Update on Concert....

It has been officially announced that Ian will be singing a solo during one of the pieces in the concert and Evan has an "acting" part with lines in another song! Very exciting!!

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.

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!

Addison's 5th Birthday Party....

Two of our kids celebrate birthdays within 3 days of each other. Up until now this hasn't been an issue because Addison was too young to care much whether or not she had her own party so we usually just lumped her's in with Evan's. This year however, she was planning her "own" party months in advance. Friday night we had her first official 'friend party'. She invited 7 girls from her pre-school and her cousin Soren. We held the party at the community center here in our apartment complex.It was a Hello Kitty themed party and Addison was dead set on having cupcakes. My time is so limited these days that I opted to get cupcakes from Sam's Club rather than make my own....this was really hard for me to do but what a life saver it was!!

For activities at her party we had craft tables set up and on one table we decorated t-shirts

with paint and glitter...it was messy but they all turned out so cute.

At another table we had beads and colored elastic string to make necklaces or bracelets and Evan helped the boys, and eventually some of the girls, make magic wands. Addie was thrilled and played the part of birthday girl perfectly.

Soren was the only boy there but he had fun too. Im not sure he knew what to do with all those girls running around and screaming. But, he sure knew what to do with his cupcake which seemed to disappear in one bite :)

Here are some pictures of her and her cute friends.

Here are some pictures of the fun presents she received.

Here she is on the present Denver and I gave her. He flew into town Thursday night for the birthdays and thank heavens. I dont think I could have survived without his help!

I think the party turned out to be a great success...I know she was happy and that is really all that matters!!

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!!

Miss Addison Jayne....

Our little 6.4 pound preemie turned 5 on the 12th!! It is so hard for me to believe that I no longer have any "babies" at home anymore. I am stunned that she is starting Kindergarten this year since I could have sworn she was born just yesterday.Well there is so much to say about this funny, sweet girl of ours.

1. She loves anything 'girlie'. This has not changed since she was 2.

2. She love music, singing, and dancing...she is always moving either her body or her mouth...sometimes both.

3. She loves school and her friends...she just cant wait to have sleepovers.

4. She loves herself...seriously. Pull out a camera or a mirror and you'll see what I mean :)

5. Even though she was 5 weeks premature, she is taller than all of her friends at pre-school.

6. She adores her brothers...most of the time ;)

7. We think, of course, that she is the most beautiful girl in the world and we tell her any chance we get.

Addison is such a light in our family. You cant help but smile when you watch her play. She is a smarty pants too: counts to 29; writes both names very neatly; is beginning to read words; draws beautiful, detailed rainbows and flowers. She takes dance with Miss Julie and loves it. We cant wait for her recital in June. She cannot wait to start Kindergarten and go to school with Evan. She acts like it is her lifelong dream come true. What would we do without her.... Happy Birthday Addie!

New Music...

Music is a big part of my life. Not necessarily something that I participate in everyday, but definitely something I listen to multiple times a day in one form or another. I couldn't imagine life without music. My tastes vary from one end of the musical spectrum to the other...in fact there are very few genres that I would say I didn't like at least a little bit. Lately I've been drawn to women singers...strong ones that sing timeless music. Songs that reach in and touch the soul. I don't know if it's because this type of music is the latest and greatest or if I am feeling inspired in some way by them, but I cant get enough. Adele and Joss Stone are at the top of that list. If you get a chance, check out this link to Adele's newest song "Someone Like You"....it's gorgeous. Everything about it. Maybe you wont feel inspired by it, you might even hate it but it speaks to me as do many of the new songs on my playlist. Here is a link to my favorite Joss Stone song "Jet Lag"... love it. So, yeah. I changed the playlist up. Its been the same for over a year now and I thought I should revamp. Sadly, the site I use for my playlist didn't have any Joss Stone or Norah Jones or Lady Antebellum...all wonderful. But, I like the list I made too....Hope you enjoy it too!

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.

School on a Budget...

Going to school these days can be quite expensive. Sure, there are student loans to help you through, but then you are left with a pretty big debt to pay when you finish. One of the aspects of college that has always boggled my mind is the cost of books. Most textbooks average around $100 per book which can really add up when you are taking 3 or 4 classes! I've found a great option for students who don't want to drop all that money on a book that they may never use again. It's a company called CampusBookRentals.com.

They offer the option to rent the textbook you need for the duration of the semester and then return it when you are through for typically less than half of what you might pay for the book outright. They even have a textbook buy back service which I might try and utilize since I missed the buy back period last semester at my school. I was a bit worried about shipping for all those books but found on their site that they offer FREE shipping both ways! It's hard to see how you would lose by using them rather than buying your books. I know this coming semester I will definitely be using their site to rent my books.

When I visited the site to see what they offered, I was also really impressed to see that they support the Operation Smile program which provides cleft lip surgeries for children whose families cannot afford the expensive procedures.

For every book rented, a portion of the proceeds goes to this program. CampusBookRentals.com has set a goal to provide 1000 life changing surgeries for these kids. Awesome. So if you are a student and want to save some money as well as contribute to something as cool as Operation Smile, I would suggest checking out CampusBookRentals.com.

Random iPhone Pictures...

One of the things I love the most about my new iPhone is the camera. It really does take awesome pictures for a phone. Since I always carry my phone with me it proves to be very convenient at capturing life as I go along and it's much less cumbersome than my full size camera. Anyway...here are the most recent random shots I found on my phone when I plugged it in to charge tonight....

1. The past 3 days have been 65-70 degrees here in Salt Lake City but alas...this is what we woke up to this morning. Gotta love Spring in Utah....

2. This is pretty random but I have discovered the most amazing chips. I think whoever thought of this flavor is nothing short of a genius. I sure hope Lay's keeps making these puppies... YUM! (it's Tomato & Basil if you weren't sure what the bag says...go get some!)

3. I am told this is one of my children but I just don't see how it's possible that he grew up and I missed it... Last time I checked, he was only 4 years old.

4. Here is another one of my offspring. She dressed herself on this morning and was pretty proud of her ensemble...if you couldn't tell. She is a nut and I love her.

That's all for today's random shots....Im sure there will be more because I am addicted to my phone :)

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 :)