Do you want the good news or the bad news first?

I feel like I should start with good news...THE KIDS ARE BACK TO SCHOOL! Back to reading, writing, arithmetic...back to restoring all those brain cells they lost over the summer. My kids love school, they love being there, they love learning...they love school! That means one of two things..I am an awesome parent who has stressed the importance of education and being social...or they hate being at home with me so much that school is utopia compared to home....I will keep telling myself that it is obviously option A....ya, I am pretty sure it is option A?!

The twins are in 6th grade and so far they love their teacher, Mrs.Critchlow. When I went to the school for back to school night their teacher shared with me that over the short time she has gotten to spend with twins that she is absolutely in love with them. She said they are they cutest, sweetest girls, and she also overheard the twins standing up to some girls teasing another girl...maybe I am an awesome mom who has taught my children well?!

Makenzie...my baby...Makenzie started school. She has talked about school for a year now and she was beyond excited to go. She was waiting beside my bed on her first day fully dressed, teeth brushed and ready to go....I was still asleep...yup, she was first up and ready to go. I love kindergartners! They are bright eyed, innocent, and ready to soak in everything. Their backpacks are bigger then them, they have untied shoelaces, pants that are little to big, and smiles with missing teeth. I just want to love and squeeze them all...except for the ones with runny noses. Her teacher is Mrs. Killpack, she was Kaitlynn's kindergarten teacher and she is excellent! I am also her visiting teacher so I figured I can do my parent teacher conferences when I do my visiting teaching...

So ...the bad news....well, it seems to be the story of my life as of lately and really I am still processing it all. We went through a lay off in February and now we seem to be back in the same situation again...a husband without a job with back to school expenses and the holidays around the corner. It is a long story and it has been a recurring story ever since Adrian chose to leave a job he had for numerous years about 4 years ago. It has been a rotating door of jobs, some voluntarily moving on to better jobs, and others turning out be nightmares, and some feeling the crunch of the recession and having to lay him off. We found out yesterday, and I think I went through the same stages people go through when grieving in a matter of 24 hours. I have had some good advise from loved ones, some infuriating comments from those I will leave anonymous, and those who are there not to judge but just to listen. Honestly we just have had "SHIT" luck lately but somehow we come out okay and always a little bit ahead than before.

Life...a wild roller coaster ride of ups and downs. Though it feels like at times that I am on constant, terrifying, screaming fast, downhill coaster ride, and I am hanging on for dear life, wanting to throw up, wanting to get off  this car of terror .....I look up and sure as hell I am on my way back up and feeling excitement, adventure, anticipation, and never wanting this feeling to stop.......

....that is life....that is my life.....and right now I am just trying open my eye's and start searching for the hill  that will take me back up.

Tindergarten, Birthday Take, and Hello Titty

As of tomorrow we no longer have a 4 year old in our house but a 5 year old living in our house. Our soon to be five year old has a slight speech impediment, she can not seem to say her K or C sound very well, it is replaced with a T sound. As you can imagine it can be entertaining especially since Hello Kitty is one of her favorite characters. When Makenzie discusses Hello Kitty it begins to sound like we are discussing the featured dancer at the local gentlemen's club.

Big changes for Makenzie....she starts Kindergarten this year or as she says, Tindergarten. We go for her assessment on Monday and she begins school on the 30th. She is beyond excited for this endeavor. I pray she is quiet long enough to actually learn something. I asked her if she was going to be able to tell the teachers all her ABC's and she matter of a factly said "NO" but she would show them that she can put her feet behind her ears. I just shook my head and told her that I don't think the teachers would be impressed but she said, "Oh, I think they will be impressed"!.............sigh..............

Another big change, she wanted her ears pierced for her birthday. I took her to the mall and she picked out her posts, she jumped up in the chair and the lady pierced the first ear...then big crocodile tears began to pour but she knew she was committed at this point and we had to finish the job. She cried a little more after the second ear was pierced then she brushed it off and began showing everyone her ....Hello "Titty" earrings....

We celebrated her birthday on Saturday. She got some new clothes for school and some Barbies, and Disney princess stuff.

 Birthday girl all in pink

 Makenzie, her cousin Kami, and her best friend Morgan

She shocked me this year by choosing vanilla instead of chocolate cake this year 

 Cousins Madi and Kami

 Morgan posing for me. Morgan can rival Makenzie when it comes to talking and that is very hard to do!

 Opening presents

Birthday "Take" 

 Cinderella

 More Cinderella

Smile birthday girl!

Ohhhh Makenzie.... she is a unique little soul; so different from the twins. She craves attention and the limelight. She manages to get free stuff no matter where we go because according to others she is so "Darn Cute"! It is a big year for her and I am excited to see her grow and change. Happy Birthday Makenzie, you will always be my baby girl!!!!

Sunglasses and Pedicured Feet, Adieu Summer of 2011!

Yes folks it is that time of year again...Back To School!!!!!

What I love about summer:

1) I can sleep in. I have pre-teens and they would sleep till noon if I let them and I have a four year old I keep up later then usual in the summer so I can selfishly sleep in.
2) We can go and do things whenever we want...nothing revolves around a school schedule or extracurricular schedule.
3) We can stay in our pajamas till noon and watch toddler and tiara episodes and teach Makenzie to wave like a beauty queen because it is stupidly entertaining.
4) We can spend all day at the pool  enhancing our summer tan lines and wearing ourselves out swimming
5) Endless days reading while laying on the couch eating Popsicles and slushies.

What I hate about summer:

1) The constant rotation of dishes and meals being prepared in my kitchen. I swear my food bill in the summer seems to double.
2) The daily question of "what are we doing today..I'm bored"!
3) Me nagging consistently that it is not okay to play on the Wii/Playstation/Computer all day long.
4) The wrestling, bickering, slapping, and verbal assaults that seem to erupt at various times throughout the day.

They are ready and I am ready for them to go back to school. We had a fun summer overall! We didn't have any grand vacations but we did a lot of local stuff  and had some visitors. The kids start back to school on Tuesday and Makenzie starts the following week.

So I bid adieu to summer of 2011...thanks for some great memories.

 Gabby's college graduation in Idaho

 U2 360 concert....Incredible!

 The twins getting makeovers at the MAC counter in Boise

 Flag Day

Thanksgiving points gardens in Lehi

4th of July with Mom and Aunt Jackie

Seven Peaks Water Park

Discovery Gateway Museum

Local Community Pool

Huntsville,24th of July Getaway

Wendover Peppermill Casino, birthday getaway

Dress up and sleepovers with cousins

Snowbird with the Bowdey's

P.S. Upon observation I seem to have my sunglasses on in all my pictures that I have posted and it was also pointed out in my previous post I seemed to have posted random pictures of my bare feet this summer so I feel it necessary to include two more pictures since feet and sunglasses seem to be the theme for Summer of 2011:

Sunglasses

and pedicured feet!

Now I feel I can officially say adieu to summer..

Taking Great Grandma To New Heights

Where does one take a great grandmother when she comes to visit...well of course the top of a mountain peak that is 11,000 feet in the air...DUH! Adrian's family is in town visiting from Washington DC and I think the best way to show Utah in all its glory is to go to the mountains. Snowbird ski resort offers a tram ride that drops you off on  a mountain peak that gives a 360 degree view of some of the most beautiful scenery around. Now I live in high altitude so I forget that if you come from somewhere that is sea level the altitude can be a bit of an adjustment.  This is common sense to most; however, I don't always have common sense ( I blame my children, they deplete my brain cells). Hmmmm...elderly person, bad heart, depleted oxygen............lets go vertical 11,000 feet, that is the answer! You have not meet Hope though...she is amazing; she was little winded walking up to the tram but she got on that tram and took the vertical ride with us and according to her it was GREAT!

Here is that amazing lady with her great grandkids. I never knew my great grandparents so how lucky are they that they have gotten to spend so much time with this lady. Makenzie was given Hope as her middle name and let me tell you she is a little "Hope" through and through.

Here is Cheyenne getting ready to go on our tram ride.....

This is Bob, Bob is Adrian's biological father and he and his wife Suzanne live in DC also. Suzanne was unable to make this trip and the kids were highly disappointed because according to the kids Suzanne is "FUN"...I guess that is their settle way of telling me I am not "FUN".

This is about as close as Makenzie would get to the edges...she enjoys heights about as much as me.

Look ...snow in them yonder hills..in late AUGUST!

Seriously it was 60 degrees up there...it felt like fall...aaaaahhh fall !

Smile!

Ain't we cute...

Our view coming back down the tram

Smile!...

Taking in that amazing view....

Note to self: Must ...Must ...Must .....go up this year to Oktoberfest at Snowbird take the tram and look at the amazing fall colors from this amazing 360 degree view of this amazing valley!

Bling Queens One Year Anniversary!

We just got back from the orthodontist and according to their records it has almost been exactly a year since we began this process of putting braces on them. We started in the summer of 2010 with a thing called a MARA, it is basically a replacement for head gear. They won't have to wear head gear but they had this contraption put in their mouth....

It broadens their mouth. They had a severe over bite that caused their mouth to have a V shape as opposed to a broad U shape. We had to crank it every other day for a period of a couple months; the pressure over time broadens their smile. Kaitlynn's over bite was so severe it took a few times of taking this contraption out and in until we could get it in the ideal place. So, lets take a look at almost exactly a year ago at what their teeth looked like.......

These were taken on their birthday September 10 and they had the actual braces put on right before Halloween. Here is a picture of them the day they got their braces..........

Kaitlynn is on the left, Cheyenne on the right. Kaitlynn got her MARA  put in finally and we had to do some lasering on both of their gums. Their gums were extremely puffy from all the years of not being able to properly close their mouth because of their overbite so they laser the gums to give them the proper appearance. I had to take pictures of them getting their gums lasered because it is hilarious looking and they will make good black mail pictures for the future....

 So here we are almost a year later and this is the progress that has been made.....Here is Kaity Bug.....(She just had her gums lasered today).......

And Cheyenne...she had her MARA partially removed today and the rest will be removed in 6 weeks....

AMAZING progress! They have awhile to go still but the dramatic difference in just a year has been remarkable! They will have amazing smiles when this is all  done..............