Beautiful weather

Finally some beautiful weather. We have been waiting for some spring like weather around here and it is finally here but only for a short time. Since we are all going crazy being cooped up in the house we headed out to the zoo for a the day with some friends. We had a great time and the kids loved being all together with some of their favorite people. It has been about a year since we have been to the zoo and their is a new exhibit. A Wallaby walk about. It was really cool. We got to walk through the exhibit and the wallaby's were jumping around us. One of them had a baby in it's pouch. The baby stuck its head out and Jacob got the coolest picture. We spent most of the day there just walking around and enjoying the animals. I am so glad that we were able to get out and enjoy this weather.

Spring Break fun

When Capri is over it is sometime hard to keep the peace. All of my girls love Capri and want to spend time with her. We made plans to have her spend the night so I needed to make sure I had something they could all enjoy together. I found these cute little pots at Target in the dollar section. The girls had a great time painting them and making them their own. The girls had a great time and loved showing them off.

Young womens conference

This is the first year that Madison could attend the General Young Women's Conference and I wanted to make it special for her so we headed to Utah. I have always wanted to attend conference in the Conference Center so I thought this would be a great time to do that. Originally the trip was just going to be us two but we decided to go as a family and have some family time before Kevin starts a new class. We arrived in Salt Lake late Friday night. Saturday morning we started out by doing some shopping at a few places that are only in Utah. While we were downtown we thought we would tour the Beehive house. I have never been inside so it was a first for all of us except Kevin. The girls really liked seeing how the Saints lived when they first settled Salt Lake City. We did some more shopping before we met up with my sister Rachel and my niece Anna. I was amazed as we were walking up to the Conference Center. I can not believe all the people. I normally get very uptight and crazy in a big crowd but this was different. My sister was able to get us our tickets and they were great seats. We were sitting right in front of the podium in the first section. This was our view from our seats. For the first time in the Conference Center, I think we got spoiled. I am so glad that I got to experience this with Madison. The talks were great and President Monson was funny when it was over and he was leaving. I can't wait to go again when Allison turns 12. After Conference we met up with Kevin and the girls and one of my best friends from high school. I love it when I get together with Melissa, it is like it was yesterday the last time we saw each other. I love her dearly and treasure every time that we get to see each other. Our weekend was short and sweet. I wish we had more time but it was great to get away. We need to take a week long vacation sometime to Utah so I can do everything that is on my list and see everyone that I want to see. There are too many wonderful friends and family in Utah. Madison's spring break had started so we took our time getting home on Sunday. There was no rush so we visited with my brother and sister some more before heading out. Again I wish we had more time so the girls could play with their cousins and the adults could visit. Hopefully next time. The girls were exhausted so the ride was quiet.

Poor Allison

Allison has had a long week and it was not what she expected at all. It all started on Tuesday when she went to her routine dentist appointment. We found out that she had 3 cavities. She really is a great brusher and flosser but her molars are so close together that it is sometimes difficult to floss. I have tried to help but it is really tight. I just think that you do all you can and sometimes you get cavities anyways. She wasn't happy and said she even almost cried when they told her. Poor little girl. We set up the appointment to get them taken care of and May was the soonest that they could get her in. She was relieved.

On Wednesday she had a consultation appointment with the orthodontist. She was nervous about this but I told her that all they would do was take x-rays and then recommend treatment. Well her mouth is a train wreck. Her mouth is way too small for the teeth that she has coming in. They suggested that she gets an appliance that expands the roof of her mouth. OUCH. After seeing the x-rays and talking to Dr. Guymon, I really saw the importance in getting this done. I knew exactly what Kevin would say so I told them lets go ahead with the treatment. Since she is out of school right now for track break we decided to get started right then. They took her back to the treatment room and put the spacers in. The orthodontist suggest that I call the dentist to check on the cavities and make sure their treatment doesn't interfere with the fillings in May.
Well they did interfere so we needed to get the cavities filled before we could move ahead with the orthodontic work. The dentist put us on the cancellation list and with in five minutes they called us back and Allison had an appointment for this morning to get her fillings.

Allison was already a little uncomfortable with the spacers and now she was getting three cavities fixed. She was very nervous because they only thing she knew about getting fillings were what she had heard from Madison and they were not good stories. Allison could hardly sleep. In spite of her nerves she was a trooper and cooperated with everything the dentist ask. I am so proud of how brave she has been this week. Since Allison was so nervous I felt that the laughing gas was a must. When we left she ask me why they didn't give her a shot. I told her that they did and she didn't notice. I love her dentist Dr. Witt. He is amazing with the girls. He really does a great job at helping them be comfortable with all that he does. I am so glad that we finally get to go to a pediatric dentist. It makes a huge difference. Allison's experience was nothing like Madison's. Doesn't she look miserable.

Bowling reward

Today one of Allison's friends wanted to meet her at Bounce but we had a lot to do around the house. I told the girls if they helped and we got things done then we could meet Sydney. The girls did it, they worked really hard and we got the laundry done and house clean. Allison called Sydney to let her know we were on our way and she thought she said that she wasn't going to to Bounce anymore but were at Meridian Lanes. I didn't care either way so we headed to the bowling alley. We got to there and it was packed so we got our lane and started bowling. Through some more phone calls Allison figured out that she miss understood and Sydney was at Bounce. I was very proud of her because in the past this might have been something that got her upset but it didn't. We continued to bowl and had fun. I think Allison was just happy to be out of the house and satisfied with the reward for her hard work. Ashley was funny she had this side little throw going on. It was funny. She didn't do that bad for it only being her second time.
Allison would run her ball up and throw it pretty normal and then come bouncing back. I am not sure why she would run and when I even ask her about she didn't even know why. When our second game was almost over she said that the ball was hurting her fingers. I took a look at them and she had a good size blister starting but I wasn't sure why. She showed me how she was holding the ball and I couldn't believe it she had been holding it wrong the whole time. Her poor fingers. I showed her how to hold it and I saw this light bulb go on. She is such a funny little girl. She was bummed that we couldn't play another game since she just figured out how to hold the ball. We really had a lot of fun.

St Patrick's Day

We had quite a fun day today. Ashley had an assignment from school to make a Leprechaun trap and bring it to school. This is one of Allison's favorite memories from preschool so she was very excited to help out. They have been planning the perfect trap all week. They kept it fairly simple so we worked on this morning before school. They really had a lot of fun working together and making a great trap for the Leprechaun. At school Ashley didn't catch a Leprechaun but one did come to their class while they were at recess. He messed up the room and a the traps were tripped so they were really close to catching one. He also left some candy around for the kids. Ashley thought for sure that her trap would catch a leprechaun. Our bait was Lucky Charms and Leprechauns love it.

Tonight for dinner the girls thought it would be fun to make a special dinner. They wanted green eggs so we added hashbrowns and we had a dinner. I have never made green eggs before so they didn't turn out the way I would have wanted them too. Madison and Allison both knew exactly what I did wrong and what I should do next time. Our Sprite also came out green. The girls really thought that was funny. Allison is on set table this week and she always likes to decorate it. I like the the way she turned the trap into a napkin holder. We finished dinner with a nice dessert that Madison made. There was a little hidden treasure in it. It was fun to watch Ashley find it. Today was a fun day.

End of our crazy Saturdays

Allison's basketball season has come to an end and our Saturday's can return to normal. She did an awesome job. I love to watch her progress and become a better player. She really looks like she is having fun on the court. She had a great season and we can't wait till next year.

Madison had her end of the season basketball party. These were a great bunch of girls and I can't wait to see them all play next year.

House Guests

Kevin's sister and her husband went to Mexico and they ask us if we would watch their children. We were so excited to have Owen, Ava and Ruth at our house. On their first day here I thought I would enjoy the beautiful weather and go play at the park. My kids were kind of bummed when we pulled up because it wasn't the best park in town but I explained that we had to go to a small one so I could keep track of everyone. They seemed to be ok with it and had a great time.

I could not have pulled this off without Madison and Allison they are such a big help. They helped keep kids busy and happy. Having the Wallis's at our house was so much fun.

Mother Daughter Activity

Tonight I had the great privilege of going to young women's with Madison. It was Freaky Friday on a Wednesday. We came dressed as each other and switched roles for the whole evening. We played a game where the girls did chores that a mom would do in a typical day and then we did things that the girls would do in a typical day. I was a bit overwhelmed by the moms task because before we left home Madison and I were working on her pre-algebra and they had a algebra math problem. I loved math in school but it is so overwhelming with everything that I have going on. Minus the math problem it was a great game.
After the games, we then fixed each other up with our hair supplies and makeup(or lack there of for Madison). Madison has no desire to wear makeup yet and after tonight I do not mind. First of all she is a beautiful girl and she doesn't need anything. Secondly I am not ready for how much older it makes her look. She did not like the makeup. She said it smelled and felt funny. I am happy to let her decide when she wants to start to wear makeup. I don't think it will be any day soon.