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.

Precious moments

Kayman has finally warmed up to his new cousin Gabe. He loves to hold him and feed him now. It's the cutest thing ever! Here they are together!

Syd also loves to hold him. Jess has yet to warm up to him. She isn't too sure what to do with babies.
Kayman and his little girlfriend Annabelle. These two are so stinkin' cute together! They were dancing here. Look how happy Man is. He's got himself an older woman! Okay, only about 6 weeks, but still. He's workin' it!
Look at the sweet smile on her face! We're getting some good wedding video photos! :)

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! :)

Another day...another decade

Ugh, I'm 30. It was my birthday on May 3 and I'm no longer in my 20's. I always thought I wouldn't care a bit when I turned 30, but then the day came. It was not my best day. I don't know why it was so depressing, but luckily I got over it. My family made me feel amazing!

Early in the afternoon I was getting some work done at the computer (not liking the fact that I was spending my 30th birthday at home working and thought I should be out doing something fun) when my kids and their friends came sneaking into the room. I could hear little whispers behind me and I knew they had something in store for me. It wasn't the devious whispering I am used to overhearing, so I was pretty sure they were not up to something naughty.

All of a sudden Syd ran up to me and put a birthday hat sticker on my shirt and they all started singing "Happy Birthday" to me! It was the sweetest thing in the world! I seriously started crying! It was hard to hide that from them, I knew there was no way they would understand why I would be crying in that moment, but it made me so happy. My little angels brightened my day right up!

When Andy got home from work he had this yummy ice cream cake from Baskin Robins for me! It was divine. The kids colored some pictures for me and got me pop rocks, some of my favorite candy!

Everyone keeps telling me that 30's are more fun, so I'll let you know if it's true...

Then on the Friday night after my birthday I planned with my friend Velvet to go out with our hubbies. We go out often and share a babysitter since all of our babysitters have knows our kids since they were born. We planned to go a little earlier than usual cause I needed to just get out.

Friday morning Velvet called to tell me that they were coming a little early so they could clean my house as my birthday gift! What wonderful friends I have. Anyone who is willing to clean your house for you is a keeper as far as I am concerned! :)

We left early enough that we planned to meet Andy at the restaurant. We left and I was SO excited to go to Tepanyaki for my birthday dinner. Right as we were pulling into the parking lot Velvet got a call from the babysitter saying that she though Samantha had broken her arm falling off the trampoline. They started heading back to our house, and I came up with a million different solutions...I suggested they leave me at the restaurant to meet Andy there since he was on his way. Once I called Andy and he said he was closer to home that the restaurant I agreed to head home with Justin and Velvet.

Andy called a few minutes later saying that Samantha's arm definitely looked broken and we should hurry home. I suggested he take her to instacare and we would meet him there, then he could take me to dinner while Justin and Velvet took care of Samantha. I really wanted those noodles! I kept throwing curve balls at them unknowingly.

When we walked in the door at my house I was so confused as to why the kitchen table was outside, then all of a sudden a million of my friends came around the corner! I have never had a surprise party before, and I was SO surprised! Suddenly the fact that Velvet came and cleaned my house made so much sense.

We had a big BBQ and it was so fun! Thank you to everyone who was able to come and make my night so wonderful!!! You are the best friends in the world. Andy and Velvet planned this thing so quickly and so well. I always thought that if I had a surprise party that I would figure something out beforehand. It didn't happen. I didn't have a clue!

Here I am with Velvet the night of my party. She is such an incredible person, and I am lucky to be such good fiends with her. She has taught me so much and I love her dearly!

Mr. Personality

Kayman has been so funny and witty lately. He likes to make us laugh. He's also going through a hitting/biting streak that I'm not sure how to break. He is just very high energy and loves to get reactions out of anyone he can.

I shared some of my protein shake with him, and here is his shake-stache.

The girls were using markers and Kayman thought he'd give it a try, only he didn't have any paper. That didn't stop him!

Our little cheeser. Syd fixed his hair for him. Comb-over in front and spikes in back. This do is totally his personality! He's got a bit of an edge to him. It's a good thing he is so stinkin' cute!

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!

10 Things

Thank you to my cousin Kari @ K & J Memories for passing this "award" to me!

Now I get to list 10 things that make me happy:

1. Being with my family
2. reading
3. finding a good pair of jeans that fits right
4. watching movies with buttery popcorn and DP
5. girls night out
6. watching my kids play with and teach each other
7. finding a good deal
8. watching my garden come to life
9. taking and looking at pictures
10.the Gospel

And now to pass along the "award" to some of my blogging friends:

Becky Hendriks

Rachel Starkie

Robin Dansie

Pass on the award:

1. Copy and paste the award onto your blog
2. Tell who gave the award and link to that person's blog.
3. List 10 things that make you happy.
4. Pass the award onto other bloggers and visit their blog to let them know about the award.

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!

Kris Kros

We've got our own little hommie. What up Man?! He likes to dress himself...

Baby Gabriel!

I became an aunt all over again on March 30. My brother and sister-in-law adopted a sweet little baby boy! They started and finished the adoption process in less than a month, which is much quicker than expected. Both Brad and Lindsay were able to be in the delivery room when Gabe was born, and Brad even got to cut the cord! So amazing!

Gabe was born in Philadelphia, PA where Brad and Lindsay had to stay for nearly 2 weeks after the birth of their baby to get all the legal stuff taken care of. They were SO glad to finally get to bring him home, and I couldn't help but go meet the little guy the same day. Here I am with my sweet nephew!

Syd loved holding him! Jess and Kayman didn't know what to think and wouldn't touch him, but Syd ate it up!
This is the proud new mommy, Lindsay!
My brother Brad playing with Jess and Kayman, trying not to fall asleep! They were both so exhausted after the long stay away from home with a new baby in a hotel.
We are so excited to have a new member of our family, and so happy for Brad and Lindsay during this amazing time in their life.

Girls Weekend!

A couple weeks ago my cousins, aunts and I went to St. George for a fun girls weekend! We stayed at my parents house and had about 20 of us sleeping all throughout the house. We were missing 7 people. My grandma lives in St. George, so she was there with us too. What a crowd! We had a great time hanging around the house, watching movies, going out to eat, hot tubbing, dancing and most of all, talking and just being together.

This is the first year we have all come together like this (only about half of us live in SLC) and I am hoping we make it a yearly tradition! Or quarterly, whatever works. I sure enjoyed getting to know my cousins and aunts better, and getting a much needed break from the kids to be surrounded by adults! What a great weekend! Thanks ladies!!!

Aunts and grandma not pictured...

I love my cousins!!! Each of them is so amazing to me. Everyone got along very well and added such fun to the time together. I am so blessed to have such a large loving family! We all went to my grandma's church Sunday morning and filled up the overflow with all of us!

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!!!

Naples

Andy and I got to go on another vacation the first week of February. Alphagraphics made Gold Circle again this year and that means we got to attend the "Meetings" in Naples, Florida. My mom came and stayed at our house with the kids and carted them around to school and dance. She did a great job with them and they all seem to have had a great time. Everyone survived!

Andy and I got on a plane early Wednesday morning with his parents to head for a few days of paradise. We stayed at the Ritz Carlton! It was so beautiful. The room was gorgeous and had an ocean view. The food was wonderful. The service was amazing...the most friendly people I have ever met!

Our first full day there Andy and I went out to the beach and one of the workers out there got our chairs all set up with towells, made sure they were facing the direction we wanted them to face, and asked if he could get us anything else. I wasn't too sure how to react to such service! We lived it up!

Beautiful sunset!
The second night's dinner was at a restaurant that has lots of different animals. The owner brings one or two out per night, and we got the giraffe. He let us feed him! I have never been so close to a giraffe, and it was so cool! He ate about 50 pounds of carrots while we were there.
He wasn't shy!
We also got to pet an alligator. That was pretty amazing. This one is about 2 years old and is much softer than you would think. It's mouth was clamped shut, so I felt better about touching him.

We really enjoyed our time with each other and with Andy's parents. We did a lot of shopping since the weather wasn't too nice except for the first day. We also spent a lot of time mingling with other Alphagraphics owners. Andy really did have meetings in the mornings, and he even presented at one of them. He did a great job of introducing how to implement QR codes. If you don't know what they are, you can go to this link and find out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5oQPe2XuCA

Potty!

Kayman went in the potty!!! He was so excited! He hasn't done it since or even wanted to try, but still. I see it as a success. It will really be wonderful when we are done with diapers in this house!!! I think it's still a long time coming, but it's a start! Good job Buddy!