Art Farts May & June

Maria's Birdies.....

Lighthouses: Christina above, Maria Below

Michael's had these cardstock animal 4 packs (On clearance) that are movable and the girls loved them!

Firecrackers!!!

This was super fun!! We made firecracker shirts with rubbing alcohol and permanent markers.

The Reading List- Today Was Heavenly

Today was a day where I really wondered, why aren't I homeschooling my kids? It's the girls' summer break for the next two weeks. Maria has longer, but with the track schedule Christina will start 2nd grade on July 11. She'll be in school 3 weeks and then get the whole month of August off.... hmmmm....

We had a lovely time covering all the subjects. We had plenty of time for piano and art. We even spent time outside in the garden. Sigh. I heart summer.

I cant stress enough how quick my children are. They pick up things so easily. Christina is halfway done with the BFG and I am astounded at the way she is able to pronounce the language of the BFG. He talks quite differently with multiple syllabic words, and yet she glides through them. Not only that but she comprehends the meaning of larger words.

Christina finished her children's version of Jane Eyre, Magic Tree House Books 1-5, at least 10 Junie B. Jones books, 3 Cam Jansen books and can often be found begging me to let her read at bed time.

Maria loves books also. I love that she is doing so well with her sight word recognition and sounding out CVC words. I can tell she gets frustrated with herself and it's funny because Christina was the exact same way. My little perfectionists. I wonder where they get that from. Maria also has the patience of a saint. She just sits and listens to Christina read the BFG and soaks it all in without too many pictures.

Maria has almost finished her Houghton Mifflin 1.1 text book. which is about 10 stories ranging from Go, Cat to Wigs in the Box.

Christina is telling time perfectly to the minute. Maria knows all the "o'clocks". And today we ventured into literature from different continents. The girls are really loving geography at the moment so we're having lots of fun with different puzzles, games and file folders. It works in nicely as we talk about America's birthday and upcoming 4th of July festivities.

And can you tell how much I love teaching? :) I could go and on about the details of learning.

Tieing Shoes

Yesterday Christina learned how to tie her shoes. She might have actually learned before but I just can't remember. We don't have any lace up shoes so she took one of her dad's shoes and got it on the first try. Our Aunty Sheila got us a great book when Christina was born and she's been using that too to amuse herself. Maria is right there too, we're just working on the loops now.

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

I love that my children know how to concentrate and work hard. And they love doing so, no complaints.

This birthday boy is 42. Crazy. Joe had a couple requests for his birthday.

1. He wanted to hike a mountain at 5:30AM. Fortunately he was OK with us sleeping while he did so.

2. He wanted to watch the gold cup as a family.

We thought it'd be fun to chill at the lake... literally. So after his little "hike" we set off.

It was a GORGEOUS perfect summer day. It was hot enough where you wanted to go in the water and then the water was cold enough so you wanted to get back out in the sun.

The beach got pretty packed after a while but we had a great spot.

It was extra fun because these little fellows were everywhere!

This is Christina's muscle shot I'm sending into a body builders magazine.

Boogie boarding.

We are so spoiled to have the lake so close. I heart clean water.

Proof that I was there.

After we got some sun and relaxation we headed off for a birthday surprise and treat from my parents. Joe loves seafood and seeing as we live in the desert, this is a problem. However, casinos can fix everything right? So off we headed to Atlantis for a wonderful buffet. We all overate and I thought Elijah might pop out at anytime due to lack of room. Yum. Yum. Yum. Won't be doing that again though anytime soon.

I really wanted to hire a Hispanic man to dress up as a soccer player for Joe's birthday, but the fruitations never happened. I just worry about getting killed by strangers. This wouldn't happen if we lived in Belgium. We all watched the game. It wasn't exciting, but Joe was happy and that's all that matters. Mexico won.

Happy Birthday sweetheart. Here's to another year of life.

Fun Times

This week was pretty laid back. It was Chrisitna's last week of first grade, so Maria and I bummed around doing some pretty fun things. First up was Sandi Sylver, a self-taught ventriloquist. She always does a great job. They fly her in from Chicago and she does a great story time. I wish I could be more laid back and enjoy, but so often rude people just annoy me. 2 adult women were talking loudly while she is presenting... really, can we show some respect? And then of course, there is always the 1 child who can't sit and is actually climbing on her and Sandi has asked 3 times for her to sit and the mother doesn't do anything but munch on her McDonald's fries... thank you for ignoring the no food in library sign and having no common sense or decency. Why can't I just ignore things? I think it all stems from the fact that I enjoy high standards. Will Reno ever live up to my standards of quiet during a performance and banishing McDonald's from existence.... I think the better question is, who do I think I am? I need to calm down and stop whining or do something about it and take those little firecracker snappers and throw them at people that annoy me.

Another fun time we had this week was going to a gym class with our best friends. The teacher was really nice and they were able to move around and play and just be active. Thanks Ram!

Animal Ark- Final First Grade Field Trip

Olivia and Christina. It's going to be weird next year not having her on our track.

Such friendly and kind little girls.

Animal Ark- oh so fun. Look, there is a raccoon! Look, there is a badger!! And a skull of a saber tooth tiger.

I must admit, me, walking and 90 degree weather with no shade don't mix. Animal ark is a wonderful place... in the cooler weather.

Lily and Christina... Best Friends. Can't believe 1st grade is over almost!!

Happy Father's Day!!

The girls this year made special drawings of them and their daddy. They also thoughtfully filled out a questionnaire on how well they know him!! Highlights included Maria saying "Daddy is 10 lbs and 2 feet tall, because he has 2 feet.... Daddy is really good at...eating.... My favorite time with daddy was when we went to work and he showed me the whole universe!!" and Christina saying " Daddy is really good at... math problems and If Daddy were an animal he'd be a black horse because he has black notty dreds"

That was my Mom's Father's Day card to Joe.

Father's Day was quite lovely. Sacrament Meeting at church had a wonderful speaker who quoted Elder Uchtdorf, "How do you spell love? T-I-M-E." I must say, our daddy has made lots of time for us lately and it is bliss. The girls run to him everyday after work, screeching and happy. Every night he puts them to bed, reading books and scriptures and singing songs/hymns.

When we were first dating, we had the opportunity to babysit one of his friend's little 2 year old. It was definitely a critical moment for me. I love children, he said he did too... but how does he react to them? Does he treat them as individuals important in the world or as fun play things to be enjoyed here and there? Well, not only did he play with that little boy, but he talked to him like a person and when he started crying when we put him to bed- Joe looked to me as to what we should do. He didn't once say, let him just cry. He'll be fine. He watched as I sat with him until he fell asleep. I'll never forget how impressed I was with him. But not only that, also when we were dating, I'd take him to my mom's classroom and he'd be out there talking Spanish with the kids and kicking the ball higher than a 2 story house while the kids went crazy with happiness. Yes, many things have changed within our 9 years of being married, 11 years knowing each other... but one thing remains constant and true, and it's that he's just a super kind, gentle and loving person devoted to children.

I wish I could take full credit for how wonderful our children our, but really Heavenly Father has sent us angels. As a mere loving guide in this life, I'm so grateful for a companion who also knows and fulfills his role. To say Joe is a good provider is an understatement. He's never once let our family down. We've never had for want of food or clothes. And most importantly, there has never been a single time in life where we couldn't look to him for a blessing or spiritual advice. He leads our family in prayers, he teaches by example and is always giving us everything. I can take full credit for choosing well when it came to a spouse.

Often my girls will hear me saying, "Never marry a man who...." or "Marry a man who...". I'm grateful that it's not just idle words. That they can look to their daddy, see how he treats us, and find a worthy priesthood holder who is deserving of them based on their experience. But... we don't have to worry about that for 30 years or so.

I don't wish to ruin a post by bringing up depressing dead weight. But I feel it's important to recognize the role of Heavenly Father in Joe's life. His dad is like Abraham's dad, you know the one who tried to kill him and sacrifice him to pagan gods. Kind of scummy and pukey, though I know I have no right to judge. I just find it amazing that he was able to survive and grow through his childhood, watched over by angels, and turn to the Lord. While I am very grateful for my husband and dad, I'm even more grateful to a loving and all knowing Heavenly Father. Who takes care of his children. Who helps and refines them. Who sets the perfect example and who we can turn to always. He loves us. In a world where we can be tempted to say, there is too much tribulation, there is too much evil, there is no God... we have the right to bend on knee, pray and find out the truth. We are divine children of our Divine Maker. I look at my husband and see him in his role as a father and know that it is not just some coincidence that he is the wonderful man he is. He is a great father because he has a great Father in Heavenly Father and chooses to follow Him.

Eli's Coming....

I must say that this little fellow is quite the mellow type of fellow. According to my ticker (thank goodness for those things, much easier to keep track that way!) I'm 27 weeks. I've had a little heart burn here and there, but I got some TUMS and they work fantastic. He's not much of a kicker. I feel him moving, but he's not really as strong as I seem to remember the others. Of course, it's still a good 3 months more and he's got time to grow and get more pronounced. I must say the dreams have been super weird and vivid this time around. I've enjoyed working out and feel healthy. The only craving I've had is chips and salsa... and that was pretty mild.

Anyways, I'm excited for Eli. He's coming.

And can I just say that I love that my dad is singing in this song. He's the one with the mustache singing high tenor. Dad, I'll forever remember your black shirt. Smooth.

Daddy's Flowers

On the girls final performance night Daddy surprised the girls with these spectacular flowers. The pictures don't really do it justice. Daddy is always full of surprises!

The Ladies First Ballet Recital- Alice in Wonderland

Thanks Yaya and Papa for all the dance lessons!! As well as tickets to the show and help with the costumes. The girls have had such a lovely time!! Seriously, things add up so quickly but we are truly blessed to have the best grandparents ever. 

The ladies were stars. Pure and simple. But I must say, the best part (besides the girls dancing) was getting flowers from our very best friend Amyra. The girls were very very excited!! Such classy friends.

This is a selection from the ballet that I entitle "Bridesmaid Dance at Ramya's Wedding". I don't know how... but somehow this reminds me of the dance I never did at her wedding but should have. Maybe when Ryan gets married he'll let me perform this.