Terrific Two - Landon's Had a Birthday!

Landon is 2!  Chris and I have decided instead of the Terrible Twos we are going to refer to this time as the Terrific Twos. Though we have been experiencing the Terrific Twos for awhile now he seems to have decided to kick it up a notch or two lately.  Two seems to be the age for train obsessions so we got him a "Tommy" cake.  He knew he was supposed to blow the candle out and did so immediately.  We had to keep relighting it so we could get it with the camcorder.

I love this one!  I guess he didn't want to dirty his hands.

Gavin had a train birthday for his second birthday also.  Landon drove the train around his cake just like his big brother did. 

He loves this Ironman robot.  He picked it out himself when we went birthday shopping. ;)  Chris kept trying to show him what he though were cooler robots but he stayed true to Ironman.

I love his look of concentration in this one.  He was a birthday pro! He got right down to business and opened all his gifts pretty quickly. 

His trike or as he likes to call it "me car" was his favorite gift.  We went for a long walk at the end of a long day but he did not want to get off of his car.

Chuckecheese's...Where a Kid Can Be a Kid! Last month we went to a friend's party at Chuckecheese.  Landon LOVED it!!! Ever since then he has known the Chuckecheese logo and will scream CHEESE excitedly when he sees it.  He loves putting the tokens in the machines so much I am a little concerned about a future gambling problem.  He even liked the person in the Chuckecheese costume.

This hoops games is one of his favorites.

Landon with Barney the Purple Dinosaur.

Landon taking Ashlyn on a wild drive.  I love the expressions on their faces in this shot. 

Decisions, decisions...trying to decide on his prize.

Gavin's First Piano Recital

Gavin started taking piano lessons in January 2010.  He took a little convincing to start taking lessons.  But finally expressed a willingness to try around that time.  I think he surprised himself by enjoying it.  This was his first recital as his teacher, Sister Hancock, doesn't typically have lots of students.  Sister Hancock is the best!  She even makes house calls and comes to us sometimes!  I was a little surprised by how excited Gavin was for his recital.  He played "Bittersweet" and did an excellent job.  Funny side note: he did not like the tie he is wearing.  When he saw it, he looked horrified and said "You got me a rainbow tie?!"  Chris had to give it his seal of approval before he would agree to wearing it.



Ashlyn Graduates From Preschool

 On May 19, 2011 Ashlyn graduated from preschool.  After the brief ceremony they were having a water party and that was all she could talk about for the last few weeks.  She kept reminding me that Ms. Dana said she needed to wear her swimsuit under her clothes. 

We started off with their usual morning routine.  Ashlyn was the pledge of allegiance helper.  Then each child recited a nursery rhyme.  Ashlyn did Little Miss Muffet.  She did a super job!  She rattled if right off with no problems.



Here she is receiving her diploma from Ms. Dana.  Ms. Dana is an absolute treasure! I had heard rave reviews about her from many people and deservedly so!  Ashlyn improved greatly during the school year.  The way to Ms. Dana's house is the same way we go to the YMCA.  I can't tell you how many times Ashlyn tried to convince me that she had preschool or Ms. Dana really wanted her to stop by for a visit.  The finality of graduating hit Ashlyn at bedtime that night.  She just sobbed and sobbed that she already missed Ms. Dana.  Sometimes moving forward is hard.

 

Maddie, Ashlyn & Ella

There were 5 girls and 5 boys in Ashlyn's class.  Little Ella was the youngest child in the class (Ashlyn one of the oldest).  Ashlyn just loves Ella Bella!  Ashlyn's strong maternal instincts were in full effect.  She was always telling her how adorable she was (in baby talk) and trying to baby her.

Women's Conference 2011

Left to right: Lori, me, Natalie, Deb

April 29, 2011

(Sadly this is the only photo from my trip to Utah.  I decided to take my old camera so I wouldn't have to worry about my nice camera.  Turned out to be a bad decision cause it died on me.)

In January Natalie asked me if I would like to come to Women's Conference.  Of course, I wanted to go but wasn't sure if I could work out the details of making it happen.  I talked with Chris and he said he couldn't get the time off from work.  Little did I know that he was secretly planning a surprise trip for me to go!  He was going to tell me on Valentine's Day but he could not hold the secret in that long.  He was so excited tell me!  My husband really knows how to spoil me.  

This was my first time going and it was a wonderful experience! It is held on the BYU campus in Provo, Utah. In a nutshell ( description borrowed from their website) this is what women's conference is all about:

The BYU Women’s Conference is a two-day conference for those 16 and older. We have general sessions where all participants meet together in the Marriott Center. We also have concurrent sessions, when you get to choose from 14 or 15 different sessions per hour. Topics include home, family, marriage, service, gospel topics (scripture/doctrine), and others such as missionary work and education—all discussed from a gospel perspective and directed toward women. 

This year's theme was "By Small and Simple Things Are Great Things Brought to Pass" Alma 37: 6-7.   It was so hard to decide which classes to choose.  Needless to say it was a two day spiritual feast!  I listened to some excellent speakers.  It was a much needed time out from day to day life where it is so easy to get caught up in the here and now and on things that really just aren't that important. A chance to step back and look at things with an eternal perspective. Attendance ranges from 15,000 to 18,000 women!  One of my favorite parts was when we would all gather in the Marriott Center.  When we would all sing songs together the feeling and spirit was incredible. 

We also had time in the evenings to eat out, do a little shopping and enjoy some girl talk. I then got to spend a couple days with the Pierce family in Garland which was also a treat!  Special thanks to Natalie for thinking of me.  Thanks to Deb and Lori for sharing their hotel room and experience with a stranger.  Our common love of Natalie brought us all together.  Hopefully we will be able to do it again someday!

Chris was completely worn out when I got home and much more appreciative of me.  Chris swears he did not sleep the whole time I was gone.  He tried to get Ashlyn to sleep with him but she said he "squeezes too hard"!  Which is very true.  I think Ashlyn missed me the most while I was gone.  She is completely devoted to me...though oddly enough that devotion doesn't usually translate into trying to please me...she is such a unique little person.  She did clean her room for me again and insisted on getting me pink roses.

Easter 2011

All the kiddos ready for church. This is the first time that they have not coordinated on Easter Sunday. *sniff, sniff* Whitney picked out her own Easter dress this year. *sniff, sniff* This shot is so not ideal...at least we tried? We also never made it to see the Easter Bunny this year. :(

The Easter Bunny finally brought Ashlyn a pair of much wanted Twinkle Toes. These shoes light up when you walk. One of the girls in her preschool has a pair and she has been wanting some since September. Normally I would never let her wear tennis shoes to church but made an exception just this one time. She couldn't wait to show them off/brag to all the poor children who do not yet own these gems.

I always tell the kids that the Easter Bunny doesn't bring baskets to kids with dirty rooms. Ashlyn was a little skeptical. But then Whitney and Gavin started telling her about the time they only got rotten eggs because they didn't clean their rooms/were naughty.  Totally untrue but hey we all do what we can to keep Ashlyn in line. :)  I think I have mentioned in the past that Ashlyn is stubborn.  That girl has never cleaned her room on her own no matter what punishment is inflicted.  She ran up to her room and did an amazing job cleaning it and quickly too!!! And it was a huge mess to boot.  Chris and I made a very big deal about it and gave lots of praise. 

Landon chilling on the love sac. His energy levels were starting to fall so he remedied that with some fresh sugar intake.

We finally got smart this year and assigned each child an egg color. Why we did not think of this simple idea sooner I will never know. Gavin was green, Whitney was purple, Ashlyn was pink and Landon had blue. Gavin got a new yo yo (since he lost the one he received at Christmas) and some cash which he later used to buy books at the school book fair. He brought home a book each for Ashlyn and Landon. He was so excited to give them their books. He is such a great big brother!

Ashlyn spied this chocolate bunny at the commissary and the Easter Bunny delivered.

Landon got some six shooters. This boy loves guns!

Whitney requested a giant peanut butter egg in place of a chocolate bunny. She got cash from the Easter Bunny this year. The Bunny tried to super glue the eggs shut but it did not work out as well as he had hoped.

Mini Pony Farm

Ashlyn's preschool recently took a little field trip to a Mini Pony Farm. This pony with it's Mama was only 10 days old. The farmer was a sweet old man who looked like he was in his 70's. One of the boys in Ms. Dana's morning class asked me if I was the farmer's Mom. :D Gave me a good laugh and made me wonder why he thought I was his Mom.

The biggest rule the kids were told was not to chase the chickens. Landon had problems with this rule. He doesn't really walk anywhere he mostly jogs from place to place. He was really excited to see all the farm animals.

Ashlyn's with some of her besties, Maddie & Jordis. Maddie wasn't too interested in taking photos that day. These three girls were really worried about manure and took great pains to steer clear of it.

Landon spent a large portion of time trying to drink out of the ponies water trough. I offered him his sippy cup but he just wanted trough water.

Petting the ponies.

Mama goat with one of her kids.

Landon was more interested in feeding himself bread than feeding the chickens. At one point I saw him pick a piece of bread up off the ground coated in dried manure and pop it in his mouth before I could stop him. Yuck!!! He spit it out pretty quickly.

Ashlyn feeding the chickens.

Four Eyes Part 3

It was discovered at Ashlyn's annual eye exam that she was in need of glasses. My heart sank at the news. In part because I don't want my kids to wear glasses (or pay for them) and also because I was positive she would refuse to wear them. She has a slight astigmatism and mostly just needs them for seeing the board at school. Once again Ashlyn surprised me by being excited to get glasses! Though she refused to even try on glasses in "ugly colors" such as black and brown. She only wanted to try on ones in "pretty colors" such as pink and purple. We were having a hard time finding a pair small enough for her face. (I cannot explain how weird it is for me to have a small child.) The lady who was helping us got quite the kick out of Ashlyn's personality. If I had a dollar for every time someone said, "she's a riot" or "she cracks me up"! I would be a rich woman. If Ashlyn is nothing else, she is opinionated. The first time she wore her glasses she was just sure no one would recognize her. She kept telling everyone, "It's me, Ashlyn, I'm just wearing glasses." Then she would raise them up as proof. Right away the doctor asked me if I wanted to dilate her eyes. We discussed the pros and cons. I said I didn't think she would do well as she was a bit dramatic. Five minutes later he very decidedly declared that we would not be dilating her eyes. :)