Random us

So, as you can tell it's been a slow couple of weeks for us.
Well, maybe slow isn’t the word I was looking for.
Alyssa completed her summer dance intensive last week. She was going Monday-Thursday from 11a-6p. She had the honor of being invited into the senior intensive with all the girls (and boys) who were older and more experienced than her. She had a blast and learned so much. She even had her first go round with Lyrical. Of course she loved it!
Her regular dance schedule starts Monday. She will be dancing Monday, Tuesday and Friday at her regular studio. She was also invited by the Boulder City Ballet Company to join their company classes. They are trying to build a solid core of ballerinas for all the shows that they do. (Nutcracker, Swan Lake) those kinds of things. That class is Wednesday...and last but not least, Nutcracker rehearsals are Saturday mornings. I dread my gas bill...

Brandon is still taking classes at Tap Out. He will continue to train there until the wrestling season begins again in October. His classes are Monday-Saturday. Jeff and I have worked out quite the driving schedule trying to balance everyone’s needs. We should start a taxi business. Saturday he is taking part in his first Jiu Jitsu tournament. ( yes, I know I said we were not doing any tournaments..have you met Jeff?!) It's at the Bally's and though I'm a tiny bit nervous for it, I'm also very excited. The coaches wouldn’t encourage you to participate if they didn’t think you were ready. So...
Brandon also had his first sleep over last weekend.
Since I use this as sort of my family journal I wanted to note that.
Billy (his wrestling/Tap Out buddy) stayed over on Saturday. His sister, Alicia also stayed. She is Alyssa's age. We had a lot of fun playing legos, Gi Joes, Ghost Busters and my all time favorite MOON SAND! (I loathe that stuff)
Sunday Jeff took the 4 of them to lunch and the Natural History Museum. I stayed home with Gabriella and swept the sand out of the grout in my kitchen. :)

Gabriella...that sweet little girl is such a talker.
Her new favorite thing is to sing. She can sing "You Are My Sunshine" and "Jesus Loves Me". She can also sing a lovely rendition of "The Wheels on The Bus".
Some of the funny things she has said the last few days.
* The other day we were driving home and she spotted the hairiest man walking. "Look at dat" she yelled.
* Yesterday we were sitting in traffic. I was just casually talking to Alyssa and Gabriella piped up "come on people" it was so funny. She has obviously heard me say that once or twice.
* She knows Starbucks. She calls them "Barbucks"
the kid could care less about a McDonalds or anything else. But when she sees the Starbucks logo she goes a little nuts. Her drink of choice...an "ice" aka apple juice.
*the other day she came wandering into the bathroom. (you all know you're kids come in the bathroom when you're in there) and she clapped her hands and announced "good job mommy"
I think she may be getting ready to potty train. She's been taking her diapers off during nap. Well all know how that ends though.
My favorite thing she says now though..."I lob ooo much" aka I love you so much.

That’s about all the fun for us. Jeff and I have been busy working.

I'm addicted

I have to admit...I had heard all about the Twilight hype. Several of my friends gushed about how wonderful the books were. I had no interest. NONE

A few Saturdays ago, while at a friend’s house, she brought up the topic. I casually mentioned that I would like to read the books (bluffing of course) but just never got around to buying them. No worries, she had the entire set. She sent me home with 3 of the 4 books and the rest is history. I can't get enough of them. I read them every free minute I can get, often staying up into the wee hours of the night.

I haven’t let Alyssa read them. It's not a bad book, it's not sexual or graphic...
but I just think it's too much for her now.
Heck, it might be too much for me...I love me some Edward!

Saturday I watched the movie. Holy cow..I felt like a 17 year old girl.
It's safe to say I am officially part of the Twilight craze. I'm telling you, read the books. They are amazing!

Curlers

This is her famous "OH GOSH" look. She does this all the time. :)

The time has finally come where I can put little foam curlers in Gabriella's hair. :)
This is what I love about having my little girls. Ribbons and bows and all kinds of fun things. She sat so patiently while I put them in her hair and surprisingly she seemed to sleep fine with them. I was a little worried about that. Before bed she seemed obsessed with the "pretties"
She looked so cute this morning with her sweet little curls...

BFF

Gabriella and Gaby...
these two are inseparable

Brandon's Buddy

It's no secret that Brandon wants a brother. He's asks almost daily.
Most days I'm able to remind him about his wrestling friend, Richard and how he's like a big brother.
Richard is in high school, he was on Brandon's wrestling team last year. He's a good kid and I'm glad Brandon has him to look up to.

Brandon's Party

Yesterday was Brandon's birthday party. We celebrated it at one of the community pools. It was a lot of fun. All of his friends that were invited came and everyone had a lot of fun.
His theme was Transformers, a nice change from the last two years of pirate parties.
Sadly, we were rained out (can you believe it?? Rained out in Vegas!)
Thankfully, that didn’t happen until the last part of the party and the kids still got a good two hours to swim. I wanted to get a good picture of the entire crew, but that was hard to do with the lightning and thunder sent everyone scattering in different directions. Maybe next time...

After Brandon recovered from his "I hate Mother Nature" mood, we returned home where he opened his presents. He got a lot of great things, lots of GI Joe, a wonderful (and I use this term loosely) Air Hogs rocket set (really, it's a lot of fun..just not in the house!) as well as a lot of hot wheels and "fighting guys". His prize possession was his video camera from Grandma. He has been busy making films...so stay tuned for those lovely features.

Brandon's Birthday

Since yesterday was Brandon's actual birthday we celebrated with cupcakes and a dinner of his choice. Long spaghetti to be exact...
He informed us since it was his birthday we were all under his command. He wore his crown aka a winter head cover and instructed us on our duties.
Thankfully his birthday is over and it only comes once a year!

His big party is Sunday. We're having a swim party. It's not the ninja event he has been planning for so long but I'm sure it will be just as fun. All of his friends are coming, including his BIG buddy Richard. It should be a lot of fun.

Getting his birthday spanks...

Happy 7th Birthday, Brandon!

Taking 1st place at the Beehive Brawl in 09


Cathcing his first fish with daddy.(3 years old)

Brandon...just being Brandon


I remember the day I found out I was pregnant with Brandon.
We had been trying for 2 years. Monthly blood tests and doctor appointments, fertility medications, tests upon tests. I would pray/beg every night...I longed for the chaos that another child would bring. I had no idea how literally God would have taken that request. :)
By the time the day had come for him to arrive by scheduled C-section everything was perfect. His room painted in the theme of Sun, Moon and Stars. I had even painted his ceiling like a sky, carefully hand painting in clouds.

He was born on July 16th 2002 at 7:47am. He weighed 7 pounds and was 19in long. He was everything I had been waiting for.
The last 7 years a blur.
He keeps us on our toes and always laughing. He is a handful yet a sweetheart. He loves his sisters. His toothless smile lights up a room and turns even a bad day into a good one. He leaves those around him (parents, teachers and wresting coaches) speechless. His innocent honesty is blunt.


One day Brandon you will look back and see this. I hope you know how very much we love you. How very blessed we feel to have you as our son and how you make our lives so much fuller and...chaotic.
I love you monkey!

Mommy

Dancing Ella

Random thoughts/update

Busy week as usual. The kids are enjoying the first week of summer break and I am enjoying the freedom that no school brings. Sleeping in a little more, less stress trying to get dinner, homework and showers done after getting home late from dance/wrestling. It's great!

Alyssa started her summer dance intensive program Monday. It's Monday-Thursday from 11am-6pm. She is taking Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop and Tap. Just yesterday she was invited by the ballet instructor to join the Lyrical class. This class is only offered to 7th grade and up. She of course was very excited. Another thing that is just as exciting, she was invited to dance in the senior intensive. Her instructors thought she was too advanced to stay in her age group and worried she wouldn’t get anything extra out of it. She's now dancing with older girls, teaching Jr's in high school the proper form of a jette. She is so talented and I, of course, am very proud. She must of gotten her dancing abilities from me. :)

Brandon continues to train at Tap Out. He gets better and better every day. I'm looking forward to wrestling season so I can see his improvements. He's very motivated by this sport, like Alyssa is with her dance. He reminds me daily that Saturdays cannot be filled with mindless things like grocery shopping and other errands. It must be kept free for his Tap Out classes. I laugh, of course...after all life does revolve around them.

Gabriella is busy busy too. She's discovered a love for putting things in the toilet. Not sure where this obsession has come from but I do hope it passes just as quick as it came.

My mom has been sick in the hospital this week. She is feeling better now and should be home soon. Say a little prayer that she has a speedy recovery.

That's about it

Last day of school

Every school year seems to pass by in the blink of an eye.
I swear it feels like yesterday was the first day...





Today, when Alyssa walks out of Cartwright, she will no longer be in elementary school. WOW, really?!
Wasn’t it just yesterday that I held her hand until Mrs. Thornton came and escorted a line of anxious kindergartners into class for the very first time.
Her toothless grin has filled in and I can see a beautiful young lady emerge from what was my little girl.
I thought the starting school transition was hard...this going to Jr. High business is not an easy thing. Play dates are turning into "going to hang out" and every day brings a new change. No more Hannah Montana lunch boxes or ribbons in the hair.


This turkey will start the 2nd grade. Clearly I remember pacing the chain link fence watching through my tears those first few days of kindergarten. Trust me, it was bad!
Starting 1st grade was hard too. After all, his backpack was bigger than him, and my boy still needed naps. He, of course, made the transition smoothly and eventually I did too. He has grown by leaps and bounds this year. He is a strong reader and even participated in the spelling bee. We are very proud of him.


I try not to dwell on the fact that they are growing. I do realize that each phase in life brings new and exciting changes. It's just hard when you can vision clear as day these tiny little babies who needed you for everything and than reality hits and you see...they are no longer tiny little babies and you start to realize that you need them just about as much as they need you.

Gabriella and I play a game in the car. It's the "I'm gonna get you" game.
For some reason, Gabriella thinks this is the funniest thing.
I say "I'm gonna get you" and she laughs. When she says it I wiggle my arms around and, of course, this too is also hilarious to her. I'm sure people driving next to me think I'm nuts...
that's ok.

Sweet Brother

Crazy Day...

Mismatched shoes

It's hard to see here, but he has two mohawks



Today was crazy day for Brandon's class. The kids were able to dress how they wanted and were free (within dress code, of course) to do what they wanted.
Of course my son, who lives and breathes wrestling, wore his singlet. He also wore mismatched shoes and I did his hair in two mohawks. He was pretty crazy!

Swimming with daddy...

CrAzY DaDdY!









Yesterday we took advantage of some free time and took the kids swimming at my moms.
Everyone had a great time, even Gabriella loved it.
Daddy helped Brandon swim without a vest/swim ring. Hopefully by the end of summer he'll have the hang of it.
I can't wait to go swimming again!

4th of July...

Watching fireworks...Gabriella was not impressed!

Grandma and Gab...best buddies



It was a long day for Gabriella...and Grandma!


Like every other year, we celebrated the 4th at Veteran's Memorial Park in Boulder City. They have a fun water park that the kids can run and play in and I don't have to worry about anyone drowning. Afterwards we had dinner at my grandma’s house and watched the fireworks. It's the same drill every year, but it's fun and it works for us. :) This year we were able to catch the firework show in Boulder City and the one put on by Station Casinos.
It was hot but it was fun!

PTA wrap up...

Gabriella quickly made friends with the two puppies! She was in heaven with Baily and Friday...and they were too, since she kept giving them food!



The board members kids (minus Brandon, he was at Judo and to mark his words "no way was he missing that class!")


To celebrate the end of another school year my friends from the PTA got together for a pool party and BBQ last night. The kids had a blast!
I'm so happy to be a part of the PTA, though it's extremely frustrating that it's the same group of 5 that get together every year to pull off the many needs/wants of the school. I'm proud to be a part of that group. The rewards of seeing the happy kids and teachers far outweigh the crap that comes along with the responsibility.
I'm excited for next year...we have a 70's themed skate night planned as well as many other things. We are blessed with the support of an amazing Principal and Assistant Principal who pretty much give us the freedom to do what we want.
Good job guys...we worked our butts off but it was fun and I think we can all stand back now and realized every second of it was well worth it!

FRITZ

I'm so excited I just may pee my pants...Alyssa got the roll of Fritz in the Nutcracker! This is one of the biggest rolls and I am so excited for her.

Yay Alyssa...I am so excited to see you dance!

Daddys shadow

Brandon is all about daddy.
Everything he does is usually all about daddy...
If daddy is sitting on the couch Brandon is usually right next to him.
He watches TV with daddy, goes to lunch with daddy, does his homework with daddy, plays games with daddy,goes to wrestling and all his other crazy classes with daddy.
He just really LOVES his daddy.

I'm glad he has his daddy to do these things with. And I'm ok that mommy sometimes gets put on the back burner for daddy...
after all, it's mommy he snuggles with every night!

Great American Award

Alyssa received a Great American award today at school.
This award was given to kids who went above the requirements of regular class room work.
Part of this work included...
3rd grade, she was to research a different country. Write a paper on it. Bring in a traditional food from the country and give a 10 minute report on the country in front of the class.
4th grade, she had to learn the all the counties and the county seat for each one. Recite "Home Means Nevada" (that's the state song) Know all the current Government officials and what office they hold. Know all the state info. such as state fossil, state bird, state tree. All that fun stuff.
5th, she had to recite the Gettysburg address. Write the Pledge, sing in front of the class the Star Spangled Banner, know all the states and capitals in ABC order, Recite by memory the preamble and know all the presidents and vice presidents in order.

Alyssa has done all of these so she was rewarded with a trophy. I am so proud of her for completing this. She needed a little coaxing at times but I know she is happy she followed through. Good job, Peanut!