Granger Comp

I didn't record Hali's dance compitition last weekend, but I did manage to bring the camera.  So I though I'd give you a sneak peak.  At least you'll see their costumes!

This is their lyrical dance.  The song is called Beautiful by Jim Brickman and Wayne Brady.  Yes, that Wayne Brady!

This is their jazz dance.  Song is Big Spender.

They did a great job and both dances took home first place in their catagory and Beautiful took a first in their age group.  Not too shabby for their first go!

Wahoo!!!

Dance Competition season starts tomorrow and I always get really excited when it starts.  By the end I'm worn out, but it's exciting to start!  As soon as we video Hali's dances, we'll (meaning Scott) will post them on the blog so everyone can enjoy!

Happy Weekend!!

I Hate Potty Training!

Caution: liberal use of the words "pee" and "poop" will be used in this post!

I'm so glad this is my last child and it will be the last time I will personally be in charge of potty training.  I hate it.  Zoey was doing fairly well for a while.  She had the pee thing down.  She's never mastered the poop.  But about two weeks ago the pee thing dribbled away.  It's like I have to start all over again!  UGH.  I'm so tired of saying, "Zoey, do you need to go potty?" She says no and two minutes later she's wet.   I'm so tired of washing her sheets, clothes, underwear, everything!!!  And I refuse to give up!  I refuse to buy diapers!  She WILL be potty trained!!!  sigh.  I really hate potty training.

It's Been Awhile....

Sorry.  It's not that we've been so terribly busy.  I mean, we have, but not so much that I couldn't blog.  So I'll just do one post and catch everyone up to date.

The first big exciting event happened to Regan.  She went from this (2007)

To This

(That is the goofiest picture of her!)

To This

Yay!!! No more braces for Regan!!!  I don't think you realize how crooked your child's teeth are until they put braces on them!  She has a clear retainer and hopefully when we go in for the last time next month they will say she only has to wear them at night.  Then we'll get to start all over with Hali!  Oh joy.

Zoey started dance in January and she so cute!  She loves her teacher Miss Cindy.  We've been at the dance studio since Hali was the same age as Zoey and have really like it.  In February they have a Princess day, where the girls can dress up like their favorite princess and they have a tea party.  Zoey was in HEAVEN!

 

She calls all these girls her best friends, even though she doesn't know any of their names!

Hali had a Daddy/Daughter party at the church.  It was 50's themed.  So of course the sewer in me had to make her a skirt.  I ended up helping two other women make skirts for their girls, too.

 

Here's a better one of her skirt

Other than that, we've been getting through school, looking forward to fun stuff planned this summer, planing a trip to Hawaii in the fall, potty training Zoey (hate it, glad it's the last time!) and hanging with friends.  Compatition dance starts in a month and we are looking forward to the yearly comp in St. George.  Hope the weather's good.  Anyway,  I'll try to be better about blogging!

I'm A Little Embarassed

We have a 9 ft artificial tree.  And you all know, I love to have lots of lights on my tree.  A couple of years ago, I outdid myself with lights, but I had it arranged so that all I had to do was unplug a couple strands here and there and I wouldn't have to remove them from the tree.  So as we were taking the tree down last night (Yes, last night,  I've been a little lazy)  we decided we needed to take the lights off and redo them next year.  They were starting to come off in places and were just looking messy.  I don't think I really realized how many light were actually on the tree.

Yep.  All that came off my tree.  It took us about an hour to get them off and while we were doing it Scott said to me, "This will cure you of the need to put so many on next year."  Nope, probably not.

Ice Skating

Last weekend some friends of ours invited us to go ice skating with them at the Olympic Oval in Kearns.  Scott and Regan had just been skating with the YM/YW in our ward, but it had been years for me and Hali, Porter and Zoey had never been.  We didn't get skates for Zoey and I regretted that later.  Next time for sure.

The Oval had these great little, blue walker things for kids learning to skate.  Porter was like this mad man with that thing!  He LOVED it.  Maybe we need to get that boy into ice hockey.

Regan didn't want skates.  I guess she had struggled so much at the YW activity that it just wasn't fun.  But when she realized that none of her friends were there, so she could use the walker thing without being embarassed, she wanted skates.  So, nice mommy, took off her own skates so that Regan could take a couple of laps around the ice.

Hali had so much fun, too.  But then Hali can pretty much have fun anywhere.  Give her a friend and an activity and she's good.

Zoey just played on the sidelines with her little friend, Jacob.  Or as she calls him Jacom.  I think she would have liked to try the skates.  Next time.

She would NOT smile for me.  Usually, you point the camera at her and she automatically grins, but for some reason that night it had the opposite affect on her.

It was so much fun!!  We need to do that again!

Christmas 2009

I have to admit, I had a hard time getting into Christmas this year.  I'm really not sure why, but it just didn't excite me like it usually does.  But my kids sure got into it!

And that was just on Christmas Eve!  We let the kids open their Christmas jammies and their presents from each other.

Christmas Eve Regan asked me what time was the earliest I would let them wake us up.  Not seeing the trap, I said 6 am.  So Regan set her alarm for 6 am.  Stinker.  Next year I'll say 9.

The kids got fewer presents this year.  Santa only brought them four.  I found on a blog last year that someone had done the coolest thing!  You get from Santa Something You Want, Something You Need, Something You Wear and Something You Read.  I loved it so much that Santa did that at our house this year, too!  I thought for sure I would hear grumbles and cries of "that was it?!" on Christmas morning, but that didn't happen at all.  It was so pleasant.  I think because there were fewer gifts, that the ones they got were the ones they really wanted.  It cut out all the "junk" gifts.  You know, the fillers.

Zoey was Thrilled with this gift:

Grandma and Grandpa got Porter his very own tool set.  That way next year when we go to visit, Porter can use his own tools instead of borrowing Grandpa's. He also got lots of legos.

Regan got a vampire shirt, and while there is no picture of Edward on it, she liked it anyway.  We also tricked her by putting a toy cell phone in her stocking.  At first, she just looked at us and said, "Very funny."  But written on the back was a coupon she could redeem for a real one.  She's in heaven.  LOVES her phone.

Sorry Hali.  I'm not posting any pictures of you this year.  For some reason all my pictures of you opening gifts also include me.  And trust me when I say, there were no pretty pictures of mommy on Christmas morning.  Maybe Christmas jammies need to be given to mom and dad, too.   But she had a great Christmas, too.  Lots a jewelry and an iPod Nano.  Hot pink, of course!

I hope everyone had a great holiday!

Mom, I Have A Confession To Make......

We opened your Christmas present early.  (insert sheepish grin here).  See, being the planners that we are, we had already decided on what we were going to buy with the money.  And we decided that it would be much better to have it on Christmas, rather than have to buy it after Christmas.  We bought this:

It's awfully pretty, isn't it?  Much better pictures with this bad boy than the little one we've had for the last few years.  Scott's in heaven!  And we've been taking lots of pictures.  Why.... we took this cute one just this morning with your adorable grand kids all dressed in their Christmas finery:

I have to throw in a picture of Regan and Hali, especially, since I made both their skirts.

Hali's skirt took me forever.  I don't think I want to see another ruffle again for a long time.

PS.  The "money vessel"  is stunning.