Back to School...

I still have some blogging catch up to do, but I can't wait to post about this. Today was our first day of school, and man it could not have come any sooner. I can say that because a) I put in the hours this summer to make it a fun summer, b) I've been a mom for 8 years and now know the true value of how much more you enjoy your kids when you have time away from them and c) I have THREE girls...hormones...emotions...drama...need I say more? Absence really does make the heart grow fonder .... :)

Myanna started 3rd grade. She has a great teacher who we have heard a lot of wonderful things about. She is excited to learn cursive (I've been instructed that its the most beautiful form of handwriting and I should consider learning it), and is already wondering what the WASL will be like. She has finally hit that dreaded point in life where she wants to accessorize and match but unfortunately hasn't perfected the art of either (I picked out her outfit and accessories and then had nightmares last night that she wouldn't wear them). Is this what they refer to as "the awkward stage?"




Alissa started 1st grade and is in the same looping class that Myanna was in. Her teacher, Mrs. Boyd, will be her teacher for both 1st and 2nd grade and she will have most of the same classmates for the next two years. It is a very exciting time for her! She lost her front tooth about a week ago and with her cute new haircut, looks just like a 1st grader should. Alissa is excited to become a better reader, eat lunch at school, and have TWO recesses a day!

Happy Anniversary?

This year was our 11th anniversary...I still can't believe it. I guess it's true what they say... time flies by when you're having fun :) Unfortunately this year we couldn't celebrate in style because of girls camp (I had to spend the day getting ready to go) but we did have a fun family night sitting around telling stories about how Mom and Dad met. The kids laughed hysterically when I told them the story of meeting a really hot guy with earrings in both ears...they couldn't believe "dad used to be a girl." We'll have to have that talk another day...

Our gourmet meal and night time entertainment were pretty pathetic...but luckily how you celebrate your anniversaries is not indicative of how your married life truly is...

Gourmet Meal











Night time entertainment...

The Best Birthday Ever...

This year I had the best birthday ever. My birthday was on a Sunday and I had to go to girl's camp that Tuesday, so my BFF Stefani decided to surprise me on the Friday before. My mom came and watched the girls and Stef came to pick me up at noon. I had no idea what the plans were for the day, but she made me wear this ridiculous birthday crown and sash all day...(the kids still love to wear it).
Everywhere we went she had the cutest little cards made out with a gift bag that had a clue in it as to where we were going. When we'd get done with one fun thing, she'd give me another bag with another clue in it to the next place we were going. It was so thoughtful of her and must have taken hours to put together!
Our first stop was Golden Palm, my favorite place to go tanning. After a quick session to get nice and toasty, we jumped on over to get a pedicure! It was so fun, we were laughing so hard and just being silly. I think the guy next to us thought we were drunk - but what can he say - he's a guy (a cowboy at that) getting a pedicure on a Friday afternoon!!
We were getting hungry so we stopped by my favorite smoothie place (The Daily Buzz) and got smoothies...yum! Then we went hunting for our next stop...a massage! We had to drive around forever to find the tiny little office in the middle of downtown Richland, but it was worth it. The lady was so nice, and she even let Stef come in the room while I got my massage! I tried to talk Stef into a "couples" massage but she didn't think our relationship had progressed far enough for that yet. :)
After being pampered and feeling completely relaxed, we went down to Artsy Fartsy to decorate pottery. It was so fun. Stef painted a mug and I made a plate (which I had converted into a clock). We had fun making fun of the lady who ran the place...really, if you're going to run a pottery decorating place you should not care that much about messes!
Last, but not least, we picked up the boys and went out to eat dinner at Famous Dave's. It was sooo good! I loved how the food comes out on a trash can lid, and I'll never forget our big macho husbands and their girlie drinks (virgin daiquiri's...not that they aren't good...but seriously if you saw two big guys drinking pink drinks what would you think??).
So thanks to my mom for watching the kids, to Stefani's husband and family for letting her out of the house all day, and most of all to the best friend in the whole wide world for the Best Birthday Ever!! Now if any of you have good ideas for what I can do to top this for her birthday...January is only 6 months away so I better get crackin'. :)

Pictures from the best birthday ever!

Swimming lessons

The kids had so much fun this year at swimming lessons. Myanna and Alissa were in a class with their cousins, Taylor and Ethan, and Bella was in a class with her cousin and "best friend in the whole wide world", Emma. They all learned so much this year and have become such great swimmers! I put on a few videos too...












Myanna practicing her dives














Alissa practicing her dives














Bella's had enough for one day...

The power of goggles!

Here is Bella jumping off the diving board. She has totally taken off this year with swimming and done a fantastic job learning to be an underwater fish. The power of goggles!

Go girl go!

Myanna and Alissa doing the crawlstroke

Sisterly Love

I didn't get a picture of it, but the sweetest thing happened the other night and I just had to share. Alissa and Bella were upstairs in bed when Bella started to cry. I asked her what was wrong and she said "I need a snuggle." I was in the middle of something REALLY important so I said what every mom says when the finale of "so you think you can dance" is on..."I'll be up in a minute!" They never said anything else about it and so I never made it upstairs to give her that snuggle. When I went to check on them before going to bed I found Alissa and Bella sleeping together in Bella's bed (it's a full sized). I bought a full size bottom bunk because I wondered if Alissa would want to sleep on the top bunk, and I figured my assumption was right.
The next morning I asked Alissa why she had slept with Bella. She said "well, you said you'd come give her a snuggle but then you didn't come. So I asked Bella if it would make her happy if I came and slept with her until you came and she said yes. Since you never came I just had to sleep with her all night. I just had to make her happy mom." After I quickly got over feeling like a schmuck, I just had to give her the biggest hug ever. Sometimes sisterly love makes up for a lazy mom, and thank goodness something does. :)

Alissa and Bella enjoying their new beds

All three of the kids have been sleeping on mattresses that are over 20 years old. One is from Dean's sister Megan's old room and the other two are from my and my sisters old beds. Is it any wonder that they didn't sleep well at night with bed springs poking them all night long? When I got new beds for the kids I broke down and bought them all new mattresses at costco...good ones too. Next will be our bed...but after I spent all that money on beds for the kids I may be sleeping on poking bed springs for a while still!

Always looking for a project in my spare time...

I decided to tackle Alissa and Bella's new room while Dean was at scout camp. It took me the whole week to get it done but it turned out so cute. They love sleeping together, and so far it's been fun to see them enjoying their new room together.

Before

After

And I thought it was just junk

Dean is the biggest pack rat I've ever known...and I've known some big ones (my parents for one). He has crap from when he was a kid that he won't part with even thought it is only collecting dust in our garage. Every once in a while he'll find some use for something and that buys him another 2-3 yrs of dust collecting from me. But when he decided to use his marble collection instead of buying the .97 cent rocks from the pet store for the kids fish tanks (see below)...even he had to admit he was stretching it a bit far.

I always lose

The kids have been begging for a pet for years. Once, for a fleeting moment, we had a cat, but Alissa wouldn't come down off the couch if it came in the room, and my allergies had the same reaction so luckily my sister took the poor animal away. Since then it's been an endless onslaught of "when can we get another pet" "so and so just got a guinea pig, when can we get one?" "when will you be un-allergic to animals so we can be like all the other normal families?"
A few months ago Dean told the kids they could get fish. I hate to say it but even fish were a big no from me. Let's face it...fish just means another thing for me to clean. But as always happens, I lost. So after the guilt ate away at him for being gone all week at scout camp (and the quick view of my blog and how great that week went) Dean took the girls to get fish from the pet store. I swear I will not clean the stupid fish tank no matter how cloudy it gets...I don't care if the fish turn brown instead of brilliant blue or red...
Myanna and her fish

Alissa and her fish
Bella and her fish