june's word of the month...

go

go somewhere different. go outside. go beyond your comfort zone. go take a nap. go to the movies. go buy new music. go roller skating. go for a hike. go to a junk store and make something new again. go farther. go on an adventure. go right instead of left. this month, go someplace you have never been before and enjoy.

How fitting for my family and me this month! Oh the places you'll go - tell me where you go.

At the Copa, Copacabana
May 23rd, 2009

Little dancers still the show, mostly if one of them is your own. Kaylie was a great dancer in her beautiful outfit that she asked to wear everyday from the day we received it, two months ago, so you can imagine how nice it was for me to finally announce that today was the day. Yeah!

(This pose is a move in the dance where it says...

"A yellow feather in her hair and a dress way down to there..."

She touches her shoulders and hips and then her hands end in this position.)

These sisters were so happy for each other. It was really sweet!

Kaylie LOVES to get all dolled up and is a performer. No hesitation with her. She did a tap dance number to Barry Manilow's Copacabana and a ballet dance to . It was all very cute.

It was a bit hard to get a picture of the bows at the end of the show, but this one seems to show how much she enjoyed the whole evening.

I won't tell you about the fit she threw when I went to pick her up backstage because I didn't have any flowers in hand (her dad had them), but when she did receive them, she was super excited. (She knew she was going to get them because Taylin had received them the night before.)

(I just love this picture. A happy moment for Kaylie and a proud dad moment!)

I was pretty proud too! Great job Kaylie! We love you!

I wanna Shoop, baby Shoop
May 22nd, 2009

At Taylin's dance recital, she performed her hip hop routine to "Shoop." It was totally hip hoppish and cool and fun. They use white poles to look like ski poles. She worked very hard all year and had a great time performing!







The above poses are some of the moves from the dance.



And this is what boys do while they are waiting for dance recitals to start and then they do a little more of it when the show is in progress.

Taylin was suprised when she saw the flowers - a well deserved reward for a job well done. We are proud of our Pookester! Good job sweetie!

My baby graduates!

I am almost crying just thinking about the day that she will really graduate from High School. It will be here sooner than I want, I'm sure.

She was a happy girl taking the stage and singing some great songs with some great moves and showing her sign language to God Bless America. She practiced that song most every day up until the performance and she even taught Taylin how to do it. It was a great program.

She got two awards with her diploma... one was the "Outstanding Friendship" award and the other was "Best Handwriting" award. She walked so quickly across the stage and didn't even turn to look and wave at her proud family. Darn.

We took Tanner and Taylin out of school for the day because Kaylie wanted her "whole family to be there." They weren't complaining.

The school gave the children a Kid's Bible as a graduation gift. She has been carrying it around ever since.

This is Kaylie's beloved teacher, Ms. Claudia. According to Kaylie, Ms. Claudia knows everything. Teachers always do, right. Well, she has called me Ms. Claudia several times so I am flattered! She was a great teacher and Kaylie did learn her whole alphabet, sounds, and how to write them, among other things, all from her.

To celebrate the great event, we all enjoyed a Sonic ice cream cone. (I always like celebrate with ice cream. I learned that from my dad!)

(Note those nails and her bling watch! I think she will be a fashion designer one day.)

And the party continued with some sprinklers-under-the-trampoline fun. She is already practicing her graduation jump without the cap and gown. Boo hoo!

Congratulations Kaylie! You have been a super student and learned so many new and wonderful things this past year. Keep at it in Kindergarten! We love you!

The closing song sung by the kids was so darn cute, I have to have you experience it. It went like this... Please join me in singing the following, outloud or in your mind...

"Q R S, T U V, W X, Y and Z, now I know my ABC's and I know my 123's.

Summer is here and lots of fun..."

(now yell this part)

"Watch out Kindergarten, here I come!"

When field trips were all about fun!

Kaylie was quite the poser on her last preschool fieldtrip to the Brushy Creek Park. She is an easy subject, that is for sure. She is so comfortable in her swimsuit. Wish I could say the same. She always has a great time playing with her friends and this day was no exception.



Here are a few of many proud moments for Kaylie... "Look at me Mama!"







This is her very silly class. She keeps us smiling!

Wellness Day at BPE

What a fun day for the kids at school. Well, actually, the kids say it use to be more fun or at least they seemed to enjoy it more when they were littlier. Now they just think it is kind of boring because they don't get to do as much outdoor water activities. Can we say spoiled?

I like to go and hang with the kids for a bit while they get to have a day full of no school work! I first spent some time with Taylin. We watched some women teach the kids about Roller Derbies. Then we went outside to see some guys show their stuff on the skateboarding ramps.



Then the class did a few relays and I caught Taylin in the act!



She learned a dance - the Zoomba, I think - and she is a natural!



And although I wasn't able to see Taylin doing any of the water activities, she was happy that I brought dad along, pulling him from his "job" (I'll mention about that in a minute), as we learned about how bad tobacco is for you.



The school has a program called "Watch D.O.G.S." which stands for Dad's Of Great Students. A dad will come to the school and walk around to help out where needed or just to keep a watch on the school and the activities that go on there during the day. Huy's first opportunity was to help flip hamburgers for the lunch given on Wellness Day. Clearly, it was a lot of work. Ha.



And then I found Tanner and his class out doing some relays too. Boys think they can do anything, but this proved a little more challenging than one thought. The yellow ball between Tanner's legs is the ball he just slingshot!



And then there were the fun water relays. A classic... such skill Tanner.



It was a fairly nice day, but not super hot. Kids don't seem too affected by weather - cold or hot. An opportunity for fun is all that matters!



And a fun day it was, indeed! Thanks kids for being such great students and sharing your fun with us!

Soccer Superstar


Killerwhale, Taylin, had an awesome soccer season. She was on fire!



She played goalie one half of every game and learned a lot about that position. Not always the funnest when the other team scores on you, but definitely rewarding when you save the shot.





She also is a great forward. She is good to pass the ball, but she knows when to score too! She has a big kick!

This is her scoring!!! I love the little grin that comes as she turns around to run back to the middle of the field after scoring, looking at the sidelines for her dad. It says, "I am so proud of myself. That is fun! Dad, did you see that?"

And Dad did see that one and several others! We both are so proud of our soccer superstar! Great season Taylin!

Happy Mother's Day!

to my lovely mother...

she is the best! she has showed me how to love and laugh and be patient and kind and then love some more. she is always giving and so supportive of me. she has been a wonderful example and she is my best friend. love you mom!

and to my wonderful mother-in-law...

she loves my kids, probably more than me at times. she is so thoughtful and kind and supportive and generous. she is very talented and shares her knowledge with me.

















and to my sweet sister, and sisters-in-law, my long-time girlfriends in AZ and around the world in Switzerland, and to my workout friend, and neighbor friends, and the friends at church who makes me say wow, I want to get to know her because of the person/mother she is, and all the other mothers who have taught me things, or taught my kids things, or have shared their wisdom...

thank you. I love you! Hope your Mother's Day is the best yet!

and to my most wonderful husband and sweet kids...

thank you for the nice Mother's Day! The breakfast in bed was de-licious, the poems and cards were so thoughtful, and the pitcher was what I have always wanted! You guys make everyday a mother's day. Love you!

Taylin's Skeleton Stomp

Taylin is a beautiful piano player! She played so well at her recital last Saturday night. The song she played was Skeleton Stomp - a kind of Halloweenie song, but very fun. She never appears nervous and went up there with great confidence as she had practiced very hard and everyone could tell. She played great! I am a proud mom.

This is Taylin and her teacher, Ms. Stacey. She has taught Taylin for two years now (she took for two years before that). I have decided to let Taylin make a super big adult decision... whether to keep taking lessons next year or not. She is a bit worn out and we are thinking that maybe we can have some fun and learn a few songs together or a duet or two until it is time to take again. Taylin is still thinking about it.

may's word of the month...

c o n n e c t

connect with your story. connect with a local farm. connect with old friends. connect with new friends. connect the dots. connect with artists who share your passion. connect the past and present. this month, connect yourself with the creative child in your heart.

i'd love to hear from you this month! let's connect!

gum

Last Sunday after church, Taylin came in the Relief Society Room and carefully showed me the piece of gum that dropped out of her mouth and into her hair during Primary. Her hair is so long these days that it is no wonder it fell into her hair and not on the floor. Things with spit have a tendency to make me gag so I made Huy get it out.

We remembered a friend's science project where she tested different things to find out what worked best to get gum out of hair, but we couldn't remember what the best substance was, so we called her dad up to find out. They told us hot water. The internet said olive oil. We used both and a fine tooth comb and it all came out. I thought that this may be our chance to give Taylin a haircut, but no such luck - she wants to keep it long.

I can't talk about it much more than that as I am about to gag just thinking about it!

L O O K what we have created!

It is the last day of April so I better get my "creation-for-the-month" posted. The girls helped me plant this wheat grass early in the month for Easter and it was only a couple of days before it began to sprout and then grow so long that we had to give it a crew-cut for the picture. Everyone enjoyed watching it grow and it was fun and festive too!

What did you create this month?

E A S T E R
















We enjoyed a nice Easter Sunday. The kids colored a few eggs with Ba Noi on Saturday (above), the girls let me curl their hair (they never do) and they all smiled for a picture before we headed out the door for church without more complaining than I could handle. Nike swatted an egg around and cracked the shell and wanted to eat it, but didn't get to. Our Easter didn't wasn't traditional. We are so much over the weekend that no one wanted a fancy meal so we ate leftovers. We tried to fly the kites the kids got in their baskets without any success - just not enough wind. And of course, we remembered the reason for this special day!

Ba Noi and Ong Noi visit
It was a delight to have Huy's parents come for a visit over Easter weekend. The kids were so excited to have them come. We took them to see the bats and about missed them. We were able to see a few come out from under the bridge, but most of them had already left for their dinner! It was a good time to watch the train go by and get a group shot.

Ba Noi is facinated with Nike. She is a bit bewildered at how we treat him as if he were our baby, now that Bubbas is a "big girl." It is fun to share him with her!

Ba Noi and Ong Noi are so good to our kids. They play cards and toys and just hang out together. Huy's mom made th girls a super cute dress (I hope to get a picture of them wearing them and post it soon) and they gave Tanner a nice sweater vest that was perfect for Easter. We did our share of eating as well, yummy Asian foods. Thanks for a wonderful weekend, although a bit short. Come again soon!