SPRING!

We had our annual "Spring Party" tonight.  It was a day late because David had a track meet in Stansbury (Tooele) yesterday and he really wanted to be there.  He is seriously the best daddy! I decided a while back that I wanted to invite a friend or two to celebrate with us.  The girls are getting older and although David and I are pretty amazing, they enjoy kids their age more.  The girls have been asking when the spring party would be since Valentines Day.  When I told them that I had invited Emi and Sarah they were thrilled! Emi is in Shelbys church class and Sarah is in Kadence's.  All the girls except for Shelby are 6, but they all play really well together.  I always try to give my girls all the essential "spring items" like chalk, bubbles, etc.  I figured I would do the same for the other girls.  They got a bag with chalk, a jump rope, a kite, bubbles, spring colored putty, a pinwheel, and some spring candy. They also got spring plates that they ate their dinner on.

 

 We ate chicken salad sandwiches, but the fruit was Shelbys favorite part! She hates when I tell her that the fruit is just too expensive in the winter.  When I told her that fruit was going to start costing less money she was so happy!

 David is very involved and thought of the dessert on his own.  He thought that dirt cups would be perfect since you plant flowers in the Spring.  I added some foam flowers to make them look like little potted flowers.

 We started off by painting the girls fingernails with some UV nail polish.  It goes on clear and then when you go in the sun it turns maroon. I added sparkles on top because.....well, everything is better with sparkles.  Here are the girls standing with their nails in the sun watching them change.

 After dinner we made bracelets with UV beads.  The beads also changed colors in the sun.  Here is an example of the beads with and without sun.

 Emi and Kadence stringing their beads

 Shelby and Sarah adding their beads

 The girls all had a fun time and were all so well behaved.  I know that I won't ever have a hard time with these girls because every one of them listens so well and follows directions.  I was also so excited because Emi was her normal talkative, cute self.  She normally will talk to me, but not too much.  She is more comfortable at her own home as well.  Not today! She talked and talked and it wasn't just to the girls, it was to me too!  She told me all about Kindergarten and the leprechaun that came to her house, etc.  All four of these girls are simply adorable!  At the end of the party there was about 20 minutes of time that they just played.  At one point all 4 of them ended up in the phone booth.  You can't see them all too well, but they are all in there!



Confessional

I CONFESS....I am an over eater.  I have been trying to lose a few pounds and tone my body and I am realizing that my biggest problem is the fact that I can't go 15 minutes without eating something.  While blogging today I have had 2 packages of smarties and a few handfuls of skittles.  I just always feel the need to eat and I don't eat healthy things, of course it is always crap.  I've been getting better at night and have stopped eating for 3 hours straight before bedtime, but I still have a long way to go.  My goal is to get to where I only eat when I am hungry and only snack once or twice a day....we'll see.

I CONFESS....It drives me crazy when people tell me "you don't need to lose weight" or "you don't need to watch what you eat."  Yes, I do need to lose weight.  I have gained 20 pounds in less than 2 years and the number just keeps climbing.  I am not going to starve myself....mostly because I love to eat.  I am not going to purge.....because I am terrified of throwing up.  I will do it in a healthy way.  I don't think you should ever discourage anyone from trying to become a little more healthy.  I need to exercise to stay healthy, I don't see where the problem is.  I should be setting a good example for my girls on how to take care of your body and I don't see anything wrong with it so please stop discouraging me from becoming healthier.  I need encouragement just as much as anyone else on a weight loss journey.

I CONFESS....I am really excited to move.   I will miss a few neighbors and some close friends but I am only going to be 40 minutes away.  I know that I can visit and I'm thrilled to have lunch/dinner dates frequently.  (Again, I LOVE to eat)  I just think it will be great to be more on our own.  We live within 25 minutes of over 10 different family members.  I have loved being close and having such a great support but I also think we will learn a lot from being further away.  It will be a great experience for our family.  I'm also excited that we will be closer to the end of our college journeys.  I should get my Bachelors in 3 years and David should have his Doctorate in 3-4 years.  It is so exciting to me that in 4 years we might both be done with school.  Our girls will be 9-11 years old when we graduate and I'm glad that they will be old enough to remember seeing us accomplish our goals.  I ultimately went to school to set a good example for them.  I hate school.  I literally hate every part of school....unless it is a class for my major.  I have always told David that I will never attend college.  He was fine with it and understood and was beyond shocked when I decided to go to school.  I want my girls to know how important education is and I want them to be proud of their mommy.

I CONFESS...I am really excited for this summer.  We will have a lot of time together as a family which I love.  We are going to spend a lot of time camping, hiking, fishing and picnicking.  I want to cram as much family time in as we can before we get insanely busy again.  David will be very occupied with his school work so we won't get a lot of time with him for the next 3-4 years except during the summer.  Sure, we'll see him but not as much as we're used to.  I'm excited to try and cram all of the summers from now until the end of his doctorate FULL of family fun.

Things That Must GO...

1- People on their electronic devices at church.  (Other than for scripture reference)  I understand that electronics have become a very important part of many peoples lives.  I too am guilty of feeling "naked" when I leave my phone home on accident.  I have become dependent on the internet access and instant answers, phone numbers and directions.  The one place I never feel naked without my phone is church.  It is THREE hours.  Very rarely is there something that can't wait THREE stinkin hours. David brings his which is fine with me but he doesn't text or surf the internet, look at facebook or play games.  I used to get annoyed but having my sister call to tell us that my nephew was on the way to the hospital years ago during church made me realize there is a need at times to have a phone on you.  I don't know how many times we see adults tell their kids they can't play games during sacrament and then a few minutes later they themselves are playing.  It drives me CRAZY! I exclude the teenagers from this category.  I wouldn't love for my kids to bring their phones to church at that age, but at the same time I know that I will just be grateful they went.  Even while texting or looking at facebook I know that some of the messages might still seep in.  For me you are just lucky to get teenagers to church so I am extremely tolerant of how they behave while there.  (At least while they aren't my own kids)  I shouldn't judge, but this is one of my things that must go.

2-The phrase "Did you see that on Pinterest" must go! Yes I have looked on pinterest from time to time but not everything crafty or clever that I do comes from pinterest.  Every once and a while I come up with something clever on my own.  I'm sure it is in the pinterest world somewhere, but occasionally its an original idea.  (As far as I know at the time)  A better way to phrase it would be "Where did you come up with that idea?"  I am not too crafty, but I do have some VERY crafty friends/family and I'm sure it insults their creativity when you assume everything they do is off of pinterest.

3-Parents who use the phrase "I just check out." I have heard this phrase VERY often from people lately.  It drives me nuts.  Once you get pregnant, you become a parent.  Last I checked you can't just take a vacation from that.  You will ALWAYS be a parent.  I understand needing time away....trust me, I get to where I tell David "If I don't get out of the house and away from the kids I'm going to lose my mind." (Luckily its few and far between now that they are older and I'm in school) I know of people who just go through the routine of the day "checked out" and to me it is just very sad.  I know that their children notice that their parent isn't giving them the time or attention.  I know that the parent is missing out on some cute, touching and funny moments.  Nothing delights me more than when Shelby stops me from cleaning to tell me a nursery rhyme.  Or when I hear Kadence singing in the bathroom.  These little ones are precious and they are only this age for a short time.  We need to enjoy it, not just go through the motions of being a mom or dad.  (Ask me again when they are teenagers and I might sing a different song)


I know these seem VERY judgemental, but they are just my personal opinion.  I'm not under the impression that I am perfect.  In fact I could write an entire list of things I do that must go. 

Pi Day & St Patricks Day

PI DAY:

 

In our house I like any reason to have a celebration.  I just enjoy having a fun memorable evening with my family and how excited my girls get for our "parties."  Thursday was Pi Day.  Its 3-14 which is the first, most common, digits of pi.  David being the nerdy one gets excited for this day every year.  He even had a past student (Who graduated) tag him on facebook saying "I can still remember 21 digits of Pi thanks to David Joy!"  He held a contest every year offering pi to the student in every class who could memorize the most digits.  We ate The Pie Pizzeria for dinner. (Mostly because they were offering a buy one get one free which made their yummy pizza affordable)

 I spent ALL day long in the kitchen making some fabulous homemade pies....NOT.  But I did have to stand in line at Wal-mart which might be just as bad.

 A few weeks ago we ordered David a Pi shirt so that he could wear it to school

 Shelby and her pie

 Kadence and her pie

 We had a great evening and were excited that Jeff was able to come to our party. 

 

 

ST PATRICKS DAY:

 

Our girls get so excited about St Patricks Day.  They know nothing about the origins which is a failure on our part as parents but they base it all on Leprechauns.  They hope one day they can catch one of the sneaky buggers.  Shelby even said that she wants daddy to take her to Ireland one day and she wants it to be raining when they fly so they can see the rainbow, and the pot of gold from the sky.  They sure do make me laugh!  We have nice leprechauns come to our house and they only go through our kitchen.  This year it used crape paper to decorate, left the girls some green treats and chocolate gold, and turned our milk green.

 Kadence and Shelby were both VERY excited because I've explained the leprechaun doesn't come to every house every year.  They were happy that it was "a different, nice leprechaun." They have enjoyed a day full of green treats and have loved wearing their shirts all day.  Here's a picture of them being "monsters."  Basically they wear one of Shelbys Stompeez on one foot and an old slipper on the other and that turns them into monsters. 

 I made them give me a nice picture after. 

Utah State Here We Come!

Applying to Utah State was a bit of  headache to say the least.  After David did all he could do it took until the VERY last possible day of the deadline to get his letters of recommendation submitted.  He tried reminding and reminding people to turn them in but two of them took their sweet time.  After that we just had to wait.  I ran to the mailbox daily hoping that we would get an answer. On Tuesday February 19th I got a text from David while I was sitting in my night class.  It told me that Utah State emailed him stating they couldn't accept him to the program at this time but would like to give him the opportunity to interview with the department to see if he would "fit" with their program and faculty.  That was devastating! We have always known that it was a possibility that he wouldn't get accepted but it was hard to hear.  David wanted to keep it quiet until we had a for sure answer.  We set up the interview for February 26th.  It seemed like forever to wait and we were hoping to get answers that day. Kadence went to school like usual and the rest of us headed up to Logan.  It was nice to be able to bring Shelby up because she has been nervous.  She was excited to see Logan had a Walmart and a McDonalds and she got excited that we might live there.  Shelby and I walked around the TSC looking at each place mommy and daddy worked while David interviewed.  She kept telling me that she hoped they would "say yes we want you at our school." We grabbed some treats from the Quickstop and I took a picture of Shelby that cracked me up.  She was in a Milky Way daze.

 David called to tell me that he was done and that he felt it went pretty well.  He said they really grilled him and that he wasn't sure a few of his answers were great but that overall he felt it went well.  We still didn't have an answer but they said that he "would hear back by the end of the week, if not by the end of the day."  We were DYING to hear back, but 5 o'clock came and went and we still didn't have any answers.  The next day as I was headed to class in the morning David called with some great news, he had been accepted.  His acceptance is conditional though.  He has to take a Diversity in Education course and pass with a B or higher.  This is because that is what his dissertation will be on.  This has to be completed before the fall and before he is officially accepted into the program.  They also mentioned that the Department Head wanted to speak with him about an Assistantship.  We were elated.  That is something we have been praying he gets.  He gets paid a fraction of what a professor does to teach undergrad courses.  But it means money coming in AND experience which helps a ton. We had purchased Utah State shirts from Build a Bear a while back and so that is how we told the girls the great news.

They now call them their "moving bears" and are excited to go on our new "adventure." David spoke with the Dept Head yesterday who told him that he would be teaching the Science Methods class as well as a Student Teaching Seminar.  He is in the process of working out a date to go meet with her and chat about all of the details.  Everything is falling into place perfectly and working out so well.  We are very excited about the opportunities we've been given.  It's going to be tricky to have him teaching, coaching track (Oh ya, he was given the head coach of track!) and take summer class which starts May 2nd.  Everything will only overlap for a short time but it will be a trick.  I will also be taking a summer class so May will be VERY busy.....especially since we will be packing and getting ready to move all at the same time.  It will be stressful but a great kind of stressful.  The odd thing is, he still hasn't heard back from U of U yet.  You snooze you lose!

Happy Birthday Dr Seuss!

Our girls get excited every year as Dr Seuss' birthday approaches.  This year I set it all up "birthday style" so the girls could wake up and get excited.  Shelby had told me that "we always get donuts when its somebodys birthday" so we went to Krispy Kreme and used our 12 Valentines to get a free dozen.

 Cat in the Hats Hats, Red fish and blue fish, Grickle Grass, Oh the Places You'll Go candies and Green Eggs

 The girls enjoyed reading Dr Seuss books

 We ate Green Eggs and Ham and the girls drank special drinks

 Shelby, my picky eater, didn't mind the green at all

 Kadence, who'll eat anything wasn't so sure

Shelby thought that chocolate milk could make great Gluppity-Glupp (The Lorax)

 Then we played our new Dr Seuss game

 You draw 3 cards that tell you what to do, where to do it and how to carry the fish.

 Shelby crabwalked to the sink with the fish on her belly

 Kadence skipped to 3 windows with the fish under her right arm

 I had to walk like a penguin to the door and back with the fish on my head

 David had to dance to a book with the fish in his hand

 Jeff had to crawl around a chair with the fish under his left arm

The girls had a great time and have enjoyed reading lots of books and watching Dr Seuss shows all day long.  We all had a lot of fun with the game, but I don't think anyone laughed as hard as Kadence did.  I think the girls favorite part of all was to finally get their new stuffed animals.  Kadence got Horton and Shelby got the Cat in the Hat.  I love looking forward to this day every year.  Its a fun day that we get to spend as a family being silly and having fun.

Confessions

I CONFESS...that I am really bad at keeping up to date on my blog.  I try really hard and I think about posting all of the time but I just don't get around to it.  It's a lot easier to do when I don't have school but I'm going to try to still update occasionally throughout this semester.  It's important to me to keep blogging as this is my way of journaling or scrapbooking our families adventures. 

I CONFESS....I am very stressed about Davids doctoral applications. I am dying to find out if he gets into Utah State.  I have looked up our options for housing, I know which Bachelors program I would apply for, we have talked about family outings and adventures we could do while in Logan, etc.  All we need is the stinkin acceptance letter!  I seriously don't know how much longer I can wait before I lose my mind.  We are thrilled to move and go somewhere new....well, newish.  We have finally told the girls we are moving and they are even excited.  A few students have realized that "Mr. Joy" won't be there next year and more and more faculty are finding out.  We just need that one piece of mail to come to move us onto our next phase of life.  I'm hoping that it says David has been accepted, but even if it says he isn't we will be able to start planning our next step.

I CONFESS...I am a girl who loves skittles, but I am not super fond of the new dark side flavors.  I like them alright, but they wouldn't be my first choice.  I don't know what it is about them.  They taste good and I ate my entire package in one sitting but they just aren't as fabulous as the classic red or purple package or even the riddles.

I CONFESS...We bought my girls more stuffed animals for Valentines Day.  I always swear to myself that we will never buy another stuffed animal until we have grandbabies and I always end up a liar.  My girls LOVE stuffed animals and they are the one thing that they play with every single day.  We just have 3 huge boxes downstairs full of ones we can't part with, 2 rooms with 30+ in them and we recently gave away two garbage bags full.  We have too many, but we couldn't resist. 

I CONFESS...I am going to try to get healthier. I have gained a substantial amount of weight and I don't feel good about myself.  I am an over eater who happens to be very lazy which isn't a good combo.  Besides being unhappy with the way I feel and look I am setting a bad example for my girls.  I need to show them how to properly take care of their bodies and how to have good self esteem.  I'm starting small since that is all my heart lets me do right now and hopefully as we straighten out my thyroid I will be able to handle more. I'm hoping to be able to hike Ben Lomond peak with the girls this summer and I will need to figure something out if I want to make it a reality.  Shelby has a goal of getting to the top of the "tallest mountain in Northern Utah" and she wants her daddy to help her achieve that goal.  I've lived in Ogden for 13 years now and haven't ever made the hike.  Its seriously a 20 minute drive from my house and I just haven't ever gotten around to it.  This will be the year but it all starts with baby steps getting me in the right direction, the healthy direction.

Shelbys Family Party

Shelby was so excited to have family come over to share in her birthday excitement.  My girls still don't get the idea that people bring you presents for your birthday, but they LOVE having people come over to our house JUST for them.  Shelby had picked out her outfit right before Christmas.  Her friend Brenley gave her a bow for Christmas and she immediately coordinated an outfit that would match the bow so she could wear it for her birthday.  Shes such a girlie girl these days which is completely opposite of Kadence and I.  Don't get me wrong, she still love bugs, superheros and the outdoors but she also likes getting fancy.   

 I struggled with the camera, but here she is blowing out the candle

 The second Shelby left the chair unattended Brylee snuck in.  We always have had the girls sit in this chair to open presents.  I think we'll try to squish them in until they are 18. 

 She got spoiled as usual

 Shelby didn't want cake and ice cream, she wanted cupcakes and popsicles.  In our house, birthday girls get what birthday girls want.  Although I knew she probably didn't realize that there were so many options.  I got regular popsicles and a few more fun frozen treats.  Here are some of the crazy kids eating

 And heres Tyler, Amanda and Jacob enjoying their push pops

 Shelby helped me pick out her presents this year but didn't know we were buying them for her.  She thought we were buying them to store for "friend gifts". She was delighted as she opened and got everything she loved and picked out for her friends.

Shelby has such an amazing family who is so supportive of her.  We are so blessed to be surrounded by so many who love our girls.  I didn't have a very big family and still don't even know how many aunts and uncles I have.  Its nice to see that my girls are growing up knowing all of their extended family. 

Things that must go....

Parents who ignore their kids because they are so busy on their electronics must go.  It drives me absolutely crazy to watch as a young child (Or an older one) is ignored while mom or dad is busy texting, facebooking, etc.  Are you kidding me?! These kids are only little once!  You only get time with them at this age once! I couldn't imagine what text or facebook post could be SO important that it couldn't wait a few minutes.....a few hours.....or a few days.  There is nothing that should come in the way of you paying attention to your children.  What they say is important, or at least it is important to them so you should listen.  I think kids would be better off if none of us had electronics.  Now I know that isn't going to happen and I enjoy my ipad, my cell phone, etc BUT everyone should learn when to put it down. 

Dads who would rather "play" than spend time with their families must go.  I think everyone needs time away for sure, but I have come across a few dads who put their own things above anything their family might have going.  David goes fishing without us, camping without us and hiking without us.  That is his "alone time." I go to lunch, go to lunch, and go to lunch without my family as my "alone time." Everyone needs it.  BUT too often we see dads (and sometimes moms) with their own agendas.  It's just sad.  David and I are under no illusion that our kids will want to spend every minute with us as they grow up.  Soon they might want nothing to do with us.  They might be embarrassed to be seen with us. It is then that we will have more time to ourselves.  Until then, we will spend time making memories with our kids.  From hiking, to walking around the block, to making dinner together, to movie nights we want our kids to grow up with us very present in their lives.  It just blows my mind that others don't feel the same way.  Kids are hilarious and say and do some of the strangest things.  Its pure entertainment to spend the evening with my girls!

The snow and 30 degree highs must go.  I am SO ready for Spring.  I don't think it can get here fast enough.  I am excited to see if I can handle easy hikes this year.  I'm excited for camping, picnics, playdates at the park, kites, etc.  I am excited to go without a coat and feel a little breeze on my arms.  The girls and I are counting down the days until Spring and I hope that when it gets here its a little warmer than it is now.  I'm not asking for much, just mid 40's would be fabulous!

Shelby's 5th Birthday Party

Right after Kadence's birthday party Shelby saw a commercial for Chuck E Cheese and decided she wanted to have her birthday party there so she could get to go in the ticket blaster.  At first I was a little sad about it because I like planning the girls parties but then I soon realized what that meant.....NO PLANNING.  I literally didn't have to do anything except for show up and pay which was fabulous! My girls both know that they get to choose what kind of party they have and that I will make it happen.  I'm kind of glad this party was so easy and Shelby had a blast which is what matters most.  She only wanted to invite 4 friends, her sister, Jeff and Mrs Jill.  No matter how many times I asked she always mentioned the same friends.  No matter how many other names I gave her, she stuck with the 4.  When I would ask her if she wanted to invite more friends she would tell me "No, that is all I want."  I was terrified they wouldn't all be able to make it and we would have a party with 3 kids, but they were all able to make it! I had Jeff snap our standard "family picture" before the party started.

 Heres Shelby excitedly waiting for her friends to come

 Brenley, Kadence and Shelby

 Davison, Emi and Sarah

 Mrs Jill was so sweet and came all the way to Layton to celebrate with Shelby which made all of the party guests super excited! (They all had her at one point or another) And who couldn't love sweet Odessa?

 This picture screams "Happy" to me.

 Shelby got crowned by Chuck E

 This is her second time blowing out the candles.  The hostess lit them and Shelby immediately blew them out before we sang.  The hostess then told her she needed to wait until we were done singing.  Ha!

 The kids and Chuck E.....minus Davisson because I didn't pay attention

 Shelby was able to have daddy help her in the ticket blaster AND he got the 1,000 ticket.

The kids all had a ton of fun, played super hard and made Shelby feel really special.  We are so lucky to have such great friends for our girls.  In the end, Chuck E Cheese did everything for me from the party, to hosting, to games and entertainment, a pinata, cake and ice cream and goodie bags.  This mom was able to sit back, chat and take pictures of the fun.  Probably my favorite birthday party to date.