June 2012

June 1st belongs to Lily Mae Lucille who turned into a toddler before my very eyes.  This year we did a "minnie me" (minnie mouse) theme.  The girls' birthday always reminds me of how fast time really does fly by.  Everytime I look at my Lilybug it gets harder to believe that she was so small when she entered this world.  Lily Mae always associates the word birthday with cake, and she has loved continuing the monthly family cupcake day with Layla and I.  Sometimes she takes it upon herself to make cupcakes if she feels like it has been to long since we have made them....

Love this bug!

The last day of school for Layla was June 6th.  My "SWEETS" has graduated kindergarten.  Again the time is flying by...  Layla is growing up into a beautiful lady, and this proud mama knows she will succeed in everything she works for.  She is destined for great works.  

Congratulations Layla Grace

 

On June 6th the count down was over for us...it was the day we were leaving to go "HOME" for a visit.  The girls were extra excited because the would get to stay awhile and had been counting down the days since January, and to add more excitement to the mix they were riding on an airplane for the first time ever...

We arrived at the airport early because the were Lindsey, me ,and 3 girls and 7 bags to get through security..which was actually not bad very smooth.  As we arrived at our gate it was around 10pm and our p0lane was set to leave at 1130pm..the girls played with their games and around that time we got an announcement that there would be a delay..3hours later we got to board...it was so long that the older girls fell asleep and lily mae ran in circles before her melatonin kicked in...

sleeping at airport.. 

I did wake for boarding takeoff and landing so she could enjoy the experience.

Here are some of the adventures the girls had in Las Vegas...

Wish we could have stayed longer and got to see some family that we missed seeing...
Love and Miss all my Nevada family...xoxo

 

May Flowers..

This month was blooming for us.  My goal this month was to start food storage, and boy is it growing.  I am very proud of it.  I found this great store to get all of my canned goods for cheap cheap!!  I am really particular about how I arrange it in the pantry, so much so that Lindsey and Los poke a little at me.  My response to that “If a tornado hits, guess who will have food and water.”...haha!   Since we now live in a state with season, April showers really do bring lots of May flowers.  With those flowers come terrible allergies for the girls.  They have daily zyrtec and occasionally for Layla I have to add a dose of Benadryl.  My poor baby is allergic to everything green in this world, which is ironic because her favorite color is green.  She definitely needed extra help during her field day.  Los and I got to attend and watch her tear it up in the races winning 2 first place ribbons.  The boys could keep up with her.  At the end of field day the parents were involved in a hula hoop contest.  I threw in a picture of Los breaking it down.  Lily Mae also tried to get out and show her hula skills, she is definitely her father’s daughter.

April Flowers

April was a pretty laid back month and spring was in the air with flowers blooming everywhere and every time I saw this tree I couldn’t help but sing “ POPCORN POPPING ON THE APRICOT TREE”, which I then had to teach to my preschoolers.  This month ran hot and cold literally, just when I started packing up the winter clothes I would have to bring out the jackets again and then there were days when the slippin’ slide came in very handy.  Lily Mae has found her love on sharpie tattoos and anytime she finds one she goes into a quiet corner and begins her masterpiece.  I cant keep them away from her, I think she hides them in her diaper.  The easter bunny was good to the girls and so were grandpas and grandmas as always J .  Layla has been collecting the princess dolls and thanks to the bunny she now has her complete collection, and Lily bug received her own pillow pet so she would stop fighting with the girls for theirs.  As for me these girls keep me busy and work is exhausting but I am loving every minute….xoxo

March Maddness

This month went just as fast as February. The first of the month is devoted to my “sweets’. Layla turned 6 on the 6^th and she was so ready for it. I gave her the option of having a birthday party for all her friends at school and church or we could go to Disney Princesses on Ice. No party for my Princess, without hesitation we bought FRONT ROW tickets to the Ice Show. Unfortunately the show wasn’t until the last day of the month so she had to wait a little longer. She definitely got spoiled this year; the grand parents sent her gift cards, clothes and cash which are of course a few of her favorite things. She really wanted an IPod touch, so being the cool mom I am, I got her one just not made by apple or that cost $200. More like an eBay Chinese $30 version, but it looks and acts just like one so we both were happy. We did have a little party for her, and her two cousins Khi and Tamayio on the seventeenth where they each got the own cake and lots of food. LilyMae is starting to move from baby gibberish to somewhat understandable phrases like her favorite…mmmmmmmm That’s GOOOOD! Or ..give it back to me, or my favorite LAYLA NOW!!..Lindsey sometimes has to lock her bedroom door because that is the only one that she opens and she will just barge in and say Lindsey..Lindsey..Lindsey please. She does not have many patients. Nursery is still a challenge for her to stay by herself..but oneday soon I am hoping I will be able to attend class. The last day of this month I spent with Layla, Lindsey, and India at Disney on Ice. Although It was a rough start, right as we exited the freeway Lindsey car died. Because the AA center was only a two minute walk the girls and walked while Lindsey waited for the tow truck. She made it to half the show at least and Los came and picked us up. It was a crazy start but we made it and had so much fun there. Layla now wants to grow up and become an Ice-skating Princess…

February

This month has flown by so fast. This month was filled with new and busy schedules. Layla wanted to lose her training wheels on her bike before she turned 6 so we pulled out her bike took off the training wheels. She hopped on and took off with no help from me or her dad, so I guess she knew she was ready to do it on her own, and now she rides like she has been doing it for years not to say there hasn’t been a few scrapes on elbows and knees even though she is constantly reminded to wear her pads. Lily Mae is still growing like a weed and seems to think that she should be the boss the house. I hope that soon I can enroll her in my preschool to get her to socialize more and leave my side. We are still having a hard time in nursery. She has finally let me sneak away to Relief Society for about twenty minutes before she screams so much they have to get me. I hope she overcomes this soon because I would love to attend Sunday school with Lindsey again. As for Los just waiting for the enrollment to finalize so he can start his barber school classes and I think he is ready I know I am. I finally went and got a job. I am working at a preschool and love it. I go back and forth though because I do really miss all the extra time I got to spend with the girls. But you got to do what you got to do. I also enrolled in Western Governors University to finish my degree in education and I really love the schools program so far. Well that about wraps up our February 2012. We miss you all..xoxo

January

So here we are starting another year. I decided that instead of making my new year’s resolutions, I would set two goals for myself a month and really work on them. For the month of January my goal was to catch up on my blog and continue to update it monthly. My second goal was to start journals for my daughters. Each month I will journal in each one talking about different memories or just everyday dealings that happened to them. I am really enjoying this because I get to make a record of their life and I want to give it to them when the graduate high school so they can have it as the go on and leave the nest. So far so good on these goals. I do have my yearly goals as well and that is to read the book of Mormon as a family and personally. Layla and I have started just yesterday. Together we were only able to get through a chapter, but we started and that is a major accomplishment. We also say are family prayer at that time too. It has taken time to come around but it has definitely been the best decision as a parent I have made. This month has also brought us crazy weather and with has come colds. Colds led a trip to the emergency room for Lily Mae. A fever that wouldn’t go away and an acute bronchitis infection, just not long after she had a not so good reaction to her flu shot..Yeah (insert sarcasm). Just a few days before that Layla had a run in with a pole at the playground during recess, she after all her mother’s child. Hahaha.. Layla also hit 100 Days of school.. she decided that we would uses noodles to mark that day, and make a “pasta salad” board. She worked very hard on it and did most of the work on her own ( aside from cutting the glue dots on because I have missed places the glue gun). So proud!! SO here is to the New Year and New Beginnings….

November thru December

Cheerleading is finally wrapping up and it seem like the weather is finally cooling off.
The leaves are changing colors. So this is what fall looks and feels like, I have only heard about it and seen some pictures. (HAHA). The holidays have arrived and so did all the
goodies that go with it. We spent Thanksgiving in Cedar Hill with the Floyd’s. Tina and Ms. Bonnie cooked an amazing dinner. Everyone was ready for sleep after eating. The rest of the holiday weekend was just resting and hanging and of course putting up the Christmas trees. The girls started the countdown till Christmas. The days went by fast and before I knew it Christmas break was here. I tried to keep the girls as busy as possible to help pass the time of
being home with all of them 24/7. I know that sounds bad but I was pleasantly surprised at how great they got along for the most part. We had a bake day and invited everyone to decorate cookies, make goop, and rice krispie treats. We all had blast here are some photos and as
you can see the women were cookie while the men watched TV.

Christmas morning came and I was more excited than the girls I think. I love watching them open their gifts. The girls made out. Layla got an electric scooter, a video camera, and a kid laptop, but I think her favorite was the twilight dolls of Edward and Jacob. Lily Mae has been
obsessed with Elmo on TV so Santa brought her very own Elmo, building blocks, and her very own cell phone. My lucky high tech girls! I was very thankful that the girls had a great Christmas.

We also got a special message a couple of days later that we were going to have special visitors at
our house. On Saturday morning Grandpa Gene, Grandma Julie, and Aunt Jaci surprised the girls by waking them up. Layla say Grandma and Aunt Jaci and started to see if she was somewhere else other than her room in Texas. After waking up they took the girls Christmas
shopping and everyone to lunch. The girls had so much fun. Then everyone came home and took a much needed nap on the playroom floor. I don’t know how they lasted that long after
taking a midnight flight out here and getting to our house at 7am. Such troopers that’s for sure. After some napping the adults left for a little trip to Sam Moon for some accessory shopping while Los stayed back and watched the kids. This was my first trip to Sam Moon and boy was I overwhelmed. I ended it up with a new bag for church to help with all mine and Lily’s
stuff. It definitely won’t be my last and now I have a plan of attack. After we returned and had some chili I had made in the slow cooker, we settled down for an intense game of Farkle. I am so
glad Julie introduced me to this game it was so much fun, and of course Aunt Jaci won. She is a very calculating game player. (Love you J). After that we had a mock count down for the New Year and everyone headed to bed early. Sunday was a nice a quite rest day. Grandma Julie had a day at the Layla and India Spa, where the made all of her makeover hair, nails, and makeup dreams come true. Then Grandma Julie made a great dinner, and grandpa provided some ice cream for dessert. Then it was time for another intense game this time it was phase 10, and yes Miss J won again, hahah!. It was so much fun. I was sad to see them leave Monday. We had so much fun and miss them already. Time to plan our trip to Nevada very soon.

September thru October

After 2 long hot months of cheer practice the girls finally got to showcase their cheers on every Saturday for the next couple of months. Now cheer has gone from taking three days to four days of my time. What I wouldn’t do for the girls. Layla and India also started piano lessons. The
primary president teaches them once a week. Layla is really picking it up. They had their first cheer completion and did great! Layla was sad she didn’t win a trophy but the older girls won two so they said they would share with all the “babies” as they call them and she was satisfied with that. They look up to them like big sisters. Lily Mae is growing like a weed. Every time I turn around it seems like she grow an inch. These months flew by and the next thing I know its Halloween. Layla was Princess Belle and Lily was Minnie Mouse. We had three days of celebrations. There was trunk or treats every night and carnivals all over so we bounced around and visited some neighborhood. The girls made out big time.

July thru August

So I have not blogged in six months and I guess it is about time. This is one of my New Year’s
Resolutions. So since June Life has been crazy busy. I thought being at home was
going to be easier than working a full time job, but I was SO WRONG. I feel way busier and stretched out then when I was working full time. July kicked off
the start to the craziness with cheerleading starting. Layla and India started cheerleading for the Cedar Hill Saints. Being a cheer mom I think I got a small taste of High school and boy I have a lot to prepare for. They had practice three times a week for two and a half hours in the humid heat that I was not used to. The girls persevered and picked it up fast. Then in August Layla started kindergarten. I was so proud and sad at the same time. My baby is getting so big. She is catching on quickly maybe a little too quick. I started classes this summer with Academy of Art University and took some photography classes just to learn the in ins and outs of the DSLR camera and Photoshop. I have been enjoying them and learning a new hobby is always fun. Los’s boys came out to spend the summer and boy was it a house full. Thank goodness for outside play and popcicles, and swimming to keep everyone entertained.