Fourth of July: Part 1

Uh, yeah. You read that right. Part 1. We were sooo busy on the Fourth this year! We did not stop at all for anything and it was a blast! Some years we just relax and see fireworks and I always wish we had done more. This year definitely made up for that! The kids had so much fun and were exhausted by the end of the day.

We started out by going to Steilacoom for their festival in the morning. Steilacoom is a small city right next to Lakewood and is on the Puget Sound. It is beautiful there with the views and there is a little beach and everything. They were the first community to settle in the area and like to keep things looking quaint and old fashioned if they can. Some of the homes are old and historical and I love them. They remind me a little of Ohio. Anyway, we went down to check out the street fair but didn't stay for the parade (I heard it wasn't really worth staying for).

Livvy wearing her colors proud! Thank you dollar store for patriotic necklaces!

Jack sporting his Old Navy flag tees. I might just get them all these next year, so cheap and super cute! Yup, and I still LOVE his hair color! He gets so many compliments on it.

Twinners! Nana bought Madelynn and Aubrey matching outfits. They were so adorable together.

It was a beautiful day. Not super hot but sunny and mild.

Cotton candy fingers! It's the only treat we bought the kids and Jack and Olivia loved it. Madelynn was afraid of it. Funny that my fearless daredevil tomboy daughter is afraid of spun sugar.

In my defense, I didn't know Adam was actually taking pictures. But it's my "proof I was actually there" moment. I have this awful thought that my kids will grow up and want to see pictures of me at this age and there won't be any because I was always the one taking the pictures. Sigh.

We also got all their faces painted. It wasn't super cheap, but we splurged a little. Liv got pink flowers (that clashed with her red shirt) and she was in love with them. And thanks Kelli for holding her hair back.

This one surprised me. Not only did she sit still (with more of Kelli's help) but she didn't smudge it later either. She got fireworks.

Jack stayed with his values and got Spiderman. At least he was red.

He was so funny. He sat here and stared and smiled at himself for over a minute and the lady finally said "Um, you can take the mirror with you if you want" but I declined and pulled him away.

One... two... three. Okay, all three kids are accounted for (I find myself counting to three a lot, like at the park or mall or pool to make sure all my kids are with me. Or I count to nine, depending on if the cousins are with me too. Let me tell you how stressful it is to be at the pool and be counting nine children all the time).

You can kind of see the Puget Sound in the background. I love Steilacoom!

At Nana's house showing off our painted faces.

Madelynn's turned out super cute!

Part 2: The park, Slip N Slide and Fireworks!

(coming soon!)

Last day of school! Last day of school!

Oh boy, I was not ready for school to end this year. Usually I am super excited and can't wait for it. I dreamed of the days I didn't have to take Olivia to school, come home and shower, take Jack to preschool, come home and put Maddie down for a nap, and then go back to school to pick them up. This year, though, the weather hasn't made it easy to get out during vacation, and I am definitely missing the two hours to myself that I usually get during Madelynn's naptime. It is nice having the kiddos home, though, and they learned so much this last year!

This year, Field Day ended up being right before the last day of school. Every year the school has a field day with bouncy houses and inflatable slides, lots of treats (cotton candy, popcorn, and sno cones), and games that require the kids to be active (including a race that made the kids run to a table and eat Jello without their hands, and then run back). Since Kelli had offered to volunteer I took Aubrey and Madelynn around for a little bit. They aren't actually students, but the teachers were more than willing to let them jump on the bouncy house and get some treats!

Maddie and Aubrey on the bouncy house Kelli was in charge of.

Madelynn found Jack. Olivia's class had already been out earlier in the day, so I missed her.

Mmm... cotton candy. Don't let this picture fool you. My fearless tomboy daughter is actually afraid of cotton candy. Something about how it disappears when you eat it and makes you all sticky.

Jack loving the slides.

This year the first grade held a BBQ too. We met in the classroom for some awards, and then went outside for a BBQ put on by the teachers and parents. It was lots of fun and I'm not sure why the 1st grade was the only one to do that, but I hope it continues!

Olivia's teacher Mrs. Fields. Madelynn ensured that her baby doll made it into the awards ceremony.

Olivia got the "Outstanding Writing Award." She is constantly writing books and letters. She even has a pen name or two: Jane Poyfair or Elizabeth Turner Swan (yeah, from Pirates of the Caribbean).

Pointing out her self-portrait.

Her class.

One of her BFFs Madeline. We always have to refer to her as "my friend Madeline" or "not my sister Madeline"

One of Olivia's other BFFs, Alyssa R. There was another Alyssa in her class, so Olivia always calls her Alyssa R., even when she is calling her on the phone. "Hi, is Alyssa R there?" I had to explain to her that she is probably the only Alyssa at her house and therefore doesn't need the R at the end.

Jack found a bag of Fritos and an empty swing, so he was a happy camper.

Backdating a couple days, but Jack's last day of school was a couple days before Olivia's. He got a cute graduation hat. He loves preschool and gets to go back next year too since he misses the cutoff by 26 days. Plus his speech therapy will continue next year too.

Jack and his teacher Ms. Brown. She was so good at helping him learn to calm down, sit still and listen. He loves Ms. Brown and talks about her all the time.

The assistant teacher in his class, Ms. K. Her last name is long so the kids call her Ms. K. She was also amazing and I'm glad Jack gets to be with both of them for another year.

My mom was the secretary at Park Lodge for a long time and it was always so nice to have her there. She helped my kids with lunch and boo-boos and everything, and she just retired. You can see part of her "Goodbye Mrs. Hjelm!" sign in the background. We will really miss having her at school and the kids aren't sure what to do without Nana in the office!

Olivia and Mrs. Fields. She was amazing with Olivia. Liv has a tendency to compare herself to others and feel less than worthy, and Mrs. Fields was really good at showing Olivia her potential and all the all the amazing things she could do. She learned how to read really well, write stories and be creative without worrying about how others were doing. Olivia is amazing at math and art and I really think Mrs. Fields had a lot to do with that.

We are super excited for school to start up but summer is in full swing and we are super busy. More post to come on that! 

Last T-ball game (maybe ever)

 Yeah, not gonna lie, I didn't love T-ball this year. I think I made that clear in my last post about it. I don't know what it was. I just wasn't into it and neither was Olivia. Maybe it was because it was on the same night as dance and Olivia and I were rushing from one side of Lakewood to the other every Thursday, in the middle of dinner time and rush hour, trying to make it to her game on time without leaving dance class early. Whatever it was, we were both glad it was over. We survived!

Madelynn and I. You can call me "Hollywood" if you want, but sunlight (even the kind that is mostly cloudy) gives me a migraine so I live and breathe by my huge sunglasses. And I really need to cut my hair!

I can't take credit for these. Kelli made them for the team's last game. Cute, huh?

The coaches had a team banquet at a local pizza place. The service was terrible, but the kids had fun getting trophies, certificates and a cute little clipboard one of the mom's made for every child. Super adorable!

Liv with her coach.

Heartbreaker

Olivia had her dance recital a couple of weeks ago (can you tell I'm in catch-up mode?!). She absolutely loved her class at Charisma School of Dance. Her teacher is actually a woman in our ward and she loved Miss JoLee. This past year in dance class has been an eye opener for me. For starters, Olivia loves dancing. Secondly, she is amazing at remembering her dance steps. Lastly, she has absolutely no grace. And I say that with all the love possible. She is so cute dancing, but the whole graceful part of ballet hasn't really worked its way into her talent yet.

Her dance this year was more of a jazz number to Taio Cruz "Heartbreaker" and I have had that song in my head ever since. It was so cute seeing her shake her hips up on stage. I don't know what she was more excited about: being on stage or getting to wear makeup! She loved her costume and has no qualms about being on stage. I think it goes back to her "This is Kirtland" days but she isn't shy at all about being in an auditorium full of strangers!

Picture day and last practice before the recital.

Recital day! She was so excited! I heard at least thirty times that day "Is my lipstick still on?"

Olivia and the friends she made in class.

One of her favorite parts- getting a bouquet of flowers from Daddy at the end!

Her recital ended up so cute! Her class was a little scattered and everyone just had a blast watching them up on stage. They had never practiced without their teacher helping them and they did really well considering all the pressure they were under!

Next year we are not going to Charisma, mostly because of the cost. We're trying out the YMCA so Jack and Olivia can take swimming and dance (for Liv) and tae kwon do (for Jack) and gymnastics at a much cheaper rate. We're hoping to go back to Charisma in a couple of years after Olivia has had a little more practice, or to see if it's something she wants to continue with. I really have mixed feelings about leaving Charisma because she had such a positive experience with them but I think that it will work out in the end.

Last minute Mariners game

 My mom called me up a couple weeks ago and said that someone at work gave her four Mariners tickets for that night's game and wanted to know if we wanted them. Uh, yeah we did! We found a babysitter last minute and drove up with Kelli to Seattle. We met Jeremiah up there and the seats were great, like 10 rows back from the field. (I'm sure Celeste would have loved to come, but she kind of was pretty much in labor and ended up having her baby the next day very early!)

I don't even remember who played against the Mariners. Just that they lost. It was still lots of fun though! The best part of Safeco Field......?

GARLIC FRIES!!! These are actually Kelli and Jeremiah's. Adam didn't think it was a good idea to go to work the next day smelling like garlic. Yeah, they're that garlicky. Don't you see how much they put on those fries? They are SO GOOD! We ended up getting nachos. Something about bright yellow non-cheese cheese makes my heart melt.

We left a little early since my babysitter had school the next morning and the trek to our car was pretty gruesome, but we had lots of fun. I love Mariners games! Thanks Mom!