Carson's Third Grade Program

Thursday, Carson had his third grade program.  The kids had worked really hard learning the songs and dances.  I was so glad to be a part of it and help play the piano on two of the songs.  Carson did a great job and knew all the words and actions.  He even had a cow bell solo!  And he made the best seaweed I have ever seen!  It was fun!  We left the babies with a neighbor so we wouldn't have to deal with them, and Kaylee's kindergarten class got to come in and watch them sing so it was a lot of fun!  

 I was surprised that they had given me a cute thank you gift for helping.  I was so grateful!  It was really a lot of fun for me to be involved.  The kids had choir after school and then by the time we had dinner, Aunt Tamra and her kids stopped by on their way to Holden from California.  They had dinner with us and played a bit.  It was fun seeing them for a little bit!

 Yesterday, Kaylee had a fun Spring party at school and Carson did great on his spelling test and only missed one.  And he missed it because he only put two humps on his "M".  They have to do his whole test in cursive, and so he gets it marked wrong if it isn't written perfect.  I also had taken Alivia to a preschool screening through the district at Boulton Elementary to see if she needs further help with her speech or any other areas.  She did amazing!  She did great on everything except articulation, which is what our concern was. So it was no surprise when they referred her for more testing for that.  We will be working with Ms. Janie at the elementary school, who we know well since that is who Carson worked with.  I think that we will be able to help her really well and get her talking in no time with some help.  I was so proud her of her though.  She wasn't shy and did everything she was asked to do and had a smile on her face the whole time.  I think it was because she was getting so much attention.  After school the kids made some cards for Papa's birthday that is on Monday.  I took those and printed a picture to send to him in the mail.  After dinner we took a walk around the block before getting ready for bed.  It was a fun day!

Easter Eggs

 Tuesday evening we colored Easter eggs.   Nick did a great job taking the lead and helping the kids while I took the pictures.  It didn't take us long to color about two dozen eggs.  They looked great when they where done and Nick and I enjoyed some egg salad sandwiches for the past few days!

Cousins and Puzzles!

Just wanted to share of few pictures from the weekend and the beginning of our week.  Last weekend we got to hang out with Marisa's kids while she did her jazzersize audition.  We had home made mac & cheese for dinner.  It was just so fun having them here.  

 Sunday, it was pretty low key.  Nick was in California helping Ryan move, so we just kept it simple.  We watched a few episodes of DC Cupcakes on Netflix, and after watching it we all were in the mood for some cupcakes.  So we made some yummy chocolate cupcakes with the best chocolate frosting.  Later that afternoon, I wasn't feeling the best, so I stayed home with the two babies and Kaylee & Carson went to Primary. They enjoyed it.  And we again, kept it pretty simple the rest of the evening.

 On Monday, we picked Nick up from the airport and after Kaylee went to school, we did some easter shopping with the babies.  It was a pretty typical week of piano, school, scouts, and homework.  Tues & Wed I went and practiced with the 3rd graders for their program.  It always makes it crazy trying to all get out of the house early, but we pulled it off!

I had to take a picture of Livy putting a puzzle together.  Every day she spends quite a bit of time putting puzzles together.  She puts one together and moves on to another and another.  She is so smart!  I don't remember the other kids being able to put puzzles together so well at that age.  Preston just does a good job bugging her by taking her pieces or getting in her way!

Week of Dr Appt, Lost Tooth, Zoo, Date Night and Cousins.

 It was a full week last week.  I had it pretty easy the week before and didn't venture out of the house too much since I had nose surgery.  But last week normal life came back to find me.  Monday was crazy!  I had a Post Op Dr appointment for me at 9:45, and then I had a 3rd grade program rehearsal at 10:15.  My friend Jen was nice enough to take my two babies so I didn't have to deal with them, which made it pretty smooth.  Then after Kaylee went to school I headed to a PTA meeting at 1:00 and then straight to Preston's 18 month wellness visit at 2:30.  After school I taught 4 piano lessons.  It was a FULL day.  I barely survived.  I was tired and in a little pain, but was glad I made it through.  I still have some bruising under my eyes, so I was a little self conscious of that, but oh well.  It is what it is.  Preston is looking great at 21.8 lbs (5%).  His height was 31.5 inches (24%).  He was so well behaved at the appointment, which made it a lot less stressful for me.  The Dr said he had seen 5 18 month olds that day and Preston was the best one. :)  That made me one happy mom, especially since Preston can be such a handful most of the time.

Tuesday was not nearly as busy and I only had one piano lesson to teach since one of my students was sick.  Carson had scouts and Kaylee had piano.  We did breakfast for dinner that night.  We have been using our new griddle and I love it!  It is big enough to do more than just a few french toast or pancakes at a time, which is nice.  We used it later in the week to make grilled cheese sandwiches.  Other than storing it, it is the perfect griddle.

Tuesday night Kaylee lost another tooth!  Once again, she pulled it out herself!  She was pretty excited.  She got a tooth box from the school office the next day before putting it under her pillow for the tooth fairy.  So Wednesday night she got 4 quarters for her tooth.  She was happy about it!

Thursday was a busy day and started with another 3rd grade program rehearsal.  This time I took all three kids with me.  It was crazy but they sat still for most of it and by the end of it I had Kaylee take them out and wander the halls.

We got home and got a snack before Kaylee left for school.  Alivia loves doing things all by herself.  She insisted that she put cream cheese on her bagel by herself.  She also loves to get dressed herself, stir her chocolate milk, and many other things.  She is getting very independent.

Once Kaylee left for school, we loaded up and met up with Jen N. and her three youngest kids at the zoo.  It was HOT!  I put sunscreen on everyone, including me.  It was a lot of fun and it was a fun surprise to run into Natalie and her girls.  She was there with her sisters.  We made it home in time for the kids to get home from school and go to choir.  I was exhausted so Nick took the kids to choir while I laid down for a bit.  He is the best!!!

Friday, I spent most of the day doing laundry and cleaning since Marisa and her 4 youngest kids were coming for the weekend.  She was auditioning to be a Jazzersize instructor (which she did make...congrats!!).  So my mom came down that night and watched ALL of our kids while she did that and Nick and I went on a date night.  We had signed up a while ago for a cooking class with Matt & Nat.  It was fun and very delicious.  We made our own pizzas and learned a few tips and new recipes.  It was a lot of fun.

Saturday morning, Nick left really early with his Brother Ryan to help him move to California.  So he will be gone until tomorrow morning.  They drove to Springville to load up his storage unit, stopped in Holden to pack up more stuff and headed to CA this morning and got to Fillmore, CA by about 3.  He will fly home tomorrow, so I will pick him up from the airport in the morning.  I think he is enjoying getting away and spending time with his brother and having a break.  In the mean time it was nice having the cousins over to entertain the kids all day.  Since Marisa was there, I was able to get in a short run outside, which was nice.  I am slowly getting back to an easy exercise routine since the surgery.  I think one more week and I will be able to go back to full intensity.  The weather couldn't have been more perfect for the kids to play outside.  They wore themselves out!  The had a blast.  Ris left around 7 and shortly after I was able to get my kids into PJ's and we watched the Lorax and had popcorn before putting them all to bed by 8:30.  

I love busy and fun weeks, even if they are a lot of work.  It makes life fun!!!  It will probably be another busy week with easter coming up, more 3rd grade program rehearsing, and piano.  So wish me luck!

The rest of our Conference Sunday

I downloaded pictures from my cameras and found more pictures from our fun conference Sunday we had last week.  So here they are!

 The best was the kids putting on their "Frozen" show downstairs.  So cute!

After everyone left to head home the kids played outside for a bit on the wiggle cars and yflikers.  Carson took a nasty fall off his yfliker and landed on his face and got a big fat lip.  He also scraped up his knee and was in a bit of pain.  He laid on the couch for a bit and when I came back to check on him 10 minutes later he had fallen asleep.  I think it was a combination of the fall and just playing so hard all weekend with his cousins and he was just worn out!

 Preston has been so fun lately!  He now smiles for the camera but does like a winking face when he smiles.  It is so funny!  But it is fun to see him getting so smart and understanding so much!  I had to get a picture of the girls smiling to since I had asked Preston to smile for a picture.

This picture I actually took on Saturday after the kids had gone swimming and the men were at the Priesthood session.  Preston sat next to me on the couch and we watched netflix for awhile and he just sat and cuddled next to me, which never has happened before.  But I think he was a little tired and was ready to have some mom time while everyone was gone and the house was quiet.  I loved it and took a picture with my cell phone and he even smiled for me!

 Here is how my "Family" craft turned out.  I love it! I was so happy how it turned out!