First day of 2nd Grade!!

Isn't she gorgeous!!???!! My big 2nd grader!

Yup, they stole the camera

And, yup, they are strange children!

Dear Samantha,

You are in time-out right now for over an hour and you are screaming and banging on the walls just like you did yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that. You have called me "awful" and "rotten", and the kicker - "a not fun mom". But guess what? Someday, you'll have a kid JUST LIKE YOU, and you will call to complain to me, and I will laugh, read you this post, and then offer words of encouragement (just like my mom has done to me). For the record: I do NOT like to punish you. I do NOT find it fun or amusing, but you give me no choice. My advice: LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES!!!!

Love,
Your awful, rotten, no-fun Mom

Samantha's 7th Birthday!

Grandma and Grandpa gave her a Barbi nail design printer which worked freakishly well!
Even I did my nails!

Grammy gave Samantha a Gramps ring (my grandpa made jewelry which we love and treasure). We are going to take very good care of it!

Cheesing it ready for dinner and a movie!

Sleepy birthday girl.

This was her big gift from mom and dad - an art desk with supplies. She has loved it!! And, the desk was mine when I was a kid, so it's ANCIENT!

Playing after lunch on Saturday with the cousins.

I think Samantha had a great birthday! We love you Mantha-Moo!!

Grammy and Samantha's Family Birthday Party

Abby's "surprise" face. My most favorite!

It wouldn't be a birthday party without some tears!

I love you Abby!!

Hangin' in the shade.

The kids playing Kick the Can.

I'm sure Grammy was ultra pleased to have a Hello Kitty red velvet cake.

Caleb played basketball by himself for a hour.

Lemonade Stand

I'm pretty sure this cute little girl and her sign made everyone stop. Plus, Alex went knocking door-to-door telling all the neighbors about our lemonade stand! It was a hit! Lots of fun and we made $31!

4th of July

So many fun things to do in Kami's backyard!!

BAZINGA!

My favorite picture of the day! I baked 500 cookies for a wedding and Andy was helping me take photos. He's a creeper!

A few family pictures in Hawaii

After a day at the beach and some Shave Ice.

Squished in a submarine.

Please don't let these sweaty people steer the submarine!!

After a lovely breakfast at a lovely hotel.

Neighbor Playdate

Before Hawaii the kids had a play date with the neighbor kids. The older girls decided that they wanted to make cupcakes and decorate them. Whatever keeps them happy!!

Wallpaper!

I'm still trying to make this house a little more "Kristi" and a little less "BLAH", so in the basement hall/laundry area my sweet dad put up some wallpaper. It adds so much color and makes me happy! I also painted all the walls in the hall with the same color I had my bedroom done with. It's a great color and when I get the money, I'm going to have the rest of my house done with it. My house is getting there.....

Park City

My girlfriend Ashly and I were able to get away for a night in May and head up to Park City. We went to dinner, a movie, made crafts in the hotel, ate breakfast and shopped.......ALL WITHOUT CHILDREN!!! It was a really fun 24 hours of girl talk and lots of old stories (we met each other in Jerusalem and toured Europe together for 2 months - so we have a lot of memories!). We don't live terribly far from each other, but she has 3 kids, I have 2, and we are both quite busy with our little lives! Every time we try and get together we probably get about 10 minutes of talking with each other done and the rest is us handling our kids! Hopefully we can do this more often! And a big THANKS to the husbands for staying home with the kids!


We used to take a TON of pictures together, but this was the only shot I got! Oh well, she looks adorable as always!

Alex Gymnastics

I signed Alex up this year for a month-long gymnastics class at the community center. He was ridiculously good! Far above the other kids - but he also liked to goof off and not listen to the teacher. (Probably because he wasn't being challenged) He really enjoyed the class though and especially loved the medal at the end!

What a ghetto fabulous family!! A bit scraggly, but still awesome!

Of course!

Yesterday at the dinner table Samantha asked me how long Daddy and I have been married (Andy was out of town for this conversation). I told her 8 1/2 years.
She quickly corrected me, "You mean 8 1/2 WONDERFUL years!".

Yes Samantha, of course they have been WONDERFUL! Sure makes you realize how much kids rely on their parents' marriage for stability.

Official Big Bike Riders

It's taken some time, some tears, some crashes, and the purchase of a smaller bike, but both kids are now riding their big kid bikes!! Andy was feeling bad that they couldn't ride their bikes (they were a tad too large to really practice), so one day a few weeks ago he went to Walmart and bought a smaller bike. Samantha was DETERMINED to learn that bike - and she did! She has been riding it around for a while and getting more and more confident. Yesterday Andy convinced her to get out her big bike and give it a try. It only took 2 tries and she was flying!!

Alex has been more of a struggle! He was always fine once he got on the bike - he has amazing balance - but it was the getting on and off and starting that he was frustrated with. And he just loves his scooter so much he didn't really see the need for the bike. Again, yesterday must have been magical, because we talked Alex into trying the small bike and he got right on and took off! My kids WILL NOT do anything until they set their minds to it and then NOTHING can stop them. So, I guess Alex decided to learn bikes yesterday. He rode the small bike for about 30 minutes, grabbed his big bike out of the garage and hasn't stopped riding it!!

Both kids rode up and down the cul-de-sac all evening, and then first thing this morning they were out there riding again. I'm so proud of them!! And happy for the peace it should bring me!! ;-) Love you kids!

We've had an eventful morning!!!

Super duper creepy picture, I know!!!!

Calling daddy at work to tell him the big news! First top tooth gone!!

The Beginning of Spring Break

This just came out of my mouth:
"If we use teamwork and kindness this will be a great week."

I'm pretty sure that being a mother qualifies you for being a motivational speaker.
Spring Break, you scare me.

Dead Bird

The other day the kids were playing in the empty lot across the street from our house (I think it's going to be their "hang-out" spot this summer), and they found a dead bird. Alex proceeded to dig a hole in which to bury the bird. I was then told that the kids gave the bird a kiss (apparently - and hopefully - they kissed their hands and touched the bird instead of using their lips), then said a short prayer and laid the little thing to rest.
That night Alex gave our family prayer before bed which included the following: "Please bless that all the dead birds will go to heaven."

Let's just admit it, I have really sweet kids. Who don't mind touching dead animals. Ew.

And a random picture of Samantha and her St. Patrick's Day drawing. All this kid draws are butterflies, rainbows, smiley faces, birds, cats, and her family. It's a good thing! She is one happy little girl!!