Moving Pains...

Moving sucks in general.  It sucks (and no that's not a word I use around my kids, but it's the one that seems the most appropriate for how I feel) when we have to move because it means, stress, a new job, selling a house, looking for a new house, schools, damaged furniture, DMV, new friends, new church, unpacking, trying to find your stuff among the mountains of boxes, something ALWAYS gets lost, etc., etc., etc.,  Well, it also sucks when the first "real friend" you make in Utah moves across the country!

After I joined the MOMS Club, I went to a MNO and met Joi and some of the other moms who she's friends with.  I had a fantastic time and really enjoyed their company.  And the best part of it was that most of them had BOYS the SAME AGE as Riley!  What great luck!  Well, a few days later, Joi invites us over for a playdate...and so it goes.

Joi has introduced me to some of the most wonderful women I could ask to meet in Utah.  She's the one who organizes all of us.  Will we be able to survive without her?  I'm hoping that some of her skills have rubbed off on one of us!

Her son and Riley hit it off immediately because he loves to play with trains almost as much as Riley does, well, now that I think about it, he may actually like them MORE than Riley...Is that even possible?  Anyway, it was so nice to have a friend for Riley outside of his school setting and the best part was that Joi lived just a few blocks away in our neighborhood!

She guided me through what dentists, doctors, specialists, restaurants to try, kiddie parks and museums, watched Kendall so I could volunteer at Riley's school, etc.  She was exactly what I needed at that time in my life.  She accepted me for who I am and didn't pass judgement.  She shoots from the hip and there's never a fear of "drama" when you're with Joi.  I LOVE that about her!  I'm so sad to see her leave to start the next chapter of her life back east, but so happy for her to have her family all under one roof again.  I know it won't be easy for her to start over once again, but she's such a fun and strong individual, she'll make friends where ever she goes.

My kids are already having a rough time adjusting to life without Andrew and Ella.  They spent Friday and Saturday with us before flying to their new destination.  This morning Kendall was walking around the house trying to find Ella.  Riley's been talking about how much he misses Andrew already and it's been less than 24 hours!  We are so grateful for their friendship even though it was so short.  They are the kind of people who you know you'll stay friends with no matter where you live.  The nice thing for us is that they have a family cabin not too far from my parents' house...I think a visit might be in order next summer!

Here are a few pictures from our sleepover weekend.  We tried our best to give them something to remember us by...I think the near heart attack that Joi suffered will stick with her for awhile.  See why below:

Ella LOVED going for rides with Andy on the real 4wheeler...much more exciting than riding our battery powered one!

She went for a number of rides...she had a blast!

Andrew wasn't quite as sure about it as Ella, but he did try it.  Once was good enough for him.

The two princesses in their matching princess jammies hanging out by the campfire after making s'mores.

Hoping these two will stay close...they are such a good match and really enjoy each other's company...must be that train obsession they share!

Joi and her family will always have a place in our hearts.  They were an answer to prayer and helped us to feel like we were at home here in Utah.  We will miss them terribly and know that a piece of them will always be with us wherever we go.  Much love to the Hwang family!  We wish you the best of luck in your new town and know that you will be loved there as much as you were here!

Beat The Heat...Head To The Mountains

After church today we decided to head up to Snowbird to get away from the blazing Utah sun.  We have been there before in the summer, but not to take advantage of all Snowbird has to offer.  Today we decided to take the tram to the top of the mountain - what a thrill that is!  The view facing up the mountain is as awesome as the view out the back!

We looked around at the summit and then decided to hike the rest of the way down instead of returning to the lodge via the tram or the flying sofa (aka chair lift).  We were prepared with the back pack for Kendall so we figured why not?

We hiked down from 11,000 feet to 7,760 to the base.

Looking over the back side of Snowbird

These beauties were growing at 11,000 feet and had a fantastic view to boot!

If you look behind the boys, you can see the Salt Lake valley in the distance.

Yes, that's snow he's standing in on August 1st!

What a beautiful view we had the entire way down!  I must admit that Andy and I are starting to feel old...his knees were aching about half way down from the steep descent and my back was killing me with Sissy in the back pack.  But we survived.  Riley hiked the whole way down with little to no complaints.  He needed to take a few breaks, but for a tired 6 year old, I was impressed.  There were lots of beautiful wildflowers that made the trip worthwhile!

My boys, hand in hand, discussing the scenery

I actually took this pic while holding my DLSR with her on my back because she was begging for her picture taken...she NEVER begs for it taken so I had to take advantage of the opportunity!

To reward ourselves, we split some "chocky cream" once we made it back to the Snowbird Center.  We also took the kids on the Alpine Slide.  Kendall decided she'd rather ride the zipline while we were waiting in line for our sleds!  That's my girl!  Unfortunately she'll have to wait a few more years before she can do that!  We both had to take them on our laps and tried to race down the slide.  I love that my boy figured out he and Dad had the best chance of winning because they weighed more than the girls!  I'm happy to report that they only won by a small margin.  As soon as we got off, Sissy said "More slide Mom?"  Both kids wanted to ride again, and we would have if it wasn't already 5:30 and we had dinner waiting at home in the crock pot!  We have tickets for another trip down the slide so maybe we'll head back up there next weekend.

It's Pillow Case Mania!

Since before she was born, I've been wanting to make Sissy some pillowcase dresses.  They are so adorable and pretty simple to make.  I finally got around to doing it this week.  I made two!  I actually bought a really cute one from Tangerine Threads via ETSY.com and used that as a model.  There is a great video tutorial from the Crafty Gemini that I referred to as well.  I created my own pattern since I used material and not an actual pillow case - which you can do by the way!

Here are my creations:

You can't see it as well in this photo, but the blue in the dress really sets off her baby blues!

She had just woken up from her nap and I INSISTED that she try her "Minnie" dress on...You can see that Momma won the battle, but not the war!  Later on in the day, she was in love with the dress.  I'm contemplating putting a Minnie Mouse head applique on the bottom corner...haven't decided yet.  Any thoughts?

I've got fabric for 3 more different dresses yet.  One is a green print fabric that Sissy calls her "Tinker" dress...can't wait to make that one for her!  

Got It Back!

Whew!  It took some time and some experimenting, but I got my background back!  Go figure once I get everything looking just the way I want it, there's a glitch!  Isn't that just how life is sometimes?  But I'm a happy blogger again!

Birthday Memories

Gifts from Nanny and Pappy arrived after a busy day and an afternoon at the pool...As tired as she was it didn't slow her down when it came to opening her presents!

Thanks for the Minnie doll and Minnie jammies Nanny and Pappy!

Opening a gift from Riley...He picked it out and bought it with his own money...What a sweet brother she has!

Riley showing her the Cinderella toy he got for her.  Thanks Ra Ra!

Opening presents from Grammy...

Wonder what's in this box?

Thanks for the necklace, animal carrier and contribution to my trampoline Grammy!

Uncle Kevin and Aunt Cara helping celebrate Kendall's birthday.  They came over for dinner with their nephew, who both of my kids adore.

She's pretty intent on getting this one open.

But in the end Uncle Kevin had to help her out.

How appropriate!  An "I Love To Play In The Dirt" shirt from Moab!  Thanks Uncle Kevin and Aunt Cara for my Cinderella purse, Tinkerbell doll and my shirt!  (She slept with her Tinkerbell doll last night!)

Check out that smile for her Tinker cake!

She'd been wanting to do that all day since she had done it earlier...Crazy girl just wants to eat icing instead of eating the actual cake.  Wonder where that sweet tooth came from????

The only thing that would have made this birthday better for Sissy would have been if her Daddy was home to celebrate with her.  She had a great day and enjoyed playing at the park and seeing her friends, but no one can replace her Daddy...

Thanks to everyone who sent her birthday wishes!  Can't believe two years have come and gone already.  My little baby is growing up too quickly for my liking.  I'm trying to enjoy every moment and every stage.  She's totally into doing whatever Momma does...like play with her baby, pushing her in the stroller, cooking in her kitchen, putting on make up or putting gel in her hair.  She carries around her little pocketbook and puts on my heels and says "Bye Momma!"  She loves Tinkerbell as well as the Disney princesses.  Not sure where that came from, but I'll go with it...She still goes nuts for animals.  She actually begged to go see the horses at the park yesterday.  She talks about "duckie water" which means any body of water where ducks could possibly swim.  She loves to sing the ABC song as well as Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Itsy Bitsy Spider, No More Monkeys, and Move It, Move It.  She has Brown Bear Brown Bear all but memorized and begs me to read her Pinkalicous whenever I can.  If she is allowed to watch t.v. she asks for Olivia or Diego.  Her favorite movies are Toy Story 2 and Finding Nemo - we've done a lot of traveling this summer which is how she's been allowed to watch movies!  She loves to go camping and get covered in dirt from head to toe.  She often refuses to wear shoes which is why she's had a cut on her toe all summer - it doesn't get a chance to heal because she keeps stubbing it and reopening the wound.  She loves her trampoline which was her birthday present from us and her swing set.  

She's such a sweet little girl, but I can see the independent streak starting to become exposed already.  She is the type of kid who has to experience things before she learns from them, which is a hard thing for a parent to do.  We want to protect them and keep them safe, but at the same time, allow them to grow through experiencing new things.  She's a Momma's girl for now.  I remember Riley being a Momma's boy at this stage too.  She wants to know what I'm doing 24/7, wants me to hold her, wants me to kiss every boo boo whether it hurts or not.  Every morning she calls for me..."Momma!  I wake!"  Right now I hear her upstairs calling "I want my Momma!" trying to pull on my heartstrings and release her from her nap.

Thank you to all of you who pray for her, love her and help us raise her.  She's a dear child and I can't wait to see what her future holds...just wish the future would slow down a bit!  I'm enjoying this little girl stage too much!

Birthday Thoughts

I've never been the creative type when it comes to expressing myself through words.  So I have been putting a lot of thought into how I want to share my experience of being a parent to a beautiful 2 year old princess.  I looked up scripture, poems, quotes, and song lyrics.  It was a tough decision to find exactly what I was feeling in terms of letting go and watching Kendall exert her independence while making her feel safe to fail at these new things, knowing that Momma will always be nearby to catch her and get her back on her feet to try again.  I came across numerous songs that touched my heart and a few that brought tears to my eyes, but In My Arms by Plumb by far expresses exactly how I feel.

Being a mom is such a tough job, and being a mom of a daughter is such a blessing.  I pray that in the years to come, we will continue to grow in our relationship and closer to each other.  I love her more than life and know that God has given me a huge task of showing my children His love.  Stormie Omartian says in her book Power of a Praying Parent, "Parental love is the first love a child experiences and the first love she understands...parental love is often the means by which children actually open themselves to God's love and come to understand it early in life."  Loving our children is one of the most important jobs we have as a parent.

Here is a touching video that includes the words to the song, In My Arms by Plumb.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Happy 2nd Birthday Kendall Regan!  I love you!

 

In My Arms - Plumb

Your baby blues, so full of wonder

Your curly cues, your contagious smile

And as I watch you start to grow up

All I can do is hold you tight

Knowing clouds will rage

And storms will race in, but you will be safe in my arms

Rains will pour down, waves will crash all around

But you will be safe in my arms

Story books full of fairy tales

Of kings and queens and the bluest skies

My heart is torn just in knowing

You'll someday see the truth from lies

When the clouds will rage

And storms will rage in, but you will be safe in my arms

Rains will pour down, waves will crash all around

But you will be safe in my arms

Castles they might crumble

Dreams may not come true

But you are never alone

Because I will always love you

When the clouds will rage

And storms will rage in but you will be safe in my arms

Rains will pour down, waves will crash all around

But you will be safe in my arms

 

Welcome To The Gun Show!

This picture is just more evidence that this kid needs to be enrolled in Little Gym for the fall:

This is her new trick at the playground where Riley has his Arts & Crafts summer program.  She hangs from the bar and then swings herself back and forth!  Before long she'll be able to do a skin the cat!  Crazy little gymnast!  Wonder where she gets that from????

Too Much?

Think we've been trying to fit too much into our days?

Guess Sissy thinks so...she refused to eat her sandwich so I told her that she had to finish it or she would have to go straight upstairs for her nap.  She only ate a few bites before this happened!

Another Yummy Treat

This morning Sissy and I were the only ones who were up early.  She slept in her crib last night minus the side rail - getting ready for her big girl bed that will arrive tomorrow!  She woke up, still in her bed, calling "Momma!  I wake up!" and waited for me to arrive before hopping down out of bed!

So while Riley was still sleeping we decided to make some popsicles to share with her friend Natalie who is coming over to play after Riley's swimming lessons today.  It was the first time she's really helped me make anything in the kitchen and it was so sweet.  She pushed the sticks into the cups and kept counting them for me, "one, two, three, six, nine, ten, eleven."  Hey, at least she's got them in numerical order, right?

We tried No Drip Strawberry Popsicles:

1 box strawberry jello

18 strawberries 

1 package strawberry Kool-aid

*Boil 2 cups water and mix in jello for 2 minutes until dissolved.

*Remove stems from strawberries and mash in bowl with drink mix.

*Mix jello with strawberries.

*Pour into popsicle molds or use Dixie cups with popsicle sticks.  If you cover the cups with aluminum foil and then push the sticks through, it will help them to stay in place while they freeze.  

*Place in freezer for at least two hours.

ENJOY!

Happy 4th!

I realize my posts are a little out of order, but that's how my life is these days!  Our neighbors host a July 4th Parade and Cook out every year.  We shut down the street, put out lots of canopies, even had a red, white and blue arch of balloons for the start/finish for the parade.  Everyone brought a dish to share and it was so much fun!  The kids were encouraged to decorate their bikes, scooters, strollers or wagons for the parade.  Here's what we did for Riley's bike:

Here's what we did for Kendall:

This was her ride for the parade...She wanted to ride her scooter, but I knew she'd get plowed over by the big kids and it would take her too long to get around the block so she had to settle for the wagon decked out in red, white and blue and a flag.

Riley and his buddy next door beside him, ready to take off in the parade

Our other neighbor had 3 bounce houses that he blew up for the kids to play in that day as well.

We had such a great time and are so thankful for neighbors who include us in their ward activities.  We are so grateful for God giving us wonderful neighbors in every place where we have lived.  He always brings the right people into your life at exactly the right time when you let him.  

Later that night, we headed over to Bob & Laura's house for dinner.  We met some of their other friends there and were surprised at how much we had in common!  It's such a small world!  We didn't get to take the kids to see fireworks because it doesn't get dark here until around 10 pm and they had such a long, busy, fun-filled day that we just came home and put them to bed.

We had a wonderful July 4th weekend and are so thankful for the freedoms we have in this country!