A New 'Do

A couple of weeks ago I took Kaitlyn to get her hair cut.  Her hair had gotten so long, and she needed some weight taken off to revitalize her curls.  The hair stylist recommended a stacked bob for curly hair and said it was really cute.  Kaitlyn was up for it, but was shocked when she saw the finished product.  Her curls were definitely revitalized--and it made her hair about as short as her ears.  She cried.  And, I knew how she felt--because I have cried after several shocking haircuts.  I straightened her hair for her and she felt much better.  The next day at church she made her debut with a new 'do--she got so many compliments I think she decided she likes it after all! 

I have to help her straighten it, but we got her a shower cap so she doesn't have to wash it as frequently, so it hasn't been very hard to maintain.  Cute Brynn asked me if she got her hair cut could she wear a shower cap too?  In a couple of months I'm anxious to see what it looks like curly again.  I think Kailtyn has enjoyed the change.

Long Hair.  Short Hair.  Curly Hair.  Straight Hair.  It doesn't really matter--this girl is beautiful no matter what!

Valentine's Traditons

When I was a kid I remember my mom always made us  big individual  rice krispie treat hearts decorated with our initial in M&;M's. Every Valentine's Day I intend to do this for my kids, but haven't.  This year I made them for everyone.  The kids thought they were great--I'm pretty sure the ones my mom made us were much bigger than the ones I made for the kids, but I thought these were plenty big given the fact that almost every Valentine they get from friends comes with several pieces of candy!

This year the girls helped me make a nice dinner for Scott.  I made Fettucine Alfredo with Shrimp--it was actually the first time I ever bought shrimp and had to call my friend and ask her what to buy!  Since I can't stand the look or texture of shrimp, I never even think to buy it.  Scott and the kids loved it!  We made red jello with bannanas, garlic bread, fresh broccoli, and had red cranberry juice to drink.  The girls decorated the table with a red tablecloth and a balloon centerpiece.  They folded the napkins fancy, and printed a menu.  We all had a fun time making a nice dinner, and Scott loved it!  I think we need to make this a tradition.

Valentine's Day

Look at the CUTE wreath hanging on my door.  Brynn made it!

Thanks to my good friend who knows how to throw a grand party for girls!  Brynn had a blast making this conversation heart wreath, and I am grateful for Amber and her fun ideas.

My amazing sister-in-law (actually, ALL my sister-in-laws are amazing, but a couple actually blog about all their coolness) Andy from Poppies at Play posted this cute idea for cupid's arrows.  We adapted her idea a bit into this:

I found small and large hearts and we thought it looked cute without even having to cut the back part of the bow.  I had small bags from something I did years ago so we put a couple arrows in a bag with a sticker I made and now all the kids have a cute Valentine to share with their friends on Monday.  Every year Kaitlyn and Brynn want to make their own Valentine's, but it always seems that they lose their interest after making about ten, and then I have to step in and help them finish up. This was a perfect Valentine for them to make--they never tired of it!

I had to make Jared's sticker a little more manly--he's really excited that he's giving arrows for Valentine's Day. 

Snow Days!

Last week we had FOUR snow days!  We also had record breaking FREEZING temperatures, and were colder than many parts of the country.  I do not like the cold.  I think the schools were closed on Tuesday and Wednesday because of the snow (although most of the snow was melted by Wed. anyway).  On Thursday we woke up like it was a normal day and went about our morning routine, and then Scott left to take the kids to school--apparently we weren't the only ones who missed the memo that school was cancelled.  Scott said there were five or six other cars trying to drop their kids off to an empty school!  We hadn't received the automated phone call from our school district that we usually get when school is cancelled or delayed, and it hadn't even occurred to me that school might be cancelled again since most of the snow was melted.  Apparently, the buses wouldn't start due to cold weather.  And then New Mexico was facing a shortage of Natural Gas, and many customers were without gas to heat their homes, so APS cancelled school again to keep the thermostats down and conserve gas. 

So now instead of getting out of school before Memorial Day, the kids have to attend school through June 3rd.  Kaitlyn actually thinks that is cool since that is her birthday, and she doesn't usually get to celebrate her birthday at school.

The kids played in the snow, and Nathan was screaming to go out too.  He loved it until he slipped in some wet slushy snow and fell face first in it. 



Photos courtesy of Brynn



I know Nate's coat is way too big.  He doesn't have a really good snow coat that fits him, and I had just bought this one on clearance for him to wear next year.  At least it kept his hands warm.  He also had no patience for me to even try to get that tag off--he just wanted out as fast as he could!

I read a lot to the kids, and even taught them how to make homemade cinnamon rolls.  Everyone was part of our "cooking lesson" and I had a fun time with them. 

We made ten loaves of bread.  Thanks to a good friend who has a kind, serviceable heart we got to share in the joy of donating most of the loaves to a homeless shelter.

We also spent A LOT of time on science projects!  They are due on Monday...hallelujah!

Happy 8th Birthday Brynn!

 
Brynn turned 8 on January 31st--she will be baptized in March.  She is sad that she has to wait a whole month until her baptism, but our Stake is not having Stake baptisms in February due to Stake Conference. We gave her scriptures for her birthday since she has to wait awhile before her baptism.  It has been fun to see her read them everyday; I hope she keeps it up.

Brynn is a joy!  She is super responsible, but very silly too.  Her teacher loves Brynn's sense of humor, and so do we.  She makes us all laugh!  Brynn has a great desire to make good choices, and she is very sensitive when she thinks she has done something wrong.  She is also very kind to others.  She loves to play on the bars at recess, and she's really into owls.  As always, Brynn loves to craft and create things--I think she may use my glue gun daily!  She seems to always be making a house or a bed for someone's stuffed animal when she sees a cool box that I put out in the recycling bin.

We made these cute owl cupcakes for Brynn to take to school on her birthday.  She loved them, and it sounds like everyone else did too.

Brynn wanted scones for her birthday dinner, so we ate scones with strawberries and whipped cream, honey butter and powdered sugar.  It was like having dessert for dinner--no wonder Brynn likes scones so much!

This was Brynn's year to have a family birthday party.  She chose to go roller skating at the new skating rink here in Albuquerque.  She and Kaitlyn got roller blades for Christmas, and they had a blast trying them out at the skating rink.  Afterwards, we ate at Dion's for dinner--another one of Brynn's favorite things.

Brynn wrote the following poem at school about herself:

September 10, 2010

My Poem
I am respectful to everything.
I want everyone in the world to be nice to each other.
I worry about fires in my house.
I dream about being an artist and author.
I try to choose the right things to do.
I am respectful to everyone.
I wonder if I'll be an artist and author.
I cry when my feelings get hurt.
I hope to have five children when I grow up.
I understand how to play soccer.
I pretend that I'm an animal with my friends.
I am respectful to everything.
I am crazy about soccer.

We sure love this girl, and are so happy she is part of our family.  Happy Birthday cute Brynn!