5th Grade Promotion

Not quite sure why we can't call it a "graduation" they really are graduating from elementary to middle school but I guess maybe so when they complete highschool it's more special...whatevs. Anyway Sam has now been "promoted" to 6th grade. Not quite sure how I feel about my little girl growing up but the more time passes the more I come to realize that I have no control over the matter. The only control I do have is to try and prepare them for the things that are to come. Middle school is such a scary endeavor for both parents and kids and having gone through the transition once before, I am really not looking forward to doing it again, with a girl none the less. Middle school can be a vicious, horrid place where kids are mean and disrespectful, gross and perverted. Hey it wasn't that many years ago that I was in middle school and it was bad then, I can only imagine how bad it is now! Heaven help me and my little girl as we set out on the next stage of life.

Blast OFF!!!

Who could ask for a better daddy to their kids, certainly not me. Terry spent the afternoon building this awesome rocket with the boys. We launched it a few days later and it was freakin' awesome!!

The Sound of Music

From a very early time in my age of motherhood I knew I wanted to fill my home with music. I took piano lessons on and off throughout my childhood but it never took for me, I didn't have the drive or commitment and my mother didn't have the fight in her to make me stick with it, knowing me I don't blame her, nonetheless as I got older I can remember seeing my friends who did have the drive and commitment and I looked upon them with total admiration at their ability to create such beautiful music. Fast forward a few years, I found myself a man who had an amazing talent for music, lucky me, I snatched him up as soon as I could and began to make babies that would be born with his talent and my desire to have musical children. Visions of family gatherings while we sit around singing and playing together may have crossed my mind but it all meant nothing if they didn't have the desire and commitment. Brett was 5 years old when he began asking for lessons. I held off for a year and I believe that year was crucial, he continued asking for lessons and that made me sure that he would be dedicated. He had never given me grief about practicing (well he gives me grief about how he practices but never wether or not he will practice) and here we are almost 7 and a half years later and he plays beautifully. I do have video of this performance however it's stuck on my phone and who know when I will dig out the cord to hook up my phone to the computer. Samantha began playing violin 6 months after Brett started and she also plays beautifully, the best music they make though is when they play together, it makes my heart leap! When Colby became old enough to pick up lessons I gave him the option of what he wanted to play, he looking up to his big brother decided he would follow in his footsteps and play the piano. He has progressed so quickly, something I attribute to having it around his whole life. I am so proud of my kidlets and look forward to when Bonnie chooses her instrument!

Things I hope Bonnie...

...never pronounces correctly. (well at least until it's not cute any more, I don't want her going to college ordering a sammich for lunch!!)

Bonnie loves to use the fly swapper.

Bonnie lovers her lellow blanket.

Bonnie loves to swim in the cuzzi.

...never stops doing.

Bonnie calls me mother, I know I have talked about this before but I thought it would be a passing phase...it's not.

Bonnie comes and gets in bed with me every morning to snuggle.

Bonnie takes a 3 hour nap almost ever single day!

Backyard Randomness

It has been so long since my kids had a real backyard instead of a dirt lot. They are loving it out here at Grandma and Papas, even if the 2 who think they are too cool for pictures aren't showing it!!

PreSchool Graduation...Kinda!

I would love to say Bonnie "graduated" from Preschool but that would mean she was heading off to kindergarten but we will have 2 more years of preschool. I was lucky enough to grab a spot in the amazing preschool run by my good friend Miss Heather. Bonnie has learned so much and has had so much fun this last year. We are both so sad not to be with her this next school year...if gas prices plummet before next fall we may have to rethink things though! I took a pic of Bonnie on her first day of school just like this, she looked so small...what am I talking about she still looks so small but if you look closely at the pic here you can see that she has grown a few inches!!!


Heather planned a really fun celebration for her little class, they sang some songs and ate so really yummy food.



I have video of this trapped on my phone and when I figure out how I will put the video that goes with this photo series because i tell you what..it's freakin cute!!


Miss Heather planned so much fun stuff this last year, I wish I had photographed all of them but most never made it into the house on cooking days!!

Memorial Day:2011

I took a total of 4 photos on Memorial day this year, I was just being lazy!! We did have a fun time at my parents and the BBQed corn on the cob was TO DIE FOR!!! Still working on trying to find the right mix for my Italian Cream Sodas. I also must say that I am married to a man that is damn sexy, who else can make walking pneumonia look that good??

The End!

I Know the Scriptures Are True.

So awhile back I may have mentioned the special "relationship" I have with a fellow photographer turned friend Lisa, and how we have online chats every couple weeks to discuss life and challenge each other in all aspects of life. We dubbed ourselves life coaches!! It has been a great experience and Lisa has helped me in ways she will never know!! Initially we discussed photography most but lately our chats have consisted of just life with a little business thrown in there. ANYWAY, on one of our recent chats we had talked about getting a little regimen of scripture reading that we could discuss and hold each other accountable. I knew that I really wanted to throw myself into it and really study the Book of Mormon, so i searched out different study guides and decided on the institute manual study guide. I bought 2 and sent one to Lisa. Since that time I have found a new love for the words written on those precious pages. I have read the scriptures before but never so fully put myself into them. I just read the stories not really looking at the deeper meaning and never seeing how they really applied to me, but guess what...when they say that these books were written for US they weren't kidding...THEY REALLY ARE!! I'm taking my time and after almost a month and a half I am only 15 chapters into 1 Nephi. But man oh man how much have I learned. I actually look forward to the time when my kiddos head off to school and I can occupy Bonnie so I can sit down and read, no 15 mins of reading for me, I get lost and end up looking at the clock and find I have lost an hour or 2!! If you are interested in joining in with the challenge you can find the manual here in pdf and here is where you can buy, I'd love to discuss with you how the things you read can really impact your life!!