gumps shoes.
At DisneyLand Nikolai and MaryKate were getting tired. I would've made them walk but Kevin insisted on picking them up and carried them to dinner. This is the goofy man I married. He's pretending to carve hieroglyphs at the Phoenix Zoo
Sara will only let Kevin hold her like this. They are best buds.

I did a post on everyone but my Kevin. He is my best friend and Love. He "fills the house with music and fun" (MaryKate's words, she wrote it on a father's day card for him) And I think it describes him perfectly. He works hard so that he can play hard too. He tries, and succeeds, to make me laugh everyday. We have a happy house with him at our head. He is ecstatic to be a father again after 20 years and loves his two daughters without measure. He extends that love to my children and loves them as if they were his own.

Me

At Sara's blessing
goofy grinning with MaryKate. She now has NO teeth in front

As you can see, Sara and I are still joined together. I am never seen without her.
This is about as big as I got. This picture was about 2 weeks before she was born.

My friend pointed out that there were no pictures of me, for some reason Humpty Dumpty didn't count (but seriously, look at that pregnant picture of me, I look just like him) so here's looking at you Lenona!

Nikolai Edward Orr

Making his pine wood derby. (With a little help from Kevin)
Nikolai is a master paper plane maker.
I know... sideways again. I'll have to go and switch all of those. But check out those eyes! This is one of my favorite pictures of Nikolai.
Nikolai loves his baby and she loves him too. Look how she is studying him.
At the zoo, with a mohawk.

Nikolai is my oldest. I cannot believe he is 8 years old. Sometimes I think him and Chesley should still be babies with no other cousins. He loves animals and he loves science. He does science experiments around the house and his favorite books to read are his animal facts books. Once when he was about four years old we were at the zoo walking behind a family with a boy who was maybe 9 years old. That boy turned to his mom and asked "Can we go see the Cheetah's?" She gushed over him and couldn't believe he knew what the cheetah's were. I was so confused because my four year old not only knew what a cheetah was but could tell you it was part of the large cat family and was the fastest land animal. He could even do a fairly accurate rendition of it's call. Nikolai has always had a knack for information like that. Nikolai started cub scouts this year and has really enjoyed all the boy stuff he gets to do. He just went to cub scout day camp and came home covered with mud and happy as could be. He got to shoot arrows and BB guns and swim and play water soccer and tug of war and splash in all the puddles he could find. Nikolai is so sweet to his baby sister. He loves her and is so gentle when he plays with her. He'll tell anyone that she is not cute, she is BEAUTIFUL! Nikolai has a witty sense of humor and is so much fun to hang out with.

This is Nikolai feeding the Sting Rays at the Zoo.

Mary Kathleen Orr

Watching a movie with her Sara and two baby dolls. She loves holding and helping Sara.
She put out Kool-Aid and a marshmellow peep with a sign for the Easter Bunny this year, letting him know it was for him. She is a creative girl.
Striking a pose (sorry, I can only turn it on our main computer and I am too lazy to go in there right now)
With her friend, Gabby. Look at her eyes. MaryKate is a beautiful girl.
Her doll, Deola. All dressed up and ready for a car ride.

MaryKate is my helper. She is either helping take care of Sara or carries one of her many baby dolls around and takes care of them. We've exhausted many batteries letting her babies ride in the swing or bouncy chair when Sara wasn't using them. She is a phenomenal reader and surpasses all of her goals for the first grade. MaryKate has a hard time trying new things so I was so proud of her when she wanted to do piano lessons and has loved going and learning. (I think it helps that it is a close family friend that is teaching her). MaryKate has a flair for details and puts them into her artwork and "Projects" that she is constantly doing. She reminds me of Ramona Quimby with her paper prowess. MaryKate also has a keen fashion sense and a great ability to pose. She is a good friend and is very kind to everyone. I say often, and I mean it, that I don't know what I'd do without her. She is my friend and my daughter. My lovely girl.

MaryKate likes to read to Sara and Sara is a captive listener.

Sara Faine Anderson

Brand new in the hospital.

A fun trick. She can now roll from tummy to back to tummy.
Laughing at her brother and sister.


On her blessing day. I made her dress and bonnet. My Mom made her blanket.
Sara is a thumb sucker.

This is the best baby in the whole world. She is 4 1/2 months old and rolled over to her tummy for the first time ever tonight. She sleeps 9 hours every night (she slept a good 4 straight home from the hospital). She is so happy and always smiling and cheerful and giggly. She has such a distinctive laugh. This is a video of her laughing this morning while I was feeding her carrots.

It looks like her red hair might actually stick. Her eyebrows are still red and it looks as if it is growing in the same. She likes to sit up (with help) and she loves her bother and sister. The first time she ever laughed out loud was in response to something Nikolai did. She is grumpy in the car without them. She has just discovered how much she can actually reach and grab and put in her mouth. Nothing is safe around her... camera's, mail, anything you're drinking or eating, circuit boards, books, hair.

She is such a joy to be around. We love our little Sara.