The Dance Off

Recently, my niece, Madison, came to visit us for a couple of weeks from Florida. My girls LOVE when she comes and plan everything under the sun to do together while she is here. One night as I was making dinner, the girls came down and informed me that they needed Sheldon and I to be "judges" for their "So You Think You Can Dance" contest. After spending an hour upstairs doing make-up and wardrobe, the girls came down and showcased their moves. I sent the footage I was able to get with my cell phone camera to my brother (minus Taylor's solo because it was quite lengthy and too large to download) and he made it into a private You Tube movie for me. The original songs they danced to did not record well so my brother added a Lady Gaga song. Although Sheldon probably doesn't think the same, having a house full of girls is way too much fun.

Superhero

Most of my friends who read this blog already know who Patricia is, but for those that don't, I will tell you. Patricia is my superhero.

I met Patricia three years ago when she moved from Washington to Vegas. I was serving in the Primary presidency and remember the first time she came into Primary to introduce her kids. We were always short on teachers every week (surprise, surprise) and she was always ready to take a class. We all know what happens to people like that....they get called to Primary. Patricia was called to be the CTR 5 teacher which happened to have over 10 kids in the class. Teaching a class with that many 5 yr olds and even convincing a Primary kid that hid for a whole year behind his mom while she played the piano to come to her class was already enough for Patricia to earn her "superhero" status, however, there is more.

Patricia has a very dry whit and loves Dr. Pepper, which inevitably meant we would become great friends. A few months after I met her, she talked me into waking up at a sick hour of the morning to experience Black Friday with her. I didn't realize what a sport it was and that she was a pro.

Less than one month after she and I had bolted through the stores on Black Friday, Patricia got sick, really sick. I do not know all of the medical terms, but basically, her body had started attacking its own muscular system. She couldn't walk, she couldn't open jars, and could barely lift her arms. Still to this day, she is a medical mystery to the doctors here in Vegas and also to the specialists at UCLA.

I have watched Patricia over the past 3 years be poked, tested, misdiagnosed, hospitalized, etc. and NOTHING keeps the woman down. She REFUSED to be released from her huge Primary class, never misses her kids' games, and can pretty much always be caught doing something for someone else. Recently, against her doctors orders, she decided to train for the 5k run at Boulder Dam. Last Saturday, Patricia and about 15 of her biggest fans, including myself, "Finished the Dam Race". I couldn't help but cry when I saw Patricia, who was told that she would need a walker, run the last quarter mile of the race.

Patricia is a superhero.

The Scariest, I mean, the Happiest Place on Earth

Sheldon decided to surprise us a couple of weeks ago by planning a quick trip to Disneyland to use our free tickets that earned at the beginning of the year. Thankfully, Sheldon clued me in on the surprise the weekend before we were going to leave. He knows me well enough to know I would have FREAKED out not having enough time to clean and pack. Is it me or does anyone else have to completely clean their house before leaving on vacation?

We decided not to tell the girls that we were going until the day that we left. We sent them to school, quickly packed everyone, and then showed up at their school right before lunch to surprise them. Avery spilled the beans the minute the girls came through the doors to the front office. I think Avery was the most excited.

I LOVE Disneyland. Who doesn't? Well, besides Sheldon. I get way too giddy when entering the park gates. Actually, I get giddy just seeing Katella Street on the freeway. That being said, you will understand how upset I was when Taylor told me that she HATED Disneyland last February when we took them. What child hates Disneyland?! In her defense, I did start our last visit out on one of my favorite rides....Splash Mountain. After that, she was convinced every ride had a huge drop in it. I promised her that the Snow White ride had no drops, but she had to ask the worker on the ride to double check me. Along with all of the mountain rides, her least favorite ride is Pirates of the Caribbean, which happens to be my favorite. I cannot leave Disneyland without riding it at least 2 or 3 times.

I promised the girls that if they would go to Disneyland again with me this year, I would not make them ride any "scary" rides, except for Pirates and the Haunted Mansion. We had an amazing time and Disneyland was redeemed with Taylor. I did twitch every time we passed a mountain ride and tried giving my girls some "puppy dog" eyes, but I kept my promise.

Sydney loved every minute of the day we spent there. I probably could have talked her into riding some of the mountains with me, but I didn't want to risk it. Of course, she skipped over all of the princess stuff and went straight for the eye patch and sword in the souvenir shop. She wore the eye patch for a couple of hours at the park and all the way back to the hotel.

This is what Avery did on every single ride, including Winnie the Pooh and Small World....

This pic is my absolute favorite pic from our trip. As usual, the bus driver let way too many people on the bus on the way back to our hotel. Taylor was mortified when a man was forced to stand next to her with his behind in her face. I think she held her breath the whole way back!

What trip wouldn't be complete without playing in the hotel pool.

Coming Out of Her Shell

Once upon a time, Taylor was the girl who used to hide behind other kids or turn bright red when forced to stand up in front of an audience. Over the past year, I have been amazed by the huge transformation in her self confidence. Last year, we enrolled Taylor in the Hollywood Kids Academy which teaches children to sing, dance and perform in front of an audience. Taylor has always loved singing and putting on shows at home, but NEVER did I think she would be able to do it in front of other people. She was assigned the part of Meg from "Hercules" in her first play which involved singing a solo. This caused a few tears at first (some of the tears were due to the fact the song was about being in love), but she eventually built up enough courage to perform and did great. During the second season of Hollywood Kids, she was assigned the part of Mrs. Potts in "Beauty and the Beast" which involved memorizing a ton of parts in an English accent and singing 3 solos. She literally brought tears to my eyes during her performance, especially since I know how hard she has worked to overcome her stage fright.

Last week, I received a call from Taylor during school hours. She has just got a flyer about the school dance team holding auditions that day and asked her teacher if she could call me to get permission to stay and try out. My supportive, mother-of-the-year response was, "Uhm, why are you just getting the flyer if it's today, you have never taken a dance class, and do you even have an audition ready?" Her nonchalant response was, "Mom, I'll just figure out a dance while I am up there." WHAT?!! Immediately, I freaked while flashes of Napoleon Dynamite's dance scene popped into my head. Although every fiber of my being wanted to tell her "no", I went to the school and signed the permission slip. The good news is that she made the dance team and loves it! The team had their first performance this morning for the "Hats Off to the Community Day" at her school.

Sheldon did NOT like the costumes, did NOT like her makeup and was shaking his head after watching his baby girl shake her booty. However, he found a smile somewhere deep down for her and cheered her on. I am so proud of Taylor and her newly found self confidence.

Here we go again

It seems like I am always doing a quick recap of long periods of time because I am such a slacker when it comes to updating my blog. Interesting....I did the same thing with my journal growing up. Also, I've had to muster up some energy to rebuild my blog template since I accidentally deleted all of my friends' blog addresses while changing my expired template. (Please tell me if I don't have your blog on the sidebar so I can add it!) Anyway, here is a quick recap of events over the past month or two.

Sydney has always wanted bunk beds. Since we moved last year, she has had to share a room with Taylor, then with Avery because of a few too many battles with Taylor, and then with Taylor again when Avery kept her up or woke her up at least 3 times a night.

Our friend, Cathy, was getting rid of her son's bunk beds last month so I decided Sydney finally deserved to get what she wanted....the top bunk. We picked them up and Sydney and I spent 2 days in the BLAZING, HOT garage painting them white.

Taylor and Sydney went back to public school this fall. We were all set to do K12 again until about August when Taylor suddenly decided that she wanted to spend her last yr of elementary at a public school. They were really nervous to go back, but they got great teachers and love it so far. I do not love the homework.
Taylor- 5th grade

Sydney- 2nd grade

Avery - wannabe Preschooler......She insisted on packing a lunch with the girls and ended up eating it by 9:30 am. Actually, I had planned to keep Avery home with me for one more year before signing her up for preschool since she barely makes the age cut off. However, after I dropped off my two oldest girls, Avery kept asking, "When do I go to preschool?", "Can I color?" , "Can I have a snack?", "What's my teacher's name?", etc. Two torturous hours later, I called a friend to beg her to let Avery take her last preschool opening. Avery loves Ms. Trina!

Avery also turned 3 last week and was very insistent on having a Disney Princess party. Taylor saved her money and bought Avery a Princess Tiana dress for her bday which she would wear 24/7 if I'd let her. She also got a really cute tea cart that she loves (so do her older sisters) and is constantly taking my order. "Do you want a Dr. Pepper, Mom?" "That's 10 hundred dollars."



Uncle Niels being served a nice spot of tea.

She did get her Princess party with family and then spent the night by herself at her Grandma and Grandpa Orme's house to stretch out the birthday spoiling.

Saggy Lobes

Taylor recently decided to get her ears pierced again. I paid for them to get done when she was 8, but she decided she didn't want them pierced and let them close up after about a week. I was not very pleased that she had made this decision AFTER I just paid to get them done. I told her that if she ever wanted them pierced again, she would have to pay for it. Two years of maturity later, she decided she wanted to use some of her birthday money to get her ears pierced again.

I took her to the store and she immediately picked out the most expensive, ornate studs she could find, but when I told her how much they were, she asked to see some cheaper ones. It's funny how she spends HER money more wisely than she spends mine. :)

Anyway, the battle of what earrings she can wear has returned. I really think the reason she decided to let her ears close up last time was that I would not let her wear HUGE dangle earrings. Immediately after we got her ears pierced again, she went straight to the GINORMOUS, fluorescent earrings. I couldn't win the argument with her that they were tacky or too big, but I did tell her that her ear lobes would get really saggy like some old women's that I have seen. I know, I know....another reason I should get a mother of the year award. However, I refuse to let Taylor be the kid at her elementary school with the LARGE, tacky earrings!

After wincing at the thought of having saggy lobes, she picked out some cute, smaller earrings.
I have also noticed Taylor staring at people's ear lobes at lot more. Hey, whatever works!

Not Cool

It has always irritated me when the Las Vegas weatherman forecasts "cooler" weather for the week and then you see he only meant 2 degrees "cooler". Whoopee.....108 and not 110! Is there really a difference and should 108 ever be referred to as "cooler" weather? Not so much.

As you can tell, the hot weather here makes me grouchy so I jumped at an invite from some friends to go hiking at Mt. Charleston this morning. We hiked along the Robber's Roost trail to some limestone caves which, according to local legend, were used back in the day as a hideout for bandits raiding travelers along the old Mormon Trail.






The weather up there was a "cooler" 90-95 degrees, but once we arrived at the caves it felt like someone finally kicked on the a/c. While enjoying the cool air of the caves, we were suddenly joined by my old Highland Hills Stake young women who had chosen the trail for their 2nd year hike! It kind of startled me when hearing my name shouted up into the caves. I think I looked and smelled more like I had been camping than any of the girls.

Summer update

I haven't been blogging much lately mostly because I have complete summer fever/laziness. I have never looked forward to summer as much as I did this past school year. Homeschooling was a rewarding "adventure" for myself and the kids, but once their last assignments were turned into their K12 teachers in June, I literally did a "Toyota jump" and have been partying ever since. I wish I could say that I am one of those amazing moms that keep my kids sharp over the summer with various educational activities, but I am not going to lie.

So far, our summer has consisted mostly of swimming, swimming and more swimming. Sheldon and I have decided that we will never live in a house in Vegas again without a pool. I haven't been as grouchy in this 115 degree weather knowing that we can just jump in the pool when it gets too unbearable. Anyway, here is my feeble attempt of updating my blog by posting a bunch of pics. Hopefully, my laziness will subside when the kids go back to Heckethorn this fall.

Taylor performed the role of Mrs. Potts in a production of Beauty and the Beast. She had to sing 3 solos throughout the play and brought tears to my eyes. She used to hide behind people when standing in front of crowd and has really come out of her shell.

Sheldon's sister, Shellee, and my niece, Leila, came to visit from Washington. Avery talks about Leila at least once a day and thinks she is her best friend. Avery loves when kids come to swim who will sit on the pool stairs with her.


My kids cannot get enough of my niece, Madison, who is staying with us this summer from Florida. Poor Madison, however, has probably had enough of Avery getting into her things.

My sister, Missy, Madison and Aiden

My kid also LOVE to meet Grandma Great at restaurants. Grandma Great always overrides their mom's decisions and orders up all kinds of goodies. Recently, they got their favorite "TCT's" at Macayos with all you can drink Shirley Temples.

This is Avery's summer hairdo. :) Actually, this is what Avery's hair looks like when she goes swimming and then takes a nap with wet hair.

Sydney has become quite the daredevil by the pool this year, especially considering the fact that she just learned to swim late last summer.

I threw a surprise party for Taylor a few weeks before Taylor's birthday this year. Her birthday always falls too close to the 4th of July which means most of her friends are out of town. Surprise parties are a lot harder to pull off than I thought, but it was a great success.

Sheldon took me to Rosemary's to eat with the fancy folk for my birthday. I usually HATE fancy restaurants, but Rosemary's had the best food I have ever eaten.


Uncle Ryan popped in yesterday and asked if anyone wanted to go to the Adventure Dome with him. Three little girls almost passed out with excitement and jumped in his car. Kudos to my brother for taking 3 girls and for braving the summer weekend crowds. He also scored a few more favorite uncle points by taking them to CiCi's Pizza for dinner.

Weekend Fun

Last weekend was action packed.....

First, we had Ned's 4 kids sleep over so he could take Cherlynn out for her birthday. Although it got a little crazy, my kids were in heaven having their cousins over. I remember cousin sleepovers as being one of the best parts of growing up. Of course, now that some of the kids are getting older, a "girls only" and "boys only" room was requested by the kids at bedtime.

After miraculously getting 7 kids fed and ready for school by 8 am the next morning, I rushed Taylor and Alaina to their field trip at McCaw Mine out in Henderson. McCaw Mine is attached to McCaw Elementary School in Henderson and is only open to 4th graders in Clark County being it is the year they study Nevada History in school. Since the mine is quite realistic, the girls got to wear mining helmets with head lamps while exploring through the mine with their guide. They also got to pan for real gold flakes and bring them home. Taylor was informed by her guide that she found $5 worth of gold. Yee haw!

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After panning for gold, we then headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house for homemade mac n' cheese, all you can eat Otter Pops and to show the girls how to plant a garden. We also decided to plant a new ANNOYING Sun Chips bag out in the garden to see if it really is 100% compostable and just how long it takes to disintegrate.

On Saturday, we learned that soccer is never cancelled no matter how hard the wind is blowing. Also, we discovered that Grandma Orme, Aunt Susie and Uncle Niels are hard core fans and that crazy wind and 8am games won't get them down. Thankfully, Suz and Niels brought Winchells (better than Krispy Kremes) to make the morning brighter.




Avery was invited to a Cinderella birthday party on Sat. afternoon. She had hugged and talked about her invitation the whole week before so she was pretty excited to go. Brittany from my ward graciosuly dressed up as Cinderella and came to the party to read the kids a book and to color with them. Avery is still talking about coloring with "Rella".

 

A Fabulous Find

I have lived in Las Vegas for over 21 years and feel like I know most of the fun, little places to take my kids to around town. However, today we were invited on a new field trip to McKee Ranch in the southwest part of town. I love any opportunity to get my kids around farm animals since they are sort of a novelty in Vegas.

I knew my girls would have a great time when we got out of the car and heard a rooster crow. My kids' faces lit up with excitement while Avery tried to imitate the sound. The ranch is free admission and the owners let you bring carrots and crackers to feed the animals. They probably have more animals, but we fed goats, sheep, pigs, bunnies, chickens, a turkey, and a lot of horses, including little miniature ponies. The ranchers will also let you in the pastures right next to the horses which is rare. The ranch was full of old wooden toys, little benches, toilet planters, an old outhouse, a horse tire swing, and the extremely rare wooden merry go round.

If you are looking for something FREE to do with your kids one day, I highly recommend the McKee Ranch.