Waiting Spot

This is the "Waiting Spot" at our house. I love it.

I wanted to record one of the every day things we do. The front door to our house is actually on the side of our house. We put a swing bench off the porch. Often when a carpool is coming to pick kids up... or someone very exciting is coming over... we go sit out on the swing bench and wait and swing and wait.

Every morning, Lily's carpool comes to take her to preschool. So every morning Lily and I sit out on the swing bench with her backpack, and often a book, and wait together and swing.

I love it.

I am usually still in my pajamas, like below.

But I don't always make weird faces with my lip like below, this morning I had a big honkin cold sore I was trying to conceal.

Lily's BFF Lucy comes, we hug... then she runs away from me.... and we wave good-bye for the morning.

And she is always hoping its friday, because fridays at preschool means treasure box.

PS- The "Waiting Spot" is also the place I escape to when the weather is nice and all my kids are driving me crazy. I quietly leave the house when no one is looking and sit out and swing by myself.... but usually someone finds me... and they come and swing with me,

but that is okay too.

Sophie

Babies are SO MESSY.

I turn around to Sophie so happily dumping her milk out and swiping it all over the tray and floor as fast as she could...

Then doesn't the below picture make it look like she feels bad for being so naughty?

Last week18 month old Sophie kept crying and making big messes, and I was like "I AM SOOO DONE HAVING BABIES"....

.... then later the same day she was eating an orange while doing this cute little dance (she dances whenever something makes her happy, especially a yummy treat, it is her sign of approval... she was really dancing about the refried beans from Abuelos restaurant last week- ha ha) ...then looking at me with her little tiny eyes straight from heaven...

...I was like, "Saddest thought ever, not always having a baby next to me".... sigh

Because nothing can compare with how cute they are,

even when they're naughty.

Crazy People

January Sunday Activity

We may not have snow,

but who says we can't sled?

The kids figured out that if they put a plastic toy chest lid inside of a sleeping bag, it made for a pretty awesome toboggan down the wood stairs.

They went way fast. There were a few crash landings.

Bruce was napping, came out and said, "Has nobody considered they could get hurt??"

Then after a minute said, "Whatever, we have insurance"... and went back to lay down.

Ha ha, I cracked up....

they're breaking him down.

Ashlin was a big fat chicken and wouldn't try it... but she did come out of her bedroom to lay on the living room couch and watch the crazy little people.

Assertiveness

In November Emma and her bestest Mikayla came to me saying they wanted to sing a special musical number in Sacrament meeting at church. I told them Sis. Hamada was in charge of scheduling those and forgot about it.

Within a few days they let me know that they contacted Sis Hamada, scheduled a date for them to sing in January, chose a song, "A Child's Prayer", wanted to know if I would play the piano for them and when could our first practice be.

They asked 2 other girls in our ward to join them, so it was 4 girls, but one left church before I got a picture. They did so good (I was so nervous to play the piano in front of ward, but how could I say no). They dressed all matching in black dresses.... and matching turquoise flowers in their spiral curled hair. (Emma had called her Aunt Chrissy and asked if she would make them matching flowers for the occasion, she was so kind to oblige.) They looked so darling up there all matching, and sang so sweet and innocently the beautiful words about how God hears us when we pray.

If you want something

to get done,

I suggest you ask

Emma and Mikayla.

Miss Emma

Miss Emma's 11th

Birthday Party!

***

Emma asked me how many girls she could invite to her party, and I was like, I don't care, however many you want. So Emma invited 21 girls! UGH. My thought was, on 5 days notice we'll probably only have like 15 come... OH NO... She had TWENTY girls here for the party.

They loved "Just Dance", who doesn't?

And it made my heart happy,

that even though Emma had 20 friends here to dance with....

she kept getting her baby sister Sophie and holding her and dancing with her.

GUEST APPEARANCE:

Sis. Autumn Hunt, who use to be the music teacher at the girls school... happen to stop by our house for secret reasons (see below post "Taylor Lautner") Since she is literally a concert pianist... we had her impromptu play "Happy Birthday" on the piano (a seriously concert version) while ALL the girls sang to Emma. It was SO fun and I wish I had that moment on video!!

And since Miss Emma hates cake... she requested this yummy light and fluffy cherry cheesecake we love... good choice!

So, in the end, 20 girls was A LOT of girls to have in the house. We had the party from 6 until 11pm, because I thought that sounded fun for her (and better than a slumber party)... but at about 10pm Bruce was like, "how long are these girls gonna be in our house?". ha ha. It felt LONG, it was a little crazy, and hard to play games with that many girls here... but they played "Murder in the Dark" over and over and over again, and loved it... (BEST party game) and the party eventually ended...

and Emma loved it. So it was worth it.

We love you Emma-nem.

Taylor Lautner

Ummmmm, why is this fine looking muscle bound heart throb in my 15 year old daughters bedroom??

Well, he was delivered by these ladies:

Ha ha... in the middle of Emma's birthday party Ashlin's friends came over all sneaky while Ashlin was gone to deliver a surprise to her room. A full size, stand up, Taylor Lautner. Ashlin didn't get home that night until like 1am... she was so tired... walked in to her bedroom and screamed. She wasn't expecting a man to be standing there in the dark. ha ha, it was so funny.

She thinks he's really hot... who doesn't?

Lame-O Mom Christmas

Actually, we had a very wonderful Christmas month, in spite of all the busyness... however I took NO pictures. None, zero... no Christmas day, no Christmas temple lights memories... no photos of the day baking all kinds of goodies to bring to neighbors... Oh well.

The only photos of the whole month are below.

This is literally the best picture from our 20 minute long family photo session in the park behind our house trying for a Christmas card picture. I say to the kids... "If you just smile for FIVE minutes, we can be done, so lets all be good so its fast". Oh NO, that was too much to ask, instead everyone had a melt down.

Sophie screamed the ENTIRE 20 minute session... and it was really hard to smile with her screaming and crying... by the end Lily was crying... Dallin was crying (because I swatted him with Sophies blanket for not cooperating)... and I wanted to cry! Good times.

Here's a good one of my frustrated face. ha ha.

This one was decent, but Sophie's face is 100% facing the other way, which is probably better since she was screaming anyway.

We also have one really fuzzy picture of a really neat evening.

Emma was in the East Valley Mormon Youth choir all fall.

They put on an AMAZING Christmas concert at the Mesa Arts Center. Bruce and I went with Dallin, Logan, Lexi and my dad too see her... and the full orchestra, children and adult choirs.

It took my breath away. One of my favorite things we did this Christmas season.