End of an Era for Ellie

{Last Day of Pre-School}

Ellie and her best friend on their last day of school. Doing what they do best - acting silly. :)

{Pre-School Graduation}

Crossing the bridge to accept her diploma. (tear)

Proud teachers

Proud parents

A few things I want to remember about this day:

-Ellie insisted on wearing her hair all down (I usually don't give in, especially when I know it will be hot and I know it will be in her face...but it was HER day).

-Kenny and I were some of the first people there to insure the best seats in the house.

-While most kids walked across the bridge, Ellie bounced the whole way and everyone laughed and clapped.

-The kids all sang and signed a song with these words "may there always be sunshine, may there always be blue skies, may there always be mama's, may there always be me" It was incredibly sweet.

-After the ceremony everyone ate rainbow cake and took pictures with teachers and friends.

-I didn't cry until we got in the car to leave.

-We took the girls for yogurt afterwords to celebrate.

-I was happy knowing Addison will be there in the Fall. Not quite ready to say good-bye to this school and these teachers. It has been a huge part of our lives for the last three years.

-Ellie was beaming and I was so proud of the sweet little girl she is turning into.

-It was a great day :)

Good Things

I can't believe I haven't done a "good things" since March! Lots of good things lately...

Ellie and her 'posh puppy from Fancy Nancy'. She got it for Christmas and I'm impressed that it is still a beloved toy and not forgotten about...as many Christmas toys seem to be by this time of year.

Our waffle routine has now turned into a pancake routine. One Saturday our waffle iron broke so Kenny made pancakes instead and the girls quickly decided they like pancakes just as much. Apparently so does Ellie's manatee.

Summer flowers.

Play time in the tub. Since it's summer and we seem to be staying out late I've been bathing the girls in the morning instead of at night. I love to throw them in my big tub and listen to them play while I get ready. This morning they were playing with their Peter Pan toys and their conversation went something like this:

E "Are you a nice crocodile or a mean one?"

A "I'm a nice crocodile"

E "What's your name? Say 'Silver Mist' Add"
A "Silver Mist. Tick tock tick tock."

E "Would you like some sandwiches and cookies crocodile? Say 'sure' Add"

A "Sure"

E "You can stay longer crocodile"

A "It's so nice and warm in here. Tick tock tick tock."

Train rides. Especially nice now that Addison is three and I don't have to join them on the train. Much more fun to just watch...and maybe take a picture or two. :)

Quick and easy dinners.

(Eating Right Chicken Chow Mein)

New couch pillows to brighten up the living room and my green couches. Green couches that even though I'm getting tired of I can't bear to part with. They are WAY too comfortable (ask anyone who has sat on them) and the couches, along with Kenny, popcorn, a good flick, and my laptop, are what I look forward to most at the end of a long day.

Straight braids (because mine usually end up slanted off to one side or completely uneven).

Forever 21! What a great store. I love all the of the colors and everything is so cheap! I'm a firm believer in not spending a lot of money on tops. Styles come and go so quickly and I'd rather spend my money on a great pair of jeans that I'll have awhile. So...Forever 21 is my go to place. I think I'll be shopping there forever. Or at least until I'm 21.

New beach chairs from Costco and the start of 'beach days' in general.

Cream Cheese Jalapeno Poppers. I love these things so much, although I don't like the big boxes they come in. I always throw the box away first thing and just keep them in their plastic sack. That way I save room in my freezer. And that way I don't have to be reminded of exactly how much fat, sodium, and cholesterol is in just one measly little popper. Ignorance really is bliss.

And to work off calories from all those poppers I've been eating, I tried my first spin class at the gym. Not sure if I liked it. The teacher kept yelling out "Now you're passing! Now you're drafting! Now you're sprinting!" ...I was pretty sure all I was doing was pedaling and sweating.

Kenny leaving one sock on and taking one sock off each night to regulate his body temperature.

(and he calls me quirky???)

Toy organization. I've been cleaning out my girls' toys lately and it feels so good to SIMPLIFY. Plus I just like to categorize.

I'm so excited about my new "family organizer". I found it on-line here and I love it! Not the cutest cover, but such a great way to keep a grocery list, to-do list, meal list, and schedule all on one easy to see page. (I often use my "menu" column to organize blog posts and projects...but I like to know it's there in case I ever decide to start planning meals and cooking). I was using my old teacher plan books until I came across this little beauty. Keeps me so organized. I love it!

Peppered turkey at my grocery store deli. I can be a bit of a "turkey snob" (according to certain friends) and let me tell you...the peppered turkey at my local grocery store is the best. Hands down. And I know turkey.

Putting Addison down for a nap and watching Olivia and eating Popsicles with Ellie. We snuggle in Kenny's massive Charger blanket because Popsicles always make us so cold.

The excitement that takes place when I turn on the vacuum cleaner. You'd think it was Christmas. My girls love to run away from the vacuum and make quite a game of going room to room with me running in circles. I've been known to turn it on once in awhile, not because I need to vacuum, but simply to provide quick and easy entertainment. Yes - I have really clean carpets.

A successful presentation at Ellie's pre-school.

Her pre-school graduation was today (pics to come soon) and I can't believe I have a Kindergartener. I'm trying to convince myself that this is a good thing.

The smell of Jasmine in my yard. Sure sign and smell of summer! It's especially fun to smell through my open windows on a summer night...when I'm staying up way too late...blogging about good things.

My baby can Bollywood

So yesterday I was cleaning and turned on So You Think You Can Dance from a couple of weeks ago because I love to watch and re-watch the dances. (Kenny gets so annoyed that I don't delete them because "they are taking up precious space on our DVR.") Whatever. I hate to delete them! Anyway, while I'm watching one of my favorites so far this season (the Bollywood dance by Jason and Caitlin) Addison started doing her version of the dance. She even attempts Caitlin's hand stand. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. :)

{Bollywood by Jason and Caitlin}



{Bollywood by Addison}

(you'll be seeing her on So You Think You Can Dance 2025)

Father's Day with friends

(coordinating outfits not planned) Thanks for having us over Ang!

A Father's Day Surprise

We had a great Father's Day weekend and while we were bummed we weren't with our fathers, we did enjoy a weekend with friends and our little family (pics to come later). Kenny's favorite gift was this book we put together for him. I asked the girls what they loved about their daddy and then found pictures to go along with what they said. Ellie wrote everything and was so excited to give it to him. It nearly killed her to keep it a secret, but she did. Even with Kenny's attempts to trick her into telling him what the "surprise gift" was. (I wish I had some of their conversations recorded...they were hilarious) :)

Kenny got a little choked up looking through the book. This made me get a little choked up since the only other time I've seen him cry in the last several years is during the movie Armageddon when Bruce Willis sacrifices himself to save the world. (sad but true) So while the girls were obliviously chasing each other around the playroom, we both sat on the couch having a moment together. We sure love our girls and I love the dad that Kenny is to them. Ellie said to me at night when I tucked her in "mom, aren't we so lucky that we have the best daddy!?" I told her yes....we are SO very lucky. :)

SeaWorld with mom

Thought I'd post some pics we took at SeaWorld when my mom was in town. The girls had a great time showing grandma their favorite spots. Grandma had a great time spoiling them rotten. :)

Have a great weekend!

{ p.s. Addison and I are feeling much better today. :) }

Dear Diary,

Today it was cloudy. And today I was sad. Addison is sick and my mom (who has been here for a week) flew back to Utah. I'm always sad to say good-bye to my mom. We had such a great week together. We cried at the airport, (airports seem to have that effect, don't they?) which is funny to me now because I'll see her in a few weeks. Still though, it's hard to say goodbye and for some reason I was just in the mood to be sad. Did I mention it was cloudy? I thought about calling Kenny to tell him I was feeling depressed, but then figured he was probably on an important call, at an important board meeting, or lunching with important clients. He always seems to be doing something important. I figured he deals with enough estrogen at home on a daily basis so I didn't call. I left the airport and on the way home I passed a homeless man on the side of the road. He looked sad too. I slowed down and gave him some cash and he seemed so touched. Then I cried the whole way home because I felt guilty for being sad over random nothingness when this man doesn't even have a family to go home to. I decided to call Kenny anyway and bawled to him on the phone about how I was just having one of those days and couldn't stop crying. He immediately went into "fix mode" trying to say things that would cheer me up when really I didn't want to be cheered up, I just wanted someone to listen. I came home and held Addison. The house felt too quiet. Then I realized I'm probably feeling this way because I'm so tired. The last two nights I've been up with Addison - nights full of coughing and rocking. Did I mention she is sick? I hate it when my kids are sick. It stresses me out. A friend came by who had called earlier and could tell I was crying. She brought me a cupcake to cheer me up. Friends are nice. Cupcakes are nice too. Two hours later I called the doctor and took Addison in because her cough was so bad. Kenny came home from work early to hang out with Ellie... and because I think he still wanted to 'fix' me and my mood. When I got home from the doctor I asked Ellie if she had eaten dinner. She answered "yes, daddy gave me Ritz crackers and Triscuits." I smiled and thought of how lucky I am to have Kenny. I fed Ellie (Addison didn't eat a thing all day) and with Kenny's help continued with the craziness that is the girls' bedtime routine.

Now Kenny and I are watching So You Think You Can Dance. I'm eating strawberries with cool whip. The monitor is on and I can hear Addison upstairs snoring soundly. I'm feeling a little better. Hopefully tomorrow it will be sunny.

Pillow Talk

When life gives you lemons

Diet coke with lemons...

a sure sign that my mom's in town.

and since she LOVES lemons...

and since my lemon tree is doing exceptionally well this summer...

we decided to make The Pioneer Woman's Baked Lemon Pasta. This was a big undertaking for my mom and me since neither of us are into cooking (one of my first blog posts was about a typical night for me in the kitchen). I can't say that I loved the pasta we made since I don't love lemons. But my mom does love lemons. And she loved the pasta. And I can now say that I've recently cooked. Not only did I recently cook, but I cooked "Pioneer Woman's Baked Lemon Pasta." When cleaning up, I started to throw away the left over parsley and my mom told me I should keep it. Then we both laughed. We were picturing me sprinkling the parsley over my typical Lean Cuisine dinner or the girls' chicken nuggets.

After we laughed, we chucked the parsley.