Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Lots to do in May

Just a few moments in May to highlight:
The month started out with a fabulous lunch with some fabulous ladies. Love these friends of mine. It was great to catch up and eat some yummy food downtown.
Such a sweet moment between sisters...
Capri danced in Starry Night at the University of Utah. She was stunning and I loved spending the day with her...
The tub at my parent's condo is enormous and the girls can all fit!
My family met up to visit Dave's grave. I still miss him so much. Love him. Glad that we have these boys to keep us happy!

Memorial Weekend Down in Dixie

I was so excited for the long weekend down at the condo. Not only were we in for a few days in amazingly warm weather, but we had lots of friends to meet up with while we were there. We went down with Cheri and Cody and my parents and Jon. The Ross' and Bonds came down as well and all of us had  a great time.
We hiked, swam, played some tennis, and had a great evening making s'mores. Yep, we packed it all in and it was a BLAST for the kids and parents-such a bonus!
First things first, we started the weekend with a hike in Leeds. It was already drying up, but a fun hike nonetheless. The kids loved finding lizards, crawling through the "caves," and playing in the sand at the top.
Uncle Jon makes everything more fun!





Everyone came over for gourmet s'mores, thank you Ross' for the awesome candy bar idea, and lots of talking, playing, and hanging out...
These girls, could they be any cuter?
 
These guys get along so great...so nice for us wives!
Such beauties!
And here are the wives...love them!
The s'mores were a big hit and the chiminea worked perfectly!
The kids were really into it!
Lots of swimming this trip-just the way we like it!
These two are getting to be great friends rather than frenemies. Let's hope we stick to the hand holding rather than the name calling!
Karoline has always been my little fish. She started jumping in the pool before she was two and yet she was requesting me to catch her this trip. I was happy to oblige-just look at that face!
Whoever invented these floaters for babies is a genius. Clara loves hanging out and the kids love taking her for "rides."
Once Karoline started jumping in, the others had to join in on the fun...

All of the kids love using the snorkel and mask. Roman makes that mask look good!
The girls were looking oh too adorable in their matching suits:
Uncle Jon continued to live up to his favorite uncle name as he played with Clara in the water...she was a fan...

And no trip to St. George would be complete without a trip to Swig!
Ok, now we can go home.

Preschool Promotion

Karoline was promoted from her first year at South Jordan Montessori. I know, it's a big deal! They make it a big deal with a special program, graduation/promotion gifts, and a little party at the end. As part of the program, each child had to recite a nursery rhyme. Karoline killed me with cuteness. She recited Mary Had a Little Lamb and she couldn't have done a better job. She was so nervous that she made me go up with her, but I couldn't have been more proud!
Karoline is my happy, bright, full of life, mini-me. She cracks me up and it's never a dull moment with Koko around!
Ready for the program...
Up to the front to collect her certificate and candy lei...
And here she goes with Mary Had A Little Lamb...
Did I mention beautiful?
So glad these girls are the best of friends...especially because their moms are!
Karoline with her Grammy and Grandma-so lucky to have them come and support!
You make me so proud Karoline Marie!

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Montessori Fun

I can't tell you how much I love South Jordan Montessori. They are amazing! Roman and Capri always ask if they can go back and are totally jealous that now Karoline gets to go. The school goes on a field trip every month and this last trip was up to Rocky Mountain Falls. Cheri, Annelise and I all came along and it turned out to be the greatest hike for these kids! I carried Clara in the backpack and Cheri helped Karoline and London up some of the steep rocky parts. We made it to the top no problem...except for the small "incident" when I ducked to go under a fallen tree, just not far enough, and poor Clara got bonked! Mother of the Year right here! We were laughing pretty hard, but only because Clara didn't cry. Other than that, a very successful hike with snacks and playing at the top...



Every year, all of the Montessori kids participate in the country fair. Each student researches one aspect of a country or continent such as the food of Italy or the animals of Australia (those were Roman and Capri's ideas from years ago!). They put together a poster and bring any other items from that area they would like, and display them at the fair. All of the students receive a passport, picture included, and names of all of the other students and countries. They then take turns going from country to country, asking their classmates about what they learned, and getting their passport stamped or stickered. Brilliant! It's also a fundraiser even where everyone brings treats or items to sell and the money goes to the school for works or play equipment. The kids love it and really learn a lot!
Karoline chose the animals of Africa. Tucker's Uncle Fred had recently given us a large book of his countless travels including several trips to Africa. He had so many incredible pictures of these animals and Karoline (as well as the twins) was fascinated.
Here she is all set up in her chair with her sunglasses on...
I think she was having fun!

Happy 1st Birthday to Clara!

How did she grow up so fast? Where is my baby? Well, she is still my baby and will be for a long time, I'm sure! To make up for the sad realization that my baby is one, we went all out for little Miss Clara's birthday. It was so much fun!
Me and my beautiful sweet girls...
The preschoolers! All of these girls are the same age and have so much fun together. Can you tell that London and Karoline had dance pictures today?
The party consisted of adults chatting away while the kids played and played. We had a pinata which was a huge hit...pun not intended...and then the kids got on the tramp...
Sam, Roman, Capri, and Danny-these kids have a blast together and I can see some long-term friendships happening...
We opened presents and Clara was loving it! She was obsessed with the tissue paper and wrapping mostly, but all of the attention she was getting was an added bonus!
Some of the guests-we had both sets of grandparents, our families, and the Ross' come, but here are just a few...

We love Grandma...
and Grammy!
The only thing Clara loved more than wrapping presents and getting all of the attention, was the cake. She devoured it!
She did, however, take a moment to give Daddy loves.
The party fell on the perfect spring day so we were outside for most of it, which was wonderful. I did, however, decorate inside where people got their food and it turned out to be so cute! The theme was "You Are My Sunshine" (her favorite song-even the kids know to sing it to her when she gets upset) and everything was decorated in pink, yellow, and orange. I love doing this kind of stuff, even when it gets to be over-the-top and a bit stressful...I have a problem. ;)

We had pizza (easy!), salad, fruit, and the most delicious strawberry lime and lemon cupcakes you can imagine thanks to my incredibly talented neighbor. YUMMY! 
I sure love this girl. She is happy, happy, happy, and she truly is our little ray of sunshine...

Clara at 9-12 mos:
Clara is the magic baby. She is so happy, so easy, so content. She is still my very best cuddler and I melt every time. Even better, the second you give her a blanket, she sticks her fat little thumb in her mouth and lays into your chest and there is nothing better-NOTHING! New tricks include "loves" where she leans in to you so you can cuddle, "so big," waving with her princess wave, and her newest is blowing kisses. That last one is also my favorite. To see her squishy chubby hand up to her mouth and then to see her smile after she "kisses" is beyond adorable. Clara must be a performer because she loves to do her tricks for people and then just waits for their reaction. She will keep her arms up until everyone around her says "So Big!" and claps. She then claps for herself and then starts with another trick. If someone isn't clapping, she will look right at them and waits-so funny! 
She started to cruise with her army crawl but is now transitioning to a real crawl…it's about time. She also likes to get on her hands and stick her bum straight up into downward dog. She is nowhere near walking along furniture but she does pull herself up so lowering the crib was necessary. I love her facial expression once she finally gets herself up. It's like, "Wow! I made it! Such a different view up here and I like it!"
Still our Little Miss Chub Chub, here are her stats for her 10 month appt: