Megan is a Swimmer!!!!!

This afternoon, Megan got enough confidence to let go of me and look what she can do! She spent the next hour and a half swimming to the wall from further and further back.

I was so excited I had to get it on video knowing Trent probably wouldn't believe me. But yes, this is 3 yr old Megan in the pool.

Beastie Boys (and girls)

We squeezed the last few drops of summer fun out of a fun-filled, long day at Art Beast in downtown Sac. We went with Kelsey, Brock, and Erik, and literally spent 6 hours there and the kids could've kept going, but Mom was tired! One of our favorite things was the 15 ft. long plexiglass 'easel' on the wall. The kids could paint all over it and then wash it off and start again.

Megan painted many pictures on the art easels.

The kids made tin can robots outside. Well actually, Mikayla made a bird named Birdy and Megan made a friend named Sydney.

They loved using all the art objects to create whatever they wanted.

Kendra enjoyed all the boats at the water table.

And having free reign to crawl around the dress-up room.

In the dress-up/make believe/performance room, Mikayla and Erik put on a show. Or rather, Mikayla tied him up and did all the talking and singing and he just went along with it!

More of her masterpieces.

The kids enjoyed the different stations set up with sand, clay, playdough, and other textures.

There's also a make-believe grocery store area with a play fort above it.

Kendra was envious and had to get in on the painting action.

She did well until she kept trying to eat the paint.

And smear it on me.
Ah, that look of frustration on her face. "Put me back down so I can get messy, Mom!"

If you live in Sac-town and haven't had a chance to check it out, please do! It was lots of fun and obviously provided us with 6 full hours of fun. I'm sure we'll be back soon.

Fun Times at Funderland!

I bought my first deal through the website groupon.com and got wristbands for the four kids for $6 a piece. So, during the last week of summer vacation we went and had some fun.

The not-so-scary snakes

To say Mikayla and Erik LOVED the dragon train would be quite the understatement.

Kendra enjoyed most of the day in her stroller taking in all the sights.

Megan and Brock loved the octopus/fish ride.

Did I mention Mikayla and Erik loved the dragon train coaster?

They spun out of control on the teacups.

The girls loved this spinning ride that went in a circle one direction, then slowed to spin in a circle the opposite way.

Oh yeah, the oldest two loved the roller coaster!

They also were monkeys on the train!

We ran into another friend, Carter, while at the park and got to ride some rides with him too.

Such good, goofy little buddies!

In between each ride, the pair ran back over to the dragon coaster! They couldn't get enough!

Megan drove her car all by herself.

Yes, I happened to ride a few rides, including the carousel with Megan. We had such a fun day at this little amusement park and had a great time with our friends.

First Day in First Grade

and she did wear clothes!
Polka dot top to match the polka dot backpack in fact. She really wanted a lunchbox that clipped to the outside of her backpack like her friend Emma had last year. So, thank you Old Navy, problem solved and she loves it!

Megan missed her sister today! On our way to pick up Mikayla she said, "I miss Mikay-duh. I want her to come home to me now." I agree. I spent most the day thinking about she was doing. If she was at a recess, or doing math. Is she playing with friends or being picked on. Is she being nice to others, is she listening well...is she missing me? I am glad she gets to go to school and frankly, a little break during the day is nice for everyone, but 6 HOURS IS A LONG TIME! I'm not used to being apart from my sweet girl that much. It was a long day of waiting for 2:45 to roll around.

We got lucky to be in the same class with her buddy Erik this year. The kids all walked into class and were told to find their desk by reading the nametags and lo and behold, she is sitting RIGHT next to him! If only the two can keep their mouths shut and keep the giggling to a minimum until recess, they'll work well together! Sure was a nice surprise though. I'm glad she has a friend she knows so well right off the bat sitting next to her.

Mikayla went up to get her nametag and meet Mrs. Valdez. She sure seems like a very nice teacher and very friendly and loving. We're looking forward to a great first year!

As the kids left the classroom today, I had the camera poised expecting a jubilant dash from the class into my arms with my sweet girl grinning ear to ear. Instead, all the kids filed out shuffling their feet and rubbing their eyes. These long school days will take some getting used to! Mrs. Valdez said they are all very tired and had trouble staying awake after lunch! She assured us it will get easier and I know it will. Heck, I'll take it, she fell asleep at 7pm. Let's hope this is a trend!

Naked Dreams

So, Mikayla had a dream the other night. First day of school and she showed up naked and walked around feeling embarrassed all day and trying to borrow clothing items from other kids...but no one would talk to her. Would you talk to or help out the naked kid?! Of course not. Turns out I wouldn't either. She said I was working in her class and she kept telling me she wanted clothes and I said, "Sorry, we didn't have time this morning. You'll be fine till we get home."

She retold her dream to us over breakfast and we were having trouble eating our toast and smoothies because of how hard we were laughing.

As I put her to bed tonight, the night before the first day of school, I promised her she'd have time to get dressed and I that I won't let her leave the house naked. Ever. She was very thankful, but well, we'll see if we can wake up with enough time tomorrow morning to get everything done. I'll either be posting naked illegal pics of my kid or some of her in a cute outfit with a fabulous new backpack on. Let's hope it's the latter...

All I Want Is To Chew With My Two Front Teeth

Yeah. That would be nice.
I'll set the scene. 1:20am, cell phone rings in the kitchen. Took a Tylenol PM for a headache and am awoken by said ringing phone. Baby gate is up in the kitchen to keep Max, the dog, penned in for the night.

So, I hear the phone, groggily run through the pitch-black house toward the kitchen. And-- SMACK!! My legs are suddenly taken out from under me by the stupid baby gate. The thought of a thigh-high obstacle blocking my entrance to the kitchen never crossed my mind. The next thing I know, I'm picking my jaw up off the floor and assessing the damage. I fell face-first onto the linoleum and I hope I don't have to say, "Don't try this at home." My two front teeth loosened up and merged slightly behind my incisors. My chin is bruised, jaw throbs, hip bones are bruised, but nothing hurts like my pride.

Seriously, how does one fall face-first?! Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. I'm just glad I still have my front teeth. Coulda been worse.

The next three days consisted of yogurt, fruit smoothies, jello, and soft bread. Every so soft and ever so boring. By day 4 my teeth are prety much tightened back up to what they use to be. I'm still scared to try chewing with them though. To the naked eye, they look fine. Can't tell it ever happened. Only me, myself, and my tongue can tell/feel the difference in their placement.

Ah yes, the best part of it all. Trent was sleeping in the backyard with the older two girls and heard the loud noises and yells coming from inside the house. Did he rush in and make sure I wasn't being beaten, robbed, or stabbed? Nope. Fell back to sleep and checked on me in the morning. Thank you honey, glad you have my back.

Oh yeah, and I know you're wondering if the phone call was my brother saying his wife is in labor or a call that a loved one's on their way to the hospital? Nope. Wrong number. Word to the wise, don't freaking call me at 1am unless you're birthing a baby or substantially wounded. Thank you.

Now That I'm 6

The other day I asked Mikayla what things are going to change now that she's 6.

She said, "I think now that I'm 6 I need to be doing more chores around the house-- like cleaning my room every day. I need to learn to sweep and mop too."

"Yeah, you're right," I said. "What else?"

"Well, I think I need to change more diapers and just help you out a lot more."



Mikayla, with an attitude like this, please stay 6 forever.

Tea for Ten

Mikayla has wanted a Tea Party themed birthday for months! So, we started planning early and it turned it well. This was my first time trying a layered cake and after making frosting flowers for over an hour and not liking them, I went with the silk variety instead. I iced her name in white chocolate and it's standing on the first tier. I wanted a cake with some height, so it's 4 large rounds on the bottom and 2 smaller cakes stacked for the top tier. Needless to say, we've had cake all week! Big tip here: for a super-duper moist cake, take it out of the oven, let cool for 10 minutes, remove from pan and wrap in foil. Stick the warm cakes straight into the freezer. I did this Thursday night, stacked and frosted them on Friday, and they were still super moist and yummy on Saturday (and into Wednesday!). The freezer is your friend here folks.

We had a garden arch set up for picture taking.

Magaw always knows how to avert child crises. Megan did NOT want her hair clipped out of her face like Mom asked, so to avoid a meltdown, Magaw took her to the bathroom to get special Tinkerbell fairy dust. She had to brush the hair back and put it in a hair pretty first of course, then sprinkled glitter in Megan's hair and rubbed the glitter into some lotion for her face. I still got what I wanted and Megan spent half the party trying to fly in the backyard thinking her pixie dust would work! Smart grandma, always thinking.

The kids made necklaces at one station.
The girls all had party dresses, gloves, hats, and jewelry.

We had 10 kids at the party--the most I've ever had at a party before! It was fun though, the kids were great.

And I just love the poses!

We had a dance party too. We turned on some tunes and they danced until the music stopped and they had to freeze.

Don't these pictures just scream pure joy?!

At another station, my mom helped the girls hot glue flowers of their choice onto their hats.

After dancing and crafts, we sat down to tea--or chocolate milk and apple juice in teapots.

What would a tea party be without a waiter? Uncle Dusty came in a tux and served the ladies and gents all their food on silver trays. He poured drinks, brought seconds of the Bagel Bites, brownie bites, carrots, and grapes, and made sure each kid had enough food during their meal.

It really was quite priceless! Dusty is always such a good sport and a great uncle.

Blowing out 6 candles!

Any Time Off?

We were telling Mikayla that in First Grade you go for 6 hours, which is a really long time to someone that went to school for 3 1/2 hours previously. We talked about how she'll eat lunch there and have more homework and tried to prep her for the year to come. She was fine with everything and then said,

"Will I ever get weekends off?"

She just assumed that the transition to full school days meant school EVERYday. Poor thing! She wasn't upset, she just was curious! We thought it was hilarious!

Mikayla's Birthday!

On her birthday last week, she chose to make waffles for breakfast, go to Subway for lunch, and Chevy's for dinner. Yes, a kid after my own heart. A good day of food. It has somehow become tradition to dress-up for birthday dinners out and though Trent gets embarassed walking into a restaurant with an entourage like this, butI think it is fabulous! I mean, how much longer are they going to want to wear this stuff? And to a restaurant no less?!

They wanted Kendra to dress up too. We did the best we could since we don't have clothes small enough for her!

This is Mikayla's candid camera moment right after they slapped a sombrero on her head and started shouting and singing a rowdy rendition of "Happy Birthday" to her! She loved it! Loved the hat, the attention, the singing, the ice cream--loved it all!

She sure enjoyed her birthday treat too!

6 Things About Mikayla

1. She is an awesome big sister! She is always trying to help me with the girls and unbuckles both of them from their carseats. She sings songs to Kendra and rocks her and comforts her when crying. She plays make-believe games with Megan and they pass the hours with dolls, play food, play clothes, and other toys.

2. She has a memory like an elephant. When something is missing, we ask Mikayla. When we try to remember an event or what someone wore to church or what an episode on tv was about, we ask Mikayla. The kid remembers everything--which can be good or bad.

3. She wants to be a fashion designer when she grows up and lately has enjoyed putting together outfits and accessories. She does a great job of it too! She wants her hair done and usually requests a side ponytail or some sort of braid and loves the bows and flowers.

4. She is very active! She plays soccer, does ballet, is a real swimmer now, climbs the doorframes, loves biking with no training wheels, and all other activities.

5. She is into nutrition lately and asks at every meal how much protein is in something. It cracks me up when she gets a yogurt out of the fridge for a snack and reads the label to tell me it has 5g of protein. She doesn't know what protein is, just that it's good for you! She eats all kinds of fruits and veggies too and has been making sure I serve well-rounded meals as she points to the food on her plate and ticks off all the various food groups.

6. She is a real sweetheart. Mikayla is loving, giving, friendly, outgoing, and loves spending time with her family. Major disagreements, tantrums, or bad behavior are VERY rare lately. She is a good girl and my only complaint is that time is going too fast. She is becoming very responsible and does lots of things without being asked, cleans up after others, and brings things in from the car.

We love you Mikayla!