~New Dress~

We went into every store that sold dresses looking for a beautiful, modest, age appropriate dress for her to wear to church and for Easter.  We came up empty. We even looked on line for dresses, but it was hard to tell how long they were and very few had sleeves.  Raychel did find one, but it was over $200.  It was a simple looking pattern, I got this crazy idea I could make her a dress.  We headed to the fabric store with the goal not to leave without a pattern and material to create a beautiful dress.  We had success!!  Little did I know that would be the easy part!  The dress wasn't too bad, pretty basic except for the neck line.  It is pretty wide and I wasn't sure how to fix it.  I had a couple of friends help me who had lots more experience them I do.  It turned out perfect, and the best part is, she loves it!! She looks so beautiful in it.  The colors are perfect for her.  Now to find the perfect shoes!!!

~The Girls!~

These are just random pictures I found that needed to be posted.

The one of Jolene makes me laugh. She came home from school on day and the weather was warm and beautiful. She needed to read for her homework and I had several things going on at once and couldn't stop right then to be read to, so she took her book and went outside to read to the dog because he didn't have anything else to do. I think she was trying to make a point, but it was a pretty cute point.

This seems to be the norm when it comes to bedtime with Raychel and Ella. When Raychel heads up to bed Ella always runs after her. When Ward and I head up to bed we check on the girls and this is what we find. Ella is usually at the foot of the bed sleeping, but lately she is up close and sometimes even under the covers. I will see if I can get a picture of that soon. It is pretty cute to see the love this cat as for only Raychel!

~Bob & Nuts~

Meet Bob and his wife, Nuts.

Jolene has wanted these squirrels for a long time. She said she wants to name them Bob and Nuts, even before she had them in her possession. We searched high and low for these two. We looked online, we looked in every store we entered. We finally found Bob first about an hour from here, it was a bittersweet day because there was no Nuts. We took a trip to Utah and found Nuts! I know you are probably saying they look alike, how can you tell them apart? That was my question, but Bob is a little taller them Nuts and their coloring is a little different. Jolene was so excited! She couldn't wait to buy her and get her out to the car to meet up with Bob. I love the imagination of this girl, her stories and the love she has for her stuffed animals. She did sleep with them under one arm and Max under the other. Then one night I saw the couple sleeping in their own bed. She said they kept falling out of bed they were happier in their own bed.

~Golf~

What a great day. The weather was perfect, our first really nice weekend. We did few chores in the morning then headed out to the golf course. I don't golf, but it's fun to see the kids and Ward golf. The girls are picking it up really fast. I love it when they hit it well and they get so excited and then the look on Ward's face. He gets so proud of them. We walked the course together taking pictures along the way. The course is so beautiful, so peaceful. The course was packed, I think everyone had the same idea. It was fun to spend the day together. I love this time of year when the weather is perfect for playing together outside. So much to look forward to with weather like this in our future.

~Decorating~

I love how the rooms have turned out. The girls both have taken a huge part in decorating their own rooms. It has been fun seeing them use their imaginations, their ideas come to life in their own space. It has been fun watching it all come together and see their excitement over the details!

~Gymnastics~

Our little gymnast on the day the parents get to come watch. It is so fun to see how much she has learned and her self confidence grow. Now to get her signed up for the next two months before school gets out. She has already decided she wants to take gymnastics in the Fall as well. I can't say I am surprised!

~Max~

I had a good laugh today after school. After I picked up Jolene we headed down to get Raychel. Jolene talked nonstop, she told me all about her day. She told me about SFA and the test she took, the book she is reading and really liking, what specials she had, lunch and the fun she had at recess with her friends and of course the boy she likes and she is pretty sure he likes her because his friends said so and he looks at her then quickly looks away, she told me about math and how she loves it, the writing prompt they worked on. She asked me what was for dinner, what after school activities we had. We picked up Raychel and she still talked as we drove home. When we got home after talking with my little 9 year old in such a grown up way, she pulled Max out of the backpack. I laughed because even though she is growing up and becoming more independent she still needs Max and she still needs me!

~Guniea Pigs~

I love these pictures, every once in while Jolene will get the "pigs" out to play with them, feed them and just hold them. I love how Ella thought she would get up close and personal while the "pigs" ate. Jolene loves how they will eat from her and cuddle up in her legs to sleep. I think Santa did well when he thought of the "pigs" for a gift. The girls love them.

~Painting & Sleepovers~

Well, the painting has begun which makes for lots of sister sleepovers. Jolene and I were both sad for different reasons to cover the flowers. She was sad because she just loves the flowers, she was remembering when we painted them, she found the blue one she messed up on so it was smeared, she found the yellow one that had little green in it because she didn't clean it very well. It was fun remember with her. It made me sad becasue she is growing up, she is no longer my little baby, she is getting more independent and learning to express herself through her ideas. Tiime goes so fast! I don't want to miss a minute of this!

~ Room Makeover~

The room makeover is complete, and it looks great! This is the first time we have made over Jolene's room since she got out of the crib!

She loved the flowers on her wall, she loved her comforter and she loves the purple, but her taste has grown and now her room needs to grow with her.

She is loving zebras right now so she found her new comforter online, then we hit the paint store to find something to match and then we got busy!

It was so fun painting with her, she has such a cute little personality and talked to me the whole time about what ever crossed her mind!

I value this time with my kids, they make me laugh with their cute little jokes, stories, and thoughts.

I hope she will enjoy her new room as much as she did the old room.

The little zebra family was painted by Jolene

The middle painting and the black painting by Jolene

~Class Party~

The 3rd grade class party was a hit, when isn't a school party a hit?? I love helping in the girls classes during parties. The kids are always so happy, excited and full of energy. It is fun watching the kids mix with each other and having fun.

~From The One I Love~

The day before Valentine's Day Ward came home from work a little bit earlier then normal. I needed to run to the store so he drove and I vented! It has been one of those days. Lots of running around, a 9 year old who thinks she knows EVERYTHING, I didn't have all the ingredients for dinner, lots of homework, ect. You know the day, the kind when you can't wait to crawl back into bed. As he drove I went on and on about my day. He laughed, gave advice, but most of all he just listened and let me unload. When we got home I went in the house while he unloaded his car from work. I was already in the kitchen trying to finish an already late dinner when he walked in with beautiful roses, and a card for me along with a BIG box of chocolates for the girls. I read the card and cried, he always finds the one that was written just for us. He held me tight, whispered in my ear and made the whole day melt away.

I am so in love with this man my heart could burst!!

~Valentine Cookies~

Any reason to make cookies is a good reason! We love to make sugar cookies! The best part is decorating them. It's funny, the girls love making the dough, rolling it out, cutting them out, watching them bake, decorating them with as much creativity as possible and that's it. They don't eat them, they give away as many as they can and the rest just sit. They get looked at, but very rarely get eaten. I guess the fun is in creating them.

~Poetry~

Raychel had to write poems for her literature class this quarter. She really enjoyed the assignments and even making the book for it more! She got pretty creative in her poems and even go Jolene into writing some as well. It is funny when the girls really love something they are learning at school they can't wait to come home tell everyone about it and help each other do it as well. The book turned out great. The worst part is going to be waiting for the grade!
She said I could share an example of one of her poems. This one is a Three word poem. She really liked this style of writing.

Night

Moon, Stars, Dark
Stars, Dark, Quiet
Dark, Quiet, Cricket
Quiet, Cricket, Owl
Cricket, Owl, Wolf
Owl, Wolf, Music
Wolf, Music, Peaceful
Music, Peaceful, Quiet
Peaceful, Quiet, Sunrise
Quiet, Sunrise, Day