Other Stuff....

So in other big news....we got a new-ish car. The van has been dying a slow death this year that was rapidly speeding up this summer. I was just praying that it would get me through the summer and it did. But, I had to get something more reliable. After a very painful 5 1/2 hours in the dealership, we ended up with this little SUV.

Not exactly what I wanted (and not the greatest picture) but beggars cant be choosers as they say. It's clean and in good shape though and I am excited to pick it up on Tuesday. The kids were with me for the entire time and I have to say they were so well behaved. I was beaming with pride the numerous times someone mentioned to me how well behaved they were. People were very shocked by it. To celebrate the new car and to let them know how much I appreciated them for sticking with me, we went to dinner at Tres Hombres. Can't lose with Mexican Food.

The next day (yesterday) we spent 4 1/2 hours at the laundromat catching up on laundry that I had let slide during my surgery recovery. Once again I had people comment about how good they were. So, today....to thank them...we went and saw Spy Kids at the movie theater. I sure do love my kiddo's.

And just for fun, Im adding this little picture I created....if there was any question that Ian was my son (as if....) here is proof.

School Days....

Last week school started for the boys. Finally. I hate to be one of those mom's who seems so anxious to get her kids out of the house but....the truth hurts. It was one long summer and because I was in school, there wasn't much time to do anything fun. We did a few things of course...it wasn't a total bust... but I do feel badly for not being able to do a lot more. One more year though and I will finally be done so I can go back to being a normal mom. In my defense it also didn't help that Denver wasn't here...probably wouldn't have been quite as stressful. AND there was that little thing called a hysterectomy I am still recovering from. Add it all together and maybe you can understand why I was a tiny bit giddy the day they went back to school. I sure do love them though. Addison starts Wednesday and can hardly wait. She was devastated to find out she didn't start the same day as her brothers. Denver will be in town this week too which makes it extra special for her.

Here is Ian, my big 5th grader! Hard to believe I have one that is almost done with Elementary school. This year he gets to do the whole 'maturation program'.... wont that be a good time? I think I need to schedule Denver's trip that week so he can go with him instead of me, haha!

And, here is the 4th grader...right on Ian's tail. He is just as tall as Ian now....but unlike his older brother, Evan was actually excited to go back to school.

Random Stuff....

We finally received Denver's official diploma in the mail. Needless to say we were very excited about this and proud of Denver for his accomplishment. 3 more grueling semesters and I will have my own to brag about :)

Addison is so excited to start Kindergarten. We bought this funky new curling iron and she loves the way it makes her hair look. She has decided that she wants to grow it out, much to my dismay, and therefore we have to find new ways to do her hair while she is letting it grow.

We took Addison to meet her teacher for the first time the other night. She was soooo happy to be in her classroom and see her name every where she looked.

We got to watch little Jude the other night. Poor thing had to escape Addison trying to play mommy at every turn. She was so upset that he wouldnt let her hold him but he is at that age where running and exploring is more fun than being held.

We went school shopping for everyone at once. Due to my surgery, it ended up being put off until this weekend. I knocked everything out in one day: clothes, shoes, haircuts, backpacks, and school supplies. Needless to say we were beat! The picture above is Addison modeling one of her new outfits. She made me take a picture of her in every single thing we bought her.... silly girl :)

School starts Monday for me, Wednesday for the kids....even though I am sad to see the summer go, we are ALL ready for school to start!

A Visit from Dad...

I've mentioned before that Denver is working in South Carolina with his company, Boeing. It was a good work opportunity that he couldn't really turn down but I was in the middle of school and didn't want to disrupt that, so me and the kids stayed behind. It turns out that it will not be a permanent move. Denver is currently working toward a move to Texas...but that is a different story for a different post. For now, he tries to come home every 5-6 weeks for a visit. The kids were really excited this time...more so than others...to see their dad. Here they are in the car waiting at the airport to pick him up...dont they look excited!

We have had a good time so far. Yesterday we headed up to Park City to ride on the Alpine slide.

I hadn't done this since high school and when I rode one in Steamboat Springs recently I knew I wanted to take the kids up to Park City to ride it. It was fun!

Addison rode with me and after the first few turns her nervousness disappeared and she was screaming right along with me.

Denver got a little crazy and went too fast, nearly coming out of his sled and scraped the skin off of his elbow and knee.

The boys were a little slow and cautious but I think next time they will go a lot faster!!

After we finished, we stopped at McDonalds for lunch...

...then took a drive up Lambs Canyon. It is so beautiful right now in the canyons...green and colorful!

Today we packed a picnic lunch and went to Liberty Park to eat it.

It was a beautiful warm day and after we ate we went over to Tracy Aviary to see the birds.

It was fun and everyone is pretty tired...I think tomorrow we will just hang out around the house or maybe head up to Red Butte Gardens for lunch....

The Zoo....and Tracy Aviary...

Friday, my mom and I packed up the kids and hauled everyone to the Hogle Zoo. It was fun and the weather was incredible! They have made some improvements to the Zoo and it is much better than in the past... They have a bunch of life sized dinosaurs scattered about that moved and growled. They even squirted water at unsuspecting children (and mom's, haha)

The whole gang....minus me of course :)

Sadly, this is the only picture I took at the Aviary. Grandpa couldn't come to the zoo with us because he was watching the baby so it was fun having him with us at the Aviary. It was also a beautiful day weather wise and the remodeling they have done to Tracy Aviary was really awesome. We had a great time. I was happy that the membership I bought for Red Butte Gardens works at the Aviary too... I guess me and the kids will be making lots of trip there this summer!

Summer? Maybe....

Well, the kids only have 3 more days of school left until they are out for the summer. It always comes with mixed feelings because I do enjoy the little bit of quiet time I have while they are at school but I am also excited to do some fun things with them. We decided not to put Addison in her summer pre-school even though I do have a couple of classes.This past week we had some fun things going on. First, Evan had a solo part in a song presented to a retiring teacher at his school. The song was performed in sign language as the music was sung...Evan had a solosigning part. It was so touching to see him do this and to know how excited he was to be doing it. He came home and practiced all the time. The song is beautiful and written by Masa Fukuda the composer I have spoken about before. He has been a wonderful part of Evan's third grade experience. I posted a video of him at the end of the post...

Here is a picture of Miss Priss at the performance...

I took this picture of her and as I was putting the camera away, she huffed "Only one picture?!".... I figure it must be the sunglasses or her inner diva making an appearance. So, I took a second one to make her happy :)

I love watching my kids when they are concentrating on something that they find very important and engaging. Ian is a book worm, just like his mom...I can often find him this way with his nose in a book.

Addison is my artist (so is Evan actually) she is constantly creating her own masterpieces. I cannot tell you how much paper we go through in this house because of her and her pictures...here she is drawing something in the car while we wait for Evan to finish scouts.

She is also starting to show an interest in cheerleading, or gymnastics...I think it must come from some of the girls in her pre-school class. They have competitions to see who can kick the highest.

Here are a few more instagram shots. This will be a regular appearance on the blog until I get sick of it...if I ever do. I love the way it makes my pictures look.

This morning was Addison's spring dance recital. This year it was done to all the music from the movie "Tangled"... they were little Rapunzel's. We have finally overcome the stage fright phase and Addie was excited to dance up there with her friend Abbie (brown haired girl that Addie partners with in video) She was quite proud of herself when she finished the first number, clapping vigorously on stage....I just love watching her twirl. I hope she stays in dance forever. Here are a few pictures of the morning and a video at the end of her ballet number.

Today was Evan's last soccer game of the season. They really did a number on the other team winning 15-1. Addie and I enjoyed sitting in the shade.

She was a bit tired from her big morning. Evan had previously decided that after 3 seasons of soccer he was ready to do something different and planned on signing up for basketball instead this fall. After the game was over today he ran up to me and said he changed his mind...he still wants to play soccer. He has such a great team...they are all friends and his coach is wonderful. I guess we will just have to stay tuned as to what Evan will be playing this fall.

The weather is gorgeous today! 83 degrees finally! I am getting ready to go on my girls trip next week to Colorado so the next post will probably be an update from my trip. Happy Summer!!

Ian and Evan's Concert....

Come out and support my kids and this great organization. It will be a lot of fun!! The boys might even have a special part in the show...you'll have to come and watch :)

Tickets can be bought through me personally or online at www.saltlakechoralartists.org/youngchoralartists. You can also purchase tickets the day of the show!! Hope to see you there.

Saturday Madness....and other random things.

I can't believe it is the end of the week already...I swear it just began. Life is moving so quickly that it is just becoming a big blur. I look forward to the time when it slows down just a bit so I can feel like I am enjoying it the way I should be. So, to recap the week...another group of random iPhone pics. First out of the phone is a picture of my new glasses. Never mind the weird look on my face (it's hard taking pictures of yourself) but I love my new glasses.

Especially since they were free. Well, almost. Facebook had a company offering to give away 5000 free glasses a while back and so I got my code and was all prepared to logon the next day and purchase them. Problem was, I forgot I was going to be at a friends house during that timeframe and consequently forgot to order them. I was a little disappointed because who couldnt use free glasses? Well last week, they made the offer again! I jumped on it and chose my frames (normally $170) and then chose to pay $25 for thinner lenses because my prescription is so strong that they would look like coke bottle glasses if I were to get the cheap plastic lenses. So, with shipping and my thinner lenses I only paid $32 for $200 glasses!! That price makes them look even better on me!

Next up is a picture of my Evan sporting his new haircut. Doesn't he look so handsome?

I know I am biased but really....he is just a good looking kid! His class was performing their opera today at the Rose Wagner Theater downtown so I wanted him to look spiffier than usual. Addie got her hair cut too but you really couldn't tell in the picture so I didn't post it.

Here is a picture of the 3 kids after Evans performance was finished. We had fun even though it has snowed for 2 days straight. Thankfully it isn't sticking to the ground...it is just a big nuisance to be out in. It felt like December today!

After Evan's show, I dropped him off at a birthday party and then headed over to Old Navy with Addison so she could pick out a birthday dress. She is turning 5 next week, although she acts like she is turning 16. She is a nut. Trying on clothes with her is the most entertaining experience ever. DIVA is the only word that comes to mind. Check her out in her new dress...and don't forget to notice the fedora that she absolutely had to have! She hasn't taken that darn hat off since we got home tonight....and I promise that I do not teach her to behave this way in front of the camera. I am clueless as to where she is learning it. One thing is for certain, Addie is infatuated with herself. I doubt there are any cracks in her self esteem and that makes me so happy no matter how nutty it makes her sometimes :)

We got up at 8am today and were out of the house by 9am. I had errands to run for the kids' birthday's next week as well as grocery shopping. I got all of that done by 2:30 and then dropped Evan off at the theater for his dress rehearsal. Ran home for one hour and then turned around and went back to the theater for the performance. Dropped Evan off at the party and went to Old Navy which took 2 hours and then I went and picked Evan up from the party. We finally got home at 9:30pm!! I was only home for one little hour today! We are all exhausted...so much for a restful weekend. Here is proof of our tiresome day...this is about 15 minutes after we got home. I realized I hadn't heard from her since she modeled her clothes for her brothers and this is where I found her. On the floor...almost under my desk. Poor thing.