School's Out for the Summer

 My friend Paula invited Rosy over for a princess tea party.  It was pretty much the best thing that has ever happened to her.  She is upset every single day that she doesn't get to go to school but for one day she was the lucky one that got to do something special.  Paula is moving and Rosy is super bummed out to lose her pal.

 And then it was the last day of school.  Sometimes I start to feel like the school year just flew by and then I remember all those rainy days in January and remember that there were at least times that it felt like a million years.
Both girls had incredible teachers that they absolutely adored and are going to miss.

Rocky and Maestra Jacobson

Daisy and Maestra Mares

 They have only been out of school for a couple of days and I have already found myself saying, "If this is how the summer is going to be then we are in a lot of trouble."  I love summer because it is hot, and free, and full of activity but for me it also means refereeing fights between stubborn girls.  Last year was tough because we had a new baby but I think this year might top it because our little Rosy is that much more bigger and that much more opinionated.  She is used to having her run of the house and toys to herself all day long and isn't too keen on sharing.  Daisy and Rocky also have summer personalities.  Rocky has taken to rolling her eyes and proclaiming, "It just isn't fair."  Someone needs to send her a memo explaining that teenage years don't start at 8.  Daisy continues to be happy and calm until she is not and it manifests itself in a giant eruption.  I guess what I am saying is, keep me in your prayers.

And now for your viewing pleasure another gallery of artwork that came home with them on the last day of school.  I know I post a lot of this stuff but if I get it on here then I feel a lot less sad about throwing it into the recycle.

First Rocky's

The mysterious woman in red peeking from the window caught my eye.

When asked to draw a pet Rocky went classic with a rathtar.

 And onto Daisy's masterpieces.

My mom likes to run, cook, and hang out with friends.  Man does she know me. I am sure the next blank was meant to say "eat treats."

Baby Shark

 I spent a bunch of time yesterday while the construction workers were gone for the weekend trying to get my garden in some kind of order.  To my surprise there actually were a bunch of plants happily thriving amidst the weeds.

Building Walls

The workings of a quilt are no business for baby destructors.

 With the presidential election being what it is there is a lot of talk of building a wall to keep people out.  While I really dislike the idea I find myself using the technique much too frequently around here.  We have a little puppy that finds himself in mischief if he isn't properly gated out...and even then sometimes he finds his way around the barriers.

Not surprisingly Brandon is the parent in this home that helps Rocky with the "family" homework projects.  They spent all week working on a map of Oregon.  While I will claim credit for the idea of using food (of course my mind immediately went there) all the details and the actual production fell to Dad.  They are super cute while working together.

The Finished Product

We took our broken Vitamix back to Costco fully intending to use our refund to buy a new one.  While we were putting it in the cart the Blendtec salesman along with a Cutco guy that had his setup nearby convinced us that we owed it to ourselves to at least listen to the presentation.  I told them both that it was Rocky's Vitamix and so it was her call.
He spent the next 30 minutes presenting the reasons that a Blendtec is superior to the Vitamix.  He talked directly to her, just like she was an adult.  He showed her how to make smoothies and ice cream.  He showed her how the unique design of the blades made them safer and also able to grind grains.  She was a tough sale but in the end she agreed to give it a try.  It seemed only fair that we should experiment with it (especially since it would give us a net gain of $75).  He promised us that we would not be disappointed.

 I can't help but feel that Patrick the Vitamix man would have felt it a stab in the back but we are the proud owners of a Blendtec.  So far I am very pleased with it.  It is too early to say definitively but I think I like it more.
That being said I will never regret the Christmas morning or our two years with the Vitamix.

Snuggle Time

 Best Photo Award:

Sunday Art Collection

 For the last several weeks the girls have been spending most of Sacrament Meeting drawing.  I have been keeping a collection of their best work in my young women folder and it is starting to take over.

We will start with Daisy's work.

Ike

There is a lot to unpack here.

 And on to Rocky's work.

Classy.

"I <3 -r.rigby="" a="" nbsp="" td="">

 At first I wasn't going to include the "I heart u" because I thought it was too cheeky of her to claim credit for something that has been around since before she was born.  But then when I asked her about it she said that clearly that was an a and not a u.  Obviously it means "I heart averything."  In that case it is probably fine if she takes the cred.

3 Animals.  One is the little brother and the other two look obscene.

The picture that describes what we were all experiencing. Blah Blah Blah.

 Rosy had only one entry that made the cut for this show.

Giant Snowman

Today we had Stake Conference so there was more time than normal.  Since I am a cool mom I brought the invisible ink pens that Oma got for the girls.  They are awesome.  You write and it doesn't show up unless you have another pen with the magic light on it.  The drawings don't show up when you try to take photos of them but we had a good time writing secret notes.  As I was looking at them again I found a poem that I wrote for Daisy.

Darling
Awesome
Incredible
Smart
Talented

Good work Mom.  I can't figure out what happened.  Did I mess up on the poem or was I really supposed to name my second child DAIST?  Lucky for me anybody who came across my error would only see a blank page.

A Broken Vitamix and a Confession

 R.I.P Rocky's Vitamix.  The pitcher was knocked off the counter and while it, as advertised, is shatter proof, it turns out that there is no guarantee that the blades won't break out of the bottom.  The good news is that it is going to be replaced with the newer model.  The bad news is that even though the newer model is going to be better, it won't be The Christmas Morning Vitamix.  So long old friend, you served us well.

 With all the scaffolding on our house we had to move our table inside.  The girls have used it to make a den for kittens, several different forts, and most recently it has become a spacecraft aptly if not originally named "Space Shippy."  The countdown and blast off is not surprisingly the best part of the game.

This next photo represents the moment when I officially became the mom that I swore I never would.  Just like any parent I have eaten those words many times but I honestly never thought we would get to the point that we would have naked Barbie dolls lying around.  I was so intent on getting a picture of Ike in his soccer uniform that I didn't even notice it until I saw the picture on my computer.  There it is folks.
It aint all glamour and diamonds her in student housing with 4 kids.
For a second I thought that I would just not include the picture or try to crop it out but in the end I decided to expose myself for who I am, just like that Barbie is doing there in the middle of the floor with nothing to hide behind.
I am trying to make myself feel better by telling myself that at least it was on the inside of our place instead of out on the front porch.

A Sick Day In the Life

 Ike thinks he is so cool every time he figures out a new game.  I can't really blame him.  If I could fit myself into a drawer of clean towels I would do it too.

All the kids had a random high fever this week.  They felt awful and snuggly at first and then they went for the in-between stage that is a mother's nightmare.  They are still too sick to go to school but they feel good enough to be super grumpy and bored.  We kept ourselves entertained by having a restaurant lunch.  Rocky will only help me if I tell her that it is her responsibility as a server.  She set up the table with a lovely bouquet and tried her best to keep the customers happy.  I think that I might be able to hire Rosy out to places that are trying to train their waiters how to deal with high maintenance guests.  She was upset about the color of her plate and then asked to return her sandwich because it was cut on the diagonal.  In the end after a pretty heated discussion with the head chef she agreed to accept the sandwich as long as it was served on an orange plate and cut one more time so it was in 4 pieces instead of 2.  Apparently triangles are okay as long as there are more than 2 of them.

 While we were working all that out Ike made his way to the toilet and happily splashed water all over the floor.  It was disgusting but I just couldn't be mad when he was so happy.

 We also spent a pretty big chunk of time watching Taylor Swift videos on Youtube.  Rocky has been reading a book about her and she wanted to see the songs that were mentioned.  You all know how the trap works.  One clip links to the next and the next and before we knew it half the day was gone.  Also now my girls have a ridiculous view of fantasy romance ending in horrible heartbreak.

 Ike wasn't really into it.  He kept his distance.

 We have a bunch of construction workers putting scaffolding all over our building which has also provided quite a bit of entertainment.  They give me updates on how the guys can all jump from one side to the other without falling.  They also have a whole new vocabulary when it comes to swears.

Not Cool, Ike

 Brandon turned 37 and we celebrated by making a Samoa Pie.  Brandon went through all 6 million entries on my Pinterest dessert page and picked it for his birthday cake. Who wants a Girl Scout cookie when you can make a whole pie of coconut goodness?  In the end it was good but it was no Samoa.

 We celebrated with some friends and with this incredible mini pinata.

 For Memorial Day Brandon lined the girls up for a flag ceremony and played the Jimi Hendrix National Anthem.  At first they were really into it but then, "It just really started to get long."

Daisy and I went for a run over to the Pioneer Cemetery and then after I dropped her off I ran to two others.  You read that right.  A three cemetery run, and it was awesome.  Later we hit up the Monday holiday sale at Value Village and then did the yearly scavenger hunt at the Masonic Cemetery.  This year there was a new list of questions that pretty much maxed out my map reading/grave hunting abilities.  They were all rewarded with a prize.  I am not sure if a grave scavenger hunt is something other people do but it is my favorite.  Eugene is cool.