I Did It!

After 5 long years I FINALLY have earned my Associates Degree.  I am proud of myself...and I can't remember the last time that happened.  I honestly think the only thing that kept me going was the fact that I hate to quit anything I start.  Trust me I wanted to!  I was so nervous as I signed up for my final math class.  It was the only thing standing between me and a degree.  The problem is that up until this point I had never passed any math class on my first try.  This was the semester I changed that!  I had surgery right toward the end of the semester and then we moved the weekend before finals week.  Both of which were not planned out well.  I thought I set myself up for another failure and talked myself into being ok graduating next semester.  The results came back and I got a C in my math class!  I was so excited and the girls and David were so happy for me too.  At USU they only allow Associate graduates to walk during the Spring commencement.  Considering I will get my diploma in the mail in February I saw no point in walking.  I don't understand the concept of sitting all day......and making my girls sit all day.....just so that I can walk across the stage and get a fake diploma.  Instead we went let the girls dress up in dresses and went to a "fancy" dinner at Elements to celebrate.  It was SO yummy and the girls loved how fancy they felt it was.  They loved dessert even more though.  Jeff came to help us celebrate too and it was really nice.  I will still keep working towards my Bachelors, but I'm so happy to know that if I were to stop taking classes I would at least have something to show for it.  I'm also a first generation, female graduate.  Both my brothers have an associates, but none of the girls in my immediate family line do.  (At least that I'm aware of) I'm glad I set the example for the girls and proved to myself that I can accomplish things I thought were not possible.

Ninja Turtle Tree

David and I have always gotten a new ornament each year and decided that we would carry on the tradition with our girls.  This year we chose to make our ornaments.  We made a set of Ninja Turtles for each of us.  Jeff joined us and we had a lot of fun.

 Jeff is ready for Pinterest! He made Ninja Turtle finger puppets....complete with Splinter.  David sacrificed his goatee hair and Jeff rolled his glue covered thumb it in to complete the set.  

It was a lot of fun and I think the girls will remember making them when they pull them out each year.

Sister Gift Exchange

For a few years we've let the girls go shopping for each other.  They love it and when they think of Christmas one of the first things they want to do is go shopping for their sister.  It's so cute to hear them come up with ideas of what they'll buy, ask each other for a list, etc.  David and I each take turns shopping with each girl.  I went with Kadence this year and David took Shelby.  Jeffy was with us too.  The girls carefully select what they think will be the perfect gift.  I love watching as they choose what they know the other will love.  

 Opening is almost as good as they delight in seeing what was picked. The purchaser sits with a smile as the receiver pulls each part of the present out of the bag. 

 Shelby said "I think I need a little squeeze"

Both girls have such a giving spirit to them and really don't focus on the getting.  I love their guts!

Hanukkah

Today was the day we celebrated Hanukkah! It's something the girls, David and I look forward to every year.  Hopefully one year we will be able to celebrate all 8 days, but for now we still just celebrate one.  We pack a lot of fun into the one day celebration along with a lot of learning.  

 We all got mystery Disney figures.  (Wall-E, Timon, Ralph and Simba)

 The girls also got a little coloring pack.

 I love that the girls are old enough to help light the menorah.

 One of our favorite parts is playing dreidel

 I think David is the first one out every single year!

 It came down to Shelby and I in the end.

 I won!  For the first year, Shelby wasn't the winner!

 The girls kept playing with Hippy and Sunshine.

 I helped make latkes for the first time this year.  The ones I made ended up doughy in the middle and we had to put them back in the oil.  Next year I'll leave it all up to David again.  While we were watching a video of a Hanukkah celebration we noticed they put applesauce on their latkes so we decided to try it.  It was ok, but I think I'll just eat them with a little salt next year.   

It was another successful day of celebration and we all had a lot of fun!

Another Move

David and I made the hard decision to move our family again.  We are down sizing in a major way and we hope we made the right decision.  The girls actually don't seem to mind at all but it is a huge adjustment.  We are now living back in Aggie Village on campus.  It is saving us about $400 dollars per month which is great.  It also gets us away from a ward that I absolutely hate and one in which I refuse to send my girls to Primary.  We've already been to our new ward, but only sacrament and I can tell already that there is a huge difference.  We were going to go to classes today but we have colds so we stayed home.  The girls are still going to their school and I just drive them the 10 minutes.  The hardest part has been adjusting to only one tiny bathroom instead of three and the horrible kitchen.  It is awful.  I keep telling myself that I can survive two years here.  We'll see.  I mean if I can live in a hospital for a month then I'm sure I can tolerate my own space, right?  Here are some pictures from the move.  Aaron and Jason came and helped move all the furniture which was so nice of them.  Jeff came and helped move some boxes and shelves the next day which was also helpful.  

 At the new house! 

It's been an adjustment but we've already made it 2 weeks. Only 102 more!

Dance!

Kadence was able to start back at dance this Fall.  She wears a back brace so that it can help reinforce her skin and remind her not to bend.  The studio and all of their staff are absolutely amazing at working with her.  They are so kind and helpful.  In fact at dress rehearsal they were practicing the finale and Kadence started crying.  Both of her teachers walked her off stage and were consoling her.  David and I panicked completely.  Once we realized that she was just worried about getting hurt when they went to a blackout David started to catch his breath as I said "DON'T cry, you're going to ruin your mascara!"  I was not as nurturing as maybe I should have been but if you have ever put mascara on Kadence you would understand completely!  The teachers were so sweet and still telling her it was ok and how scary that must be.  Kadence danced to Cotton Eye Joe and was so excited it was a cowgirl dance.

 The Tiny's did a Conga dance and Shelby has the best little hip shake.

 These two are the cutest!

 I put them both in musical theater and it's based on ages.  They were in the same class and danced to You're a Mean One Mr Grinch. This is them trying to be grinchy.

 They are far too happy to be grinches. 

Walking to our apartment from a long day of dress rehearsals

The night of the show I was surprised to see how many came out to support my girls.  Megan, Dusty, Davisson and Odessa drove all the way up to surprise us.  I just about cried because it was the best surprise ever!

Jeffy came to see his girls do what they love!

Grandma Judy came to watch too!

I was so excited that Grandma and Grandpa Joy were able to come to watch.  It's been about 2 1/2 years since they've seen these girls dance.  

Rachel, Katlyn and Kylah came too!  

Both girls were so excited about each and every person.  We are truly blessed to have such a great support system.

After the show we followed Grandma Judy to her car and she gave the girls their very own Raggedy Ann dolls.  She spent a lot of time to make these for the girls.  Both of them LOVE them.  They have slept with them on their beds every night.  They understand the hard work that went into making them and treat them so nice.  They sit by them as they watch tv, but they don't play with them rough like they do their stuffed animals.  These are going to be cherished for many years.

Both girls did such a great job and I am surprised how much they have grown in such a short amount of time.  Kadence had about 8 months without dancing and she still improved.  She was able to keep up and remember a lot of the choreography. She was in her element in the Grinch dance.  She loved acting it out.  She had a little part where she was front and center and she nailed it!  She dropped her present which made me laugh, but she recovered like a champ.  Shelby might not be the best dancer on her team, but she is working so hard.  She decided to dance without her glasses and couldn't see her teachers giving the prompts during the performance.  You'd never be able to tell, she did great!  She knew exactly what formation to go to next and got there in time, she was a great back spot in her lift, and she even smiled quite a bit which she usually doesn't do.  She gets so focused on not messing up that she looks very serious throughout.  They've both improved and I can't wait to see how well they do in June!  I'm so proud of them and love them so much.  Watching them dance on stage almost brings me to tears.  Almost.  I love watching them feel confident enough to get on stage without any hesitation and do what they love.  I love these girls of mine!