Princess Festival

Last Saturday Kiera, Makenna, Quentin and I joined Nikki and Marina at the Princess Festival in Lindon, Utah. Wow - what a fun experience for all of us! The girls got to join 22 other girls, dressed up in their princess-best and help save Snow White, Rapunzel, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty and others in their dilemmas. Then they saw the princesses join their princes at the Royal Ball.

This was all a special program sponsored by "In Our Own Quiet Way" (see www.inourownquietway.org), which started because a Utah family's lives were touched when they went to Kenya. They came home wanting to help children in Africa - 100% of the proceeds from the Princess Festival went to this cause. How inspiring! This is definitely something we'll have to do again, especially when Kasidee is old enough to join!

SAYING GOODBYE TO GRANNY AND KASIDEE . . .


WAITING FOR THE EVENT TO START . . .


THE CUTE PRINCESSES WAITING INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE FAIRY . . .


SAVING RAPUNZEL . . .


CINDERELLA AND HER PRINCE . . .


SNOW WHITE AND HER PRINCE . . .


RAPUNZEL AND HER PRINCE . . .


BELLE AND HER PRINCE . . .


ARIEL . . .


SLEEPING BEAUTY AND HER PRINCE . . .


ALICE & THE HILARIOUS MAD HATTER . . .


CAPTAIN HOOK, PETER PAN & TINKERBELL . . .


THE WICKED WITCH WHO ACTUALLY TURNED OUT TO BE NICE . . .


THE GIRLS WITH PRINCESSES FROM KENYA . . .


PLAYING BY THE CASTLE . . .


"FLYING" WITH PETER PAN . . .


A BEAUTIFUL CARRIAGE FOR PRINCESSES . . .


ALADDIN & JASMINE'S CASTLE . . .

Announcement

We are SOOOO excited to announce a new addition to our family - the Canon EOS Rebel T1i (I had to look that up). It's our new, REAL camera!! We've been wanting a nice digital SLR camera but couldn't seem to find justification to spend the 900 bucks it would take to get it. Well, thanks to Quentin and his hard work, he gets points for doing well on campaigns and then he can redeem the points for merchandise - that's how we got the Wii and my food processor for free. And yes, you guessed it. We were able to get the camera for free by using up 51 of his hard-earned points! We've been having fun playing around with it, but there's still a lot to learn. I'd like to take a digital photography class soon. But until then, we're just amazed at the quality of pictures this thing takes - soooo much better than our little "everyday" camera. Take a look:





(A CLAY BIRTHDAY CAKE KIERA MADE)

See ya later . . .

The other day the girls had their friend Halle over to play. Halle is a little younger than Makenna and is such a cute little friend. Halle and her family are moving this Saturday. Though they'll be renting an apartment pretty close for a few months, they'll eventually be moving out of state. So we wanted to make sure to squeeze in one last playdate before they get into their apartment. I'm sure we'll still see her every so often till they move "for real."

Al Fresco

The other night we ate dinner on our patio. The girls and I have eaten breakfasts and a few lunches on our patio, but Monday was the first time this season the 5 of us have eaten dinner there. Ahhhh.... It reminded me of why I have love eating outside, and I hope to eat summer dinners out there most days of the week! Ahhh, simple pleasures!

Dinosaur Museum

I didn't realize how addicted to blogging I really am until we had "issues" with our computer and I couldn't blog for, what, 5 days. I guess it's like being content to stay home until you realize you don't have access to a car - then you itch to get out of the house! Anyway, I've got a bit of catching up to do, but I thought I'd start with today. This morning for our weekly neighborhood field trip, we went to Thanksgiving Point's Dinosaur Museum. We've been there only once before, when Kiera was about Kasidee's age. The girls (and everyone in our group) had a good time - the girls were especially happy that Granny could join us!

MAKING DAMS AND RIVERS AND ISLANDS AT THE EROSION TABLE . . .

KASIDEE WEIGHING HERSELF ON THE DINOSCALE - SHE WEIGHS AS MUCH AS AN EORAPTER, ABOUT 23 LBS. . .

DIGGING FOR DINOSAUR BONES . . .

PUTTING PLASTER IN A MOLD TO MAKE . . .

...A MOLD OF A TRILOBITE (MAKENNA) AND A RAPTOR'S TOOTH (KIERA)

This is the Place

Yesterday the girls and I joined our neighborhood field trip group at This is the Place Heritage Center in Salt Lake. Yesterday was a free day, thanks to John Huntsman, Sr. We've been there a couple of times before and I just love it. I always want to stay longer. Yesterday we tried to pack in what we could before the rainstorm hit. We rode the train a few times, got our free ice cream cones, toured Brigham Young's house, participated in a sack race and tug-of-war, rode the ponies, and saw the new Native American village with teepees and hogans. Pretty cool. And then it started pouring. So the girls and I joined Chloe and Sohie and their mom for some french fries in the cafe then headed home.

Later this evening we went to the library. Every summer they have free events, and tonight we watched the puppet show, "The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad TV." Kiera was slightly entertained, but Makenna just loved it. They both enjoyed making finger puppets after the show, and Makenna put on a puppet show with her animal puppets when we got home. Good times!

(P.S. I took a few pictures, but thank goodness my friend Candi was there with her awesome camera and wonderful talent. She took most of these pictures - aren't they great?!)





MEETING "BRIGHAM YOUNG"

Lazy Day

Okay, so today was our first "day off." I had big plans of sleeping as late as we could, working on some "house projects," and then going to the library and craft store to stock up on some good summer reads and craft projects for the girls. Well, we didn't get to sleep in because the phone rang just after 7:00 and woke us all up. And you know what? We didn't even leave the house today. I always get antsy this time of year, wondering how I can get my projects done while entertaining the girls; how to be productive and not waste time and yet enjoy having the girls home and slow down to "summer time." But today was such a relaxing, peaceful day. I'm so lucky to have girls that enjoy entertaining themselves, and they (usually) love playing together - all 3 of them. So this morning, the girls dug out the Legos I played with when I was a girl, and they spent hours - literally like 5 hours! - making cars and buildings and towns. They just couldn't get enough. And I thought, ahhhh....THIS is what summer is all about! Just enjoying and relaxing!

Beau's Blessing

This morning we went to Aaron & Lisa's son Beau's baby blessing. He is such a cutie! He's got big, bright eyes and red hair, and when he cries he sounds like a kitten "mewing." So cute! The girls were fascinated by him - Makenna kept asking if she could "pet Beau." We're so happy to have a new little cousin (well, second cousin for the girls) in the family!




ALL THE COUSINS

"PLAYING" BASKETBALL IN THE RAIN!

Air Show

Quentin doesn't need boys. His girls get excited about "boy things" just as much as they get excited about "girl things." This afternoon we joined Eric, Mischelle, Spencer and Jordyn at the Hill Air Force Base Air Show. The girls took their little airplanes with them and compared them to the real ones we saw. They were so excited and loved seeing the jets and planes do tricks, the parachuters falling from the sky, and going inside a HUGE plane that carries tanks and cargo. Amazing. Seeing all those things me feel tiny and intimidated, but also made my heart swell with patriotic pride. We only stayed a couple of hours but we'll be better prepared next time with chairs and maybe a picnic lunch. But we had a lot of fun on a beautiful summer day!

Summer's Here

Well, I guess it's summer - not technically, but it sure feels like it since today was Kiera's last day of school! Makenna, Kasidee and I made it to the end of the flag ceremony at the school, then the 4 of us ran home with our friends in the sudden rain storm. Kiera came home and browsed through her yearbook and watched the class DVD her teacher had made. She said, "I wish I could be in first grade forever." I wish she could too - she's just growing up too fast. I think she's a bit melancholy today and will miss school - but hopefully not for too long. After school, Kiera and Makenna invited their best friends Chloe and Sophie over to play, and it sounds like they're coming up with lots of plans for the summer: calling each other right after breakfast, selling ice cream, parties in the playhouse, etc. Welcome, Summer!