Syd...the party planner

So, this sweet girl is just amazing.  The other night (7 p.m.) I was washing dishes and she came up to me and said, 'Oh, Mom...by the way....WE (meaning herself and the other eight/nine year olds at school) have planned a surprise birthday party for our teacher!'  I chuckled to myself and said, 'Great!  When are you throwing your party?' She replies, 'Tomorrow--and I signed up to bring the decorations....and the cake.  Can you tell me where a tablecloth is that I can bring?  I really need a tablecloth!'  I immediately started laughing....hysterically.  This little lady is literally turning into her mother.  (Poor thing!)  I began laughing even harder after I asked her what everyone else was bringing to the party and she told me they were assigned to be the 'distracters'....no one else bringing treats....no one else bringing decorations...just her ;)  I sense a hereditary pattern forming!

Our Skipping Soccer Star

OK, can this kid get any cuter?  After many reservations (mostly due to weather) about signing K-Man up for soccer again this spring, he came bounding in my room with his soccer ball and told me all about his ambitions to be a soccer star.  Of course, this was perfect timing to tip off the "Mommy Guilt Complex," and we took the plunge! As the season began, we were thrilled to see that he had abandoned his grass picking ways of last year, and loved watching him chase after the ball.  Nearing the end of the season, his hussle had slowed itself down a bit made it's way into a sauntering skip.  Kade just loved being out on that field, and as much as he loved the "goal" at the end of the rush, he most often just put that cute face into the sun and skipped down the field in all his "soccer star" bliss.  Until next Spring!  May the weather be just as beautiful...and may our Skipping Soccer Star stay just as sweet. :)

Macie's Birthday Bistro

Happy Birthday, Macie!

We celebrated my niece, Macie's, 6th Birthday with Kim and her gang!  Macie is such a sweetie, and LOVES to help in the kitchen, so Kim decided to create "Macie's Bistro" for a party theme for her.  It turned out so cute, and even after a couple of cake disasters, it all was beyond charming, and the little Bistro Pastry Chefs at the party were just thrilled!  They decorated aprons, chef hats and their very own cake that they took home in a cute pastry box with their name on it!  This was, of course, after they visited the "Bistro" and dined on sweet treats and party goodies galore!  Happy Birthday to Macie!  We loved being part of your party!

My Favorite Pair of C's....

We are so blessed to have family near and close to us.  My sister Candice is one who always finds the time to stop by, squeeze the kiddos, impart wisdom and life perspectives and most importantly, she justifies my crazy impulses as she rolls her eyes in unconditional, sisterly love (enduring).  I adore her!  (As do my kiddos).  However, there is a special little bond between her and my little man, Chase.  I tease her all the time that he actually looks like he belongs to her more than me ;)  I had the chance to shoot a quick picture of the two of them together the other day, so I couldn't pass it up. Candice & Chase...my favorite pair of C's

March Magnolias

I just had to post the pictures from the latest wedding cake endeavor. I was doing the cake for the sister of our bestest next door neighbors. The bride had requested something like this cake with the sugar magnolias:








This was my artistic interpretation (or how it just turned out...for better or worse) ;) Being that it was my first real shot at sugar flowers, I was pretty excited with how great it turned out! Besides, who doesn't love big beautiful flowers for a wedding in March, right?
(P.S.-Thanks to the incredible support crew of family and friends that helped make this cake possible ;) )

Color's Wonder!

So, as I was frantically pacing from one end of my kitchen to the other in attempts to finish a wedding cake on Saturday (see next post), my great friends Kristin (Aller, for you Kansas folk--yes, a small world!) and Julie called wanting to whisk Sydnie away with their cute daughters for a day of color at the "Festival of Colors" held every year at the Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork. Every year we see the Festival participants walking away looking like this-through the streets of Spanish Fork after participating in the festivities. Don and I were both hesitant to send Syd into the chaos, but the chaos of butter cream icing and cute friends won out and off she ran! I just had to share the pictures of her and those wonderful, colorful friends of hers. She had such an amazing time!

Now that the crazy from the weekend has passed, I sat looking at these pictures feeling very













grateful for COLOR in such a wonderful world! The "Festival of Colors" celebrates the passing of winter and the emerging joy of spring. I stopped to look out into my yard and savor the bright yellow of my resilient daffodils (they have weathered two snow storms!) and the sweet accents of my hyacinths and crocus popping their heads out of the ground. I breathed in the sweetness of the end of my beautiful apricot blossoms and it filled me with the wonder and warmth that only the colors of spring can bring! Within weeks my yard will be filled with the beautiful gifts of the season in the form of colors, tulips, green grass and birds chirping. We are so ready!

Bring on the Spring!

Diversity Means.....

Yes, quite the heading, right? This was the Reflections theme for the year for our kiddos! Sydnie and Kaden decided to take a photojournalistic approach to the topic and roped Grandpa Larry into helping them run around and take pictures of flowers (Sydnie) and leaves (Kaden) that helped them exemplify the theme which meant (in Syd's words) "things that are different, but still the same." Yes, I would have to agree, Syd ;) Both of them came away with trophies after having worked so hard...and big smiles of accomplishment. I'm just so proud of them for sticking with the project, and being so excited about being involved in it! They also had a blast working on it together...they are pretty great project buddies :)

Going once....going twice, gone!

Going once....going twice, gone!

That is about how it felt over the last fourteen days as Sydnie lost BOTH of her two front teeth! (It seems like they have been loose forever!) What is it about kids getting those big, grown-up teeth--right there in the front? I feel like it is one of the last official steps of sucking the "baby" out of my baby. She is already looking like such a big, grown-up little thing (not to mention she already is as tall as my chest!)

Sydnie is, of course, thrilled. Most of her other friends have already sent those beautiful, baby front teeth off to the Tooth Fairy. Tonight, Sydnie eagerly awaits the arrival of her friend, the Tooth Fairy, to bestow her with gifts in exchange for that last glorious symbol of being a "little" girl...my little girl. Hopefully that Tooth Fairy takes an extra moment as she conducts the delicate exchange to put her aching heart aside and place a fairy dust wish upon the head of that precious girl as she takes that precious tooth.

She is one fantastic and incredible girl!
May she continue to grow in beauty and grace...and may her two front teeth also do the same, please? ;)

Last Day of School!

This week has been filled with the joy, anticipation and tearful goodbyes of the last day of school. Both Sydnie and Kade finished up this week and left me whirling, thinking, 'where did the time go?' Kade graduated from his preschool and we said goodbye to his angel teacher, Mrs. Dove. He had an amazing year, and learned so much about reading and writing. I can't believe how much he has grown! They ended the year all smiles and celebrated with a Circus Party (thus Mrs. Dove and her cute clown costume). Once Kade comes to the four year old realization that pre-school is really over, I think he is going to miss it a lot. He loved being silly, but he also loved learning. I spent Thursday in tears throughout the process of his little "rite of passage" simply because I can't believe he is on his way to Kindergarten...and oh, so ready! ;)Sydnie also finished up her year in First Grade in an amazing whirlwind of activity...much like our Sydnie! Her class had their much anticipated Zoo field trip, we celebrated her "summer birthday" with a root beer float party, there were reading contest celebrations (as part of which her awesome principal ate WORMS!), she read and studied every night to pass off her final list of sight words....the sixth grade list, we made fun 'thank you' gifts for her teacher and school staff and she had her dance festival on the last day where the whole First Grade danced the "Funky Slide"--so cute. She worked so hard! She made goals with Don and I about what she wanted to accomplish before the end of the year, and she accomplished each one of them. Add that to more teary good byes with friends and her amazing teacher, Ms. Pothier, and it was definitely quite the end to an incredible year.After all was said and done, we all took a breath and smiled a big smile. As parents, we couldn't be more proud of our kiddos. They are becoming the greatest little..."people." They excelled, progressed and grew. They made new friends, conquered fears and did hard things. They are both excited for summer, but it only took us driving about 2 minutes away from the school on Friday for Sydnie to sigh that deep sigh of hers and say, "I miss school already." I'm afraid Fall will come a little too soon for this Mom. In the meantime we are going to play and swim and sleep in (and we also headed straight out to enjoy a well-deserved celebration lunch at one of the kids' favorite Mexican restaurants). They are the absolute greatest, and we are looking forward to "family day" every day...for the next two months or so!

Way to go Syd and Kade! We love you!...bring on the Summer!

Um, I'd like the BIG fork, please?

Kade is quite the character. As with the other kids, he is intensely independent, and wants to do things "all by himself." After all, he is a "very big boy, now" right? Today, I walked into the kitchen where I was planning to pull out the container of homemade Mac-N-Cheese for lunch (Kade's favorite), only to find that he had climbed into the fridge, grabbed the bowl full of goodness, and chosen the BIGGEST fork he could find to eat that pasta. After all, a big boy deserves a big fork :) And he ate the whole bowl.....