St. Patties Day

Some days I feel like I am getting to be a tired mom.  You know the kind that isn't really into decorating for the holidays, or making green pancakes for breakfast, or trashing our house cause a leprechaun visited (okay, I was never that kind of a mom).  Chloe quite loudly told me that "you NEVER do anything for the holidays" on the morning of St. Patrick's Day.  While I know that isn't true, I do acknowledge that I have cut way back on my fluffy stuff.  And I'll be honest, Friday was a crazy day for me and didn't allow for much fluff.  I was actually going to settle for pizza for dinner but the guilt got to me.

So in the one hour that I had to prep dinner I made roasted asparagus, sliced kiwis, pesto pasta, green jello, and onion rings (random, I know.  I guess I kind of figured they looked like a pot of gold??). We drank ourselves silly on kiwi-lime ICE soda.  Happy St. Patties Day!!!

The Dreamers

The third graders put on a "Summitview's Got Talent" show for their music program this year.  Chloe and Grace have spent the last two months practicing.  Three of their fellow classmates sang "Wildest Dreams" to them doing the gymnastics routine.  It was a lot of work for all five girls!

Chloe and Grace doing a gymnastics routine to "Wildest Dreams" by Taylor Swift

C.R.A.Z.Y. hair day!!!

All the drama of figuring out the perfect hair du for Crazy Hair Day...

Chloe 

We went with braided pipe cleaners and an added touch of pipe cleaner squiggles!!

Another Teenager!!!!!

It's hard to believe we have another teenager in our house!  Nate decided to delay his birthday celebration a few days due to the stress of his National History Day presentation.  So Monday morning he was excited to wake up early for school to his birthday breakfast of egg muffins.  Birch and I were lucky to keep the celebration going for lunch with picking Nate up from school and taking him to Subway.  It's always a treat to spend some one-on-one time with our kids.

After school Nate went to his first day of Track practice for the Junior High and then we all dined his special birthday dinner -- his request...lasagna, homemade french bread, a green salad, and ice cream for dessert.

Present time!!!!

Lovin' his new Beaver pride from Ami and Poppi

New track shoes

Showin' off his loot -- new sunglasses, hat and money from Grannie, Nike shirt, and new shoes plus wearing his new hydration pack (oh yeah, and a new camping pad)

Coop chugging the birthday drink

Birthday ice cream

Nate is an enthusiastic and intense boy!  He always tries his best no matter what it is he is asked to do (and at whatever cost).  He is a loyal friend and enjoys being outside.  Nathan is a great eater and loves just about any food, except mushrooms.  He is currently serving as the first counselor in the Deacon's quorum.   Love this kid!!!

Tween Weekend

Every once-in-a-while (okay, pretty often) I get possessed with an idea -- "Tween Weekend" was born into my noggin about a month ago.  Birch decided to take the kids to Spokane to go skiing with cousins on Alysee's play weekend.  That got me thinking...hum, the house empty of extra chillins' -- how about being a cool Aunti and inviting Alysee's besties to come watch her perform in The Music Man?

Alysee was delighted with the idea and we were so grateful that Grannie was willing to chauffeur the girls to Yakima.  Sadly, the Kimball girls were not able to make it but we were happy to have Malia, Lucy, and Laynie come for the weekend.  The only sad part of the weekend was that Alysee had to be gone for so much of it.  Which I guess would lead to the part where the girls only got a few hours of sleep all weekend!!!

Grannie made the cutest Music Man hats and decorated the table super cute to kick-off the weekend.

 Super delicious fruit pizza that Grannie made for breakfast!

During breakfast we did this fun little conversation starter game.

 Next up...Pedicures at the local beauty school.  Some the girls were more happy with the final product than others.  It sure looked relaxing, though.

Pedicures at the beauty school

Fun photoshoot after the pedicures and then lunch at Jimmy Johns.

After we dropped off Alysee to get ready for the matinee show we went home and did a fun little craft.  The girls all did such a great job!

Lucy - Choose to Shine

Laynie - Be Brave

Malia - Best day Ever

Grannie - Be Still

Alysee - Be Grateful

Then we were all off to the play.

We showered Alysee with flowers after her amazing performance.

Saturday evening was filled with everyone making their own little pizzas, playing games, watching a movie, me working on my YW lesson, and waiting for Alysee to get done with her last evening performance.  I went to bed but the girls kept partying -- ice cream, games, talking, and who knows what else?!!!

Sunday was a splendid day filled with sunshine, great lessons at church, and our farewell lunch together.

Beautiful young ladies!

Pretty sure that everyone will sleep wonderfully tonight!!!  I know I'm pooped!!!  Such delightful girls.  I'm grateful my kids have such great cousins!!!  It was such a treat to share the weekend with Grannie as well.

Gracie Shinn

Miss Alysee Ditto just debuted as Gracie Shinn in The Music Man at our local high school.  And oh man, was it A LOT of work!!!  She has been practicing since November.  The past few weeks they have been practicing from 5:30 pm - 10 pm.  Seminary and school have been tough to keep up with!!

Gracie Shinn was darling!!!  Alysee has wonderful stage presence and was so entertaining to watch!

I think she is ready to hang up her acting shoes for awhile now, though.  SO MUCH TIME!!!  The cast did an amazing job and I had several opportunities to volunteer as well (ad design, t-shirt printing, accessory making, etc...).

So proud of this girl!

36 hours of Bliss

While the Tween Weekend was going strong in Yakima...Birch and the rest of the kids were in Spokane partying it up.  It was a lightening fast trip!  5 am drive Saturday morning to Mount Spokane where they met up with several cousins and Uncle Logan, Uncle Ryan, and Aunti Blayre.  They skied hard all day!!

Beautiful day!

Meanwhile, Chloe was having like the best weekend EVER with her cousins and Aunti Blayre.  First off, Chloe went to an Activity Days conference with cousins Hailey, Claire, and Jane.  The theme was beach and all the activities were so cute.  Chloe could relay all the stories and examples of giving service that she heard so I think she was really listening.  She had such a great time.

The evening was spent with her pen pals - Aunti Blayre, Owen, and Carter.  Chloe LOVES every minute she gets with this family!!!  She has been writing them letters weekly for a few months now and has no plans of stopping.  Blayre spoils Chloe rotten and the two are peas in a pod.

Cupcake making with Aunti Blayre - doesn't get much better than this!!!

Everyone came home exhausted and ready for bed.  Pretty sure they are wiped out from an overwhelming amount of fun!!