Last Day of Kindergarten

Today was Sydnee's last day of kindergarten. There was a picnic lunch and then all the families got to play on the playground. Then the 3 kindergarten classes had a showcase where they sang songs. It was fun to watch Sydnee, she was really enjoying herself. Vicki and Mark got to come too and Vicki was nice enough to take Justee outside with Trey and Tamsyn so that Justin and I could better enjoy the showcase. Sydnee loved kindergarten and she did really well. They are graded 1-4 with 4 being advanced and 1 being unsatisfactory. Sydnee got all 3's and a few 4's including a 4 in "Follows Directions." I wonder why that doesn't transfer into life at home.

Sydnee made it all the way across these monkey bars. She was pretty proud of herself. They have a really tall slide that Sydnee and Natasha are getting ready to go down in the next picture. Charlee climbed to the top of it and decided not to go down.This is Sydnee and Natasha after the showcase and then Justin, Sydnee, and me of course.I had to throw these pictures of Justee eating dinner last night. She cleaned her plate.;)

Memorial Weekend

We have had company since Friday. My sister Vicki and her husband Jake and their three kids came down to stay with us for a week. Mark came with them too because he just can't get enough of us ;) We planned to go to Water World on Monday, but the weather hasn't cooperated. It has been wet and rainy pretty much the whole time they have been here. Today is a little warmer and the sun is peaking out, so Justin Mark and Jake went to the park. Hopefully it stays nice enough to be worth it.
On Sat. Vicki and I took the kids to the park and met up with Vicki's college roommate and basketball teammate who lives in Greeley. I know Rachel because I worked with her at my summer job at the ranch. On Mon. we had a BBQ and Vicki's high school friend, Crystal, came over. She was one of my favorites of Vicki's friends in high school. We had a lot of fun playing Rock Band with her and her husband. Vicki has some funny pictures of our "band" on her blog. We were going to roast marshmallows in the fire pit and make smores, but it was raining so we made smores in the oven. Here are some pictures of Charlee and Justee eating their smores.
Last night we went out to dinner at P.F. Chang's. It was great food and a nice night away from kids, except Mark came with us. ;) Jake showed me how to use chop sticks and we all ate our meals with them. Mark will have to use them on his mission in Japan, so it was good practice for him. Every night Vicki, Jake, Justin, and I play Spades or Hearts. So far Vicki and I beat Justin and Jake at Spades twice and they beat us (barely) once. Last night Mark watched movies with the kids while we played. (I think he cried during Bambi.)

Just Sydnee and Natasha enjoying a Gogurt before going to bed.

Tornado

It seems pretty crazy that a tornado did so much damage so close to home. Yesterday a tornado hit Windsor and Greeley. Luckily the storm moved NW and just missed Loveland. There was intermittent rain falls and hail, but the wind never got that strong. It was actually sunny during the time the tornado was on the ground. The worst part about hearing the news, was that Sydnee was on a field trip to a farm. I wasn't exactly sure where this farm was or if it was in the path of the tornado. Luckily they were all safe. Another thing I realized was that Justin was supposed to work in Pueblo on Wed. and Greeley and Windsor on Thurs. I told him Tues. night that I thought it would be better if he switched the two days around (he listened because he knows I am the boss. ;) So he was safe down in Pueblo during the storm when he could have been right in the middle of it. phew...
As I was typing this, I heard another tornado warning on the TV for Weld County. This is where the tornado hit yesterday...I hope that community doesn't have to go through this again...hopefully the storm will pass without doing any real damage.

Lauren Tagged Me...

Okay, I've never done this tagging stuff before, but I thought I'd give it a try (mostly because Lauren put the pressure on when she named me specifically. ;)
A- Attached or single: Attached
B- Best Friend: Besides Justin, my sisters
C-Cake or Pie: Cake
D-Day: Saturday
E- Essential Item: TV
F-Favorite Color: Purple
G-Gummi Bears or Worms: Bears, but I don't really like either
H-Home town: Lovell, Wyoming
I- Indulgences: Ice cream
J- January or July?: July!...January means a long time until Christmas ;)
K-Kids: 3 girls
L-Life is incomplete without: Family is the obvious, but I would hate not to have a dog or cat
M- Marriage Date: June 14, 2000
N-Number of Siblings: 2 sisters and 2 brothers
O- Oranges or Apples: Oranges if they are good ones.
P- Phobias or Fears: I'm not a good swimmer and so I'm scared of large bodies of water
Q- Quote: "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain." 1 Corinthians 9:24 (that's all I got)
R- Reason To Smile: When my girls are playing well together
S- Season: Fall...or maybe Autumn
T- Tag Four: Michelle Thompson, Vicki, Ashlee, and Shawntay...come on guys, just do it.
U- Unknown fact about me: My toenails haven't gone a day without polish on them for at least 10 years. They may have been chipped and in need of new, but never completely naked (that I can remember.)
V- Very Favorite Store: Hobby Lobby
W- Worst Habit: Forgetting things like bdays and stuff
X-Rays or Ultrasounds: X-rays cause I hope I don't ever need another ultrasound
Y-Your favorite food: Prime rib and crab legs
Z: Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius

Like Father or Mother?

I just thought it would be fun to compare some pictures of Justin and me with the girls...
I have limited access to pictures of Justin and I, but I found a couple that would work.
This is me at age 6, Sydnee at age 5, and Justin at 7. Sydnee has always seemed to be the spitting image of Justin. I think I can see a little (very little) of me in her too though.
Since Sydnee is Justin's look-a-like, it is only fair that Charlee looks a little more like me, right? This is me at 9 months and Charlee at 9 months. I was said to be a chubby baby, but I don't quite measure up to Charlee's chub. I wish I could have found pictures with the same angles so they would be easier to compare, but this is the best I could do. There are some similarities...I think...

I need to do some more hunting and find some baby pictures of Justin and me that I can compare with Justee.

It's Done!

Last night we finally finished the play set, so today was a perfect, sunny day for the girls to play outside on it. They had a lot of fun and Justin and I got a lot of work done. It is amazing that we finished it yesterday because first thing in the morning, Justin had a back spasm and could barely move. Luckily a friend from the ward is a massage therapist, and she came over to the house and gave him a good hour and 15 min massage. It really loosened his back up and he felt pretty good. His back is still a little sore, but at least he can walk.

Charlee spent most of her time with her belly on the swing...One time she ran and tried to plop her belly in the swing but she over shot it, she flew over the swing and face planted in the grass. She jumped up and said, "Oh man!" while rubbing her nose and looking embarrassed. Sydnee loves the monkey bars and showed us over and over how she could get all the way across them. She also spent a lot of time upside down on the bar. Justee liked following Dozer around. The poor dog kept getting kicked by the girls on the swings. (I think he is going blind.) All-in-all I am happy that it is finished and looking forward to more fun days in our backyard.

On a sadder note...our cat has been missing for 9 days. I'm worried and not feeling very hopeful anymore...

Something I Remembered

First I have to say how happy I am that it is David v. David on American Idol. I have wanted Syesha to go for a while now. The Davids have been my favorite from the beginning, so I am happy. I think I like Cook a little better, but I really don't care who wins.
I had hoped that my next post would hold a picture of the play set completed, but it is still not done. Justin has had a busy week and has just had an hour here and an hour there to work on it. It is sooooo close though, it just needs the monkey bars attached. (That requires a 16'' hole to be dug, which is why it is not done yet.) Anyway...last night I went to a little graduation party for the seniors for mutual. The parents were telling stories about them, and a story about a bee made me remember this story about Sydnee: We were living in our house in Laramie and it was right around the time Charlee was born. Sydnee was standing at the screen door when she started crying. When I got to her I realized that a bee had stung her. I was comforting her and putting ice on the sting; I made a comment to the effect of, "That bad bee!" Sydnee, still crying from the pain, pointed at me and scolded, "Mom, you be nice to the bee!" It really made my heart melt. What a true example of being Christ-like.

This is Sydnee with Charlee at the hospital. This is about the time of the story.

Happy Mother's Day!

I had a really nice Mother's Day. It is nice now that Sydnee is older and understands it more. She was really excited to give me a book she made at school. It had things from the beginning of the school year to show her progress. It was really fun to look at with her. She also picked out this rose balloon for me and some petunias. Justin got me some patio furniture and a fire pit. I am excited to get some use out of it (if the wind would ever stop blowing and the weather would warm up.) I can't complain about today's weather though; it was really nice and Justin set up my other present...a play set for the girls. He was going to put it up yesterday, but the weather was not cooperative. I helped a little and Jared Nicholls helped too, but it is still not done yet. It started out like this...

About 5 hours (of work) later it looks like this...

I think it's progressed really well considering that we had to deal with Justee trying to run off with tools and screws and Dozer stealing the tape measure every time Justin set it down. Hopefully we can finish it tomorrow. It may seem like more of a present for the girls, but believe me, I am just as happy about it as they are.

With it being Mother's Day and all, I wanted to talk about how great I think my mom is...My mom is the hardest working woman I have ever known. She is so strong and has never been a big complainer. She has taught me more than I'll ever know. I realize new things all the time that I learned from her. When I think back to my childhood I don't remember her losing her patience with me very often (she had many reasons to too.) Here are some fun memories...When us kids would sleep on the tramp and my dad would be eating ice cream, she would sneak some out to us through the garage door. (I don't know if she really had to sneak, but that is what it felt like.) She used to help me and my friends build blanket tents over the kitchen table...she played tons of games with me and read to me all the time. I remember waking her up because she would fall asleep in the middle of stories ;) I know that there are a ton more great things about my mom, but I could never list them all...I just want her to know that I love her and appreciate the example she set and is still setting for me and my children. I Love you mom!

**After I posted this the first time, I read my sister Vicki's blog and she had some great pics of my mom and grandmothers. I thought I would add a link to her blog for fun. :)

My YW lesson today was on preparing to go to the temple. After the lesson I had the girls make flower pens for their moms. I saw an idea for a glass block online and got Abbey Chase (a friend from our ward who has a vinyl business) to put these words...I love to see the temple, I'm going there someday... and a temple pic on a block for me. I added the paper to the back and the bow. It worked great for a centerpiece for my lesson and I think it is great to give the girls. (I might have to come up with 2 different ones, so they can each have their own.) It should look really pretty in Justee's room. It is hard to see in the pic because it was dark but the flash just made a big glare off the glass, so I took it without.

Crafty Day

Today was a crafty day. Sydnee and Charlee decorated some extra crowns I had from my YW lesson a couple weeks ago. Then we made some flower pens for Mother's Day. This week is Teacher Appreciation Week, and so Sydnee made a crown and a flower pen for her teacher, Ms. Jensen. She is very excited to give them to her. She thinks that it will be so funny because Ms. Jensen will think it is just a flower and then she can tell her that it is a pen too! We made a pen for Grandma Hyde, Grandma Durtsche and Great Grandma Putnam (my mom's mom.)

Splat!

After swimming lessons and gymnastics we came home and ate some delicious taco soup and played a game of Splat!. Splat! is a very fun board game that Mark got when he was little. It is still a favorite of the grand kids when they are at my parents house...You make little bugs out of play dough and try to get your bug to the finish line before someone splats it. Sydnee has always loved this game (except for the getting splatted part..it takes a while for the little ones to accept that as just part of the game ;) She accepts her getting splatted gracefully now.) So I looked up the old game that can't be found in stores anymore on EBay and found one for $19. Now we get to play Splat! anytime.

Charlee left the table mad a couple of times. She kept saying, "I want to splat someone!" She was more interested in playing with the play dough than paying attention to the game.

Here is Sydnee splatting me (I think.)I let Justee roll the dice for me because she thought it was so fun. We would cheer after everyone rolled the dice, and Justee caught on quick. She cheered right along with us and wanted those dice so everyone would cheer for her. I shouldn't have let her roll for me because I took last :(...Justin won, Charlee took 2nd, and Syd took 3rd.

Justee just before going swimming.

Scary Song

The girls have been into Dora songs lately. We have three Dora CD's in the car and have listened to them over and over. Every time we go anywhere they want to listen to Dora. I let them because it is much nicer to listen to the same annoying songs over and over than listening to kids fight with each other... Dora sings "The Rhythm is gonna get you" on one of the discs. Sydnee told Justin and me that if she hears that song at night, it scares her. We explained what rhythm is and what it means by "gonna get you." Syd decided that it wasn't a scary song after all.

Justin took Justee swimming during one of Charlee's swimming lessons last week. She is always trying to get in the pool while we are watching Charlee, so we thought Justin could take her in and then she wouldn't be such a pain. Turns out that she just wants to be in with the other kids and not away from them. She warmed up to it after a while, but she wasn't that excited about her first real time in a pool. (She has been in a pool when she was a little baby, but that doesn't count.)
Justee likes to empty most of the toys out of her "toy baskets" that we keep in the living room, and sit in them. Here she is this morning, relaxing in her basket and enjoying an animal cracker. She has been saying a lot of words lately. When I get the camera out she says "cheese" and she is in that phase where she says hi to everyone who goes past. She loves to throw things and then say uh-oh. She "sings" during hymns at church and along with her sisters while they are singing to their Dora songs.

Mark left this morning to go to Lovell. He finally started feeling better last night, and then he had to leave. At least we got a little Guitar Hero in this morning before he left.

Company, Baseball, and a Weeping Pussy Willow

Mark stopped by to visit us on Thursday. He is staying until Mon. Then he has to get to Lovell because my mom and dad say he has a lot to do to get ready for his mission (I think they just want him all to themselves.) Here he is wrestling with the girls...

We went to the Rockies v. Dodgers game Fri. night... Man it was cold! We left the girls with a babysitter and I am really glad that we did. We were surrounded by drunk people (I better say drunk girls in their early 20's.) There were 3 girls behind us who were having an R to X-rated conversation. The Nicholls brought their kids and Cherelle and I were in pure disbelief at the things that were coming out of these girls' mouths. Cherelle turned around after way too many ignored F-bombs (among other things) and politely pointed out her kids. They were better for a little while until they were joined by a couple guys, then the dirty mouths got dirtier. I finally had enough and turned and said politely, "Could you guys please watch your mouths? There are little kids sitting right in front of you." A very upset girl snapped back, "It's called freedom of speech!" I proceeded to politely explain that free speech has nothing to do with talking that way at a baseball game. Cherelle added that even if they could speak that way it is called "common courtesy" to stop. The girl then decided to complain that it was 9 pm and who brings their little kids and babies to a game that late anyway... She was not a nice girl, or very smart...one of the guys told her that a lot of people do and her mom probably brought her kids...Anyway, I am amazed at how she made such a big deal about it and Cherelle and I both decided that they were lucky that neither of us are as mean as we once were;) Change of subject: Justin yelled at Andruw Jones throughout the game (he plays center field and we were sitting in left-center.) Finally, between the top and the bottom of the 9th Justin convinced him to throw him the ball he was warming up with. Justin had to lean clear out over the fence and nearly fell over. His feet came up off the ground and everything, but he caught the ball. Justin was very excited and I'm sure I'll hear 20 different versions of the story over the next 6 months. ;) Here is a lovely pic from the game:

Today I got to buy my plants! I have been wanting to get some potted plants for our patio for a few weeks now. Hopefully the weather will stay above freezing and these poor plants will survive. I don't have very good luck with keeping plants alive. Mark got sick last night and has spent most of the day sleeping on our couch...poor kid, no plant shopping for him. Justee had fun digging in the dirt and eating it. Yuck. My favorite purchase was a weeping pussy willow tree. It is so pretty and I am very excited about it. We plan on getting some more furniture, a couch and chairs, and a fire pit to put out there too. We got our sprinkler system up and running, so hopefully our grass will start to green-up so we don't have the yellowist grass on the street. (Yes, yellowist is a word.)