What a Day!

Kyan was selected for student of the month last month at his elementary school...little did we all know that he was going to get pneumonia the week that he was supposed to get the award and have to miss the entire week of school, thus, missing the awards assembly. Mrs. Revord did some shuffling of names and said that she would rearrange things so that he could get the award next month if she could get the other student's mom in on such short notice (just so happens that I work with her, so she was pretty flexible, thanks Casillas)! So today he received his award!

Last night I told Kyan that I had a little bit of time off in the morning to visit his classroom (at this point he didn't know he had been chosen for the award) and he was beyond thrilled! I arrived with my camera in hand around 8am and immediately he grinned from ear to ear! The kids new they were going to go to the assembly in a few minutes, but Kyan still had no clue that that was why I was there! It is a good thing that I almost always have my camera with me at all times or I would say that it might have thrown him, but I am sure he just figured there is my mama with the camera, again! (I know one day they will thank me).

It was so cute how they reveal the Student of the Month and even cuter to watch Kyan's face when he realizes that it is him!

And here he is at the assembly, receiving his award!
I am so proud of you Kyan!

Cheesin' it up after the assembly!

Then it was back to work for me and what a great Friday I had!
Week 1 of Poetry...done! Not sure how many of you know this, but I hate teaching poetry! It makes my skin crawl actually, but it is something that I have to teach! Why do I hate it you ask? Well, probably because I don't get most of the poems that I read - I think they are about one thing, when they are really about something else entirely! I am learning that that is okay and that that is kinda the point! Are you confused just reading that?! Me too. HA! One more week to go. On a positive note, week 1 of poetry went very well, the kids actually loved the lessons every single day (thanks to the help of my reading coach, he is a poetic genius)!

After school Lola and I headed to see Zonia for her first haircut!
I was tired of what I like to call the "bird's nest"! No matter what I did with her hair, in a matter of minutes, it seemed like the back of it would get ratty and even with detangler, it was incredibly hard to brush. What set me off the most with her hair was not even the hair itself, but Lola! Yesterday when I told her to go to mommy's bathroom to brush her hair she said to me, "Mommy, you nuts!" I about died and just looked at Kyan and we both started laughing! I couldn't believe my ears! She just called me nuts for wanting to brush her nest! You can better believe that we did not skip the hair brushing that morning!

So today, she went

She did a great job on the chair after a slight freak out! Zonia clipped some hair stuff to her shirt and she was good to go! It helped that she spun us around in circles a few times! I didn't get any pictures of the actual haircut because I had to hold her (you know, that slight freak out didn't start out so slight)! As I was driving home, I realized that I didn't save any of her hair from her first haircut either. I was too far away to turn back to get some, as I am sure it would have already been in the trash if I would have (sorry Candis, think I might hear it the worst from you on that one), at first I felt awful about it, but then I thought about what really I would do with the hair, at least I have the pictures! Anywho, I love her new little haircut and she does too! With all of the baby hair gone, her hair will grow much faster and thicker than it was before!

Hope everyone else had as great of a Friday as the Roseland family did!

Sneaky Peaky!

Today I dressed up the kids and took them on a mini photo shoot! I have been eying the most amazing wildflowers that are growing on the side of the road, so we pulled into a nearby neighborhood, parked the car, and walked to the where the wildflowers were! I have been dying to do a shoot there, so what better subjects than my own kids! I haven't officially done them since I started Rosie J. Photography (even though I am a constant snapper), so today was the perfect opportunity for all of us! I am still working away and will upload more when I edit more (I have to go make those delicious chocolate chip cookies for my brother, you know, the ones from a few posts ago!), but I wanted to show off my beautiful babies!

I love you Kyan and Lola!

Super (BUSY) Saturday!!!

Sit back and enjoy this post - it's a long one!
We didn't stop moving until about 7pm Saturday night!

Our morning started out at Lola's gymnastics class!

Lola only wanted her brothers help while warming up! It was so sweet to see just how patient he is with her! I even caught it on camera! I love how she looks to him to make sure what she is doing is ok!

After warm up, anyone was fair game to play with her! She had fun showing off her skills!

Right after gymnastics we rushed over to Kyan's soccer practice! His first game is this Saturday and he is super excited! He was pooped by the end of the 45 minutes, the coach had them running non-stop!

After soccer we had to run home for a short break! Then it was off to Pump It Up for Miss Ava's 4th birthday party!

While we were celebrating a 4 year olds birthday, it was very clear that the adults at the party were having just as good of a time as the kids!

This might have been the highlight of the afternoon for me! Watching my parents duke it out in the boxing ring! It was hilarious! I caught a few matches on video!

Round 1 - Mom vs. Dad


Round 2 - Joel vs. Dad


Round 3 - Erin vs. Megan

And yes...he was AWAKE! I love my brother!

Friday Night w/ Grandma and Grandpa

Friday night officially marked evening number one of Spring Break! It was also the first night that I was going to have the opportunity to see my brother! Little did I know he would sleep the whole time (jet lag is a killer)! That last picture was my proof that he was in town and that he is really real...just in case I wasn't going to get to see him!

Despite the fact that Joel slept the entire time we were there, everyone managed to have a blast! We ate pizza, played basketball, and played in the water fountain! Spring Break was off to a great start!

If she could...

...she would LIVE at the park! With the nice weather brings daily (sometimes twice a day) trips to the park about a half a block from our house! The second we pull into the driveway it is, "Mommy (or daddy, whoever happens to be driving), I go to the park?!" How can you say no to such a sweet little request! Kyan equally enjoys going, just happened to be this day he wanted to stay inside with his daddy and play games!

We are enjoying the weather as much as we possibly can while I am off for spring break! It makes me long for summer where I get to be a part-time stay at home mommy for 8 weeks! I am counting the days...

Take Me out to the Ballgame!

So I think that the pictures speak my 1000 words! We spent Sunday afternoon at the baseball field enjoying a spring training game with our closest friends and as our little family of four! We enjoyed each others company, the weather, and of course...baseball! But to be quite honest, I was more focused on socializing and snapping pictures than I was about catching any plays! Our friend and (old) neighbor (he will always be neighbs to me) initiated the email to get us all out to a game together, as he does so well. Brian (last picture on the bottom - 3rd from left) really is the glue that keeps us all together!
It was a perfect family day! I think I am safe to say, based on so many smiles, that all parties had a blast!

Cloud Nine

Ok first, a little bit of background. Twice a year, my dad and his friends come to AZ to golf everyday for a week. In March they golf 18 holes a day, in September, 36! I am sweating just thinking about it! Anywho, Chad and I used to always tag along with them when they went out to dinner, before we started to have kids, once they came, schedules and Lola's diva-ness just don't mix with us really meeting up anymore. So a few year ago, we started to cook the boys one homemade meal while they were away from home! It was a night where they didn't have to go to a restaurant and spend any money! Plus, it was a way for us to get to see them too! The past two years I have made Aunt Jan's homemade meatballs/Italian sausage/sauce spread (a recipe may soon come...still deciding on that one!) and they have left our house stuffed! It is a lot of hard work and preparation, but I have the BEST assistant in the world! Kyan loves to help make anything in the kitchen, but meatballs are his favorite! They were extra delicious tonight!


Kyan asked over and over again today, "How much longer 'til my golf buddies get here mommy?" To say that he was excited was an understatement. As soon as he heard the door, he ran to it and let everyone in! He was bouncing around and so excited to see everyone and show off all of his hard work! He gave some of the guys a tour of the house, making a special stop at his room to show his buddy Kyle the helmet that he made for him! Then it was off to the backyard to play around with a few of them for a little while so that I could finish up with dinner! His buddy John brought him sparkling grape juice and during dinner everyone toasted Kyan and his delicious meatballs! He was on cloud nine, to say the least! As soon as they left, he crashed and burned! Tonight was a great night!

Thanks golfing buddies for coming over for dinner and sharing our evening with us!