SOCCER!

Gracie and Sarah had their first soccer game today! Their team name is the Tigers, and the games are played at Rose Drive Elementary. They lost today, but seemed to enjoy playing the game.

And on the 8th day, God made pools

We LOVE our pool! It provides the best entertainment throughout all of the hot weather. The girls are getting much better at swimming, and Gracie can jump off the diving board, touch her toes to the bottom of the deep end, and swim to the top. Good times, good times!

Princess Mia

First Day of Kindergarten!

Today was Grace and Sarah's first day of Kindergarten! Carey and I took off the day so that we could be there for this momentous occasion. Last night, we had to sleep over at GJ's house, because our electricity was STILL out and it was too stinkin' hot in our house. So this morning was a tad bit hectic, getting ready at GJ's house and commuting to school. While being put to bed last night, Sarah was filled with tears, saying she didn't want to go to Kindergarten. Gracie seemed fine with it. In the morning, on our way to school, both girls were one big ball of nerves (me too!). We walked the girls into their class, they sat on the carpet and Mrs. Willey read the kids a book called "The Night Before Kindergarten." At the end of the story, she told the kids to "Kiss your parents goodbye." They did, and we proceeded out the door, tears welling up in our eyes. Our 29-weeker, two-pound preemature babies are in KINDERGARTEN! WOW!

HOT!!!!!!

Thank God for electricity, cause I don't think I could live without air conditioning. Over Labor Day weekend, we lost power for over 40 hours. Thankfully, our next-door neighbors didn't lose power (they're on a different grid than us), so with a long extension cord, we plugged in our refrigerators to their power. I had just gone to Costco that morning and spent mucho dinero on food, and would have been really ticked if we lost all of that food. In the meantime, our house was in the high 90s INSIDE the house. We couldn't sleep; it was totally miserable. It wasn't the best of the Labor Day Weekends.

Kindergarten, here we come!!

Today was the Kindergarten tea. Boy, were we excited for this day! We were to find out who the girls' kinder teacher was going to be. I sat there, nervous in my chair, as each teacher read aloud their roster. First teacher came up and read her class list...nope, not in her class. Second teacher read her names, and nope...not in her class. Only teacher left was Mrs. Willey, who Shea O'Donovan had last hear. Yeah! We have Mrs. Willey!!!

Dance Recital

Today was the last day of the current dance session. The girls did so well and have come a long way since starting dance when they were three years old.

Sleepover

Yesterday, the girls had a sleepover with their best friend, Kylee. Her mom Christy and I were pregnant at the same time, and our due dates were six weeks apart. So the girls were born to be best friends. All three girls had a great time together eating, playing, and talking til' way past their bedtime, just what girls are good at doing. They totally crashed somewhere close to 11pm, and slept soundly on the floor of their bedroom.

Disneyland!

Thank God for good ole' Walt! We heart Disneyland!

First Vacation

Last weekend, we took our first vacation to Lake Havasu with 4/5 of our family. (Mia, being as young as she is, decided it was much more safe for her to stay at GJ's house.) We stayed at a resort in Lake Havasu with our friend, and boat owners, Allen and Tasha. They have two daughters, Sheridan and McKenna, who have been going to the river since in utero. We had a great time in the desert heat, and the girls were absolutely thrilled with their new adventure. Their favorite part was staying in a hotel room, as they had never done so before (actually, they did when they were babies, but were too young to remember.) Here are some pitures from our big weekend:

Budding artists

Gracie and Sarah love to do art...any kind of art. Whether it be painting, coloring, or drawing, they are in their element and thoroughly enjoy themselves!

Happy Birthday to Meeeeeeeeeeee!

Yep, that's right. It's my birthday! I'm 37 today, but don't feel a day over 27. So, I'll just say this is the tenth anniversary of my 27th birthday. I like the sound of that better. Today I had to work on my birthday (teaching summer school to 25 struggling Kindergarteners), and, lucky me, I haven't had to work on my birthday since probably 1990 or 1991, when I worked at Disneyland. And that wasn't really like work anyway. I made great money ($5.50/hr) for many fun times in the parades. It was the best job I've ever had. If money was no object, I'd still be there, dancing my heart away. After I quit Disney, I became a teacher's aide, and I always worked summer school, but always had August off. So this morning, I trudged out the door to meet my smiling little Kindergarteners at 7:40am. I spent a glorious morning teaching the ABCs and 123s, then met my awesome family at one of my most beloved restaurants, The Old Spaghetti Factory. Oh man, was that delicious. It was everything I had built it up to be. Creamy pesto dressing with freshly-baked sourdough bread is way up there on my list of favorites. So bad, but SO GOOD!

My best gifts

My best gifts are these three:

Rainbows

Grace LOVES LOVES LOVES rainbows. You can always find a plethora of Grace-drawn rainbows in our house. She makes necklaces and bracelets with the ROYGBP (red-orange-yellow-green-blue-purple) pattern. Sometimes she adds brown and pink at the end, but ALWAYS ROYGBP. She organizes her markers in a ROYGBP row. When we go to Home Depot, it's a treat to pick out paint chips. Guess which colors she chooses?

Literate

Sarah just read her first book ever! No, really! She read

Where Is The Green Sheep?

. Here's what Sarah has to say about that: "I never read a book before. And this is my first time to read a book. In my whole life. Dad only pointed to the words. And he only helped me with two words... let's and take. I feel good."

8 Years

Today is our 8 year anniversary! I can't believe it's been eight years since we got married. And in a few days, we will celebrate 13 years being together. My how time flies when you're having fun!
Tonight we went to dinner at the Summit House. We began our meal with a delicious beverage, along with some freshly-baked bread smothered in butter. We then had an appetizer of portabello mushrooms. Mmmmm. So good. For dinner, I had shrimp and scallops with pasta, and Carey had prime rib. For dessert we had the most delectable cake, given to us on the house as we had our reception there. By the time we went home, we were pleasantly stuffed. We had a great time!

Melt My Heart

There's little else that can melt my heart more than a simple "I Love You" from my girls. Lately, Mia's language has exploded, and she's starting to talk in complete sentences. At night when I put her to bed, I say "goodnight" and she repeats that back to me. Then I tell her I love her, and she says "I Yuv Yooo." My heart melts like a piece of ice in the hot, blazing sun. My girls are just so sweet.

Lipstick

Oh boy!

Swimming

We love to get into our pool every afternoon. On our roof are solar panels, which heat the pool to what feels like bathwater. We are trying to teach Grace and Sarah how to swim. Just this week, they are beginning to swim a bit, although they are still somewhat tentative. Practice makes perfect, they say! So off to practice we go!

First lost tooth and the Tooth Fairy

Today, after we got out of the pool and were drying off, we had the most exciting thing happen. Grace's first tooth fell out! She was drying her face and mouth, and the towel caught onto her tooth, and out it fell! She was completely on cloud nine. That night, she put her tooth in her special tooth fairy pillow, and gently placed it under her pillow. When she woke up in the morning, the tooth was gone, and in its place were FOUR QUARTERS! The Tooth Fairy also left some of her fairy dust on the side of the bed.

Freeeeeeee!

I am Freeeeeeeeeeeeee!
School's out and summer is here. I am super duper excited! YIPPEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

Loose Teeth and No Sleep

About a month ago, we went to the dentist for Grace and Sarah's five year checkup, and their teeth got a clean bill of health! As Grace was getting her teeth cleaned that day, the hygenist noted that she had one loose tooth! None of us had any idea. Needless to say, Grace was ever so excited about that and enjoyed telling everyone the news. So every few days, we wiggle that bottom tooth to check its progress. Yesterday, we wiggled again, and, low and behold, the tooth right next to the loose one is now loose. Two loose teeth at once!! This is going to get reeeeally exciting! Anyone want to place a bet on how long it's going to take for her teeth to come out?? I say late July.

On a less exciting note, Mia is still making us oh so tired. Last night, she was up four different times, crying and yelling for "mommy." Oy vey. When will this end? Will I ever get eight uninterrupted hours of sleep again?

Bald Part 2

So Carey is now bald, too. In support of Amy, he had Scott shave his head on Sunday. First, Grace, Sarah and Mia took turns cutting it with scissors, then Scott took the electric trimmer and shaved those puppies down to the scalp. He sure does look different!

A moose

Mia is a moose. Tonight, she weighed 29.5 pounds, according to our bathroom scale. Sarah weighs only 6 pounds more than her, and she's 3 1/2 years older! How did we create such a giant of a kid? Pretty soon, she'll be towering over her twin sisters. I think we already know who the boss of the family is going to be.

Bald

It's a sad day, because Amy is now bald. She shaved her head today after waking up to thousands of strands of hair falling out. She had her first chemo treatment 14 days ago, and the doctor said that the hair comes out in clumps between days 10 and 14. She's very sad, and I'm heartbroken for her. I know she's going to beat this beast called breast cancer, but it sure is a tough road there. I wish there was more I could do for her. Breast cancer sucks.

The latest

Grace and Sarah finished pre-school last week! Next step: KINDERGARTEN! I can't believe that in a mere 3 months, my little girls are going to be in school every day. They are slated to be in the same classroom next year, as I want them on the same schedule. We won't find out whose class they'll be in until the weekend before school starts. The girls are over the moon excited about going to kindergarten! On the way to pre-school on their last day of school, I was saying how it was going to be their last day, and then Grace said "And we're going to Kindergarten tomorrow!" Tomorrow....Three months...same difference.

Today I put Mia on our scale in our bathroom, and it said she weighed 29 pounds. She's so heavy now! She's a riot these days, and she's talking so much. Baby boot camp is still alive and well in our house, as she's still waking us up almost every night, at least once. Hopefully someday, I'll have a full night's rest.

Grammie

Today marks the 8th anniversary of my beloved grandmother Helen Anderson's passing. It seems like such a long time since I've seen her (well, I guess it has). I really miss her and wish so much she could be a part of Grace, Sarah, and Mia's life. I am confident that she is always with us, and we will be with her someday. In the meantime, Grammie, I miss you!

18 month check-up

Our little cutie pie is already 18 months old! We met with Dr. Kramer yesterday for her wellness checkup. Mia weighed in at a whopping 27 pounds, 12 ounces, which places her in the 90th percentile for weight. She was 34 1/2 inches tall, which is above the 100th percentile for height. She's still a tall one! The doc said that she's the height of an average 2 1/2 year old! Good thing I cleared out all of the twelve-month clothing from her closet last weekend.

Last night

Mia still woke us up three times last night, but the crying didn't last as long as the night before. Baby boot camp continues... We're hoping for a solid 8 hours of sleep tonight. One can hope, right?

Shocked and Sad

I'm absolutely shocked and saddened by the deadly shootings at Virginia Tech University today. Unfortunately, evil is alive and well in this world. I am so sad for the families of the victims. Their lives will never be the same.