Holiday Update!

It looks like things have gotten away from me again. We've just been very busy! Both the girls schools have kept us hopping with a variety of activities, and we added a social skills group one night a week. I wrote about that class as well as Ky's status over on our other blog in case you missed the update.

I forgot to post pictures of the girls in their Halloween costumes, but trust me - they were adorable! Ky was Batgirl and Savvy was the red Jungle Fury Power Ranger. They were troopers and trick or treated for almost three hours!

Thanksgiving was also great fun. We spent it with family and ate lots of awesome food. Savvy said she was most thankful for ham and Ky said snow. Go figure.

We've finally made it to Christmas and the girls are going stir crazy waiting for the big day. We've tried to fill the days with fun activities, but I'm still glad we're down to only "five sleeps." We went to the Festival of the Trees, to see my niece perform in the Little Match Girl - which was incredible, and to sit on Santa's lap. The girls did their own Christmas shopping for the first time this year and it is a lot of fun watching them get excited to give.

This year Ky is asking for a cosmetic case with make-up, a lighted mirror, and an mp3 player with speakers. Savvy wants a picnic basket, a guitar, and a stuffed beaver. Thankfully, they have been very good! However, I learned that stuffed beavers are not easy to find, and when you go into a store and ask for a beaver - people look at you funny.

Today was Kyrie's Christmas Program. She was very nervous and overwhelmed by such a large crowd. She tried to sing though and I couldn't be more proud of her. I got video, but I am having issues with uploading it. Until I figure it out, here is a picture of the star after the show.



Savvy's program is tomorrow, so there is more cuteness to come!

Homework

Savvy spent hours working very hard on her show and tell project that is due Friday. This is very serious you know... it was her first official homework. She was given a plain white piece of card stock with the outline of a gingerbread person. I say person, because she insists that hers is a girl. The instructions just said to have the child cut it out and decorate it with their own "creative style." She took this assignment very seriously... spending almost an hour rummaging for supplies in the craft room. After literally three nights of cutting, gluing, drying, painting, sticking, and re-gluing she finally finished. Meet Savvy's VERY creative, VERY stylish gingerbread woman.

I can't decide what my favorite part is - the blue sequin leggings under the metallic skirt, the red sequin scarf, the pink checkered mittens?

It's all "fab-u-lous!" according to her.

Savvy's First Day of Kindergarten!

Think she was just a tiny bit excited? She has been looking forward to this day for weeks!

When I went to pick her up, I found out that she'd given herself a haircut. Luckily, it was only one curl. Then she said loudly in front of her teachers "They taught me NUFFIN' today!" Oy! At least they won't forget her.

If you missed Ky's first day of 1st grade, just go to our other blog "our little corner of the world." There is a link on the right side of this blog.

It's done!

We love our new roof!

The Roof

We woke up to the sounds of our roof being torn off this morning. Literally.

The roof was in rough shape, and our homeowners insurance told us that we pretty much had to fix it. So we are.

The girls are super excited, since they helped choose the new color of shingles. I'm excited because our house is going to look so much nicer. Ty's not excited since he got the bill.

Green Machines

The girls started soccer today. They are in a summer league that goes for the month of July. They are on the "Green Machines" team. Savvy is number 2 and Ky is number 9. They had so much fun at practice!

So much fun, that tonight they are sleeping in their shirts with their new soccer balls next to them in the beds. I think it was a huge success. They can't wait to go again! Especially because they "look adorable" in their pink shin guards and soccer cleats according to Savvy.

The first 4 weeks of SUMMER!

Wow! We have been super busy already this summer! We're enrolled in lots of summer programs that have kept us on the move.

The girls took 2 weeks of swimming lessons, which they loved. Just today they passed their level 1 swimming test! I am thrilled they like it and are getting comfortable with the water. Plus, they look really cute in their swimsuits and goggles. Since the pool is right next to the park we finished each class with a picnic lunch. They are working hard at being able to do the monkey bars all by themselves.

We managed to get to Lagoon-A-Beach once so far this year, and Lagoon five or six times. Hopefully we get to go more as the year goes on, it was so fun to get into the pool with them!

The girls were able to use two of their Christmas gifts since it finally warmed up. Kyrie did a butterfly garden and got to watch five live caterpillars turn into butterflies. A very cool experience. Savvy did a ladybug land. We watched as ten ugly earwig looking bugs changed into cute ladybugs over ten days. We released them both into our backyard a few nights ago, which was a little sad, but luckily we're able to visit them. *wink*wink*

We enrolled the family in the kids bowl free summer program. It means that we can bowl two games free every day. Sadly, we only make it a couple times a week, but they love it. Ty and I do too - we have quite a wager going to see who can win the most this summer. So far he's up six games to four. The girls have perfected the their pre-bowling dance routine - which explains why it takes us almost three hours to bowl two games. The other bowlers always seem to get a kick out of watching them.

Savvy's:

Kyrie's:

The summer movie clubhouse is now in full swing! Each Wednesday we get to go see a kids' movie on the big screen. We saw Megamind (again) and next week the girls are anxiously looking forward to Despicable Me (again.)

One of the most fun things we have been doing is the Summerbridge program. It helps kids retain what they learned during the school year and get a jump on the curriculum for the upcoming year. So far we've covered nutrition and weather as well as daily worksheets on writing, reading, and math. The girls LOVE doing their "homework" each day.

We're enrolled in the Summer Library Reading Program, and went to the big kick-off party earlier this month. It was a really fun! The girls are falling in love with books and are working hard on their goal to earn a free book and kids meals by reading every day. So far they've fallen in love with Knuffle Bunny and Stellaluna. There is an activity every Monday night at the library and so far they've had an extreme petting zoo and a pajama party (the picture is them all ready to go.) This is one of the girl's favorite things since Ty gets to come with us.

So that has been our summer so far... not busy at all, right?

Next month is probably only going to get busier! Swimming is over, but they start soccer the first week of July. Plus we have the 4th of July parade, picnic, and fireworks. Ty's birthday is coming up, and we haven't been to the Zoo or a Bee's game yet... Plus, we have big plans for Cars 2 and Harry Potter 7.2!

Graduation 2011

The school year has finally come to an end. Kyrie grew so much this past year. She is talking more and more. She has even started reading!! For their last day in Kindergarten they put on some plays. She was the "small goat" in the Three Billy Goats Gruff and the "Pig in a Brick House" in the 3 Little Pigs. I have to say, she did pretty darn good. She was thrilled because not only did Daddy get off work to come, but Grandma and Misha came to support her too!

Savvy graduated Preschool with flying colors, and she is ready to go to Kindergarten. She has learned a lot this year too, and can finally write her name! She couldn't wait to show her classroom to Grandma, and she sang loud enough for all to hear.

It's going to be different next year since the girls will be going to separate schools for the first time. Plus, neither will be going to the school they went to this year. It was a little sad to see them walking out of this school holding hands for the last time. I admit, I cried a little. When did they get so big?

Now it's on to summer! We have big plans ~ swimming lessons, library trips, Lagoon, Hogle Zoo, and movies galore. Add that to a whole lot of fireworks, watermelon, ice cream, picnics, and bike rides. Yup, we're going to make the most of it.

Just a little tip...

if you haven't bought your egg dye kits yet for Easter, I would suggest avoiding the glitter variety. It's more than a little messy. However, the girls had a great time and that is what really matters, right?

Kyrie is worried that daddy might accidently eat the eggs, but with all that glitter I don't think she has to worry. Savvy's big concern is that the Easter Bunny is going to hide all her eggs on the roof. Lucky for her, the Easter Bunny isn't that ambitious.

It's what fun is!

Last year we had Lagoon season passes, and we made good use of them going more than a dozen times. The girls love it there! So, we decided to take the plunge and get passes again this year. We went for the first time Saturday, and the new roller coaster "Bombora" was a hit - even Savvy was tall enough to ride. The girls can't wait to go again.

The big bus day.

I have been driving Ky to school all year. I was going that way to drop Savvy at Preschool anyway. Ky has BEGGED all year to ride the bus with her friends, and we finally came to a compromise. She gets to ride the bus on the days Savvy doesn't have school. She has counted the sleeps all week for this day to come, and she was up bright and early this morning.

Think she was just a tiny bit excited?

Birdhouses

Kyrie went to Tyler the other day with a very good idea. She had created the blueprints for a birdhouse. Or as she put it "a house for a bird to go, and to be happy, and tweet." We had not seen her so excited for quite awhile. So, Daddy signed off on the plans. He bravely took both girls to the hardware store where he got a lot of wood and both girls got a new hammer.

It took most of the afternoon on his day off, but he helped them make and paint their houses. If that wasn't proof enough of how much he loves them - he let them hang their houses on his shed so that they can see them from their window. The girls are very proud of them, and they can't wait for the new neighbors!

(Kyrie's is the purple one on the left. Savvy's is the "Christmas every day" model on the right.)

Dancin'

While we were cleaning today, I uncovered a dance costume that had been handed down from cousin Raeni. It didn't fit when we first got it, and I had honestly forgotten about it. Kyrie immediately started saying how "cute" and "wonderful" it was. Now that she got it on, we may never get it off. I am quite sure she would wear it to bed and school if I let her. Savvy really wants Ky to "hurry up and grow" because she wants it. At least it will be well loved. Thanks Raeni!

daddy's little girls

They are just like Tyler in so many ways.

Horse on Mountain

Kyrie's latest work of art. She calls it "Horse on Mountain." Museum worthy in my opinion.

weekly doings...

First off, sorry for the poor quality and size on the photos. I had to use my phone because I managed to forget my camera twice this week. Anyway, yesterday was Kyrie's half-birthday at school. Since she is a summer baby, this is her chance to have a special day. We made treat bags for her friends and she took cupcakes to share. She was so excited! I especially liked when she raised her hand during circle time and when called on she said "My mom is staying in class today. I love my mom." The picture is Ky holding her birthday card from her class while the kids sang Happy Birthday to her.

On Wednesday night we went to the Circus. I will just say I am glad the girls had fun. They watched tigers, bears, and elephants. The motorcycles in the giant ball were pretty cool too.

Our Trip to Neverland

Last night we took the girls on a magical trip to Neverland. They got all dressed up in fancy dresses, hair was curled, and fingernail polish applied. First we went to out to eat at Olive Garden. The girls were so excited to put cloth napkins on their lap and order for themselves. I think the waiter was a bit surprised when Savvy ordered salad.

Then we drove down to see BYU's production of Peter Pan. This is the first stage show we have taken the girls to, but they did incredible. They sat and watched completely enchanted for the entire thing. Savvy was totally in awe of Peter's ability to fly, and Ky thought that the crocodile was the funniest thing she had ever seen.

They looked so grown up reading their programs during the show. Ty and I had so much fun, it's definitely something we will do again! On the way home we ran through the drive-thru at Krispy Kreme and got heart shaped doughnuts with sprinkles. Pretty much the perfect end to a perfect night!

Harry Potter Dinner

For Christmas I received "The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook." We were so excited to try it out that we invited my sister and her kids over to have a Hogwarts feast!

The Menu

Pumpkin Juice

Butterbeer

Glazed Ham

Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Potatoes

Glazed Carrots

Irish Soda Bread

Chocolate Frogs

Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans

Treacle Tart

Pumpkin Pasties

Sugar Mice

Frosted Flies

I was pretty proud of how it all turned out! Although I have to give a HUGE thanks to Ty and Misha who spent the entire night before helping me get everything ready. The desserts all seemed popular, although the carrots and the soda bread got mixed reviews. My favorite were the sugar mice... they literally melted in your mouth.

The kids took a quiz that told them what their patronus would be. Both Ky and Savvy got dolphin, which they were thrilled about. Izzy got a squirrel and Dylan got a wolf.

April made us all butterbeer. It was incredible. It is really sweet, but it tastes just like you'd think it would when you read the books.

While the adults cooked and chatted, the kids watched the first movie. After dinner and all that sugar, they opted for "Just Dance" on the Wii. It was so cute to see them all getting their groove on together. Thanks again to April, Ty, and Misha for helping pull the night off, and hopefully we can do it again soon!

Bringing in 2011!

We decided to bring in the New Year at home this year. The girls received a cotton candy machine from Grandma and Grandpa Nelson for Christmas and had been VERY anxious to try it out. We used tropical Lifesavers and Werther's to test it, and I have say the pineapple stuff was DELICIOUS. The girls were so excited, and mommy and daddy were happy because not only did it work, it cleaned up super easy! A big thank you for such a fun gift, it will definitely see a lot of use in 2011!