AUGUST 2011

Is it really October already?! WOW!

August brought us the beginning of school, but before school started Kylie got her cast off!! She was a little sad that she was getting it off right before school started because she now wasn't going to have proof that she spent most of the summer in a cast. Yet, she was ready to have it off - as was I! We were pretty lucky that she had to keep going back for different things so that she got a new cast on every couple of weeks. I can't imagine how people go all 6-8 weeks with one cast. They get so nasty! Now it's off - HALLELUJAH!

As for school - I can't believe we now have a 6th grader & that my baby is in 3rd grade. Time flies! Kylie was asked to be one of the flag kids this year & she was jumping up & down for awhile when the call came to ask her. At her school they pick a few kids to be over the raising & taking down of the flag everyday. She felt so privileged that they asked her. I love it because she's learning how to respect & handle the flag.

I need to get better at taking pictures & getting on the ball. (I know, I say that every time.) Only now I don't have a camera, so that's awesome! Mine decided to bust on me & I haven't gotten a new one yet. Hopefully before Halloween! ;)

APRIL / MAY

In April Kylie had the opportunity to go on a special field trip with all the Student Council Officers since she was the secretary in the fall. They went to the Capital building & were able to meet a couple of house representatives. Pretty cool if you ask me! I've lived here my whole life (except for 6 years in Vegas) & have never been to the capital building. Apparently, they have a museum there that she said was really neat. They even got some special treatment & were able to sit at house members desks & take photos. Lucky kid! The picture on the top right is with Eddie Farnsworth on the left (He's actually over her school) & I don't know who on the right. ;) I tried to look it up & there's just too many of them to look through, so I gave up. Sorry, whoever you are!

May brought beautiful weather & the kids dying to have a "lemonade stand"! We love the neighborhood we're in & the girls have been lucky enough to make some good friends! This whole lemonade stand idea spun a little out of control. It turned into a sweet stand & they sold all kinds of treats & stuff. It was a lot of work for the parents, but the kids had fun. They even made about $46 the first time. Who knew?! Maybe I should quit my job & put my kids to work. ;) Now it's just too hot to do it. I'm sure when it starts cooling down they'll want to do it again. They even had a few copy cat stands pop up after the word spread on how much $$ they were making. Haha!

The last day in May brought a very special birthday to Jay! She turned 8. She wanted breakfast in bed, it's turned into a tradition with the girls, with just a good 'ol Slim-Fast shake to eat. Then, she opened up her gifts. My kids give the best reactions to gifts. We're not dramatic in anyway at our house! ;) She got to go to lunch that day at her favorite place - Barro's pizza. Mimi & Papa came along with John & Aunt Jewelry (Julie). For dinner we went to Cafe Rio - another on of her favorites. Dave & Wendy Paez came to town & stayed the night with us. It ws so fun to have them here for all the festivities! Jack, Alli & Eli also came to Cafe Rio. I, of course, didn't take any pictures. UGH! We love our Jay!

The next morning I realized I didn't take any photos & made the Paez's pose for a couple pictures before they took off. Wendy was not too happy about that since it was bright & early, but she was a good sport!

JAY SOM

Jay was chosen as the Student of the Month back in April! I, for the life of me, cannot find her paper that talks about why she received it. Makes me sick! But, with the move - it's probably in a box somewhere. Here she is with her teacher Mrs. Fonseth...

Her teacher actually forgot to tell us about the award. She told us the month before that Jay would probably be getting it & then forget to tell us when the time came about the ceremony. We got a call the morning of & rushed down. However, the ceremony started @ 7:30am & we live 20 minutes away. They pushed Jay to the end, but we still didn't make it on time. Everyone involved felt horrible! Jay handled it well though.

We're so proud of this kid! Every teacher she's had so far has talked about how easy she is to teach. School is definitely not hard for Jay. In fact, she ended up getting 101% in math. How does that happen in grade school? Only to Jay!

JADYN'S BAPTISM

I'm going to go out of order again. I just don't want to forget the details of this special day. Our baby turned 8 & chose to be baptized. My, how time flies!! It all started with some photo shoots. Erik did one, but her hair was not curled & she did not like that. Our friend Shelley was AWESOME enough to do some pictures of Jay for us. It's always more fun to go with someone as cute as her rather than your own parents! She did an amazing job & even made her announcement for us. THANK YOU again Shelley!!


Then came that special day! She was so ready for this day. She was beaming & beyond excited. She was a little upset that she didn't get to have a baptism all to herself like Kylie did, but she got over it quick. (We just moved into a new ward that does stake baptisms.) After she was baptized I went into the girls room to help her change & get ready. She was standing their saying over & over,

"I'm freezing (with teeth chattering), but I'm happy!
I'm freezing, but I'm happy!"

It was so dang cute! I was able to steal a quick photo of her in the dressing room before we went out. I was able to steal a hug as well & give her the first congrats & squeeze! When we walked out we found Erik in the hallway & took another quick picture.

When we returned into the Relief Society room everyone was gathered waiting for us. The Primary Presidency had passed out paper to everyone & asked people to write down their testimonies for Jay & they put it into a book to give to her on Sunday. What a great idea!! It is definitely something that will be cherished forever!

After Jadyn was confirmed she sat down & they announced the closing song & prayer. Towards the end of the song Jay just curled up next to me & started bawling. My first reaction was, "You've got to be kidding me! Really?!" But, I remained calm ;) & rubbed her cheek. After the closing prayer I asked her why she was crying & her reply was, "I'm just so happy!" How can you get mad at that? Darling little girl just didn't know how to handle all of those emotions.

We had so many loved ones come support her that it's almost overwhelming to think about. We are so blessed with so many wonderful family & friends. We were missing a ton of people, too. After the baptism we went back to our house for dessert. My friend EmmaLee even made a beautiful cake for the occasion. Thanks again Em! We also scheduled Jadyn's piano recital on the same day so that no one would miss it. She did awesome. She's really learning fast!

Thank you to everyone that was able to share this special day with us!!

We love you to Infinity & Beyond Jay!!

PRAYER

Sunday night I had a RS Auxiliary Training Mtg. Erik had to leave town that night, so I was now left with trying to figure out what to do with my girls. Given the nature of my calling I couldn't just say, "Oh well, can't come." At church I asked my friend Bonnie if the girls could come hang out at her house during the mtg. She, as always, was so kind to say yes. She told me she had a dinner at her mom's, but they could still watch the girls.

When the time came around I text Bonnie to see if they were home yet. I didn't hear anything, so I told my girls that if we didn't hear from her that they would just have to sit in the hallway & color or something for a bit. Apparently, that idea was not appealing. I was gathering up my things & trying to rush out the door when I heard a faint, "Just a sec" in the background. I look over & see Jay saying a prayer. My heart melted!!

When she was done she looked up & gave me a little smile. I smiled back & said, "You really want to go to Bonnie's don't you?" (They really love Bonnie & her kids!) She replied with a yes. Well, I couldn't just let it go. I called Bonnie once we got in the car & we got it worked out.

Thanks to my awesome friend Bonnie my 7 year olds prayers were answered! Thanks again Bonnie!!

ALOHA JOE's

Now we are finally back to AZ! It's nice to be home even if you miss those you left behind. {Oh & don't worry - I still have a ton left to post. You know you're excited!} When we got home it was time to start saying Aloha to my sister Robin {aka RUBY}. She lived in Hawaii for 3 years & moved back home in April of 2009. Apparently, she missed it too much because she decided to move back. Who can blame her actually - it's Hawaii!! We will miss you MUCHOS Ruby!! The fam at the Aloha Oy party for Ruby...

Jackson's birthday came next. My family likes to gather at Joe's Farm Grill for birthday's occasionally. You get a free meal if it's your special day! We met in July for Jackson's birthday & stayed to chat for awhile....outside...in the middle of July. Hence, why Jadyn has quite the red face in these pics. The best part of this outing was the cecada skin we found on the sidewalk. Not because of that so much, but what happened afterward.

Jadyn was not excited to keep looking at it. She kept saying how she did not want to see it again. My dad told her not to be so silly. It was just the skin. To which she replied, "You just don't understand a girls life!" No more needs to be said.

JUNK

I love looking at the pictures on my camera & finding the most random photos. Here's such an example...

My girls think these photos are hilarious. They do them often. They turn the screen saver mode on the xbox & then take pictures like they're being sucked into a vortex or something. They are nutty!

Then, there's some proof that Nui definitely belongs in my home. I believe he has OCD. Check out his dish...(Not sure why this photo keeps flipping on me. Sorry.)

He always pushes his food to one side as he eats it. It keeps his bowl cleaner & in order. That's my kind of dog!! ;)

MUSIC AWARD

Jadyn was invited to an end of the year awards night at school & we had no idea why. Last year she was given the Student of the Year award for her class, so we assumed that she was getting it again. However, we were excited when she received the Music Award for 1st grade!! The music teacher & the PE teacher pick one student out of each grade to receive the respective awards. Jadyn got it for first grade! We love this girl - she's awesome!!

Here's Jadyn with Mr. Blau the music teacher. He is awesome! My girls love him.

Here's Jadyn with her teacher Miss Thomas.

JADYN's 7

I am WAY behind on blogging...again. I'm going to try my hardest to catch up before a bunch more happens in the near future. In that attempt, here's a post about Jadyn & her 7th birthday. (The next few posts will not be in order, so bear with me.) The lucky little girl had 3 different parties. It was crazy!

PARTY #1
Mimi took all of the girls to see "The Princess & the Pea" at the Hale Theater. It was so fun & the little girls had a blast! Thanks again Mimi! We all loved it! After the play we met all the boys @ Peter Piper Pizza for a combined party for Jadyn & Creed. It was a fun day & even better that it was a day spent with family!


PARTY #2
Jadyn had a friend party this year. We decided awhile ago that we would only do parties for friends on the odd years of the girls birthdays. That way it doesn't conflict with baptisms, YW, etc. And at our house, for Mom's sanity, we keep things low key. Jadyn decided to have a few friends over to watch a movie. She picked the Pixar Shorts DVD. They had popcorn & LOTS of treats. Those poor parents probably hated me that night. I'm sure every single one of those girls went home with a MAJOR sugar high! It was fun & Jadyn loved every minute of it. Despite the fact that her cake did not turn out. We had an awesome cake planned out, but I am no Buddy! (From Cake Boss) I tried & it failed miserably. Jadyn was really upset. Oh well!! Nothing I could do. At least the lip gloss & charms she wanted to give out turned out alright. Otherwise the party would have been a total bust!


PARTY #3
The day before Jadyn's birthday we had a last minute impromptu party with the Parkinson's. Needless to say, I'm soooo glad we did!! This was the week before Esther's passing & the last time we would all be together. We ate dinner, had cake & just enjoyed being together. Kevin showed off his mad skills - doing push ups with kids on his back. Then he was almost taken down by our tough dog Nui!! Hunter & Steele sported all of their Laker gear & took the verbal beatings they received for doing so in stride. It was a fun night!


The next morning was Jadyn's real birthday. We had Ciara spend the night after the Parkinson party. Jadyn received the traditional breakfast in bed & then opened her presents. After that we all loaded up & went bowling. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of that. I tried, but pictures don't turn out very well in dark bowling alleys. She had a wonderful, party packed birthday this year! Only 1 year until she's baptized. Now that's CRAZY!!

JADYNISMS

Here are some more "Jadynisms". Not sure where she comes up with some of this stuff!

Last night she was sitting at the table playing some games & I said something was stinky. To which, of course, led into the Nacho Libre line of, "My robe is in the wash, it's astinky." (Something to that effect.) I said it right in her ear with my attempt at a Nacho voice. She giggled & said, "Oh mom, you're HISTORICAL!" Not hysterical - historical! HAHA! I hope she wasn't referring to the fact that I'm getting old.

My Mom & Alan were in town this weekend & we had a lot of fun. Jadyn had the talk in church on Sunday for Primary & Alan was helping her. They were discussing the 4th article of Faith & Jadyn was talking about each principle. He had her talking as if she were giving her talk. When she came to the principle of baptism she said that everyone should be baptised. Then she paused for a second & said...
"But, if you don't it's ok. Because when you die someone will just do it for you!"
Well, at least she understands!! It's amazing to me what that girl picks up!

HIP HOP

Random Jadyn thoughts:

Today Jay-Bird & I were in the car talking about how she likes to do flips on the bars at school. I told her how I use to do that, too & pretend that I was a gymnast. She then remembered how much she loved gymnastics & stated she needed to go back. Then she says, out of the blue...

"I don't like ballet. (Which, of course, made me a little sad.) I've grown up & am now a hip hop girl!"

Well, there ya have it. Who knew?!

CATCH UP

I have so many posts running through my head & just no time to keep up. So, here's a catch up post of what happened during one weekend...

The 11th of December my Kylie turned 10!! My how we love that girl. Even when she's crazy - which is pretty much all of the time! How did I get so old to have a 10 year old? She told me a few times throughout the day, "I'm 10 now mom. Double digits. Do you feel old now?" Why yes, yes I do. Here she is with her Phineas & Ferb pin she got... (She loves that show.)

We love that she's not shy. Sometimes it can be much, but for the most part it's wonderful! We have no idea where it comes from as Erik & I are not very outgoing. She loves life & loves to be in charge. If you've been around her at all you know she can keep you busy all day long with activities made up on the fly. We're so happy she's part of our family!!

The next day the girls participated in a movie. A couple in our ward has a daughter in film school. She was making a short film for her class & needed girls for one of the scenes. They had to be crazed girls at a birthday party. (Not very hard for my girls.) They had a blast!! They actually filmed stuff a couple of weeks ago, but the camera broke towards the end. They had to come back to refilm & my girls were quite happy with that idea.
They loved being "on set" for a day. I came for a little bit to take some pictures & I'm so glad I did! Check out what they did to my girls....

I was laughing so hard! I loved it! (Do you love Kylie's dress EmmaLee?) They had some dresses for the girls to wear, but asked them to bring some more just in case. Kylie was the oldest & they didn't have anything that fit her. All we have is old dance costumes & she chose the lovely pink & white number to wear.

I asked a guy at one point what was going on in the story & he mentioned something about zombies. But, they did not tell the girls that. They just told them to act crazy. At one point they had to dig in & destroy a birthday cake making grumbling noises. Again, I was just laughing! Then, a guy stole a bike from the party & the girls had to chase him. I can't wait to see the finished product. We'll be getting a copy of the film once it's all edited. And I'll probably need to watch it before I let my girls see it just to be sure! ;)

A sign that my daughter loves me so. ;)

Jadyn told me this today - as well as a couple of days ago.

"Mom, you're getting old. You have lots of white hairs."

My how I love that kid! I'm just not quite sure how to respond to that.

TEETH

Teeth seems to be a never ending saga at my house. At the beginning - it was a nightmare with the whole teething thing. Kylie didn't get her first tooth until she was 13 months old. But, she started teething at 4 months. Now that they're older - it's a nightmare loosing teeth! For some reason it just scares my girls to death. I'm not sure why. Especially since everytime when their tooth finally comes out they remember it doesn't hurt, but they still go nuts everytime. Jadyn especially! There's just no way to describe the torture it is to try & get her to let us pull her tooth out when it's just barely hanging on. It took days of screaming & crying & throwing fits to finally end in Erik just stealing her tooth when she was screaming & had her mouth open.

While up at my mom's house Jadyn had a front tooth just barely hanging on for dear life. She would not let us pull it! She told us one morning, making Kylie extremely upset, that Kylie also had a loose tooth. Which was funny because Kylie kept telling Jadyn it didn't hurt & don't be scared. Guess she doesn't practice what she preaches. Once Erik found out about it though she was awesome. He told her to stand still so he could pull it. It took her only a minute & then stood still - it came out without a whole lot of effort. In fact Erik just pulled it down & it just flipped out of her mouth in the air! It was actually quite funny.

We made Jadyn watch to see how non-scary it was, but it didn't help. She was still freaked out. I'm sad to admit this, but it ended up in us pinning her down & pulling it out. Which of course, as soon as it was out, she was fine & happy. It had to be done, it was literally hanging. And with a front tooth doing that it was just gross. I couldn't look at her pretty little face because it grossed me out - it had to be done!

Here's my toothless wonders showing off their teeth...

Erik told them that if they both lost a tooth in the same day that they would get extra money from the tooth fairy. So, they each received a $5 bill. (Actually, it was all Erik had in his wallet. We don't carry cash. They were lucky - at least he had something since we weren't about to drive into town to find an ATM at 9pm!)

The adventure is not over yet. Jadyn's other front tooth is loose. (I hope she looses it before Christmas!) She has now lost 3 teeth in the past couple of weeks. Kylie's other bottom tooth (the one opposite the one she lost) is loose as well. Fun times!!

Student of the Month

Our little Jay-Bird received the Student of the Month Award for her class for September! We're so proud of her & how hard she works at everything! Here's what her teacher had to say about her....

"She is an outstanding young lady. Jadyn is a very responsible, driven, and compassionate individual. She attends class everyday with a positive attitude and eagerness to learn. I thoroughly enjoy having Jadyn in class."

JAY SLEEPING

Our girls toss & turn like crazy while they're sleeping. Usually when we go to bed Erik checks on the girls before we head upstairs. This one night I did & this is what I found. This is after being asleep for only about an hour, too. Crazy girl!
By the way, I did not turn the light on to take these pictures. This was all my flash!

SCHOOL BEGINS

Yesterday was the first day of school!! I am not the normal mom when it comes to school beginning. I don't sit around & cry. Jadyn started 1st grade yesterday - which means she goes to school all day now & I did the happy dance! I've been waiting for school to begin so I can sit in peace & watch Twilight. Everytime I've tried to watch it the last few months things happen & I never get to finish it. So, yesterday was my day to sit in peace! Well, Erik came home & I didn't get to finish it. Maybe today. At least I was able to get my house organized. (OK-just the front room & kitchen. And, of course, it's already trashed!) We also got our microwave fixed! It's been broken for a couple of months. We haven't really missed it, but it will be nice to have it again. Anyhoo, here's some photos of our first day of school...

Kylie the 4th grader...

Jadyn the 1st grader...

These are Jadyn's shoes. I had to post a picture of these because I LOVE LOVE LOVE these shoes!! Did I mention I LOVE these shoes?! They have glittery chandeliers on them & they're Converse. Gotta love this find in the clearance area at Tillys.com!! Unfortunately, they only had one size, so I was unable to get some for Kylie. But, lucky for us, at least the size fit one of my girls!!

My girls with their cheese ball faces...

My girls doing what they do best. Singing their hearts out to Paramore's "That's What You Get" on the way to school!!

They had a great day. They're excited to have the teachers they have. We're blessed to be able to attend such a wonderful school!!

TOOTH FAIRY

Jadyn lost her 3rd tooth on the 21st. It was very wiggly & Erik kept begging her to let him pull it out. He hasn't been able to pull out a tooth of either of our girls & he was dying for the chance. She was in bed & came out to tell us her tooth was bugging her. I wiggled it & it was beyond ready to come out. After MUCH cohersion Erik got Jadyn to stand still for him to pull on it. (He actually pulled on it once earlier in the day & it didn't come out.) He told her to let him try it once & if it didn't come out she could go back to bed. She was crying & very nervous. But, one pull later & it came out! Erik was a pretty excited that he got to pull it out! Jadyn was also very happy to have it over with.


It was also a sad day because Jadyn learned that the Tooth Fairy was not real. She kept asking me all day long of the tooth fairy was real or not & I kept telling her to go ask her Dad. It's one thing to let your kids believe in the tooth fairy & another to flat out lie to their faces telling them it's reality. I couldn't do it. Plus, she's too smart & thinks too logically to believe otherwise. Eventually, we told her it was fake. She probably asked 30 times - which to me meant that she was ready. She didn't even care. She just moved on. Then, the next morning when she found her money she asked who gave it to her - me or Dad? It was me! heehee


Now, though, I'm nervous for Christmas. Kylie figured out the tooth fairy & Santa Clause in the same year. I'm afraid Jadyn will do the same. Then, that will mean, I have no more babies in my house. I will just have big kids! Whoa!!

Check out the new company car Bell got us...


Isn't it beautiful? Who would have ever thought that the Bell's would get us a car that costs almost as much as a house?! They're just too good to us!!

HA! If you know the Bell's than you're laughing. Actually, this has been parked in our neighbors spot for the past two days. Like idiots - we had to take some pictures. It's just too pretty to ignore! We piled the whole family into my car yesterday & told the girls to both go out Kylie's door on the opposite side of the Bentley. Kylie started to protest & ask why? WHY?! We explained that this was a VERY expensive car & would cost more than her college tuition to fix if we dinged it. Her reply...

"Well that's just a rip off of a car!"

Apparently, she's not a fan of paying ridiculous amounts for a car. Even if it's lovely!

As for Jadyn -

In the morning she was reading a Junie B. Jones book. She's quite the little reader lately. Upon finishing it she told Erik & I, "I'm done with my book! Can I get a what, what?!" I'm still not sure where she comes up with these things.

JADYN'S 6

Our little Jay-Bird is now 6 years old! All I have to say is - WOW!! Where did the time go? And at the same time - wasn't she 6 two years ago? I can't believe it's been 6 years. Yet, she hasn't changed much in the past couple of years. Erik & I laugh all of the time about how she's been the same for awhile. I guess that's what happens when you start walking at 10 months or because you're talking in complete sentences at 18 months. Or when you basically potty-train yourself at 2. Maybe it's because we did nothing to help her learn how to read or write. Or since she knows how to add & subtract without even thinking about it. She's just a smart little kid. We love her dearly & she's such a joy in our home!!

The festivities began with a birthday party on Saturday the 30th with some of her friends....

This was my attempt at making a birthday cake. Keep in mind that I've never taken a class or anything. I just assumed I could maybe do it because I watch Ace of Cakes all of the time. HA! It was hard & didn't come out anything like I had planned. It took a majority of my morning on Friday to make & I almost threw it out because I was getting fo frustrated with it. Oh well! Some people liked it & thought it was cute. Just don't look too close!

Mimi & Papa even came to her party. We couldn't find Papa for awhile & we found him here...

The morning of the 31st - her actual birthday - began with breakfast in bed.

Kylie even read a book to her while she ate. Then came the presents. After which it was time to get ready for church & then we spent the rest of the day after church packing for our trip the next day!