A Fun Dress-Up Dress

Sara said it reminded her of all the calico dresses in Oklahoma all in one dress. I was trying out sewing with elastic thread in my bobbin. SOOO MUCH FUN!!!! Gathering the layers was a snap and sewing around the neck and sleeves to give it a peasant top look was easy too. This was just the trial run for the dress up box but I look forward to trying this out in more clothing projects.

Raspberries!

Ok, so probably not the kind you were thinking. Daniel came in from the back yard last night whimpering a bit with his face covered in dirt. I thought he said someone had thrown dirt in his face, so I told him to wash his face and then come to me.

When he came back I felt horrible to see his raspberry covered cheek. I had no idea he was injured. He was quite brave about the whole thing. I guess he fell out of a lawn chair on to his face in the dirt and gravel.

After getting him wash and disinfected, he asked us to say a prayer. He said, "I know Heavenly Father will make it better now." So sweet, the faith of a 5 year old! It was sad to send him to school today looking like he had been beaten up. These photos really don't do it justice. Poor guy!

Silly Little Laney

Today Laney came to me with a serious face and said, "Mom, the ABC's hurt my feelings." I said, "They did?" and she replied, "Well... almost. Because I will smell flowers. I like them small, like little, little tiny like a baby. The dad and moms flowers are big and say chomp, chomp to the baby. I love it the flowers."

"I love it the (fill in the blank)" is one of her most used phrases. She says it using whatever she is thinking of or can see... bugs, cheese, tooth paste, electric bills dad is holding, no matter how obscure.

I am noticing that with Daniel in Kindergarten, I am having more and more of these random, crazy conversations with Laney. Apparently, it takes a lot of time to get all her talking in for the day. Susanna doesn't fulfill that need replying in baby talk I guess. I was very grateful to have my nieces Heidi and Gwen drop by for a visit yesterday. Laney had someone else to chat with for a while so I could work and not feel like I wasn't giving her my full attention.

She is hilarious though. I love this stage in speech development, how they experiment with combinations and words a bit beyond what they comprehend. It is great.

A Visit From The Tooth Fairy

Daniel lost his first tooth two days before starting Kindergarten. He is by far my youngest to lose a tooth. He came to me that morning and said his tooth felt funny. I looked and I am sure it did feel funny, it was so loose that it was pointing forward. He wiggled it around for a little while and then I gently pulled on it and it came right out. He was so excited he exclaimed, "Quick Mom get me some tape for the Tooth Fairy!" At our house the T.F. forgets to come unless you tape your tooth to the refrigerator door, I think she is over worked and exhausted at the end of the day. She takes your tooth and tapes a quarter on the door for you. I know she is lame and cheap, but my kids don't get any less excited about it and are always shock to find out that their friends have other methods for leaving their teeth for the T.F.

The next morning at about 6 am, Daniel checked the refrigerator door and was so sad that his tooth was gone. I told him the quarter had been left for him in exchange for the tooth. He said, "For ME?" He was thrilled. I guess he didn't know why we taped teeth for the T.F. He was so cute!

My Monkeys at the Zoo

For August 8th in Phoenix, AZ it was a gorgeous day. Only 101 degrees for the high with a beautiful breeze. I would guess most of our time at the zoo it was between 90 and 95 degrees. We got there just after 8 am and left just after 3 pm. We had to go... kids 12 and under are free until August 31st. That saved us about $56. It was a great way to finish off the summer.

Sunscreen hair

At the end I asked the kids what their favorite animals were. Some said the cheetahs, which were really moving around, some said the monkeys, but most said the friendly little squirrel that would walk right up to them. Who knew?

Dodge Ball Night

27 balls, 18 kids and 8 adults = A LOT OF FUN!!!!!

Some of the kids

My team

Their team

Major action going on!

Treats!

Time to hit the showers

First Day of School

The whole crew

Sam, 8th grader

Josh, 7th grader

Tim, 5th grader

Sara, 4th grader

Drew, 2nd grader

Nate, 2nd grader

Daniel, Kindergarten

Laney and

Zanna at home with mom