Monday, June 17, 2013

Bye Bye Coach Lynn!

For the past year, Sydney has been taking gymnastics at the Youth Center on base. Her coach, Lynn, was so positive, fun, and encouraging. I saw such a huge difference in Sydney's confidence on playgrounds and stuff after having been in the class for only a few months.


About a month ago, Coach Lynn told us that her husband's orders were being changed and he was going on a remote assignment in Saudi Arabia for a year. Since they couldn't be on his orders, she and her daughter had to move back to the states. We were so bummed that she had to go, but so grateful to have had a wonderful year with her!

Shortly after Coach Lynn left, Sydney decided she didn't like the bar because it hurt her hips. This turned into lots of whining on her part and coaxing on mine to get her to go to gymnastics, and she finally said she wanted to be done. Now she is totally excited to be on the waiting list for ballet!

Photo Op with Daddy

After Spencer did his PRT (fitness test), he came home to clean up and had some time to spare before having to head into work in uniform. He loves these Superman pj's Grandma B. gave Shawn and thought they would make for a cute photo shoot.

This boy is soooooo attached to his Daddy.
And we can't forget a cute picture with our fancy little Syd. Notice her headband "belt," which I think was inspired by my wearing skinny belts with some of my outfits :)

Watching Conference

Every six months when General Conference rolls around, we relish in the fact that we get to spend Sunday morning (ok, let's be honest... all day Sunday) hanging out in our pj's while we listen to messages from our church leaders on TV. Granted, the kids were being crazy and it was a little difficult to pay attention. Sydney got the brilliant idea of making us a special bed for watching Conference, and I think he helped them be a little more quiet for a solid 10 minutes. 

Not sure what it is about Shawn, but he loves to just chill in his diaper. Sydney never really did that, so it kind of cracks me up.
When it was all over I asked Spencer what percent of Conference he actually got to listen to, and he said something along the lines of, "I think a good 25%."

Easter 2013

Our Easter celebrating started a few days beforehand with coloring eggs with friends. Aside from the usual crayons and stinky vinegar coloring method, we also attempted a marbled effect using shaving cream that I found on Pinterest. That was a total fail. But my kids sure seemed to enjoy decorating their eggs!


Shawn was completely enthralled in this process. I was a nervous wreck hovering over him so he wouldn't spill all over the floor (and my favorite rug). Luckily my friend Kathy was there to snap photos! I love these pictures she captured of him:


The day before Easter, I told Sydney she and I could go on a mommy-daughter date and get our toes done. Although I had planned on doing it a week before, I naively thought we could easily walk in to one of the places on base without an appointment. Boy was I wrong! After getting turned down at Kadena, we went over to Foster and were told by two more places that they were totally booked. We finally tried a place off base and I asked if they could just squeeze in Sydney. By that point I was desperate and didn't want to totally disappoint her for not delivering on my promise. Thank goodness they said yes, and I sat and flipped through nail art pictures for like an hour while my 4 year old was pampered.


The final product was super cute Hello Kitty toes and flowers on her fingers. She loved it!



On Easter morning we woke to a major downpour. All the drains and ditches on Lester were almost full, and there were even spots on the road that were flooded. Luckily I chose to wear my rain boots and carry my dress shoes, cause we there was a good 6 inches of standing water in the parking spot we pulled into at church. It was all dried up by the time we were done.

 


When we got home, the kids went through their Easter baskets and immediately cracked open every glow stick they got. So much for thinking the Easter bunny gave them a solid three day supply...

Showing off her fancy nails again.
In the afternoon, we joined in the annual Lester Heights Easter egg hunt. Shawn was sleeping and missed out on the fun.

Back: Ben, Maddy, Rain
Middle: Sydney, Hazel, Ford, Hailey
Front: Owen, Larkin, Seth
Sydney loves acting like she's Hazel Mae's big sister.
When Ashley gave the go ahead for the kids to start searching, Sydney was the only kid that went to this section of the yard. Let's just say she made out like a bandit, and I let her collect extra eggs since Shawn wasn't out there to get his due.


Afterwards I saw her snitching lots of candy at the top of the stairs, and grabbed my camera to catch her in the act. I told her to say "cheese" and about died laughing when her smile revealed chocolate covered teeth. Looks like I married a man in the right profession!