Kate's Baby Pictures

Sweet baby Kate.

Kate had a baby party at Preschool today. All of the kids wore their PJ's to school. They ate applesauce and baby cookies.
Kate had to bring a picture of herself when she was a baby, and the kids took turns guessing who was who.
Kate and I had fun going through her baby pictures.
What a cute baby.

Kate 1 week old

A few fun facts about Kate:
Her eyes were blue until she was about 11 months old and then they changed to brown.
Kate was always a good sleeper and actually would cry until I put her in her crib and let her fall asleep on her own.
Kate was born with a lot of hair and olive colored skin.
Her hair wasn't curly until she turned 18 months old, and now it is really curly!!!
Kater liked her legs in a V shape as a baby!

Precious Moments

Last week we visited Three Little Monkey's toy store.
We brought home this cute little gingerbread doll that can go in the microwave and gets warm. It even smells like gingerbread. Each time we put it in the microwave, Kate and Ella wait with their arms stretched out to catch him in case he somehow jumps out of the oven.....just like the book says. So far he hasn't gotten away!

When Kate grows up....
she wants to be "a mom and a dance teacher."
Today I overheard Kate tell Ella, "Lay down and dream about when you are 4 years old, just like me, and you are as flexible as I am."

Kate reading Ella, Pinkalicious, and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.
Two of Ella's favorite books.

Ella may never need to go to Preschool. Miss Kate teaches her everything from dance, to reading, to cooking. It is fun to have a sister who loves you so much!!!

Tommy

Last weekend we were at a friends have dinner. Ella wet her pants and had to borrow some PJ's from her friend Tommy. I washed the clothes to return them, and Ella found them again! "Tommy's jammies," she said. "I want to be like Tommy!"
So know we know what Ella would look like if she were a little boy.
Although we all know that Ella could never be a boy!!!
She likes her purse, her high heels, her hats, bracelets and other accessories way too much!

Breakfast in bed

This morning I made the girls breakfast in bed. They loved it!
Waffles and cranberry juice.
All 3 girls have been sharing a room for about 6 months. I know it won't last forever. I know they won't always want to be in the same room, but for now, it is one of the cutest things to see all 3 of them sleeping in a row.
Kate is on the top bunk. Abby is on the bottom bunk and Ella is on the trundle bed.

Play ball

I love our backyard! It is shady, peaceful, and a nice place to be. We moved our little sports station from indoors, to the backyard! We can play basketball, soccer, football, hockey and baseball. It is hard to say who will have the most fun this summer....
Daddy or the girls!

What's for dinner?

Kate loves to help me cook.

Last night she brought Lauren to help her cut the fruit for dinner.
Kate is such a cute little mommy!

Soccer Girl Abby

Spring soccer.
(Abby is on the far right.)

Abby is red and black strips, wearing the white socks.

Soccer girl Abby.

This is the 4th year that Abby has played soccer. She really enjoys playing.
She plays 2 games a week.

Tonight Abby made an awesome goal!
Way to go Abbers!

Art by Abby

Duck by Abby
The Banana's by Abby

Art by Kate

Flowers in a Vase by Kate

The Milky Way by Kate

In Preschool, Kate has been learning about stars, planets and the Milky Way.
She wanted to stay up late to see the constellations. So 2 nights ago on a warm night, we woke up Abby and Kate and took them out to look at the stars. James has a neat application on his phone so that you can hold it up to the sky and it tells you the names of all of the constellations. We had fun spotting the Big Dipper, O Ryan's Belt, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and the moon.

Spring

Signs of Spring...
Barefeet...

Popsicles...
Badminton...
Popcorn popping on the trees....

Ella sings the Popcorn song at least once a day, when she spots popcorn on the trees.
I love to hear her little voice sing.

Kate took this picture of our peach tree.
The girls love the "pink" blossoms!

Living Planets Aquarium

The kids love the toads, because of Princess and The Frog.
"Who would want to kiss one of those," Kate asked?

We went to see the new penguins at The Aquarium.
Kate's favorite part were the tiny seahorses.

Tubefish, stingrays, octopus, penguins....we enjoyed it all!

Salt Lake Half Marathon

April 17, 2010

Race Day!

Today was the big day after weeks of training.
I was so excited and so nervous....it was difficult
to get a good nights sleep with all of the adrenaline!
This was our 2nd Half Marathon.
We had to wake up at 5:00.
The race started at 7:00 am.
13.1 Miles.

Favorite Parts: Running With J, The Finish Line
The awesome medals!

Not so favorite parts: My hurt toe, the cold weather at the start,
the uphill State Street finish, the backtracking (only around the parks).

We started at Legacy Bridge at the University of Utah campus. We ran down Foothill Drive to 2100 South to Sugar House Park, then back up to Highland High School and across 1-80 to 2700 South. We ran down 2700 South to 1100 East, down to Liberty Park. The last 4 miles were along State Street to South Temple and then we headed West to The Gateway where we ended by the fountain! It was a long and exhilarating run!
Running 13.1 miles never felt so good!

Mini Vacation

Girl's Night Out at Aunt Amy's House.
The girls have been looking forward to a sleepover at Amy's house!
Friday night was the night!
They were so excited when I dropped them off.
Ella was especially excited, since this was her first time sleeping at Amy's house.

This is the first time that J and I slept at our house,
without our kids.
It was a mini vacation for us too!
Thank's Amy!

Looks like the girls had a great time!

The Countdown

Ever since Spring break, we have had a very bad case of Spring Fever around our house! We decided to make paper chains to help us count down the final days of school until summer!
Abby has 33 more days of school, and Kate has 12.

Summer.....Summer....Summer.

On High School Musical they chant "Summer" during the final seconds of school.
The kids like to tease and chant "Summer!"
It gets everyone excited!

Princess Castle

Ella and Kate love to make Princess castles. From paper towels behind pantry doors, to kitchen chairs, to bubble wrap, to empty cardboard boxes....they are very creative. Today I found Ella and Kate in the pantry with the doors closed. They were having Family Home Evening.
Ella was giving the lesson.

Kate Quotes

"I know I said I love you like a million times, but I love you!"
Famous words from my sweet Kate to me.

Bye Bye Diaper Party

Bye, Bye Diaper Party! Yea~!!

Diaper Party 2010

So excited to be...diaper free!
We have had someone in diapers for the past 7 years at our house....no breaks!
Now that Ella is potty trained...we decided to celebrate!
We played the game where you pick a diaper and whoever gets the dirty diaper (mustard in it), gets a prize. The girls loved it!
Everyone got a new dress as part of the big girl celebration!
Welcome to the Big Girls Club Ella!

Baby Shower for Mrs. Byrd

Abby and her first grade teacher, Mrs. Byrd.

Abby has loved first grade! She adores her teacher Mrs. Byrd. She has learned so much and has had such a fun year! When Mrs. Byrd told the class that she was expecting her first baby, the whole class got so excited. We thought it would be fun to plan a baby shower,
and celebrate her new baby girl.

Abby and I had fun planning a game together. We bought 30 little presents. Everyone who played the game could pick a present to give to Mrs. Byrd.

Abby, our cute first grader!

Some of the Mom's made the cutest mini treats for the kids, including mini cupcakes, cookies, fruit and drinks.
The kids loved that everything was baby size!
The kids brought presents and loved
watching Mrs. Byrd open the gifts.

Tomorrow the kids will meet their substitute....
they are all hoping not to get Ms Viola Swamp.
Mrs. Byrd has been a wonderful teacher. We are grateful for a fun, educational, and wonderful school year! Lots of fun memories.

Tammy's 90th Birthday Celebration

Happy 90th Birthday Tammy!

Abby, Kari and Payton playing with cousin Jack.

Grammy, Papa J and Tammy.

Tammy celebrated her 90th Birthday this week. We celebrated at a special dinner at the Lion House, held in her honor. What a wonderful Grandma and Great Grandmother she is to our girls.

One of our favorite memories with Tammy was in 2003. Tammy had lived in California for years. As a kid, J spent a couple of weeks each summer visiting his Grandma. In 2003, just before Tammy moved to Utah, J and I traveled to Sun City, California, to visit Tammy. We were able to tour around Sacramento and Discovery Bay, where J has so many memories as a kid. It was fun him to be able to share those memories with me. Tammy made J's favorite peach cobbler and each night we would sit around and talk and she shared story after story with us. We had a great time.

Robie House - Chicago

The Robie House
Frank Lloyd Wright Home
(Book "The Wright 3" - By Blue Balliett)



When we were in Chicago a few weeks ago, we made our way by train to Hyde Park. We walked around the University of Chicago, near Barak Obama's home, and toured the Robie House. The Robie House was built by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1910. It is a beautiful home. J and I both learned about the home in an Interior Design class in college, years ago. It was fun to go inside.

When we were at the Robie House, one of the tour guides told us about a book called, "The Wright 3," by Blue Balliett. It is a mystery book that takes place in and around the Robie House. It has some of its history. We bought the book, and a set of pentaminoes. I read the whole book on our plane ride home. I learned the same author has written 3 books. So yesterday I read, "Chasing Vermeer" which has the same characters and is a different mystery that also takes place in Hyde Park. Fun!

I love reading! I go in stages where I can't stop reading.
Lately, I have been on a reading rampage.

Ella keeps teasing me.
She will get a book I am currently reading and act like she is reading it.
Funny girl!