Starting - Finally

When we first moved into this house, we were thrilled with the amount of storage space. Not only with the built-in cabinets and drawers and the extra rooms, but also with the unfinished, "designated" storage rooms. Yes, rooms. Two of them! We were so happy that there was nothing to finish and nothing that needed to be updated (unless we wanted to - like our downstairs bathroom). But the more we thought about Quentin's "shop/storage room" and how often we really used it, it started making more sense to use it for SOMETHING. We had tinkered with the idea of turning the "shop/storage" space next to the downstairs kitchen into a theater room - and that's when the preschool opportunity came along. So we decided to finish the space with a dual purpose in mind - a preschool 9 months out of the year and a theater room during the summer. I know. Kind of weird - we'll see if it actually works out the way we're thinking! But all I know is that it's getting done. And it will be nice to have the space be usable instead of just a place to stash all of our junk. We've cleared it out, gotten rid of a ton of junk, and have consolidated all of our "storage stuff" into one area - the ONE storage room (and I like my storage room neat and tidy!) And now the fun part begins. Making plans and designs - and Quentin starting lots of hard work - to get the space finished. Yahoo! I can't wait to see this skinny, rectangluar, dark, cold, ugly room be transformed into something warm, bright, beautiful and inviting (though still skinny and rectangular - but hey - there's nothing wrong with that!!) I just hope we can finish the 230 square foot space in the 6 months we have till preschool starts!

Food Inc.

My friend did a post on her blog recently about the documentary "Food Inc." She and her family have been learning more about healthy food choices and have implemented it in their lives. (Even her kids that are about Kiera's age are on board!!) In her post she offered to lend her copy of the video to anyone interested. Quentin and I watched it last night and were blown away. I've been a vegetarian for about 23 years. Label-reading, decoding ingredients and trying to make healthful choices have been a way of life for me. But having a husband and two-thirds of my children prefer "kleenex bread," macaroni and cheese, and basically anything that has white flour and cheese has been hard. At least Makenna eats (actually she adores!) fruits, veggies, quinoa, soymilk, and whole, natural foods. But seeing this movie has inspired both Quentin and me to prioritize and put our family's health and food choices at the top of the list. My only dilemma - how to get the picky eaters to get on board and begin adoring whole, natural, organic, yummy food! Hmmmm....

You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown!

Last night was the last production of "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" at the girls' school. The last 3 1/2 months have been filled with weekly rehearsals (some 3 hours long!) and this past week has been crazy with the school assembly (where they put on the play for the school) and 2 cast shows for each of the two casts. Whew! I must say though, that the girls have loved being involved in this play. Makenna had been interested in doing some theater classes and this play came along just in time. The girls were both little birds (Big Hoot and Peety) in the play and even though their roles were small, they felt just as important as the "big" characters. The directors have been absolutely wonderful, and I've been impressed with the quality of the teaching and the production. It's been a great experience - one that we'll never forget - and we can't wait till next time!






WITH THE DIRECTORS ADDIE HOLMAN AND DANA MADISON


THE CUTE BRACELETS THE CAST MEMBERS RECEIVED FROM THE DIRECTORS

Discovery Gateway

Today I got to help "chaperone" the second-grade field trip to Discovery Gateway (also known as the Children's Museum). I always like a good excuse to have fun with my girls, especially if it means a little one-on-one time. Kiera was so excited to have me there with her, and we were happy to have Quentin pop in from work for a bit. Fun fun!

Valentine Parties

Don't ya just love how each holiday has celebrations lasting the whole week? Yep, the kids get all sugared up for days prior to the actual holiday! Anyway, today was Kiera and Makenna's class Valentine parties. I had volunteered to help with both - I was in charge of a craft for Makenna's kindergarten party and just had to help with the "cookie making station" in Kiera's class party. After Kiera's party, she begged me to stay for lunch. So Makenna, Kasidee and I ran home, made a quick sack lunch and joined her for lunch and recess. These are the days we'll remember!

MAKENNA'S CUTE LITTLE VALENTINE CREATURE!


KASIDEE THOUGHT THIS IS WHAT THE STICKERS WERE FOR...


MAKING COOKIE'S IN KIERA'S CLASS...


ONE KID'S COOKIE - YES THERE'S A COOKIE UNDER THERE. I GOT A KICK OUT OF WATCHING HER EAT IT!!


KIERA'S WHOLE CLASS


RECESS...

Catch Up

I've been a slacker in the blogging department lately. Most of you could probably care less about what I have to post about today, but since I use my blog as a record of our family's events, I like to include even the mundane things! So here's my modge-podge of events in the last couple of weeks:

Anyway, awhile ago Kiera asked Quentin if he would come to her class to speak about Denmark (where he served his mission). I guess Kiera's teacher had been asking for volunteers to talk to the students about different countries and Kiera was so excited to have her Daddy come to class. I took a few pics but believe it or not this was the best out of the bunch (too bad we can't even see Quentin's face). He was showing the class a long, skinny Danish flag - how cool is that?! He also talked about a blind lady he met in Denmark, who showed him how to write in brail and where to purchase the equipment. Quentin was excited to learn, since his niece Sasha was blind. While preparing his presentation to the class, he "punched" everyone's name in brail to give to them - they thought that was so cool!




Our cute little "Scootlebugs Preschool" sign is up in my yard, attracting cute little customers! :) My preschool partner and I have been busy getting our registration packets ready to send out - we're so psyched!! We each have 7 students on our list already! Yipee!




Playdates at our house are a "feast or famine" type of thing. Since this past week was "early out" from school every day, we had more than our usual share of playdates - and most of them at our house which is fun. (The weather has been so nice they've mostly been outside!) I think I counted 11 different friends in 6 days. Crazy but fun! Makenna had a few of her friends from school over Monday and they wanted me to get a picture of them with the birthday cake they made for Kasidee.


Later in the week we also had my friend Amanda's girls over to play. Quentin and I went to school with Amanda and her husband and have done a few things together here and there. Last summer they moved to Centerville (probably just over a mile away) and we finally had them over to dinner to catch up. Our kids totally hit it off and they invited our girls to a birthday party the next week. Amanda and I haven't stopped hearing about them wanting to play together again, so they came over on Thursday. We figured our kids ages are right in between each other - my Kiera is 7, her Maren is 6, my Makenna is 5 1/2, her Emily is 5, her Katie is 3, and my Kasidee is 2 1/2. She also has a 9-year-old son and an 18-month-old daughter, but her middle kids and my girls have instantly become good friends. And don't you just love a bunch of smiling girls?




This is probably a silly picture, but one day I was walking past my big wall with the clock on it and I noticed a shadow - the sun was bouncing off my backyard neighbor's window and shining on my wall. But it was passing through our trees and the big pinecone my mom had hung in the tree when she made "peanut butter and birdseed birdfeeders!" The shadow was so pretty that I had to quickly grab my camera!




Big news - Kasidee is officially potting training! She's been sort of interested for a few months but I didn't want to do anything until after the holidays. The other day she saw me putting some laundry away and saw some of the girls' panties. She wanted to try them on. So I dug out some in her size and she wore them for about an hour then peed all over in them. But she kept asking to wear them. Since we only had 1 pair in her size, we went to Walmart and let her pick out her very own. She chose Minnie Mouse, of course. She was so excited and wore them the whole day. She would announce when she needed to go on her potty chair, and she even did the big #2 in it. I was even able to take her to church today in her panties! She has had a couple of accidents, but I guess there's no turning back now. She's so proud of herself and I must say I'm amazed at how well she's doing! She's just such a smartie!




Last night Quentin's Grandma Stephens stopped by with Dallin, Crystal and Shlenae. Grandma will be celebrating her 95th birthday next week. Doesn't she look great?! She's an inspiration to everyone. She's always so positive and fun and sweet. Ya just help but smile when she's around!