Rockin' Recorder Program

A few months ago, Sariah came to me after school and said she needed money because they were starting to learn how to play the recorder. Her music teacher informed them that if they didn't have one they would have the option of buying one. A recorder is a woodwind instrument and is similar to a flute. Well, I offered to take her out to look for one but she was quite sure that she only wanted the one that her school was selling. Ü Sariah played the recorder every single day after school and I must admit there were several times where I had to shew her into her room to play because of the "noise". Ü It wasn't until a few weeks later that I realized how much she had learned and how I could recognize some of the songs she was playing! This weekend we attended their Rockin' Recorder Program at school. We are always excited to attend Sariah's activities, field trips and performances at school...but we were especially excited for this one having never attending a recorder program before. When we arrived all of the 4th grade classes were seated on stage and ready to perform. Can I just tell you how completely amazed we were!? They sounded incredible! I had purchased recorders for the girls in the past and had only taken them as musical toys but I was mistaken. They children even played some of their songs in harmony! They played over 10 different songs with some of the children having short speaking parts in between to introduce the next song. Sariah had a part too. My favorite classical piece is Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel and you can imagine how excited I was to discover that it would be their finale number. The kids did an outstanding job. After the performance the kids presented hardcover book projects they had been working on to their parents. Sariah's clever book as called "Arthur Itis". The characters in her book had names similar to those of ailments and we were proud of the creativity she displayed in her story. Great job Sariah! Ü

Utah Pasifika Festival

This weekend we attended the first annual Utah Pasifika Festival in Provo, UT. The festival was created to bring together Pacific Islanders in Utah and to encourage people to take an active role in the community. Although Pacific Islanders were a prime focus, the festival was open to people from all walks of life.

Aside from the intermittent rain that day, we did manage to keep as dry as possible. We made our rounds to each of the booths and filled up on homemade Hawaiian sausage, teriyaki plates, lau lau, ice cream and nutella crepes. Yum! We watched cultural performances from various groups and islands and the girls participated in some of the dancing as well listening to some very talented singers.

It wasn't bad for a first time festival and we look forward to going again next year. Ü

Mother's Day Weekend

Fred ended up having to work during Mother's Day weekend and since we wouldn't be able to spend the whole weekend together, we thought it would be a wonderful idea for the girls and I to fly back home to CA and surprise our mother's for Mother's Day! Ü I didn't mention it to the girls until the day before we were to leave and they were absolutely thrilled! We flew out to CA on Friday after Sariah got out of school and you can imagine how surprised my sister, Chrystel, was when I called and asked her to pick us up from the airport. :) We got to my mom's house and walked in the door behind Chrystel...she looked over to the door and we yelled, "surprise!" She was so excited and happy to see us and we were just as happy to be there. I couldn't wait to see my niece Chloe...she has grown so much! We giggled and laughed at all the new things she could do. She's absolutely adorable! We tried to surprise Fred's mom as well but it was a really busy week for her and if we didn't end up telling her over the phone...we probably would never have caught her at home! :) We spent the weekend relaxing with our families, eating at Panera, shopping and enjoying each others company. My mom ended up being sick on Mother's Day so I decided to stay home from church to take care of her. She felt better towards the evening and we headed over to Mama Lucy's house (Fred's grandmother) and spent time with the family there as well before heading back to my moms house. Even without doing anything extravagant for Mother's Day, it was a wonderful weekend and aside from having Fred there, we wouldn't have changed a thing. We're so incredibly thankful for the mother's we have and for the innumerable things they have taught us, the examples they've set and for the unconditional love they show us every day.

Evening of FUN with MOM!

Last Thursday we attended our Stake's "Evening of Fun with Mom" activity. The cultural hall was set up into different stations with the majority of the stations being activities to...be active! We divided into groups with our daughters and the first station we went to was Four Square. It was so much fun! The girls were cute trying to "school" their moms on how to play and the moms were sweet in letting the girls do so. Ü

After a few minutes we rotated to the 'not-so-active' but definitely yummy sundae station! We made ice cream sundaes with all the fixins' and sat at a table to complete a "How Well Do You Know Your Mother/Daughter" questionnaire. Sariah and I compared answers and it was obvious that we knew each other quite well. Ü

After the timer rang we headed over to the next station where we played hopscotch, marbles and jacks. Ü Sariah & Madysen stuck to hopping while I finished up my sundae. Ü

Next, we scooted on over to the hula hoops which has been a recent favorite of my girls. They love to hula hoop and Mady is surprisingly good at it!

The last station we headed over to was the jump rope station. I turned the rope with another one of the mothers and the girls took turns playing School Jump. I'm not sure what the correct name of the game is but all of the girls lined up and they had to go through each grade while we turned the ropes. For Kindergarten they had to run right through as we turned without getting tangled in the rope. For First Grade they run in and jump once and then run back out...and so on for each grade. Even though some of the girls had to "repeat" some of the grades, they all had so much fun...and the mothers did too! It was a great active activity and they definitely succeeded with an "evening of fun".

Easter 2011

We took a bit of a different route for Easter this year. Normally for Easter we load up a ton of goodies into baskets for the girls and buy them new dresses for Sunday. This year we decided to shift their attention more towards an Easter of gratitude. Ü We made sure the girls understood the true meaning of why we celebrated Easter (or any holiday) and how thankful we must be for the sacrifice that was made on our behalf by our Savior and more importantly to know and understand that He Lives!

We did plan on having an Easter Egg Hunt but with our busy weekend and having family in town...that got pushed to the back burner. What surprised me, was that our kids didn't even mention it! It kind of made me think that maybe the Easter hullabaloo that I tend to get wrapped up into...is more for me. Ü Well, I did decide to make little goody bags for the girls and for their cousins. It ended up being just the right amount of goodies for them and they really enjoyed it.

After church on Sunday, we headed over to grandma & grandpa's house. The food is always good. My hard-working hubby had to cover for someone at work that evening so he had just enough time to fill up on his favorites before packing up some lunch and heading to work. So thankful once again for all that he does for us. We sure did miss him when he left. Ü

After dinner, we had cake and ice cream for dessert and spent the rest of the evening hanging out, chatting and having the kids pester me to take silly photos of them jumping in motion. :) Happy Easter.

Out & About

My little cousin, Sonne, is visiting from Samoa for the first time and we decided to take him, my other little cousin Stephan and our girls out on Friday. A lot of the super fun (for Utah lol) places are still closed here because of the cold weather so we opted for a trip to Chuck E' Cheese. As soon as we arrived, the kids were antsy to start playing the games...especially Sonne! I told them they couldn't play until we ate so they quickly gobbled down pizza and chicken wings before grabbing their tokens to start playing. Sonne wanted to play every single game and he couldn't get enough of the monster truck ride. :)

After the tokens were done and the tickets collected, we turned them in for a few dinky prizes and headed over to our girls' favorite park. Down the slide they went and up the stairs and ladders. Over to the swings they swung as high as they could til their tummies began to tickle. They chased each other through the play buildings, laughing and giggling all along the way.

After about an hour of playing, we heard music from what we thought was an ice cream truck. But this wasn't just any ole' ice cream truck...it was the So Cupcake ice cream truck! So Cupcake is a place that I discovered here in Utah when I was trying to find a cupcake cake for Mady's 4th birthday. Their gourmet cupcakes and cakes are delicious! The chocolate cupcake was a favorite amongst us that day. I chose the regular and the kids thought the mini's were fun. Ü

After our delicious cupcake treats we headed over to the store to scope out the toy aisle and to get some toys for the kids. Sonne had his eye on almost every toy in the store and finally decided on Toy Story's Buzz Lightyear. We headed to the check-out stand where all the kids had to have their own bag for their toys. :) We made a quick stop at McDonald's and made our way back to grandma's house. The kids had so much fun and were completely exhausted by the time we got there. So glad that our girls have so much fun with their cousins...they make the best family.

Blossoms Popping Right Before My Eyes

Winter is trickling away and even though the last bits of cold struggle to hold on...the grass is greener, the trees are budding and we're eager to enjoy the warm Spring air.