V's Attempt at Makeup

Vanessa must have been really jealous that Ally got to wear makeup for her dance performance. After we got home from the performance V was in my room watching TV while I got some stuff done in the house. At least I thought she was watching TV. When I went to check on her she wasn't on my bed where I left her. I could hear her in my bathroom. When I went to check on her I got a little glimpse of what she looked like so I quickly went to get my camera. I came back to find my bathroom door closed. I opened it and found


 

 She knew she shouldn't have done what she did and was trying to hide it. I told her to roll over.

 

 Bright red lipstick all over her face. Aaagh!!! The lipstick is a 24 hour lipstick I have from one of Ally's past dance performances so I put her right into the bathtub. I ran down the hall to do something really fast and came back to find she dumped half a large bottle of shampoo into the tub. Yep this girl is trying to kill me.

 I tried a washcloth, soap, Crisco, olive oil, everything to get the lipstick off her face and nothing worked. She got out of the bathtub and the red had faded but was still really red.

 


















My sweet neighbor told me to try Vaseline which I didn't have so I tried Aquaphor, didn't work. I then borrowed some makeup remover wipes from my neighbor and they didn't work either. Needless to say V will be sporting her 'makeup' for days to come.

Dance Performance

Ally's dance studio danced at an assisted living home today. This was their first performance of the year and she was very excited! The girls were supposed to wear their hair in a high bun but since we cut Ally's hair it's too short for that so she got to wear her hair curly. She thought she was really special since she was the only girl with her hair different. Yep, that girl loves to stand out and be the center of attention.


 


 Their first dance was "Tea Party." The girls all did a great job. It was really cute to hear all the elderly men and women ooh and aah at these cute little girls even though many of them didn't know our girls at all.


 


 Their next dance was "Kiss the Girl" from "The Little Mermaid."

 This dance was also a really cute dance with cute choreography.

 

Ally is really enjoying dance and has really become quite talented at it. It's so much fun to see her do something she truly loves!

Blue and Gold Banquet

For the Scout Blue and Gold banquet this year the boys and their dads were supposed to make and decorate a cake. Unfortunately with us being the procrastinators we are, Jim was at work when we were finally able to make Andrew's cake, the afternoon of the banquet. Andrew of course wanted to do a Lego brick for a cake. I baked the cake and cupcakes and Andrew did the frosting.


 

He did a really good job and was really proud of his cake. This Blue and Gold banquet was special because Andrew received his Webelos badge. He also received a few pins and his religious badge. I'm so proud of him because he worked really hard to get his badge and he got it four months before his 11th birthday.



















 His cake received "The Legoiest" award. He had a great night!! Now it's on to his Arrow of Light award!

Valentine's

This year both kids had to make boxes for the many valentines they were going to get from their friends at school. I found a Lego box on Pinterest and knew it would be perfect for Andrew. Thankfully he loved it and it wasn't too hard to make (other than the blue spray paint that made my hands blue for a few days ;)). Ally decided she wanted to just put paper on the box and color the paper. Easy!

 



Turned out cute didn't they? Yeah, the kids are pretty cute too! This year Ally was super excited because in the middle of January a cute boy in her class asked her to be his Valentine. What?!? She's only in second grade! And no, her dad wasn't too thrilled about this. She was really cute about it all and was so excited telling me all about how he asked her and how she answered and on and on. I got a glimpse into the future, not sure I like it. Two days before Valentine's she came all excited because she saw the boy's older brother and he told her that the boy bought her a special valentine. Of course we had to go get him a special valentine too. Wow, girls really get into this stuff. Andrew told me the only thing he likes about Valentine's day is the free candy he gets. Here she is with her special valentine present.

 





















 This year our ward temple night fell on Valentine's day so Jim and I were able to spend the evening at the temple and then we went to dinner with some fabulous couples from our ward. Since we were gone the night of Valentine's we had our special family dinner the next night. It was more low key than usual but the kids were happy they got homemade rolls and sparkling cider. It was a great Valentine's day spent with many loved ones!!

Popsicle Fun

The kids love being at Grandpa and Grandma's house. They get to spend time with their grandparents and cousins. Plus, they always get an endless supply of popsicles. Yep, they are spoiled rotten. And mighty cute, if I do say so myself!

Growing Up

Andrew turned ten and what did he get special for his birthday?? Another chore! Yes, I know, he is such a lucky boy. He learned to mow the lawn. And, might I say, he does a fantastic job!

This is The Place Park

I have lived in Utah my entire life and have never been to This is the Place Park. Crazy, I know. So, when Andrew's class was going there on a field trip I jumped on the chance to go. Not only did I get to go to a place I'd never been but I also got to spend the day with Andrew and his friends. I really enjoyed the park, it was a ton of fun with a lot of great activities to really show how times were for the pioneers and how they lived their lives. At one point one of the moms and I were commenting on how nice life would be if it were as simplistic as it was back then. You know, no phones, no tv, no computers, no racing here and there, etc. Then we went inside one of the buildings and realized that would mean no AC. We changed our minds very quickly. There are always blessings with the hardships. Here is a look at the fun stuff we got to do that day. Our group started with the handcarts. The kids got to take turns pushing and pulling the handcarts. Andrew's teacher hopped into their handcart for a ride. Too bad the people running the handcart portion wouldn't let the kids take him for a ride, we felt they would really get a feel for the weight of the handcarts with him in it. The kids then learned a little about the way medical practices were back then and also about their beds, blankets, etc. They also learned an old-time dance. It was really fun to see all the kids (even the boys) do the dance and really enjoy doing the dance. I have to say the schoolhouse was my favorite place to visit. Must be all the 'Little House on the Prairie' memories it brought back to me. I LOVED that show as a kid!! The lady who was the teacher was AMAZING! She had a fantastic personality and made it really fun for the kids. She had one girl put a dunce cap on and even 'paddled' one of the boys. It was really entertaining. The kids learned the proper way to answer questions and sit in their seats. We also learned the Deseret alphabet and got to write our names. So fun! The cabinet shop was by far the favorite visit for all the kids. They loved seeing all the stuff that was made there and really enjoyed trying out the different tools, etc. It was a great day of learning and play. I really want to visit the park sometime as a family so we can all enjoy learning about our ancestors.