Nutcracker

Bella got to dance in a little production of the Nutcracker. She loves taking ballet and tap and was super excited and a little nervous for her first performance. She had to wear her hair in a bun and I wasn’t sure how we were going to make that happen.

(I must interject a somewhat related story here. A few weeks ago I was in the bathroom and noticed cut hair in the garbage. Isaac was there so I asked him about it and he told me a big story about how Bella had cut his hair. I called Bella down and told her I wanted to know why she had cut Isaac’s hair to which she got very defensive and said she hadn’t cut Isaac’s hair she’d cut her own. She decided she wanted bangs and just cut them herself. We had the talk, yet again, about not cutting hair and I had to talk to Isaac about not making up such elaborate stories.)   

I’m sad I didn’t get a picture of the back of her hair. I was amazed I could form such short hair into some semblance of a bun and tuck those new bangs she cut back – good thing for lots of bobby pins.

She also needed to wear a little makeup and let’s just say I did much better the second go round then for the dress rehearsal.

Chuck and I felt bad when we got to the performance and realized we were the lame parents who didn’t think to get a flower to give to Bella after the performance. Chuck felt so bad he even dashed to the local market to see if by chance they had anything and of course they didn’t. I assured him it would be okay because we were taking her for ice cream afterward and that would be more exciting, but next performance we’re remembering the flower!

 

For her tap number she was a little mouse and for the ballet number she was a candy cane. (There was a slight twist on this rendition of the Nutcracker)

After the performance Bella said she saw Chuck, but somehow she missed mom – the crazy one standing on a chair in the back taking pictures.  

 

I love that I caught Bella right in the middle of her jump. Not sure if she was ahead or behind everyone else!

It was so fun and super cute to watch her dance.

After the performance she had a big smile as she told me how much fun she had. Yeah for dance!

Vegas

We took a quick trip to Vegas this last weekend to attend a wedding reception. It was so much fun to talk to many friends we haven’t seen since we moved several years ago. I feel like I left a little bit of my heart in Vegas when we moved. The heartache flared a little as we left the reception that night.

   

The kids always love staying in a hotel. They were exhausted until we entered the room and then they all caught their second wind. It was a rough night with various kids waking us up at least a half dozen times! According to Samuel, Bella was rolling around hurting everyone. Everyone drank way to much punch at the reception and several potty breaks were taken during the night requiring all lights to come on. Isaac was whining all night long except he miraculously did not wake up when he rolled right off the bed. Then everyone was up bright and early to start the day. And we vowed it would be years until we stay in a hotel again – I’m sure we’ll soon forget the agony and our pledge.

 

We walked A LOT during this trip. The kids loved the fish.

But their favorite activity was riding the escalators. Much to their delight we went on several escalator rides. Isaac was a little nervous and even fell down, but quickly learned how to navigate. I had to tell the kids my escalator horror story about how my shoelace got caught when I was at the mall. It felt like my foot was going to get ripped off, then the shoelace broke and I was free. Yep, sometimes you have to put a little fear into the kids!

 

And what family escapade would be complete without someone getting lost. We were supposed to meet Trina and Wes at Toys R Us, too bad we were at two different stores and it took us an hour to get things worked out!

What an Amazing Cast!

Last year our ward was asked to take part in the Tuacahn Nativity but it poured the night of our performance so the show was canceled. We were super excited that our ward got another chance this year and what an amazing cast we were. Just look at us!

Samuel, Bella and I were townspeople. We decided Jenna would be too hard to manage for two performances and the dress rehearsal so Chuck just came to watch us instead.

We were all bundled up in multiple layers because I hate being cold. When we got there, one of the stage managers was helping us with costumes. The guy handed me an outfit he thought would work for me. I tried to put it on with all my layers but it was tight so I removed the outside layer of my coat. Then I managed to squeeze myself into the lovely costume. A few minutes later, the girl stage manager took a look at me and said, “I think you have a child’s costume on.” No wonder the thing was so tight! She assured me it would be fine even though it was a little short. I decided it was just to much work to get in another costume so I just kept it on. After I saw the pictures of us I definitely should have changed outfits! Then after the show I had to have help squeezing out of the thing.

Samuel was fascinated with the soldier helmets. During our 45 minute break between shows he kept running up to me with different helmets and having me take his picture.

A few pictures Chuck took of us during the performance.

This was a really fun experience.

While we were getting ready for the nativity, Chuck and the kids were visiting with Santa. I couldn’t believe Jenna actually sat on Santa’s lap and didn’t throw a complete fit.

Samuel’s School Performance

Samuel had his school music/dance performance this week. We weren’t sure what to expect because we never hear Samuel sing any songs he learns at school and the only thing he says about his dance class is that he doesn’t like to take his shoes and socks off. Although, a few days before the performance Bella was dancing around the living room and doing a plié. Samuel then commented that looked like his cowboy move which he commenced to show us. Then Bella did a sauté and again Samuel said that was like the cowboy slide. Tricky that dance teacher is, disguising a plié and sauté as a cowboy moves! Afterward Bella came up to me and said, “I can’t believe Samuel knows how to do ballet”. Yeah, we’re trying to keep that a secret from him!     

Samuel’s favorite song was titled Piñata because they got to throw candy into the audience.

Then his class did their dance and as my friend said it was like a giant version of ring around the rosy. Samuel told me before the performance if the circle got messed up it was not his fault.

They also did a little theater reading.

Bella, who watched intently the entire time, said, “Oh Samuel, I just loved all your songs and dances!”. The next day she wanted Samuel to sing the Hot Coco song for her, but he wouldn’t do it. It was entertaining and cute. I only wished I was about a foot taller so I could have got better pictures!

Joy School

I love doing Joy School with my kids. This year I’m doing a group with Bella and a group with Isaac. I love the concepts that are taught in Joy School, but even more I love being able to have my kids and their friends in my home and the opportunity to teach them important concepts. Bella and Isaac get so excited every time they know Joy School is at our home. There are so many fond memories I have of all our little groups over the past several years. 

That being said, sometimes it is crazy! Yes, it is a challenge trying to teach a lesson or do a craft with the other young kids at home. Sometimes I daydream about how easy it will be to do Joy School when Jenna is the only one at home. But then I won’t have as many funny memories of all the chaotic moments.

One of my favorite parts of Joy School each year is reenacting the nativity. The kids all love it and we do it over and over and over again with everyone trading costumes and parts. What you don’t see from this picture is that Jenna is sitting in the kitchen sink so I could hurry and snap a picture (and of course it’s a little blurry because I was in a hurry and just turned my camera on auto – not a good idea with a low aperture lens!). Jenna was obsessed with the baby and kept trying to remove the baby from the manger. The girls were insistent that the baby stay in the manger. There was a lot of crying on Jenna’s part and a lot of creative moves on the girls part. These are memories I won’t forget!

I still think one of my funniest memories of a chaotic day at Joy School was my first year with Samuel. The lesson called for a craft using pudding to paint. Sounds fun – unless you have 5 Joy School kids all age 3, a not quite 2 year old and a 6 month old baby. We went outside on the driveway to do our creative pudding paint project and as I got kids cleaned up, much to my dismay, Samuel and the twins locked me out of the house. I finally talked them through letting me in only to discover while I was dealing with that problem that Bella had got in the pudding and smeared it all over her body and in her hair. I scoped her up and quickly ran some water in the tub, telling the other kids to play with the toys for a few minutes. In the mean time Isaac, who was just a baby, needed to be nursed. It was one of those moments where you stop and think, I’ve got to be crazy, is this really worth the effort? My answer then and even more so now – yes! So until I only have Jenna at home I’ll just continue to embrace the chaos.

Moments

I’ve been thinking a lot about moments this past week. Probably because the article we’re discussing with my Power of Moms group this month is titled the Magic of Moments. I loved this paragraph from the article, “This chapter is about the moments of motherhood that make it great. It’s about those magical moments that swell in your heart and somehow make all the other tough and worrisome moments shrink in their wake. I’m talking about the moments where the air turns thick with love and your heart turns to mush and you realize THIS is the stuff that makes motherhood the best job in the world.” 

So I’ve been trying to stand still long enough to soak in those moments and although many of them I just captured with my heart I did manage to capture a few in pictures.

Like when we decorated the tree and the last ornaments we brought out were the pictures that I make sure our little family takes every Christmas Eve. As the kids gathered around me, I showed them how our family has grown and changed over the years. Always a new baby or a big pregnant mommy in the picture! What fun memories. 

Seeing the kids excited faces as they contemplated which activities they wanted to do for our “Fun Friday”.

Watching Jenna get so excited about licking the bowl after we made our pie. She wasn’t about to let anyone else get a taste. You can see Samuel’s head in the picture, he was just trying to lick a spot off the countertop.

Finishing our Grinch pie and then having to use the pink Santa hat because we couldn’t find the red one. Samuel was quick to point out that there was no girl Grinch, but it would be okay.

Laughing as Isaac strolled around the kitchen in my cleaning gloves instead of helping clean the bathroom. The kid just cracks me up on a daily basis!

Seeing Jenna enjoying building just like all the other kids with her cute belly hanging over her diaper. She’s decided she doesn’t like to get dressed and boy if we have to go somewhere it’s a battle!

Watching Jenna try and dress herself and then walk around the house in what looks like a loin cloth. Gotta love the pants on her head!

Smiling to see Bella helping her daddy clean up leaves in the yard in one of her “stylish” outfits she’s put together.

Listening to the kids squeal with delight and watching them swing off our stairs for two days straight. Samuel tied his karate belts to the banister because he wanted to rope swing like Indiana Jones.

Having brave Bella show the boys you could actually swing further if you stood at the top of the stairs.

Trying not to worry that someone might get hurt. We did have one little mishap, Isaac swung into Jenna and cut her lip. The kids then wondered why Jenna had ketchup all over her face – granted she does like ketchup, but they were a little shocked she was actually bleeding.

 

It seemed there was no end to this fun and they wanted me there watching and snapping pictures of all their cool moves.

Getting so excited for the girls new Christmas dresses I just couldn’t stand to wait.

Soaking up the fact that I can get them matching outfits and that’s okay – at least for now! Granted I couldn’t get a picture of them together because someone was upset, but that’s okay!

And my most touching moment of the week was one of those I captured in my heart. It was hearing Jenna LOUDLY say “Mommy, Mommy, Hi Mommy” over and over and over again as I sat on the organ bench during the passing of the sacrament. I know it was a little irreverent of me, but I couldn’t help but smile and give her a little wave. Priceless!

Compulsive Buying At It’s Best!

I’m not much of a shopper, but my sister is. I’m a saver so I find it difficult to just buy things without careful consideration. But my sister always calls me with some deal she’s found and tries to rope me into spending money on something or other. In fact the other night she called me at almost midnight and when I groggily  answered my cell phone I heard a chipper voice say, “Oh shoot, your not awake. Well, I had to call and deal you about this great deal.” I kindly asked her not to call me so late unless it was a dire emergency. Now she just sends a text to see if I’m awake before calling me with the deal that can’t be passed up. 

During the whole crazy shopping madness last week Trina called to tell me about a deal she’d found on a cricut cake cutting machine. They were practically giving the thing away she said. I decided I didn’t really need a cake cutting machine so I was going to pass. A few hours later she called again and said we really needed to get this machine it was such a great deal and looked really fun. So I finally agreed since it really was a steal and we were splitting the cost.

Then this showed up at my door. I pulled it out of the box and it’s huge! We’re talking a MAJOR cake decorating machine. It cuts fondant, gum paste, cookie dough most anything soft and flat. I called to tell Trina I wasn’t exactly sure what she’d talked me into. Now we are destined to become professional cake decorators in our spare time! She said the only draw back was we can’t cook – yeah that might put a damper on our business! And when poor Chuck saw the thing all he could say was, great another expensive hobby with lots of hidden costs. And then he quoted Clark Howard who supposedly said, the worst way to waste money is to buy something on sale that you don’t need. (Really Chuck doesn’t care that we bought the machine because it was a steal, he’s just worried about all the cakes we’re going to make him sample!)

It may be awhile before we figure out how to properly use this thing, but I’m expecting some amazing creations! Or maybe we’ll use it once and decide there was a reason they were giving the things away. Here’s to my craziest compulsive buy of the season!