Emma's Kindergarten Graduation

Emma's graduation . . . it was . . . interesting . . . and . . . involved. It was quite a production with short speeches by the kids, songs, and an actual procession where they called each student's name. It was kind of a lot for a kindergartner to sit through, but Emma had a good time and that is what was important.

She was quite excited for the graduation. (Can't you tell?) Especially because grandma came to visit and was able to come.

They sat them in alphabetical order (not a good idea) so she spent a lot of time goofing off with the friend sitting next to her because they kind of like to be silly when they are together. I couldn't even get her attention when she was standing in line to get a picture.

Anya found ways to amuse herself while waiting through the program.

We were very proud of Emma for walking across the stage by herself even though she said she was a little bit scared.I made some fun graduation snacks for the party she had in her classroom after wards. The kids really liked them so it made the time spent rolling those stupid cute tassels on the top worth it.

Here is Emma with her teacher Mrs. Taylor.

Here is Emma with some of her good friends Sam, Xavier, and Porter.

This was taken on the last day of class. She had such a great kindergarten experience and we are so proud of her for how hard she worked and how much she learned.

Ward Camp Out

Many moons ago, we went on a ward camp out. It was kind of an adventure that included shoe shopping. (I packed everything up and picked up Mike from work, but forgot to pack some non-work shoes for him.) It also included getting pretty lost and not rolling into camp until 9:00 pm. Although we got off to a rough start, we had a lot of fun.

Most of the night was spent listening to the various children of the ward cry. Luckily our girls slept through most of it. In fact, the girls were having so much fun in the tent that their giggling might have started the whole cry-fest.

Here's Emma with one of her good friends Macady. Unfortunately she moved this summer and we miss her lots. : (
More pictures of cute girls running wild in the wild.

I am noticing that most of our camping pictures are of Emma. Where was Anya this whole time? She was taking a nap like a good little girl.

Daddy taking some much need R & R.
It was so nice to sit around the camp fire with friends and just relax. I learned much about packing for a camping trip and what not to forget (shoes, tarp, air mattress . . .) I think next time, I won't try to do all the packing by myself when I am pregnant and forgetful. All in all, it was a nice time.
My favorite memory: Everyone else had these big fancy tents that took some time to set up. Ours was a dwarf compared to the rest. It was really tiny and it looked quite funny tucked between all the other behemoths. It took them about 5 minutes to put it up and everyone was pleasantly surprised.

My Pet Project

Oh, what do you do in the summer time when it feels like the world's on fire . . .

You start a project that ends up taking way longer than you thought it would and causes you to neglect all other motherly duties for three days (see the previous post). I started this about a month ago and after taking a week off to baby sit and another week off to play with my mom, it is finally done!
I painted a mural in our play room that covers one of the walls. I have more decorating plans that I will show in another post when I am done with everything. I learned a lot about painting and I have a new appreciation for people who do it for real. It was pretty difficult and very time consuming. Usually when things are hard, it is comforting that I am learning how to do it better for next time, but I'm pretty sure there isn't going to be a next time. :-) But, it is done and I think it turned out nicely. It will be fun for the kids for many years to come.


Mike made me take this picture and put it on. He "commanded" me. :-)While I was working on it, Emma said that it looked like the giraffe was about to eat the leaf. She said, "Mommy you should have painted the giraffe eating the leaf. Then you should have painted the lion getting the zebra."

Mike called this my pet project, I've decided if it was really a pet, it would have been a mammoth or a dinosaur.

Daddy Days

We really love daddy at our house. He is a goof ball who loves to play and snuggle and cause mischief. Over the last few days, I have been off mommy duty so I could finish my project. (It's done . . .) Mike took care of the girls almost 100% with a little help from Emma. She gave Anya a bath one day and put her to bed another. Anyway, here are a few fun things to remember from spending time with daddy:

Big bowl and big spoon at breakfast.Taking our books and backpack for a shopping trip.

Helping daddy vacuum.
Eating a big ice cream cone to celebrate mommy finishing.
Since we are on the subject of daddy. I thought I would share some funny things that Mike has said over the last little bit.

Mike and I were working on putting together a new desk. After he had assembled the first leg support he said, "The first leg of our journey is over."

While I was working on the toy room, he tried to talk to me and I said, "I'm trying to concentrate." Mike said, "Anya, mommy is getting more powerful, she's concentrating."
(Get it, like juice concentrate)

The Tooth Fairy

We had our first visit from the tooth fairy last night. Emma painlessly lost a tooth this week and has been so excited to put it under her pillow. She visited the dentist earlier this week and they gave her a special box to put it in. Emma had to put her tooth under her pillow two nights in a row. The first night the tooth fairy didn't show. (I'm pretty sure that the tooth fairy was so exhausted that she fell asleep on another (couch) pillow before she could even get to Emma's room.) Emma wasn't upset and told me that the tooth fairy was probably very busy so she put her tooth under her pillow the next night and this time the tooth fairy didn't disappoint. The second night, the tooth fairy left her some money and a cute little note in the shape of a tooth saying she was sorry she wasn't able to visit the first night. Emma was so excited that she woke Mike and I up at 6:00 am to tell us about it and to have me read the note. Congrats my little Emma!