Brian Rules! Our Romantic Weekend Getaway

So here we are! Sans children. (Note the cheesey grin).
This is the entrance to where it all began! Afterall, we were married here!

The front entrance. Isn't it beautiful? Just wait!

The lobby and bar area at Firesky.

The exit to the pool.

The pool! We had such a nice, relaxing morning/afternoon here! But, beware the body tatoos.

Here's a view of the other pool from the gate, good thing Brian is so tall!

So it all started on August 4, 1998. Who was I? I was a recent SUU grad with a glimmer in my eye and a bounce in my step. Who was he? He was tall, dark, and handsome. Even ask my mother, who, upon seeing him prompty thought to herself: It is all over for Penny! What can I say? She was right. Brian and I met at an after-school program at an elementary school where my mother worked. I needed some gas money while student teaching at Arcadia HS, where I went to school. We started out as friends and on Halloween of that same year, we started officially dating. We were married in November of the next year, here, at Firesky. (Back then, it was called Sunburst.) After a grueling day of trying to figure out just where the heck we were going to be married, we finally arrived here and we both just loved it! And just last weekend, as a surprise, Brian reserved us a room here for a nice weekend getaway. We had so much fun sleeping in, shopping, going to the movies, and just not being around children in general! Thanks Brian, you're the best.

Kendal: Ballerina Extraordinaire

Sorry these pics are so blurry but. . . anyhoo. Here's some pictures of Kendal's first day of her new ballet class! She's taking them at Artistic Motion Dance in the Higley Village shopping center. Her teacher's name is Ms. Katy, and Kendal thinks she's the greatest! Kendal has always seemed to enjoy dance, as anyone who witnesses her prancing around on her tippy toes will attest! Kendal's also excited because there's a boy in her class this year!!! Whooooo, will sparks fly? You'll have to stay tuned to find out!
I believe I can fllllllyyy!

This is Kendal's Bella Dancerella Barre. She's been in love with it since the moment she busted it out of the package Christmas morn. It comes with a cute DVD, I highly reccommend.

Kendal attempting a plie? She's trying, the little squirt!

Okay, this is one of the reasons why I love having kids!!

You find treasures in the silliest of places. I found this little surprise neslted in my drawer one morning. For some reason, it just put a smile on my face.

Kendal's First Day of Preschool!

Here's Kendal, so excited for her very first day of preschool!

Kendal: throwing up gang signs?

Kendal's first backpack! Grandma bought it for her. She insisted Kendal have her own backpack and not a hand-me-down from Keaton. : )

Kendal getting a helping hand from Ms. Carrie.

Kendal already working diligently! Good work baby!

I can't believe I have a second child in school. Okay, so it's not really school, but you know what I mean! I didn't know what to do with myself for 2 hours with only one kid at home! But don't worry, I eventually figured it out. Kendal goes to preschool in the afternoon, so all day from 7:30 in the morning she's asking me, "Is it time yet? When are you taking me to preschool?" The time finally arrived and she was so beside herself. She donned her Ariel backpack that Grandma got her and away we went! She learned how to place her backpack on the hooks and put her water bottle by the sink. Then it was time for seatwork. (Shown just above). Her teacher is Ms. Carrie and I think she's going to be a very good teacher for Kendal. Kendal said that they colored, sat in a circle, danced, and put their hand prints on paper. When I came to pick her up she whisked me over to the wall where her folder was and showed me the work she'd done for that day. She said she likes her teacher and thinks that preschool is going to be loads of fun.

Why I Quit Potty Training

The limp and lifeless casualties of the Potty War.
I thought perhaps some light reading would summon the Pee-in-the-Potty Fairy? No such luck.

So I thought I'd try to potty train Karsen this week. We talked about peeing in the potty, we read books about it, even witnessed some good girls going pee pee in the potty. But when the day finally came(and I was armed with delicious drinks and pet stain remover) it just seemed like a no-go. Karsen carelessly wet pair after pair of panties with no apparent discomfort to herself, begging me to ask the question: Is Karsen ready for potty training right now? My theory is, if you don't care that you pee all over the place and it's not uncomfortable for you, you're not going to be motivated to pee in the potty! So the answer to my question for right now is a resounding: No!

Enter: Tooth Fairy

Keaton posing with her new look. Doesn't she look so proud of herself? : )

She looks so grown up with her gapped-tooth grin! Here she is, proudly showing off her tiny baby tooth!

Striking a pose with the Tooth Fairy.

This is what Keaton put her tooth in for safe keeping last night. Isn't it cute? It was given to Keaton by her Nonna. We were so excited to finally use it! If you look closely enough you can see the tooth in the top left hand corner.

Fairy's booty. Look what Keaton found the next morning! (Despite apparent tooth fairy inflations).

Well, I guess it is an exciting time for Keaton right now! Not only has she started 1st grade, but she's lost her first tooth! Time after time, one by one, Keaton's friends began losing their teeth like cats and dogs since she began Kindergarten. Keaton was always asking me, "When will I lose my first tooth mom?" Well, it finally happened! While sitting in sacrament meeting yesterday I asked Keaton to give me a look at that loose tooth. While I was wiggling it I noticed the adult tooth was coming in already behind it! I told Keaton that we needed to get her baby tooth out as soon as possible. I told her we may need to pull it, and of course, she burst into tears screaming, "It's gonna hurt, it's gonna hurt!" right in the middle of sacrament, so we had to usher her out and calm her down. We told her to just wiggle it while she was in Primary. Well, I have to hand it to Sister and Brother Olsen, because they are the ones who finally go that tooth out! When I picked up Keaton she ran down the hall screaming, "I lost it! I lost it!" She then presented me with the tiny tooth secured in a gum wrapper that her teachers had given her. She said her teacher told her to twist it and wiggle it, and sure enough, it popped right out. I feel so much better knowing that the adult tooth was well on it's way out of her gums like a little tombstone. I must add here as well that Keaton's Primary teacher pulled me aside to specifically let me know that Keaton was a very reverant and respectful, sweet little girl. I was just bursting with pride. It's always been important to both me and Brian that our children are respectful of authority figures, and this just proves that perhaps we are doing something right? I suppose parenthood does have it's perks!

The first day. . . in the first grade!

Keaton looking quite dapper on the 1st day of 1st grade! Isn't the little boy tie belt so cute? She wasn't nervous one little bit!

Okay, now make a crazy face!

Keaton in Mrs. Childress' classroom--almost time for the bell to ring!

I wish I could tell you more about Keaton's first day of first grade, but she remains quite tight-lipped as of now! I'm sure more details will come soon. For the first day, Mrs. Childress had all of the students put 10 objects that tell about them into a red bag. Keaton chose: a pink marker signifying her favorite color, coins-b/c she loves to collect coins, a paint brush b/c she loves to paint, a pencil b/c she loves to draw, a ravioli label b/c she loves ravioli, a picture of her family, a picture of her soccer ball b/c she loves to play soccer, a picture of Jesus b/c she loves him, and her journal b/c she loves to journal about all that she's doing. She said that she was not nervous to talk to everyone, and that she spoke out loud and clear. She's soooo mini-showtunes! Do I feel an Oscar coming on in the future? Stay tuned! : )