Ready or not...

Kindergarten starts next week. Hailey is ready... I am not. I must admit, I feel like we landed in the absolute perfect location here in Virginia. Her school is half day. I wanted that. The bus stop is right in front of our house. Perfect for those cold snowy days we have coming. And to top it off, the school she is going to won the Governor's Award last year. Fantastic. Hailey had her open house at the school today. She is so excited she can hardly stand it. She skipped her way to the school. Hailey thinks it's pretty cool that her teacher has the same name as her uncle... Miss Marks. She said, "Sweet, now that's a name I can remember easy." Look at the perma-grin on her face! This tiny little person looked so small walking down the big 'ol hallway at school. The kindergarten rooms are all the way in the back corner of the school. I'm sure it's at least a 5k walk back there. Parent's aren't allowed to walk their kids to the class room. There are "hall monitors" who will do that. I have to say good-bye and watch her walk down the longest hallway of my life. On the first day of school they are having a "boo hoo" breakfast for all the kindergarten parents. They told us to put on our "game faces" and send our kids off to school and they will have tissues, doughnuts and coffee for us in the cafeteria. I might have to supply my own box of tissues. I am an emotional dork when it comes to matters close to my heart. My girls are definitely on that list. I teared up when I saw the list with her name on it that said what time of day she was going to school. I teared up when the librarian came to get Hailey to take her to the library the other day to do her test to make sure she was ready for kindergarten. Olivia wrapped her arm around Hailey and said, "Hailey, I am just so proud of you!" Outside the school. Olivia jumps in any picture she can. A huge change in her from last year when the camera would bring her to tears!

So, ready or not... here she comes! Hailey is going to do great things this year, I can already tell. I'm sure she will master coloring in the lines, she will perfect her social skills and maybe even win some national award for something! Alright, Mandy... get control of yourself. In all reality, I really just hope we can keep her away from being too affectionate to towards the boys. A big thanks to Zac Efron and The Jonas Brothers for making her boy crazy at the ripe old age of 5.

Rainy Day

I'm bummed it turned out so dark.

P.S. Don't have your volume up too loud... they are screaming not singing.

Arizona

I just got back form a great trip to Arizona. One of my dearest friends Aubree got married. It was incredible. She looked beautiful, Chris was glowing from the second I saw him and had the biggest smile on his face the entire weekend. They are perfect for each other. I was holding myself together pretty well, until I turned the corner to the temple and the tears started flowing. So, I guess I wasn't really pulled together at all! It was such a surreal day for me. I met Aubree when she was really struggling. Her life was sad and in pieces. I was actually assigned as her Visiting Teacher. To see her grow from this broken girl to this strong unstoppable woman has been such a trip to watch. Aubree, you deserve the best and I honestly think you got it! I hope you and Chris enjoy your journey into forever!

While I was in AZ, I stayed with my parents. It was so good to see them. We had a great time just hanging out! It really felt like a relaxing vacation. We went to the park one night and played bocci ball. What a fun game! I have to say... great form dad! This picture cracks me up. My mom has given me good advice all my life, now it is my turn to return the favor...Mom, if you're given the opportunity to strategically place your bocci balls in the right position to make them look like "your girls"... you need to put them right in the center so you look nice and perky, don't lean them way out to the side, that defeats the purpose!!!
While I was gone, Kenney stayed home with Hailey and Livy. They had such a great time with their daddy. It was such a comfort to know that while I was away the girls and the house were in good hands. You better believe he fixed their hair everyday and even put appropriate accessories on to match! What a daddy!
Some of the activities they did were... playing at the park, renting books and videos at the library, they had dinner dates and of course swam a lot!

They greeted me at the airport with flowers and cards. When I got home... all the laundry was done, the house had been cleaned, dusted and mopped! Wow! I told Kenney I would be going away every weekend if this is what I was going to come home to!

Lessons Learned

I have had some really incredible "ah-ha" moments the past few weeks. I will try to put into words my experiences and what I have felt...

Last week a sweet man in our ward passed away. It came as a surprise to the whole ward. He was out for a run and collapsed. In Relief Society our lesson was titled "Words of Hope and Consolation at the Time of Death." The lessons are all scheduled at the beginning of the year and this one just "happened" to be this particular week. Everyone in the room was so touched by the tenderness of this lesson. To see this sweet sister who just lost her husband sitting there with her daughter-in-law's arm around her on one side and her faithful Visiting Teacher on her other side was a sight that I will never forget. We had a sister share her story of how just 2 weeks ago she went outside to find her husband unconscious. He was rushed to the hospital and is now getting better. She told how at that moment her life was forever changed. How her and her husband's relationship is stronger than ever after that experience. It is too often that we take life for granted. I couldn't help but think back to last October when Kenney laid in the hospital bed at the ICU and I was faced with that same situation. I wasn't sure if he was going to make it or not. It's not exactly a time in my life I like to reflect back on. It's too much to think about. But this I do know, life is so fragile. I have been reminded to make every moment count, to cherish the things that matter most and to not take anything for granted. I need to remember to slow down and to just thank my Father in Heaven for all that I have. To be honest, this move has been really tough on Kenney and I. We have been on different pages for the past few months. At times he has just been a passer by. Marriage is not easy, it takes work... on both parts. But it is the best work we will ever do, and it's definitely worth it. It is finally now that I can say, "Phew... we made it through that one." And unfortunately it was after seeing these past events. We both realized that life is too short and we are not in control. I know that my family will be together forever. I am so grateful for the knowledge I have of that. I am not perfect, nor do I pretend to be. I make more mistakes than I'd like to admit, but I am learning. It is through my mistakes I grow. I want to be able to take these lessons learned and apply them in teaching my girls. I want them to grow up to be amazing strong women. I want Hailey to continue to be a leader, and never a follower. I want Olivia to never loose her spunk and zest for life. I love that while I am the one who tries to teach them, I feel like I am learning the most!

These are my little helpers. I have to take advantage of the fact that when I give them a job to do, they get so excited. (I know it won't always be that way!!) Our neighbors were out of town for a few weeks. While they were gone there was a huge storm and part of their tree landed on their porch. Hailey saw her out sweeping up the remains of it and asked me if she could go help her. It was really sweet of her. And I can't think of a better way to end the summer than at the pool!

My little dorkus-magee! The water was freezing today. They actually closed the pool because of thunder and rain. But you better believe as soon as they re-opened it all the kids jumped in and had a blast, shivers and all. While the pool was closed all the kids played bingo. Olivia got a little excited and instead of marking her paper, she marked Hailey's eye! School starts after Labor Day and we are enjoying every minute of our "non-scheduled" lives because that's about to change big time! Both girls will be in school this year... Ah man, I can't even go there now, I'll have to save that for another time!!

Here's to a great relaxing rest of summer!

Thumb Sucking Rock Star

If anyone would like a ride on the thumb sucking train... feel free to hop on! I went to peek on the girls before I went to bed and was awe-struck by their cuteness. I love catching these moments! Hailey will KILL ME when she sees this. I threaten her by telling her I'm going to put a picture of her sucking her thumb on our blog if she doesn't stop. It mortifies her but then I told her that it could be our little secret. Sorry Hailey, if you weren't so stinkin' cute, it would still be our little secret! I had another great conversation with Olivia today. It started with Hailey running into the computer room saying, "Mom, Olivia said a really bad word." I said, "What did you say Olivia?" She replies, "Tell her Hailey!!" I said, "No Livy, you tell me." Olivia says, "I said I HATE it." I said, "Well, hate isn't a bad word... it's just an ugly word. You're a pretty girl, you need to say only nice pretty words." Olivia says, "Well, I want to say ugly words... I want to be UgLy!" (said in a raunchy growl!) I said, "Get outta here and go eat your lunch." I started to try to video tape the end of our conversation because she was being hilarious, but it wasn't working. I did however catch this little gem as she was on her way out the door. After our conversation she turned around to leave but paused just a second to tell me this...

I guess she has to practice saying "ugly" words if she really does want to be a "Rock Star" The best part of this video is how she holds that last note and then closes her eyes for a long pause and then runs out!

*As a side note, clothing is always optional at our house...

And pulse it...

I am so excited... I got a job teaching classes again! I will only have one class of my own for now, but hopefully that will change in the future. At least I have my foot in the door. I have missed teaching so much. It has become such a big part of my life and I look forward to continuing. Going to the gym is one of my favorite things to do each day. I really look forward to it. The majority of my time is spent taking care of my little family... which I love! But for at least one hour everyday I get focus on just me... which I love!

Crazy Cookies and Crazy Kids

We made sugar cookies today and it was so fun. Instead of your "normal" sugar cookie, we decided to do it a little different. We rolled it out with our hands and mixed colors together. Think play-dough that you could eat! The girls had a blast and thanks to Kathy, we have a delicious sugar cookie recipe!

Working hard and having fun! And yes, that really is navy blue wall paper. I'll eventually need to do something about that, but it's on the bottom of my list of things to do.

The finished product.

This is how Hailey sits to watch tv. She is such a goofball. It hurts my back just looking at her.

Olivia came inside from helping daddy in the yard and this was the conversation we had... Me: Hey kiddo! Whatcha doin? Liv: Good! Me: Have you been playing in the dirt? Liv: No. Me: Oh, ok. What have you been eating? Liv: Nothing. Me: Really? Then open your mouth. Liv: Uh, I mean I had some chocolate chips... Is that ok? Me: That's fine. Liv: Yea, I had chocolate chips, they are so good for me.