Anna's Dance Performance

Anna started dance again the first week in September. She has been taking dance from The Virginia Tanner Dance Co.'s satellite location in Ogden. They immediately began choreographing a piece for a performance at the Children's Dance Festival at Weber State. I periodically ask myself why I drive to Ogden once a week for a dance class. This performance reminded me why. I was so impressed with how much these girls--especially Anna--learned in a month. It was so magical to watch her. I was amazed at how well she remembered what to do and when. She looked absolutely beautiful. Anna and I got to spend the whole day in Ogden. She had two performances in the morning and one in the evening. During our break we went shopping and went out to a "fancy restaurant", meaning Chili's. We had a magnificant time together.
(Anna is in blue with bouncy, curly hair.)

Starting School

We spent the last part of the summer getting Anna used to the idea of going to Kindergarten. We went clothes shopping, made a few bows and bracelets, and would drive by the new school to check the progress about once a week. Anna got especially excited when they put in the playground. Then we got a phone call that Anna's name had come up in the lottery for the charter school down the street. All of a sudden we were having to rethink a decision that we thought was already made. Oh, by the way, and they needed to know in two days since school was starting the next week--plus it was the two days that Rob was at school until the late evenings. After two stressful days of running to both schools, talking to everyone I knew about Davis School District, principals, and charter schools--in particular Syracuse Arts Academy, we decided to put Anna in the Charter School. This meant we had to find uniforms and readjust her to the idea of another school and of starting in four days. Anna was great! Her biggest concern was that she wouldn't be able to watch Playhouse Disney and what was Lady going to do while she was gone! Anna looked so darling in her knee high socks and khaki and navy uniform. Anna's first day of school was also her last day of swimming lessons, so we did the mad dash from one commitment to the next. Welcome to the life of Soccer Mom! She really enjoys her teacher, Ms. Beier. Her favorite part is recess and she likes sitting at the red table. She also loves riding to school with Dad every morning (she likes the smell of his car, which still smells like Grandpa Tidwell--it was his Honda).
Seth was ecstatic to start Preschool. After two weeks of asking where Anna was and when she was going to be home, he was so ready to start his own school. His "Lightning McQueen" backpack is bigger than he is, and he seems a foot too short to be a preschooler, but he sure looked cute walking to Miss Diana's. He created a master plan of having Anna come and pick him up after school on her Princesses Scooter and then he could ride his Spiderman Scooter back home with her. (Mom and Ruthie were in tote on this adventure.) Now I'm down to one twice a week for three hours! What a beautiful thing!

Ruthie: From Infant to Toddler

It's amazing how much your perception of your kids can change in a week's time. Almost overnight, Ruthie grew out of her infant stage. Last Saturday morning I discovered a third tooth. Later that day, Rob said to me, "You didn't tell me about her new trick!" I walked in to find Ruthie standing in her crib. I hadn't known she could pull herself up to standing yet!
She is interacting so much more with the two big kids. She absolutely adores them. What is funny is she seems to be the instigator. She tends to egg them on to get them to play with her.
Ruthie is also communicating so much more. She says small words like "Mama" and "Ba" (bottle) and "Dada". She'll raise her arms up when she's done eating. She has also started throwing temper tantrums. Despite her few fits, she is still about the most pleasant and happy kid I know. Granted, she is very much a Mama's girl and really does not like strangers. I've gotten to where I get really irritated if people try to interact with her while we're at resaurants, stores, etc. She'll immediately break down and begin to cry. It's always with the sweet little old ladies too! When she is at home, however, and around her family, she is one happy soul --with the craziest hair you've ever seen!

4th of July Weekend

We were so happy to be able to spend the 4th of July with the Mortensen Clan. Rob's sisters and Grandmother came in to town and we all had a big sleepover at Rob's parents' new house. We went to the Dinosaur Museum in Lehi, saw Wall-E (not worth the time or money, but the kids enjoyed it), spent hours on the slip n slide and riding scooters, watched John Adams in the theater room, enjoyed our own fireworks display brought to you by Rob, and had family pictures taken. These were some of our favorites of the kids:

Which one is which?

We were just noticing today how much our girls look alike. I thought I would post these to see if anyone else can tell them apart.

Summer Beginnings

Our summer began shortly after all of our daily activities ended. In other words, summer to us means lazy days. Anna had been in a dance class at Virginia Tanner. It was so perfect for her! Creative dance was definitely the way to go. Anna learned a lot and really enjoyed her teacher. The five-year-olds do not have a recital, but we were able to go and watch her in her last day of class. The rest of the year they do not allow parents to observe. It was so much fun to see her in action. They have a pianist that accompanies the girls as they dance. Anna did a solo dance for us that was so beautiful.

Anna also graduated from her preschool. They did a fun program and told the story of "Where the Wild Things Are." The kids had all made monster sock puppets to act out the part of the wild things. Anna is so excited to start kindergarten. We have been monitoring the progress on the new elementary school. We will see if she actually starts with the regular school year. We may be enjoying a little longer summer this year.
So as not to be too bored, we got right in to swimming lessons. Seth and Anna did so well this year. We were a little worried about Seth--last year he spent most of his time clinging to Mom and screaming, "I want to get out!" However, Seth really loved his lessons. He loved doing icecream scoops and superman. His teacher worked so well with him! Anna has turned into a little water bug. She spent all of her down time on the stairs dunking her head as many times as she could. That was unheard of last year!Ruthie has figured out she can roll just about anywhere. She can get across a room pretty quickly now. However, watching her roll looks almost painful. She pins one arm under her body and swings the other arm around in a wide arch to get her momentum going. The kids have taught her to verbalize with them, not in a quiet manner either. It is not uncommon to have a loud chorus of "AHHHHHHHH" echoing throughout the house.

I have discovered something about myself: I tend to move from one obsession to the next. It is rather sad, but there is a definite pattern in my life. For example, the past few months I've moved from quilting to High School Musical to obsessing over the closet, and now I am in love with a vampire. For years Rob and I have put off reading the Twilight series. I must say, when Jim and Jennie first introduced the books to us three years ago we mocked them ruthlessly. Jim, of all people, was reading a vampire romance novel! I take it all back. They are completely addicting and extremely entertaining. I now find myself counting down the days until the final book comes out (August 2nd for those who don't know.) I also find myself watching all of the news about the the upcoming movie in December. Lest anyone should think I have no life other than the twisting saga of Bella and Edward, I have recently come to grips with my love/obsession for ribbon. I have found I can blow more money on spools of ribbon than just about anything else. And if I happen to hit a 50% off sale, I tend to get a little crazy in the head. In the past, I've used the excuse of not being able to store all of my spools, but as of last night I have solved that problem, so Robert's and Hobby Lobby, watch out!

Organization is the Key!

During the month of April we decided we had had enough with our closet. Rob and I being the obsessive-compulsive personalities that we are, we decided to design the mecca of organization. In all honesty, Rob just wanted some cubies. But we couldn't just stop there! If we were going to do it, we were going to do it right! Rob came home from work one day and Tawanda had struck. I took a crow-bar to the existing clothes rack/shelf and ripped it all out. We actually enjoy doing this sort of project together. We both cut the wood and install it all, (meaning I hold the boards and hand Rob the tools). Then I take over with all of the caulking and painting. The kids were so excited to help. They strapped on their tool belts and were ready to get to work. We had another idea for them: they watched Dumbo three times, Toy Story, and several other cartoons all in one day. Roopie found contentment in the exersaucer or on the floor playing. Eventually she would just fall asleep. What great parents we are! We are now almost finished with the dream closet. Rob is in heaven with his eighteen cubies and a shoe bench. I absolutely love my twenty-six slots for shoes and will thoroughly love having drawers in my closet if we ever finish them. I got burned out after 40+ hours of painting and I haven't wanted to look at another project since. I'm sure it will only be temporary and I will be nagging on Rob about our next home improvement. Will it be the basement or my dream craft room next?