Little hands...

Dakota loves to draw, and the more she practices the better she gets! This is her latest creation, done completely freehand...no copying or tracing. She loves to display her artwork all around the house. This one is currently taped to the wall next to her bed.

Jack enjoys coloring too! Only, if he can't find any paper, he just takes whatever form of ink he can get his hands on and takes it to the wall. This specific work of art is on the wall leading up the stairs. Beautiful!

The babysitters made this for Rian one night. She loved it so much she decided it needed to be displayed on the wall also. I thought that was kind of cute...until I noticed how she mounted it to the wall. Click on the picture to get a close up look. I believe you will see 7 NAILS around the outside of the paper, because apparently tape just wasn't sufficient enough. So my dilemma is...do I leave the cute little picture (which of course isn't straight or centered!) or take it down and have 7 little holes in the wall?

All of these pictures remind me of a poem I first heard just before I had Dakota. I still love it, and it's perfect for reminding me that all of these cute little pieces of my children are what truly make our house a home.

There used to be so many

of my fingerprints to see,

on furniture and walls and things

from sticky, grubby me.

But if you stop and think a while

you'll see I'm growing fast,

these little moments will disappear

you can't bring back the past.

So here is a small reminder

to keep, not throw away,

of tiny hands and what they made

to make you smile someday.

A Whole Decade!

Dakota's celebration began on Saturday with a birthday party with her friends. We originally planned to set up the projector in the backyard for an outdoor movie. So we cleaned it up, strung lights and marveled at our work...until it started pouring! We rolled with it and moved the "theater" to the garage, which we had cleaned and prepared just in case mother nature decided to invite herself! This plan ended up working out just as well.

The party started with gift opening while we waited for daddy to get home with the pizza. She scored some great stuff!

The pizza came just in time, and the girls ate quickly so that we could start the movie!

About half way through the movie, they decided they were ready for desert. Instead of a cake, this year Dakota decided she would rather have one of her other favorite treats...a HUGE ice cream sundae bar! Complete with oreos, nerds, gummy bears, peanuts, choc chips, m&m's, choc syrup and whipped cream. Some of the girls' creations literally made my stomach turn!

On Monday, I got Dakota out of school and took her out to lunch. We went to Subway and enjoyed some quality time together. That night we had our family celebration, because neither Dave or Dakota had soccer. We had more ice cream sundaes and Dakota opened her gifts. Grandma & papa sent an outfit from England, along with some spending money. Rian & Jack gave her a Zhu-Zhu pet, and Dave & I gave her an Ipod.

Happy Birthday, Dakota!

Science Fair

Dakota and her friend, Willow, spent hours and hours working on their project, with help from Willow's parents. They showed the effect of mentos mixed with soda, which turned out really great!

While Dakota was busy working at Willows, Rian decided to create her own science project. I kind of ignored her attempts because I was under the impression that the science fair was for 4th and 5th graders only. I figured it would come home with her the very same day she took it in, but didn't say anything because I didn't want to hurt her feelings (no...I would let the school officials do that!). But I was definitely misinformed!

It wasn't until we got to the science fair that I realized that her project was in fact set out, alongside all the other lower grade students'. She (hand) wrote a report on Manitees, and used foam, feathers and markers to create a cute little manitee inside a shoe box. It definitely stood out; it was 1/4 the size of all the others, and was clearly the result of a child creating without the assistance of a caring parent. Of course, as her mother, I felt absolutely horrible! But I was also so proud of her for completing it all on her own, and promised that next year I would help her create something just as amazing!

Still a Pro...

Dave was invited to play in a game with the AZ Sahuaros against the MLS team, the Chicago Fire. It was a proud moment for me, and was extremely fun to watch and cheer him on.

His parental instincts surfaced when some girls wanted him to autograph their (new) shoes. He was hesitant, but eventually caved, which thrilled the young group of fans!

Little Hammer

I was so proud of Jack at his Little Hammers practice last week. It took him a few minutes, and some help from his beloved babysitters (aka U-14's), but he ended up being unstopable! He loved every minute of it and actually did not want to leave, even after more than 45 mins! Look closely and you'll see that every time he has the ball, his tongue is sticking out in pure concentration! Go Jack-Jack!

A couple weeks ago, Rian was assigned the lesson for Family Home Evening. She wanted to do it all by herself. As I cleaned up after dinner, I watched her pace around the family room with a Friend magazine held tightly to her chest. She would often stop and peek into the magazine. I finally realized that she was trying to memorize something so that she could recite it in front of the family. Here is what she read...

"My home is not the wood. My home is not the brick.

My home's a loving mother who soothes me when I'm sick.

My home is not the garden, or the place we park the car.

My home's a gentle father who loves us as we are.

My home is not the windows. My home is not the doors.

My home is my big brother who helps me with the chores.

My home is not the chimney or the smoke that billows there.

My home is all our family as we bow our heads in prayer.

My home is more than just a house with walls and roof above.

My home is where my family lives in peace, in joy, in love."

(June 2006 Friend)

She then added her own poem to finish off her lesson...

"My family is a sister, brother, mother and father

who love me and care about me.

They bring me comfort and joy.

They teach me right from wrong.

That makes me happy, they are happy being my family."

I wiped more than a few tears from my face and reassured Dave that she did indeed come up with the entire lesson all on her own. It was a far more special lesson than either of us could have given that night. Rian can be challenging and stubborn, but she has a special spirit that I am excited to watch grow into a very strong testimony.