Wes the Baker

Wesley loves to bake.  Sunday seems to be a good day to do that.  Today he wanted to make a cake.  This is what he created.  Yummy!  Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and strawberries in the middle.  He did it all himself.  Good Job, Wes!

Wes cutting into his creation.

Best of all, taste testing!

Early Easter Egg Hunt

We had an early Easter Egg Hunt.  A family in our branch was putting one on for the Big Brother Big Sisters and invited the primary kids along.  Janiel was gone for the morning with her school to the fair.  Wes was too big for all this, so it was me and the little girls plus a neighbor girl (who happened to be at our house at 9 on a Saturday morning.)  They started off by making some cute bags to collect eggs in.

 They had some fun games set up.  The only one my girls would do was the dart throw.

 They just wanted to go for the eggs.  They had planned for 60 kids and there was probably only 20.  So there were lots of eggs to go around.

Ashleigh gathering eggs.

Kara and Erin finding eggs.

Look Mom!

Ashleigh found a bag full! I have realized that Ashleigh doesn't look at the camera because she is afraid to blink!  Silly girl.

Erin was in heaven finding eggs.

Look at the haul!

The eggs were actually empty, but they took them in to be traded for candy.  Not a bad idea.  Probably saved time, didn't attract ants, and the candy wouldn't have fit! The girls loved finding so many eggs and loved the candy surprise at the end.

Stake Mother Daughter Day

We had a fun mother daughter day with our stake.  We met at a park, that almost felt like it could be in the mountains.  But not.  We thought it would take a lot longer than it did to get there (can't trust Google Maps sometimes!).  We arrived 30 minutes early, but enjoyed being with our friends.

We had our picture taken and the girls made a frame for it.  We had our jackets on in the morning-it was a little chilly, but it did warm up by mid-morning.

They made adorable pipe cleaner flowers for a ring or for a hair decoration.  We painted nails.  We played some fun games.

 We had a lunch of hot dogs and baked beans.

 But best of all, we got to hang out with people that we love.

Janiel and Macey are the best of friends.

Girls from the Golden Gate Estates Branch.

Kara, the lazy girl.  Getting a little too big to carry.

Janiel, Macey, and Kara.  The girls just love Macey, whether or not she wants to be loved (or mauled!).

Erin, Janiel, Ashleigh, Macey, and Kara having a great time.

More people that we love-Lisa and Chelsey Adcock.

 We also went on a little walk to the river.  The girls just love being outdoors.  It was a nice day to be with my girls and other girls that I love.  Thanks to Melanie for the pictures.  This is the day that my camera met its doom.

Random Thoughts and Pictures...

Okay, now this is just a little bit on the random side of things.  My camera bit the dust.  Literally.  I dropped it.  It gave an error about the lens.  Last time we had that fixed (thanks to Kara) it was $70.  The camera is 5 years old.  But we love the way it takes pictures.  I am missing it big time.  I am trying to win one on ebay, but haven't had the luck.  They are going for about $35 used.  Not too bad considering.  When I bid, they go for a dollar or two more.  Anyway, I can't wait to have one again.  It is spring break this week, and I am missing taking pictures  (with a decent camera).  I do have the kids' camera, but it is not quite as nice.  We went to the beach yesterday with the Smiths. Wes and Parker had a fun time floating a canal that leads to the beach.  Janiel and Macey spent most of the time playing paddle ball in the water.  The girls played and played in the sand.  Melanie and I had a chance to sit and visit in the sun.  It was very nice.  Today we did a little packing and also went to the park.  No pictures yet of spring break.

This picture I took in January.  I thought it was hilarious.  One one side of the rack---swimming suits. The other side of the rack---winter coats.  Neither one was on clearance.  It just doesn't seam right to have them on the same rack.  But I guess it is possible in Florida!!!

 Here are the girls enjoying a smoothie from Costco.

Fashion (or you can't argue with a five year old)

I told Erin to go and get dressed today.  This is what she came back wearing.  This is the conversation from there:

Me:  You can't wear that.  It doesn't match.

Erin:  It does too match.

Me: What matches about it?

Erin: Squares.

Me: Big Sigh!

You can't argue. They are both plaid. Normally I don't care but we do have some errands to run today.  Guess we might get some smiles.

Superintendent's Art Gallery

Wes brought home a letter from school.  It stated that he had been chosen to participate in the Superintendent's 2011 Art Gallery Night.  We didn't really know what to expect.  They wanted us to RSVP with only parents, art teacher, principal and one other guest allowed.  I got a babysitter for the girls but Brent had clinicals.  When Wes and I arrived, a lady met us and asked what school Wesley was from.  We told her Oakridge Middle School.  She thought a minute where his art might be, then asked what his piece looked like.

Bird's Eye View of a City

He told her and her eyes lit up.  It was at the front of the meeting room on display for all to see.  The other works of art were hung in the lobby.  We looked at the other art pieces.  Some are truly amazing.

Wes and His Masterpiece

Then they had a really nice presentation of awards.

The superintendent was sick, so his assistant stood in for him.  Not sure of her name.

Wesley and the School Board Members: Roy Terry, Barbara Berry, Pat Carroll, and  Superintendent's Assistant

Each school submitted 3 pieces of art.  There are 30 elementary, 11 middle, and 9 high schools in Collier County.  Out of those, 25 elementary students, 10 middle school students, and 4 high school students were chosen to have their work displayed at the administration building for the next 6 months.  Out of those winners, the Superintendent chose two to hang in his office.

Purchase award winner and the two to hang in Dr. Thompson's office.  Wes' right in the middle.

He chose WESLEY's art piece as one of them.  How cool is that?  They also had an award called the Purchase Award-they actually buy a student's art to hang in the permanent art gallery in the building. The high-school girl painted an amazing picture of a Florida Panther.

Wes' art teacher couldn't get the grin off of his face.  I know he was pleased with Wesley.

I was quite proud of Wesley and his talent.  But I was even more proud of him after talking to his art teacher.  He went on and on about Wes and what a hard worker he is.  That he tries hard and is polite and kind to him and the other students.  He also mentioned that his class is better because of him.  Others see his work and want to try to do their best. He is a motivator.  His teacher is very nice and quite encouraging.

Mr. Ruiz (art teacher), Wes (cute one), and Mr. Saba (principal)

It was also nice to meet the principal.  Haven't had to do that before now.  Thank goodness.  What a rewarding night as a mother.  Wish Brent could have been there with us.

The End of a Love. . .

This love started back over five years ago.  Erin loved her thumb.  It was her true source of comfort-besides mom.  And to be honest, I loved it too.  She never lost it, she could put it in herself, and it was always there.  Ashleigh loved her Binky, but it "got broken" so we had to throw it away.  She was two when that love ended.  Erin kept loving her thumb.  Couldn't break it, couldn't throw it away.  When she turned four, she promised that she would stop sucking her thumb when she was five.  After all, five is practically grown up! So we reminded her all year long about quitting when she was five (couldn't let her forget her promise!).

Erin at 4 months old enjoying her thumb.

When Erin turned five, we asked her about quitting her sucking.  She said, "Five isn't very big!"  But we reminded her of her promise.  She said that we would have to put blankie away.  In a box.  So I took Erin's blankie and Ashleigh's blankie-couldn't let Ashleigh's become Erin's.  Here is a side note about the blankets. They were given to the twins when they were born by Aunt Esther.  Look how nice and shiny and bright they were in the top picture.  But over the years they were loved and washed millions of times.  At night, Erin liked the fuzzy side down, Ashleigh liked the silky side down.  Erin said that the fuzzy side kept her warm while she could rub the silky side while she sucked her thumb.  Had to keep that straight.

Which one was which?  It didn't matter for about four years.  Random selection.  Then Erin decided to chew gum with a blanket in her mouth.  So thus appeared a gum stain in one.  That was Erin's.  So then we had to  search the blankets before passing them out. Blankets had many names through the years including Daisy , Blankie, Blossom, and random words that they couldn't remember the next day.

Erin wanted so badly to have her ears pierced.  Janiel had to wait until she was 8.  But Erin persisted.  Daddy said, "If you can stop sucking your thumb, then you must be big enough for earrings." So once blankies were put away, Erin stopped.  It was hardest at night, when she was sleeping.  But she did it!!! When we checked her at night before going to bed, sometimes we would catch her. But I think she has stopped for good.

We were returning something to the mall in January and passed by the ear piercing store.  So the begging started.  We called Daddy and he said yes!  Erin chose Aquamarine- her birthstone and favorite color.  Erin wanted to go first.  I took Ashleigh for a walk while it was being done, just in case Erin fell apart.  She did awesome.  No tears.  She did better than I did when I got mine done.  That is a different story for a different time.

Ashleigh wanted hers done as well.  So she chose red- her favorite color but not her birthstone!  She didn't cry either.  What brave girls I have.

Kara decided that she wanted to wait.  That was fine with me.  I am so glad that Erin decided to stop sucking her thumb.  Hopefully it was soon enough to prevent buck teeth!  We'll see about braces.

The Levlerglades

On Brent's parents last day here, we took them to a swamp sanctuary.  Kara was the first one to spot the hawk. She was quite pleased with herself.  At first she called it a "pawk", but then corrected herself.  I took a video of her saying that she saw the hawk in the Levlerglades. (Not really the Everglades, but Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary!) Brent's parents' camera took a great picture of the hawk.

This is the link for the video of Kara:

http://www.archive.org/details/HawkInTheLevlerglades

Peter Tchaikovsky

Kara loves to play the computer.  I love pbskids.org and starfall.com  She learns so much through the games and fun within each website.  One day she spent some time on Starfall listening to classical music.  Then she got a name stuck in her head and kept saying it over and over.  I thought it was adorable and had to record it.  Click the link to hear hear "Peter Bicosky"

http://www.archive.org/details/PeterBicosky


I figured out how to "embed".  Not sure what it means, other than you can just click on the picture instead of the link!

The Wonderful Pigs of Jillian Jiggs

 Auntie Janet sent the little girls a fun book about a little girl named Jillian Jiggs.  It is a collection of different books.  The first one talks about Jillian Jiggs whose room looks like it is lived in by pigs.  It is a cute rhyming book.  Another story is about Jillian making wonderful pigs.  It has directions at the end of the story on how to make your own pigs.  The girls have asked to do it, but I have put it off.  So on Saturday we decided to make some pigs.  Housework can wait, right?  I gathered supplies from my collection.  We used some of the girls tights (they don't wear them in Florida.  It is too hot!) So we spent several hours making pigs.  Each girl carefully decided what she wanted her pig to look like.

 Some of their inspiration came from the pages of Jillian Jiggs. (Not that we could reproduce exactly, but we tried.)

 Erin really like "McTavish was old and had drooping mustaches."

Ashleigh wanted long curly hair.  A friend of mine had told me about winding yarn around pencils, wetting them and cooking in the oven for a short time.  Tada!

Kara loves purple and liked a pig named Lavender Lily in the book.

 Janiel loves to be part of the crafting as well.

 We had a fun time making them.  The bathrooms waited to be cleaned (and actually are still waiting!) I wouldn't trade the time spent creating with my girls.  They had so much fun stuffing, cutting the ears, winding the hair, and decorating the finished pigs.  The wonderful pigs of Janiel, Erin, Ashleigh, and Kara!