Aanaisms for today...

Well, Aana and I both take tennis. Her usual teacher was in a big tournament and my teacher subbed for her class. She came home and told me that she went up and said to him, "Hi, I'm Aana...Shanda's daughter...you know...the one in your class that isn't very good!"

Today at dinner we were discussing a family goal to eat more vegetables. She interrupted and told us that she needed to eat the most vegetables of anyone in the family...because she was constipated!!??!! (now where did that come from...I have no idea?) I guess a little fiber never hurts.

When Dad's away...the girls will play!

Larry left town to help a dentist in Ephrata so we were able to have some girl fun. Grandma and Aana went to the Airshow last night and had a blast. Aana had seen them practicing the day before and was fascinated with the jets...so Grandma surpirsed her with tickets! Addie and I stayed behind and drove all around on the golf cart (which she loves) and hung out together.

Am I the student or the teacher?

This might not have a lot of meaning to others, but I wanted to report on one of those parenting epiphanies that I get sometimes. This one was taught to me by Aana. She has been ready to read for a while, but I didn't realize how ready until yesterday. When she and I were sitting down reading, I asked her to read to me. She actually went through 8 pages of the book reading every word. I was shocked! I have learned this month that I think I am the one that holds her back. It was the same with riding her bike, and other things... it is like she just gets tired of waiting on me to teach her, so she just figured it out herself. )

As far as reading is concerned, I have worked to teach her letter sounds and recognition and have worked on phonics, but I procrastinated the reading...and I don't know why. I don't explain this to suggest that my daughter is intelligent, but I see it all around me and I am amazed at how bright children are and how large their capacity to learn is. I was humbled by my experience yesterday...and I have made a personal goal to not be the one that holds my children back. I will try to MAKE the time to work with them even more... I truly believe that these special spirits were saved for these days. I am humbled that my Father in Heaven has trusted me with the learning and care of my two girls.

I have also been taught a lot about repentance by dear Aana. There have been several experiences lately where she has been truly broken hearted over things that she felt were bad choices she made. These choices to me seem very trivial, as I have noticed she expects ALOT of herself. But we have had the most wonderful conversations about forgiveness... and it has caused me to ponder a lot. I hear her sweet, genuine prayers blessing everyone that she can think of and lately she has put a lot of energy into asking our Heavenly Father to forgive her for her bad choices. She already has a testimony of repentance and has tearfully told me that she knows that Heavenly Father has forgotten about her bad choices...because she is trying hard not to make them again. I often feel as though I learn more from my children than I teach them. This is yet another recent experience like that. I apologize for venting this on my blog...but when I sat down to write...this is what I found myself thinking of. My heart is full...

Just because I liked it...

"As you create a home, don't get distracted with a lot of things that have no meaning for you or your family. Don't dwell on your failures, but think about your successes. Have joy in your home. Have joy in your children. Have joy in your husband. Be grateful for the journey." - Marjorie Hinckley

Happy Campers!

All summer we promised that the girls we would go camping and we finally did it. We went with some friends to a nearby campground that is on the Snake River. We were right next to a park and had a great view of the river. Most importantly, it had showers and nice restrooms...so I was happy. We had the usual camp favorites hobo dinners, smores, and hot dogs. The kids had a blast and we enjoyed the time in the outdoors.
The next day we spent a few hours on the water where our friends brought a jet ski and Mark and Bree brought the boat. Addie did the usual eyelash thing even going fast on the boat with the with blasting her while Mark was driving. We only got to stay one night because I had to rush back and prepare to teach my sharing time today, but it was a great weekend!

Daddy Daughter Football

I apologize for the lull in blogs. This last week or so has been very busy!! Last weekend, Larry and Aana went to Seattle to watch the BYU game. They met up with my Larry's parents and brother who flew out for the game as well. They had a great time, and I am sure it helped that BYU won!

They walked around downtown Seattle, went to Pikes Market (if you have been there, you will remember the flying fish...), and visited some family friends for a pre game bbq. I was just curious to see how Larry would do Aana's hair, because he had never had to do that before.

Addie and I had a good time hanging out at home. The weather here has been amazing...I just don't know how long it will last.

Bye, Bye Training Wheels...and Hello Kindergarten!

So, I don't know what took us so long to take off the training wheels of Aana's bike. Mostly my fear, I guess...and my feeble attempt to protect my daughter from the increased possibilty of road rash and broken bones...but Larry decided to take the matter in his own hands. I went outside to leave and he had taken the training wheels off...and she was riding down the road. It was done!

I don't know why I was expecting it to be more like a ceremony...where we take pictures...talk about bike safetly, give her a pep talk...and run beside her for a long time to steady her and help her practice, but... It took less than five minutes and it is over! No major accidents yet, and I keep counting my blessings that we live near a queit culdesac so I don't have to worry as much.

Also...Aana had her first official day of school today and she was trilled! She has been dying to go to school and is just dissapointed that it is only a half day. There were no tears...for either of us...because I knew how excited she was... I am just amazed at how fast kids grow!

My Birthday Fiesta!

After being away from my family for so many years, I really appreciate being close so that my Mom can make me a birthday meal. I gave her a challenging request, but she made an amazing mexican feast...and it was great.

Somehow we ended up with pictures of the girls only...but here we all are. My mom, sister, me, and my girls...at dinner. For those of you that know my sis, Bree...she is due with a little boy in December. My mom and dad live nearby and we get to spend a lot of time with them. It has been so fun!

The Phantom...and the New Addition...

I know in advance that some of you are going to laugh at this.. but we just got a new addition...

In saying that, you probably think we are hard core golfers (and Aana is...), but really the rest of us just enjoy going around the neighboorhod and spending time as a family on the cart. The girls absolutely love riding to the pool or Grandma's on the cart...and it is just a fun thing to have where we live.

That is the nice part about having a parent that likes gadgets... you can buy their leftovers ...which is how we got this. We are trying to think of a name for it... but nothing has come to mind yet.

Today is my birthday, and this year I took it into my own hands. I decided at the last minute to buy myself Phantom of the Opera tickets in Portland, OR...and book a hotel...so this weekend Larry and I went. My parents watched the girls and we had a great time. I wish I had pictures because the scenery was amazing, but I forgot the camera (and Larry said he rememebered...but didn't bring it because he said there was no reason for us to take pictures of ourselves...???) The show was amazing...and has me so excited for Wicked, which is coming early next year. We also went to the market, and instead of looking around at all of the vendors and street entertainers, I found myself finding bums and giving them all of my cash. Larry ended up dragging me away...once I was broke. It was fun though, and it was a nice break from the typical daily grind.

Girls just want to have FUN!!

I feel blessed by my two girls... I never imagined having a four year age gap between children, but I just can't explain how grateful I am for the way things have turned out. They truly love eachother and have a bond that I have never seen before. Aana starts kindergarten soon, and I think Addie will be crushed not having her around during the day. I love having little princesses around the house...

A day at the Fair!

So as long as Larry and I have been married, we had never been to a fair...until this weekend. We went to the county fair with some friends of ours.

The kids had a blast and got a taste of a totally different life than ours....there were farm animals everywhere...and they wanted to pet all of them...and those that know me...know how badly that grosses me out. I am a bit of a germaphob!! The kids rode rides (like the Berry-go- round...spinning strawberries...crazy, I know)milked cows, played games...and then we ended with a disgustingly, amazing funnel cake. I enjoyed the people watching...and if you have been to a fair recently...you probably know what I mean! It was a beautiful day, though...and we had a good time!

Rainbows in the desert?

So...for those of you that didn't know, we really do live in the heart of the desert. Our neighborhood is a little oasis in the middle of the sand, wind, and coyotes. I know that description alone probably doesn't sound the most appealing, but it is a great place to live. Anyway... we rarely get rain and today we got quite a bit. This double rainbow was the view from our backyard...and it was beautiful!

Yep...My Daddys a Dentist!

Randomness and Bubblewrap!

I saw that I could put a playlist on the blog...and when I was choosing songs, I just went for different ones that made me smile for different reasons....so I apologize for how strange the selection is. You can push pause on it...on the actual playlist icon!

And in the further spirit of randomness...I had to share this web site. I think it is funny that someone actually took their time and made this.

http://www.therightfoot.net/mystuff/whatever/swf/bubblewrap.swf

Now I have to tell you, that it just isn't as fun as the real thing! What do you think?

Summer Fun...

The girls LOVE going swimming at the pool in our neighborhood... Addie is fearless and scary. She loves jumping in but doesn't even wait for you to be there to catch her.... I have to be watching at all times when she is near the water. Aana has a blast and is just happy that she no longer needs to swim with her noodle.

Nursery Baby...ooh yeah!

For those that have had a young child you have to wrestle during church...you will appreciate this post!

Addie started Nursery today...and stayed in the whole time~ Victory! That is a major milestone for us, so I had to share!

Lowes Build and Grow Clinic- FREE!

This might be too late for many of you today, but I just wanted to remind anyone that looks at my blog that Lowes and Home Depot both have free kids clinics where there provide all of the supplies needed for the kids to build and take home a little project. Aana and I have had a blast with these.

They get an apron, safety goggles, and a badge for their apron for each project they complete. The Home Depot ones are the first Saturday of the month from 9-12 and the Lowes ones are the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month from 10-11am. The projects change weekly. Some are definitely better than others...our favorite was this really intricate pirate ship from Home Depot or a Castle piggy bank. We have been using them as part of our gifts to grandparents and family. We paint some of them through the week and Aana loves it!!

Check out the schedule: http://www.lowesbuildandgrow.com/ or http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ContentView?pn=Kids_Workshops&langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&cm_mmc=THD_marketing-_-Clinics_site-_-Digitas-_-KidsClinics.

Ode To Addie.. All in a day!

So anyone that knows Addie knows that she is a funny girl. She is a very happy girl most of the time, the pics of the wedding that I had seemed to show her other sides. Sorry for more pics of the wedding, but I couldn't help posting these.

Can you see the progression throughout the day...starts smiling...some drama in the middle...and the last one was taken around 11 at night...after she had cried through the pics...and she was smiling and ready for the camera.

And the one with her playing with her eyelashes...just is so typical. That is her comfort..some kids suck their thumbs, but she touches her eyelashes. When she is really tired, it is both hands... it is funny!

More Wedding...

Dancing With Dad....
Thr girls dancing...
Sparklers...
It seemed like a good idea at the time...until Aana ended up with a hole in her dress and right after this pic was taken Addie burnt her hand.

Road Trip, Wedding, and some In and Out Burgers

So I have been pretty darn bad at blogging lately, but I have been out of town for the last couple of weeks. First a week in San Anotio, TX and I didn't take pics but once I get them, I will post....and then we drove to Sacramento for Brent and Kimberly's wedding.

It was a marathon trip with a 12 or so hour drive both ways crammed into a weekend. We got there and went straight to a great waterpark...so the kids had a blast. Both Aana and Addie amazed me with their bravery on the slides.

We were also able to go to In and Out...which is a RARE treat for us...and I never eat hamburgers, but I gave in and must admit, it was good.

The next day was filled with wedding festivities...and it was a good day. The wedding was beautiful and Brent and Kimberly looked amazing...

It caused me to think back to my own wedding (almost 8 years ago...) and it is amazing how much time has passed and how many things I have been blessed with.

The Girls...and Addie wouldn't get rid of the binky. We lost the cute one sometime in the day and teh "back up" binky was just too ugly for pics but she wouldn't part with it.
Yet another attempt at a family shot...we tried so many, but never got one where we were all smiling and looking decent.

Brent and Kimberly...the lovebirds!