She is three!

Here are some facts about our darling three-year-old

• She loves Dora, princess stuff, anything pink and sparkly, and beautiful dresses.
  
• It is not uncommon for her to change her outfit 4-5 times a day which isn't always appreciated.
• She is having a hard time adjusting to being home during the day without her brothers and sister.
• Her favorite foods are cheese, chicken and bread.
• She loves the Barbie movie series.
• She loves to snuggle.
• She is incredibly ticklish.

We celebrated her birthday at IHOP. She loved her funny-face pancake although she didn't know what to think about them singing to her. We continued the party at home with cake and presents. The highlight of her birthday was her cake. It was a darling, sparkling-pink castle.


She loved her presents too. She received a princess lunch set, a darling felt and wood cupcake toy for her kitchen, a crown, a beautiful dress, twin baby dolls, and a floor puzzle. Add to that all of the birthday wishes she received and you can see she truly felt like a princess for a day.

Bri the flower child

Bri took a break from school uniforms today to dress up in this outfit. The theme is "decades" and she picked the 70's. This was as close as we could get to a flower child look with what we had on hand. We glued the flowers on the skirt and used lots of ribbons and yarn. She loved it of course, especially her hair.

Turning 9 in 2009

It is official, Arick is 9! It is so hard to believe how much this kid is growing up. This past year has been pretty great for him. He is more helpful around the house, his reading has improved, he started working outside with his dad including a bit of mowing the lawn, he completed his wolf badge for Cub Scouts (he earned 6 arrows as well), he played basketball and soccer and loved it, and so much more. It is going to be so much fun to watch him this next year.

As for the birthday details, he is pretty pleased. He had two family celebrations where he was totally spoiled, one at Gigi's and the other at Red Robin where they embarrassed him with their loud singing He was given a really neat collection of rocks that glow under a black light. Arick loves rocks and this set was perfect for him. Another favorite is his wand and Harry Potter gear. This year was the first year I took Arick to the movie theater to see HP when it opens. He also received two Wii games, a finger skateboard, a trio of Bakugan, and a Lego Bionicle. Add to that his birthday money that Papa and Grandma gave him and I am sure we can all agree that he was spoiled.

Phew!

It is official! Until 2:45 p.m. today, I am home with only one child. That means no sibling squabbles until 2:45 pm, a much cleaner house, easier shopping trips to the store, etc. However, the best part is that when Ella takes a nap, I can too! Oh how I have missed naps in a quiet house. Of course, that doesn't mean that I will have time to take a nap, but the peace that comes from knowing that I can is great too. Woohoo!

Five Favorite Things

1. I absolutely love my salad spinner. This year we planted a garden and it is amazing how much dirt clings to the vegetables. This salad spinner makes the cleaning process so much easier. Click for more details here



2. I purchased the cookbook Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone a few months ago and I have loved it. It has really helped me discover that vegetable can actually taste great.



3. Timez Attack the computer game is by far one of the best multiplication games out there. Arick really struggled last year to memorize his multiplication tables. Now that school is in session and he will be learning division, Arick needed a refresher course. Thanks to this game, he has had a lot of fun and he is truly mastering this. If you go to http://www.bigbrainz.com/index.php you can try a free version. You will not regret it. We bought the full version with a coupon and have been very happy with out purchase.



4. My favorite meal right now is Stouffer's Stuffed Green Peppers. Yummy and healthy for you!



5. The television shows Monk and Psych are back on. Yay! If you have not seen either, especially Monk, then you must go out and rent the DVDs. You will be laughing in no time. You can see clips and full episodes at www.usanetwork.com

Update coming soon

We are back from vacation and my camera card is full and I have so many stories to tell. While you are waiting you can see this picture of me with the kids. Excuse my hair as the wind in the salt flats of Utah is not kind to short hair.

Ten for Tuesday

Here is a list of things that have been going on around here.

1. Brianna had her teeth fixed yesterday. She broke 4 adult teeth in the scooter accident. Unfortunately, she will have to go back when she is an adult because they can't do porcelain work this young. For the molar in the back that means a stainless steel crown. I will post pictures of before and after later.

2. Arick and I will also be visiting the dentist this week. Arick is happy about his appointment while I am not happy about mine. Arick will have his braces removed. He is so excited, especially to be able to eat the restricted foods again My visit ioday was to deal with cavities. I loathe going to the dentist. Ugh.

3. Andrew has had some great success getting grass to grow in the bald areas of our lawn. Maybe by this time next year our lawn will be perfect. We can always hope.

4, I started making pasta from scratch this week. I made ravioli with a shrimp filling which came out pretty good. My ravioli were not pretty at all, but at least they were tasty. Yesterday I made fettuccine noodles with a lovely Bolognese-inspired sauce. Inspired because I didn't use the 2 cups of red wine called for in the original recipe. It was a huge success. Brianna wants me to try to make herb pasta where you include the herbs in the pasta dough. We shall see.


5. Andrew and I celebrated 13 years of marriage last month. Maren babysat for us while we enjoyed a night out. We went shopping at a mall which felt luxurious without kids. We got to go to all the stores we wanted to that kids would have been downright bored in. After the mall, we headed to PF Changs for a romantic dinner for two. We chose a late reservation to avoid big crowds and it worked out great; very few people were there. We really enjoyed the food, especially the honey chicken and the cakes at the end. I love going on dates with Andrew.


6. Our gift that we chose to mark our 13th anniversary was an ice cream maker. While shopping at the mall, we went into Williams and Sonoma and immediately fell in love with this. We would have purchased it there, but I have learned never to pay full price, so we decided to find it cheaper and then we could purchase it. We didn't have to wait long. I found it the next day at Costco for $30 less than Williams and Sonoma. Score! We have made 4 batches since then and it is true that you can never make a bad batch of ice cream. The thing we love about this model is that it is two quarts, which is perfect for our family of six.



7. I am still busy with photography. I still have two years until Ella is in school full time, so I don't do any marketing as I am not ready for full time work. The above photos are of a recent client and her newborn baby.


8. This has been my favorite summer with the kids yet. I have tried to do lots more fun things with the kids. One of the fun things we do is to go bowling. We signed up for the Kids Bowl Free program and it has been a lot of fun. The kids get two free games and 4 tokens for the arcade. I do have to rent the shoes but the cost is still pretty low. I bought a pass so Andrew and I can bowl too. Of course, I am terrible at it which the kids think is funny. I will have my revenge though when they bowl without bumpers and realize how much harder bowling actually is.

9. We went fishing on Friday night. Arick caught three blue gills and Brianna caught one. We then sat and enjoyed a great fireworks show that the local yacht club hosts every year.

10. We spent the 4th doing lots of things. Andrew weeded for 3 hours and patched holes in the walls. He also performed in the band concert at the town party. I spent the day making ravioli and rolls to bring to the party at my mom's house. We headed to the party at 5 and enjoyed lots of great food and fireworks (when it wasn't raining). We also watched Home Alone 2 with the kids and we were all in hysterics. The kids thought it was so funny!

Little Miss Sassafras

Oh help me. Little Miss Sassafras has learned the not-so-subtle art of sassing. She does not like to be punished and if I try to punish her, she tries to give me the same punishment. All the while telling me how I am such a mean mommy. I am going to have to grow a thicker skin with this one. Other than that, she is a sweetheart. She loves snuggling, hugging, andgiving kisses. She tries to be my little helper and is much better about not making huge messes. She is totally into anything princess and loves hanging out with her big sister. I love her to the moon and back, but the sass has got to go . . .

33

Last week I celebrated turning 33. The party was wonderful. My Mom made me a delicious dinner with all my favorites: shrimp, artichokes, frog eye salad, and fruit salad. Andrew and the kids gave me a panini maker which is a big hit is our house. I also enjoyed eating this darling cake that was super yummy (one layer is chocolate, the other is carrot cake). To top it all off, I received lots of birthday wishes from the people I love.

I am really hoping that this year is awesome. For most people, they choose their resolutions around the beginning of the new year. I prefer to set goals around my birthday. I have set the bar high for myself this year so I shall see how it goes. Let's just say that the number 33 is in a lot of them.

Photo diary of a fab vacation