Our Dash

Ivy's Birthday Celebrations

2009-08-11T22:11:00.000-07:00

Birthday breakfast consists of Chocolate donuts covered in sprinkles. She opened her presents before Marley went to school which made getting out the door VERY hard! I found her the color changing dolphin (I thought she had dreamt up), Pet Shop rodents (sounds sick, I know, but they are stinkin cute!), and Barbie Thumbelina movie and some matching playsets that she has wanted FOREVER. She got to lick the beaters when I made her cake and had ice cream for dinner. I don't think she would have changed a thing about this birthday!

(In a strong English accent please,) Ivy's Birthday Tea Party at the Telford Court. The guests, Avery and Izabela, were invited to come for afternoon tea and crumpets in celebration of her majesty's 4th birthday. We all wore the most divine gowns and sipped the finest tea. Berries of all sorts were served and make up was done in the parlor. What a fine gala to remember, such fun had by all in attendance.

Grandma Sally also had a party for Ivy. The whole fam was there except for Brian and Casey... sniff, sniff. But we did get to talk to them on the phone. Grandma had 3 different kinds of cake and food galore. Ivy got a new ballerina dress up, Littlest Pet Shops, a puppy that whimpers and barks, and new dresses. Thanks to all!

"She tookded my tooth and left me 5 bucks!"

2009-08-11T22:06:00.001-07:00

Marley's first encounter with the Tooth Fairy

2009-08-06T22:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, I don't have any more excuses, really. I finally got wireless upstairs, even a laptop to carry from room to room. I am committing, once again, to the preservation of the day to day moments that make up my life. This week is a BIG one. So let's go.

08/07/09 Marley started kindergarten on Tuesday. She's just like me; no tears, ready to please. (Okay, I admit, I got a teeny bit choked up, only because she was so brave and knew exactly what to do; her independence scares me.) She ran to the fence right when the bell rang and waited for Mrs. Hannah. For homework the first night she recited all the rules by heart and knows all the consequences if she chooses not to follow. She gave me a big scary face regarding the call home I may get if she doesn't get on the "choo, choo, choose the rule train". I threatened her with no treats and long afternoons in her room if I EVER get a call from her teacher. I know that will never happen, not just because of my threats, but because she is a pleaser. I am completely in love with her.

08/05/09 My tiniest baby, Ivy Giselle, 4 years old. I still talk baby talk to her. She seems so little compared to Marley at this age. She still chooses to ride in the stroller for hell's sake. The cutest things she says right now are "that's totally wicket; and Mama, I love you". Honestly, there are a lot more nasty phrases like, "That's it!", "Marley, that's enough" or "I'm done!" that are just as cute but clearly are imitations of me (not so cute). The window panes literally rattle when she screams, I sometimes worry that the neighbors can hear her during her fits of rage. It is so funny to watch her come into her own but still have such a baby side. I am completely in love with her.

08/07/09 10 years of marriage. WOW. Russell, my muscle, is still the man of my dreams. When we got married, when I was 20, I think I was in love with the idea of him... his big truck, his mysterioius style, his big blue puppy dog eyes, his handsome face, the way I had to work for our first kiss. But it is so different now. I love the way he is, the way he treats everyone he knows. His gentleness and easygoing-ness, yet his determined and stubborn way. He is 100% russell all the time. No fakey. Everyone loves him, which has been an issue for me...my weakness, I admit. I know I have a great husband and my daughters have a great daddy. I can only hope that I am for him what he is for me. I am completely in love with him.

Update

2009-01-21T22:14:00.000-08:00

So sometimes I wonder about the whole blogging thing. I start to feel guilty or something when I haven't updated in a while, but then I wonder why since I've seen pretty much everyone I know within the last week! Weird. Like you need updates on how cute my kids are. NEWSFLASH~ they are cute...and will be for the next 20 years at least! Plus, remember Dell Shanze? Yeah, that's right ~ my "Totally Awesome Computer" is acting up. I thought i had a lifetime warranty on that beast. Well~ since he went to jail (he pulled out some massive guns or something) it's giving me the big blue screen and saying it's recovering from a major system error. Since I can't really ask it why, and I'm out of warranty, I will not be preserving any of my lifetime memories on that beast. No, no. I do not trust that monster. I have concluded to saving my memoirs on shutterfly.com. I'm still working out the det's, but give me a couple weeks and I'll be back in the groove. I may have a new URL here pretty quick. Just because it's a one stop shop. Upload, Blog, Print. I love the easy button! Happy New Year!!

Back with my beauties

2008-11-25T21:12:00.000-08:00

After a long day of traveling, I was soooo happy to be home! I missed Rusty and the kids more than I thought I would. Visiting Brandy for a few days was was great, but returning home to my family was the best. I have to say, the kids missed me so much! I never expected them to not let go of me and want to hold me and touch me. They couldn't get enough! They have both snuck down to snuggle with me every night since I got home. When we walked in the door they had a key lime cheesecake with candles waiting so they could sing happy birthday.

Why is the frosting from the waxy candle the best part?

O to the H I O

2008-11-24T22:34:00.000-08:00

Yay! Finally a visit to see Brandy. Thanks to Grandma for taking the kids and Rusty skipping out on me for yet another significant day, I was able to take a few days and spend my actual birthday with BrandyBran. We had so much fun putting together our Christmas albums, an advent calendar, eating, talking, cruising. I miss that girl. It was a bit different being with the 3 of them without my kids. I really missed my rugrats! Izy loves to wrestle Avery which gets a little commotion going between the two. I thought this picture of them wrestling was so cute.

We went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner. As always, dee-lish. We spent the rest of the night shopping around until we got kicked out of Sephora at closing time. It was so nice to actually have a chance to look around at everything without worrying about the kids. Thanks Clint for coming home early! Love this pic of Brandy.

We had such a great time but became completely exhausted from the time change and staying up all night and getting up early. As hard as it was, it was a good thing for me to come home. Everyone back to normal schedules! Thanks for putting me up for a few days. Love you and see you soon!

Welcome to the Dirty Thirties

2008-11-24T22:07:00.000-08:00

Thanks to all who joined us at dinner at Tres Hombres and fun at Liquid Joe's. I had a blast! I thought going out would make me feel young again but in fact it had the opposite effect. The Spasmatics are so fun to watch but watching the young and stupid club goers is even funner! It made me realize that being old and 30 is a good thing. Knowing your limits and when to stay in your chair has its plusses. Having a life partner and 2 kids is much more appealing than trying so desperately to find someone to go home with. So glad I'm not them. I'm thankful for the years past and all that I've learned. I guess that means I'm glad I'm 30.

Me and Russel my Muscle

My adorable brother Jason brought his laptop so Brian could Skype in from Maryland. So fun. It's just not the same without them.

Amy, Jeff, Casey, Liz, Jeff, Jess, Reinier, Lisa, Muscle. Not pictured but loved just the same are Angie, Jared, Trish, Clay, Emily, Creed.

Charity and Kristina dogged out after dinner to go take care of sick hubbies. Missed you!

Girlie Stuff

2008-11-24T21:53:00.000-08:00

Uncle Jason got us tickets to see Disney on Ice. The way we see it~ a great opportunity to wear dress-ups out of the house! Of course the princess segment was our favorite. Rusty is right, this picture is proof, the have completely mastered fake smiling. (just like me!)

I can't explain our obsession for Hello Kitty but it is BAD! We love her! Last week at the mall we stopped at our sanctuary ~ The Hello Kitty Store ~ and the cashier invited us, I'm sure the guest list was limited to her biggest fans, to Hello Kitty's birthday party. The girls were so excited. Right when we walked out of the store Marley looked up at me and said "can we come mom?, Can we wear our dress-ups?" Yes baby girl, we will be the first to arrive. Unfortunately her party consisted of balloons and a line to wait in to take your picture with Hello Kitty, but that was good enough for us. Look how cute she is!

Florida

2008-11-07T09:35:00.000-08:00

Rusty was in Atlanta over Halloween and the kids and I didn't want to be alone on such a fun holiday, so we crashed my sisters party in Florida. This was supposed to be their one way ticket to move down there but thankfully they decided to stay in Utah. It was fun to visit their potential residence though. I keep asking her what's not to love about Florida? It is beautiful and you complain about clouds and 70 degree weather instead of snow and 40's. We spent Halloween in Miami with Alex's family and spent the following few days in Key Largo. Luckily Rusty was able to take a few days off to kick around Florida with us. We went to Theatre of the Sea where the kids had major animal interaction. They loved being up close to the marine life. One day we went out on the ocean and spent the afternoon hanging over the front of the boat looking for fish. We saw a stingray, turtle, and lots of fish. One night we drove to Key West to hang out. What a CRAZY place! Definitely not for kids, but it was worth the drive to experience chocolate-covered-keylime-pie-on-a-stick!

Halloween fun

2008-11-07T09:05:00.000-08:00

Hopefully it's fun for the kids, right? Sometimes it seems like more work than fun but I guess it makes for good memories! We went with Steph, Hudson and Sawyer to Halloween Street at the Expo Center. It was decorated cute and the kids went door to door along the path and trick or treated. The girls loved their costumes ~ pink puppies ~ they adore pink puppies. It never crossed my mind that they looked like lambs until 15 people there said "oh, look at the cute pink lambies". Whatever.

We also visited the Witches at Gardner's Village. Trish, Tyler and Tate joined us for lunch there but after they left the girls went and got manicures!First manicures. They got "spooky nails" with glow in the dark polish and cat and ghost decals. So cute! I love having girls!

Preschool halloween program. They knew the songs and rhymes so well, it is so amazing to watch them do their thing in front of a room full of grown-ups. Ivy stole the show when she stood up and did her line ~ Marley said "There are witches in the air" then Ivy's line was "but we don't care!" The way she talks with her little attitude is so funny. I am so lucky to have found a school they can go together and learn at their own pace, love their school and their cute teachers.
My little know-it-all. You can hear Marley louder and about a 1/2 second earlier than all the other kids. And Ivy's hand movements crack me up!

Won't load the video

2008-10-21T06:23:00.000-07:00

I tried it like 5 times. Even left the computer on all night trying to load the video of Ivy singing. Don't know why it won't load, any ideas? It really is worth seeing so I'll keep trying. Is there a way to compress the file size on a video?

Busy Weekend

2008-10-20T20:45:00.000-07:00

We spent the day on Friday at the Scarecrow Festival at Thanksgiving Point. The kids had fun playing games, bouncing in the bounce houses and picking out pumpkins. They had the coolest pumpkins I've ever seen. This is Ivy lost in the sea of pumpkins trying to make a decision. My niece Camryn had a performance in the afternoon and we were pretty much spent after that.

Saturday was Rusty's work Lagoon day. It was postponed from last weekend when we got the snow and it was well worth the wait. The weather was so nice and we had a great time. Marley wanted to go on the big rides but still had fun with Ivy in the kiddie land. We did break out of kiddie land for a couple big rides like Tilt-a-whirl (yes, still standing) and we could not stop laughing! We weren't even trying to spin around and our little car was spinning out of control. The kids couldn't hold their heads up straight!

This is Marley watching the Ladybug ride drop from the sky.

I'm going to start putting out a bucket for this girl to collect! She often breaks out into song and serenades anyone who will listen. This is somewhat of a medley...mostly the Enchanted song with a few lines thrown in from Barbie~Prince and the Pauper. She definitely doesn't get those pipes from me, I'm jealous!

We had to cut it short at Lagoon and rush to an old friend's wedding. It was beautiful. My dad did the ceremony. It's always nice to hear him speak in a different perspective...like to a newly married couple vs. his kids! It's touching to hear his sensitive side.

After the wedding we were rushing, once again! We had tix to the Real Salt Lake game. We stopped at Kneaders for some food and got to the stadium just a few minutes late. The game was way fun to watch ~ they are so good with their feet! My kids could have cared less about soccer but loved stomping their feet on the bleachers with their cousins. What a day!

Sunday was pumpkin carving at Grandma's house. This has turned into a fun tradition but this year we missed Brian and Casey like crazy! They are so much fun! Lisa dug through the pumpkin guts just for Brian and gathered seeds so we could send them to Baltimore. Weirdo loves pumpkin seeds. Ivy quickly lost interest so Rusty carved "Cinderella" and Marley was way more interested in playing with the cuz's so I finished "Tinkerbell". Note to self ~ check the difficulty rating before you commit to tiny detailed character carvings!

HaPpY hALloWeEn!!!

First Snow ~ October 11th, 2008

2008-10-13T20:21:00.000-07:00

When the girls saw the snow falling Saturday morning they both flipped out with excitement! They kept saying, "Mom, its TOTALLY Christmas!" They have this thing with running out to the clubhouse to see how cold their feet get so this morning I dared them to try it in the snow. The little wimpies wouldn't go barefoot ~ they went and got flip flops! A little protection was good I guess, I could barely stand out there to take a picture. It was sooooo cold!

Marley trying to catch a snowflake in her mouth.
Ivy heading towards the door!

Mommy, I'm coldy.
She wanted us to see that she caught one on her tongue. Nope, can't see it!

Back to it.

2008-10-06T21:03:00.000-07:00

So when I started this blog I knew it was going to be one more task for me to complete in my weekly obligations, and like a lot of other things I fall behind, get stressed out, feel inadequate, wonder why I have so much to do. So, in order to get our blog going again I am going to start with today. Today was good. I will go back if and when I want to. We did have a fantastic summer with many blogworthy adventures but I have to start somewhere, and that is today. (I feel like Meredith right now in her opening dialogue in Grey's, can't wait for Thursday!)

So today, me being me in my typical mommy manner, I told Marley to go draw a pumpkin patch in effort to distract her from me giving my precious time away to the to the internet. I specifically told her she had to draw a whole patch, meaning multiple pumpkins, so I could have max time possible. Of course she insisted on me looking at each one as she went. I swear, I can't even read a whole email, let alone type a damn post for the blog! So this is what she drew...

Cute, right? I don't know how she even learned to draw, but you name it and she'll draw it. She's good too. I guess the next job is for her to learn how to take her time with these little picasso's so I can post a little more!

Breakfast in Bed

2008-07-22T15:49:00.001-07:00

This morning Marley came to my side of the bed and said Boo until I rolled over and kissed her good morning...little cutie. 3 minutes later she returned to our room, went to Rusty's side of the bed and said "Good morning, Daddy! Here's your breakfast." and gave him a plastic cup full of Apple Jacks...cutEST. I wonder why I got boo-ed and he got cereal? She's always so sweet in the morning, why can't it last all day?

Schofield

2008-07-15T21:19:00.000-07:00

A long weekend at the cabin makes for non-stop adventure and complete exhaustion. We met my mom and my nephews there on Thursday and came home Saturday afternoon. We played on the 4 wheelers, went insect hunting, and crawdad fishing. It was really fun. As much as my mom drives me crazy with inspecting each wildflower and explaining where each road goes and what time each person should be arriving we had a great time. My aunt Leesa and some of my cousins and their kids came up Friday afternoon so the kids had a fun playing with each other while the grown ups tried to keep up. The best part is when Rusty suprised us by showing up Saturday morning. He had been gone for business that week so we planned on meeting at home Saturday night, but he showed up early while we were all still in our pj's. Actually, the best best part is when my mom offered to keep the kids Saturday night so we could go out! Love that! We went to the American Legion (I'll explain in another post ~ hard to beat) with Jason, Lisa and Reinier and Brian and Casey and a bunch of their friends and played Rock Band after at Don and Lanae's house. Good night and didn't have to worry about getting the sitter home on time. Thanks mom, next time I'll try to look at the 8 millionth wildflower with as much excitement as the first.

On our bug hunt, Ivy found a rock with a grasshopper inside! She would shake it and say shhh... hear the grasshopper?

After 10 miles on the 4 wheeler we made it to the Skyline Drive. The long ride was worth it, its one of the most beautiful spots we visit.

Enamored with the crawdads

Tie a string to a piece of raw chicken, drop it in the lake and the crawdads come running! Conner pulled up 5 at once!

Ivy held me so tight and tickled my belly while we drove. The only bad thing ~ ALLERGIES! They were bad up there. Poor Marley, her eyes bug her so much.

Thank heaven for Daddy's. Rusty hates fishing too.

Fishing with my cuz's kid Addie, whom we don't get to see enough!

First Dentist Appointment ~ 07/09

2008-07-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

Another reason I'm mom of the year ~ both girls just had their first ever dentist appointments! I just really didn't feel the need to take them until now. Although I completely ignored the recommendations from the parenting experts there was no harm, no foul. Both girls have great teeth, not a single cavity. Marley was a bit scared of the xray machine but still got some pictures taken and Ivy jumped right up there and opened her mouth as wide as she could. She was so cute. They both got their teeth cleaned and got new tooth brushes and flosser things. I give props to Dr. Johnson, Pediatric Dentist and his cute hygenists in Riverton. They were great with the kids and the office was super kid friendly too.

A little skeptical at first

Watching Incredibles on the ceiling

The tickle toothbrush

Waiting to hear the bird chirp

The hygienist showing Ivy the "tickle brush"

I think she like the little vaccuum in her mouth!

July 4th, Legoland, Sea World

2008-07-10T04:40:00.000-07:00

We took the girls on a mini-vacay for the 4th. I've been so excited to take them to the big theme parks; we've been talking about it and waiting to go for quite a while. We left on Thursday morning and met Rusty in San Diego airport. He was traveling from Texas and our flights were just an hour apart so he was able to go get the car and pick us up out front. Traveling through the airports alone with 2 kids is more difficult than I thought. Getting the car, suitcase, stroller, carseats, backpack, 2 kids and myself where we needed to be was definitely exciting. I think I'll have someone drop me off next time!

Sea World was so fun for the kids. Favorites were the starfish pond, stingray pond, and the poisonous tree frogs. I hate to be the one to say it, but the Shamu show is overrated! How pretty are killer whales, I know, but the show was incredibly boring. The kids were uninterested and all I could think about was not breathing the BO from the big guy in front of me. The highlight of Sea World was the Build-a-Bear type gift shop where they each made a stuffed animal to bring home (just what we need!).

We spent the 4th at the beach. It was misty all day but the girls still had so, so much fun. Especially Marley. When she first went in the water and saw the waves coming she let out this high pitched scream, such a little girl. She kept this up for the first little while until she was brave enough to go in deeper. Rusty spent all morning with her in the water trying to find seashells. Of course Ivy was not into the ocean scene but she found a way to have fun burying my toes. It's funny how different their personalities are, and our day at the beach is a perfect example of that. We planned on watching fireworks on the beach but got burned out before it even got dark! The kids wanted to swim at the hotel so we headed back early and went for a night swim in the pool, firework-less.

Legoland was interesting. Fun, but not super exciting. Everything is made of legos so that was cool to look at, especially impressive was the MiniTown USA display. The rides had long lines and were very basic but after standing in line for 30 minutes the kids enjoyed the 30 seconds of fun. It was a nice, mellow day. Ivy even snuck in a nap while we walked around.

The girls proved to be excellent travelers. I love taking them places and showing them new things. Next stop, Disneyland. Can't wait!

2008-06-30T22:17:00.000-07:00

Family Photos by Jocelin
visit her website: photographybyjocelin.com

Some of my favorites. Jocelin does such an incredible job it is hard to choose which ones to print. It's all I can do to not just plaster my walls with these cute photos of my husband and kids!

Marley Sage
smart ~ patient ~ loving ~ independent ~ pretender ~ dancer ~ pleaser ~ ignorer ~ nice ~ short tempered ~ singer

Ivy Giselle
sweet ~ grouchy ~ moody ~ naughty ~ lover ~ playful ~ stubborn ~ comforter ~ giggles ~ silly ~ couch potato ~ snuggler

A night with the Benson's

2008-06-28T23:47:00.000-07:00

It's not often that we get together with Larry's family but since they were having a barbeque in at Greg and Linda's tonight we decided to go. They have the coolest house, a renovated barn with some of the original brickwork and doors. Very unique. We had a great time. The girls played upstairs while I visited with the family. Greg showed the girls the fishpond and strawberry patch and we found some baby potato bugs. I got a quick picture of Grandma Mae and the girls on the bridge on the way out, but wish I would have taken a photo of everyone since it will probably be a while before we see them again.

Hogle Zoo

2008-06-27T23:25:00.000-07:00

We spent the morning at Hogle Zoo with Charity, Terrence, and Easton. I was so glad we went early because all the animals were awake instead of sleeping in the hot sun. The highlight of the trip was in the big cat house when the leopard was pacing right in front of the kids and when we got to watch a training session with the tiger. It even growled for us which was pretty cool. While we were looking at the zebras Marley said, "Look Mom, can you see his peanuts?" The guy behind us started laughing as did I. I presume she learned that terminology from Cole. I wanted to take the kids to the pool after to cool off but they both fell asleep before we made it to the freeway, so it was homeward bound.

06/25 Drama Queen

2008-06-25T23:08:00.000-07:00

Ivy changes clothes 5 times a day, 3 of which are usually leotards. She has names for every outfit and favorites of course and when she can't find what she wants, you better watch out. This little number she was looking for "pink sparkly" was in the washer but that was unacceptable until she could see it with her own two eyes so while the washer was doing its thing Ivy cried, and cried, and yelled and cried. Finally when the washer beeped she went in to find it and the world was okay again. Of course she had to wait for it to dry but that was okay because at least she knew where it was.

2008 Summer Games and Father's Day

2008-06-18T14:49:00.000-07:00

June 11-14, 2008
Utah Summer Games in Cedar City
My nephew Conner is on a rockin' soccer team: USA. They played a tournament in the Summer Games in Cedar City. They were the defending champs and took the Gold Medal once again! Conner is the one in the front row with black on his cheeks. The girls and I tagged along with Lisa and her boys to watch a whole lot of soccer and hang out. It seemed like a good idea until the 3rd day and all the kids were sleep deprived. A couple of meltdowns and a Gold Medal later we were happy to be back home. Marley's favorite part: swimming; Ivy's favorite part: the Jazz Bear at the Opening Ceremony; my favorite part: watching Conner kick butt.

June 15th ~ Father's Day
We visited my family in Highland on Father's Day. Had some good food and presents. Dumb me, got him a gift he already had~ a Camelback for hiking. Good thing he got a gift receipt with that right? We rushed home trying to beat Rusty since the house was still a mess from our Cedar City junk. He was on his way home from Lake Powell with Reinier and Steve, and they beat us despite our mad dash from Highland. The girls had both fallen asleep in the car so all Rusty got on Father's Day was some kissable sleeping babies. On Monday they gave him our gift ~ a blower for the yard. It was kind of a selfish gift since I mow and trim the lawn 95% of the time!

San Diego, why not?

2008-06-10T22:25:00.001-07:00

Rusty was out of town for the first of the week and when he got back he kept asking me if we could go to Vegas, if my mom would take the kids, let's go do something.....etc. I was supposed to work both Saturday and Sunday so I was like sorry babe...that's what you get for being a slave driver. Well, last minute I was able to get out of my shifts so we decided to go to San Diego! I was working Friday night and got an email that my weekend shifts were covered so we were on the computer that night trying to find somewhere to go. We called my parents and they were more than happy to take the kids, so we made plans to go to San Diego. We took the kids to my parents early Saturday morning and drove straight to the airport. When we got there we checked in to the hotel, The Sofia (which I would recommend to anyone), then headed straight for the beach. I did not understand how so many beautiful men and women were bouncing around in their swimsuits because I froze my butt off, had my sweater on all weekend! I thought San Diego was 75 degrees all year round, night, day whatever. I'm here to tell you, it is not!! We found this little mexican cantina that we actually had lunch at when we visited on our 4th anniversary, same spot, same beach, same table. Fun little spot to reminisce about times before kids :)! After that we walked down the beach and decided to go to the Padres Game. Since it was so freezing, we had to go to the mall and get warm clothes, thanks honey. New jeans and sweatshirt. The game was fun, the Padres won. $9 beers, $7 hot dogs $5 cotton candy, good thing it didn't last all night! I wanted to go out after the game but we were both so tired we just went back to the room. We literally fell asleep with our clothes on. Sad. We are old. Sunday morning we had breakfast in the hotel and went for a drive. We drove to a couple of wineries, which was really interesting and drove through Torrey Pines. Golf lovers probably know the US Open was this held there this weekend. Not a golf lover, don't know who won, check espn.com if you care. We proceeded down through La Jolla, cool, cool place, and had dinner in Pacific Beach. Then it was time to head back to even chillier SLC. Fun trip, loved the spontaneity. The kids had a lot of fun with my parents too. They took them to church, I kept my fingers crossed that the kids wouldn't offend the primary teachers. They always say cute things about church that make me laugh. All in all, it was a fun weekend, hopefully more will come in the near future. I have to admit that it has been a while but don't you just love cotton candy?

Marley's Dance Recital

2008-06-10T22:11:00.000-07:00

May 31, 2008

Marley's dance recital was so sweet but so not sweet too. She and the other girls were so cute and did just as they were taught, but the organization of the studio was a big joke. I was almost embarassed for the owner. Although their location is the most convenient, we are not registering with this studio again! We are going to start gymnastics for both girls and try dance again at another studio that we have had great recommendations from.

4 IS NOT AS EASY AS IT LOOKS

2008-06-02T20:54:00.000-07:00

Four. Carefree, fun, energetic, simple ~ the first thoughts that come to mind when thinking of a 4 year old right? Well today I'm here to make a case for the 4 year olds: life is not as easy, breezy as it looks. About half way through this week I realized what adult conversations I was having with Marley, and that I have had nearly 30 years to think about these things and this is just the introduction for her. Here's a sampling of what her little brain is trying to comprehend this week:

~The logistics of "I promise" and "pinky promise". Marley had to visit the dr. today about a sore that won't go away. We had to stop at Target to fill the perscription and she got a treat ~ body glitter~ because she promised me she would let me squeeze more "germs" out of the sore tonight like the dr. ordered. However, when the time came to squeeze it she flipped out and would not allow it. I explained that I had to take the body glitter away because she didn't keep her promise. How unfair is that? So not cool. She was so sweet and tried telling me through her tears that she promised that next time she makes a promise she would do it and that she really promises. And if you make a pinky promise then you don't promise then you don't get a treat. And if you don't make a pinky promise then you can't do what Dr. Cami says. I felt so bad taking away the body glitter at that point. She clearly did not know the commitment of "pinky promise". Being the sweetheart that she is she put the body glitter in my drawer and with eyes overflowing with tears told me that next time she makes a promise she'll get it back.

~Why she must be warned about creepy old men in WalMart lurking and searching for mom's that have turned their backs on the children left in the basket, wanting to touch their privates. (Reported on KUTV News) She said "and they'll go to jail right? Like if you don't buckle your seatbelt." I guess for a 4 year old that's a good enough comparison. I didn't want to argue that fact but tried to explain that's why she never leaves mommy's side.

~Why you can't go outside alone to practice riding your scooter. What lying is and that you can't say your sister did it when you ripped the sheets off your bed. Why mom and dad get to go to a birthday party and a party lovin' 4 year old can't go. How when little sisters cry and whine, the 4 year old is reprimanded and told not to make her cry and whine. Why you can't climb the shelves of the pantry to get treats out of the treat box when all you want is some chocolate.

So there is my case for the 4 year olds. There is so much being thrown at them, I think we (I) should give them a break. Let them cry and laugh and talk and express all the emotion they must be feeling in any way they can. At this age they can talk and understand and ask questions and come to conclusions all by themselves. Maybe we (I) should take a moment and remember she's only 4 and give her back the body glitter. She'll figure out promises later, right?

At the end of the day, after trying to understand all of what she's been taught, she said to me, "Good night mommy. I hope you have sweet dreams. And I hope they're about me....and monkey...and Ivy." I hope her sweetness will always shine through at the end of every day, no matter what life throws at her.

Marley's Preschool Program

2008-05-28T12:55:00.000-07:00

Last day of school. So sad for Marley because she loves going to school; what are we going to do for three months without it? Better question: what will I do in three months when they are both in preschool? Probably won't be too hard to figure out, right?Her nickname from her teachers is "Smarty Pants". She got a perfect score on her report card. Knows all colors, letter, numbers, and is spelling and reading words all by herself. It seems like a normal progression for a 4 year old but sometimes I like to think she's a step ahead. Could just be that I'm a proud mother! When the program started, Marley got out of her chair and went over to the teacher. The teacher gave her the big flag and she proceeded to the microphone. I had no idea what she was doing. She reached right up to the mike and said, "Please rise". She then led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance! She did so good. Not a bit of nervousness. I think she was more worried about getting her mouth close to the microphone since it was a few inches taller than her. It was such a surprise to me, I would have practiced with her or at the very least had my video camera charged! I didn't even know they were learning the Pledge. I asked her why she was the lucky girl, and she said "oh, they just wanted me to do that." She was like, whatever...no big deal. Took it all in stride. I caught a little bit on video mode on my camera, but it's hard to see and hear. After the Pledge she went back to her seat and sang cute songs that they have been learning all year. Preschool has been a fun adventure in her life.

Best Friends

2008-05-22T11:05:00.000-07:00

Two little crazies. Giggles, games, make-believe. So much love. Marley is the best big sister ~ always teaching and encouraging Ivy. Ivy is the best little sister ~ always following and doing exactly what Marley says.

I made the mistake of telling them they could have a sleepover in my bed one night while Rusty was gone. Now they think every time he is gone they get a sleepover. Along with them sprawled out in my bed are the stuffed animals, oh the stuffed animals. I just really cant stand furry-ness in my neck while I'm sleeping but the girls insist I must hold pink puppy really tight because she is afraid of the dark.

Out in the backyard. We love summer and the princess slide! The last picture is Ivy attacking with giraffe kisses. We have this book "animal kisses" ~ the mommy giraffe licks the baby giraffe. So sometimes Ivy gets into giraffe kissing mode and licks everyone. Of course the laughing only encourages her and we are all covered in slobber by the time the episode ends!

Mother's Day

2008-05-12T21:13:00.001-07:00

my mom ~ aka salleriffic, mustang sally

my beauties ~ Ivy Giselle and Marley Sage

Happy Mother's Day to all you mommies! I hope everyone got breakfast in bed and a little extra love from the kids. Mine were very sweet and woke me up with kisses and their little voices wishing me a happy mother's day. They gave me a couple new summer outfits and Rusty took care of all the cooking for the day! We spent the afternoon at my parent's house and everyone brought such good food. I was impressed with the men's skills! The guys, mainly Rusty, even took care of the mountain of dishes aftermath. Great job honey, you always step up and make the rest of them look bad. Couldn't ask for a better man. Also couldn't ask for a better mom. She is always so happy and an inspiration to stop and enjoy life's little moments. Just look at what she has done for the world...................................... love you mama sally!

Blogging Tips

2008-05-07T22:02:00.000-07:00

I guess I need to invest a few minutes to figure this thing out. Please share your favorite blogging tips. Like how do you add the names on the side? Play music? Video? Hook me up so I don't have to read :)

Thanks, Love ya!

2008-04-28T18:47:00.001-07:00

What the freak, freak? Why doesn't my post show up when I open the blog?

Am I Doing This Right?

2008-04-28T16:12:00.000-07:00

Where the hell did the picture of us go? You guys, I'm sorry, I haven't had time to figure this out yet! Plus my computer with all of our pics on it isn't online right now. My goal is to have the rest of our office set up this week so we can get back to business as usual. The painting is all done, the desk is set up, we even installed a light fixture Saturday night. The baseboards are the only thing that still need to be done. I'll leave that project for Rusty. Thanks for making me a blog and then giving me crap for it. Love ya!