Children's Museum

After a quick stop at my doctor's office for blood work(For me) and stickers (for Kalia) we set off on a journey to the children's museum. I went several months ago with some friends and got to see 2 of the exhibits but didn't really grasp how big the museum actually was. I was impressed by the Houston Children's museum but this one is definitely better! We saw Curious George.

We went on the rocket slide.

We played cash register with our friends Kaia and Kenzie.

We dressed up as super heroes.

We even got to see the REAL batmobile that will be in the movie this summer.

We rode the carousel twice in a row.And finally we got to go to the dinosaur exhibit where we got to dig for bones and dress up as a dinosaur to play with eggs. Our favorite part was when it sounded like it was raining in the exhibit and it got dark and stormy looking.We had a wonderful day! Thanks Amy!

Plant Start Up

Well, today was plant start up for Sy. It didn't go as well as expected. I reminded him that this was all just going to make him a stronger person and that he would be better because of it. This evening Maddy was feeling really sad and we had a long talk about how hard this move to Indiana has been on her. Again, I brought to the table that it would make her a better, more compassionate person and she would learn things that she otherwise might not have learned. As I was putting the kids in bed 45 min late tonight and I walked into the laundry room to find all of my clean load from the dryer pulled out onto the floor I had to keep myself from breaking down. Why? Why did this bother me so much? I think that I have just had too much of kid messes. Kids toys, clothes (especially Kalia's 14 outfits every day), their food, and lately their wrappers of all sorts just lying around the house. I'm not a slob, at least I don't think I am. When the house is clean I can function so much better as a wife, mother, and just a person. Because of my headaches lately the house is what I would call a shamble! I worked on laundry ALL DAY yesterday and some today. So to walk in and find the clean clothes on the dirty floor about killed me. I was thinking about the whole headache/housework situation and reminded myself that it would also make me a stronger, better person. I just need the right attitude. This "better person" stuff isn't always an easy thing but as I think back to the times I have grown the most in my life, it has always been the hard times. I am grateful now for the growth I had from those times and for the love I felt from my Savior then and now. I feel so blessed in my life and I just need to focus on those blessings rather that the negative stuff. This isn't a normal post for me but I know that in the future I will need this reminder again and again ,so I will write it down anyway. Tomorrow is a new day!

Cinco De Mayo

Here is our festive table! You can't see it but we made a banner for above the sliding glass door!

Any reason for a party and I'm there! Today was Cinco De Mayo and of course we celebrated. For dinner we had "Mexican Hotdogs" just like the ones you can buy from the street vendor on the corner by my grandmothers house. Yummy!! THey were soooooo good that I had to make myself stop eating after 2. They were the real deal, bacon, onions, salsa, mayo, mustard. All the fixings and the mess to prove it! I miss being by my mom where this special treat was a little more frequent! After dinner we had a family home evening about the holiday and then talked a little bit about why Mexico is so special to us! Mainly because it is home to some of my favorite people and the paleta's are so good! LOL!! Whe ended the evening with my first, but most definately not the last, batch of churros. What a great holiday!

Delicious!!!!!

Masterpiece!

This week we have actually had several nice days and several opportunities to be outside riding bikes and playing. Kaden made a new friend down the street and Kalia has gotten tons better at riding her hello kitty bike that was passed on from a friend in Utah. We have been so busy lately and missing our playtime with the Marbles so we invited Katie to come over and play. The little girls were really excited to be able to ride bikes and run around. We pulled out the sidewalk chalk and had fun for almost an hour coloring on the driveway. Sadly the chalk pictures got washed away the next morning by rain. Luckily we took some pictures so we could show everyone that lives so far away.

Wishes do come true!

Today while Silas and Kaden were fishing I took the girls on a "GDO" (termed by Maddy as Girls Day Out). We went on a mission to find a new swim suit for Madison. This hunt for the perfect swim suit has gone on for about a month much to my dismay, so I told her that we were not stopping today until we found one. The girls were both so excited when we ended up at the mall and we had to splurge on the wishing fountain, yummy pretzels and a magical stop at Libby Lu for fairy dust. Kalia had never experienced "Fairy Dust" as we only had a libby lu in Texas when she was a baby. She loved it! What could be more special that getting to make a second wish of the day at the same time as you are being covered in magical fairy dust (glitter)?!!? She happily shared both of her wishes with me and the were the same. A BALLOON!! Is there anything more innocent and happy as wishing for a balloon? I of course would have wished for money, or family, or another baby to add to our family. Not my sweet baby. The one thing that would make her happy is a simple balloon. Just thinking about it makes me smile. I wish I could be a child again just to not be worried or pressured by the cares of the world. After a long day of shopping (yes- we finally found a swim suit as well as became more acquainted with all of Northern Indy) we came home for dinner. When Kalia went to climb into bed there was a special Tinker Bell balloon waiting by her bed. (It had to be a fairy because of the fairy dust!) Oh, I wish I could share the expression on her face! There was confusion, wonder, and excitement! She got this huge open mouth and turned to ask who gave her the balloon. After explaining that it must be because of her wish she couldn't stop smiling and staring up at it. "My wish comed true!! My wish comed true!! I'm so happy cuz my wish comed true!" Needless to say, she is sleeping positioned so she can stare at this wonderful surprise! Such simple things. Such genuine happiness. I love kids! I love magical moments. I love the sweetness in her response. Wishes do come true!!

Personal Best

Yesterday I got to go to the school for an awards ceremony in which Madison was awarded the "Personal Best" award. This award is for students who met 3 requirements.

1. missed less than 5 days of school this year
2. good citizenship
3. being hard working, doing your personal best

There were several students from each class who were honored and we were so excited for Madison. The video I took it really bad. I got blocked by the couple in front of me and then my camera shut off, but you can at least watch her walk up when they called her name. Kaden has decided that he will be working extra hard next year so that he can have a cool medal like Maddy's. I am so proud of her. This year has been very hard for her with all the adjustments she had to make at her new school and she never gave up. (She did want to be home schooled for a while but I think she is surviving!) I sure love her and I am glad that she has been blessed with the traits that she has. She is such a hard worker and can do anything she puts her mind to. Good job beautiful!!!

Cinnamon Rolls

For family home evening last Monday Kalia made us some delicious cinnamon rolls! They were so yummy that I think I actually ate 4 (out of 12) before they were gone. We used Leanne's yummy recipe and I think we will use it again soon. I had so much fun teaching Kalia how to make these and her favorite part was using the floss to cut the rolls. She teased Maddy and Kaden that she knew a magic way to cut them and wasn't going to tell them. It was her secret. I guess she's lucky to have mom all to herself all day while they are at school. She is most definitely spoiled!