March 2010

At the beginning of March, we went with Grant, while he tried out for America's Got Talent.  At first I wasn't too keen on the idea because I figured our girl's would attract attention, which isn't always good.  Plus I like my husband and our family just the way it is.  I wouldn't change a thing and didn't really want to have to.  (Yes, maybe I am paranoid.)  But in the end, I felt like it was okay to bring the girls and cheer him on.  I even made a sign (that took a little longer than I would like to admit.  LOL!)  Anyway, in the car, right before we went in, we had a family prayer.  In the prayer, I felt a peace and assurance as I prayed that "whatever was best for our family would happen."  As we walked in, I felt like everyone in the entire room was staring at us.  We were kind of late and to walk in with 5 little girls in matching dresses, turned some heads.  The people were so sweet, complimenting our little family, left and right.  A bunch of them also asked what the girls were going to do for their talent.  (I just don't feel the need to expose my girls to the world, in that way.)  It was a really long day and we were several hours late.  Some people had been there for 15 hours and we were only there for about 6 hours.  I was thankful that we were able to support Grant/our Daddy and although I have to admit that I was a little disappointed that we were never videotaped for our 5 seconds of fame, and Grant never made the callbacks, I found so much comfort in the words of the prayer I had given earlier that day.  (Side note-- the few people who I saw that were getting all the video attention, were quite scantly dressed.  Sad but true.)  And anyway, I'm happy to keep my little family just the way it is.  :)

We completed another quarter at ORLA.  I didn't get a picture of Riana and her buddy, Emily, last quarter, so I made sure and took a picture this time.  Next, I was able to attend each of their performances.  Sariah and Tierra's puppet class performed "Where the Wild Things Are."  It was adorable!  Then Sariah's Drama class had some little skits.  This one is of Sariah as a flower and her friend was a bee or something, buzzing around her.  The last one was from Riana and Sariah's singing class.  (Their teacher, Mrs. Havens, is so sweet and lets Karina sing too.  Karina loves it!)  They sang, "It's C-C-C-Cold Outside," "Leatherwing Bat," and "If You Miss Me From the Back of the Bus."  Riana and Sariah had a little part on the last one.  I'm excited for next quarter's performance because this quarter they opened the class to Kindergarteners and so Tierra is in it too now.

We had a lot of fun playing soccer with our friends, who are soccer fanatics, just like us!!  :)  They all play, except their baby, who will- just like us.  'Vanna also brought along a friend.  It got a little too cold toward the end, but the kids were so excited about still having a picnic that we gave them their wish (but it was a pretty quick one.  LOL!  Jen took her baby to the car, so she could warm up.) 

We were able to drive to my cousin's daughter, Kayla's baptism.  Kayla is a really special girl and we were really happy to be there. 

1) She loved twirling in the dress her Grandma made.

2) My Uncle Stuart (my Mom's brother), my Aunt Glennis, my cousin Monica, and Kayla.

3) 2nd cousins dancing and twirling around together.

After the baptism, we were all able to go on a little hike to the bottom of Snoqualmie Falls.  It was absolutely incredible!!  I love waterfalls and this one is huge!!  If you look in the third picture I took (view from the bottom of the falls), you can see some people and that helps you understand just how huge this waterfall is!  My cousin, Rita, and her family (minus one older girl) came too.  And of course, Monica, Kayla, and Monica's friend, Danner.  (He was so hilarious.  Grant really clicked with him.)  My sister, Celestia, took the picture of our family and the beautiful one of Riana.  The girls had so much fun together and Karina liked that Kayla's middle name is Karina.  After the hike, we all went to Dairy Queen and then to the church bookstore.  We just had a wonderful day!!  :)

Riana had her first Orchestra concert.  They had several elementaries and I think a couple middle schools, and even a performance by one high school group.  It was really fun to watch Riana and listen to everyone perform.  It was neat to see what a change there is between 4th graders and high schoolers.  (Although Mr. Schooler says that the kids in Riana's class are doing really great for 4th graders.  Maybe he says that to everyone.  LOL!)  For those of you who know Mr. Schooler, if you double click on the 1st or 3rd picture, you can probably find him (...think "Where's Waldo."  LOL!)

Our girls love to put on shows for us.  In this one, they came out at first with their costumes covered, to surprise us.  But underneath, they had dressed themselves all fancy.  It was a really cute show.  :)

I ordered my 2nd blog book in March.  These are pictures from the book.  Sorry about the first one.  I tried loading it several ways but it wouldn't ever give it to me the way it is supposed to be.  The middle picture is my favorite page in the book (which happens to be one without text.)  The last picture is to show how thick the book is.  This book was 5 times the length of the last one (200 pages vs 40 pages) but only twice the price ($64 vs $32.)  I love both of the books!  The 3rd book will be in progress for probably a lot longer than the first two.  And again, they are from blurb.com

We were able to attend little Cohen's blessing (along with my entire extended family and a lot of hers too).  He is so cute!  This is my little brother, Dan, and his wife, Jolie, and their little cutie.  We sure are in love with him!  :)

One thing that is difficult about having 5 girls, is that they have a lot of dresses that can't be dryed.  It can be kind of a pain now... but I know that someday I will miss seeing all their little dresses hung up to dry.  So I'm creating a memory of it, so I can remember it forever.

And the rest...

1) The reason I don't ever bake... I have no self-control when it comes to homemade goodies!  YUM!

2) These adorable little chefs made us a candlelight dinner for two and even picked out fancy outfits for us to wear.  (Unforunately, I can't quite zip up my old prom dress, all the way, and thus, there is no picture of us.)

3) Green eggs and green apples for St. Patrick's Day.

4 & 5) Tia, Nina, and Rori in cute outfits!

6) Riana in her panda bears PJ's and panda bear earrings-- pandas are her favorite animals... and mine too!