"Oh Yeah. Aronagon. Oh yeah. Ah tines!"

Our girls come up with some funny and crazy stuff. They like to make up words and songs. I guess most kids do, but when it's your own kids, it's even funnier. This is said around our house almost daily. Mostly by Avery. But the other two as well.

Examples:

  Me: Avery, I bought more Reeses Puff cereal.

    Avery: Oh yeah. Aronagon. Oh yeah. Ah tines!


 Me: Madisen I put a go-gurt in your lunch today.

    Madisen: Oh yeah. Aronagon. Oh yeah. Ah tines!


 Dad: Emily, I found your purple pants in the dryer.

      Emily: Oh yeah. Aronagon. Oh yeah. Ah tines!


Most of you are probably shaking your heads...saying, what the heck?! I know. I do it too.

"Oh yeah... get your groove on...."

The girls were dancing and just being cute the other night and I haven't video taped them in such a long time. I am so glad I did. I love watching home videos, especially those that get you laughing so hard your stomach hurts. If I had to choose to be in pain, laughing so hard it hurt, would be it.

Watching old family videos of me and my siblings growing up are hilarious yet, down right embarrassing too. The way I used to talk,(ok, maybe that hasn't changed as much as I thought after listening to me on this video) the way I used to look, and dress and do my hair- or not do my hair. Awful! I wish someone would have said, "One day you are going to look back on these videos and cringe because of your hair, your voice and your dorky clothes!"

I never learn...because I keep on taking home videos! But that's also what I love about home videos too. All the dork-e-ness of them. And there is plenty of "dork-e-ness" to be had in these:

(These videos are kind of long, just warning you! I am sure they aren't as funny to you as to us, but I know the grandparents will love them!)

Doesn't my husband have some sweet moves?! That white boy can DANCE! :)
(He's gonna kill me!)

Our little Dancer

Avery had her ballet/dance recital last night and she did great! We are so proud of her for learning her dance moves and listening so good to her teacher during class. She loves her teacher, Ms. Laura. 

She told Ms.Laura after the recital, "You danced so good, Ms. Laura! And you danced with a boy!" 

Madisen was so excited to see all the dancers and had such a great time dancing on the side of the room that she told us she wants to join Avery in dance class next year. 

Before Avery went up on stage I took her around the building and took these cute pictures of her.

This video is hard to see, because the girls are so bright from the light, but Avery is supposed to be the second dancer out on stage but she somehow became the third dancer..haha! Also, towards the end of the dance, it's hard to hear what's going on in the video but Avery just then realizes that she is in the wrong spot and the little girl in her dance class is on it. Avery tells her, "That's my name on that spot." haha! Overall it was a success....no one fell down, got hurt, or cried. Success! :) Good job Avery! We are so proud of you.

 "You danced so good, Avery!" :)

After the performance we took the girls for ice cream at Braums! 

Emily was pretty tickled to have her own cone...

 Emily was so into her ice ream, it was quite funny.

Beautiful girls with ice cream on their noses. ;)

Our Cal-La-Re-Na

Avery started dance/ballet class two weeks ago and she loves it!! However, I am still not sure why but she pronounces it as, Cal-La-Re-Na.
Ummm...Ok...?? Sure.
I am constantly reminding her it's, B-allerina. But, I guess she prefers Cal-La-Re-Na. Can't argue with a three year old!

I am glad she loves going because I love watching her. It's amazing to me that two girls that come from the same DNA of two people, end up completely different. Madi hated it!  Which is totally fine. I hated it too, when I was a little girl and cried every time my mom took me! (sorry Mom!) Madi and Avery are exact opposites in many ways. But yet, they are best buds. You know what they say, opposites attract. They are either hugging and kissing each other or... Madi: "No, this is how you do it, Avery! Not like that!"....Avery: "No, like this Madi!!"

Here I go rambling again. 

Anyway, this was Avery's first day of dance. Before we left the house I took these beauties...

She is holding a string cheese in these pictures...

What a Ham. Or, a cheese.

HAHA! She is quite the poser, huh? :) She loves being in front of the camera.

Here's her second week of ballet:

Too cute.

A few clips from her class. There is 5-7 girls that come typically.

Reading Scriptures- Princess style!

This video was from a few nights ago. I tried being sneaky with the camera so she wouldn't know I was recording her talking, so all you can see is the mess under their beds. Also if you listen closely, you can hear another sound coming from Madi. Haha!

This video is from tonight's scripture reading. 

It is hilarious that Avery does this from time to time, always catching us off guard when she does do it, but we probably shouldn't encourage her with our laughter...it just makes her do it more! She is such a hoot though!

We are Alive.

Some family and friends have been wondering if we are still alive down here in the south! And I am happy to report we are alive, and well. However, Ryan and I are definitely feeling homesick for our family and good friends we have left behind. It's been awhile since I have updated our blog and I like to keep up on it as it has turned into more or less our family journal. It's nice to be able to record our happenings and also share it with those closest to us. Not a lot to report on this month but it has been a busy one. We are still adjusting to our new surroundings; our new house, new ward, new friends, new job, new callings, new school for Madisen, and the weather. Although, the weather has been the easiest adjustment for us the other adjustments will come with time I am sure. :) Even though we miss our old ward, friends, and family we feel very blessed to be here in Texas and we know we were meant to come to this part of Texas and be in this ward for a reason. Which reasons, we are already coming to know, which makes us feel even more humbled as we know Heavenly Father is always there for us, teaching us and guiding us in our life. It's amazing to see His hand in everything. 

Anyway, my parents and Ryan's parents don't get to see the girls much, except for on Skype every once in awhile, so these video's are for them. Of course you can watch too, if you dare =).

Warning: This first video demonstrates how NOT to sing. It may cause unpleasant sounds to your ears...

Can't say I didn't warn you!

(And to those friends who say my house is never dirty...LOOK here's proof that it is! haha!)

In this next video Avery caught a bad case of the "sneezes" and well, Emily thought it was pretty hysterical.

These last videos are of Bubbies, I mean Emily, TALKING! She is really starting to talk!!! 

...If ONLY we could understand what she is saying...hmmm.

And I can't forget Pictures! Here's a few recent ones from this month:

This was a really cool scripture book I made for Primary. It's laying down in this picture, but it's six feet tall by 4 feet wide. It has four sides with hinges so it opens just like a book. I really liked how it turned out and thought I would share it. I printed the letters with my Circuit machine. Every month in Primary we have a scripture character come out of the book and share their story with the kids. This month we had "Sam" Nephi's brother come dressed in character and talk to the kids about his father Lehi and his brother Nephi and getting the gold plates. It was so neat! And the kids loved seeing him come to life!

Avery and Madisen love getting in their "princess" dresses. They love getting pictures taken when they are "princesses".

How did this picture get on here? And who's kid is that?

Anyway...moving on....

This is the coolest park I have ever been too! It's got everything a kid could imagine! Castles, walkways, slides, swings, tires, cars, houses, ropes and a prison! The girls love going to this park a few times a week.

 Here they are up above waving to me!

 Emily exploring...

Emily crying as she did NOT want to leave... 

Emily back at home and happy with her ONE shoe....

Hope everyone is doing well! 

"Maybe she grew up!"

Our little Emily is just thriving and conquering new things everyday. It's amazing to me sometimes as I watch her learn how to do things the fight she has in her. I always believed she was a fighter from the beginning as she struggled just to live when she was born. So this morning like many mornings, I watched as she tried desperately to put on her "daily" shoe. (She loves to put a shoe on everyday and walk around the house. But only just one shoe. Even my brother as he was here a few weeks ago, made the comment, "Does she always walk around with just one shoe?") So this morning I watched as she picked out the shoe of the day, which was a black Sunday dress shoe. She tried and tried to put this shoe on without success. After several attempts she would get upset and throw herself on the floor in frustration. Of course as a mother, you want to help your child, so I would call to her telling her to come here and mommy will help. She would get up from the floor, look in my direction and continue on with trying to get the shoe on by herself. Again, after several more attempts and failures she would get upset and throw herself on the floor in frustration. I tried getting her to come over to me but it was as if she was taking a time out, as she would lay there in silence staring at the shoe in her hand. I waited to see what she would do next. After a minute or so, she got up from the floor and at that point I am thinking, "Ok, finally she will come over to me to get help." But no, she went right on to try again. After what seemed like 10 tries, she finally figured it out and slid her foot in the shoe and buckled it with success!!! 

Here she is a few weeks ago, with her red shoe on.

And her white shoe.

Now I know this is a simple thing to many, and to many of you, your kids probably do this all the time at this age that Emily is. In fact, I remember watching my older girls learning how to do this at about this same age as well. But the determination that Emily has just amazes me, especially when I think back on this tiny little spirit and body struggling to survive in the NICU at 1 pound 4 ounces. Having gone through several blood transfusions, heart surgery, getting poked with needles all day for months, being on a ventilator, C pap and oxygen, having multiple tubes down her throat, learning how to suck and drink milk, (which we were told she wouldn't learn how to do and so she would have to have a feeding tube inserted in her stomach), having eye exams with her eyes being clamped open weekly and being told she could be partially blind, finding out she had a grade 2 brain hemorrhage and the effects it could have on her and her future and many more heart wrenching things she had to go through to survive.

Then seeing her today. Blossoming, thriving and learning new things daily...she amazes me. She is our little miracle. And this example of her wanting to put this shoe on all by herself and trying again and again till she succeeded, for me, was just pure joy to watch. I love being "in the moment" with my kids. I have really tried to focus on "being there"with them, living in the moment. I just can't hold them close enough, or long enough and I find myself truly grateful for the moments I have with them. I hate that they are growing so fast. My heart is full of gratitude as I hold my kids and play with them watching them learn new things. I am so grateful to my Savior for his sacrifices for me and the many blessings I have been given because of Him. For we have been so blessed!

Here is Emily playing on a slide at McDonalds. I think she went up and down this thing at least 100 times!! 

Uh oh! Guess who learned how to climb all the way to the top of the bunk bed...Emily!

 I asked, "How did she get up there?"

Avery replied, "Maybe she grew up!"

Please just don't grow up too fast girls...promise!?

Our Christmas Morning

Videos promised for the grandparents...

Puppet Show

Starring: Avery and Madi

Singing and preforming Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

(Madi's puppet was feeling a little blue during this performance.)

Excuses, Excuses, Excuses...

I can't believe this month has come and gone already. (And I don't know why each paragraph has a different font nor do I have the energy to fix it.;) I have been meaning to blog every day for the past 20 days or so but something would always come up and then I would be too tired to SIT at the computer and type. Pathetic, I know.

No really though, I have a good excuse. Actually, a FEW good excuses for not blogging.

My 1st excuse...

I have three kids. Enough said.

My 2nd excuse...

Ryan is on his last rotation and graduates next Friday!!!! August 6th. Can't believe he will be done with school and we will actually become contributing members of society and tax paying citizens. FINALLY. I have always wanted to pay lots of taxes, I was almost feeling left out. ;)

My 3rd excuse...

Ryan and I have been on the lookout everyday for jobs. He has had a few interviews here and there but nothing yet. We realized however that we weren't being as aggressive or proactive as we should have been the last month. So this week we have already seen some progress with job openings.

My 4th excuse...

I have been training for a marathon and since I have been running so much I have been extremely tired. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday my friend, Emily and I have been running. We have been running 12, 14, 15, 16 mile runs on Fridays. This Friday we are up to 17 miles. Just thinking about it makes me tired and ache with pain. But it is also so empowering to be able to run that far and I feel good... inside that is. I can't say the same thing about my outsides. I have bad knees so my knees are always sore and it's very painful to even walk for the next couple of days after a long run. But I keep pressing on anyway because as my husband says, "I'm crazy." My 5th excuse...

We went to Boise because one of my best friends from high school, Krista finally was able to have her husband with her after more than a year of being a apart! It was so good to finally meet him and see them together. They are such a cute couple and I am so happy for them. And Krista looked so beautiful. (Love you Krista!) It was so nice to catch up with some old friends too. I have known most of these girls since middle school and they were beautiful then and even more beautiful now! Kaitlyn, Shannon, Krista, Hayley, Me, Rory

Dan, and Brad

Emily and me

While we were in Boise we got to stay with some good friends of ours, the Morin Family. We always have such a great time hanging out with them.

We went to a water park in Meridian and the kids had a ton of fun splashing and running through the spraying water fountains.

Even Emily got in on some water action.

Brooke, Kade, Madi and Avery enjoying a movie together.

Joanna and I were able to get away for a girls' night out to the movies. We went and saw what else but Eclipse!

My 6th excuse... We had a Cherryholmes family reunion. It was great to see my grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles on my mom's side that I haven't seen in a few years. Such good memories were made!

Cousins and sisters-Me, Tracy, Celeste

Lauren, April, Lindsay

And finally my last and 7th excuse for not blogging in awhile...

Ryan and I were asked by our bishopric to build a float for our stake in the 24th of July, Pioneer Day Celebration Parade. It was a BIG job. So we have spent the last month almost every night planning, measuring, drawing, cutting, paper mache-ing, painting...did I mention, PAINTING!? Yeah, lots of painting and then building the float.

Our stake president wanted something totally different this year, completely opposite of Pioneers! He said and I quote, "I am tired of handcarts." So we thought Harry Potter would be a fun float to do, because kids love Harry Potter! We made a castle with 4 towers on each corner. Here's a few pictures during the drawing up process... Ryan did most of the drawings and I did most of the painting...

I made this sign for the front of the truck...and my friend Pam helped me glue it all together. Here is Pam's son, Marshall. He and I are great pals and we got to ride together in the back of his grandpa's model A truck. It was pretty sweet. Marshall would lean over, hug me and say, "We're on a date." haha! He is such a sweet boy. I just love their whole family. And here's the stars of the show... Ron, Harry, and Hermione. (Jo, J.C., and Nicole) Harry, Hagrid and two house elves. Ryan was Voldermort. And here's pictures of our finished float. Our Hogwarts Castle And Amy Schwope did an AMAZING job on the Whomping Willow Tree! It looked incredible!

***A special thanks goes to Amy and Lance for helping us with the planning and design of the float. The Hill family...Pam, Alan, Melissa, Nate, Marshall, and Spencer for letting us use their trailer and garage to put it all together. Thank you Pam for making the flags for the castle. And to Alan, Mike, Duane for helping us stabilize the castle onto the trailer. Thank You! A BIG thank you to brother and sister Atkinson for being there to help put it all together as well. And another BIG thank you to the Smith family and to the Bishop and his wife for helping us with the painting of the many clouds and putting it all together! THANK YOU!!! And guess what?!?!

We won Judges' Choice Award! Whoo-hoo! I am sure after reading this post you are ready for a nap. I know I am ready for one. If you like to belly flop onto the couch for a nap then here's Avery demonstrating how that can be done...

Or if you prefer a more upright position while napping, Madisen perfectly demonstrates that here...

Sweet Dreams and Happy Napping!