Yes You can have some Cookie dough

I told the girls they could have some cookie dough and after turning to the sink to wipe off my mixer I turned back around to this. Arya wasn't messin' around!!!

Do The Left

Blake and I were talking the other night about teaching Addy to read. He mentioned wanting to watch to see if she had any dyslexic tendencies, because I am hilariously dyslexic. In fact my mother swore to my father that I would never learn the difference between my b's and d's. My father had to constantly reassure her that, yes indeed I would learn and by the time I got into college I would be sure to know the difference.
SO in preparing for my Sunday School lesson I prepared a cardboard shield and put the letters C.T.R. on it. Addy was watching me so I explained to her what I was doing and what the letters stood for. Choose The Right.
Later Sunday evening we got the shield out to play with it and show it to Blake. I asked Addy to tell me what the shield stood for and she confidently replied: "Do The Left!" We both laughed and agreed that we probably would be raising a dyslexic child too!
I don't know if she really dyslexic or not but I thought the story was funny enough to tell and everyone else who knows me well can laugh and now understand why I sometime say and read things funny and most of the time backwards!

How my day would go so well if everything just went as I scheduled them!

But that is not how being a wife, mother, sister, daughter, active church member goes. I have to re-arrange me schedule multiple times during the day, heck what am I really talking about? There end of being no schedule at all. (Which is very hard for this need to check-off in the little box, kind of person.) When my kids fall asleep in the car on the ride to the grocery story so I can get dinner we end up getting cans of chili and corn for dinner that night instead of warm French bread, fresh fruit and a side of salad to go with that gourmet chili dinner.
But life isn’t about me. It’s about everyone. It’s about who I can help, how I raise my family out of love and not schedule exactness. It’s not about getting all the time in the world to myself to write the novel I’ve been daydreaming about getting to all week, it’s about writing down my ideas on mini scrap pieces of paper, the back of envelopes, and running to the computer saying, “Just a minute. Mommy will be right back to play tea set. I just have to get a real drink.” And go write down my thoughts.
It’s running, jumping, slipping, sliding, crying, laughing, and finding time to sit back and be an active part of your own life and not just watch it pass you by in a whirl wind of activities that you didn’t really want to do in the first place.
Life is about bettering oneself and helping others. I never would have consciously thought, “I’ll go be a part of a Dental Association! What a wonderful idea. I’ll go better the world one person at a time with only my desire to serve and supreme lack of dental knowledge.”
No, that is not how it started. How did I become a member? Well I’ll tell you and why I will be one for life… More to come!

The Sweet Faces of Innocence

Duke

Duke is one of our new residents. Cam moved in last month and is staying with us until the 15th of May. Once cowering and shaky Duke is now use to us and even loves Addy and Arya who follow him around screaming Dadog!

SURPRIZE

I don't think any other husband could top the Birthday surprise this year! After Blake picked us up from the airport after being a week in Utah, he explained to me in the car how there were no minivans left in Arizona like the one we wanted. And that Toyota takes a 3 month hiatus until they start making 2010's. Feeling a little disappointed and sad that Blake would have to endure more 2 hour commutes in the car without a/c I arrived home to this beauty in the driveway. No more needs to be said...me and the girls were elated!

Sprinklers...already!

Blake turned on the sprinklers the other day and let the girls run around in them. They had a great time, you can tell by how excited Addy is anyways:)!

Zoo Day

Last Saturday the girls and I headed out for the Phoenix Zoo. We had a great time in the bright 85 degree weather. We even got a tan! The girls loved the ray fish, the huge tree house, and the Little People Farm.

Of course they looked everywhere but at the camera!

Grooming the goats.

St. Patrick's Day

On St. Patrick's Day we had a little Leprechaun who came in and stole our freshly baked cookies leaving only a footprint!!! So Addy thought it would be a good idea to make a lunch for him since he must have been hungry and then hopefully he would bring our cookies back. She gathered everything you see on the paper towel including the avocado pit. She thought the little Leprechaun would love it. "Mommy when he gets off the plane from Utah he will smell the seed and say, "Mmm" that smell good!" and then come here and eat his lunch." So after we went outside and the Leprechaun had "snuck-in" ate his lunch and had brought back our cookies back! Oh, and he also left Addy a green candy too.

A Piratee Adventure

On Friday Blake and I wanted to do something fun with the family, so I put together a pirate adventure for us.
Everyone knows that the first thing every good pirate needs is a treasure map, so we created our own out of pudding!

The second thing Pirates do is go after the 'Mother' treasure (follow Mom's map), out the door, around the palm tree, find the giant rock, and "X" marks the spot!

We played a fun game of Uno Spin.

The last thing Pirates love is pirate booty! So we made Valentine rice crispy treats. Love you all!

It was a miracle day. We finger painted outside, I got the house cleaned, and I even had time for a blog entry!

Let's get PAINTING!

Arya wasn't so sure about the whole thing. I imagine the face below saying, "Are you really going to make me do this?"

Arya lasted longer than I thought she would, but when Addy painted her shoes (on accident) I thought it a good idea to take Arya's off too. If you know my Arya she is a shoe LOVER, and wasn't too fond of the idea. So she decided she was done painting and tried to be all sneaky and go the long way around the yard to get to her shoes. She about cried when I said, no shoes. (She has two pair of inside shoes, and six outside pair which she puts on and off all day. She says chewchew all day long begging to help her change a pair to a new one. When I have to take her shoes off to change her diaper she freaks out if she is not holding them and they don't go back on right away. It's crazy hilarious! She is going to grow up a shoe designer I just know it!