Dance Recital

Well this is a first for us: a dance recital. I've always looked forward to this day since I still remember my first dance recital on stage, my parents and grandparents in the crowd cheering for me. It was so exciting to have makeup on and my favorite tutu. I remember most of us forgot the routine, but we were so darn cute it didn't really matter.

Hazel was supposed to perform on stage with a big crowd, but because some families complained about the cost, it was cancelled. I was bummed, but they still had a final performance in her classroom which was still exciting.



This is her teacher, Ms. Antonio.

She was perfect. I can't believe my little girl is this big.

A mermaid party

When deciding what type of birthday party to have this year for Hazel, we had a bit of trouble. After requests such as "A dolphin giraffe party!" and "koala party!" (she really latched onto that one...but I wasn't up for making a koala cake), we finally settled with our "under the sea" theme. Here's some of the ideas we pulled together:

I had some sheer blue fabric that we placed over the invites to make them look like they're under water.

I made Hazel this no-sew mermaid skirt that I found here. She loved loved loved it, but it kept falling off and one of the little boys at the party kept stepping on her tail. Beauty is pain!

My mom and I frosted this under-water beauty all morning.
Hazel cut out the pink starfish that were scattered on the table.

Remember Squeeze-its? I loved those. These were the perfect shade of aqua blue.

Starfish brownie pops, also inspired by Living Locurto.
(Eventually they all got faces...)

We used our fish bean-bag toss from a fish-themed party we did two years ago. My mom sewed bean bags out of the cutest fabric. They're peeking out from under the octopus in the next picture...

We did a bean bag toss and played "hot octopus" (hot potato) but the kids got a prize once they were ousted to keep spirits high.


For our last game, we had an "under the sea" scavenger hunt where the clues were inside "bubbles" (balloons) they had to pop. The clues eventually led to a box full of treasure for everyone...

The girls got bracelets and necklaces and there were little sea creatures for the boys.
*I have to admit that this was the low part of the party for me. I wrote down the order of clues on a piece of paper that I accidentally let my 6 month old chew on while I stuffed the clues permanently inside of the balloons. When I asked my husband to hide the balloons and he asked, "Where do they go?" I drew a blank. The chewed-up paper with my hiding spots had been thrown away. I figured I could correct my mistake as we went along, but Hazel was crying because everyone kept stepping on her tail and I didn't realize one of our little guests was old enough to read and she got to the clues before I did--which led her to the wrong places. Let's just say that I finally sent them all outside to the last balloon and had my brother bring out the treasure box to end the whole thing. Some things work out better in my head than in reality...

To top it off, we had a starfish pinata that was finally beat to bits by my fourteen year old brother! All in all, it was a FUN mermaid party and we were so glad to be done...

And all of this was made possible by....my hot mama. Isn't she gorgeous? Seriously, who else could send you back to your closet with an order to put on something more comfy and cool because she knows you'll start to sweat once the kids start spilling their juice on your floor and one of them sneaks into your guest bedroom and jumps on your nice white quilt with dirty feet?
A girl needs her mom. Even when she's all grown up.

Doesn't that look like a happy birthday girl?
After all the guests were gone, we brought up Hazel's present...chickens!
Yep, we have three hardy winter-laying chickens--one for each girl. There's Diego, named after my 2 year old's first love, and Elvis, after Ellie's thick dark hair. And Hazel named her's Rapunzel. We thought that was fitting since she got the hair to match it (from the sweet boy who kept stepping on her mermaid tail).

Charlotte enjoyed the cupcakes...and maybe one or two starfish.

Here's the lineup for the pinata.




Here's the little cutie, Michael, that kept stepping on Hazel's tail. He was so excited to come to her party that his mom said he even bathed. How cute is that? He had a part in his hair and everything. And for some reason he really loves David.



Happy birthday sweet girl.

Hazel's 4th Birthday

Hazel is four years old!
I must admit we've been looking forward to this age since some parents have advised us that "four" is better than "three." In some ways, three was a tough year for miss Hazel Jayne. She discovered a lot about her emotions and her ability to throw a tantrum for an extended period of time. I bought most of the parenting books I now possess during this past year because of this little girl. She also became quite the talker and thinker. She has the most interesting questions about life and always keeps me on my feet (I'll never forget her lamentation at a gas station, "I wish I could have a cigarette!). She is so sensitive to others' feelings. She can sense immediately if I'm in a bad mood. Usually, if I've reached my limit with Charlotte and my voice is starting to rise, Hazel jumps in and tries her best to pacify the situation. She also discovered her amazing drawing talents during her third year, becoming a pro at seeing something and copying it onto paper. That's a talent we look forward to cultivating this next year.
We love this little girl.

This was her actual birth DAY. We had yummy homemade waffles with whip cream and bananas.

We went to a playgroup that morning which motivated me to get Ellie all dressed up with a headband (that doesn't happen every day, or most days). But isn't she adorable?


Later, I had the girls dip their hands in paint for a card for Vicki, which made for a cute picture:


And once Dad was finished with work, we changed the girls into their bathing suits to go swimming. We were upstairs with Hazel and left Ellie with Charlotte downstairs for a few minutes (maybe not the best idea) and this is what we found when we came downstairs:


Charlotte was rubbing sunscreen all over Ellie's face.
We can't go swimming without sun screen!


After swimming, we stopped at the store and bought mac n cheese (Hazel's choice with David's prodding) and her favorite flavor of ice cream, rainbow sherbet.
Happy birthday Hazel!

One more thing at Camp Tahosa...

This was just minutes before we left the camp because it was FREEZING cold. It had just started to snow and the winds were so strong that I could hardly stand straight. And then David decided to do THIS.

Camp Tahosa

For Memorial Day weekend, we drove down to David's brother's house in Denver Colorado and spent a few days at a nearby camp, called Camp Tahosa. Chris works for the Boy Scouts and had access to this beautiful campsite with a lake, great hikes, and very accommodating cabins. This was definitely my idea of camping.










We were able to use their canoes and take the girls across the lake.










Eloise is the EASIEST baby. What a blessing.


I remember when Hazel wouldn't touch a worm, but now she's a bug fanatic. And after fishing all evening with a bunch of boys, even Charlotte was excited about worms!





The kids got bug catchers from Gram and they were well used.


This is little Henry who used to try and tear off Charlotte's cheeks, but now he's sweeter and they play quite well together. He was VERY cute in front of the camera this weekend.




Homemade kites! I love Sam's socks in this picture.


We ate some glorious meals such as slow-cooked yak and peach cobbler in the crock pot.





Hazel and Sam. BFF





So this is a boy named Seth. He and his family are friends of Chris and Stacy and they joined us for the weekend. Seth showed Hazel the coolest spiders and bugs and won her little heart over. She talked about Seth for WEEKS after this trip.
We miss Seth.


On Sunday, Stacy prepared a scavenger hunt involving the scriptures for the kids.


It was a great Sunday activity with Starbursts at the end.






Sometimes Hazel sleeps with her eyes open. It was really freaking Kate out until I explained that she's done it since she was a baby. So funny.

Crazy cute girls

Here are some random photos of these incredibly cute, creative and crazy little girls. I LOVE having girls. Of course, I don't have anything else to compare it to, but I love their passion for coloring and drawing with rainbow crayons and covering themselves with sparkly stickers. I love the jewelry and dress-up and tea parties and tiaras. I love how Hazel is the organizer (her way or the highway) and Charlotte is the little mother, always taking care of Eloise. I love how Eloise thinks her sisters are hilarious and gets the giggles whenever they bounce around her, scaring her a little bit. They are amazing.


I found Twister at DI and Hazel was determined to win. Just like her daddy. I almost peed my pants when she pulled off this move. (Do you love my polka dot socks in the back ground?)


Sometimes David does bedtime so I can clean up and have a break. I love this picture.


Hello future plumber.


First pigtails. Oh my goodness.

Warning: the following picture is disgusting. Only look if you can stomach a little two year old girl COVERED in poop. I know this is gross, but I had to record it because this is for sure the worst it's ever been. Charlotte has a fascination with her poop and it's "spilled" out of her diaper a few times but NEVER has she rubbed it all over herself.
Hazel went in first and yelled downstairs, "Mom! Come look at Charlotte!"
David came it and nearly gagged and had to run back downstairs.
Yuck-a-muck.