August Stuff

Volunteering for the Book Fair at school.

My friend Nicole published a book and we are advertising. 

I got to be the spotlight in the Relief Society newsletter.

Kendall got an eye infection after swimming at the house with her friend Camryn. There was gelatin-looking stuff on the bottom of her eyeball. It was so nasty that I called Paul and asked him what I should do. He said it was an allergic reaction and would go away on its on. We could put eye drops to help with the itching and infection, but it wasn't necessary. Kendall refused the eye drops and we waited it out. But she kept itching her eye, so the gelatin-like stuff came back another time or two. 3 full days went by before her eye was completely back to normal.

We had a Minute-to-Win-it Games activity at the church and the girls loved it! It was so much fun! A great turnout, too.

We went to the Chandler Mall with Berkley, and the girls did more playing than shopping, but it was fun!

They even made Teddy bears who got married to each other.

We went to a Bingo night at Ryan Elementary. We came close to winning a few times...

But it was Alexis who got a Bingo!

I volunteered at Feed My Children with my friend Angela and ran into my other friend Amanda's mom (Juniper's grandma).

Juniper's birthday party was the week after Alexis', and I was glad that our party was first because I would have felt a lot of pressure in planning ours. Juniper's party was so over-the-top. Amanda got a mermaid to entertain the kids. She rented these cute tiny tables and chairs. And she put together these balloon arches that were 100 times better than mine. She won. She had the better party. 

It rained!!! And it actually rained a lot this month. Arizona is thankful.

I did this diamond-by-number thing and it only took me 2 weeks to finish it.

School is tiring.

School spirit.

When she won't pose for Sunday pics... Gotta get her from the back.

It's fun to race your friends. It's even more fun when you beat them!

The YM and YW had a super fun activity and I'm so jealous! Taylor chickened out but Logan went on the sides multiple times. Taylor ended up doing the tube-thing being pulled by the boat and still had fun.

While the kids are at school, William and I have been going on mini-dates. They've all been centered around food. I work out hard so that I can indulge in these dates.

Kendall For School President

Kendall is a busy girl. Not only does she cheer 5 hours a week at the club, but she also (will) cheer 1 hour at the school. This year, she also signed up for Orchestra and has been learning to play the violin.

So when she came home and said she was running for President (of the whole school), I wasn't surprised but I was definitely hesitant. Kendall made her own posters. I encouraged her to use memes, and I think it caught a lot of eyes. Her promo video was pretty great, too. And lastly, we made shirts for her and Alexis to wear at school. 

Sadly, she didn't win. But a fifth grader has never won President before, so I think that comforted her a little. Jen was actually over at the house later that day and told me that the teacher in charge of the whole program rigged the votes. A certain boy won with the most votes, but that teacher said she did not want to work with him, so she announced the runner-up as the winner. That's pretty messed up!

A lot of Kendall's friends ran for Vice-President and School Spirit Coordinator, but none of them won either. Sixth graders took up all the School Counsel spots. 

I told Kendall it was probably for the best, especially if she wants to do Drama Club, too. Plus this year just gave her the experience and knowledge needed for a better run next year. I'm so proud of her for dreaming big and not letting her fears get in her way. Go, Kendall!

Alexis' 5th Birthday

My baby is 5! Alexis is such a joy to be around. She's the perfect amount of sugar and spice, sweet and sassy. She's tender, loving, caring, and snuggly. She loves to dance, cheer, swim, and move to the beat of her own drum. For the most part, she's obedient and a good listener. We love her dang-so-much (as she says).

Her birthday fell on orange day at school, but we made the best of her special day. She had crepes for breakfast, then she went to school. I picked her up to have a special lunch with just her and me (we had sushi). Then I took her back to school where she shared popsicles with her classmates. After school, Alexis went to tumbling and rehearsal where she shared cake pops with her dance friends. Thankfully I'd brought enough to share with all the siblings who were waiting in the lobby. 

Then Alexis and I went to Build-a-Bear. It's become a fun tradition that we've stuck to for the last 3 years, I believe. This time, Alexis picked Stitch, from Lilo and Stitch. But she named him Stitch-O, and she added a voice box with her voice saying, "I love Carson." Speaking of, Carson couldn't come to her birthday party, so he stopped by and brought her a gift (a purse and some plastic jewelry). It was super sweet of him. For dinner, Alexis picked pizza, so we went to Old Chicago. By the time we got home, it was getting late, but we still had some cake, because it's a tradition!

That weekend we had a Luau pool party at the house. We invited her original dance friends (Juniper, Mackenzie, Violet, Maggie, Isa, Everly, and Addie), Jane, Carson, Blake, and Jones. Unfortunately, Carson and Addie couldn't make it. And then Mackenzie and Jones were a no-show. Mackenzie's mom later told me that her grandma had had a stroke and they had to rush to be by her side at the hospital. And Jones' mom told me she totally spaced it. Poor Blake was the only boy.

The party was... interesting... Blake got tired of swimming after 10 minutes. Juniper arrived 15 minutes late and announced that she didn't feel like swimming because she'd been swimming all morning at her grandma's. And Isa showed up 45 minutes late, after everyone else got tired of swimming. I'd actually planned on 1 hour of swimming, followed by 30 minutes of craft, 15 minutes of cake, and 15 minutes of presents. Well, that totally threw off my timing. And Maggie's Chinese school ran late, so she showed up an hour and a half late.

And the craft I'd planned was probably a little too advanced for the group. Thankfully Victoria (Violet's mom) and Chelsea (Everly's mom) had stayed and helped me tie the ribbons on the girls' flip flops. It definitely became more of a grown-up project, for sure. Meanwhile, William entertained some kids with the golf mat while others played in the playroom. I was glad I'd only planned for a 2 hour party instead of the 2 and a half I'd considered.

Alexis really wanted her birthday party to be at Medieval Times, but I didn't think it was a good idea to bring a dozen 5-year-olds to that place, so instead we invited the cousins to come with us. I could handle an extra 3 kids. It was so much fun! Sure, the kids didn't dig the chicken, potato, and corn that they had to eat with no utensils, but they really got into the games and battles, especially Alexis. She kept screaming at our knight. And it was definitely noticed, because when it came time for the winning knight, which happened to be our knight (yay), to pick a bride, he chose Alexis. That's right, Alexis was crowned Queen of Love and Beauty. And she got married that evening (lol). It was the perfect way to end her special day. Happy birthday, Princess Alexis, or should I say, Queen Alexis.