Renaissance Fair

Andrew's grade held a Renaissance fair at the school.  I didn't quite know what that meant so Ally and V and I went down to the school to support Andrew and see what it was all about.  He did art so I was excited to see what he did.  They had all the families sit in chairs and then brought each group in to showcase what they did/learned during their Renaissance study. 

Andrew's group came out and basically just pointed to the back of the room where their art was displayed.  They had a group that memorized Shakespeare come out and perform, another group that sang some songs and then our favorite, the maypole dance.

Ally and V, all right, who am I kidding, and I were all in awe of how the ribbons made a colorful braid all just by the way the kids were walking around the pole.  It was really pretty. 

Andrew's artwork consisted of a stain glass window and a fruit basket.

And then the best part of the fair (according to the kids) pie!

It was a lot of fun.  I like that the school does these little events throughout the year to showcase what the kids are learning. 

Spring Soccer Season

So Spring soccer has officially begun. Andrew is so excited for this season after the first game because he got to play goalie the entire game. Mom is not so sure about that ;). No, he played fantastic! I just get nervous because I don't want him getting down on himself or feeling like he's letting his team down when he gets scored on. This game he actually got bored because our offense and defense played so well. We team won 8-2. Ally had her baptism interview with the bishop that same night so Jim and she were not able to come to the game. I did have V with me and she got a little bored after a while. So, what do you do as a three year old who gets bored at a soccer game? You get a hold of Mom's camera and take LOTS of pictures of extremely interesting things. A little interesting, yes. At least she entertained herself in a way that didn't include running out onto the field. I'm excited for this season and to see how our team plays together.

More V Fun

Here are some more pictures to show how V and I spend our days.

Is there anything better than olive fingers? ;)

Putting stuffed animals and toys up high so Annie can't get to them.

And then getting mad at Mom for taking pictures.

Creating interesting seats with a friend.

Chasing ducks at aunt Kelly's.

 Making cookies with Mom.

And, my favorite, story time!

My days are so fun with this little girl! I remember when I quit working I worried about finding enough stuff to do at home to fill my days, V definitely helps me have plenty to do (and much more) and keeps it all entertaining.

Baptism Pictures

I wanted to get some pictures of Ally in her baptism dress for her baptism invitation and also to have for decorations, memories, etc.  I especially wanted some in front of the temple.  My wonderfully fabulous brother-in-law who is a professional photographer told me he would take them for me but only had one day to do it, the day after Ally's birthday which she unfortunately woke up feeling terrible again!  As the progressed I kept telling her we could figure something else out but she really wanted to get her pictures taken that day by Uncle Jac.  We quickly got to work on her hair.

And then got her dressed for the pictures.

Then it was off to the Mount Timpanogos temple.

We got some great pictures out in front of the temple and then we moved around to the back for some more fantastic shots.  All of a sudden I heard Jac ask Ally if she was okay.  She answered in a tearful voice, 'no.'  I looked up at her and her face was whiter than her dress.  I ran to her and as I got there her eyes were glassy and were starting to roll as if she was going to pass out.  I quickly grabbed her and like that, we were done.  I felt like such a bad mom.  Pictures should not come before my daughter's health.  Luckily after I got her in the car and some Gatorade she was feeling better.  Thankfully we got a few really good pictures to use for the invitation and some for the other reasons we did the pictures.  Jac said we will try again and hopefully this time she won't be sick ;).

Eight is Great!

Ally finally turned eight.  She was so extremely excited!  She seriously started the countdown back in November.  Jim tried to tell her she couldn't count down until the month of her birthday but she wouldn't listen.  Every day we were told how many days we had until it was her birthday.  It really was fun to see her excitement.

The morning of her birthday I went into her room to wake her up and she just started crying.  Her throat was killing her and she was warm.  We quickly gave her some Ibuprofen and she was feeling well enough to go to school.  I checked her out at lunchtime and we met with Jim at Subway for lunch.  On our way back from lunch we stopped and picked up some cupcakes for her class.  She finished off her day at school enjoying cupcakes with her friends at school.  She came home and went to choir and then came home for a night spent with family.

We had her favorite for dinner, Hawaiian haystacks and then it was time for presents.  First gift, the package from Aunt Tricia.

Good thing Grandpa was there with his handy pocket knife to help out.

The first thing Ally said was, 'how did Aunt Tricia know?'  It's fashion designing templates, etc. which Ally is loving to do right now.

Next it was on to Andrew and Vanessa's present, Legos.  The favorites in our house.

Vanessa was loving on Grandpa all night.

I asked her if Grandpa was her BFF to which she replied, 'No, he's a boy.'  It cracked me up.  Next it was time for cake and ice cream.

And stories from Vanessa.

Too funny!

And then some pics with Grandpa and Grandma.

It was a great day and a great way to celebrate such a fantastic girl!!  She is such an amazing girl with a HUGE heart who loves everyone she meets.  We are truly blessed to have such an angel in our family.  I'm thankful each and every day that I am blessed to be this sweet girl's mom.

Ally's Friend Party

This year Ally turns 8!  Wow!  How fast it has gone!!  Last year I made an executive decision that Andrew and Ally will take turns having friend birthday parties each year.  On the year they don't have a party, they get a night out with Mom and Dad, unless on a year they get a party they want to go out with us, we always trump parties.  Since Ally and I went out last year, she got a friend party this year.  When we sat down to write the invite list wasn't too bad.  I figured I could handle 5-6 eight year old girls for a couple hours.  Then she started adding people she forgot and the list got longer and longer.  Like 14 girls long!!!  What?  Really?  How am I going to keep those girls entertained enough that they aren't running around my house screaming and yelling?  To Pinterest I went.  There is this super cute 'fairies in a jar' project that Ally and I both loved and the instructions were pretty basic.  Perfect!!  Now I just had to come up with a few more ideas.  She wanted a mock sleepover so the girls were coming at 9 for breakfast.  After a conversation with my neighbor who we carpool to gymnastics with I quickly realized that Ally had her party all planned, why was I stressing?  She wanted the fairy jars, nails painted, and a coloring contest.

The girls all showed up and we had a breakfast of waffles and fruit.

Then it was time for the super cute fairies in a jar.

Aren't those so cute!?!  I couldn't wait for the girls to make them.  Once we started making them I realized these things were going to be an epic fail!  The girls enjoyed them but they sure didn't turn out like the picture.

Not quite like the picture are they?  I was extremely disappointed.  Luckily the girls didn't have high expectations like I had.

After the girls did a little screaming and running thru the house we opened presents.  Ally loves to have the girls spin a bottle to see who gets to give her a gift so they formed a circle and got started.

She was spoiled rotten and loved each and every one of her gifts.

All the cute girls! (Luckily only 10 of the girls showed up ;))

And one crazy pic!

After the present fun it was time for painting nails.  Thankfully my sister Kelly was there to help me so it take an hour to paint all of their nails.

The little fashionista got a pair of sunglasses from her school friend so they had to get a pic together!

We still had a little time left before parents were coming to get the kids so they all ran out front to play with bubbles and get some of their energy out.

It was such a great party (even with the darn fairy jars).  Ally loved each and every minute of it.  She is so blessed to have such fantastic friends who are so kind and loving and great examples for her!

She's a Princess

We've always known V was a princess in her own mind but today she took it to a whole new level.  She was in all her glory in her carriage with her servants taking care of her.

And yes she has the crown to go with it!