Off to School

We wish it was to Kindergarten, but Ame is off to preschool. She actually missed the first day because we were still in Disneyland, but we came back in time for the 2nd day. She was a little distraught cuz we hadn't been able to find her a backpack before we left on our trip, so she had to take just another bag. Luckily we took care of that over the weekend, so she is good to go tomorrow! She is attending the pre-school at one of the high schools here. There is 2 head instructors and then the students are the teachers aids (they take a class in which they prepare lesson plans and then teach the preschoolers). I have heard really good things about this program, so we will see. The only tricky part is she has an alternating schedule every week, MWF or T, TH. Luckily we get a calendar to keep it straight.

One of our neighbors have a boy who is 4, named Garrett (you may have seen him in a previous post holding hands with Ame), who is also going to the same preschool. That will be nice because his mom and I are going to take turns taking the kids, so we don't have to both drive there each time for class.

Ame is really excited and we think she will have a lot of fun!

Mouse in the House???

Last night Kaipo woke up in the middle of the night, calling for daddy (a somewhat frequent occurance). When Quinn went in his room he said there was a mouse in his room. Quinn quickly flipped on the light, pulled out the drawers below Kaipo's bed and searched the room, but did not find any unwanted guests. Who knows if it was a real thing Kaipo was talking about. It could have been a dream, could have been the Mickey Mouse ears hanging in his room, or the recent catching of a mouse in our garage.
Yes we did catch one! Quinn and I both, on seperate occassions swore we saw "something" run and hide in the garage. So we got some mouse traps. I set them out, the sticky pad kind, and sure enough the next morning when I went out in the garage WITH the kids to leave, there is was. It must have just recently gotten stuck in the trap because it was still squirming. YUCK!! Luckily quinn was home and I frantically yelled for him and he came to the rescue. I told him we were leaving and he needed to get rid of it. QUinn was quite distraught, I could tell by the look on his face and didn't know quite what to do. He called me a little while later and said he just couldn't kill it. So instead he carried it over, still in the trap, to the church field and carefully removed it from the trap. He even said he had to peel its sticky arms apart, hoping he didn't break them or anything (with gloves on of course). QUinn said somebody else would just have to kill him, cuz he couldn't do it! What a kind and gentle person you are quinn, so full of love for even the grossest little creature.
I am just glad I wasn't the one who had to take care of that pesky little thing!
Hopefully now that our yard isn't an open field (we now have grass and a fence), we won't have any more little critters running around!! Especially in our house!!!
I sure hope this time Kaipo actually didn't know what he was talking about.

Disneyland

Well, I must say that going to Disneyland is definitely a "trip" and not a "vacation". But we did have so much fun! We stopped several times on the way down: 1st Mesquite to spend the night and while we were there we got a nice evening swim in and of course a filling buffet; 2nd we stopped in Barstow and hit the outlets for a bit and it was soo windy & cold there, we pretty much ran from store to store in our t-shirts and shorts; a few more drink and potty stops; then we stayed with QUinn's cousin, who has kids pretty much our kids exact ages. We had a family get together with cousins we hadn't seen since our wedding on Sunday, which was also fun to catch up with them, while the kids had a blast.

Then Monday morning we headed to the magical world of Disney.

You definitely learn a lot about your kids through an experience like this.

Ame was a roller coaster demin and went on everything she was tall enough for, but was close her eyes and plug her ears scared at anything DARK and the least bit scary, like Snow White's Scary Adventure, & Pirates. Kaipo pretty much followed her lead. He closed his eyes soo tight on Pirates of the Caribbean that he actually fell asleep. Quinn captured their expressions perfectly in this pic.

But of course Ame was in heaven when she got to meet several of the princesses.

She also got to do some dancing with the prince.

Just as exciting was when we got to see the High School Musical Parade and they invited her up to dance. She thought that was the coolest thing ever.

THis kind of ride was more like what Kaipo enjoyed. As well as Dumbo and the Winnie the Pooh ride (which was actually really cute).

Unfortunately, he was only like 2 inches to short to go on most of the rides.

We got to see The Cars.

The double stroller was a LIFE-SAVER, with Ash sometimes, but Kaipo most of the day. We did have a harness for Kaipo, but he preferred to ride a lot. QUinn got a good work out pushing it around all day, especially when Ame wanted to ride too.

Getting a little rest on the ferris wheel.

Kaipo was in AWE that Mickey was real in person.

And beautiful Pocahantas, was soo exciting to see.

Ame picked out a princess Diary as a souvenir, that came in a frilly feather bag and with a feather pen. She was soo glad she chose that because then when we ran into Cinderella, she could autograph her book. THAT was extra special!

Our little princess had the time of her life and was crying sad when it was time to go.

Even though the drive was long and the kids got extra honry and tired, it was all worth it to see the excitement in their faces all throughout the day.

I hope they have some memories now, that will last a LONG time. We definitely have lots of pictures and video to help them remember.

Ame told us that dreams REALLY do come true!

She's 5!!!

I cannot believe my first-born, little girl, is already 5!

This was one of her big requests, along with all the other barbie stuff, snow cone machine, princess dress-ups and endless coloring supplies. Oh yes, and as you can maybe tell from the picture a make-up kit. Barbie, combined with Ariel, is what Ame seems to be into now. We didn't have a friend party this year, because we are going to Disneyland and because mom didn't want that big stress too. Especially since having just family is quite an ordeal. We were just going to do cake and ice cream this year, but daddy thought no one would come ALL THE WAY to our house for just that, so we kept it somewhat simple and did pizza too. We had such a fun time just hangin' out and Ame got pretty much everything on her WISH LIST and then some!

Mommy decided to attempt to make Ame's request for a castle cake this year. So I got on the internet and did some researching and browsing for helpful hints and suggestions. This cake is what I tried somewhat to copy, with an Ariel twist of course.

Here is what I came up with. I was pretty happy with the end result, although, of course I could list several flaws. I actually did have fun making it, once I got past the intimidation of the big idea. I may even try another one some day.

While in the process Ame did make the comment, "Mommy it doesn't really look like the picture." That is when I let her know that mommy was trying real hard to make it look pretty and that she should be grateful I was doing all this work to make it special for her. Although my tone, as I remember, was NOT quite so gentle and kind.

She was, in the end, very pleased and that is what counts!!

growing too fast!!!

Our little guy is growing up way too fast. I definitely don't feel like I enjoy enough of my time with this precious boy. He is such a happy and easy going baby, most of the time.
He has begun to eat rice cereal and, as you can tell from the pic, is having no trouble gobbling it down.

When I was downloading the pics from the camera I had to take a second glance at this pic. For a second I really did think this was Kaipo. There definitely is no questioning whether or not our kids are siblings.

A Big Date

Well this day was a MUCH anticipated one for Ame. My parents are going to be in Maui on Ame's Bday, so they told her a week ago that they were going to take her on a special date, since they wouldn't be here to celebrate with her, on her real birthday. Saturday morning when Ame woke up, she said she almost forgot it was her date day, but now she was SOOOO excited. I told her they would be coming later in the afternoon after lunch. So about 10:00 she was ready to have lunch. Unfortunately honey it doesn't quite work that way. We finally had to leave the house and spend a few hours running errands and doing whatever just to help pass the time. The anticipation was killing both of us!!!
The time finally arrived for her date. She didn't know what they were going to do , but was very excited when she found out. They went to the Dinosaur Park, which from what I hear is quite amazingly fun!

What a great imagination!

Just like grandma

My dad said he had soo much fun with Ame. The excitement and energy never stopped!

After a great time at the park, they went out to dinner @ IHOP. Ame said she had her favorite chocolate pancakes and my parents commented how she just ate and ate grandpa's steak & shrimp. Good thing it was all you could eat, right dad? Then of course the memorable part came when the crew came and sang Happy Brithday and she got ice cream.

Then if all that wasn't enough, there were fun present to open too. AMe has a ton of Barbie's, many of which are without clothing most of the time, because they have disappeared to who know where. Ame commented when she opened this present, "How did Grandma know?" What a awesome present. We should never have another naked Barbie! And they should all be very stylish as well.

I really liked the picture of Christ she got. Very precious.

Kaipo was excited by the sticker book. We just have to keep that one away from him, or else we will have every room in the house plastered with stickers!

What a memorable and fun day for our little princess.

We are heading to Disneyland in two weeks for Ame's birthday gift from mom and dad. This is her first time, our first as a family, so if anyone has any helpful or insightful suggestions, we are all ears. We are very excited to take this trip, even though it is quite a drive.

Mom better end this blogging for now, cuz Ame is begging to go play dressups with the new barbie clothes

peaches

Once again, I have several things to catch up on. I just can't seem to find the time, regularly, to site down and blog what's happening with our family lately. So when I finally have some time, there is soo much to write about. Oh well, at least I am doing it.

One day this past week, my sister-in-law LeAnne and I canned some peaches. This is really odd for someone who has claimed to not like peaches her whole life (me). Well, I guess I kind of had a change of heart after I had some ohh soo yummy peach crapes. Little miss picky Ame has even had a change of heart. That is if the peaches are dipped in cool whip.
The canning wasn't as difficult as I anticipated. Maybe that was because I wasn't doing it alone and my mom was coaching us along the way. Either way, I feel pretty proud that I did it and have proof on my shelf now. I think we will even make a yummy peach dessert tomorrow!

ouch!

One of the many joys of parenting is making decisions about how to take care of ouchy's and oopp's. Some of the choices we make are good and some are not soo good.

Last week Kaipo got ahold of Ame's smelly (non-washable) markers and decided to draw on his face. In trying to remove it from his cheek, daddy thought since the Mr. Clean magic scrubber's work so well on getting everything off the walls, it would surely take it off the skin. Well it did! But, whatever is in those scrubber pads, had a bad reaction to Kaipo's already sensitive skin. I didn't get a picture of it that day, but it was a large size red, painful to the touch, rash on his cheek. Luckly after only a day, it was already beginning to scab and was no longer burning and hurting every time we touched it. Unfortunately, now Kaipo just wants to pick the scab off, hence the reason for the bandaid.

Dinner Group

The hispanic lady and the guy in the glasses, have the 2 older boys and they are the Grahams. The other family, the Halls, have 2 girls (one older and one younger than Ame) and a boy, who is just a week younger than Ash.

Ame, Avery and Lilly (poor Lilly got a spider bite or something on her upper nose/forhead area it is all swollen)

Our ward activities committee (meaning me and a few others) started dinner groups last month. It took a lot of organizing and preparation to get it going, and will continue to more challenging every 4 months, when we try and mix up the groups each time. But we hosted a group get together @ our house Saturday night, and it was a lot of fun. We just BBQ'd, chilled and talked, while the kids had fun playing together (mostly dress ups, as you can see). The older boys I don't think had as much fun, being with soo many little kids, but they were good sports anyway.

One more performance

Can you tell she likes to pose? Look @ the girl in her class watching her, funny huh?

I feel like we have been to a lot of performances for Ame this summer. I guess when she is in two dance groups that is what life is like. I guess it is all just new for me, this being our first year in dance. But we are through with the big ones for a while, so that is nice.
Her hula group performs all throughout the year. But besides the annual Luau, the rest are all small, no big deal ones, and mostly just for the experience. People/groups will hire the dance group to perform for a special event or something and then her teacher just emails us the info. and if you can make it great, if not no biggie. They usually have a good turn out though.

Just some of my thinking-it may bore you, so don't feel you need to read it. As a parent I am always concerned about what my kids are doing and how they are spending their time. I want them to be well rounded and have a variety of things to do, but not strung out to tight. Kaipo is still too young to be involved in anything really, at least until he turns 3. But Ame-hhhmmm, I want her to be musical and also have an interest in sports, not just dance. She really chose to drop out of tumbling and be in ballet instead, and WE really want her to stay in Hula. So how much is too much? I guess as she gets older and into school and has outside influences from friends, she will decide a lot of what she wants to do on her own. I guess it just feels like there is so much outside influence for kids to BE INVOLVED. I just have to tell myself she is ONLY 5 (almost) and don't push too many things, too fast.

Any food for thought from anyone maybe in a similar situation (if you have even made it to the end of my babbling)???

A Big Sigh and a much needed nap (but didn't it get yet)

Last week was one busy whirlwind.
It started off last Sunday with Quinn getting a new calling as Elders Quorum President. Then our Anniversary, which we we hope to celebrate, one of these years, with a bit more excitment. Then a few parties-birthday & shower. Then a Huge Stake Picnic, and since I am activities chair for my ward-I had some BIG assignments to take care of, the biggest being getting 1400 hamburger & hot dog buns to the park. The next day was our ward camp-out. Luckily I have a few awesome people on my committee and one lady (along with her family) generously said she would oversee the campout and I could just help. Then QUinn, because of his new calling, got to speak yesterday. What a week! It's been full of fun and excitement, and everything turned out very well, but I must say I am glad it is over.
Of course, life is never dull and new & exciting things will be happening this week. The biggest and most exciting being a new little girl coming into the family!!!! Can't wait Kar!

Too soon........

Here is Ame already holding hands with a boy! What are we in for? She is only 4!!!

Ame went with our neighbors "to the beach" of a lake and waterfall, in the area. Although it isn't the real thing, she had lots of fun playing in the sand and collecting rocks & seashells.

Little miss poser!

Crazy brothers

Kaipo thought the picture of Ash was soo funny and was showing me what it looked like to be Ash, so I had to get a picture of him copying his brother. Ash seems quite entertained my his fingers & toes all the time. If only all the kids were that easily entertained.

Don't let the smile fool you. I have this door bouncer in my room to entertain Ash when I get ready, but he likes it for about 2 minutes and then pretty much cries bloody murder.

Parade Time Again

Ame's dance company was in the city parade and mom thought she would have fun if we let her be in it (plus she could wear her expensive summer costume more than once). But she thought it was way too hot and she didn't seem super excited when I picked her up at the end of the parade. Maybe we will think twice about it next year! She has her summer recital next weekend and is way more excited about that (thank goodness)!!

toothbrush troubles

I can't imagine I am the only one who gets frustrated by this.......I feel like no how frequently I replace my kids toothbrushes(which I seem to do quite often) they always looked like this (frayed). Is that a sign of brushing too hard, poor quality brushes, or what? I don't know why this bothers me so, but I guess I feel like they are not doing their job correctly if this is what's being used.
Any thoughts on the topic?

Growing too fast!!

My baby boy is growing up way too fast (as do they all). He is already over 4months old. He is not just content sitting anymore, but he loves to be entertained. Entertainment comes as easy as playing with his toes (I love baby feet and I think it is soo cute when they discover them) He also loves watching Ame & Kaipo (which can entertainment for a LONG time), and we also just got out the mega saucer-so now he has something new to try out.

Ash is such a happy boy and he just soo precious! I could just cuddle him and smooch him all day long! I didn't capture any grins this time, but he smiles all the time and that just brightens my day every time.

I think he is our best sleeper soo far. We moved him from the bassinet (in our room) to his crib (upstairs) a few weeks ago and he loves all the room. He will even fall asleep on his own, which is something his siblings never did as babies.

yummy snack worth trying

You may have seen these new wheat thins in the store. Well I am here to offer my opinion- I have tried them and they are soooo good! They're more like a treat then a snack. If you like cinnamon, you'll love these. And the nice thing is, since they're wheat thins, they are actually somewhat healthy (if you don't eat the whole box in one sitting, that is).

The BIG performance

Saturday was the annual luau and performance for Ame's Hula group. I couldn't believe what a huge turn out they had. It was held at this ampitheatre in Layton that is quite huge and it was probably 3/4 full. I could tell the little girls were quite "awe struck" when they came out on stage and saw all the people. Ame did an awesome job and felt very proud, I could tell. I was impressed at how much she actually remembered, even in front of the huge crowd. She just focused and did her thing!

It was a LONG day, on the hottest day of the year (of course). Quinn took her to dress rehearsal at 2:30 then came home and got the rest of us, because we volunteered to help out with the events of the night (as much help as we can be with 3 kids). Quinn was actually "security" so I didn't see him for most of the night, except when he came and sat for Ame's 2 performances. We appreciated the family and friends that were able to join us for this memorable & fun event (it was actually Ame's first ever "recital").

This picture captures Kaipo's personality quite well, and the energy I was blessed with throughout the day.

I actually did get video, but the amatuer blogger that I am, haven't quite figured out how to post it. Quinn did it once for me, but I never got the hang of it. Somebody needs to give me some lessons.

Friday the 13th

Friday was a BIG day in our four year olds life.........the training wheels came off. Her and daddy decided to do it while I went to the grocery store (for some reason) and she is now whizzing around like a pro. I don't remember it being that easy, when I was a kid.

I guess I should get some pics of her actually ON the bike, as proof of her real BIG girl ability!

can't keep up........

So I used to feel like summer was soo relaxed and carefree, but I don't really feel like that anymore (or at least not this year). Maybe juggling 3 houses will bring on the insanity. Hopefully that HUGE stress will go away soon, because it is not making life very easy (especially on the checkbook).
I just feel like I haven't got to enjoy this summer as much as I would have liked. I guess it is not over yet, but it sure seems to be going fast!!!!!!!!!!