Sally McFly and John McMuffin

Friday was "nerd day" at school. The kids- especially Eli really got into it. He actually wants to be a nerd for Halloween next year so this was a great dress rehearsal for him. Emma even made name tags for them :)
They took turns wearing Dana's new reading glasses for the pictures.

Each class picks 2 kids that are the best dressed for the theme and Eli got picked for his class! He got to go up to the office and get his picture taken. Probably his favorite school day ever!

Cute group of nerds ready for school :)

Emma was also "student of the week" last week so I brought in Oreos for the class and you can bring in a pet if you want. She begged me to bring Pepper in.

She picked Jane to be her helper passer-outer.

Pepper was not a happy camper but Emma had a great time showing him off.

And it was so cute watching her tell the class about how we found him in Mt. Pleasant when he was just a little kitten.

She was a little nervous but was so adorable in my extremely unbiased opinion. Once in awhile she'd pause and say "Ummm" and then Pepper would meow and then everyone would laugh.

Then she got to take him around for everyone to pet him...except one kid who's allergic to cats who had to stand in the corner.

I also enjoyed seeing Emma in high ponytails and having flashbacks all day of her being much smaller. Love you so much sweet-pea!

Something Stinks in Suburbia

No it wasn't our leftovers. It wasn't the "cow smell", nor was it a dirty diaper (which are all but non-existent around here now). Actually, the air outside was extra fresh today because we had sprinkles off and on all day again. The stinkiness was me and I haven't been able to shake it off all day.
It was a day that started off on the wrong foot when I had a run-in with an EBAY buyer, and then several small things, some that have been building up in my mind for awhile, all added up and plagued me the whole day. Real buggers like insurance issues (worries about having to pay big bucks), my arthritis (but happily I got my medication today), a 2 year old with a scream that just won't quit when she wants something, whining coming at me from all angles, wanting sugar but not having any in the house because I'm not eating treats right now, and the list goes on as it tends to do.
I'm probably pre-menstrual. I mean, where's your gratitude woman?! I even looked at Nie-Nie's blog which is great for counting blessings but all it did today was make me cry. And I prayed for her too. But it was more like begging Heavenly Father to help her please. You can't not love the girl- she is absolutely amazing.

Anyway, I was happy to have Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday's dinners help me out a little tonight. Do you like Emma's added food commentaries?

10 points if you know what movie the title quotes :) No googling allowed!

100 Days

Happy 100th day of the school year to our big kids!

80 more to go.

Keep up the great work!- the year is flying by. We celebrated by signing another one up for next year. Can you guess who? If you guessed the ninja in the middle- you are correct. She'll be mixing it up "sushi-style" in Kindergarten next year :)

And let me tell you- she is VERY excited about it.

Beautiful Day

As you well know we have been getting buckets of rain here in the Valley of the Sun like most of the western USA. I've always liked rain, but because we get so little here, it really feels like a treat when it happens. And then today, when the sun finally found it's way through the clouds, it was a reminder of the unbelievable beauty of the Earth. To see a really awesome picture of what today looked like, check out my friend Jill's blog who is amazing at capturing true beauty. I did take the opportunity today to take the kids down the street and snap a few pictures too. I got some pretty cute kid pictures :)

And we had a lot of fun too.

with Dana doing most of the work while I had the easy job :)

Here is Sadie's new "cheeese" face. This girl cracks me up several times per day.

Grateful for our big Arizona sky!

(BTW Emma went with a friend to see "Oklahoma" during this time- which is of course why there are no pictures of her:) Maybe I'll get some more tomorrow)

History of a Bike

This afternoon I took a long bike ride through our neighborhood with Eli. The first 2 parks we rode past he wanted to stop at and play. I just said "Nope, we're just going for a bike ride."

Pretty soon I could tell he started to catch the spirit of our adventure and enjoy it. It is actually super fun to ride around our neighborhood because the sidewalk doesn't end whichever way you turn. And I love to ride my beach cruiser. Everyone has beach cruisers right now but mine is extra special. I got it as a present for Christmas I think when I was a teenager. I loved it then but didn't appreciate it as much as I do now.

When I got a little older and went to college it sat and sat in the garage and got cob webs on it. My dad got tired of seeing it and my sister's bike in there never being used and taking up space. He decided to sell both of our bikes to some guy he worked with. I caught wind of this after the fact and voiced some unhappiness about it (or I may have had a whining fit- I can't remember). My dad said "Well I can probably buy yours back if you want me to." And even though it was probably a little awkward, he did it for me. And it meant a lot to me. It still does, and I think about him whenever I ride it.

My dad loved to ride bikes. He was man who loved simple pleasures. Today I felt the peacefulness he felt riding bikes and I wished he was with me. I knew he would love the coolness in the air and the way it smelled. I thought about how he would love to ride around the neighborhood with me and my little guy who was only a baby when he died. And I missed him.

But my bike also makes me think about my blessings I have now. Like a husband who fixed it up for me a couple Christmases ago and really surprised me. A husband who continually sacrifices and tries his best to make me happy. Just like my dad did :)

"Mawble Dar"

We've been dealing with something that I know is very common among parents, but still taking it's toll on us. Kids that take some serious, constant prodding to get things done. These are our 3 major times of stress:
1. Chores
2. Getting ready for school in the morning
3. Getting ready for bed at night

Morning is a killer because school starts for us at 7:52 am. It's pretty early. They're tired, I'm sometimes tired. However, they move in slo-mo while I'm rushing around the house trying to do everything at once. For me, it's the most stressful out of the 3 because of the time crunch, but they can all be pretty painful when you feel like you're words are falling on deaf ears. Which as you know if you are a parent, just does not fly. So then my next reaction is to talk louder which the kids are fond of calling "yelling". I tell them that I'm not yelling it's just that apparently they can't hear me so they leave me no choice. But you can see that here is where the spirit of contention eeks its' way in the front door.

We realized we needed a positive disciplinary tactic so we could get a different kind of Spirit back in the house. So here is where our lovely "Reward Jar" comes in. And I'm happy to report that it is gaining momentum. They are starting to work for those marbles. Especially when someone else gets one. Even Sadie! She literally stopped crying mid-screaming fit today because yesterday she got to put in a marble after she calmed down from crying about something. She stopped and said "I'm happy now" at which point I took her straight to the marbles as fast as possible in hopes of reinforcing that one even more.

Emma came up with their reward which is going to Makudu's Island. It's a huge indoor treehouse playground place that we've been wanting to try since we moved here. They have to make it to the line about half way up.
The past couple days have really felt different. Yea for something new!
P.S. I had to add a playlist just for this post!
P.S.S. Sorry if you were cut off as you were rockin' out. This is the only version I could find during my 5 min search (haha- you should see this video!).

Sledding in the Desert

On New Years Day we went to a local, fun park to ride bikes and play with cousins. The kids started riding the skateboards down the hills. After watching them for awhile I started to look around at all the other people there making the most of the hills. Some people next to us were ice-blocking and others were riding bikes down the hills. It looked so much like a sledding trip minus all the white and frost-bitten toes. I feel blessed to live in such a fun area- especially this time of year with perfect weather :)

Sadie LOVES riding her scooter but is super slow so Dana rode her like this through the whole park back to the car. He is such a sweet dad. Much nicer than me, who would have carried her screaming to the car before I entertained this idea.

A very fun day.

Girl Party

For Moi-- not kids! It was very fun and exciting. We had it planned and then it actually ended up that I walked out of the doctor's office (post miscarriage check-up), got in our snazzy Civic, picked up Amy, and we high-tailed it out of AZ all the way to San Diego chatting and laughing all the way. Quite a great feeling I must say. We've never had a sister/mom trip and I REALLY hope there will be more to come.

Aside from the company, my very favorite part was the beach. I don't realize how much I miss it until I'm there.
The sight, the sounds, the smell...Ahhhh. You can't get a better view from a car window. Sally lives there so she knew all the best places to go. This was the greatest ever breakfast place! Can you tell by the line at 9:30? It was very fun and cute on the inside, but best of all was right on the beach where they have tables and chairs waiting. Waiting for rule breakers. Nearby view. Two beach-starved Arizona mom's excited to get in on that view. Sal, I love this picture- so cute! Trip made possible by the greatest mom in the world.Me, in Heaven Amy

Miranda

Cool patterns.

A beacon of beauty from the freeway.

Pedicures were one of the first items on our agenda.

Shopping: forever one of my favorites. I wrote a paper in Jr. High about shopping being the perfect activity. I had some very compelling arguments. Mainly- "It makes you feel better when you're feeling down." Irrefutable logic.

Eating at "Extraordinary Desserts" which were very much so.

And we did lots more. Including, but not limited to: a movie, more eating out, late night chats, the Christmas version of Cabury mini-eggs, clips of Muppet Show yip-yip aliens, having major flashbacks as we all tried to get ready in front of Sally's bathroom mirror, hugs, tears, and lots of laughter.

It was only a day and a half total but you can really fit ALOT into a day when you aren't toting tots around. It was the best ever and much needed. Thank you for being so awesome girls (esp. mom for all you are always doing for us- thoughts, prayers, and love, etc.) Love you.