Victory

We did it.
As we do every Saturday, we went out to the Petroglyphs as a family, and we all made it all the way up to the top.
I would have taken pictures, but the act of getting all four of us up and down again safely was more important.
Matt is so proud of all of us, and the kids did great. No complaining, no stopping, they just kept going!

Also today

We got the floors mopped, and the garage cleaned out!


I finally got the car detailed inside and out. Thanks Mary for the help!!

It feels like Spring has sprung

We found a birds nest.

We did some yard work.
The dog got a bath.

Well we did it

We closed on our eight unit complex this afternoon.
Now the fun and work really start!

My new job and Ruth's recital

We had our fourth week of dance today.
It was great as always.
I have a new job. I am helping in the costume department, fitting outfits, sewing, etc.
Tons of fun.
And Ruth is dancing in the spring recital.
It will take place in May, and I am so proud of her for being so brave.

What happens when Mom has a sick day

I've been fighting whatever I have for a few days now, but it is a loosing battle.
Here the kids are in the office, watching a movie, and enjoying the freedom to just be kids.

Our first day at the gym

Here the kids are in the foam pit.
They had a really great time, they were the only kids there, so they had lots of time with the instructors, and could do whatever activity they wanted.
We'll be going back next week!

The Dread Pirate Dashell

Business is kicking my butt this morning, so the kids are playing while I try to manage the chaos and get their school things ready.
Looks like only one of them is having fun.

Girl Scout cookies have arrived

This was the first year the girls could sell Girl Scout cookies, and boy did they have fun.
Here they are with Dad sorting out the orders.
Ruth bagged the cookies, and Mary used her new reading skills to figure out who ordered what.

I'm in first grade, look what I can do

I never thought I would see this day.
Mary started today doing first grade cirriculum, and with that, we are reading together easy chapter books.
Only two to three pages a day, but she is doing really well.

It's too cold for this

It is a beautiful day today, but it is still too early in the year for this.

We went to the zoo tday

Ruth going down the slide.
And we went down a slide and there new play area.
Koala bears, Ruth's new favorite animals.
Budgie birds. (Mary took this picture)
Monkeys sharing breakfast.
The flamingos.
We saw a peacock looking into a window.
And Mary's favorite, the polar bears.

Feeding the ducks

One Fish, Two fish

We went to the pool tonight. The water was cold, but the kids had fun and made a few friends.

And the test results are...

Positive.
Both the girls did great.

Ruth's test included some of the following...
Match rhyming words
Read a story, and answer questions
Pronounce and read a list of words
The only hiccup Ruth had were the words "clothes", and "because".

Mary's test was about...
Alphabet recognition
Beginning and end word sounds
Short vowels
and Word Recognition
She had no problems what so ever, did so great.

On one hand, I am on cloud nine. I take no credit for how well they are doing, they are bright children, and they work and try very hard.
On the other hand, these are my babies. I just tested them into another grade, and it seems so crazy to me that they are really school age now.

Testing update

I sat down with the kids this afternoon to start their test, and the K test was harder than the 1st, and really wasn't what I was looking for.
So, I downloaded a test I like better. Mary will take the test for going into 1st grade, and Ruth will test into 2nd. It is crazy to me how fast the kids are growing, how fast time is flying.
When we are done testing, I'll post here to let you know how they did.

Dance class week 3

We just went to our third week of dance lessons last night, and they are going so great.
The kids are both making friends, their teacher is great, and I am loving helping out.
The girls planned a play date with one of their friends for next week, and I am so proud of them.

Testing

The girls are both doing really well in school, and while we are a few months away from the official end of the school year, I think they are both getting ready to move on, so we are going to test the rest of this week. Then I will know whether or not we are behind (I feel sometimes that we are), and we can catch up on anything we have missed.
I'll let you know how it goes.
I am also hoping to go to the local teacher store to look for Mary a Language Arts book. Ruth jumped to second grade, and the series I like is no longer in print. So, we'll see if I can find time to head out there. Matt is leaving to go to Co. for the weekend to attend a Men's Retreat with his Dad, so I am single Mom again.
We are going to an inspection Friday morning, and then the pool in the evening.
Then Saturday we are spending the day at the zoo.
Sunday we are going to church, and then to see the movie "Bolt" at the dollar theatre.

The finished product

The kids found toys they had forgotten about, and are happily playing, allowing me to get everything done, and lunch started.
What a day.

The glorious finish

And we are done!
Except for hauling all the toys that did not make the cut, we made it.
I moved the small bookcase from the Living Room to the toy closet, so we gained extra storage, and I got my Living Room back.

During the toy overhaul

Here we have emptied the bookcases and closets.
We are going to go through all the toys, and the re organize and put things away.
I'll post the after soon. Maybe we'll even get it done today!! How cool would that be!

What happens when you are home too much

Bookcase of toys in the Living Room #1
Bookcase of toys in the Living Room #2
Toy closet (this is the under the stairs closet they put in these older homes)
Two bookcases filled with puzzles and games

Strange things happen when you spend a lot of time in your home. You find things that "need" to be done, and then you practically kill yourself trying to do them.
For example, I have decided to get rid of some outgrown toys and games and re organize the house. This does not sound like that large or difficult of a job, until you see just how much stuff we have.
Here is the before, I will post the during and after over the next few days. I am excited to get this done, however, it is going to be a rather large job, so I am enlisting the kids help.

Thrifting it

I love to find "deals". I've gotten pretty good at timing the sales, end of season clearances, buying at thrift stores etc. It's fun, and the kids have really started getting into it too.
Today we went to Target to check out their end of season sales.
I wanted to stock up on hats and gloves for next year.
We did great. Check it out.

I saw this hat months ago, and really wanted to get it for the girls. It's Littlest Pet Shop (a favorite in our house), but it was $6.99. That's too much for our budget.

Today it was on clearance, $1.74!! I got two.

The gloves are those nice insulated ones. We lost ours this year, and they are $5.99 regular price. If we lived anywhere cold I would pay it, but here they wear gloves maybe a total of one week a year. Today I bought two pairs, each pair was $1.48. I'm feeling pretty good.

I am so excited

We are now on week two of our new schedule. It's killing me. The kids will not stop fighting, and it's a little too much "togetherness". I have been trying to find an activity for Tuesday afternoons, and until today had struck out.
I called a gymnasium we had visited months ago, and they have a new half hour program for kids.

Power Play! Ages 6+

Power Play! is 30 minutes of constant movement for your child. This super-high energy class is designed to motivate and challenge the most non-athletic to very-athletic individual! A combination of gymnastics training, running, jumping, climbing, pushing, pulling, rolling, bouncing, tumbling and much more is sure to get your child's heart rate up- and give them new muscles and a huge smile! Pay as you come so there's no long-term commitment .

We'll be going in the next week or two. This is great, exactly what I wanted, and it's affordable, so we can do this every week.

Yay!!

This book

This book was sent to us last week, and it has sparked a creative wave in our house.
All the animals are small to medium in size and are made with craft fur, eyes, and some ribbon.
Mary has picked the animals she would like to make, and I am sure Ruth will have me making the chicks, ducks, and other lesser favorite animals, as those are the one's she loves.

Happy Valentine's Day

Sending our love this Valentine's Day to all our friends and family. We love you all, and are thankful for all the love and joy you add to our lives.

To my husband: you are the most wonderful thing that has ever happened to me, and you are the most amazing person I have ever known.

To my beautiful girls: you are my light and joy, you make every day an adventure.

To our parents: your love and support of me and my family have been a huge blessing, thank you.

To our grandparents: we love you, thank you for your contribution to our family.

We love you all, and could not hand craft our family without you.

Valentine Aprons

These fabulous aprons were sent to Ruth and Mary for Valentine's by their Aunt Susan. They have worn them a few times, but I have not gotten it on film.
So here they are. They are super cute, fun, and the kids LOVE them.
Thanks Aunt Susan!!

Collage

Forgot to mention Ruth put the "dog" sound in her dog.
Anyway, here she is making a collage of all the paper items that came off her dog, and a close up of the collage itself.

Mary took a picture

Who is walking whom

We have been walking to the park nearly every day, and this is one way Dash gets his exercise.

When Valentine's money comes in a card

You are able to get the dog you were saving for a week early. This is a dog Ruth has been wanting for quite a while. She was saving for it, and then Grandpa Reinking sent a Valentine card with $ in it, so we went on our date early to go and get it.
Ruth said this was the best day she has ever had, and we had a really fun time together.

Ruth's new hat

$3 at Claire's.

Funny shoe laces

Grandma Chris sent these awesome laces for Valentine's, and Ruth had worn through her old pair, so we put these in first thing.

Mary's new trick

Mary learned to go across the monkey bars all by herself today at the park.

Dance class

We had our second dance class today, and it was awesome. The girls had a really fun time, the teacher is really good, and I got to help at the front desk which was super fun.

Cough Medicine

What a joke! Mary was up all morning from 3am on coughing her lungs out.
We had this cough medicine with honey from last year, no good. The over the counter medicine, the same story.
So we are all very tired this morning.
I'm hoping it won't make for a rough day.
Mary had a rough day yesterday, and I am just not up for another round.

A Mary Date

Tonight Mary and I went on a date. I have wanted for some time to take one girl out on a date, but timing has never worked out.
It is now planned into our schedule, and what a fun evening we had.
To start with, after talking to Mary about saving until I was blue in the face, she finally got it when she saw this bunny two weeks ago at Build A Bear.
Lesson learned.
So she saved, and tonight we went.
We walked the mall, talked, got ice cream, looked at Claire's at their jewelry, bought two headbands for less than $2.
It was great. And since Mary has her voice back, she never quit talking.
Ruth is going on a date in two weeks.
She is saving for a Build A Bear dog.
I'll let you know how it goes.

Keeps getting better

Mary woke up hungry, happy, and fever free this morning.
I am hoping she stays fever less all day, and if so she should be a okay by tomorrow.
Just in time for her evening dance class.

The smile on her face

I finally got a real, true, Mary smile on camera.
I love it.
I hesitated for many months to make this doll for good reason.
Mary is picky.
Really picky.
Super picky.
And I did not want to go to all the work to make a doll she would not play with.
One she hated.
One that was not what she had in mind.

So I waited for months.
And she kept asking.
I gave in.
And got a real, true SMILE.

PS-
She has not put the doll down all day.
Here she is changing her diaper!