Kindergrad - What I did last summer, Part 6

That is right. My son graduated Kindergarten. He chose his "graduation outfit", his favorite plaid shirt and pirate tie.
The class was so cute singing songs like "this little light of mine" and sharing what they wanted to be when they grew up.

Riley and his best friend Garrett want to open up a pet store together. Garrett went up first to tell the audience he wanted to be a Pet Store Owner. When it was Riley's turn, Riley didn't want people to think he was going into competition with him, so he said he was going to be a Pet Store Worker. :)

They decided their pet store was going to be called "Yo, Pets! What's up?" Since then, though, they have changed the idea of the Pet Store to a Zoo... and the Zoo would be called Two Bachelors Zoo because neither of them want to ever marry gross girls. haaaaa

Here's Riley with Mrs. Viana, his most favorite kindergarten teacher!

YEAH! KINDERGARTEN IS OVER!!!! WOOHOOO!!!

Pirate Play - What I did last summer, Part 5

As I had posted awhile before, Violet had been involved in several theater groups over the school year, including Drama Kids International. Drama Kids was a 12 week program that culminated in a large performance on stage at the Summerlin Performing Arts Center.

The play Violet participated in was a production about a bunch of silly pirates and sailors.... and Violet was cast as the Captain of the sailors. ;)
This is her giving orders as the Captain...

And this was her singing her heart out while practicing for her performance...

And then she was reminding me to get to the stage EARLY so I could get a good seat...

Violet is the second sailor from the left...

Of course, she was the most animated. :)

AND the sassiest. :)

I let her wear makeup for the stage... here she is after the show. Well Done, Violet!!

Ice Cream - What I did last summer, part 4

We had ice cream. :)

Violet and Riley have really grown into being great friends.

They are fiercely protective of one another... they have all sorts of inside jokes...

And they REALLY know how to make each other laugh.

I love watching their relationship. Even when they bicker and argue, it's all but completely forgotten within ten minutes and they are back to laughing again. :)

I love that about their relationship. I don't want it to ever change. :)

Utah - Part 2 of What I did last summer

Also in May, I got to go to Salt Lake City with Digital Scrapbook Memories as an instructor at their Scrapbook Retreat Weekend! April did an amazing job as host and I loved getting to know the members of this wonderful community.

This is Alisha :)
She is scrapbook instructor extraordinaire, and I love loved her rad haircut!


And, well, I knew Barb already :)
In fact, she was my roommate!

And this is Brooke. She loved the tree. aaaha ;)

We walked around downtown Salt Lake City and had a mini photoshoot...

Brooke was so natural and relaxed in front of the camera...

On the last day, April (center) took Kelly (left) and I on a tour, since neither of us had been to Salt Lake City before. First we went up this huge hill that overlooked the whole valley...

And then she took us to the beautiful Temple Square... I loved that even though neither Kelly or I were Mormon we could still walk around and explore most all the different areas. We could not go into the temple (which is reserved for sacred ordinances and practices), but we did get to walk around many other beautiful places.

I was really impressed with how incredibly clean and well-landscaped every area was. Volunteers were everywhere, working to keep the place looking in pristine condition.

When we were there, tulips were in full bloom...

The architecture was so beautiful! I loved this waterfall that came right out this building...

I was truly impressed with how absolutely beautiful everything was. The place was very peaceful, too. I think if I lived in Salt Lake City I would come to Temple Square for lunch a lot, just to enjoy the quiet beauty.

More from My Summer to come!

My Fundraising Page for TNT!

Jessie's Fundraising Page for TNT!

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What I did Last Summer. Part 1.

Since I was a bad blogger all summer, I have decided that for Back to School I would give myself an assignment... to write about what I did last summer. This way I can actually have record of what happened on my blog, and I can finally post the pictures I took months ago. :)

So... in this installment of What I did Last Summer, I am taking us to the Biggest Little City in the World, where my friends and I had our own mini "Women's Retreat" in May.

We stayed at Erin's mom's (completely RAD) house on Sierra Street... and we made this retreat as authentic as we could, complete with Special Goody Bags...

Also we had matching t-shirts that I custom made for each of us...
And every day one of us was in charge of a meal. Of course, we put Erin in charge of breakfast... because she is literally THE BEST AT IT.
While much of our retreat was focused on God, we did take some time for a photo workshop since all the girls have digital SLR cameras but no one really knew how to use them. :)

Shontell was very sneaky.
Whatever it takes, my friend!
Some fun evening shots of the city lights...
And then a chairful of friends being extra silly the next morning.
Hello there!
Love. Love. LOVE my friend Erin.
On our way home to Vegas we decided to have Bible Study in the middle of the freeway. You may think this would be potentially dangerous, what with all the cars...
Alllll the carssssss....
Perfect photo op! HA!

So there you have it. The first of many installments on What I did Last Summer. Stay tuned! More to come :)

The First Day of School, 2009 style.

And here we are... Apparently I took the summer off of blogging, but it's a new school year, which means new blogs and new beginnings!

We celebrated the First Day of School with our traditional homemade waffle breakfast...

And then the obligatory "photos in front of the house"...

First, the First Grader...

Then the two of them, ready to go.

Now, the Fourth Grader!

And, finally, the First Day of School tradition isn't complete without dad walking the kids to school. :)

I love that he insists on doing this. :)

They had a WONDERFUL day, both of them LOVE their teachers, and they are excited about all the potential the new year has to offer. I am looking forward to a little quiet around the house so that maybe (MAYBE) I can actually work during the day, instead of after they go to bed!

The Boy and His Blond Locks

He decided that for First Grade he would have a new haircut...

This was Sunday afternoon at 4 pm, just before Rick took him to Sport Clips for some male bonding, hair cutting, and ESPN watching...

And this is My Big Boy afterward...

Good thing he likes it... I think he looks adorable, but I sure miss those long tresses!

I guess he's ready for First Grade...!

Life is just a chair of bowlies

I love my fruity friends. We are just a chair full of bowlies. I have so much to post and share... and I think I am finally coming out of the fog that is too many things on my plate. So I will start blogging again this week.

These girls are so special to me... and I thank God for them every single day (Phil 1:3). Each one of them has special gifts that they bring to our group of friends and together we all make a pretty great group. Even though not all of us live in the same area, there is just something magical about when we get together - it's like time never passed. I think that's the mark of a true friendship.

I have other special friends that are not pictured (Mel, Jo, et. al), and they, too, are so special and dear to me. But today I wanted to share this picture and the way it makes my heart feel warm all the way to my toes, because I just really, really love these girls.

Feast or Famine.

I know, my blogging as of late has been sporadic. I have so much to share and just no time to do it. Part of which is because I have no computer to do it on... shortly after finishing my kitchen, I decided it was time to tackle the office - so Liane and I took a trip to IKEA and got new furniture, then we came back and started taking arpart the office. First we took out all the furniture, then we ripped out the carpet. THEN we began installing a bamboo floor (a combination of vertical natural and vertical carbonized bamboo). That was an awesome experience!! Rick came in an helped us at the end with the hard cuts, and he installed our lovely baseboard.

Now we are in the long, slow process of getting things back into order. First, caulking the baseboards and touch up painting them and the wall. Then, building the IKEA furniture we bought. THEN, putting everything back in the room where it goes. That is our plan for Wednesday. We will see how long it takes us!! As soon as we do all that, I will be able to get on the computer and actually upload pictures and get this blog updated. For now, check out my facebook page (click on the link on the right sidebar) and you can see some pics that I uploaded from my cell phone of the floor in progress :)

Sorry you are stuck with me in a blogging famine. Soon I will be out and it will be time to feast once again!