No so little any more

Well Wednesday was Stir Fry's, my oldest child, first day of Kindergarten. I can't believe how big his getting and how fast time is going. I walked him down to school the first day, because parents were asked to come for the first little bit to help the kids do tasks they will be doing every day and other things like finding their desk, their cubby, their hook for their backpack, make a birthday candle for the birthday charts. It was fun to see his classroom and his classmates. There were a few kids falling apart, like one of his best friends who lives across the street, who is extremely shy. And there were a few parents who were having a hard time keeping it together. I stayed under control, because I didn't think to much into what was happening, otherwise I'm sure I would have. My little boy is not so little any more. He needs me less and less. He's always been my social kid, from the very beginning when he was a baby. He loves people and being with others, so I hope that he'll be a good friend to many. He is so eager to learn. Good luck my little Stir Fry and the many years to come. May you always be so excited about learning and life. I love you!

Ready to leave on the way to the first day of Kindergarten

By his classroom, standing by the boat with all the kids names

Sitting at his table with all his new classmates

Sitting at his table working on his first project decorating a visor

Friends he's walking/riding to school with (we are lucky there are so many kinergarteners in our ward, and these guys all just live doors away from each other)

Give Away

So if you have a little girl and looking for new ideas of how to do her hair, I found this site through my sister-in-law. http://girlydos.blogspot.com/ go check it out. She is having a give away for some hair stuff. Who doesn't like free stuff right? Any way feel free to enter. If you do make sure you let her know you heard about it from me. I hope you try some of her fun hair styles.

Happy Birthday!

Well I'm not quite sure where to start. I guess Happy Birthday baby boy is a good starter. Before you were even born you gave a few scares, so hopefully you are done with that and it's not a preview of what your life is going to be. Shortly after we moved into our new house I started bleeding which ended up being nothing to worry about but still scared us. Then I got really sick and lost 10 pounds in one week, just weeks before you joined us. Then when you decided to come, you didn't give us much warning and time to go to the hospital. You made your arrival only 2 hours after my first contraction. You struggled with jaundice and had to be almost constantly hook up to something your first week at home with us. But you were so loved and brother and sister were so glad to have you here and love you. You have been a very content and happy baby, although a terrible sleeper, which has worn me out and questioned my mothering abilities and my ability to have or want more kids, but I hope you can forgive me for my imperfections. Because I do love you tons and you make me so happy. I love watching your brother and sister interact with you and see how much they love and protect you (most of the times). Don't ever forget how much we love you and no matter what you do or how exhausted you make me, we'll always love you and be proud to have you as part of our family. Remember your older brother is there to protect you, and you big sister will always be your special friend. Thanks for joining our family! Thanks for making me stronger and increasing the love and joy in my heart. I'm so glad to have you as my son. I love you and Happy Birthday!

Simple Pleasures

A couple weeks ago we went on a walk and I've been meaning to post about it for a while. We went for a short walk and then were going to go home and watch a movie for some family time. So we told our kids they couldn't play with kids that were coming over. When we were a few blocks away from home we notice a "swarm" of dragonflies maybe 30 or so just flying in front of house, they were going crazy but fun to watch. Well when we got back to our house we were getting ready to go inside and realized we had a "swarm" of at least 20 in front of our house. So instead of going inside we let the kids stay out and try to catch them. They had a blast. The hubby did some research and found that in Japan they catch large dragonflies with a piece of hair and small rocks tied to either end and throw it in the air. So we tried several different materials that are similar to hair and tried to catch them. We eventually got some of the neighbor kids to join us, because they saw us outside after we told them our kids couldn't play and saw us looking crazy in our driveway jumping around. From across the street they couldn't tell what we were doing because they couldn't see the dragonflies. For whatever reason they were only in front of our house, but everyone enjoyed them and trying to catch. It's always fun to enjoy the simple pleasures of life.

What brings us all together

And so it begins....
It's my favorite time of year every two years. The Olympics have begin. There is something about them that brings us together as humanity and gives us hope. There are so many stories of hope, courage, determination, struggle, success, and so many other words that are endless. I love the Olympics! I always find myself crying, over stories or triumph, defeat, or just being proud to be an American. I had my first of many cries yesterday afternoon. We went camping this weekend for a ward camp out and did some more b-day celebrating for B with family, so we weren't able to catch any Olympic time until yesterday afternoon and last night. So what caused this first cry?.... A story of a little boy not even competing. They were showing scenes from opening ceremonies the night before. There was a little 9 year old boy walking out with China in the front. Why you might ask? Well that's where the tears come. Months ago when China had their huge earthquake, this little boy was at school. The school crumbled to the ground with him in it, reason enough to cry, sure. But wait there is more. He came out of the rubble and started going back to bring his fellow class mates out of the rubble and save their lives. When he was asked why he did it, he answered that his job for the week was the hall monitor and he was responsible for them! With the world like it is, it makes me worry about the future but when you hear stories like this, it gives you hope that things might just be ok. Another story last night, was from men's beach volleyball. It was Latvia vs. USA. The last time they met, USA CRUSHED them. In a best of three match, USA won in 32 minutes, with the first game ending in the score of 21 to 6. To prepare for this Olympics the Latvia team found the best 6 volleyball players in the country, since there weren't any other beach volleyball players in their country. They practiced for months 8 hours a day 6 on 2. What happened last night, they beat USA in 2 games! Way to go, I think they deserve it. There is nothing like watching the Olympics. I love it! I look forward to watching a lot more, and I have a feeling it will be over before I know it, and I'll be waiting another 2 years for another one to come around. And I side note I think my kids have caught the bug! Woohoo! Stir Fry after we got home from camping we all had lunch and then nap and quiet time. Instead of watching a movie or a cartoon he chose to watch the Olympics. He saw the rowing and said he wanted to do that when he gets big, too bad we live in Utah and not back home in Seattle (maybe someday). And then Baluga after Michael Phelps won his first gold metal and got a new world record, she started chanting go Michael, go Michael, go Michael. I hope that all of you can catch the bug and enjoy it as much as we will.
After posting this I thought of something I wanted to add, so here is my second plug for the Olympics. After the Olympics end something happens that I wish would be broad casted just like the regular Olympics. When all the athletes head home with their metals and memories a whole new group of athletes arrive to start the Paralympics (don't confuse this with the Special Olympics which is great too). The Paralympics are amazing!!!! Getting a degree in Recreation and taking an accessible recreation class I learned about this. I wish this would get TV time. With as amazing as the regular Olympic are, these are multiplied. You have athletes with lots of different disabilities with extraordinary abilities competing for their country. The hubby and I were lucky enough to get tickets to the Men's Sledge Hockey Gold Metal game when the winter Olympics were in SLC in 2002. We lucked out that USA happen to be competing for the Gold in this game, since when you had to buy tickets you had no idea who would make it that far. It was inspiring and amazing. We showed up early and had the perfects seats, up close and by the USA. These were men who were paralyzed or had leg amputations sliding around with aggression and passion playing their hearts out. I can't say it enough it was AMAZING! The USA ended up winning which made it that much better. It was one of the best experiences in my life. I love it. I wish more people know about this and the unsung heroes that win real metals just like the ones who get TV time. I love the stories I love determination I love everything about it!

Happy Birthday!

Today is my baby girl's birthday, although she's not much of a baby any more. She turned 3 today! We've been so blessed to have her in our lives. She's been our comic relief (more so as of recently since she now likes to tell what she thinks are jokes). The one who can always make us smile. It's been nice to have a girl in the house with me (both my husband and I come from houses that are male dominant so I was hoping for at least a girl and luck out by getting one on the second try). She enjoys the finer things, like make-up, finger polish, soaking her feet and things like that. But she is pretty well balanced and can hang with the boys and hold her own. She is our adrenaline junkie. She is more adventurous than her older brother. We are in a parent and me swim class and I have to keep on reminding her she can't just push away from me and go where she wants because she can't touch the bottom. I hope she always is adventurous and doesn't fear trying new things. But at the same time I hope she stays close to the Lord and chooses the right kind of adventure. I just love her so much and can't get enough of her, especially lately where she is becoming more independent and eager to learn and really becoming her own person.
So to my Baluga baby Happy Birthday! Mommy loves you!