Ada this year

I've been such a blogging slacker that I'm trying to come up with ways I can clump pictures together and make them all relative to a single post. This post is all about Ada.

Ada started taking ballet last year. She really wasn't the biggest fan. I had to force a screaming, kicking Ada into her ballet clothes every week. She got better as the year went on and they started preparing for their recital. They performed 'The Ice Queen' in May and Ada's class got to dress up as mice. She loved her sparkly costume and the fact that she got to wear makeup. It was so adorable to watch her up there. Afterward, she couldn't stop talking about the finale where all the dancers came onto the stage at once. That must have been her favorite part! Luckily, she decided she wants to do ballet again. She started about a month ago and has been much more willing to go each week.

I just can't get over those lashes


Practicing at the dress rehearsal


Ada with her cute friend Ellie


The cutest little mouse


Ada graduated from preschool in June. Her class performed 'The Three Little Pigs' and sang lots of songs. Her teachers decided to give presents to everyone based on what they think they'll be when they grow up. They decided Ada will be an artist and they gave her lots of art supplies. They really nailed that one on the head! She loves to draw and color and spends lots of time at the table every day doing so. It was a cute program and fun to see her with all her friends.

In her new dress, before we left for the program


Ada's class up on stage


Ada with her cute teacher Miss Missy (who is now Kate's teacher)


Ada turned five in July, but we'll do a separate birthday post.


Then in August, Ada started Kindergarten! What a crazy thing! Hard to believe she's that old. She absolutely loves school. She is in the French Immersion Program and I can't believe all the French she was learned already. She knows colors, shapes, months of the year, days of the week, how to count to 16, and lots of random words and phrases. She has already made lots of friends. We went to her school carnival last week and I couldn't believe how many people said 'hi' to her! She loves doing her homework every day but not necessarily being read to for 20 minutes. She walks to school every day with some neighbors and then Kate and I walk to pick her up when she's done. I'm so glad she enjoys school and is doing so well.

The big first day


Lining up ready to start. She wasn't nervous at all!


Here are some random pictures of our cute little Ada:

Weekly Quote 9/25/11

Oh, my poor, neglected blog! At least I remember this week to change the quote. "I am NOT a bigamist" is from the movie 'Mamma Mia'. Donna says it to Sam after he proposes. Great show, and even better when watched with sisters!

New quote up!

Pacific Northwest Vacay

Tyler was awesome enough to make day-by-day posts of our Seattle trip. You can read all about it here. Made it lots easier for me, though I'll include a few thoughts:

-Seattle is a cool city, but I wouldn't call it one of my favorites. Downtown was not fun to drive through. Luckily Tyler was the one driving.
-I also wasn't a fan of downtown Vancouver. We only walked down one street, but it was dirty and there were lots of crazy people. Maybe I would change my mind if we saw the rest of the city.
-I wish I would have gotten a picture of the girls on the airplane. It was Kate's first time flying and the first that Ada could remember. They were champs and I think had a good time.
-My favorite part was probably the tide pools. It was a gorgeous site and cool to see all the ocean creatures. Like Tyler, I would love to go back to that area and experience more of the natural beauty.
-I got sick the day we left. A sore throat turned into a horrible runny nose (you know, the kind where you blow your nose every 5 minutes but it still won't stop dripping? Good times.). It sort of wiped me out on the trip, and especially after we got home. Sucked.

When it rains, it pours

I've always considered myself a pretty lucky person. I've never had anything horrible happen to me or anyone close to me. I haven't had to suffer through many trials. Though nothing tragic has happened (with one exception), this year has been a tough one for my family and others close to me. Somehow, though, almost everything has ended well. I am truly blessed and still feel extremely lucky. Here is a list of what has been going down lately:

-In February, we had a miscarriage scare. Obviously, everything turned out well and we only have about two more months until our baby girl joins us. I have been extremely fortunate in the baby department. No problems conceiving, carrying, or birthing. I am extremely grateful for this.

-Also in February, my sweet baby niece was admitted to PCMC at only a few weeks old and it was discovered that she had bacterial meningitis, a brain abscess, and a staph infection. It was a scary time, but she was a trooper. No surgery or anything serious; just antibiotics through a PICC-line for eight weeks. She has since been a happy, healthy baby.

-My mom's sister was diagnosed with breast cancer. Before she finished her treatments, they found cancer on her spine. She has been extremely positive through everything and apparently has a new outlook on life. She finished radiation yesterday and hopefully is now cancer-free!

-My dad's brother was diagnosed with throat cancer. He had to have an extremely long, complicated surgery which entailed removing parts of his tongue and the roof of his mouth and removing his whole lower jaw (which was replaced with bone from his leg, making him have difficulty walking) among other things. It has been a long road for him and he still can't really talk or eat well. I have learned a lot from him, though. He has always been a really funny, positive person and nothing has changed with this trial. He has learned a lot also. In fact, he was re-baptized into the LDS church after being away for decades. It was such a special experience to attend his baptism and confirmation. He has been such an amazing example to me.

-My best friend's mom was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer. This was her second time with breast cancer. It was a hard time for the family but everyone had a lot of faith. Her chemo treatments went well and miraculously she was just discovered (to the doctors' amazement) to be cancer-free! What great examples they've all been. This was truly a miracle.

-A good friend's sister was killed while riding her bike in a hit-and-run accident. I hadn't kept in touch very well with my friend, but I went to the funeral and it was great to reunite with her and meet her baby girl. Her sister was only 24 and it was a huge shock to all. I was so amazed by her family's faith and ability to forgive. They handled everything extremely well and were so composed and positive. I'm grateful for their examples and the chance I had to see my friend again.

-My grandpa died last month. This is the first grandparent I've lost. Everyone thought he was going to die around Memorial Day and we all went to say our last goodbyes, but he stuck around until July (Kate's birthday, actually). It was hard for me, even though he was almost 92 and had Alzheimer's. He was ready to go and I know he's in a happier place. He's had a lot of health problems over the years, but he's always been a happy, funny person. I've never seen him angry or upset. I know it's hard for my poor grandma (who is only 80), but she has been great through everything. The funeral was good and I was able to sing a song with my sisters and cousins that my grandma wrote. Although it was a hard time, my sisters came into town and it was nice to have my entire family together.

-My dad just went in for surgery to remove melanoma from his arm. It was a scary few days, but it was discovered that the cancer hadn't spread to his lymph nodes. They removed the cancer from his arm and he has a gaping wound that will take a while to heal, but we're so glad that everything is well! It makes me that much more conscious about being out in the sun.

It's crazy how all this stuff has happened so close together, but I feel really lucky that things have worked out the way they have. I have learned a lot and I think I'm much more prepared for future trials. I'm grateful for my faith and how it has helped everyone get through everything. I'm grateful for prayer and the Priesthood. Gosh, it's only August, so let's hope that the rest of the year turns out to be very uneventful!

Weekly Quote 8/15/11

"You're burning the chow!" This is from Disney's 'Robin Hood'. Good job, Shanny! New quote up!

Weekly Quote 8/8/11

"Tomorrow? But I wanna go home now!" is from 'The Wizard of Oz'. Life has been crazy lately, so there has been a lack of posting. Hopefully I can get around to some stuff this week.

New quote up!

Weekly Quote 7/24/11

"You're gonna die, clown!" This is from Happy Gilmore. I'm not so much into that type of show like I used to be, but I have to laugh thinking about all the great quotes from it. Sorry I've been a slacker with the blog lately; we've had major computer issues and life has been crazy lately.

New quote up!

Weekly Quote 6/27/11

"These mashed potatoes are so creamy." is from While You Were Sleeping. Great show. I think my favorite part is when they show the paper boy tossing newspapers and suddenly his bike tips over. Completely random. New quote up!

Potty

Kate has been officially potty trained for quite a while now. She still wears Pull-Ups at night, but she never gets them wet. It's been quite nice to have no kids in diapers. Unfortunately, we now see a lot of this:

(Those shorts are size 12 months, btw)

There was one week at the beginning where she had several accidents, but that (luckily) didn't last long. The next week, however, just when I thought we were done cleaning up pee, we experienced another accident at our house. Tyler and I had just turned off the light to go to bed when Tyler heard a noise. He waited a minute and then got up to see what was going on. He went in the family room and turned on the light, only to discover a bare-bottomed Ada sitting on the couch in a puddle of pee. She continued sitting there, wide-eyed, until we moved her and got her cleaned up (thank goodness for microfiber). It was obvious that she was oblivious to the whole thing. She must have thought she was sitting on the toilet the whole time! The next morning when I told her what happened, she denied everything. I probably would have been mad at having to clean up another accident if it just wasn't so darn funny!

Weekly Quote 6/20/11

"How'd you like to hang a stocking on a great, big coconut tree?" is from the song 'Christmas Island'. Yes, my girls still listen to Christmas CD's when they fall asleep at night. This particular song is sung by Ariel and is always in my head. Ugh.

New quote up!