The Tortoise and the Hare

Syd just finished up a Fable unit at school and got to take part in her first play ever. She loved it. She got to play the Hare in the fable The Tortoise and the Hare, and she did a great job! Doesn't she look cute?!

My little artist

Syd's school is an art-based school and they do lots of art projects. She is getting very good! This is an oil pastel piece that was hanging in the hall of the school. She is quite the little artist!

Jealous

Syd has the most amazing hair. I have always wanted thick hair, so I am glad she got it and I get to play with hers. She loves to take care of it and some day wants to donate it to Locks of Love. I just had to post this picture of how beautiful it looked today for church. This picture does not do it justice at all, it was gorgeous! Lucky girl!

Costume up

Fall has arrived and it is nearly Halloween! The girls had a Halloween party at their school and they were so excited for it. I am a huge procrastinator. I am trying to overcome this little problem I have acquired (and it has increasingly become worse since I had kids). I waited until Thursday night-the day before the party-to even think about costumes. I headed to Walmart to see what was available...

Jess wanted to be a witch, but does Walmart sell witch hats? You'd think that would be a very easy thing to find, but you'd think wrong. The only witch hats available were for adults, or part of an entire kid costume. So, I picked out a cute witch costume and just before I headed to checkout I decided to check the package to be sure everything was there. Guess what was missing. That's right, the hat. I guess I'm not the only one looking for a witch hat for a little girl.

Jess ended up with a "spider witch" costume. We had the hat from last year and it happened to go with the costume perfectly so that's what she is, and she's happy with it.

Syd wanted to be a fairy and I got her a fairy costume. Easy as that.

Kayman wanted to be a cowboy. Can I tell you how excited that made me? My sweet little boy in cowboy boots? How adorable is that? Well, it sounds easier than it is. Cowboy boots are sold at stores like IFA and Callisters, and Reams...and they cost about $40 for the cheap ones. I went on a wild goose chase to find some at Payless, or Walmart, or Kmart, (anywhere they may be around $20) and then just bent over and got them at Reams for $40. And while I was there I just had to get the Wranglers, it was physically impossible not to. You know how it is. I picked up a holster with 2 cap guns and we had a hat at home. Kayman was set.

So when we got home they tried on their costumes and looked absolutely adorable...

don't ya think?! This is actually right before the party with hair and make-up done too. The picture below is the night of the purchase and it was like pulling teeth to get that cap gun away from Man. He loves his boots. I love his jeans, and everyone at the party loved my little cowboy, fairy and witch.
I even had a guy stop me and asked if he could take Kayman's picture. I said, "Sure, isn't he the cutest cowboy ever?" The man said, "I have a friend who dresses like that every day, I want to send him a picture!" Haha! It's risky business dressing up as a cowboy for Halloween when you live in Herriman.

Graduations

The girls have both graduated. It's been a while since Jess had her preschool graduation but I'm just getting around to posting it. I know.

Jess had a speaking part and did wonderful! She memorized it in about 10 minutes.

"Capitol letters begin our names

which we have learned to write

lowercase complete the rest

we'll show you here tonight"

She did so great! She sang some fun songs and even got to wear a graduation cap and gown and walk down the isle to accept her diploma. So cute!

Here she is with her teacher, Mrs. Teresa (the most wonderful teacher ever!!!)
Jess with her friend Rebecca
And the family. Don't mind Kayman stuffing the cookie into his face.
Syd had her Kindergarten "graduation" program. She sang about 12 songs and the kids recited a few poems about the seasons. We were sitting so far back I didn't get a great picture of them singing, but here is a picture of most of her class. Her teacher Mrs. Black was great. Syd liked her. She met a lot of fun friends in her class and loved kindergarten! Syd is definitely excited for first grade! She is in the back row, second from the left in the red dress.
I can't believe I will have 2 kids in school. Kayman and I will have to find things to do while the girls are in school. Should be interesting! He'll definitely keep me busy!

Dance

The girls had their year end concert last week and did amazing! I haven't got the video on the computer yet, but I will soon. For now here are the pictures of them after the show.

This is a shot of Syd and me at her last competition. We decided to take her down a level and out of competition. She is very good, but the competitions were a bit much for her. She was getting bored and didn't look forward to them. A few days before the last one I mentioned it to her and she said, "I already have a trophy!" She didn't want to go. She does love dance though so both girls will be at the "Darling" level where they go to class twice a week and dance in the year end concert.
We love dance and especially the studio the girls dance at, Vision. It is a great studio with wonderful teachers. The girls are learning a ton and getting stronger and more flexible. With this change in level Syd will have more time to take piano lessons, and possibly karate for both of them.

CRaZy Hair Day

When I asked Syd how she wanted me to fix her hair for Crazy Hair Day she said she wanted "Lady Gaga Hair." We did this last year sometime, I found it on a blog and tried it. She wanted a great big bow made out of her hair on top of her head. Here is how it turned out. She loved it! I'm pretty sure she was the only one with this hair at school! :)

Thanksgiving Point

I went to Thanksgiving Point with a couple of friends last week while the weather was still somewhat warm. We stayed there about 3 hours and had to pry the kids away from there when it was time to leave. They had a great time!

The hail destroyed a lot of the tulips earlier in the week, but it was still very beautiful.

Syd going for a ride on the rhino!
Jess digging in the sand!
Man just hanging out and being cute as ever!

Thanks ladies for a great afternoon! We had so much fun!

Outdoor fun

My kids and I have been LOVING the nice weather lately. We have spent a lot of time doing yard work and playing outside.

Syd came up with the idea to unhook the swings and attach them to the trampoline frame. They all had so much fun swinging upside down on them. Here is Jess trying it out. She was the first to go upside down.

Syd couldn't have her little sister show her up.
Kayman getting close. I couldn't watch this for too long, it made me so nervous he was going to fall and break his neck.
Syd added the second swing and grabbed her brother to relax in her "hammock."
Syd and Jess have been begging for a "water trampoline" for days! It's not warm enough yet, so I have said no...well mother nature provided where I wouldn't. Syd is convinced that Heavenly Father and her GGpa (who recently passed away) heard them talking about wanting a water trampoline so they made it rain! So sweet! I let them put their suits on and enjoy it, although it only lasted a few minutes before they were too cold.
On one of the first warm days we got lunchables and had a picnic outside. They loved it!
I can't wait for summer to be here! I have SO much work to do in the yard, but hopefully the kids will help a lot this summer. The girls are old enough to do some good weeding, and pick up the dog poop! :) Happy Spring!

In the spotlight

My dad built the kids a stage for our basement! He brought it over and set it up and the kids have hardly stepped off it since! It's complete with a curtain, rope light around the front, and spotlights up on the ceiling.

Here is Jess trying it out.

Syd and Man dancing
Syd giving it a whirl
And here are my parents, their dog Roxy, and the kids sitting on the stage. Don't I have the best parents ever?! Thank you!

Here we go!

Syd had her first dance competition! Her team won 2nd place in one of her dances! She got to bring a trophy home and it is now her most prized possession. There are 2 more competitions and 2 more performances before the end of the season. She is loving the dancing and spending so much time with her friends, and I have so much fun watching her perform with that beautiful smile on her face. She is getting so good!

This is Syd and her friend after the performance.

Syd dancing!

Working mom

I am very lucky to have a job where I can work from home. I usually put in my hours after the kids go to bed (my most important job), but sometimes I have to get some things done during business hours.

I made a phone call to Quickbooks to get some questions answered and the kids were fine eating their cereal at the table. By the time I actually got talking to somebody on the phone the kids were done eating and were playing with each other. Still happy, so I didn't pay attention. I should have...

They got the milk and straws out and started blowing! Just over 1/2 gallon of milk used and once all the bubbles popped, guess where the milk ended up. Yup, on the floor. They had so much fun and we were all laughing so hard (once I got off the phone)! The girls did clean it up the best they could, and they had a fun time teaching Kayman a new skill. The joys of motherhood!

Burrito holder

More random proof of Syd's creativity. This is a crisp burrito from Taco Time that Syd put in the handle of the car while she rode her bike...

Birthday Girl

My Sydney turned 6 on Feb. 11! She is SO grown up! She had a very eventful day! Off to school in the morning, and I got to go help in her class for a while. She liked having me there on her birthday, and I took treats for her class, so she liked that too.

Right after school, Grammy and Grandpa came and picked her up for lunch. Syd chose McDonalds of all places. I guess 6 year olds never get sick of McDonalds. We had been there earlier in the week!

After lunch she got to go to the store and pick her present. She got a doll that came with hair paint she can use on the doll and on her hair. I don't remember what it's called, but she loves it!

The afternoon was spent playing with her new doll and then we went to dinner at the Training Table. She chose it all by herself, I swear! No convincing from me! It's one of my favorite places too because I LOVE the cheese fries! I think Syd loves the phones.

When we got home from dinner we had a family party with strawberry cupcakes and her uncle Brad and aunt Lindsay. They got her a jewelry beading set, and the same doll she chose earlier in the day with Grammy and Grandpa! We were all surprised! I can't believe I forgot go take pictures that night. I'm a slacker lately! Syd enjoyed the evening and didn't get to bed until around 10.

Saturday the 13th was Syd's party. She kept thinking of more and more people to invite, and we ended up with 14 kids (in addition to my own) over for the party! I had to put a stop to the numbers at some point!

She had a jungle Safari party! She was the Zebra.

She has just started showing interest in Hannah Montana and got 2 different Hannah Montana bags! She was very excited! She also got a lot of makeup and art stuff, barbies, little pet shop animals, and more makeup! Thanks to everyone who gave to generous gifts and made Syd's birthday party so much fun with your kids there!
The Safari cake. This is the best picture I got of it. I can't believe I didn't get a good shot of it...it was awesome! I didn't make it, no, but I did put the animals on it...
The kids waiting patiently for their cake and ice cream.
We don't have near enough chairs for everyone, so we cleared out the kitchen and told the kids they could sit on the floor and eat. They all decided to sit under the table. So cute!
This is the goofy face picture! Quite the crowd!

Syd is such a special girl. She has such a big heart and loves to help others. She is always thinking of others' feelings and how to serve. She is very tender and loves to spend time with family and friends. She is very active and would spend all day riding her bike if it wasn't so cold outside! One of her favorite things is for Andy and me to lay with her at night before she falls asleep. That's when we get the most information out of her about her day, school, friends, concerns, etc. We love you Syd!!!

Christmas Eve

I am so grateful for the Christmas season and all the love felt during this time of year. We had some wonderful opportunities to serve and show love for those around us.

We spent Christmas Eve and morning with Andy's parents, grandpa and grandma, aunt and cousin. We had a delicious dinner at Andy's parents house and spent some time visiting before we let the kids open their Christmas Eve pajamas. I didn't make them this year, and they aren't even Chrismasy, but they all got some nonetheless. They were very excited to open a gift early!

The kids each get to choose where they leave their stocking for Santa to find, and place there it before bed. Kayman chose the fireplace and finally left it there after wearing his stocking for a while. He kept putting his foot into it and thought he was pretty funny! :)

Syd chose the green couch for all her loot.

And Jess chose the big green chair for hers.

Once we got that all settled we got the kids all bundled up and headed downtown to see the lights at Temple Square.

It is tradition with Andy's family to go to Temple Square on Christmas Eve, no matter how cold it is. Luckily it wasn't too bad this year. It was cold and everyone had frozen bums by the time we were done, but I have endured MUCH colder outings to Temple Square! It was so beautiful.

After the Temple we headed back to Andy's parents house to put the kids to bed. It was just about time for Santa to come and the kids were hoping we didn't miss him. They thought maybe we were out too long and he passed our area already. Luckily we got home and they feel asleep just in time.

Syd was very excited about the digital camera santa brought her. She loves taking pictures!
Kayman's got another football! Jess picked this out for him.
Jess getting loves from Nana.

Everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We spent the morning at Andy's parents and then headed to my parents for a while. After a gift exchange at my parents house we headed to my Uncle's house to spend some time with my extended family. It was such a wonderful day! I love spending so much time with family. We are so lucky to have so much family so close. We did miss Andy's siblings and their families though.

Christmas evening was spent putting away all our new treasures and packing for our upcoming vacation. We were headed to Maui in 2 days!