Just an Update

Just for any who might be curious why I haven't been writing lately.  We've been just a little busy with inspections and contracts and negotiations, and such.  I'm a little embarrassed to admit that we are moving once again.  We're up to 4 times now in 2 years.  Yes, I'm really getting tired of this.

But this time, we're actually moving to a home that we are buying, that will actually be big enough for all our stuff and growing children.  It's still not as much space as we had in Colorado Springs, but it is twice as big as what we are living in now (which is bigger than anywhere we've been since leaving the Springs 2 years ago.)

I'm almost giddy thinking about having a bedroom that is JUST a bedroom (not a storage room on full of boxes along one wall.)  And I might actually be able to have a separate craft room as well.  Funny how when all my crafting supplies are in the toy room closet, the kids think they are toys to play with.  And there's a storage room right off the kitchen as well.  I could actually start storing food again.  Maybe we could actually get a full year supply.  Not to mention the kitchen itself that has more than 2 feet of counter space.

Oh, and there's a hot tub in the backyard.  Mmmmmmmm.

Yes, I'm very excited.  I wish I could start moving now.  But the big day is July 3, a week and a half from now.  So this year on the 4th, we'll be celebrating our independence from tiny cramped living quarters!  Hopefully we'll be able to stay put this time for a long, long, time.

(For those of you who might care, we confirmed today that we will definitely be crossing the elusive ward boundary into 4th ward.)

Oh, and one more thing... I probably won't be writing again for a while as the whole craziness of packing and moving sets in.  Wish us luck!

Striking Similarities

The girls were playing Rapunzel the other day and tying blankets together to be their long hair.  But when Banana Girl walked in the room, all I could think of was this other girl from "One Man Band":

We tried our darnedest to get Banana Girl to scowl and hold out her hand for a photo, but she couldn't keep the smile off her face:

Too bad that Pixar girl has no name, it would be a perfect new blog name for Banana Girl (especially since Banana Girl no longer likes bananas very much.)

School's Over!

Princess M finished Kindergarten at the top of her class.  It's been so fun watching her learn how to read and write and do math and discover the world around her.  We're so proud of you Princess M!!!!

Summertime!

There are bonuses to having a grandma, who's house is in an HOA.  

 She gave us a copy of her pool key, so we can go whenever we want.  

We're loving it!

Just some random cute photos of the girls

 14 months already!

 She LOVES these little baby dolls.  She carries them around, makes them cry, gives kisses, and wraps them in napkins for blankets.  It's really cute!

 She's getting sooo big!

Poor Banana Girl had some puffy pink eye at this time.

Another Visit from Grandma

Grandma Lynda came back for another visit in May.

 We played her easter bunny game,

 tried Not to get her sick with our pink eye and stomach bug (she got the latter), 

 went on grandma/granddaughter dates,

 including the swimming pool (a favorite)

 and McDonald's

 and sleepovers at Grandma's,

 and personal ballet shows in the living room,

 and Princess M's Spring Recital for ballet.

Princess M had two dances in the recital.  I did get them on video, but once again, I can't get them to upload into blogger.  Anyone know how to compress a video so it will upload?

Field Day

 One of Princess M's last days of school was field day.  I went for about an hour of it and got to watch her compete in the hoola hoop contest.  

 She did fairly well and made the first cuts to the semi-finals.  

She came home with two ribbons: second place in the ball waddle, and something else I'll have to update later.  ;)

Getting Creative

I ran across a tutorial on u tube for "water marbling" your fingernails.  

Tried it.  Loved it! 

  I couldn't stop looking at them all week.  And since they are a thinner coat than usual, they lasted all week too.  This photo was taken a week after I painted them.  I'm hooked!

May is graduation month here.  I got commissioned to make a graduation cake based on the Dr. Seuss book "Oh, the places you'll go."  I haven't made a cake in years, so I really had fun with it.  

I made my first topsy turvy cake, and had some fun with fondant.  (There was a little yellow guy flying his balloon on the other side of this cake, that didn't show up in the photo.)

I tried to make the inside as fun as the outside too.  The bottom layer was a yellow and pink checkerboard (strawberry lemonade flavored).  The middle layer was this rainbow cake (almond cake batter with raspberry frosting); it was by far my favorite.  And the top was a Boston cream filled chocolate cake.  

Thank you Maryle for the wonderful recipes!

Spring in the Desert

May is one of the prettiest months here in Sierra Vista.  All the desert plants go into bloom.  

Here is the tree I planted when we first bought this house (when we lived here before), that has now grown bigger than the house itself.  It was in gorgeously arrayed in these purple trumpet-like flowers!

And all of my rose bushes were out in full bloom this month!

Both of my large cacti in the front yard were in bloom at the same time too, but I can't find my picture of it.  Bummer.  

Wow, it's been a while!

Found a few pictures I missed in April:

Grandma Lynda came to visit for a few days. 

Princess M got to go see the ballet "Thumbelina" with her Kindergarten class.  She and I got to go straight from there to visit Uncle Wayne and Aunt Sue for a baby shower in Tempe.  We had a nice trip together.