Our Memorial Day Weekend 2011

What a Memorial Day weekend we had! Of course it kicked off out at my parents place in Estrella, at the Starpoint Water Park! They are always so generous and pay for everyone to get in and have a good time, along with pizza at their place later on in the afternoon! A BIG thank you to both of them for a great time once again this year.

Most of the girls and most of the boys that went to the water park. There was another large crowd that came out for pizza and wings later on, but I forgot to get a picture of everyone.

It was a little windy, making everything out there a little cooler, but the kids still managed to enjoy the water and the slides! The "dark slide" was feared last year, but was the slide that Kyan went on most this year! He loved it and if it wasn't for the wind, my guess is he would have spent lots more time in the water than he did!
Me and Lo, posing for a picture, she was so excited to take it, she pushed my glasses off to the side to get in nice and close!
And Lola only spent a few minutes exploring in the water, again it was so cold and I think Sunday was the day that she started to catch whatever bug it was that she caught (*more on that later), so when she wasn't swimmin' with Camden (Carmen was there too, but is quite the swimmer and was off doing big girl things) she was sleeping on her daddy's lap.
After the water park, we headed back to my parents place (a new place from last year, but still out at Estrella) for pizza and wings! While waiting for food, the kids swam, ran through the sprinklers, and watched the magician do some of his card tricks (my cousin's friend, Joe, is a magician and never leaves home without his deck of cards)! He had the kids wrapped around his finger and kept them entertained for quite some time!

With everything there was to do at my parents house, I got quite a bit of time with little Nixen, who is such a little muffin and such a happy boy to have around!

In fact, I got quite a bit of time with the whole Creel Clan, as they spent the night at our house Sunday night, so they could hang out all day at my parents and not feel rushed to drive home! Camden and Lola were pretty cute to watch, as they are both pretty dominate in their personalities! Camden wore one of Lola's nightgowns (so she could wear a dress to bed, even though she brought her own pj's) and wanted her hair in a pony tail just like Lola's! They had so much fun pushing their babies around the house and playing mommy! We tried to have them sleep in Lola's room, but Camden must have been on overload with all of the newness, as she just couldn't fall asleep. We were all shocked when Lola was out first, considering that Camden was up way past her bedtime!

Candis needed help with a project she was working on for her kids (or should I say her mama was working on) and needed the Silhouette machine! Much of our time was spent in the craft room making letters! When we were finished it was late, but not too late for her hubby to play around on the machine! He was trying to cut his Pink Mouse logo (website launches on Tuesday - I think, woohoo) on vinyl. Because it was a custom design (which I am almost positive you can cut) and I haven't had enough time to play with the machine, I was no help. He was up until the wee hours of the morning trying to figure it out (got the logo in, just don't know how to make it so there are cut lines on it) and had no luck! Any help as to where to look would be awesome!

It was fun to have a sleepover and look forward to having another one in the future for sure!

Later that morning, after the Creels left, we had a few more friends and family members over to swim (some didn't get to make the trek out to Estrella the day before)! My sister in law and her kiddos came over, along with Holly and Sydney, and the Casillas'! Chad's mom brought us lunch and stayed for a while too after her hair appointment!
Most swam for a few hours and left, but Rae and her kids played all afternoon with us! We talked about what life is going to be like when she moves into the neighborhood in just a little over two weeks (right behind us actually, we are already planning on getting a ladder to go over the block fence to cross into each others yards) and how well our kids play together! It will be nice having them closer. One of the best parts about growing up was being over at my aunt Heidi's house playing with my cousins or having them over at our house, and now they it is going to be just like that for my kids!

After they left, I got wrapped up in a new book that I am reading by Nicholas Sparks, called Safe Haven. It is my second read of the summer on my long list of books I want to read and it is awesome! I can't seem to put it down (maybe another reason why this post is taking me until Wednesday to put up). I just finished Jodi Piccoult's, Sing You Home, another one I highly recommend reading! Another tear jerker from her.

Kyan joined me out at the pool later on for some special swim time with just me. I taught him how to dive and we spent a lot of time talking about life, with our feet dangling in the water. With each question he asked me or that I asked him, I was memorized by his eyes. I thought for the longest time they would be blue, just like his daddy's, but after really looking at them out by the pool, I realized they are this crazy bluish/green color. The outside is lined in blue, but the inside is like this turquoise/green color. They are absolutely stunning and he has lashes that most women would kill for. Not only was the color capturing my attention, but just watching them when he was asking questions and comprehending the information I was giving him was so cool, I don't know how to describe it really. It was like I could see the mechanics of his brain working right through them.

Somehow we got on the subject of being hairy, probably because he is a hairy little thing and I always tease him about "becoming a man" (really about growing up) with all of the hair on his legs, and we were at this point checking out his arm pits seeing if he had any hair (he doesn't) when he asked if he will get hair on his boy parts when he becomes a man?! Bwahahaha! That was fun explaining that one! Those few hours by the pool was so special with Kyan and I hope that we get lots more like it in the future!

Later that night, we met up for dinner with my parents at Dillion's restaurant. I didn't realize that Lola wasn't really feeling that good at this point, so we headed to meet them. Once we got to there she fell asleep almost immediately at the table, weird. She would wake up for a red hot second, but then fall right back to sleep, alternating laps between me and my mom. At one point, she was in her chair and put her head on the table and fell asleep. That didn't last long before she was back in my arms, all through dinner. Kyan and my dad were just finishing dessert up when little miss thing puts her head up and says in a little voice, "I just pooped" (she was sitting in my lap)! Seriously? We rushed to the bathroom, to find out that she in fact had pooped a little, poor thing had diarrhea. We got cleaned up and made it home just in time to get to the toilet again, where her butt decided to explode! I felt horrible for her as she had no clue what was happening to her.
She is feeling much better now.

So that is it! Our crazy busy Memorial Day weekend! It was a blast, from start to finish (minus Lola getting sick) and we look forward to it next year!

Movin' On Up!

Today was a day of celebration!

It felt funny getting ready to go to work this morning...8th grade promotion is always a big deal. It is a special day to be a part of. Watching kiddos move on after being with you for the entire school year is always emotional, always. With it usually comes a new dress, freshly done hair, and lots of tissues. Bittersweet is the best way for me to put it. If you didn't notice from my last post, I grow to love so many of the kids that I teach like they are my own, so saying goodbye is always hard to do.

But today was different. Yes, it was all of those things mentioned above for me, but add an extra scoop of emotions on top, because after participating in one promotion ceremony, I got the pleasure of attending Kyan's Kindergarten celebration this afternoon. I was so thankful that it was in the afternoon and that I was able to make it! It was absolutely adorable and I am so proud of the incredible year that Kyan had!

Enjoy the show!



My handsome Kindergartener (soon to be first grader)! Kyan meets his teacher tomorrow morning and is so excited! There is one male teacher that teaches first grade and that is all he is talking about, so he has his fingers crossed that he gets him! We have talked at length about what happens if he doesn't get the teacher he really wants, so hopefully Kyan will be excited either way! Even though I work for the district, they don't let me know anything, so I won't know until he comes home after school tomorrow!

And speaking of teachers, we were so lucky to have Mrs. Jones this year! She has been amazing and even got him to smile with all 7 of his teeth missing, yep...you read that right, 7 gone. Two more were pulled by the dentist yesterday to make room. I have been noticing that Kyan is only wanting to smile without any teeth showing lately, but that is probably because he doesn't have any!
Thank you Mrs. Jones for an awesome year. We are keeping fingers crossed that when it comes time for second grade, we get you back!

Congratulations Kyan on a fantastic year!
We really BIG love you and are so very proud of you!

Emergency (High School) Girl Clutch

Today was yearbook signing at school. If you didn't know, I am the yearbook editor where I teach, so today was a BIG day! The day where all of the hard work pays off and I get to watch students look through their books and relive memories from the past year. It is an incredible feeling.

The yearbook wouldn't have been such an amazing book without some very special ladies that worked day and night on that thing. They stuck around and took on more pages, when no one else did. There was never something that they couldn't do and it is the reason that this year's book was the best yet.

Not only are the girls that worked on the book my students, they are like my daughters and it is not just because they spent so much time with me. They are incredible, but I won't be able to mother them like I do now when they move on up to high school, so I made them something to survive without me to carry with them, in case of an emergency!

Thanks to the girls at eighteen25 for the amazing idea of the emergency girl clutch, I just tweaked it to make it into a clutch fit for a high school girl! Head over to their blog to get a full tutorial, the only thing I really changed was that I used a hair tie instead of ribbon to close the potholder (which was a suggestion by them and I went with it)!

So wanna know what I put inside the emergency high school girl kit?

-tampon
-pad
-eye drops
-nail file
-safety pins
-disposable tooth brushes
-lip gloss
-hair ties
-comb
-bobby pins
-band aids
-gum
-listerine strips
-shout wipes
-$1.50

I have also been saving the 2 cup holders from McDonald's when I pick up my Ice Tea's in the morning, I knew they would come in handy someday! They were perfect for transporting their little gifts in!

I spray painted little owls from the dollar bin at Target, as a reminder to always be wise and found a picture of a quote that I liked and resized it to 4x5 and printed it for them (when I printed it as a 4x6 it cut off a bit of the clouds, but it still looks awesome to me) to put in a frame of their choice. Here it is just in case you want it too:

original source

Thank you girls for such a wonderful year, hope your clutches come in handy!

Five.

The number of teeth Kyan has lost since I posted about his first loose tooth, way back in November! I really can't believe the mouth that I see today or that he has lost that many teeth since then!?

Two have been on his own, while three have been pulled by the dentist. He has had to have some pretty extensive dental work done lately (in the past month really), including getting two teeth pulled yesterday to make room in his small mouth for that front one to grown in (crooked). The dentist is letting nature take its course with it, but wanted there to be room for it either way (crooked, which is how it is going to come in, or straight). He has already told us that with the very little room that is in Kyan's mouth, braces WILL be in his future!

Kyan has been a trooper at the dentist and breathes in the fruit punch to help him relax while watching a movie on the ceiling, most times not noticing a thing! One more visit to go buddy before we are on regular check ups for awhile!

Now it is bed time, off to brush...

Go Big Red! GO BIG RED!

Ok, so I must warn you before you start reading about our four, fun-filled days of vacation to grandma and grandpa's in Nebraska that you will see picture overload! There was no way around it, I took a ton of pictures each day, so enjoy a recap of our trip with us!

Thursday after school/work, we rushed to the airport to make our flight (probably not good planning on my part, as I was the one totally stressed out, but I didn't want to miss an additional day of work)! The kids were so excited to ride the airplane! Kyan and Lola had been on about three years ago and only Kyan remembered what it was like. Lola was a little scared at first, but after a little encouragement from all of us, by the time the plane loaded she couldn't wait and was saying, "wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!" during take off!

We got in late with the two hour time difference, so we headed to bed as soon as we arrived, but not without strict orders to my dad to get to the bakery early for the first of two must eats in Wahoo: applesauce doughnuts! He delivered three dozen (not all for me, my brother's family was staying at my parents too) bright and early in the morning and I think I was drooling before I ever woke up!
I have never seen these doughnuts made anywhere else before (probably a good thing, otherwise I would be about 300 lbs) and savored every bite! Little did I know that the kids would love them just as much as me. This trip marked their first time trying them and I am sure with each time they go to visit grandma and grandpa they will make the request for them as well!

After breakfast we headed to my mom's work to say hi to everyone! Then it was off to Omaha to do a quick shopping trip for Lola's dress for the wedding (something I searched for here in AZ and just couldn't find)! We ran into the bride-to-be (the reason we went back home in the first place) shopping for some shoes for the rehearsal dinner later that night and then the groom-to-be shopping for a gift for his bride, small world! The kids and my mom ate lunch at Paradise Bakery, but I was holding out for delicacy number two back in Wahoo.
Kyan and Ava took a little nap on the way home, while Lola was bright-eyed and bushy tailed!

We headed to the park when we got back into town! The kids played and played and played...
...while Chad and I ate taco pizza!
Why on earth the Pizza Hut's here don't make this is beyond me, because it is seriously the best pizza you will ever eat! Chad had the opportunity to eat with my mom and the kids while in Omaha, but he said I told him "he had to eat taco pizza with me", which lets me know he was just as excited to eat it as I was! Heaven in your mouth I tell ya!


After the park, it was time to head home to chillax for a little bit before the rehearsal. Kyan was the ring bearer in the wedding and cousin Ava, the flower girl, so grandma and grandpa volunteered to watch the two little ones for the night, so we could help if/where we needed to!
The three of us ready to go!

Practicing and opening his cool gift from the bride and the groom!


Kyan and I at dinner.

Chad and I at dinner, can you tell how much he loves to take pictures? Glad I was able to get cooperation for two out of three!

We had a great time chatting with family and catching up with the girls I used to coach in a basketball program called Wahoops! Three of the four girls in the wedding party (and the bride) were on the team and it was so fun to see them grown up, some even with babies!

On Saturday morning, I was up bright and early with my parents. I took a nice long walk into town with my mom before the kids woke up and wanted to be outside playing. My parents have a great backyard with lots of room to run! Kyan's favorite thing to do back there was play fetch with one of my parent's dogs, Lucy! It was a race between the two of them to see who could get the frisbee first!


Lola was the cheerleader, who also loved her hair blowing in the wind (and it was pretty much windy the entire time we were there)!
We enjoyed more doughnuts this morning, played together, and then it was wedding time (which took up the bulk of our day, starting at 11am for pictures, 2:30 ceremony, 5:30 dinner reception)!

The most handsome ring bearer out there!
Pictures didn't start on time (do they ever?), so I took the time to snap some of my own of Kyan! He looks so grown up.

Two very important girls and Kyan: the bride and the flower girl.

My cousin Carrie made a beautiful bride, from her dress to her hair to her jelly shoes!
Congratulations to both Adam and Carrie, we love you!

Meanwhile, back at home, while the wedding party was taking pictures, my brother ironed all of the boys (Chad, my dad, and his own) clothes! Shirts and pants, I was quite impressed and learned a thing or two while a came home for a quick shower in between pictures, like you are supposed to iron your pants inside out! Who knew?!
I got ready quickly, dressed Lola and headed back to the church about 30 minutes before the ceremony started so that I could try and get a few pictures of the kids before it started.
Lola hamming it up.

Lola and Kyan.
I couldn't decide if i liked the picture vertical or horizontal (and a little more zoomed) so I put them both up! Think that the picture sums up their personalities perfectly.
Really BIG love them.

Wedding cermony time!
Walking down the aisle. Rumor had it there were quite a few people wanting to know if Kyan was "for rent/hire", as he made quite the ring bearer! I was a proud mama.

I had big huge crocodile tears when I watched my little cousin walk down the aisle, I was so proud of her and she is just so grown up. I got quite a few pictures, but my cousin James (which feels weird to say, as he was always Jim or Jimmy growing up) made a beautiful video that I thought I would share instead.

It was a beautiful ceremony.

The reception was so fun! While waiting for the wedding party to arrive, the kids passed time with ring pops (a great idea to have a party where little kids are involved)!

More pictures of the family:

Finally, the wedding party arrived and made a grand entrance! Enjoy another video by my cousin James:


The kids got plenty of dancing time in too (but Kyan spent a lot of time outside playing because his ear was killing him, not sure why, maybe the flight, as he has no ear infection)!
What a great day/evening to celebrate and be around so many family members that I don't normally get to see! The kids crashed hard in the car and slept in Sunday morning!

Sunday was a great mother's day, church with my parents, breakfast at the Wigwam, then home for a homemade breakfast by Erin (my brother Joel's wife), pedicures with just my mama, then back home to spend our last day as a family! The new bride even came to town to hang with us in the afternoon/evening, as her new hubby was playing in a golf league!
We had some extended family over for a grilled meal by my dad, visited, and laughed a lot! It was the best to be surrounded by family all weekend and made me reflect a lot about the good times growing up with all of my cousins, when watching a new set of cousins play together!
Lola, Kyan, Brayden, and Ava

After everyone left and it was just the 10 of us left in the house, we went back to playing outside before bed. Of course it was super windy, but a great time to play fetch with Lucy and run one more time before we had to leave. I don't know what made me start filming my mom and I don't know what made me so giggly, but here is a little impromptu video of her on our last night home, it is a little over six minutes and my dad has quite the surprise in there for us that we didn't see coming, so if you get a chance to watch it all the way through, prepare yourself:



The kids crashed hard on Sunday night and fell asleep on the chair and couch in the living room. Our sleeping quarters were tight, as we slept in the office on a blow up mattress, with the kids sleeping on the floor next to us (my brother arrived one day before me so he quickly snagged up the guest bedroom, I need to plan better next time)!

Monday was spent packing and getting ready to head to the airport to come home. But we didn't leave before I got a new phone (yes, I am still on my parents family plan, spoiled, I admit it). I am now a member of the Droid family (I got the Milestone X, so did my dad)! I am still learning the ins and outs of it, as it is so different from my Blackberry, but very excited!

The two apps that I have downloaded so far for it are the WhatsApp (it is like BBM, but without the Blackberry, so I can still IM Candis during our Bachelor Mondays), oI love that you don't have to send anyone your pin, if they are in your contacts and they have WhatsApp, they are automatically added to your list! So cool huh? I also downloaded the Better Keyboard, as it is slightly bigger than the one it comes with. I am still getting used to the touch screen and I am sure it will take time!


Just want to say a BIG thank you to my parents for their hospitality and for making our trip so fantastic! We are blessed with great family and were so happy to get to spend our time with you in your home, instead of ours for a change, and we know how important that is to you! The kids keep asking when they get to come back and are counting the days until they get to in June (won't be long)! I am too!


We really BIG love you guys!

Apples & Bananas

Tonight at the dinner table over a very nutritious meal made by McDonald's and What-A-Burger, Lola said the following that really did almost make me spit out my food!

Me: in my stern/irritated/I just need 5 seconds of peace and quiet voice, "Lola, you are driving me bananas!"

Lola: "Well, you are driving me apples." She was serious as a heartache. I about fell over and died. It took away any stress I had at that simple statement.

Really BIG love her.

We're Back!

Back from a mini getaway with the family, but now I am longing for my summer vacation even more! I feel like I have so much catching up to do, being away from the internet for 4 whole days (for me, that is a long time...sad, but true)! I have blogs to catch up on and I have a bazillion pictures to sift through, when you haven't been home (Nebraska) if almost 3 years there is a lot to take! We were in town for the beautiful wedding of my little cousin Carrie, where Kyan was the ring bearer and will be back in town to pick up the kiddos in June after our Jamaica trip (well, I will be back) and we can't wait!

Pictures and a hilarious video (an interview with my mom) that you won't want to miss, but who knows how long it is going to take to get up! Stay tuned...