Recital

On Sunday we got to see all of Little Miss' hard work come together. She had her violin recital. I was trying to hold back my tears. I thought it was just silly hormones, but Kenny admitted he was fighting some back as well. So we are just some big softies :)

You can't tell in the video, but she made it look too easy. She kept looking around as she was playing. Kenny and I thought she would mess up and forget where she was. But she had everything memorized and was like "I got this" and checked out the crowd while she played. It was funny :)

Little Miss has breezed through her Level 1 book, and has amazed many of us. I think she's very talented, but then again, I'm her mom and definitely biased. But I had several people tell me how shocked they were to hear her play. They thought she would do more simple songs than she performed, and kind of muddle through them. She was complimented on her tone, and was told she seems to have a natural talent. I'm very excited for her, and can't wait to see her progress over the next couple years. She has only been playing since September, and the first month, was challenging enough just to learn how to hold the instrument properly. Actually, that first month I think Kenny was worried. I was trying to help her, but several times we both were crying from frustration. It got better after that though. Her teacher is amazing, kind and fun, and we know that lots of her success is because of her awesome teacher. We will be sad to leave her behind, and hope to find someone half as talented as her in Boise.

the whole group

 

her lovely teacher

some of her cute friends

The other thing I want to mention, is how proud I was of the princess. She was throwing up on Saturday night, and was still feeling queasy all of Sunday. But she pushed through, even with all her nerves, and still went to her performance. (I was going to be really sad if we didn't get to see her perform). The other thing I thought was very sweet, she had a hard time when her teacher first mentioned that the recital would be on a Sunday. We had lots of discussion about whether it was an ok thing to do on the Sabbath. She ended up praying about it for herself and felt that it was ok. But I love that she thinks about these things, and tries to be obedient to the commandments. I'm not sure how I was blessed with such a sweet daughter. She truly is amazing!

Dates with Daddy

My kids LOVE going on dates with Daddy. They haven't been for awhile, and so before the baby came Kenny wanted to get one in with each of them. Unfortunately I have no pictures of the boys' date. Last Saturday, they went to McDonalds for lunch and played in the play area. Then went to Barnes and Noble and chose a treat from the Café. Something lil man has been dying to do for awhile. He gets theses ideas and can't let them go, which is kind of amusing. They also played video games on the iphone while they were out, which makes his day. He is addicted and we have to be very careful about how much screen time he gets.

Then on this past Saturday, daddy took lil miss out. She kept changing her mind on what to do, up until they went out. Anyway, they loaded their bikes on the car, went to Taco Bell, and ate that in the car on the way to the park. Then they parked, and rode their bikes to Big Dipper Ice Cream. And since that was quick and easy, they decided to go a little further. They ended up riding all the way to the "M" mountain, and since they were there, decided to hike it. It was super windy at the top, but they made it. Then they rode all the way back to the car, and came home exhausted (Daddy's hurting today)! Poor little thing though, started having tummy pains part way through the date, but didn't want to say anything to cut the date short. She ended up having a 24 hour bug that got passed through our home.

 

Our house

 

 We are so excited on the progress of our house. This week it was fully insulated. I can't believe how fast it's moving along, and soon we will be living in Boise. We feel so blessed that we are able to make the move down there, and to have such a beautiful, new and spacious home. The kids have already made plans for how their bedrooms are going to be decorated. Kenny and I are just so excited to have a room again (and not be sleeping in an unfinished basement that has no door or bathroom). We all are excited about the neighborhood, we have a pool, a few parks, and lots of kids.

My birthday

My birthday started on Saturday... with me getting to sleep in and NOT have to go clean the church. Kenny took the kids and I got to rest, which was awesome. And then they surprised me with these beauties! I love them, and feel so special. Then Kenny took lil man on a date, and I relaxed while lil miss watched some tv. Then later we went out to eat at Red Robin. It was a very easy and relaxing day.

he's drinking what's left of my free sundae :)

 

The next day I woke up WAY to early... 4:30, to use the bathroom. I couldn't go back to sleep, and it didn't help that there was a bird outside my window who was ready to be awake for the day and singing it's little heart out. Just as I was starting to doze off again (around 6:30), lil man needed me to wipe him cuz he was having some tummy problems. Not fun. Especially since the smell of toots, and dirty diapers has been the one thing to consistently make me nauseous this whole pregnancy. We finished that up, and I sent him back to bed. But then 2 seconds later, sister was up using the potty, and then they decided to goof off in their bedroom. I kept begging them to go back to sleep, but they wouldn't listen. I pretty much burst into tears. I couldn't believe this is how I was going to start my day. But after that things looked better. They came into my room with daddy a little later and gave me my present (a kindle! which will be great for night time feedings, and not keeping the light on when Kenny's trying to sleep). We slowly got ready for church (we may have missed the 1st hour). Then little miss played her violin in primary, which I absolutely loved. After church I was able to come home and get a nap in. Which was much needed! I was so much more pleasant to be around afterwards, I'm sure. Then we just hung out as a family, and watched the winter storm we were getting. That was a first for me, to have snow on my birthday! It was pretty neat. Kenny and the kids worked on dinner for me. I was very impressed.... they made Café Rio! Kenny is becoming quite the chef these days. They also made Oreo Pudding, and put all 29 candles on it, which I managed to blow out in one breath! Kody asked me what my wish was (we haven't taught them the you don't tell or it won't come true thing). I told him I wished that Kenny would love me for another year. He laughed and said, of course he's going to do that. I guess he thinks I wasted a wish. My day finished off with a surprise song on the violin, Happy Birthday... she had been keeping it a secret for a few weeks. (youtube and me are still fighting, so I can't get that video to upload. sorry.) It was a fantastic birthday, and this was just what the kids and Kenny did for me. I got lots of texts, phone calls, cards, and gifts. I truly felt blessed and loved by everyone in my life.