Fun in the Sun!

Today was "beach day" for the Kindergarteners at Leah's school! What fun! There were mini pools, sprinklers, chalk, baseball, hoses, water balloons, and all sorts of fun things to do! But even better there was cotton candy, juice boxes, popcorn, snowcones, chips and treats a plenty! These kids were in heaven today. To top it off, it is in the 80's here, so the sun was so nice and warm, despite the party beginning at 9:30 this morning. Here are some cute pics of Leah and her classmates and friends...
Celeste got in on the action too, but mainly she just enjoyed the cotton candy and popsicles...


I know what you are thinking..."does that girl do anything besides eat candy and junk food?" And the answer to that would be, "no, not really!" But she's so cute, it's hard not to give in! You try sometime!

Throwback Thursday 2

It is finally warm enough here that I am loving the baseball season for Alex! He has had several practices, but it hasn't been that nice. Finally today, it is. I found this photo of myself when I played T-ball. This is from July 1982. Wasn't I so cute?! I was still blonde then, too! Look at that concentration!! My brother and I played t-ball then coach-pitch for several years for this same organization. My dad was a coach and my mom and the other moms came and watched and always brought snacks. This is so familiar to me, because this has now become my role in the game. I love watching baseball, and I love the feel of the sun when the game is on!

During these years, I remember:
-being the fastest runner on the team, so I always got to bat first!
-playing short-stop and 2nd base the most- though I do remember playing outfield, with my childhood friend, Stephanie and getting yelled at for picking dandelions!
-playing 1st base, missing the ball, and it nearly breaking my nose- more blood than I ever saw before, and going to Children's Hospital for it!
-watching my then childhood love, and also Stephanie's (same boy, named "Bookie") play and forgetting about the game itself!
-going to ice cream at Moore's after big games! ( I always got Mint Chocolate Chip- they had the best- though now it is a pizza shop- so sad!)
-watching a boy on our team miss the ball, with his mouth wide open, and having it slice his tongue nearly off - That took over for more blood than I had ever seen!
-loving every minute of the game, and especially being with my family and all of my friend's families.

I am grateful for my parents for allowing me to have such fun experiences. I never went on to play in high school or anything after that, but it was these kinds of things that I remember. Fun times. I hope my children remember these times in their lives too- for now, Alex is just excited to play, and of course, for the snacks afterward!! But, he is so much better than I could ever hope to be- he is learning to be a swich hitter, and is doing very well.

PS- the station wagon in the background is not ours, but we had one just like it, though it was blue! Check it out!!

Weekend Update...

I feel like Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update Host right now...but for those interested, and even if you're not, you're about to read all about it....

Friday night: Alex has baseball practice from 7-8:30pm!! Who picks that?! Horrible time- Dana took him!
Saturday: Dana has Saturday School from 8-11. He cleans windows with Ivy 11-1:30. Alex has practice 1:45-3:15 (again, who picked that?!). The girls and I leave (no nap for Celeste), at 1:45 to head to my cousin Michael's graduation party across town. We stop at the Temple (see previous post), take fun pictures, then make it to the party by 2:30. GREAT party!! Got to see many family members, including my Grandma, my 3 aunts and uncle who traveled a far! It was so fun- my cousins and my kids hanging out and eating lots of great food! We stay there until 5:30, then we head to another GREAT graduation party for Tina's daughter, Danessa. (Did I mention still no nap for Celeste?!) We get there around 6pm, which Leah informs me is late- didn't I know it started at 5, she says?! Where did she come from, anyway?! Guess what? We eat some more!! Wow! I didn't know we could eat more in one day! Well, we stay there until 7:30, and then we head home- both girls crash in their seats! What a day!! I get home and Dana and Alex are still at Ivy's game, which they finally return home around 10:30pm! They won, by the way, in triple overtime! My family was exhausted!
I took some pictures of Celeste eating cake at Michael's graduation- these are the first of many cake pictures this weekend...1st round up next...

Yes, you see right- that is 2 pieces of cake, and that girl ate them both! Well, she really ate mostly icing (smart girl), but they both were disappearing quickly.

Sunday: Dana leaves 9am for meetings. I iron the girls dresses, get ready myself, and make it to church with the kids by 11am. GeeGee and Liza join us, and I teach Relief Society. Meanwhile, lunch is cooking at home so we can eat when we get back. (that means no nap for Celeste today, either- are you seeing a trend?!) Here are some cute pics from the morning.

We actually do nothing the remainder of Sunday, because we were gearing up for Monday!

Monday: Dana plays basketball at the church from 7am-9am. I get up early and get 4 load of laundry done- (those of you who know me know I am sort of OCD about laundry on Mondays!), paint the girls fingernails AND toenails, fix Celeste's hair (never fun), bake cupcakes, and ice them, with sprinkles, all before 11 so we can get to the Ward Picnic! We made it!! It is a beautiful day and tons of people come to the picnic!! Here are some fun shots...










We end up having such fun there, that we stay a tad too long, because we have other things to do...so, we leave at 2:30- but have to go home first, because this park is filthy, and the kids are so dirty, and Dana, needs a shower- did you see him playing basketball- oh, and softball too! We get home, change clothes, everyone but me, and leave again, heading to another graduation party across town that started at 2. We get there around 3:30. It was fun, because we got to see people from our old Ward that we don't see that often. Here are some pics from that...

This is my Elaina- she is 12 now!! I feel so old...she is so wonderful, and it was great seeing her!









Are you tired yet?! Oh, and still no nap for Celeste- this is getting to be a bad trend...okay, so after this fun party, we leave and head to the cemetery to visit the grave sites of my Grandparents, Dana's brother, and our friend's little baby - thankfully the cemetery is very close to the house we are leaving...We reverently pay our respects..Are we done yet?! NO!! We have one last stop to make...Lowe's- to buy a ladder that is only on sale today, and a new light switch for the bathroom. We make it, the girls are now crashed in the van (how I wish that were me!), and we get the items and THEN we head home!! What a day! I am so thankful all days are not this busy- or this expensive!!
So there you have it- I hope I haven't left much out- it was fun, and fantastic, and exhausting all at the same time!

I love to see the Temple...

Today was a crazy day!! We had many things to do, and much was happening! BUT, we managed to squeeze it all in, despite the craziness. Dana and I had to "divide and conquer" , so I got the joy of taking the girls to 2 graduation parties all by myself!! Yipee!!, (while he got to take Alex to baseball practice, then on to a football game with Aunt Ivy, Liza and GeeGee!) No, really, the girls were wonderful, and we had a great day. On the way to the first graduation party, we took a slight detour, and stopped by the temple to take a few pics. The girls hadn't been there in a long time, and I have never taken their picture outside, so today, I seized the opportunity, and this is what we did! The girls loved it, and it was one of the most perfect days we have had here this spring! We even got to see wedding pictures being taken, and the girls stood in awe and watched this beautiful bride get her photo taken. It was lovely. The grounds, even though the temple is under semi-re-construction, were gorgeous. They love to see the temple, and they so want to go there someday....today I am glad it will be a while for them!!

Image Tag

**note**
I originally misread the "past pet" as "past pest", (it was early this morning!), so I have since revised...

This looked like so much fun, so I thought I would give it a try- thanks, Katie! This is an image tag and these are the pictures I chose to represent the questions....

Age next birthday

Place I want to visit
My favorite thingsMy favorite place My favorite foodMy favorite color The town where I livePast pet

Nickname I once was called

College Major

1st job I had
A goal for next year
Okay, so part of the tag is that I can't explain all of the pictures, but you sort of get the idea- so now it's your turn: Es, Tina, Jen, Jamie, and Laura- have fun!!