Ready for summer!!!

We have started getting hints of summer.  It has been awesome weather this year, but just recently we've had a few days in the 80's.  Nick and I have been working really really hard to get our yard nice looking and cleaned up.  We have a long ways to go, but it feels wonderful to be outside and enjoy it.

We try to do as much as possible outside, crafts, hw, eating.  Brizzy started making jewelry after church.

Wembley has her snacks outside.

After playing in the pool, we had a pizza party outside.  Wembley loved it.

I am particularly excited that Wembley is older this summer.  She is wanting to be outside and explore, and even though she will be a bit crazy, she will be fun.  Last summer, I was consumed with my newborn and my remodeled house, so this summer, while we still have projects to do, I am excited to enjoy the sun with my family!

Also, random note.  I can now put Wembleys hair in a little pony on the top.  Yeah!

Brizzy Turns 6

I can't believe my Brizzy is 6!  The thing that really scares me is that is 2 years away from being baptized and also that means she will in school full time this fall! I'm just not quite ready for her to be growing up.

She is at a really fun ager for her birthday and holidays, because she is VERY excited about them.  She has been talking about her birthday for months, and I just don't feel like that lasts very long so I really wanted her to feel special.  The morning of her birthday we had a playdate with her friend.  We went to a park, played and had a picnic. 

Wembley loves the swings.  She made a friend with a little 4 year old boy who insisted on pushing her.  Fine with me.

Briz' favorite thing is the monkey bars.  She sets these weird goals for herself and tries to see if she can do it.She then of course loves telling me about her blisters afterwards.

Blair was so sweet and brought her a balloon and donuts.  I also bought this birthday hat the dollar store and Briz wore it all day.

Except when she got to school and traded it for her special birthday crown.  As the birthday girl she got to be the line leader.

After school the library had a fairy party, so we went there, where we did a scavenger hunt, made a fairy wand and a fairy headband.

After the library, we got Chinese food (her request), and had papa nona and the papworths over for presents and cake and dessert.  Her very first present was this ginormous Elsa dress I found.  I sent her on a frozen scavenger hunt to find her first present.  She also got palace pets, rollerblades, a palace pets coloring book, and a sewing machine.  About halfway during presents she got this disgusted look on her face.  She looked like she was about to throw up.  She tried to be tough, and wanted cake and ice cream.  We had her frozen birthday cake but she didn't seem to be very excited about it because she was trying not to throw up.  She went to bed right away and in the middle of the night she finally threw up.  She seemed to be okay about a day later, after her fever broke and her stomach felt better.  It was very sad that she got sick on her birthday but she said she still had a great day.

Piano Practice

I got a new calling, which makes three.  I am a primary teacher, activity days leader, and I just got a thrid calling as the ward choir pianist.  Each calling itself isn't too bad, but the hardest part is just remember the random stuff I have to do.  I am happy to be practicing piano a little bit more.  I love playing, but just don't make it a priority with everything else there is to do.  I remember though when Briz was a baby that I made an effort to practice in front of her so she could hear music and watch me me play.  I'm happy to have Wembley hear me playing now.  She loves to come stand right up next to me and dance.  

Aunt Brittany's visit

Aunt Brittany is the best!  She comes to visit every year for Brizzys birthday.  But this year we told her to come earlier so that we can hang with her and not be doing birthday stuff.

She still took Brizzy shopping and spoiled her.  And we went out for pizza and bowling one night.  

On Saturday we went up to the Gorge and went hiking.  

That afternoon Nick, Briz, and Brit went golfing.  And maybe the best is the next Sunday we got to hear Elder Holland speak at my parents Stake Conference. It was a great weekend, and like always we end up begging her to stay forever.

Sickie

Since we got back from Hawaii, Wembley has rarely been healthy.  First she had an ear infection.  I am not very experienced with ear infections.  Briz has only ever had one and it was last year when she was 4 and she could tell me exactly what was going on.  

Wembley started waking up in the middle of the night crying while we were in Hawaii but I thought maybe she was teething because she always pulls on her ear when she is tired.  Plus she was so happy all day I thought there was no way she could have one.  But sure enough, I was wrong.

Here she is at the doctors, happy to be out and about with a toy.

She has been getting a lot of baths lately as well because she had a stomach bug.  She threw up more than I knew a baby could.  It was very sad, but luckily it didn't last too long.

She also has cut two teeth, finally!  Considering she hasn't been herself, she has still been pretty happy.  She just wants her mom a lot.  That's the biggest difference.

Life through Art

Brizzy loves Art. She loves everything about it.  Coloring, painting, creating, you name it.  And its one of my favorite things about her.  She has always been able to keep herself occupied for hours because she will go into her own world and create.  I also love that its completely her. She definitely didn't get it from Nick nor I because neither of us are in any way artists.  I have a system of how I hold on Brizzys art.  Most of it I throw away (secretly) because there is WAY too much.  But we have two bulletin boards in her room that I am always changing out, and when its time to get rid of those I take pictures of them and throw them away.  I have kept a few but that's it.  Here are some of her pictures from the last few months.

She draws a lot of self portraits.  I'm not sure this is one, but if not, its most likely a friend or a princess.

She painted this one day on her own.  Whenever she has learned about something, she almost always will draw a picture of it.

She doesn't love coloring books as much as other things, she likes to create the picture rather than just color.  But when she does color, she is a perfectionist, as you can see from this picture.

She drew this one in her art class in the fall.  Once a week after school she stayed at her elementary school and learned a lot of cool things about art.  It was so cute to see her when she first started because they were mostly 3rd - 5th graders, and she walked in this brand new little kindergartner. I believe this is when they were learning how to draw the backs of people.

She loves to copy pictures in books.  And I should clarify, not trace or stencil, she just looks at the picture and draws what she sees.  

For this elephant drawing she practicing using different shapes in her art.

She loves to write notes with pictures.  Often if she is having a hard time, I encourage her to go draw how she feels.  I'm not exactly sure what this one says, something about me telling dad something she did.  

She also will draw things she learns at church, and she writes very sweet notes to Nick and I.  When she is doing art, that is probably when I am most likely to see her sweet side.   She loves to draw pictures of our family, particularly ones of Holland.  She always has a few things to bring with us when we visit her grave.  And she now loves writing notes and drawing pictures for Wembley.

I love this little artist and her unique talents.

The Luau

Brizzy really wanted to have a frozen birthday party, which I was not very excited about.  I tried to keep my mouth shut until I started planning it.  And I realized it was going to be a huge pain. Luckily I was able to convince her after we got back from Hawaii to have a Luau instead.  She invited 7 friends and we were able to get our backyard clean enough to have it there.  Each girl got a grass skirt, a lei, and a hula hoop.  I thought they were all going to be very excited about their outfits, but some of them were definitely not.  I made these cute goodie bags with hula girl toys, sunglasses, bracelets, whistles, lots of cool stuff.  I wasn't even going to put candy in but then last minute added some butterfly gummies.  Well, turns out I forgot that it was sunny and hot and they all melted inside the goody bags and made everything sticky.  Nick spent most of the birthday party cleaning the goodie bags out.

We played a few games: badminton, bowling with coconuts, limbo, jump rope, colored with chalk, and played red rover. And the girls had snacks, cupcakes, and then we opened presents.  

It was the most fun to hear their little conversations.   Briz has some opinionated friends! :)  I'm so glad she got to celebrate and feel special.  It was fun having some of her friends over.  

The Smotherer

Before Wembley was born, I often wondered how Briz would be with her little sister.  She had been so used to it being just Nick and I.  She often told us that she wanted a younger sibling but I still thought she would have a hard time.  Briz hasn't had a hard time. When we first had Wembley it was a crazy time.  I was recovering from a c section, had a baby that didn't eat, and we were moving and remodeling a house.  It was nuts.  I definitely felt like Briz missed her mom and dad then because we were always busy with something else.  But she has never had resentment or jealousy of her little sister.  Sometimes she loves her TOO much.  She is always kissing her, hugging her, trying to feed her, picking her up, trying to take care of her, play with her, read to her, you name it.  I love it but it also sometimes drives me a little crazy because more often than not Wembley is irritated and whines.  Wembley is very much her own independent little person, so she does not want to be messed with.  But even with the smothering and whining, I love watching these two.  Wembley gets so excited to see her big sister and Briz can't seem to get enough of her baby sister.  

More Hawaii

My sister Sierra was the designated photographer of the trip, so I stole these from her.  Here are a few more of Hawaii.

After dinner one night, we all walked across the beach to play sand volleyball, but all of the courts were taken, so we just played at the park.  I love Hawaii because you can just walk around everywhere in your swimsuit.

Dubs loves her Papa.  A lot.  She freaks out, smiling, panting and kicking her legs when she sees him, so it was pretty awesome for her to be around him the whole week.

Briz loved having singing/dancing buddies wherever she went.  She went through cousin withdrawals when she came home.  

This is the cove where we went snorkeling.

One of the worst things about the beach is the sand up the bum.  Briz had piles of sand up there and it was quite an effort cleaning it out all of the time.  

Nick decided to be a good sport and let the kids bury him.  

Then it was Brizzy and Teya's turn.

We got looks everywhere we went because we were such a big group (and also very loud).

I don't have many pictures of me with my girls, so I'm glad Sisi took this.  I love Wembley's confident little pose.

All of the girl cousins minus Holland.

My Mom who was an awesome sport the whole time.

Another one of the whole gang at the beach.  I have no idea what Nick is doing here.

And Papa and Nona with all of their grandkids. I love these cute kids.