just bein' a kid (late May, 2010)

The time at my mom's (8 weeks in all) was a pretty interesting experience. The kids adjusted pretty well to being there, thankfully. One of the fun things, though, was our neighbor and new friend, Joanna. She's about 5 and the kids thought she was the coolest thing ever. She rides her bike like a pro and she can climb trees. This was the kids' first time to ever climb a tree and I thought it was just so cute!!

Here are a couple pics of the house progress too - this was probably about mid way through everything. I felt like we were

constantly making decisions on the fly. Since we are neither one very picky nor did we have really any preconceived notions about what we wanted, I felt sometimes overwhelmed by the big decisions we were making: which granite? what type of wood? what color stain? which tile? what color paint? what about the baseboards?

Summer 2010 update

So for summer, we have decided to try out gymnastics class. I had a bit of opposition from Chris about "putting (his) boy in gymnastics" but I won out on this deal. I mean, really, they are 3 years old and it's not like I put the kid in a leotard. I think it is good for their coordination, and even more I think it is good for them to do a class that is not the mommy & me type of class. They are all on their own in there. Well, except for the fact that they have their friends in there! Rilee and Reed are in the class, and even another little boy, Gavin, that the kids had MyGym class with a year or so ago. So the first couple weeks, it was pretty tough. Tears, the whole bit. But now, a month and a half in, it is great. They love it and are learning a lot. A big piece of credit also goes to the teacher, Mr. Steve. He is really amazing with the kids and they just love him!

Another update is that Chris took a job with Chuck E Cheese in April. I think it was a good move for him. It has been fun, though, getting some exposure to Chuck E Cheese. I mean, we had never even been there before! The kids love it though. I am not crazy about the pizza, but the salad bar is pretty impressive. We got to go to a Franchisee Expo though, one of his first weeks there. This involved every game possible being

showcased to the franchisees in hopes that they might buy some for their stores. For us, though, it was a free for all. There were just bins of tokens sitting out and the kids could ride rides and play games to their little heart's content. And it was good food and wine for Mommy and Daddy!

Casa Manana

On May 1, 2010, the kids got to go to Casa Manana for the first time. And although it has changed a lot since I was a kid, (I grew up going to just about every show they put on), it was still a familiar place. It is no longer the "theater in the round" but a more traditional set up. I am not sure I like it better, but it's still a really neat place to go. So, our first show: Peter Pan! The kids have been introduced to Peter Pan, among other Disney books this year since my mom brought over all my books from when I was little. It is so cool having these, and while they are not as careful with the books as I would like for them to be, it is special having the books to pass on to them. Anyway, they love the story of Peter Pan, and Tinkerbell has become a favorite of Miss Charis'. We had a whole crew of friends with us and it made for a very special event!

Mother's Day, 2010

We had a nice Mother's Day spent at my mom and John's house. The whole family, including John's two daughters were there. Food, family and fun...what more could we ask for?!

Hard to believe this is my third Mother's Day. What a blessing to be a mom to my two precious kiddos!

By this time we were also beginning to see a little progress on the house. After knocking everything down, they, of course, started building it back up!! On the left, we have what will become my beautiful kitchen (beginning of big, giant island being shown).

On the right, the view is standing in the master bedroom looking toward the master closet and master bathroom. The kitchen and master bath were the two things I really

disliked about the house, and boy did we change those?!

Bike Parade!

The kids have really done well at their Spanish school even though we got off to a rough start. And while it was really hard for me to put them in school, I am so glad that we did. They are really learning a lot, and Charis' Spanish pronunciation is amazing! In addition to learning Spanish they just get to do so many fun activities at school. On April 29, 2010, it was the day for a Bike Parade! The kids really only learned to ride bikes at all a few weeks earlier, and Charis really only got it a few days earlier. Aren't they too cute in those little helmets?!

When asked who is their best friend at school, Charis answered "Hunter" who is a cute little boy in their class, and Price answered "my teacher." I think the teachers there are so great and they seem to really love the kids. We really feel fortunate to have found this school!

Making some big changes...

So the week after my mom's wedding, she of course moved in to John's but we actually moved in to HER house! We made the big decision to remodel our home. We had reached the point, after 6 years here, that we would like something different. It was either sell or remodel and we looked a little but decided to remodel. A friend from high school, John Hover, an architect, drew up some really amazing plans for us. And we took the plans to Luke Hammond to see what we were getting ourselves in to. He took on this huge project and led us all the way through it! So on Sunday, May 2, the full demolition began!

They took every room down to the studs, and only exterior walls remained. The only room that remained fully intact was the kids' bathroom. It was really crazy to see this!!

Mom's wedding

I am a bit behind on the blog.

We have been sort of busy the last couple months, but I will get to all that later! My mom got married April 17, 2010. It was a lovely family gathering, catered by Dave, cakes by John's daughter, photos by Terry. Price would say "John is getting married for Nonnie." The kids love John though, and we are all so happy for them both.