FIRST DAY ... HOORAY!!

This school year really snuck up on me, I didn't keep track of days in August at all and it really came quick! I was sad for maybe the first time ever to see my kids go! It may be just because that leaves me at home with Annie all.alone. With no kid helpers at all. What will I do?
Not really, we had a great summer-- guess how many pictures I have to show for it? Zero, Zilch, Nuthin. Oh well, I'm pretty sure we had fun.
The weather has been beautiful and I hope it stays nice for a really long time!

Maggie wears a cupcake shirt every first day of school, its kind of a tradition now, and I'll let her for as many years as she'll keep wearing one!!





Annie seriously tried to sneak on the bus today with Josie, and I almost just let her. She would've loved it, too bad she has awhile (4 years) before its her turn, not that I'm counting ...

Have a FLIPPIN' awesome summer!

Here is a cute craft I made with Josie & Maggie for their friends for the end of the school year.

ZOO!!

Josie's preschool last year was themed on the zoo so at the end of the year I got to accompany her and her friends from her class to the zoo. Taking Annie places always stresses me out, if you knew her you'd know why ... so I'm grateful I got to spend the day with a couple of my friends too that were a big help. Good company always makes everything better! We had a great day and I'm so glad for the time that I get to spend with my kids and their friends and I am extremely grateful for the neighborhood we live in and all the good kids (and moms) that live in it, what a bonus!

Recitals, Programs, Graduations ... OH MY!!

Don't fall off your chair or anything, but I am actually going to update my blog! I'm SO far behind that I haven't been sure whether to go back and blog about everything that I've missed or just skip the past few months and start from NOW. I figured that I have too many things that I missed that I want documented, so be prepared for picture overload!


At the end of the semester the girls' dance studio put together a recital. It was so great! My good friend taught Josie and all her little friends, arent' they adorable???

Maggie loved dance so much she decided to try out for the competition team. We're in for a real treat this upcoming year because she made it and will be eating, breathing, and sleeping "dance" for a long time! It's been exciting to see the progress she's made and she has some sweet girls on her team that she loves and she's having a great time.

The 4th grade put on a program at the end of the year and it was fun to go watch. And hard to get a good picture. The kids are still at an age that they really got into learning the songs and being good performers. I'm sure it won't be long before they are way to cool to do such a thing. But for now ...

Josie also graduated from Preschool (again). She had an amazing teacher and she learned SO much!! She was able to go with a couple of her sweet friends. I enjoyed driving carpool so much with those girls, they had the best conversations ever. I'm pretty sure they were 5 going on 15, it was great.

Lots more to come ... stay tuned!

Birthday & Mother's Day

So I turned 32 this year. Where does the time go? Besides my crippling back problems I feel like I could still be 20!
I was super spoiled the weekend of my birthday/mother's day.
I have the greatest family & friends who know that the way to my heart is through my stomach and they brought me diet coke, pie, brownies, 7 layer bars, cupcakes, cake, cookies, & a caramel apple and you can bet that I ate all of it!
John took me to Park City to shop and to Cheesecake Factory to eat and that night after the kids were in bed he went and got me movie theater popcorn and we watched a movie. I relaxed all weekend while John took care of everything and on Sunday he made dinner and got the kids ready for church and best of all he took care of Annie, which is a huge job!
I feel so blessed when celebrating Mother's Day that I have the greatest Mothers ever! I have the greatest friends that are wonderful example of mothers and I'm so grateful to them.

Easter 2011

Beach Trip

It was so fun while we were in California to spend time with Marcie and Brackon. We went to the beach on one of the days we were there and the kids had a blast. It was a little cold and windy but that didn't stop the kids from swimming in their clothes! We ended up at Walmart a little later to buy the kids dry clothes so we could go out to dinner, we made some fun memories!

Disneyland Trip

So our trip to see this guy came and went:

Now that we're home I feel really bad I don't have any pictures capturing the joy that we all felt being there. There is nothing like passing through the gates and being on Main Street and seeing the Sleeping Beauty Castle.
Things were a little different than we expected on this trip. First of all I ended up being really sick and I could hardly move so John had to take the kids one of the days without me. My worst nightmare ever!
Second of all we didn't take Annie; thank you to both Grandmas for that! Sadly we enjoyed the car ride and the ease of everything without her. I just didn't want to take a bunch of pictures of us all without her being there.
And really, we just enjoyed all the time we had running from here to there and didn't worry one bit about pulling out the camera for a pose from everyone.
So here is what you missed in pictures:
We got to be with our cousins, which made the trip so much more fun. Memories we'll never forget for sure! We ate the best corndogs on the planet. The kids swam in the hotel pool. Our hotel room was decorated in full on Disney Princess, it was awesome. We waited in lines, enjoyed the sunshine, and soaked up every minute of happiness we could.

Going to Disneyland ...

This is the game the girls play with their American Girl dolls everyday. They load them up in the strollers and play "Disneyland" with them.
It seriously cracks me up, but I love that they are playing together.
This is Josie's doll. See how appropriately she's dressed in her pj's and sneakers? And a hat to block the sun? Now, if you're wondering what she's packed in her little bag, it's clear full of shoes. Let's not forget the Ariel shoes that came with the outfit we bought the AG doll at Disneyworld.
My kind of girl!

How's that for being excited about an upcoming Disneyland trip? Makes all the waiting worth it!

Happy Superbowl ... er birthday, I mean

This handsome man turned 34 on Superbowl Sunday (Feb. 6th).
We had a great party with his whole family over.
He is only getting more handsome and kind and loving the older he gets. Can't wait for many more years!

Favorite Decorations

These are a few of my favorite things.
My kids love to draw things and hang them up with tape. I don't have the heart to ever take them down!
I'm sure someday they'll be drawing mean signs directed at me ... so I try to enjoy the nice, cute things they draw now.




This ... not so cute. We've learned by many walls, doors, clothes, and floors colored on to keep crayons, markers & pencils up HIGH.