Program Day

Yesterday was one of those crazy days that there is so much scheduled and so much to do in a short time you wonder how the heck you are going to get it all done, but know at the end of the day every ounce of stress will be worth it.  And it was.   After dropping Kiersten off to preschool in Mapleton, Luke and I got to go to Michael's first grade parent program.  So cute!  Michael was so excited just waiting and watching as all the parents arrived for the show.

His whole class (well- all that I could fit in the picture!)

This picture was taken for Michael, because the girl on the left (in white) is Julia.  Michael describes her as the girl he L-O-V-E-S.  When he told Lance and I it was all we could do to hold our straight faces and listen to all the "wonderful" things about her and how she kissed him on the cheek!  Then after he left it was all we could do not to reminisce about him  being a baby and why we did not infest him with more cooties!  

(Cooties will definitely be on the shopping list for second grade!)

 

Michael showing off his portfolio that he has worked so hard on this year.  He took us page by page through the whole book.  He was so proud!

Mrs. Arnold & Michael- She is a lady who will  be hard to forget!  She has worked so hard with Michael to become the best he can be.  She was also diagnosed with brain cancer and held off chemo so she can finish the school year- so the kids didn't have to get another teacher!  She starts chemo in July and we wish her the very BEST!

Proud Mama & her first grader

Then after rushing to get Kiersten from preschool, curl her hair, get dinner ready, and many other chores, it was time for Kiersten's Preschool Graduation.  So back to Mapleton we go!  (That was my 3rd trip of the day.)

Kiersten & her class sang a lot of the cute songs that her class had learned this year.  She loved to learn them, but she especially loved to perform them!!!  (Her face is just so cute!)

My little Graduate and her hard working teachers- Mrs. Julie (my friend) & Mrs. Shepherd

Her family was so proud of her!  We were all ready for big hugs after the show!

My Graduate (I am curious to see how much she changes in the next 13 years of school & how similar this picture will look!  We will see!)

Below is her part in the program.  They were each an animal and she was the Gorgeous Gazelle.

So a very full but fun day.  I am so grateful that I was able to see all the kids' programs and be a part of this memorable day.  Love you guys!

Thirty

So for my big 30th birthday, I asked Lance to keep it simple.  So he let me sleep in until 10 am (granted I went to bed at 2 am- got home from work late), then I got up and had breakfast and we made our plans.  I wanted to go up the canyon and just relax.  So we grabbed a few pizzas, drinks (of course a Diet Coke for me) and we went up Provo canyon.  It was beautiful.  Lance knew the exact spot he wanted us to go and it was perfect!  The spot we were at had more shades of green in one spot- the picture hardly does it justice.  It was just incredible.

The skies were perfectly blue and luckily the clouds and last night's rain kept the temperature just perfect for relaxing.

My family & their pizza

Cutie Kids

My fisherman- trying to work his magic

The Rocks.  After an hour or so of being up there relaxing my nemesis came to try and ruin the day....a yucky water snake.  Of course I squealed like a little girl, freaked out, and then I got the idea to throw rocks at it so it did not stay here....so that began the fun of throwing rocks into the river.  The kids found all sizes to throw in the river and then they would laugh as they got covered in "snake water".  Silly kids.

We had so much fun.  We really enjoyed the beautiful area, fun company, so many things to do, and the perfect weather to just relax.  

Me & my hubby

After the fun outside we went home and the Madsens came over to play, have dinner, & eat some birthday cake.  Overall a very fun day and worth turning 30 for!  It was fun to hear family & friends' birthday wishes.  So thank you to everyone who helped to make my 30's begin in the best way possible!

Garden- Day 7

Okay... I promise I will not post every time something new grows, but I just had to today.  It has been exactly one week from when I planted the garden last week and I already have about 30 bean plants growing, as well as a few peas, yellow beans,  & tomatillos plants coming up!  Aahh, the miracle of spring.  I am so excited (in case you couldn't tell)!

Kid Tag

Tagged by Darcy!

What my kids really think of me!

I asked the questions so if you keep that in mind they make more sense.

1.  What is something Mom always says to you?

M: I love you

K: Thank you

2.  What makes mom happy?

M: When mom sleeps in

K: Giving her things that are beautiful

3.  What makes mom sad?

M: Us not being good

K: When we do naughty stuff

4.  How does your mom make you laugh?

M: Tickling me

K: Doing funny things

5. What was your mom like as a child?

M: a baby

K: a big kid that doesn't whine.  Because you don't like whining.

6.  How old is your mom?

M: 29

K: 29

7. How tall is your mom?

M: I don't know

K: taller than us & taller than a chicken or a mouse

8.  What is her favorite thing to watch on TV?

M: Twilight

K: Twilight

9.  What does your mom do when you are not around?

M: watch Twilight

K: Find coins for us 

10.  What is your mom really good at?

M: cooking

K:  making us yummy food 

(Wow!  I have them fooled on that one!!)

11.  What is your mom not very good at?

M: I can't think of anything

K: being mean sometimes

12.  What does your mom do for work?

M: nurse

K: helps sick kids and gives them shots

13.  What is your mom's favorite food?

M:  Lemon bars

K: muffins

14.  What makes you proud of your mom?

M: she loves me

K: when you are nice

15.  If your mom was a cartoon character, who would it be?

M: Jerry's girlfriend

K: Sleeping Beauty

16.  What do you and your mom do together?

M: clean the house

K: hug each other

17.  How are you and your mom the same?

M:  Brown eyes

K: Brown eyes

18: How are you and your mom different?

M: I don't have yellow hair and she does.

K: different clothes

19.  How do you know your mom loves you?

M: She hugs and kisses me

K: Because she makes me feel beautiful (that one made me cry a little)

20.  What does your mom like most about your dad?

M: He's older than you are

K:  His hugs and kisses before you go to work

21.  Where is your mom's favorite place to go?

M: the temple

K: the temple

This little survey brought tears to my eyes.  I thought some of their answers were so cute that I teared up more than once.  What cute kids!  I am sure glad that I have 3 of the very best reasons to celebrate Mother's Day and look forward to the many fun years ahead!   I love you guys!

I tag:  Katie (Fuhriman & Anderson), Stephanie, Natalie, & Anyone else brave enough to have your kids answer these questions!  

Kiersten's Princess Party

Her royal invitations (yes I blurred our address...I am a geek!)

Our sweetie girl.  Forever she has wanted a princess party and so today we had one for her 5th birthday.  It was AMAZING how many cute & inexpensive ideas you could find online to have a party fit for a princess.   

Her cutie friends that came. We played Kiss the frog (Pin the tail), Princess Guess Who, Princess Memory Match, Jasmine's Flying Carpet (small paper "carpets" that were attached to a balloon that we blew up and then let fly!), Snow White's poison apple, made their beautiful crowns, & MORE!

What was funny was that with all that planning & preparation, they still loved the chance to play outside & swing.  Silly girls.

My Princess & her friends, her castle cake (thank you again Grandma Hansen for the kit!!!)

The whole party she kept saying, "Isn't this the greatest day ever!!??!" It was so cute. I am glad that she and her friends had fun.  It was worth all the late nights & no sleep to see the giddy smile on her face during the party.

Happy Birthday again Kiersten!  We Love you!

Picture Tag

Picture Tag

I have been tagged by my good friend Darcy Mae!

*Go to your 6th folder

*Find the 6th picture

*Post & blog about it

Here it is....

This was taken in March of this year.  Luke & Kiersten had been dying to go outside and it was finally warm enough that they could.  And like he has continue to do so far this spring, he had picked up a stick and was stabbing everything in sight with it.  His dirty face was from eating strawberries outside, but the black eye I can't remember what that was from. Oh well.  

I tag: Katie F., Natalie, Kala

Phone Call

This morning Michael's teacher called. I don't know about anyone else, but this made me a little nervous, because I had never had one of his teachers call. She was letting me know that she does want me to go on his field trip with his class (BIG SIGH). Then she said something to the effect of "while I've got you, I need to tell you about Michael's writing that he did for the district testing." I thought, okay....here it comes....some embarrassing secret....okay...I am ready. Then she says,"the question asked 'where is your favorite place to play?' And Michael's answer was 'At home. Because there is love there'." Talk about instantly melting me! Mrs. Arnold said that it was so cute, she even read it to her husband. This news makes me extra proud because yesterday we found out that he got 100% on his math test, which was suppose to be on a really hard chapter! So anyway, I am feeling pretty proud of Michael today & needed to brag just a little.

Garden

Wish me luck! Our garden is now in. Soon we will (hopefully) be enjoying tomatoes, green beans, yellow beans, tomatillos, carrots, green onions, zucchini, crooked neck squash, corn, & peas!

Happy 5th Birthday Kiersten!

Kiersten turned 5 May 2nd!!!

Our cutie girl! She has been counting down for weeks for how many days until her 5th birthday. The last night she was four, she was eager to tell anyone who would listen that tonight was her last night being 4. She was so EXCITED!

She woke up the next morning and I had decorated the house with balloons and had her presents wrapped. She was as giddy as Christmas morning!

One of her gifts was from Aunt Emilee's friend we met the other day...a cute teddy bear.

Even though she gave Daddy all the credit for her "most wonderful birthday", it was worth it to see that BIG hug!

On her birthday we had to get the van fixed and so we had to leave super early in order to get to Travis's shop before it closed. So Daddy to Kiersten into Wal mart to run an errand, and got the kids their favorite breakfast...donuts and chocolate milk! Kiersten loved them because the cute flowers & butterflies were rings she could wear the rest of the day. Silly girl.

She was just so excited the whole way to Brigham.

While we waited for Uncle Travis to fix the van, we waited at McDonald's. The kids got to play on the new toys and loved that we didn't have to be in a hurry and could play as long as they wanted!

One of the cool touch screen games that the kids played. Even Luke got into playing the games. It was so cute to watch.

Then we went and watched "Monsters vs. Aliens" at the theater. It was a cute movie and the kids just raved about it after wards.

Then we went to Wal mart (this time in Perry) and met Aunt Natalie, who let Kiersten choose her own present. Those are like golden words to Kiersten! She chose a Princess & the Pauper doll and a treat. What a fun surprise.

Then we went to Grandma & Papa's and she got spoiled some more. She was so excited she gave everyone BIG hugs. Then we made a nice spaghetti dinner and then it was time for Cake!

Silly girl wanted a unicorn cake, so last minute Lance found this idea (thank you google!).

Silly girl. My silly five-year-old girl.

Even though it had been a rainy day, I think she had a very good day.