Coppelia Dance Recital

Ashley and Rebecca had their dance recital this weekend.  They had practiced hard at rehearsals and Ash of course was DYING to perform.  I grabbed the girls before we left to one of the rehearsals and had a quick photoshoot with them.  When I say quick, I literally mean five minute shoot because we were late.  However, I am SOOO grateful that I took those five minutes to get them in their costumes and make-up to capture this recital.

Rebecca enjoyed hanging out with her friend, Mackenzie in the dressing room.  Ashley LOVED being back there with all of the big girls.  She seemed to have “a little bit more” make-up ever time that I would see her.

 

After the performance we gave the girls their bouquets AND chocolate.  Every girl needs a little chocolate after being sucked into their costumes.  :)

Feeling Blue

Can you capture emotion in art?  I think you can after seeing Jacob’s self portrait, “Feeling Blue”. 

(The painting is HUGE! Three feet by two feet.)

I asked Jacob how on earth you convey emotion in a piece.  He talked about the eyes and mouth on a person.  He also told me that even lighting in a piece adds to the emotion.  I think he knows what he is talking about because I feel emotion looking at this piece.

But I don’t feel blue looking at this, I feel PROUD.  He really is talented!

(Ashley asked why Jacob made an Avatar person of himself :)

Spa Night

Stephen was gone last weekend.  Jacob was off to see Avengers AGAIN, but with a different group of friends.  That just left Nathan home, and he basically “hid” playing video games BECAUSE we had the Hopkin’s girls over for a Spa Sleepover.

They are such sweet girls and match up so perfectly with my girls.  We did masks, massages, foot baths, we painted finger nails, played games, and did paraffin wax on our hands.  We topped the night off with a  yummy chocolate dessert that Kaylee made….

 

Jerrica was so giddy as Kaylee did the massager on her back…..

 

Sometimes it’s hard being pretty, and other times it’s a lot of FUN!

SO DAlighted

It’s that time of year again filled with end of year teacher and coaches gifts.  It can get quite pricey with six kids, yet I do want each teacher and coach to know how much we appreciate them.  I’m actually doing something a little different for each.  Some of them are different because of what room moms are coordinating, and some are different because of what the kids want to do.

This was Ashley’s.  We did one for her teacher and one for her tutor.

I found the idea here along with the printable tag here - Tammy Mitchell Blog

 

Ashley was excited to take them to her teachers.  It is so fun to GIVE!

Everything Soccer

I have said many times that Kaylee loves soccer, but as the end of the school year approaches and stuff from school is brought home, I’m realizing that she REALLY loves it…..

Her wire sculpture from art class…

It even had red wire pulled back in a pony tail.

And then her school journal is filled with details about different games.  I just can’t believe I have a soccer girl since I am so clueless about it!

Last Saturday we went to Aurora for Nathan’s game.  He went home with a friend and we went on up to Fort Collins.  We had such a fun afternoon together.  She has such a funny little personality!  I was glad that her team won after driving that far.

This picture from the game makes me smile because all of the girls in it look like they are doing a dance….

Anyway, I sure LOVE my soccer girl!

Mother’s Day

Treats, cards and pampering is how I spent Mother’s Day.  Just sad not to have my Stever here.

Mother’s Day Tea

Kaylee and I had Mother’s Day tea this week.

 

The sweetest thing happened.  We were all playing a mother game (newlywed style), where mothers and kids had to answer questions and try to get the same answer.  Four moms and kids would come to the front of the room at a time to compete.  Well, there was a quiet Chinese mother that was struggling to come up with an answer.  We were literally waiting as she was trying to think of something to write on her dry erase board.  The question was “What is your mother’s talent?”  I felt bad because she was getting embarrassed trying to think of something.  Then when we got to her son’s answer he said, “I don’t know which to say.  My mom is good at a lot of things and I actually wrote four things down.”  Her face said everything!  What a sweet son to not skip a beat and make his mom feel like the greatest.

Kaylee made me feel like the greatest as well.  I LOVED her card at my table!  (It’s that cute card in the picture above.)  The girl definitely knows me.  It said…..

“Mom, is loving, gracious, helpful.  She loves chocolate, family and friends.  She is good at cooking, basketball and being a mom.  She makes me feel special, fantastic and beautiful.  She laughs when I’m funny, at movies and with our family.  She frowns when her kids are gone, when I am sad and if I am being mean.  She loves to go to beaches, family field trips and to Target.  She helps me with homework, sports, and problems.  She expects me to do my best, live life to the fullest and help others.  She is surprised when there is snakes, mice and weird dreams.  I couldn’t live without her comfort, creativity, and affection.”

Definitely another keepsake for my box.  :)

Mother’s Day Video

Saw this on my friend Tina’s, Friday night videos….

All of those little things we do, add up to great things in the end!  :)

13 things for 13 Dollars

Aunt Alesha always sends such clever gifts, even if its just money.  She sent Nathan a check for $13 since he turned 13.  However, she gave him a funny list of 13 things he had to do before he could cash the check…..

Of course as he sat there reading the letter he had a huge smile on his face at some of the items on the list.  It wasn’t just a quick Happy Birthday here’s your money, but a taste of Aunt Alesha humor!

Suessical

Ashley’s class had a field trip to the Suessical, which Jerrica and I tagged along.  The musical was amazing!  The costumes, dancing, props, lines…. all of it was done so well.

Ashley’s teacher came over to me and commented that I should check into this because Ashley is incredible when they do role plays in class.  She told me they just acted out the Little Red Hen and Ash was the Red Hen.  I guess she was quite the actress that day.  :) 

So we came home from the musical and I proceed to rush around trying to get work done around the house.  I then came out to the living room to see the little girls.  They had gathered together costumes and props, and were acting out their own play.  Jerrica was the fancy Maisy bird that flew off her nest and left Horton with the egg sitting.  Not only had she donned a fancy dress, but had the colorful tights and church shoes as well.  Nathan’s mini soccer ball was the fancy egg.  They also had quite a stack of pillows for the nest.  Ash was the Cat in the Hat getting to the bottom of the problem.

I sat for a minute watching their show.  They were hilarious with their lines!  I think I enjoyed their show as much as the other.

 

Ashley’s Testimony

A few of my kids shared their testimonies on Sunday.  I sat there thinking of Ashley a couple of months before.  I was mad that I never posted it to remember.

She came up to me towards the end of the meeting and said, “Mom, every family has had someone from their family share their testimony except for ours.  You need to go do it for us.”  Me being the loser mom, said that I wasn’t going to.  She then looked me in the eye and said, “Then I will go up there and do it for our family”.   Without skipping a beat, turned on her heel, and marched up to the pulpit.  It was her first testimony to share in Sacrament Meeting.  She didn’t even seem nervous……

“I’m Ashley Thompson for those of you who don’t know me and want to know me.  I have felt good inside during prayers and family home evening.  I know it is the Spirit that makes me feel good.  I am thankful for that feeling.”

That was it!  Short and Oh so Sweet!

Gardening

Jerrica helped me outside today.  We planted more seeds and beautified our yard a little more.  When we planted the mammoth sunflower seeds, Jerrica asked if they were zebra seeds.  :)

 

I assured her that I would never try and grow a zebra! 

I love how pretty my rhubarb flower is.  It is HUGE!  I which that it would stay on the plant all summer.  Why do all of the pretty Spring blossoms have to disappear so quickly?!?

Have you seen this gardening site - http://www.smartgardener.com/.  It is amazing!  It tied me over until I could actually start planting.

Then last but not least, I love having my raised bed garden.  It is such a perfect little perch for my kids to come and sit to visit with me.  Of course any visiting is done in between bites of popsicles.

  

I’m so glad the sun stays up ‘til late in the evening, AND I’m so glad that it is warm to be able to stay outside. 

Glen Eyrie

Last week I was able to go on a field trip with Rebecca.  We went to the Glen Eyrie castle nestled over by Garden of the Gods.

 

General Palmer had the home built with incredible details and conveniences of the time period.  The castle has 24 fireplaces with vacuum hoses and a tower that suck the smoke out of the house.  The wood and rock work were beautiful. 

Rebecca has LOVEd two people at school this year.  Her best friend, Neely is one, and her sweet teacher, Mrs. Vandewalker is the other.  Mrs. Vandewalker has been so good to Rebecca this year.  She even came to the District 20 art awards ceremony to watch Rebecca receive her award.  There aren’t too many teachers that give up their evening to come and support a student.  Rebecca’s face sure lit up when she saw her there.  They really have clicked this year! 

 

So grateful for wonderful teachers that help my kids!

They are Good to ME

My kids are so good to me!  They know how to keep me going and smiling. 

I came home late last night from running around, and as I walked in the door the girls ran up to tell me that they had been cleaning so that I wouldn’t have to tidy up for the night.  :)

Then this little, outdoorsy girl picked me a bouquet of wildflowers today.  She said, “I made sure they were all wild because I know you don’t like me picking your non-wild ones.”  :)

Then I found this sweet note from Jacob on my bed.  :)

Oh how good they can be, AND it’s not even Mother’s Day!

Organ Concert

Friday night after the big girls volleyball games we went to a fabulous organ concert.  Can you guess where it was…

 

Have you guessed where this gorgeous pipe organ is?

(this Photo courtesy of the WeddingMapper)

The organ concert was at the Air Force Academy.  We sat in the balcony next to the pipes and organ.  The organ has some 1,900 pipes.  James Welch was the organist and played a wide variety of short fun pieces, like Phanton of the Opera.  He filled us full of interesting facts and amazed us with his talent.  My kids have never been in the AF chapel and sat there intrigued with the architecture.

It was a beautiful evening!  This picture I found on the web actually reminds me of the sunset that night as we were walking out of the concert. 

Just a beautiful night with my kids!

Avengers

Saturday night my boys went to Avengers.  They had a blast and LOVED the movie.  They are already planning on going again with their dad.  I’m sure Stephen will have no problem with that!

Big Girls’ Date

My big girls love to go out with Elaine’s girls.  One afternoon we planned painting at Artful Adventures and then eating at YoYogurt. 

We love doing stuff with Elaine and her girls.  Everyone has a friend that we can sit and giggle with, including Elaine and I!!!!

The Plan FHE

I want the kids to start planning what they want to accomplish and do this summer, SO I pulled out a talk that I gave when I was the Young Women’s President.  I dusted it off and used it on my kids…

I pulled out our blueprints for our house.  I told the kids that I KNEW the plan was important but didn’t realize how VERY important it was.  Every subcontractor, builder, and inspector would use these plans.  It was the picture of the final product we were tying to achieve.  Any dispute or problem was resolved by looking at “the Plan”.

I talked to the kids about all of the different subcontractors that worked on the house.  We then discussed all of the tools that were used from a little tiny screwdriver for plumbing to a huge, giant crane for the trusses.

When we were all finished, how exciting to see our picture that we drew standing in real life.  How proud we were!

I then talked to the kids about how they can plan ANYTHING and achieve it.  We talked how important it is to write down and plan out.  Then we can refer to “our plan”.  We also discussed the people that could help us with our goals and some of the tools that we could use.  I love hearing the kids answers.  When we were talking about people helping us, Nathan piped in that a coach could and Jerrica piped up that a grandma could help.  :)

I did tell them that many are willing to help in the blueprint of our lives, whether we want their help or not.  We must be careful in whom we select to help.  Just as I wouldn’t want a choreographer doing my plumbing, they need to be careful in who they trust and use to build their goals.

I then went into depth about the foundation of our house.  How deep and thick the cement is.  How it had to be tarred.  You can’t just start building, you have to start with a strong foundation to build on.  Plan the base of your goal and work up.

I then gave them a little blueprint paper to write some of their goals for the summer on.  I LOVE seeing the light in their eyes as they get excited about their goals and all they can accomplish.  Now to set a few goals for myself.  ;)

Happy May Day

Jerrica and I went around delivering May Day bouquets to a few people we love.

 

One of those, were the Steiningers, our old neighbors.  They are in their late 70’s.  We have given them May Day flowers every year for years now.  Bill told us that when they woke up he looked at Judith and said, “Today is May Day, I wonder if the Thompson’s are coming.”  Of course we were coming!!! :)

Happy May Day!