a worthy cause

Such a worth cause.... Posting this on the blog for those who might not have seen emails.... Check it out!

http://www.standup2cancer.org/

Cook? Archuleta?

Ok.... so, here I am watching American Idol even though I cheated and looked on CNN... What can I say... hubby is out of town and all 3 kids were asleep by 7 tonight... What is a girl to do?

While I see the appeal of both guys I am just not sure who should get it... Cook had a mediocre night during the final but has had an amazing season... No one like him that is for sure. Archuleta sang his face off last night but has not really captured the fan base the way Cook has... So, there it is... just had to vent I guess. And no matter what any of the critics say American Idol still rocks. Love this show!

Time to say goodbye.

Yesterday was a very sad day in our home.

Time to say goodbye to First United Methodist Preschool and start preparing for kindergarten in a couple of months. Hard to believe it is over (at least for now)... This school has been a part of our lives since the kids first day in Arizona. I will never forget it... We were driving to Arizona from Orange County on our way to our new home and outside of downtown Phoenix my cell phone rang and it was Mrs Norris saying they had an opening in the preschool and would love to have Miss M join the class... We were over there the very next day signing up. And we have been there every year since. Miss M finished Pre-K there and Miss A had her 3 year class and Pre-K there.

We have loved all of our moments and made so many good friends and memories. We know we will keep in touch with our friends and see them when time allows, but as with all change it is still hard. Yesterday was such an emotional day. Mrs D was just as emotional. We presented her with a beautiful butterfly quilt that Mum made. Miss A's class was known as the Brave Butterflies so it was fitting... and just beautiful ! Thanks Mum for all of your hard work! Another mom also put togeteher a mini yearbook for Mrs D and for all of us who wanted one.. yes, of course I bought one! :-) It was a great day and we are excited for Mrs D as she moved on to retirement with her husband... she deserves it! And we are excited for Miss A as she begins a new chapter in her life... We will always hold warm memories of our time at FUMCG!

The tears are beginning when she sees the first buttterfly on her quilt...

she was blown away by how beautiful it was.. she had to lay it out to see the whole thing.

She wanted to get a group picture with "her kids" and the brave butterfly quilt... She will treasure it always... thanks again Mom!

Time for one final "hug for the road".... Thanks to Mrs Norris, Mrs. Disch, and Mrs. Stadel for a wonderful 3 years!!!!

celebration

Each child gets a turn to wear the birthday hat and bring in goodies for the classroom on their birthday. Because Miss A has a summer birthday we did her day this past Wednesday... yes, the day after McDonalds... It was a busy week! On this day at school they also had water day to celebrate the day before school ending. The kids had sprinklers, water tables, toys, squirt bottles, bubbles... they had a blast!

The fancy hat.. working on an art project

The whole group looking at the Little Pony Cupcake Cake

The cake came with a kalidescope and of course Mrs D used this as a teaching opportunity and showed all the kids how to look through it... They loved it.

Little One came as well and loved being able to sit with the big kids and have a cupcake

Time for water play!

Mcdonalds for everyone!

So, Miss A decided she would really like to have a McDonalds party for her friends at preschool and she wanted to do it before the end of the year... So, this past Tuesday we had all of her friends from her class to the McDonalds around the corner from school. The kids had a blast playing, eating Happy Meals and cake and ice cream. Miss A really seemed to have a good time... Thanks everyone for coming!

A Star Is Born

To watch the video click here (will open in a new window)

 

 

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's day to all! Our day consisted of playing! It was a perfect day to be in the backyard for a while and the girls had a blast. Little one is all over the place these days.. walking, running, climbing and had a blast going through the sprinkler with her sisters. What a fun day! Hope you all had a wonderful day as well!

SOLO!

So, Miss A had her end of year program this past Friday. She did great... She had a solo whistling the butterfly song before the class sang it. She got to announce that they were the Brave Butterfly's and then do her whistling... it was adorable. I held my breath the whole time and have listened to constant whistling for weeks... but, it was all worth it and she was a star. Everyone cheered and she got the biggest smile on her face.

Staying on key!

All done... and she got to stand next to one of her best buddies!

Miss A and Mrs D

It's already starting :-) Miss A with some of her little girlfriends!

May Crowning

Miss M finished with RE this past week for the year and did a great job earning a gold medal in the Saints In Training Program. She was very proud of herself. Afterwards, they presented flowers to Mary and we said the Rosary. Usually takes about 35 minutes but when you have the children leading it can take a tad longer! :-)

Miss M receiving her gold medal from Fr Greg

In front of our flower tribute to Mary after the rosary

15 months old...

and keeping us on our toes.... into everything, walking everywhere and starting to run, eating us out of house and home.. typical toddler. And she finally hit 20 pounds naked! YES! Here she is with our favorite NP, Nicci.

:-)

Last night on the cruise

So, we headed back for one last dinner with Ovidiu (from Romania) and Jason (from St Vincent)... they were so fun! Had to get some pics to remember them by... Great dinners.. and of course one final trip to the sushi bar!

Last port.. St Thomas

So, because I did the dreaded zipline, my friends joined me for a catamaran trip out to Turtle Cove for some swimming with yes you guessed it.. turtles. Very cool adventure. I did give Mike a pass since the last couple of times we have done this he has not done well on the boat... But, he wanted to go again.. and yes, again he was sicker then a dog. Congrats to Mike for making it through the day without throwing up and to Beth for going snorkeling for the first time ever!

Kyle... our fearless leader... first in the water

Keith... our Sushi eating King and legal counsel... next up!

Nicci... you go girl!

Beth... you can do it!

Emily ready to see turtles... Mike ready to see land!

After about an hour of snorkeling it was time to head back... we saw quite a few turtles.. some even came to the surface close to us... very cool experience. Time to head back.. hang on Mike!

St Maarten

2nd to last stop... Saint Maarten.. we decided to seriously focus on shopping and walking around town. It is a beautiful island... very clean.

A beautiful tree with the coolest flowers on it in the middle of town

Antigua

Next port.. Antigua.. mainly a beach town from what we could tell... So, we all jumped into a taxi and went to a nearby beach that they said was lovely.. it was lovely alright. topless women and all.. Keith, Emily and Kyle were the first ones to brave the water... Nicci and Mike made it in... Beth sat it out nursing some serious sunburned shoulders. The water was cold, but not really clear.. there was quite the under current and we got bounced around a bit when we got closer to shore. We did find some shells... had a fun afternoon... the rain came and we all took cover and then headed back to port. Did some shopping and called it a day.

Playing in the water!