Happenings.....

Boy, do I love my sweet little girl. She brings so much liveliness into our family's life. Karmindy is full of personality, so there is rarely a dull moment around these parts. The picture above was after preschool one day. She turned to me and struck a pose and asked if I would take her picture. Wow! What can I say? I indulged her!

 Yesterday, we had a couple of  packages delivered to our home. The kids decided to make a "truck" out of the boxes and Karmindy has enjoyed pretending to be a truck driver. I am pretty impressed with Kaleb's creativity because he is the one that constructed the steering wheel and buttons on the dash board. Pretty Creative kids!

As a side note, one of the packages had some new suits and work shirts for Mark. He is in desperate need of new suits, so with working at the Church  for the past 3 years, he was told about this website that has custom-made suits for not much money. He ordered 2 new suits and several new dress shirts and new dress slacks and a couple of belts. He is going to need some new work clothes for his new job coming up. He was just offered a job at Adobe in Lehi, Utah and started this past Monday. I am so proud of my husband! He is one smart guy and is always working so hard to support our family. I appreciate all that he does for me and our two children. Love you so much honey!

The other package was Halloween Costumes! I know, its a little early to be thinking about Halloween but BuyCostumes.com was having an $8 dollar sale on Costumes. How could I refuse a deal like that; especially since Costumes are so expensive? Plus, really if you think about it, Halloween is only 4 more months away but who is counting? 

Karmindy wanted to be a witch this year and we found her the cutest pink witch costume. After all, pink is her favorite color! She had to try it on as soon as we opened it up! I think it looks pretty adorable on her! Now I hope she doesn't grow too much over the next 4 months! 

Kaleb has gained an interest in the Harry Potter Books/Movies. We have let him watch all the PG rated ones but have held off on a few of the PG-13. I think they are kind of scary and don't want it to scare him or Karmindy so we are holding off for now until we think they can handle them. Anywho, he has been begging to be Harry Potter and we found him a pretty awesome Harry Potter Quidditch costume complete with Golden Snitch and goggles. I wasn't able to get a picture of Kaleb in his costume yet....he is too old for mom to be letting mom take pictures apparently!

My little princess is growing up way too fast. I took this picture of her right before heading to Preschool today! She has two more weeks of Preschool and then is going to be my BIG kindergartner! She is really excited for Kindergarten and to ride the bus with her big brother. It makes me a little sad but it is exciting to see the growth and development of your children. I love you little miss!

Spring Piano Recital

It is hard to believe that Kaleb has taken a full year of piano lessons! He has been taking piano lessons from a cute lady in our ward, Tauna Broadhead. He has done extremely well with her as his teacher and has really got a great little talent that he is developing. I think he has a little bit of a natural ability so I truly hope he keeps practicing!

Last night, was his spring recital and it was held at our church building right by our home. Kaleb played the piece, "Chugga, Chugga Choo." It was a cute little tune that sounded just like a little train! Kaleb did a great job on his piece. We are so proud of you son for sticking with piano even when it is getting "hard." We love you Bud!

File Folder Games and Balance is Key!

It has been really nice to have a little bit of down time the past few weeks to recover from being in charge and executing Teacher Appreciation Week(s) at Kaleb's Elementary School this school year. I was in charge of getting in touch with all the Room Mom's to decorate doors, finding other parents to decorate additional staffs doors, teacher gifts, table decor and a huge teacher luncheon at the end of each week. It was MADNESS!!Along with being in charge of Teacher Appreciation week(s) that I was spear-heading, I also had a Primary Auxiliary Training (for my Church Stake Calling) that fell right smack dap at the end of those two weeks. For the Primary Auxiliary training, I was in charge of the food and the table decor, invites to the Primary Presidents, Reminder Emails and Programs. It seriously was the most stressful two weeks that I have experienced in a long time. I seriously didn't think I would live past those two weeks. I had a lot of panic attacks and took a lot of anti-anxiety meds that week to cope. Not Healthy. Yep, I am just keeping it real!!

So needless to say, I have really learned my stress limit and what I truly can handle. I have really had to take a step back and evaluate what is truly important and that is my kids, Mark and our family. I know that my family comes first but since I am a people pleaser, I have had to learn to say no! I have said "No" to a lot of people over the past few weeks. It makes me feel bad but It has also made me realize that I am glad that people depend/count on me but it's also good to serve others in moderation. I love helping others and delight in alleviating other's burdens because I to, have been through tough times and have always wanted to "pay it forward" especially since others have helped me through the years and still continue to help me. I just didn't want it to be at the cost of my family. Balance is definitely key and I haven't had much the past few weeks! I hated running around like a mad woman, it was not fun or healthy!!

Over the past couple of weeks that my every waking moment wasn't occupied, I have been wanting something to "look foward" to doing. I needed a project, because going from insanely busy to not much on the plate, has been an adjustment. I decided that my project would be making something for my children, because I love making things for Kaleb and Karmindy and I hadn't done anything for them besides the motherly caring duties: homework, cooking dinner, reading to them, playing with them, etc. 

For my project, I had found a link on Pinterest for these cute file folder games and I thought that it would be a "relaxing/mindless" project that would be perfect to work on. I needed something to work on that would help me unwind at nights but also help me to feel productive. Over the past few nights, I have printed out the games, cut, glued, laminated and assembled this little file folder games. I am pretty proud of my efforts. It was also a fun project to because I got the kids involved with cutting out the pieces and placing them in the folders. I finally finished them last night and I am so happy with these keepsakes for the kids. The kids have loved playing with them. Another motivation for making these file folder games was so the kids could keep busy during their month and a half summer break that is coming up. I made a few math games to keep Kaleb up to speed on his Math and made some games that would keep Karmindy up to date on her letters, colors, shapes and counting. 

It sure was a time consuming project but it was well worth it because I have loved the results. I have just had to learn that Balance is Key!

Family Time!

 Kamberee and Tyler were able to come up for a visit this past weekend! It was so nice to spend Friday evening with them. Tyler's dad wanted his family to get together for family pictures and to celebrate Tyler's 32nd birthday on Saturday, so Friday night we got them all to ourselves. It was so nice to spend time with them even if it was for one evening. While they were here on Friday night, had a Hot Dog Cook out with all the fixen's, corn on the cob, salads and brownies and ice cream for dessert! After dinner we headed to our neighborhood park to let the kids work off some of their energy and play at the park. We also took all our baseball stuff for the kids to play with. We let the kids have a turn to bat and then the adults took their turns.

It was such a fun evening, and I am so glad that I could spend some time with my sister. It is hard living so far apart from one another but I truly value the time we get to spend with each other!!

LaLaLoopsy Birthday Party Celebration

For Karmindy's Birthday this year, she asked to have a LaLaLoopsy Birthday Party. She has several of the cute little dolls and so it was easy to get on board with it! Unfortunately, there isn't a whole lot of LaLaloopsy party stuff, so I had to really do some diggin' to find cute ideas and supplies. Thank you Internet and Pinterest!

I found some really cute invites online that were in our price range. The invites were also customizable so it was fun to make them just the way we wanted them! 

Karmindy wanted to invite a couple of her guy friends to her party so I had to get creative and tailor the party to the boys too! We ended up deciding that we would do a baking party. Luckily, one of the LaLaloospy dolls likes to bake so we thought it would be perfect and fit right into our theme. We decided to make personal pizzas and eat cupcakes. I made each of the kids their own apron complete with button embellishments on them. They turned out super cute! 

One day while browsing in the bakery Department at WalMart, I discovered that they make Lalaloopsy cupcake cakes! I was so excited...I love when things come together! They did a darling job on Karmindy's cake and Karmindy was super thrilled with her LaLaLoopsy cake!!

 I loved how Karmindy's cake turned out! I almost hated to pull the cupcakes apart it was just so cute!

Karmindy invited 10 of her besties to her party. All of them but one came. We were sad that her friend Avery Wallin couldn't make it because of the flu. The kids had so much fun making their own Pepperoni Pizzas, coloring their own Lalaloopsy dolls, eating cupcakes, playing pin the cherry on the cupcake, relay races and Duck, Duck, Goose. 

Karmindy was so excited to spend the afternoon with her friends. She also made out like a bandit with all the fun birthday presents she received. She got a few more Lalaloopsy dolls to add to her growing collection, a puppy dog, makeup, books, and Princess Legos. She was very spoiled and has some wonderful friends who came and supported her.

For the party gifts to her friends, we gave each child a tub of play doh, a couple of cookie cutters, a bracelet for the girls, bubbles for the boys and a ring pop.

I hope your 5th birthday was everything you hoped it would be Little Sister! Mom, sure loves planning parties for you and your brother!! Happy, Happy Birthday Karmindy Dear! We LOVE you!!

5 Years Old!!

 It's hard to believe that Karmindy is 5 years old! I know all mom's express how much time is flying by but it really is passing by quickly. I have often felt like the days as a mom are long but the years pass by so very quickly. I am finding this to be true as the kids keep growing and as each year passes. 

Karmindy was super excited for her birthday this year! She can use one whole hand to tell everyone how old she is! Days before her birthday, she expressed how excited she was! When the day finally came, she was thrilled. I woke up early to make Karmindy's favorite breakfast- Chocolate Chip pancakes. Both the kids had school on Karmindy's birthday so it was a rushed morning but Karmindy was thrilled to eat her pancakes, dress in a new outfit and necklace and bracelet and head to Preschool.

At Preschool she said that her classmates sang to her and she came home with a new pencil from her Pre School teacher, Ms. Gaylene.

After Preschool, we hung around all afternoon waiting for Kaleb and Dad to get home from school and get off work. When that time finally came, we headed to dinner at Mc Donalds (birthday girls choice!) and then we tried out our "Pass of All Passes" and headed to Planet play to play Mini Bowling and ride Go Karts. It was a really fun evening spent as a family.

After we got home we ate some French Silk Chocolate Pie and opened presents. Karmindy was super spoiled and got many nice gifts from Mom and Dad, Kaleb, and both sets of Grandparents. She got a lot of Lalaloopsy Dolls and was pretty excited about that. She also got a new book and got a couple outfits from grandma's, bath set/nail polish pampering kit, and money. So spoiled!!

 Happy Birthday to such a sweet little lady! We love you Dee Dee Rose Bud!

Little Miss V.I.P

 This past week Karmindy was the VIP in her preschool class. Her teacher invited me in to come and talk for a few minutes and share a few special things about Karmindy with her class. Karmindy was so excited and we worked together and made a poster that was all about her! She was so excited to share it with her class. We also made little goodie bags for each one of her classmates that had a Ring Pop and a Ice Cream Cone Shaped bottle of Bubbles.

On the Day of her VIP she was super excited and was so excited that Mom could be there in class with her. I was excited to come into her class too!

Karmindy helped talk about her poster and was a big helper!

Some special things about our Little Miss V.I.P.:

1. Karmindy is very tender- hearted when it comes to people, especially, Animals. She loves our puppy Kozette and is always very sweet with her. I, often times will find her holding her in her arms and she is lovingly singing to her or petting her. 

2. Karmindy has the biggest sweet tooth like her mom. She loves Chocolate Chip Pancakes, cookies, and cupcakes. If you are eating a dessert, she will come over and say "yummy!" and beg for a bite!

3. Karmindy loves to travel with her family. Our last big trip was to Disney World. She constantly asks when we can go again! :)

4. Karmindy's favorite foods are of course, anything sweet. She also loves Mac n' Cheese, Chicken Nuggets from Mc Donalds, Chocolate Milk, and Chocolate Chip Pancakes.

5. Karmindy's  favorite toys right now are her Princess Legos and Her LalaLoopsy Dolls, she also loves to read books.

6. Karmindy loves to watch Movies. When she finds ones she likes she will watch it over and over and then will get sick of it and move on and watch something else and the vicious cycle continues.

7. Her favorite colors are Pink, Purple and Gold.

8. Karmindy is a friend to everyone. She tries really hard to be kind to everyone and hates when others are mistreated and hates when people mistreat her. She will often times ask why people are so mean.

9. Karmindy loves to help cook when I am in the kitchen. When I am making dinner she will always pull up a chair to the counter and beg to help out. She loves to stir and crack eggs into the bowl for me. She is a big helper!

10. Karmindy loves to spend time with her big brother and emulate him. Karmindy is very daring and loves an adventure. I think that having such a fun older brother, has helped her to develop these traits. She often tells me that he is her best friend and Kaleb often tells me that Karmindy is his best friend. Melt my heart....

I am so grateful for my two beautiful kids; especially this little sweetie!

Karmindy we love you and are so proud of the wonderful little girl that you are! What a special little spirit you bring into our home. We are so grateful to have you apart of our family.