Belly Dancing

Guess what time it is again? Belly Dancing Time!!! We have our performance at the Covey Center. I'm really excited but this time the dance doesn't seem as hard- or maybe I've just gotten better. No, I'm pretty sure the dance is easier. No cymbals. I'm also bummed that the class is SO big. I've met some fun women, but I really enjoyed last semesters small class.

This dance is to really fun music and all of the moves are with the whole group. Which is nice, in case I forget, it's much easier to be reminded when everyone is doing the same thing.

My favorite part about taking belly dancing is that I get to hang out with my cousin every Tuesday. See, my cousin is awesome. She is fun and she makes me laugh. Plus, I love getting to see and hear about her new projects. (She just made a really cool belly dancing skirt. It is amazing!)

Aren't we so cool with our 18 armed goddess?

The Family Trifecta

Have you been to our new blog yet? If not, check it out :) www.thefamilytrifecta.com

a.

Dance Class with Jade

I love getting to watch my girls dance- and they don't usually let moms come in- except the last 15 minutes of class. I went the other day so that I could video Jade. She wanted to be able to practice and watch for little details.

I'm kind of a dork though, I didn't remember which class time is company so I went to the technique class. I did get some fun pictures though of her and Ms Alexis.

These are some pretty funny and jazzy little girls. I love getting to see her love what she's doing.

Happy 95th Birthday!

For Doc's Birthday, we decided to take the kids and let balloons off to say "We love you Doc!"  We gathered around his and GG's grave and shared sweet memories of them with the family that has joined us since Doc and GG left us here.

It was a sweet time and one that I am grateful we made happen.  We didn't make a big deal of it, and decided to do another gathering with the whole family once everyone got in town for the summer.

Doc and GG would have loved playing with their younger great grandchildren just as much as they loved playing with their older ones.  But, I'm pretty sure the younger ones remember them from before they came to earth.

Classic Skating is great for Birthday Parties

I LOVE Classic Skating. There are so many wonderful memories of my childhood and now I'm excited to say that Jade has some memories of Classic Skating too.

She was invited to a birthday party for a friend of hers from school. (I was friends with his dad in school too). She had never been roller skating so Scott took her a couple of nights before. She LOVED it.

That Saturday, she and I went to the birthday party. I took a bunch of pictures. (Like that is a surprise). She had a great time even though she was the only girl.

By the way, I think next year she may opt for a roller skating birthday party as well. Classic did an awesome job.

Happy Birthday Zayden and thanks for inviting Jade to your party. :)

I thought it was Spring- I was wrong

8 am on a Friday morning when there was no school, our girls woke up and begged to put on their snow clothes. At first, I was hesitant (mostly because I didn't want to go out) but then Scott said he had to clear the walks and they were welcome to come out and play. So we all got bundled up, I grabbed the camera and we were off to enjoy a romp in the snow before breakfast.

Kim arrived while we were headed out. She got bundled up and helped us enjoy the spring snow storm.

Ivy was most excited that it was new and clean snow that she could eat. Jade was most excited that it was sticky enough to build a snowman.

By the afternoon, most of the snow had melted and the snowman had crashed to the ground. I'm glad we were able to break away from our normal Friday mornings to enjoy a little bit of time with our girls. It was kind of a "seize the moment" moment.

Quite the snow storm...

In the middle of the night, I got up to check on a wimpering Ivy. The sky was a bright white from the gently falling snow. When we got up for the day, it was still snowing and we had 7 inches of freshly fallen fluffy snow.

You can guess what the girls wanted to do...

The Fort

Throughout our lives, we all have built a fort or two or twenty. Our girls LOVE building forts. They have learned though, that the quickest way to build a fort is by putting blankets over the kitchen table. Plus, they know that Dad will set them up with a movie whenever they want.

They wanted to sleep in their fort, but decided the kitchen floor might not be the most comfortable for the whole night.

(As if they would both sleep there the whole night! They don't even sleep in the comfortable beds the whole night.)

Happy Birthday Hottie!

This adorable little boy turned into this handsome man.

And somehow, I got lucky enough to become his wife. In the 9 years that we've been together, we have been through a lot of ups and downs. We've lived in 7 different places. We've owned 11 cars and 7 four wheelers. And with all of those changes- one thing remains constant. That is that I am the luckiest person to have found Scott.

I love you, Handsome. Happy 39th birthday!

Ivy a gymnast?

There was once a time when Ivy was taking dance and Jade was just doing gymnastics. While Jade would watch Ivy, she started to long for a dance class. We got her enrolled.

Ivy has watched Jade at gymnastics for 3 years now and has never wanted to participate, until recently. Luckily, we only had to wait on the waiting list for about a month and a half. (We needed Ivy to have gym at the same time as Jade- it was the only way we could make it work).

From the moment Ivy found out she got to start gymnastics, she's been talking about it to everyone and planning with Jade just how they would say "hello" during their classes.

The day finally came that Ivy got to start. It was every bit as wonderful as she had hoped. Jade would yell and wave as she would walk by Ivy's class and Ivy would wave at anyone that was willing to look at her.

Yes, I was the obnoxious mom with a camera shooting pictures of her first day of gymnastics. But really, how could I not? She was posing constantly and would look over at me for approval any time she got a chance.

Her cartwheels are actually starting to resemble cartwheels. Crazy! after one day with their cool cartwheel mat and she's starting to get it.

Of course, if you ask her, her cartwheels are "perfect" and she gets her legs "way up high" and there is NO arguing with her about it.

Announcing...

A place where I can discuss our race to win the trifecta of Faith- Family- Life
A place where I can share more of me
A place where my history becomes my present
A place to display our growth as well as our struggles
A place where we can learn
A place were we can teach
A place of balance
A place of love

A place to spotlight those that impress me
and those that amaze me
and those that love me
and that I love

I hope you will join me
I hope you will be willing to share too
because that's how we'll grow- together

Race you there...

The Family Trifecta

***there is still some dust to settle, some decorating to happen, and content to grow- but it is a place to start

***Thank you Kat for a fantastic logo!

She scored a 34.15...

...which means, she's qualified. I'm not sure what she's qualified for because she's Pre-Team Level 3 and you don't travel until Level 4, but CONGRATS!

I was so proud of her this meet. She improved all but one of her scores (which she dropped only .05 on). I'm excited to see how she improves in the next meet. She is really focusing and trying hard to point her toes and keep her legs straight. All of her focus is starting to pay off.

This grin is one of my favorite things about her getting to do gymnastics. She really was having a wonderful meet.

***First thing in the morning, Jade says, "Mom, do I have a meet today?"

My answer was a quick "nope" and I didn't bother to go check.

At 2:15 I get a call from the gym saying, "Coach MaKenna was wondering if Jade was going to be at the meet today."

"What? There's a meet?"

"Yes, the gymnasts were suppose to be here at 2."

"Oh goodness, yes I'll get her down there right away."

We ran around the house getting her all ready- leo on, hair pulled up, sweat suit on and we were out the door. (No make-up on me and my hair pulled up in a dirty pony tail). We left Scott to finish cleaning the cars and get the house ready for our friends that were coming that evening.

We got there at 2:45- in time to warm up on the bars only.

Even with the rush to get there, she still pulled it off and really focused on the meet. Our JadyBug is growing up!!

No more Tonsils

I am amazed at the strength that this little girl has. She knew she was going to the hospital and she knew that they were going to cut her. She never once acted afraid. I'm sure she was nervous, but it never showed.

The day before, I was giving her the run down and told her that she might be pretty grumpy when she first wakes up from the surgery. She told me not to worry because she never wakes up grumpy. I reminded her that her throat would really hurt, and she sweetly responded, "yeah, but you'll take care of it so I'll be okay and I won't be grumpy."

Right before she went into surgery, she let the doctors know that she wasn't going to wake up grumpy. They raved about how sweet she was to the nurses.

Once again, I was absolutely thrilled with Primary Children's Hospital's Riverton Out-patient Clinic. They were quick, they were caring, they kept her busy and they all genuinely cared.

I know they really cared, because after the surgery, Ivy woke up- not grumpy- but wanting a Barbi she had played with in the waiting room. The nurse found someone to go and get it, but they forgot her brush. The anesthesiologist went out and found it for her! Dr Miller was awesome with her. Dr Kelly (the Ears, Nose and Throat Doc) was also fantastic. He was quicker than he said he'd be and he came right out to visit with us.

We had to be there at 9 in the morning and we were headed home before 1 in the afternoon. We would have been able to leave earlier, but she didn't want to drink anything and they wouldn't give her Lortab until she had kept a drink down. After the Lortab, they had us wait another hour- just to be on the safe side.

She was so sweet the whole time and just wanted to be cuddled with. I was happy to oblige.

On our way home, she wanted McDonald's fries and ice cream. We decided their fries are soggy enough they would be fine. She quickly consumed them all and started in on the ice cream cone. We had to stop her from eating the cone after we noticed several bites were gone. Lortab or not- that couldn't feel good.

Her recovery was better than I could have imagined. But, from what I understand, Dr Kelly is a master at smooth recoveries. Although, I have heard that for long term patients (like our friends who have a son with downs), he isn't the best. That being said, I HIGHLY recommend him for tonsils and adenoids.

The 4-7th days were the worst, but even those days weren't very bad.

"I learned so much about skiing"

I am really glad that Scott has a good friend with a son about Jade's age. It means fun get togethers with them playing and giggling. For Jade, it has also meant getting to go skiing.

Friday evening, Jason texted Scott letting him know that he and his oldest son were going to hit the slopes and did Scott and Jade want to come.

I jumped at the chance of getting Jade back on the slopes. She's younger than I was when I started, but she is way more coordinated than I was. This was her second time and she really picked it up quickly.

Yes, we absolutely make her wear a helmet. I figure, if Scott feels like he needs one when he's snowboarding, Jade should definitely wear one skiing. Scott said it was so cute that you could barely see her nose with all of her gear on.

The ski instructors told the dads that the kids did great but that they should stay on the bunny slope. So Jade and Topher wanted to ride up the lift just the two of them. Scott and Jason rode the chair behind them. By the time the dads got off and got fastened into their boards, the kids were down at the bottom. That made for an easy decision- for the next ride of the day they would do a blue run.

When she returned home from her day on the slopes, she told me that she "learned so much about skiing- it was awesome!"

***Thanks Jason for taking the pictures.

Look what I won!!!

And if I keep being one of few to enter- I'm gonna keep winning!!!

My friend, Julie, has been doing these amazing cards and she gives them a way at the end of the week. Here are a couple of the cards she's giving away this week...

If you want to win these 2 and 3 others, go and comment here.

Also, check out her other projects and her 365 photo project. She's doing some great work.

My Day Off...

I don't take days off to just play with my girls very often. I need to start doing it much more often because I really love that time with them.

Jade had the day off school so I took the day off work (Although a "bank holiday"- President's Day is not a holiday at my work) and we all played really well together. (That really means that Jade and Ivy played really well together). I had to be on two different conference calls during the day, but other than that- I took the day off. (Ugh- I really need to get better at actually taking a day off and not working).

We started out with breakfast at Paradise Bakery. The girls have wanted to try it ever since it was built not far from our house. They LOVED their waffle and hot chocolate. I enjoyed my caramel apple cider and their left overs. It was good but I have a hard time paying nearly 20$ for two little girls to eat breakfast.

After breakfast the girls wanted to play with Playdoh. So, I got them all set up and went and took my other work call. Before my call, I opened up several new colors for them and made sure Jade was good with the "Ice Cream Maker." When they were done, they put the lids on and cleaned up after themselves. (I did have to help get the lids on tightly, but they did a great job getting it started).

During the day, I did laundry and kept the kitchen cleaned and helped the girls with their bedrooms.

We tried to go and see the Disney Frog Princess but the lines were just WAY too long. Then we went over to the normal (not dollar) theater to see what other options we had. The movies were just packed. Which I guess is to be expected when it is a holiday and its raining.

Instead, we went home and my parents came over for crafts. We made these adorable doll hats. The girls really had fun making them and are getting pretty darn good at making tissue flowers.

That was our day.

Scott went to the Sand Dunes with a couple of friends and a had a great time. The weather was much nicer down south than it was at home. There were no injuries. - That means the day was a success (at least in my book).