Ok so this was AGES ago now, but it was SO COOL that I still have to post about it. I get super stressed about how much I have to back post on, so I just don't do it. So after today, I'm not really back posting much. I've got to just do current stuff.
Ok, moving on! This is Viola, the elephant we got to ride!
SOOOO much fun!
Mady chose to ride Charlie Brown the camel too!
Sydney was DE-Lighted with the cotton candy!
Such fun together!
The girls were delighted with the doggies and their tricks!
Daddy had lots of fun with his little girls enjoying the show! This was the Carson & Barnes Circus and it was perfect for the littles!
The elephants were the stars of the show and the girls were so so so happy! Sydney at one point leaned over and said, "THIS IS THE BEST CIRCUS EVER!!!!!!!"
Sydney with a friend enjoying the show!
The girls and their friend spending some time under the big top!
We got a great deal on this through PlumDistrict and the girls have asked to go back to the circus almost every week since! We'll go back in a hearbeat if they come to town again!
Are you so impressed? This is my second post in less than 2 weeks! Hooray for me! We're still in camera throw up mode, but mostly for this post because it illustrates a very important part of my life right now - Dress up. Mady is ALL GIRL and loves to get fancy. Sydney will sometimes get in on the action too, but mostly it's Mady. While driving in the car the other day she burst into tears. When I finally got her to talk to me she said, "I'm just not pretty!" After assuring her that she was beautiful, I asked what she was talking about and she explained that she wasn't pretty because she didn't have a skirt on. Oh. My. Gosh. Seriously? I always wanted a girly girl, but seriously? Where the crap did that come from? Welcome to my life.
At any given time there is usually at least 1 person in my house dressed in something exciting. When my kids were little I wanted them to dress up and I would pull out the dress ups for them to try to get them to engage in imaginative play. This is no longer remotely necessary, so I cannot take credit for any of these creations.
I should also mention that the ONLY times that I try to influence my children's clothing choices are on Sunday and when we go to events/classes with a dress code. It's just not worth a fight to me over something I care so little about. Sydney is usually good with my Sunday choices as long as I choose a pretty poofy dress. Mady has a little more funk in her style and is not always ok with my very bland creations. This is illustrated by her stripey tight addition to my choice of lovely cream sweater dress. Somehow she pulls it off, and yes, I did let her go to church like this.
Here she is the same day. Mother's Day in fact. After church she got a little more exciting with the accessories. Mommy sort of kills her sense of style.
Sydney got it in her head that her lovely primary teacher (whom she adores), said they should dress their moms up on Mother's Day. Thus we have the following photo for proof that she did her homework.
They were pretty giddy over the fact that mom was playing dress up too!
Such silly kids!
You can tell my girls have been to 1 too many princess parties. When told to get dressed for a friend's outer space/alien party, this is what they came down dress in. Syd has a Snow White dress and fairy wings (and prior to this picture had bobbly antennae on her head) and was a zombie princess (or something). Mady had doctor scrubs, a Sleeping Beauty Dress, a princess wand, and a "masquerade ball" mask. That's totally what I think aliens look like too.
We've gotten some fantastic dress up finds at garage sales lately. It has made Mady very happy. On this day, we got a play wedding veil. This was awesome since Mady had asked multiple times if she could wear mine on trips to Target. I was mean and said no. She cried a lot, so this was a great compromise.
Syd found a pair of kid fishnets and went to town one day. So entertaining.
Here is a better picture of the veil, also some jingly anklets the girls found.
Those of you that know me well will laugh at this picture. I found a cleopatra costume and could not resist. Mady wore it around for a week straight. This is her "walk like an egyptian" dance.
Shockingly enough, this was taken about 2 weeks ago, not at Halloween. That bucket goes with us about half the time.
Seriously, the kid didn't take this outfit off. She slept in it, scootered in it,
She even went to the doctor in it and then went to ride the pony and the grocery store. We got some great looks at the dr office.
These girls sure keep life fun! They crack me up and as you can see, my life is very colorful right now!
I have many, many excuses as to why I have not blogged. Mostly, I'm just uber lame right now. We moved, I'm the Girl's Camp Director in my new ward, and camp is a massive project. I haven't really been reading lately either (camp has taken all of my time!) so don't think you're the only ones getting neglected! I just went back and looked and I haven't posted since February, but haven't posted regularly since September or something. R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S. Knowing is half the battle right? For those far away friends & fam who care, here's what you missed. Beware - it's like my camera threw up...
October...Mady's been getting creative and using her imagination a lot. Here she has shoes. We were sick a lot this winter... Can you tell?
Halloween - Zoo Keeper and a Hot Air Ballon Pilot. Hysterical
November...Playing in the fall leaves...
All of us....
December...Getting into the Christmas spirit
Snuggling with the cat under the Christmas tree!
We went to see Sue at the museum twice while she was there. That and Dinosaur Train has gotten both girls on a dinosaur kick. Mady is now obsessed and spouts out random dinosaur facts and names all the time. Driving down the road last week we saw an inflatable dinosaur and she yelled out, "Mom, that's a brachiosaurus!" She also loves to tell people, "Ducky (from Land Before Time) is a Parasaurolophus!" Silly Mady!
The girls got to have Krispy Kreme donuts for the first time. I mean, they got to have a donut for the first time. Seriously, we don't do donuts here. They make me sick. The kids had donut holes one other time and didn't like them, but apparently Krispy Kreme is A-Ok with them!
Sydney discovered making silly faces at the camera.
Sydney and her friend Joselyn got to go on a date to see the Nutcracker with mom. It was so fun and definitely a tradition to keep!
We had a very Disney Christmas (princess barbies, princess baby dolls, princess paper dolls, you get the picture!). Our own little princess was thrilled.
January...We moved! Then that little princess and all her little princess friends gathered for a Tangled party. Here they are whacking the Flynn Rider pinata with a frying pan. Best. Ever.
February... - Nothing. we were unpacking and apparently the only picture I took was when Mady and I went to the store and played dress up (last post).
March...We checked out the rainforest at our local museum
and Mady was able to put all the baby gorillas down for naps. She's a mini mom to the max.
Sydney got some cowboy boots which she wore with pride... until the dress up queen claimed them for herself. Syd doesn't seem to mind.
Mady finally decided to potty train and therefore got to start gymnastics. HAPPY DAY!!! It was at the same time as Syd's ballet class and I was sick of hearing her cry for 45 minutes each week. Everyone else was too. Hooray for Mady!
Here we are going to a hula party.
April...I had to throw this one in of Sydney doing her favorite thing - eating chicken wings! This girl is obsessed and will try to eat the bones if we don't take them away! She strips those things down to nothing and then scavenges everyone else's plates to look for miniscule pieces of meat or skin left on. She loves her wings!
Here the girls are participating in our ward talent show. Is this not the cutest thing ever? I love it.
Next up... The Circus! I'm going to be better now! Do or do not, there is not try, right? Yoda really knew what he was talking about! Thanks for sticking around!
For anyone who doesn't know, we recently moved (not far, but we're still unpacking). That means that I have a whole slew of reasons that I haven't blogged, but mostly, I just haven't. This however, is definitely blog worthy. Last week while Sydney was at preschool Mady and I were running errands. We stopped by Charming Charlie (go find one near you, and you're welcome) and Mady found a hat. She gave it to me and I put it on, which delighted her. She plunked one on her own head and I snapped a picture. This delighted her even more and we spent the next 30 minutes scouring that store for interesting hats to try on. Each time she would gleefully exclaim, "We're Cowboys!" Our errand day quickly turned into an impromptu Mommy/Daughter Date.
Another mom from Sydney's preschool and I decided that the kids needed more science in the curriculum, so we hold a science "lab" day each week. We have lab coats and little science journals and everything. It's so darn cute and the kids LOVE it. We do science experiments the whole time that day and have so much fun! On this day we were mixing and separating colors. (To separate, take regular crayola markers - not the washable kind - and mark them on a paper towel. Then put the bottom of the paper towel in a pan of salt water and watch the water separate the colors toward the top of the towel!)
Here was Mady's. She just LOVES being a "big" kid and doing it too!
We found a butterfly whose lower wings had been ripped off in our yard. The girls were pretty excited!
We headed over to the Wildlife Experience and checked out the Shark Exhibit. Here we are comparing teeth!
My girls LOVED this! There was a projected image of fish on the floor and they had so much fun "swimming" with Nemo and all the other fish! What was crazy was that when the girls would move suddenly or swim toward the fish, they would change course and swim away! I'm not sure if it was just coincidence or not, but it was pretty darn cool!
The girls have been big on dressing up lately. They took a break from princesses for awhile and dressed up as soldiers "in the Army of Helaman!" They look pretty terrifying right?
Our latest science experiment was done with ivory soap, toilet paper, and water! Break your soap into pieces and put them on a paper plate in the microwave. Microwave them each for 30 seconds or so and watch them grow into a cloud! It's amazing! Then add some shredded toilet paper and a little water (just a teeny bit at a time!) and mix it all together! It makes a "clean mud" that the girls had a blast with! If it starts to dry out a bit just spritz it with a spray bottle. The kids had fun for hours and everything that got on their clothes came right off because it was just soap!
Here is one of Sydney's more creative dress up combos. She deemed herself "Super Sydney," although I think she looks a bit more like Mary Poppins with the umbrella!
The hubs and I are raising the most beautiful little preschoolers you've ever seen! I love reading, Disney movies, crafting, and generally acting like a 5 year old.
