Valentines & enchiladas

On Tuesdays, I have Taco Tuesday at my house(formerly known as Taco Wednesday). This is a playgroup thing I started a few months ago. This week my friend suggested a Valentines Party afterward for the little kids not yet in school. We don't ususally have this big of a turnout for lunch, I assure you, but promises of candy and hearts was too much to resist.

For some reason, Lauren was under the impression that this was HER valentines/birthday party. So when it came time to go outside, she discreetly informed me, "Mom, I don't need my friends to sing Happy Birthday to me. We can just do our valentines."  That was so selfless of her.

I didn't get very many pictures, but here are the few I did take.

Lauren's new do!

Lauren's hair cut is so cute! We needed something that was low maintenance since little miss thing is just too busy to do her hair everyday. This should keep her hair out of her face for a while! Thanks you again, Natalie!

Disney on Ice

Carrie and I took our girls to Disney on Ice, while Chad and the boys went ice skating with the Cub Scouts.  I hope to get some pictures of the ice skating from a friend, but they had the best time and Chad said the boys didn't want to leave the rink even after 3 hours of skating!  I took Ressa to Princesses on Ice a couple years ago and we really enjoyed it. This year was good, but I could tell they didn't have as many skaters and props.

Lauren sat on my lap most of the time so she could see. She is such a "pipsqueak" and for some reason there were big and burly dads sitting all around us and in front of us. I think their wives told them they were going to see a hockey game and tricked them all into coming. 

Ressa's good friend came along with us. I was glad she came because at least she acted impressed at the exciting parts. Ressa sat with little or no expression and Lauren kept asking a million questions.

She wanted to know who was playing Ariel, where the "boy" went when young Simba skated out and older Simba skated back in, and how was Tinkerbell flying so high.  The only question I had was who was the genius that thought Cars would make a good ice show. They are cars. They don't skate.  They don't even have legs. Watching cars drive around in circles on the ice with random voice overs is rather dull.

I thought the Lion King section was the best. Scar was an awesome skater and the stampede scene was well done.  We had a nice afternoon all together and glad we went. Thanks, Carrie, for putting it together!

Toddlers and Tiaras

This weekend was the Cotton Royalty Pageant here in Coolidge. My friend and neighbor puts this all together each year, and the last two years she has added the Cotton Blossoms. These are girls ages 3-13 who get to dress up and get a tiara and come out on stage, curtsy, and recieve a carnation. No competition, just a chance for them to dress pretty.  This is Ressa's second year doing it and I am actually glad because it is the only really girly thing she does.  She loves soccer and is now in karate.

There were 42 little girls that participated and they all did such a good job. Technically, Lauren was old enough to be a blossom, but I think 5 years old is a good age so I'll let her do it in a couple years.

Here is Ressa walking out on the stage. The lighting is the worst in the auditorium, so this is the best I could get.

This is my absolute favorite picture of daddy and his little girl!

Natalie did Ressa's hair and it turned out gorgeous.  Thank you, Nat! And I borrowed the dress from my neighbor since her 5 year old has like 4 formals. She bought this pink one for her to wear at her 4th birthday party and she refused to wear it!

Disclaimer: No hair extensions, fake teeth, artificial tanner, or choreography was used for this presentation.

New Years (and a random picture)

New Years Eve I decided to have a party at our house.  I love having lots of people around, and when our Christmas company left, I had to find an excuse to make the holiday last even longer.  We started the evening with a Bunco Tournament. We had lots of fun and there was a TON of food to eat! After the tournament it a few guest had to leave to tend to little ones, but the rest of us stayed and played more games. The Olsens, Shumways, and Todds had some fun games to teach us and we laughed 'til we cried.  Well, at least Rachael cried. 

My kids were amazed to see an actual air popcorn popper that the Todds brought.  I had no idea that it would be so entertaining.  But the fun stopped there for my kids. Since everyone else left their children at home, they had no one to play with. They were asleep on the couch by 9:30pm, all except Lauren. She had already had a 4 hour nap and was ready to party all night long, that is until she brought in the New Year by throwing up all over the kitchen floor. Good thing Chad was holding her!

Here is the collage I made of the family pictures Jen did for us.

Christmas 2009

What an incredible Christmas we had this year!!!!My parents flew down from Washington for 10 days. My sis Samantha and her family drove down from Colorodo. LeaAnn and Walt came for a week before they moved to San Diego. And Nate and Carrie came for a few days from Mesa. We had a houseful, but the kids all got along so well, we played together, and I will cherish the memories of the whole week!  

Of course, we had the children act out the Nativity story, with my dad as the narrator.  The kids did an amazing job, thanks to their talented director and costume designer (me!).  The little cow, portrayed by Bree Perrins, stole the spotlight!

Me and my sisters in our Christmas pj's!

These are all the cousins together on Christmas Eve. What a fun group!

Grandma Perrins snuggling with my kids.

I had to take a picture of these two sleeping together. It was so cute and odd at the same time. I have PLENTY of pictures of Carson and Jackson asleep side by side, but this is a first!

Christmas Eve we invited Chad's parents and Walt's parents over to share the day with us. LeaAnn and I wanted our parents to spend some time with our inlaws, and it was so nice to have them all together. Good food too!

Snow Day!

One Saturday Chad came home from picking Ressa up from karate and proclaimed that we were heading up to the snow. We scrambled around the house, throwing snow clothes together, lunches/snacks, and headed up to Globe.  We found a nice spot just off the highway outside of Globe.  I am so thrilled that we have finally reached the point where all of our kids are old enough to enjoy the snow and handle the cold. Lauren loved sledding with Ressa over and over again. The snow whas perfect for making snowmen and snow balls. I could watch Chad have a snowball fight with his boys all day long. What a perfect day!