Grandma and Grandpa are Serving a Mission

Sometimes it can be a real chore to clean out the kids school backpacks. But then there's times where you can find a real treasure, too. This is something I pulled from Micaela's (1st grade) school bag last week.

(this picture was drawn on the back of the letter)

We do love and miss Grandma and Grandpa (Matt's parents) and pray that they are safe while they are serving the people in Africa. We are very proud of them and grateful for their wonderful examples!

Oh, Boy!!!

I thoroughly do enjoy our little man of the house. He's now 4 1/2, and full of personality! But he sure is a different type of species compared to the girls.

Recently Anthon had fun playing on the playground with a little neighbor boy. It became time for Anthon to come inside. This is how Anthon said goodbye to his friend: He smacked him on the back and said, "Bye, bye ballerina!" Then the little boy laughed with a deep belly laugh and said, "Bye, bye......and called Anthon some type of 4 year old name. Then Anthon laughed and chased after him and tackled him down and yelled, "Bye, bye poopy pants!" This banter went back and forth a couple of more times. I didn't know whether to correct them or just laugh since they both were getting a kick out of it. Could never imagine my girls doing this... EVER!

Also, he's ADDICTED to the Wii, computer and television. He doesn't like to play with toys, and would much rather be entertained by electronics (again, totally different than the girls).
He HATES to shop! Come on, that's my life....my source of entertainment. I have to bribe him to even go to the grocery store with me. It's getting very expensive for me to take him anywhere:) And places like Hobby Lobby......forget it. Just the idea of the place, he throws himself on the floor in a tizzy(sort of how Matt responds if I ever make him go to a craft store with me...okay not really, but I think he'd rather go to the dentist!)

He asks everyday if we can have In-n-Out for lunch. He loves hamburgers. And steak is his favorite food! He'll eat a whole steak by himself!

He loves to punch, wrestle, put people in headlocks, and hit them with swords and dart guns.

Yes, he is extremely different from the 2 girls......but ya know what, I adore my little guy! He's extremely sweet.He's the cuddliest little kid. Did I mention,I LOVE HIM TOO DEATH!! He still wants me to hold him, and cuddle him, and he tells me I'm his girl. He gave an amazing talk ( for a 4 year old) in Primary last Sunday. It was about Joseph Smith. He told the story in his own words and then bore his own testimony.

Yes, he has me wrapped around his finger!

I hope he turns out....and that he grows up to be a kind, responsible and caring adult!!! Wish us luck...we need all the help we can get!!!

For the Love of Dance

(Lauren's group-Lauren is left, middle row- with their dance instructor. Jessica is an amazing ballerina, and was the lead in many shows at Ballet West prior to becoming a mother)

Lauren had the opportunity of dancing for a Stake Women's Fireside (8 years plus) last month. It sounds a little strange, and very nontraditional, but it turned out pretty amazing. They had dances, which were coreographed to church music, intermingled with narration and testimony. Lauren was in a ballet group which danced to Consider the Lillies. The Fireside was well attended, and held in the Cultural Hall. It was held 2 evenings.

Before each performance there was a devotional held for the participants and parents. This Fireside was our next door neighbors idea. She was a Ballet major at BYU. At the pre-fireside devotional she talked about how we can serve our Savior and Heavenly Father in everything that we do, even when we're dancing. And that she wanted to use dance in this manner. It was a novel idea and concept, and I'm glad Lauren had the opportunity to experience it.

Moving up a Grade Level

I get kinda sentimental when school starts. Maybe it's because I have to acknowledge that my babies are growing up. Lauren started 3rd grade. She seems so old.......and it seems official that she's now a "tween". (Lauren standing in line, waiting or the bell to ring on the first day of school. Two of her very best friends are in her school class.)

Micaela started first grade. The girls are so excited that they were on the same schedule.They get to go to school together and walk home together. And the first few days, Lauren thought it was fun to see Micaela in the lunchroom and at the recess. Now she wonders why Micaela and her friends "have to follow her around"? But, luckily all of Lauren's friends love Micaela, and all of Micaela's friends like Lauren. Micaela thinks it's cool to hang with the big 3rd graders.

AJ started a little pre-school in our neighborhood. It's just 6 children. It's 2 days a week. He's getting too big! (He did get a haircut right after this picture :)

Cute Micaela getting situated at her desk the first day of school. I can't believe she's a first grader. She's always been our tiny little girl, so it seems strange she's a "big first grader". She's adjusted so easily to first grade and staying all day. She's made lots of friends and her teacher is amazing.

Micaela in the mudroom at school with one of her best friends who's in her class.

Lauren loves the "bright colors" that all the stores have right now. I think those of us who experienced them in jr. high, it's a little strange to see our children wearing the 80's clothes. Lauren's our little fashion diva. She loves clothes, jewelry and shoes.

My children are growing up way too fast. But I love getting to stay home with them, having the flexibility to volunteer in their classroom, go eat lunch with them in the cafeteria (already done it once) and be there when they come home from school. I love the people they are becoming. They're kind, considerate, thoughtful, and becoming very responsible. Sometimes I wish I could freeze them, and make them quit growing, and keep them little forever. But then I can't do that, so I may as well enjoy the ride as they continue to mature and grow.

4th of July Celebrating!!!

I LOVE SUMMERTIME!!!! So, of course I love the 4th of July. We love to pack as much celebrating into the day as possible! (Much to Matt's chagrin.) This year was no exception. This is what we did THIS year! We started celebrating July 3rd with a neighborhood party. We made a trip to Partyland and bought all the red/white/blue decorations we could find and found a way to put all of it on their bikes.

Then they were in a bike parade that started at the park north of our house and ended at the park south of our house. Lauren with her friend, Hunter.

Anthon felt like a celebrity. He thought he was the coolest thing ever, riding in his decorated red car. He really cruises in that thing! I think he kept bumping into the back of everyone else. They weren't quite going fast enough for him!

When we got to the park there was yummy food......

And cool treats (Micaela posing with her good friend, Halle)

And giant inflatables. This is Micaela (left) getting ready to go down with Hunter.

Lauren had fun cooling off.

Anthon got to the top of the slide and got scared. He wouldn't go down the slide, but he wouldn't climb back down, either. We made a neighbor boy grab him and take him down the slide so he'd get out the of the way of the other kids trying to come down. This is Anthon pouting because he was mad at the neighbor boy.

Then bright and early on the 4th of July we went to the Provo Freedom Festival Parade. This parade is always gigantic and the kids love it (not Matt though, don't even ask him about this part of the day! He HATES parades!!!!)

Lauren and her BFF, Hunter, had fun using their digital cameras. I think Lauren got about 58 pictures of the firetrucks and police cars alone. 1/4 of the way through the parade her memory card was full.

Candid picture of Lauren being her cute self.

When Anthon saw all of the Mormon missionaries in the parade he jumped up out of his chair so he could give them a high five.

Sweet, cutie-pie Micaela.

Anthon waving at the floats. I had to get this on the camera. I figure by next year he'll be too cool to do this.

We went to the parade with my parents, Uncle Steve, cousin Haley, and the our friends. These are the girls good friends, Hunter and Halle. Cute Anthon is always surrounded by lots of girls.

Next we went to Nana and Papa's for breakfast (my parents). Anthon being goofy!

Micaela LOVES her Nana...........

.........and her Papa!!!! Papa playing a game with Micaela. He's always good to play with the kids. You'd never know he was 72!!!

Lauren enjoying her watermelon. Any type of fruit is her favorite type of food. We're still working on her table manners:)

Anthon and his best bud---Uncle Steve (my brother). He loves to be teased.......and Steve is good at that!

Next we went to see Uncle Nate (Matt's younger brother) who plays in a band (Bearproof) perform at a local city celebration. Nate plays the electric guitar.

Uncle Nate the Rockstar!!! Anthon wanted to wear his "Rock Band" shirt with the electric guitar because it made him think of Uncle Nate.

Next we went swimming and for a BBQ at Aunt Christie's (Matt's sister) backyard pool. Basically it rained all of the month of June. The kids would pray every night "Please make it stop raining so we can swim in Aunt Christie's pool". I guess their prayers were answered:)

Next we changed into our PJ's, and headed to Uncle Ben's (Matt's brother) house to watch the fireworks.

I think Lauren took even more pictures of the fireworks in the sky, than she did of the firetrucks and police cars in the parade.

Uncle Ben had the best seats in the valley for fireworks. We sat on his rooftop. You could see all the fireworks in the valley. And the kids loved being with their cousins.

Anthon was very nervous that he was going to fall off the roof. Once he figured out his Dad had a good grip on him, he fell asleep before the fireworks even started. Goes to show, we did pack as much as we possibly could into one day!

Of course, the girls weren't ready to quit yet. They were wondering what we were going to do next! Lauren, Micaela, Eve, Emma, Aunt Tiffany hanging out on Aunt Tiffany's bed after a long and fun day.

I feel very blessed to be able to live here, and raise my family here. After Matt's parents lived in the Congo of Africa for 18 months serving a LDS mission, I have gained an even deeper appreciation for the luxuries we have........such as clean water, traffic lights, garbage pick up, medical care. I'm glad to be an American!!! :)

LaME, LAmE, LaMe!!!

I have been the lamest blogger lately. Probably by this point nobody is even checking out my blog any more. But if any of you are.........I will be making a post soon........hopefully tomorrow actually!!!
I can't believe it's been 5 weeks since I posted anything. Lame! Tomorrow....maybe....if anyone is even reading this..........I'll probably post something tomorrow. I'm sure you can hardly wait!!! :)

A Day in my Life!

So every morning it seems ritual for my husband to ask me, "So what you got going today"? I usually ask, "Why are you wondering?" Even though I know he's not judging how I use my time, I often wonder, 'does he really know what I do?' So here's a glimpse..........a day in the life of Shirlene.

* Got up at 6 a.m. Went for a 2 1/2 mile run (I'm training with Anna to do a 5k in July.) It's beautiful at 6 a.m. this time of year. You hear the birds chirping. The sun is starting to come up so you get to see all the vibrant spring colors. And a deer even ran across the road right in front of us. It was pretty cool!
* Made my 2nd grader breakfast, did her hair, made her lunch (she REFUSES to eat school lunch. Has never eaten it once. Not even the sack lunches they make for field trips. She's scared of it and the lunch ladies, I think). Got her off to 8 a.m. school.
* Got my younger 2 children up, fed, dressed, and hair done.
*Took my Kindergartner and the carpool to 9:15 Kindergarten.
*Came home, showered, got myself ready for the day.
*Headed to Walmart. Picked up supplies for Teacher Appreciation project. 2 things of craft paint and metallic markers, and bought a gift card for a teacher. (I'm a homeroom mother. )
* Went to the elementary school. Hand stamped 28 sets of hands as a border on a black tablecloth. Helped wash 28 sets of hands. Helped 28 kindergartners sign a card for their teacher.
* Picked up my 6 year old from 1/2 day kindergarten.
* Fed us all lunch
* Micaela had two friends over to play. Oversaw their play, along with my 3 year old, who thinks he's suppose to box, kick and wrestle everyone. Thus I was also a referee. Oh, yeah, and cleaned up some 'potty training accidents'.
* Made a oriental pork salad, bread, and cookies. Some to take to our neighbor since their daughter had surgery. Some for our dinner.
* 2nd grader came home from school. She had a friend over. They wanted to 'make something'. They thought since it was cinco de mayo they should make a pinata (wasn't fond of that idea). Instead, I gave them this idea.........
* Helped 5 children make snow cones for 4 different school teachers for Teacher Appreciation (a snow cone machine is the best investment ever!!).
* Delivered 5 children/4 snow cones to the school, before the teachers left for the day.
* Finished my monthly visiting teaching report
* Worked on my RS lesson for Sunday
* Finished the tablecloth for the teacher by having Micaela stamp her hands in the empty spots to fill up the border. Wrote every students name as a border around the outside....with a fabric pen.
* Took my daughter and carpool to dance, and picked them up again.
* Delivered dinner to my neighbors and fed my family.
* Did some laundry
* Got the children in the bath and ready for bed.

There ya go, honey. A day in my life.
I'm tired ............I think I'll go to bed.
Oh, yeah, one more thing I did today. I created a new blog post.