B's first day of Pre-K

B didn't start school until a couple weeks after J. He was so excited to see his friends from last year and enjoy his last of pre-K year with Mrs. Ganino & Mrs. Wiedman.

                                                  His two buddies, Maxwell and Charlie

Birthday Continues

Since her birthday was a "school day" I pulled her out early and we went to go see Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I figured I would be bored but to my surprise it was a pretty cute movie. I had a blast going with my little (big) girly and leaving the other 2 kids at home.

 She took her new Monster High dolls everywhere we went.

 She also had gymnastics and we couldn't miss so after gymnastics we told her would would go anywhere she chose for dinner. (our tradition) She quickly chose on Panda Express like she did last year. It cracked me up because I think the last time we ate there was last year for her birthday.

                                        2012  7 years old                                         2011  6 years old

Birthday morning and party

J always has her birthday on a school day being that school starts on or very close to her birthday. She of course can not wait to open presents until after school so we celebrate in the morning and wait until the end of the week for her party. She was so excited and had been asking for very specific items on her list. 

B picked out this hat and was very clear when he chose it that he wanted the cheetah print.
She loved it and tried to wear it daily to school even if it doesn't match.

Her MAIN gift she wanted was an IPAD! This has been in the making for a few months now. She has been asking for one and not knowing what to do as parents we thought about it. Since she is only 7 and already asking for an IPAD we decided to tell her she would have to save her money and buy it herself. We figured this would tell us if she really wanted it. W.E.L.L. J has always been good at saving her money and this time she was exceptional. She

The story: She saved and saved and started by saving and recycling cans. In CA they pay a pretty good rate for cans and plastic. She earned $62 dollars. From that point she saved her allowance along with anything else she could dream up to earn money. She was at downtown Disney and as the musicians were playing she thought it would be a grand idea to put her drinking cup on the ground and start dancing. WHAT! My little girl was dancing to earn money???? She had a few people drop some change but she was thrilled. She would draw pictures and sell her artwork, bargain a toy with her brother for his money and anything else. She had finally earned $91. As her birthday was near we saw how much she had wanted the IPAD and would continue to save until she earned it. We decided we would get her an IPAD under the condition that she pay half. We wanted to let her go to buy it so I printed off a picture of an IPAD that read "Happy Birthday J, Love Mom & Dad. She could hardly contain herself from that point.

She had her traditional Doughnut breakfast before we rushed to get ready for school by 8:00 am

The PARTY!

She has been into Monster High dolls and decided on that for her theme. We decided to keep it small and personal this year only inviting her dearest friends. She picked all the items which included a popcorn box, sketch pads, cups, tattoos, stickers, pens and candy. She decided a "GHOULS NIGHT OUT" and to howl at sunset would be a splendid idea.

One of her gymnastics friends couldn't come until later in the evening. They started off with playing and being "ghouls"
Her friends Sarah, Piper, and Ella.

 We then had a dance party. Those Ghouls can definitely dance and have some pretty intense moves.

 Look at those little Sassy faces

We decided to make a LIPS cake with fangs. I traditionally make their cake every year. Last year I was too sick and pregnant to even think of being creative or frost anything so I was very excited to draw up a pattern and frost my heart out. She was excited with the surprise result and loved the touch of glitter on the lips.

The ghouls enjoyed the fang lips along with the boy who enjoyed his half eaten mustache.

We settled down after pizza and orange Fanta...(YUCK) and Daddy prepped popcorn while I settled the girls in their jammies and ready to lay down for the movie.

We finished the night off with Monstrous hair styles. I good party and a wiped out Mamma and Dad.

Happy Birthday Baby girl!

Happy 7th Birthday

J. turned 7 and was so excited.  Here are our favorite 7 things about little miss J.

1. She has a very large heart. She always makes room for more people to be loved by her. She is thoughtful and gives the best hugs, has the greatest smile and a contagious laugh.

2. She is a great example to her siblings and those around her. Her little testimony is large and she is not afraid to share her thoughts and beliefs.

3. She is extremely competitive and likes to win (at any cost) and will continue to work hard if it means she will win. She does not get this from her mom...

4. She is very analytical. She will think about things for months after the event and will pick apart every detail.

5. She keeps us on our toes. There is never a dull moment with her. She has so much energy and will entertain anyone who will watch. She is so confident in herself and is never trying to "be" anything and tells us she loves herself the way she is.

6. People gravitate towards her and is liked by many. She is a leader and will always create something fun. She is very creative and will turn anything into a fun situation. She is the leader of her extremely large and busy social life.

7. She will try to do most anything. There are few times I can recall her not wanting to try. She is always willing to try a new food (even if it looks gross) try a new activity or challenge herself to do something she has never done and EXCEL when she attempts it.

Back to School, 2nd grade

School started wayyyyy too soon this year. We started August 15th which sounds crazy being that we grew up starting September 4th. 

#1 started 2nd grade and was thrilled. She said "I need to look cool Mom because this is when everything changes. This is when you are a big person at school." It is amazing to look back at all of her first days of school and see her growth. 

1st year pre-school (3)

2nd year Pre-school (4)

                                                                   KINDERGARTEN (5)

                                                                         1ST GRADE (6)

2ND GRADE (7)

4th of July

We had a great 4th of July with lots of good company.

My sister in law's parents were a hit with the sno cone machine and everyone enjoyed more than 1

We had fun playing pool games and enjoying the nice weather

Towards the end of the night we all headed to a friends to light fireworks.

Utah and the final MOVE to California

As the school year ended we knew we would be heading to Utah to collect our final things and make a more permanent move to California. We had kept most of our belongings in storage in hopes that we may one day return. As we had now lived in CA for over 2 years we have loved living here and decided to make this our permanent home unless we have a greater opportunity elsewhere. It was a bitter sweet time because we love Utah and moving our stuff was a final goodbye. This would now be our fun vacation state and we will create many memories as we come to visit with family and friends.

The first day we arrived we had our a bunch of friends over to swim. These girls are #1's dearest friends (practically like cousins.) When these girls and #2 get together it's as if they have never lived apart from each other, everything is so comfortable and normal. It's amazing to think they have been best buddies for 6 years and it continues to stay that way. The girls were excited to meet our newest addition. Unfortunately the last few times we have tried to get together with them and Lisa a major trama in their family has occurred. We missed Lisa but were very happy to see the girls. 

 Later that day we were lucky and got to have our best boy buddies over as well. We enjoyed time spent with Michelle and Colby and love to see the kids interact with so much love for each other. These 3 kiddos were born within 3 months of each other and its fun to remember all of us being pregnant together and to see them now growing up.

We really enjoyed watching Tessa swim and play as her mom had told us she would be too scared to get in. Oh the things kids do when mom is not around...

 During the week I was able to meet Alexander. My niece placed her baby with a darling family a few months back and I unfortunately was not able to meet him since I was recovering from having #3. He is a sweet little guy and I have peace knowing these too knew each other in the pre-existence and I'm sure have a bond that was created before they came to earth. They are about 1 1/2 months apart (we can see who is older...)

His adoptive family was so sweet and kind to let us come and meet his sweet spirit and I hope they felt of our love for him as well as our gratitude and love for them for raising him, loving him and giving my niece so many opportunities in her future. 

We had many people who wanted to meet little #3 and we were so sad (as typical) to not be able to get to everyone . 

                                       

#2 Loves spending time with his boy buddies and spend quality time without his sister in the way playing girly things.

 We had our traditional Taco Amigo lunch and savored every bite.

 After and eventful week Jared had wanted to see his Grandma Irene and wanted to have her meet #3. Unfortunately we never have enough time to do all the things we want in Utah so while he packed up our U-hual I made a secret stop to visit. She and Jared didn't know I was stopping by but had some time to spare and I knew both would appreciate it.