First Day of School - August 29, 2011

 Once upon a time, they were little pipsqueaks - ages 18 months and almost two.  They lived across the street from each other and played most days until they were close to three years old. 

 They got bigger, loved Baby Einstein, sucked their thumbs, and hit each other a lot.

 The roped in the neighbor girls to play.

 They discovered candy.

 They got bigger.  They were separated as Spencer's mean parents moved to Arizona.

 They got cooler.  Started traveling together.  Went to Disneyland.

 One of them added a little brother to pick on.

 They got smart alecky...it looked like it was a possibility for them to be neighbors again.  Their nice parents moved back to Utah.

 Spencer - First Day of School - 3rd Grade

 Joshua - First Day of School - 2nd Grade

 Two crazy, funny, silly, smart, fantastic boys

And the neighbor girls...all grown up.  

*Except that Kate and Gabi are still way shorter even though Gabi is 3 years older than Spencer and kate is 3 months older than Josh. 

Starting Over - School 2011

And....done.  Summer went by that fast.  I can't even begin to go back and document this year so I am just going to have to start from scratch and try to keep up again.  Tomorrow is the first day of school.  Josh is going into 2nd grade.  Clara starts Kindergarten in a week after testing.  

So that I don't forget too much about this year...

January - Ginny and William came to visit.   Played in the snow, went to Thanksgiving Point Dino Museum.  My cute Webelos got their Arrow of Light badges.  


February - Went with cousins to Las Vegas (Erin, Rachel, Kristen, Ellen) for a girls' weekend.  


March - Turned 39 the same day Clara turned 5.  Had a joint little birthday party with three neighbor families.  Attended a business boot camp with some friends, had fun in Park City eating sushi.  Besties came to visit for Spring Break.  


April - Went to Virginia for Spring Break for a week and saw many old friends.  


May - Went to Grand Junction for Memorial Day.  Saw the Circus with the Bultmans.  Josh wrapped up First Grade.  Marty moved into the basement to start work at Providence Hall.  Ben Bennett (good friend from Virginia) moved to Utah. 


June - Graduated from the Paid to Play business academy.  Round two of the Amazing Race with the Olsens and the Martinezes.  Clara graduated from preschool.  Went to the Thanksgiving Point Children's Gardens.


July - Hosted and planned the Earl Family reunion with all but one in-law present.  75+ people!  Same weekend - bestie and family moved into the basement.  Attended cousin Julia's wedding in California.  Went to Thanksgiving Point Children's Gardens again with bestie and kids.  Attended great-aunt Mimi's 89th birthday party.  


August - Vacationed for a week at the Oregon Coast (Depoe Bay).  Went whale watching, to the aquarium, lunch with sister Carly and family, Tillamook cheese factory.  Rob and Jessica got married!  Back to school night for new Junior High and Elementary.  First Day of School!


There ya go - if you read it fast it will take you about a minute.  We've been mega-busy, like everyone else in the world.  At least now if I ever go back I will be able to remember what we did.  Thank heaven for digital pictures.  

June 2011: School's Out for Summer!

I realize I have been a giant slacker in the family blogging department for the past six months.  I still haven't blogged about our wonderful trip to Virginia.  I'll get to work on that.  In the meantime, we have SO many things scheduled for the summer that I am going to have to blog almost daily to make sure I don't get behind, so be ready....I think I have one reader left. 

School got out June 3rd so right after the final bell we had a picnic at the park with our Summer Adventure Society.  My fabulous friend, Melissa, created a group on Facebook and we have weekly adventures planned throughout the summer.  We sat at the park while the kids ran around and talked about the school year and how glad we were that it was summer.  Then we all went home with sunburns because we all forgot that sitting in the sun means we need sunscreen. 

2011 So Far

2011 has been rather busy so far.  So busy that I forgot to finish blogging the rest of 2010.  I'll make a mental note to get back to that.  In January Josh fell asleep while reading and Clara lost her fashion sense.

 

In February I went with my cousins to Las Vegas and we ate a lot of chips and Italian food and saw Ka and Phantom.  Baby Ellen got her acceptance letter to college and we all celebrated and cried that she is so old now.

 There was a chocolate fountain that dripped from the ceiling.  That is pure genius.

 And some really cool cakes.

 And a really cool waterfall.

 And statues.

 And then some of my Webelos got a bunch of awards and abandoned me to BOY Scouts.

If it was even possible, my kids got cuter and started liking each other on and off for a few minutes on Thursdays.

Then my baby turned 5 and I turned 39 (gasp).  Clara got a horse and a pteranodon which is every five year old girl's dream...apparently.

She also got a sign that says, "Princess of Quite alot" from Amabuela.  The fact that "alot" is totally and utterly wrong and people who make signs like this should have to have a proofreader just adds to the perverse humor that my family enjoys.

To support my claim of "Meanest Mom in the Whole World", my mom bought me this sign for my office.  Josh read it and laughed.  Apparently it didn't instill the fear in him that we were hoping for. 

So that is life in a nutshell.  There are other things like Dave getting a new job, a pending trip back to God's Country for a visit, we still haven't finished painting the stairwell in one spot because I'm lazy and it requires a ladder, and a visit last week with my Bestie that was awesome. 

December 19, 2010: Christmas Eve with Cousins

 The Sunday before Christmas we usually get together with cousins for a Christmas Eve-like celebration.  We had honey baked ham, rolls, salad, fruit, and pies for dessert. 

 Then we gathered for singing.  A few years ago I made several books of music for my aunt and uncle for Christmas so that they would have them for occasions such as this.

 The books have both spiritual and secular music in them.

 My cute uncle

 Clara was an angel for the nativity and Lucy was Mary

 Ava was the baby Jesus

 Joseph and the Angel

 Josh played Joseph since he was the only boy

 Mary wasn't too excited to have the lace on her head.

 We agreed that Ava seemed to be just fine wrapped in a pillowcase and that maybe it was a good idea for the future.

 At one point, Uncle Gordy put Joseph into a straight jacket mode.  That was fun.

 We aren't totally sure what Uncle Mike is doing.

 Uncle Eric was Nephi...or a Sith depending on how you look at it.

 It's a good thing that there were plenty of bathrobes around.  Uncle Gordy played the donkey - an appropriate role for him.

 After the nativity and reading of Luke 2, Aunt Karen told some stories. 

 Josh was totally absorbed in what she was saying.

 Then we took a picture on the stairs with all of the kids.  Charlie wasn't happy.

 Erin learned how to take peppermint sticks and stab them into oranges and then drink the juice.  It's actually fun and really good and the kids loved it.

 I know I am biased, but this little girl is ridiculously cute.

The Little Preschool Program

 On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Clara goes to Maestra's for the morning.  She hears almost nothing but Spanish while she is there, and is to the point where she understands most of what is said to her.  Maestra has been a friend of mine for about 12 years.  I lived in her grandparents' house in Virginia with some roommates and we got to know each other well.  Imagine our surprise when we ran into each other at JC Penney a few years ago and realized that we were neighbors here.  It has been wonderful to see her a few times a week.

 There are 8 children in the class and they sing and dance and make messes.  It's awesome.

 They had to sing all of their songs in Spanish.

 Maestra has more energy than any other teacher I have seen, but she is like that in real life, too. 

There is only one boy in the class, and lots of little princesses that apparently have quite a few discussions about who will or won't be invited to birthday parties.  

For a kid that doesn't have a dog, she sure does SOUND like one!

 Clara and Maestra