Florence Nightingale & A Pot of Gold

At the end of February Bailey finished her historical project. They had to choose and research someone who was dead and had made an influence on the world. The individual could not be a celebrity or solely known for religious affiliations (basically telling them they couldn't do Nephi or Joseph Smith) :) Bailey chose Florence Nightingale, she was the first nurse, and while there were several repeats, Bay was the only Florence. She was pretty proud of that. She learned a lot and was a good help on this project but lets be honest, I did a lot of it. I guess that is how they learn, a 4th grader can only do so much. She had to give a little speech about her (which she still has memorized and recites often), make a tri-fold, write a report, and dress up like her. They had a museum with all of the students to show case their hard work. She ended up getting 100% on the project. She was proud of herself, she taped her grading sheet to the door for me to see when I got back from dropping off Ellie at gym. I glad she enjoyed the project.

Good Job Florence!

That is my moms nursing hat that she wore in nursing school. Florence actually only wore a bonnet but we thought the nursing hat so better suited for the event. Her nickname was the Lady with the Lamp, so uncle Spencer crafted us a lantern for her to hold.


At the beginning of March Ellie had her Pot of Gold meet for gymnastics. This is the big meet of the year, where the students have the opportunity to pass off their current level and move up. She did awesome. She really wanted a new leotard for the event and it made her perform like a rock star. She 3 blue ribbons(beam, floor, and bars) and 1 red (vault) this earned her a gold medal and the opportunity to move up to level 3. She also got invited to be on the team. We aren't sure we are quite ready for the time and financial commitment just yet, but it will probably happen eventually. I think this is her true love.

Way to go Ellie, we were so proud of you!!

I was running the video camera and Ryan was chasing Logan, so Bailey was in charge of photography for the day. She did a great job, she captured some good moments. Thanks Bay.

One Month Old and the rest of October

This is a photo of Laney when she is 1 month old. She is a good baby. She is very content, even when she is drug around to all that everyone is doing. The kids are adjusting well. The girls are excited to see her everyday when they get home from school. Logan does pretty good. If Ryan is holding her, he will tell him to give me the baby, so he can play with him. Here are a few of the other things that we did this month.

Bailey had a space project due. She had to make the solar system accurate in size and scale. Lets be honest here, Ryan and I were heavily involved, but she really wanted to make it her own and did all that she could. It turned out really well and her teacher asked to keep it as an example.

Ellie was picked to be Principals Pride by her music teacher. She got to attend a special ceremony in the morning before school and she got to hang out with the principal during her last recess. Her teacher said that she is always sweet and enthusiastic. Good job Ellie.

I am also proud of the fact that we all made it on time to the ceremony at 8:30. Everyone was very cooperative this morning. It made a world of difference.

Ellie was able to go the Ag Expo for a field trip. I was able to go with her and take Logan. It is a fun event that they do every year. The kids get to see animals, agriculture and enjoy some milk. They also had.................



HUGE John Deere tractors. This little man couldn't get enough. I spent a good portion of our time out looking at these. He couldn't stop talking about it. He still loves to look at the pictures.

Logan is adjusting well to sleeping in a big boy bed. We made the change a few weeks before Laney was born. He has always been such a good sleeper, he really loved his crib so I was a little worried, but he did great. He looks so grown up in this big bed.

Ryan went on his second annual pheasant hunting trip with his dad, brothers, brother in law and a few of his dads friends. They drove all night to North Dakota and hunted for a few days and then drove home. They all think it is the best time ever. I am not so sure, but I say whatever makes you happy, and I don't want any pheasant!

More Laney photos

Her cord fell off at about two weeks, then she could take a real bath. I had a lot of helpers for this. Logan and Ellie helping with the washing, Bay with the photographing.



Her sisters love to hold her and pose for a photo

Cute girl

First Week at Church

First Day of School

School is back is session. The girls were excited to go back. We were all very excited about the teachers that they have this year. They both got really fantastic ones, so it should make for a great year. They got up early and were ready to go with plenty of time. Let's hope the rest of the year runs that smoothly.

Ellie has Mrs. Van Quill for first grade

Bailey has Ms. Densley for fourth grade

Ellie is excited about going all day. I am going to miss her. I think the transition to first grade is much harder than Kindergarten. They are gone for SO long.

She is ready though so I think it will be okay.

Logan thinks he is going to school too. He got to go while we took the girls to their classes so I think he figured that he went to school. By the time we ran some errands and he took a nap it was pretty much time for them to be home, so I don't think he felt to lonely. He loves going to get them off the bus.

I think we are going to have a great school year!

Happy Birthday Bailey!!!

Happy Birthday Bailey !

I can't believe our Bailey Boo is 9 years old. The saddest part of this milestone for me was, the fact that I have the same amount of time left with her as I have already had. I am half way to teaching her what she needs to know to face the world. I hope we are on tract. Some days I wonder, but other days I am pleasantly surprised by how grown up and wonderful she can be. I hope the next 9 go slower than the first 9.

Birthday morning. She always gets so excited for the decor and seeing how we set everything up. She said she wants me to do it every year.

She got a few new books. She is into reading and LOVES to get books. She got a Ramona book, the AG Molly set, and a 39 Clues book. All some of her very favorites.

She really wanted to go get a manicure and pedicure for her birthday so I asked her if she wanted me to do it or if she wanted to go somewhere. She was very torn by this. I was too, forking over the cash or sitting on the floor for an hour :) Either way I told her. She decided that she wanted me to do it. Ryan took Logan with him for a while so we could have an at home spa day without a crazy 2 year old.

Here are the ladies arriving for their mani's and pedi's.

They look perfectly fashionable for a day at the spa.

Gotta start with the soak

They were very impressed with my pedicure knowledge :)

I was very happy that I could cut their toe nails without them complaining too much, I must admit I did try to speak with some sort of accent which just made all of us laugh!

I am not very good at painting toe nails I tend to go "out of the lines" but they didn't seem to mind too much and loved getting the flowers painted on their toes.

Thanks for coming ladies you two are my very favorite customers!

Later that day we had dinner at the Olive Garden. Bay's favorite, she picks it anytime that she can. They all love the fettuccine.

Back home for presents and cake. She really wanted this backpack it is awfully cute, but I am going to make her use it until she goes to college.

She is also going to start hitting the links with her dad. I keep telling her if she wants to go to college she better learn how to golf. She doesn't take me seriously, but she was super excited for the new clubs and wants to use them all of the time.

She really wanted a Huckleberry cake, um okay how does one go about that. This picture is taken from a distance for a reason the cake fell apart in my attempts, it was sad, it had great potential. But it tasted pretty good and she thought it was cute so that is all that mattered. We did manage to find Huckleberry ice cream so that was awesome!

It doesn't matter whose birthday it is, they are all always SO excited.

You need to put some of those fingers down, I can't believe you are that old already.

Outside to play with the new loot.

Things we love about Bailey...................

• She is a good big sister. She has really taken to Logan and is always looking out for him and doing anything he wants her too. She and Ellie have their moments but for the most part are great friends and play together very well.
• She cares about people, she feels bad when others feel bad. She looks out for her friends and family.
• She likes to have things organized she is very particular about her stuff and wants everything put back in its proper place.
• She is really good about helping me out, Ellie lacks a little in the working department, but Bay steps it up and works hard for both of them. Hopefully El will catch on soon :)

Things Bailey loves.................................

• Still loves girly things like earrings, lip gloss etc.
• She loves books
• Playing soccer
• Pepperoni Pizza and Fettuccine
• She loves being silly and making people laugh
• She loves singing, dancing and putting on shows
• Projects! This summer she and Ellie turned their room into a Hannah Montana studio it took them all day, another day they made an American Girl poster which took up an entire wall. I stocked up on paper at the back to school sales.

Happy Birthday Bailey, we love you!! Please stop growing up so fast.

The Month of June

We started off the month with our Primary Talent Show. Since I had to help be in charge of it and Ryan had to try and run the video camera and tackle Logan, poor El had to recap some of her talent for a photo op at home. She did gymnastics, we came up with a little routine show casing some of her sweet moves. She did such a great job. You could actually hear people say oh or wow when she did her one handed cartwheel. Bailey played the background music for her on the piano. It was a job well done by both of them.

Bailey and her BFF Sariah also decorated a cake to display as their talent. They both did a great job deciding what they wanted to do, and making it look fab. Good job girls!

School is finally out, it seemed like those last few weeks went on forever. The kids didn't seem to mind since it was mostly just doing a lot of fun things. We were actually able to have field day this year. Every year since Bailey started school the weather has always been awful on field day. This year it was perfect, not too hot but nice enough to enjoy being outside. I was able to be with both of the girls classes, it was fun to watch them do all of the fun activities.

Water games are a field day hit


Go Girls!!

Last Day of School

Ellie had her Kindergarten music program and graduation. They sang a few really cute songs, including Peanut, Peanut Butter and Jelly. Always a fan favorite. Ryan was late and Logan was awful during the entire thing. There is a pretty embarrassing story that goes along with this day, it includes me falling down, but I don't need to type it all out. It is burned in my memory FOREVER. The good news is Ellie didn't notice and she had a great time. Hopefully the video isn't too painful for her to watch in a few years. She had a great year in Kindergarten and loved her teacher Ms. T.

On the last day of school there is always a family picnic. It is fun to sit outside and watch all of the kids. They are so excited for summer and to have a break from school.

Bailey and her teacher Mrs. Cacioppo. She was perfect for Bailey, she had a good year.

This is Bailey's most awesome Girl Scout Leader that I spoke of in the previous post. She also works at the school. Love her, love her daughter and her granddaughters. Great family!!


Summer is Here!

Girls Trip to Denver

In the middle of June I took a little trip to Denver to meet up with two of my most favorite people, Sarah and Natalie. We met 8 years ago in Las Vegas while all of our husbands were in dental school together and have been good friends ever since. We haven't had a chance to hang out for a long time so it was so fun to just talk and catch up and spend a weekend without any kids (or husbands)!
We arrived Thursday afternoon and besides going to dinner and to Target, we literally just talked until 1:00 in the morning!
Friday we slept in, ate the continental breakfast at the hotel and then headed to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science to see the "Body Worlds" exhibit. It was really cool. Sarah and I spent 2 hours walking around looking and reading everything. Poor Natalie was 7 weeks pregnant and not feeling well so she just sat and waited for us- sorry, Natalie, for taking so long!

We then went to a really nice mall and did a little shopping. We ended up at The American Girl store where Nat and I bought some fun stuff for the girls. Sarah just walked around and dreamed about how fun it would be to have a reason to buy one of those cute dolls! Now she will get her chance :)
Look at all of our good finds!

We ate dinner at a restaurant called The White Chocolate Grill. The food was pretty good, but the dessert was amazing! This white chocolate brownie sundae was one of the best things I've ever eaten. Seriously so good. I still dream about it!!

Saturday morning we slept in again, ate our free breakfast and then got pedicures. We decided to get 4th of July nails and even though they were all totally different, they all turned out really cute! It was fun to go with people usually I just go by myself, it is much more enjoyable with good friends.


We then got lunch and did some more shopping. We stopped at a toy store and got some good stuff to take home to the kids. Can't go home empty handed after being gone for a weekend!
That night we headed downtown and ate at the Cheesecake Factory and then went to see a play that I had found called "Girls Only." It was a hilarious comedy about women. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time! My abs honestly hurt the next day.

The whole show was put on by these two women. We didn't really know what to expect, but they were surprisingly able to carry the whole show. Definitely worth the money!


After the play we went to a place called "D Bar" which is a dessert restaurant owned by Food Network celebrity Keegan Gerhard. We were a little scared of the menu since none of it made sense to us, but everything was really good. It was the perfect way to end a perfect weekend!

I have eaten a lot of chocolate cake in my day, and this was hands down the best I have ever had. It was so yum!!

Sunday morning we had to get up early to catch our flights. Mine was delayed due to weather which was kind of annoying because once you get to the airport you are ready to be home, but it was kind of nice to just sit there and read my book by myself too.

The kids were really excited to see me and to get all of their fun surprises that I brought for them. Thanks to Sarah's husband Jon for coming up with the idea for the trip and thanks to Ryan for letting me go and for taking care of the kiddos while I was gone. It was a great time!

Father's Day

I love this picture. These kiddos love their daddy.


Ryan's hygienist got married at the end of the month. She has always been so sweet to the girls and very supportive of Ryan so we were happy to be a part of her special day.


The girls loved dancing under the gazebo