Emma's first day of Preschool

We are doing a little co-op preschool with two other families. Emma was so excited to go...she said bye mom before we were even to the door. They learned about apples and she painted an apple tree. She loved being able to use her backpack and she couldn't stop talking about her fun preschool. I am excited for her to learn and grow this year.
After preschool she played "howdy partner" and "the masked retriever"

Cleverness,Craftiness, and Craziness

Cleverness... Packaging apple in a school bus box. Now we get a nutritious snack and a new toy. Could I have gotten the apples cheaper? of course, but for this one time it was worth every penny. My girls are also clever turning craft sticks into rafts for their little critters and imagining that the blue throw pillows are the water.

Craftiness...
I sewed some buntings to donate to Allison's school to use for decorations at the back to school picnic. I also painted some gymnastic girls for Haylee's birthday party. I am in a quilting bee where we sew 2 blocks every month for someone. This month I got to play around with gnomes it was tricky but fun.

Craziness...

Emma has discovered she can walk on the ledge of our windows...not the bottom ledge the middle one that is as far off the ground as she is tall. It all started because she wanted to see the "aphid". It wasn't really an aphid just some bug. Then once I got the camera out she decided to get even crazier and stand on one foot. I then had to put the camera down and ensure her safety :)

Can it be...is she really 3?

Emma had two little family parties to celebrate her third birthday.

On her actual birthday we celebrated with our little family. I made Lasagna for the first time ever...it was yummy! And we had pie for dessert instead of cake.

The other mini party was when Grandma came to visit. I included these pictures because I think the girls look cute. I love Allison in her pink tutu skirt. She always wanted to wear it but we didn't have a matching shirt so...I found some ribbon scraps that matched and I dressed up one of her white shirts.

I have a Kindergartner!

Allison is growing up fast, I can't believe she is a kindergartner! We started the morning by skypeing Grandma and eating German pancakes which Allison requested. She looked so cute in her pleated skirt and converse. I made her a locket with our pictures in it just in case she missed us.
After her class read The Kissing Hand Allison made us this in case we missed her.

She signed in and answered the question of the day. Then she posed for a picture with her wonderful teacher Ms. Stevenson.

Emma was a little sad that her sister wasn't around to play with but she got over it pretty fast. She had a tea party with her stuffed friends and made a fort.

Monarch Caterpillar

Our friends the Mitchell's gave us a Monarch caterpillar to watch change into a butterfly. We got to see some amazing things. The second day we had our caterpillar he found his spot and hung upside down in the shape of a J. We knew he would soon shed his skin so we went to bed hoping he would wait until morning. Well in the morning he was still there hanging in his J. I went in to get Emma up and literally 3 minutes later we came out to find him almost completely our of his skin. It was cool to watch him wriggle out of the last little bit. I was amazed how much they wiggle.

After our caterpillar had become a chrysalis we started to notice little caterpillars all over in the jar. Apparently the leaves we put in the jar were covered in eggs. (see the first 3 pictures) So we carefully removed all of the babies over the next couple days I stopped counting at 10.

We waited so patiently for our butterfly to hatch but it never did. And eventually the chrysalis began to turn black like it was dieing. Just to be sure we gave it a few more days. We had to explain to the girls how sometimes things die and they were bummed. I really wanted to dissect the chrysalis' to see what was inside but I didn't want to traumatise my kiddos. I asked them if they wanted to see what was inside and they actually got really excited. So I carefully cut open the chrysalis. It was a little yucky since it was starting to decay but we were still able to see one of the butterflies wings. Even though we didn't get to see the butterfly hatch it was really exciting to watch the rest of the process.

Allison had fun drawing the life cycle of a butterfly.

This video is a little blurry but it shows the last bit of the caterpillar wriggling out of his skin.

Visiting Family In Utah

The girls and I got to spend a few days visiting our family in Utah. My Mom came down as well and we had a great time catching up with loved ones. I love visiting family it brings me so much joy. Part of me wishes that we all lived in the same town so we could have big Sunday dinners, but the other part knows that we all need our own wings to fly to our own place in this world.Isn't my Grandpa cute...I think so.

We visited my Grandparents home...it is looking run down these days but it is still one of my favorite places in the world for all the memories it holds.

On Sunday we went to my Aunt Robyn's ward where my mom and 2 of her sisters sang. It was beautiful...I love how siblings can harmonize. After church we ate dinner at Aunt Robyn's new house. The girls loved having Great-Grandma read them stories.

We played and sang for Grandpa.

We stayed with my Aunt Wendy and her family. She was marvelous and did crafts with my girls and filled up the pool to let them play and cool off. She also let me quilt my moms quilt on her big machine...it was awesome.This quilt has been a work in progress for way to long so I am glad to have it finished.
We helped celebrate my grandma's 80th birthday. We went to the Utah Noodle Parlor...the food in my opinion was not super but it was a place my grandparents used to go in their younger days and they loved it so my mediocre meal was worth it. Emma thought her great-grandma needed a wand for her gift so Aunt Wendy and my Mom helped the girls make one. It was a special treat to have my Mom's childhood friend Barbara join us for the birthday lunch.

My girls had fun chasing cousin Ogden around and using him as a horsey. We went with my Aunt Emilee to an activity at the church where we made necklaces out of metal washers.

We also went to Aunt Emilee's house where Emma got her very own sock monkey...her name is Daisy and she is a construction monkey. Allison has one already who is named Penelope and she is a princess. The girls loved playing with all the fun handcrafted toys and of course they loved the bunnies and dogs.

The girls got some birthday money from their Great-Grandparents and they put it to good use. Emma bought herself a scooter and Allison finally got a little sewing machine. Allison also got to go school clothes shopping with Grandma when she drove back with us to San Diego.

Countdown To Kindergarten

I can't believe that I have a child old enough for kindergarten. Allison wanted to make a chain to count down her days until kindergarten.The chain is becoming very short since she starts on Monday. We went to orientation and met her teacher and We bought her school supplies. She has even picked out which outfit she wants to wear the first day...she is ready...and I think I am ready to send her. I will miss her running around the house all day keeping me and Emma company but I am so excited for all the fun learning she will get to do.

A Book Sling

I was flipping through our latest issue of Family Fun magazine when I saw a cute idea for a book sling. Allison really likes having books up on her top bunk so I decided to make one for her. I was excited because I finally had something to use my Matryoshka doll fabric on...and I know how Allison has been eyeing this particular fabric. The sling in the magazine used iron on adhesive but I chose to sew my sling, Also they had the dowels cut to the length of their fabric but our dowels stick out on the ends...I didn't want to go cut them and I don't think it really matters:) Both girls have really enjoyed having books near their beds so I would say this project was a success.

I wanted one so...

Ben and I made one! I really needed somewhere to hang my necklaces and I thought this would be perfect.

Smurthwaite Family Reunion 2010

This year Ben and I were in charge of the Smurthwaite reunion. We decided to have it in Paradise, UT and we had such a wonderful time with our family. We can't wait to see them again. This picture is of part of the group after a fun day at the park and a Temple session
Allison just adores her cousin Carla.

The sun was working against us in this picture but I think it is still a treasure to have a picture with everyone who was there.

Ben and I referred to this reunion as SmurthFest 2010 and the first night we had a dance. We did the Bunny hop, electric slide, even the Bunny hop.

While the Smurthwaite siblings were at the Temple the kids and some of the moms played at the Logan Zoo and park.

Everyone loved decorating their hats...even the teenagers.

Hanging out at the park.

More fun at the park...we did bubbles and colored pictures.

Everyone loved making button bracelets.

The kids also had fun creating outfits for the foam people.

Ben's sister Sherri did a wonderful job planning the food. It was both yummy and messy! A handle on one of the pots fell off while I was carrying it and the baked beans went everywhere...we stopped mid-cleanup to document the mess.

We played the running game and the girls danced to Barbie Princess music.

We had a talent show...I think the most impressive was Marlise knowing all the Smurthwaite full names, birth dates, and anniversary dates.

Smurthwaite Olympics

After the Olympics they wanted to race and see who was the fastest...I believe Devin won with Adam right behind him.

We were all winners in the Olympics but the grand prize went to the yellow team. I think the red team had the best cheer and enthusiasm.

We played pool and tennis and even had a paper airplane contest. The Richmond's dominated the competition.

We headed over to Hyrum dam for some water time. It was very rocky but the kids still had fun.

The reunion was a success and we had lots of fun. I know that was way to many pictures but I loved them all and I couldn't narrow it down any further. Can't wait to see everyone for SmurthFest 2012!!