April Birthday's....

We get to celebrate 2 birthday's in April.  Evan's and Addisons.  Evan turned 10 this year and Addie turned 6.  Hard to believe I have 2 kids in the double digits, sigh.  This year we didn't do a "friend party"...we alternate years on that.  So we spent a low-key weekend opening gifts and going to Chuck-A-Rama for dinner (kids choice).  Evan surprises me because I always fear he will be bitter about sharing a birthday with Addison but every time I suggest we do something separate for him, he gets upset and says he wants to share the day with Addie.  Here are a few facts about each of them and then pictures to follow:

My BFF Shannon and her kids came to the park for Evan and Addison bday.  We love them like family :)

Evan:  He still loves Sharks and dreams of becoming a Marine Biologist one day.  Really, he is an animal lover all the way around and that has not changed from day one.  Even though he is 10, he is still like a little boy in some ways and I love that about him.  Ian has always seemed a few years older for his age but Evan prefers to act his age :)  He loves stuffed animals, he loves anything that someone gives him and will keep it forever - even a rock - in other words....Pack Rat!  He enjoys playing outside, even with the little kids.  He is so good with the younger kids in our apartment.  He loves attention from mom.  He has a humongous appetite right now.  He is in the 4th grade and struggles with doing his homework.  He would much rather be outside playing.  We love him and his sense of humor!

Addison:  She still remains the house Diva.  But, she is starting to learn that sometimes she doesn't get what she wants.  She is losing teeth now and not looking like my little baby girl anymore.  She loves clothes and shoes and makeup...I often find her playing in mine.  She loves to sing and dance and play outside.  She is a little monkey, climbing anything she can.  She has thick callouses all over her palms from the monkey bars at school!  She is really into Barbies right now.  She begs me for fake nails all the time - which I don't understand since I never wear them!!  She definitely keeps us on our toes.  She is the messiest one in the house.  The front room is usually full of all her stuff and she hates putting it all away, lol.  She has been in Kindergarten this year and loves every minute of it!  I never have to beg her to go to school.  She loves her family and we love her!


I took Addie with me to get a mani/pedi for her birthday she was soooo excited until we got there.  The people that own this salon are Cambodian I think and they were all talking very fast and loud in their language.  She was wide eyed and got even more freaked out when they pulled out the massive cheese grater and started scrubbing my feet. Haha!  But, she finally relaxed and enjoyed every minute of it!  Especially by the time they got to her hands.

These are some example of their artwork.  Both of these kids are really artistic and LOVE drawing, painting and coloring!  I am always amazed at  their work...it was never something I was very good at.
This is Evans copy of the famous Salvador Dali painting.  He really likes Dali's work.

This is Evan's watercolor of the desert.

This is Addison's chameleon!  So cute.

She just lost her first front tooth.

We waited a week for warmer weather and had a BBQ at the park with my brothers and family for their birthdays.

Here is my nephew Soren :)

Nathan, being silly.

 Uncle Jeff

 Aunt Alisa with baby Jude

My other nephew, Jude...sweet baby.

Ian, being silly...runs in the family apparently.

 Pretty birthday girl Addison....

Musings....

I just got done browsing and boo-hooing over a bunch of blogs about kids with cancer. I know... seems like a strange thing to be doing but there is an acquaintance of mine here in the Village whose 7 month old baby was diagnosed with Leukemia last year. She has just come home and is finally in remission. She had a blog about the experience with links to other blogs of families that she met at the hospital during her daughters fight. It was sobering to say the least. Some of the kids didnt make it. Some did and are still fighting. It gives me such perspective to read things like this occasionally, even if it is difficult. I have 3 healthy, beautiful, children. Aside from some stitches and a couple of minor surgeries, my kids rarely see the inside of a hospital.

I am so grateful for that fact. Cancer is no joke. It has devastating affects both on the person who has it as well as on their families who fight along side them. I pray that I dont have to go through anything like that with my children. Also, yesterday and old high school acquaintance had quite a scare. She got a call informing her that her 15 year old son was lost in the high Uintah mountains. He was there for scout camp. That mountain has claimed the lives of many a scout who found himself lost. It is not a place you want to get lost in. I was so worried for her and thought it must be a mom's worst nightmare. Of course there are many events that could qualify as "moms worst nightmare". We cannot keep our kids sheltered and within our loving grasp at all times, unfortunately. All we can do is hope that they are watched over by a power stronger than a Mother's love and that we teach them what they need to survive in the big bad world. Thankfully, they did find my friends son, unharmed although probably a little shaken. He had hiked 20 miles out of the way after taking a wrong turn on the trail. Yikes....but what a relief that all is well.

So what else? I had lunch with my hermanos the other day. We went to Ruth's Diner up in Emigration Canyon. Great place to eat if you are in the area. I only got a picture of Nathan though...sorry Jeff!

Addie was excited to get "bigger" earrings. Apparently the teeny tiny (fake) diamond studs just werent cutting it anymore so with her birthday money from Mawmaw she bought an assorted variety of "bigger" earrings. Haha...here she is in her hoops ;)

Friday, Ian had to go to the dermatologist to get a massive wart removed from his knee. He wanted me to promise that it wouldnt hurt but I told him I had no clue what they were even going to do to remove it. The wart was very large and thick and therefore required freezing, a shot of anesthetic (or two), burning, and then finally cutting it off. Wow. I could have never predicted that he would have to have all of it done. Poor thing. If you know my son then you know the kind of noise he made over it. VERY melodramatic...the doctor was laughing and saying "we know who to call if we ever need a set of lungs to scare off bad customers".... haha.

Let's just say Ian does not tolerate needles and pain very well....I tried my best not to laugh. Really I did. But the whole thing was rather comical. In the end I apologized by taking him to see Harry Potter for the second time. He also has a wart on his elbow but the doctor opted to just freeze it and put a little acid on it rather than repeat the fiasco he had just experienced. Unfortunately, if the wart doesnt go away from that treatment, Ian will have to come back and repeat the bad way....let's hope it goes away!

Addison has decided she wants long hair. I was hoping to keep it shorter for a couple more years so it could get a little thicker and not have as many tangles. But, if she wants it long then thats fine too. She got some headbands today and I thought she looked cute. Wonder how long it will take for her hair to grow? If its like my hair...forever!

Evans ASL video...

Was having major trouble posting this the other night for some reason so here it is now....a little late :)

Concert Time....

The boys' concert was so much fun. Granted, I am a biased mother speaking here...but I think they all did so well. I was getting nervous the last couple of rehearsals before the concert because it just didn't seem like they were ready. They proved me wrong. The choir was fabulous....cutest songs by the cutest kids. They had to show up that morning to get staged and rehearse. It was only supposed to last 2 hours but they ended up standing and rehearsing for 3 hours! They were starving by the time I picked them up for the break. We ate at Big Ed's.

Ian wasn't too thrilled about the place...it was a bit of a dive. But, it was the closest place on campus and I heard the food was good. It turned out to be a tasty treat and they were happy we stopped there.

The concert started at 2pm. My mom flew into town and stayed the week with me so she could see the concert and my aunt Debbie drove all the way from Eagle Mountain to watch. I love my family... I took a lot of video but I am only posting the one of Ian singing his solo. Sadly, Evan's solo part in the performance did not get recorded somehow. I pushed record but all that actually got recorded was him bowing at the end. I cried all night over it.... thankfully the performance was professionally recorded so I will be able to buy a DVD of the concert and then I will post Evan's part. In the meantime, enjoy "Heart" from the musical "Damn Yankees".... with Ian singing a solo :)

Evan's 9th Birthday Party....

I told the kids a few years ago that we weren't going to continue having a 'friend party' every year. It gets super expensive and out of hand trying to keep up with all the new party idea's that other people are pumping out. This year was Evan's turn to have a big friend party and he chose to have it at Classic Fun Center on Saturday afternoon. We used to roller skate at this place when I was in Junior High a looooong time ago! Now it still has the roller rink but it also has bouncy house/slides, a jungle gym playground, laser tag, and a bunch of other stuff. Their party package is amazing and even though Im not doing an official plug for them, if you live in the Salt Lake Valley, you should consider it for your child. They took care of everything down to the matches to light the candles. We had our own personal party host and all we had to do was show up with a cake and presents....Oh yeah, and with the kids! Here are some of the "kids" trying their feet at skating. I was happy that Jeff and Nicola took to the rink. Must have been a "couples skate" song....

For those that were too young to skate, this place allows scooters on the rink! Addie and Soren took advantage of this and other than having to make them turn around and stop scooting against the traffic, they were pro's....

Evan invited 4 friends and his cousin Soren.

We were there for 3 hours...but it felt like 6. The kids played so hard they were sweating and red faced every time they surfaced for a drink. We just sat there and chilled while the kids played their hearts out. In fact we had to practically drag them back to the table for pizza... check out how red Evan's face is!

At the end of the party the birthday child gets to spin the prize wheel. Its a big wheel with a lot of different prizes you can get from the counter.

He also got to stand in the cash tube and try to grab as many tickets (for prizes) as he could.

As I was looking for Evan so we could get things progressing out the door I saw him coming toward me crying really hard. As I got closer, I saw his head....OUCH!! Apparently he and another kid made contact with each others heads in the bouncy house.

I guess we should feel lucky that #1 it was the only injury that occurred in this injury prone environment and #2 that it happened at the end of the party instead of the beginning. For a while he didnt even want to spin the wheel... he just wanted to go home but after he calmed down he wanted to spin it and guess what?? His spin landed on the only money slot on the whole wheel. He won $10! I asked the attendant if that happens very often and he just shook his head and said "rarely...I cant even remember the last time". I guess Evan caught a break for taking such a blow to the head.

Here are a couple of boys we picked up...Uncle Nate and his sweet baby boy Jude. Look at those eyes. Such a cutie :) It was a super fun party...but I am partied out for a couple of years!! Two parties back to back was insanity...thankfully Denver was here to help out!

Mr. Evan Denver...

Well, we didnt plan it but we have two birthdays in the same week between Evan and Addison. On the 15th, our tax baby turned 9! Im never shocked when Evan ages because he is so close in age to Ian that I have just gone through the shock with him...I dont know if that is a good or a bad thing but either way it seems like Evan has been 9 since last year. Here is a little about our 9.4 pound bundle of joy...

1. He is quiet and unassuming and very kind. His teachers always comment on this every year.

2. He makes friends with everyone. He loves everyone and wants to be their friends. He includes the underdogs...the kids that no one else will play with and this is what I love most about him.

3. I always mention that he is an animal lover... this has not changed. He wants to be a Marine Biologist when he grows up.

4. He is really into Sharks right now...he struggles between loving and hating them for eating seals.

5. He loves to be loved....such a sweet kid.

6. He is a soccer nut. Loves the game and still loves to play the Goalie.

For his birthday, his teacher asked us to come to his class and share in his birthday celebration with them. The students arent allowed to bring in any type of food and so his teacher goes to great lengths to make them feel extra special on that day. We were asked to tell the class a little about what makes Evan special in our home.

I cried of course and embarrassed him and Denver embarrassed him by telling the class he was cool. You gotta love being parents and embarrassing your kids! Happy Birthday Evan!!

Soccer Season Returns....

The crazy soccer season has begun again. I have to say that Spring session should be better than Fall because most of Evan's games are at noon and most of Ian's are between 8am and 10am. So that means that with the exception of one or two games that cross into each other, I should be able to see ALL of both boys' games this season rather than half of one and half of the other. Still have to go back and forth between two different fields but it makes it a lot nicer that we arent rushing just to see 10 minutes of each game.

Since Fall season ended, Ian has seen a podiatrist for his heel pain and it turned out he had some cracked growth plates which made even walking painful for him. He has since received a pair of special orthotics to wear in his shoes and they have really made a big difference for him. He actually ran during his soccer game and this is a pretty big deal. Normally he would sort of gallop slowly...which now we know was because the one foot was really hurting him. I am so happy that he might actually enjoy this soccer season so much more than last.

Sadly, his team lost their first game...time for practice!

Evans team remains intact each year and so he plays with the same kids and same coach every season. They even play soccer at school during recess together.

Because of this their team is quite cohesive and they rarely lose. I think this is the biggest problem with Ian's team. The boys dont go to the same school so only a couple of them actually know each other. Not to mention the coaches son plays on the team and can be pretty mean. There just doesnt seem to be any unity especially when your own teammates are critical of your playing skills. I hope that it is better for them this time around otherwise I dont think Ian will want to play again next year. Evan plays Goalie, which kills me.

It makes me sooo nervous because every time the ball gets near the goal I am praying that Evan doesnt let it through. Such a high pressure position, it blows my mind that Evan actually wants to play it. I would sure love to see him actually play soccer on the field but he is content being the Goalie and no one else on the team wants the position. It makes for some great action shots though!! Go Evan!

Addie asked me Saturday if when she turns 5 can she play soccer? I dont think I can handle 3 games and practices without Denver here to help me juggle so she is just going to have to stick to Dance for now :)

Fun Stuff....

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a video of Evan singing a little solo in his class production. Since that time the singing "thing" has really just exploded. The first news was that the composer of the song Evan sang part of wanted to have his class come to the studio to record the program and more specifically that he was very impressed with Evan's voice. Fast forward to yesterday, and we traveled to Masa's (the composer) studio to record the songs.

It was fun for the kids to see what goes in to recording music but the whole process was quitetedious and we were all pretty tired by the time we got home. I was a little disappointed because the song that they ended up recording wasn't even the song that had Evan's solo in it and his teacher had mentioned that the composer would be listening to the children and choosing some of them to sing in future projects for him. I felt like Evan never really got a chance to sing for him because in this particular song, Evan was just a part of the chorus. Evan's friend has a great voice as well and nearly perfect pitch but unfortunately he was quite ill mannered and held up a lot of the recording timeby making noise and even going as far as singing into the mic when it wasn't his turn. I was proud that Evan kept quiet and did everything that the director asked. Well, tonight Evan's teacher called from school and said that the composer has asked to put Evan's name on his list of children to call for studio work!! He loved Evan's voice which apparently he was able to hear in the midst of the other 6 kids. Part of his decision was based off of Evan's "impeccable" manners. Hooray! What a compliment not only to Evan but to Denver and I as well. I was very proud of him in that moment. I guess he didn't even ask Evan's friend because despite the fact that he sings well, the composer simply cant work with kids that arent well behaved.

Also, in the middle of all of this, the teacher sent home a flyer for some auditions. It is for a pretty prominent Youth Choir here in Utah and they are having auditions for their show in May. The guest artists that will be performing with the choir is going to be the composer's (Masa Fukuda) children's choir so it is all very exciting. Evan is going to audition and Ian decided he wants to as well! Ian will be singing Edelweiss from The Sound of Music and Evan will be singing the entire song, Reach Out With Love, that he sang the small solo in for his school production. I have no earthly clue if they even have a shot at it but I am so proud of them for wanting to do it and for being brave enough to try!! The auditions are next Wednesday so we are anxiously awaiting it and practicing every day!! I just love that the boys are singing and making music....brings me so much JOY!