Party Time

For Marissa's 12th birthday party, she and her friends did a bunch of video skits. We all (adults included) had such a fabulous time. We seriously laughed our heads off. The girls were awesome and really got into the role playing.

Here's a picture of Marissa with her cake. Amazingly enough, not one skit required 12 takes. The only reason we would have to re-do would be because we (the adults) were laughing so hard and loud.



Here is Marissa and her awesome group of friends. Even though their first skit ... the misfit cheerleading squad ... took a little warming up to, they adjusted quickly - as you can see.

We had lots of yummy food and super funny skits.

This aerobics skit was my personal favorite. The girls' personalities really shone through. I loved seeing not only the personality of the girs whose faces were showing, but also how the personality of the girls (who were the legs) showed through their legwork. It was so fun AND funny!

I couldn't resist taking this snapshot of the girls just hanging out between scenes. They are such a great bunch of girls.

These next couple of pictures show how comfortable the girls had gotten with their acting roles. I could just watch their skits over and over again - and laugh until I cry.

Here are the girls watching the rough cut. Thank you so much Jeremy and Plonnie for the awesome cinematography and technical help. WE love you guys, and were so happy to have you there to laugh with us too.

One more picture of the awesome cake.

Here's a little snippet of one of their skits. Enjoy.

Aaron at the Assembly

OH MY HECK!!! Aaron did AWESOME in the assembly. I'm so proud of him. He is just the cutest kid ... and talented to boot. Just listen to those cheers!! (if you can hear them over my own - haha).

Happy Birthday, Marissa!

Marissa at age 12:

• LOVES breakfast foods. The works - pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, hashbrowns, orange juice, fresh fruit (especially pineapple) .... just can't go wrong with these foods!
  
  
  
• Loves clothes ... as long as they're comfy and not too girlie. :) Loves ALL colors ... especially turquoise and pink.

• Loves being with her family. Especially enjoys staying up late with the grown-ups ... and playing with the littles.

• LOOOOOOOVES her cousins. Wishes she could be with them every day.

• Loves to argue.
• Has quite a funny sense of humor.
• Enjoys reading, watching tv, AND listening to music (not necessarily all at once).
• Way into Webkinz.
• Works hard to get good grades.
• EXCELLENT babysitter.
• Would never clean her room unless she has to. :)
• In love with dogs.
• Likes playing basketball and riding her bike.
• Enjoys hiking.
• Loves girlie toe-nails and fun hair color.
• Says she LOOOOVES jewlery ... but refuses to wear any. ;)

She's my Missy Dee. I'm so grateful to have her.

Happy Birthday, hon'! Sure love ya!

Manscaping at it's Finest!

What a fun ... and funny day. All the boys were able to get a little waxing done thanks to Marissa's brave example.

It was a piece of cake for TyTy ... despite a little redness afterwards. James and Dad's experiences speak for themselves. :)

Nearly twelve ...

To be honest - it is just impossible to imagine being the mom of a young woman - until you're actually there .... and even then ... :)

Well - here is just a glimpse -

Marissa turns 12 in a few days ... so we had a girls "shop-til-ya-drop-a-thon" today with my Mom and sisters (my mom lasted through lunch only ... wimp ... lol)! We seriously had a blast - despite the achy legs and sore feet at the end of the day. Thank you so much for planning it all, M! You are the best ever.

About midway into our trip - we decided Marissa really should have the wonderful experience of having her eyebrows waxed. She's old enough now .... and would really benefit from it ;).

ANYwho ... as she realized what we were setting her up for ... her anxiety set in (if you know Marissa - you KNOW her anxiety levels can be pretty intense :)). And, of course, there was a 20 minute wait ... so she had plenty of time to work up the drama. In the end - a call to Dad did the trick. Tyler told her that he would let her and Melynda wax HIS eyebrows this weekend if she just tried it. CLASSIC. I can't WAIT for tomorrow when this happens.

Here are the before and after pics of Marissa's brows. Not super significant ... except the skin color. Before - teary and blotchy; After - clear and cheery. hahahaha:

Before -

After -

This one is my MOST favorite picture ever ... as she realizes it isn't quite so bad at all ... even kindof humorous -

What a beauty this girlie is. Melynda got her some cool colorful extensions afterwards, and then we all had to get some too. :D How cute is she lookin'? Pretty darn, if ya ask me!!

I love you, Miss! Thanks for a fun day together! I can't believe you're gonna be TWELVE!! That is just craziness! I hope we have lots and lots and lots more good times together in the years to come.

First Game of the Season ...

... and first game EVER for Aar-Bear.

Nice hit, buddy!!!

I think this picture of him hitting is just CLASSIC!! Look at that concentration. Skinny lil' dude. :) He just had a blast. We all did! Baseball sure makes it feel like Summertime. I Loooooooove it!

Bragging Rights

Yesterday Aaron brought home a letter from school saying that he had been selected to perform (play the piano) in the end-of-school assembly. This is for the WHOLE SCHOOL mind you!!

I asked him if he wanted to call Grandma and Grandpa to let them know his cool news, and he promptly replied, "I really think you should BLOG this, Mom."

Well, of course .... DUH!!! This bit of news should be available to ALL!!!

We're proud of you, Aar-bear! You'll be fabulous!

Bubble Bash

Here are the kiddos at the school skate party. They did a little bit of skating ... but mostly enjoyed this big bubble bath thing. :) Most kids got totally soaked in it. Aaron and Marissa sure did (I didn't get any pics of Marissa, because she went in it later with the 6th graders ... and I was gone by then) ... but my Kryssie Krys just held up her shorts like a long skirt and skipped around the whole 15 minutes she was in there. Every once in awhile she would pick up a hand full of bubbles and throw them in the air ... and then start skipping again. hahahahahahahahaha!! So funny to me ... she didn't get wet AT ALL. What a fun school activity.

Day With Dad

Ty took the kids to the fire station on one of the Saturdays that I'm gone teaching most of the day. It was a downpour that day ... but, the kids'll never forget it. They toured the fire trucks, an ambulance, and even the life-flight helicopter! Then they went to One-Man Band for lunch. Lucky kids!!

Good times!

Going Blonde ... and other very non-worthy blog things

After reading M's post
I decided to give the special spray a whirl on my kiddos. Look how blonde Krystal and Aaron have become!

Aaron might be getting a little too yellow ... I'll have to ease off for a bit. Marissa's hair is getting a little lighter too - but, I think because Krystal and Aaron already have very light hair ... it's working faster for them.

The kids went to a new dentist today. They haven't been in over a year .... and we've NEVER missed a 6 month visit until 8 months ago .... so, I was a little worried. The kids were way impressed with the video games, cookie-dough flavored toothpaste, and cool people! AAAAND ... Marissa and Krystal had NO cavities!! YAY!! Aaron made up for them, though - and needs a pulpotomy ... or 2. Nice. The dentist says he needs to floss better/more ... ya know .... daily (huh - who knew? haha). I hate flossing my OWN teeth ... trying to add on 2 or 3 more mouths to floss seems like torture to me. But, I am DETERMINED to be better! Any helpful hints?

The rest of these pics are just random - but, I want them on here so I can go back and look at them from time to time:

Krystal is a true princess. She proves this to us daily in many ways .... one of those ways is crying ON DEMAND ... we just told her we wanted a picture of her crying her very best .... and this is what she gave us:

Wow, huh?

Check out this cool princess do .... (My sister Kristy did Hanna's hair like this ... and Krystal really thought it was the "truest princess hair ever".) :)

Here's a quick shot of our "Girls Night with Kyle and Ty" :)! We had so much fun ... and shopped 'til we dropped.

Krystal: "Mom, this is how I do meditate!"

(We had a treasure hunt one day ... which led to treats and a movie together. Hence, all the goodies.) Me and Krys can get pretty creative on our days home together. :) haha