Tuesday, May 31, 2011

PreK Promotion!

Miss M graduated!
This preK has been such a blessing in our lives! It was exactly what she needed and she has learned so much!
These are her two buds, Miss M and Miss N. They hang out everyday, and we hope they stick around with us next year!
Grandma and Aunt T and cousins came to help her celebrate!
I don't know what we are going to do without Mrs. Strom next year. She is an amazing teacher and we love her!

Monday, May 30, 2011

day off

sometimes we all need a day off.
we've been busy.
we had the day off and we took it.
i still unpacked boxes, but the girls played.
it was needed!

super buggles to the rescue!

Friday, May 27, 2011

Schmagratulations!

This is my baby brother, Sam.
Wasn't he a beautiful baby?
This is Sam around age four, when he graduated from the Children's Behavior Therapy Unit, his preschool in Utah. He had just started talking.
See, this smiley, happy, busy boy is Autistic. He likes physics, electronics, weather, pool maintenance, xbox, Chuck Norris jokes, and action movies. He paces outside by the pool when he's stressed or there are too many people in the house. He doesn't always understand when people are upset with him.
He loves anything his brothers and Dad do. He has gone from looking like marvin the martian with his giant red motorcycle helmet on the back of Dad's bike, to recently taking lessons to (eek!) drive it himself. He used to only eat peanut butter and marshmallow fluff sandwiches and is now willing to try anything, loving Indian food, and always looking for a new hot sauce to pour on his food.
He is a most excellent uncle, always willing to help with his nieces and nephews, and relating to them in a way that he doesn't with everyone. Lulu has always loved Sam.
He is a workhorse, strong and quick, if he knows what he's doing, but just became undone in the kitchen when Mom asked him to sweep. :)

See, he's gone from a silent, nonverbal toddler to a brilliant, kind of strange, but uniquely charming young man.

He is graduating high school tomorrow. He has risen to be the top student in three of his classes, two of them AP classes. He has exceeded everyone's expectations, and I cannot wait to see what he does next.
Congratulations Sam! I love you!

changes!

Our girls are growing up!
Miss M graduated out of the wonderful, but BIG, carseat she has sat in for five years! :)
She was so thrilled to get a booster!
And with the new apartment, Lulu moved out of the crib!!!!!
I'm not sure I'm ready for that, but she's doing great. She loves that she has a big girl bed like sister!

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

A List

1. I love how the doors don't stick in the new apartment. I can now check on my sleeping babes late at night without the risk of waking them. I love watching my girls sleep.

2. I love McChicken sandwiches. There. I said it. I do.

3. I decapitated the head off a statue in the move. Stupidly. Like it made it to the new apartment safe and sound and I dropped it. Head clean off. It should repair quite nicely which makes me happy because it's the same statue that was in my Grandma Manwaring's living room of a mother in prayer, but it's not her statue, if that makes sense.

4. Miss M complained of a crampy stomach all afternoon and sure enough threw up this evening. All plans of working extra to gear up for a work-free (and therefore paycheck free) week in Hawaii are ruined.

5. I leave for Hawaii in less than two weeks!!!! That means Grandma and Grandpa Holman are coming in 8 days!!!!! We are so excited for them to come! And the girls!

6. Memorial Day=Cleaning the old apartment day for us. ugh

7. I can't quite decide what to make Miss M's teachers for end of year presents. But I need to do them soon since the last week of school, I will be across the ocean.

8. I can't believe I will be across the ocean from my babies. I didn't think it would bother me too much, but as it gets closer it is. The last time I was in Hawaii, I was pregnant with Miss M. In fact, I announced it to my family in the LAX airport. I got morning sickness and spewed Vietnamese food ALL over the bathroom on Maui, and I was carsick on the road to Hana when usually nothing makes me carsick.

9. I'm not pregnant this time.

10. We packed most of our things for the move in girl scout cookie boxes. They were ridiculously small, but my friend delivered them to me, they were nice and light and so they did the trick for the most part. But my Dad says people are going to start thinking we're cookie hoarders.

I can't think of many better things to hoard than thin mints.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

12squared: May

I got together with some of my local quilting friends from 12squared last night and we made sixteen of these.
which makes one of these, and someday soon a beautiful spiderweb quilt!
It was labor intensive but I loved learning a new pattern and technique!!

frustrated

I have discovered something this weekend.
Banks make short sales as miserable as possible to make sure you are really really really serious that you cannot sell your house or pay your mortgage any other way.

I have just sent my taxes, financial information, hardship letter, and everything you ever wanted to know about me for the FOURTH time.


Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Little Hoots Aprons

These are the aprons I made for Teacher Appreciation. You can see the teacher's blog in the post below, but I wanted the pictures I had for a record as well.

I love love love how the applique owls turned out! I love their button eyes and cute little beaks and feet! I love learning how to do new things!
apparently, my cooking skills need some work, if this is how Miss M thinks cooking is done! The kids made a cookbook and it is sooooo cute and funny! The best one is "Pizza" and the instructions are "Drive to Larry's Pizza and get a meatball and cheese pizza. The dessert chocolate chip is good too." At least my daughter knows we have an oven! :)
I don't know what we are going to do next year without these wonderful ladies! We are so blessed!


Sunday, May 15, 2011

A Snappy Good Time!

Moonpie brought over their box turtle, Snappy, to visit for Sunday dinner. We didn't eat him though. He crawled on the floor, everyone got to hold him, and my girls exhibited more bravery than their mother!

Lulu was absolutely enchanted by Snappy and wanted to hold him over and over!!

Miss M was more hesitant but was a brave girl.


He was teeny and cute and was a fun special visitor!

Friday, May 6, 2011

a list

1. It. has. been. a. week. It's been crazy busy and I can't wait to go to bed early or at least put my jammies on early!

2. We move in the next two weeks. I should probably start packing.

3. Mother's Day Tea is my new favorite event. I turned into a puddle watching my girl with her classmates recite a poem and sing a song to their moms.

4. My parents are on a diet and my Mom looks outstanding! Once again I'm blown away at how amazing she is.

5. It's been sunny and warming up but I still haven't made it into the pool. I intend to rectify that tomorrow, if possible. I'm excited for summer but not the heat. Wish I could have summer, the pool, but 70 degrees!

6. I'm infatuated with my new yellow box silver sequin flip flops. They are delightfully comfy and cute and I may have worn them every day this week.

7. I love book club. I need to write a review for Room, which we read for last night. I chose Moonlight over Manifest for June. I needed something I'd read before since we're moving.

8. I have borrowed a string of disappointing movies from the library, so I redboxed The King's Speech this week so W could finally see it and so we're better now.

9. I'm antsy. I can't wait for Hawaii but I also wish I could go west and visit all our family. We were spoiled the year we lived in Utah and I miss them all so much. And "Gra-son" needs to visit much longer than a week. Just sayin.

10. I love the McChicken. There. I said it.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

in only 68 days...

Grace & Jason are coming to visit!!!
Miss M has taken up the cause to make everyone know that it has been FOREVER and EVER since they visited and whenever she is sad, feeling tired, cranky, or in trouble and can't quite figure out why.... she blames it on the fact that Grace is NEVER coming back!

oh, but they are! They are coming in July, so Grace thought she'd try and help M's continual moaning and groaning that she has left us forever!

She sent a package of papers that we stapled together to make a chain and each day we will take off a link, and when the chain is gone, they will be here!

It's cute though, every time M groans about Grace being gone, Lulu immediately chimes in on Jason's behalf! And we are excited to for their visit!

And 68 days until their visit means...

34 days until Grandma Jan and Grandpa Bill and Sarah and Becca come (it's in writing S&B, you can't back out on us this time!!!!)

36 days until W and I leave for Hawaii!!!!

wahoo!!!!