April 2012

Trees in bloom in our neighborhood park

Back in the middle of March, we decided to implement a sticker chart system for C-sta so she could see her progress as she continued potty training.  About two weeks later at the beginning of April, C-sta was completely ready to use panties all day long with no more issues or accidents.  The day she earned her promised reward of a “BIG Punzel” doll was a great one for all of us!  Now Rapunzel goes with C-sta everywhere!

C-sta with her beloved "Punzel"

The same day C-sta earned her Rapunzel doll, she had a “princess tea birthday party” to attend for a friend from school and ballet.  From the moment I picked her up from preschool until we were on our way to the party, C-sta kept asking if I was going to let her stay at the party by herself.  At first I thought she was worried and wanted me to stay with her.  As the day progressed and our conversations about said party continued, C-sta made it very clear that she DID NOT want me to stay at the party with her.  When I asked her why, she very matter-of-factly stated, “I am a big girl, Mama.  Big girls go to parties by themselves. AND, my brothers go to parties by themselves, so I can too!”  Clearly she had thought this out well, so how could I argue with her logic? I did in fact leave her at the party and ran some errands instead, but it was a bittersweet “Mom moment” for me.

Our princess is all ready to PARTY!

Easter was low-key, just our little family.  Saturday we braved the cool water temp and swam with the kids before having a little outside egg hunt.  

Sunday we had a yummy dinner after Church and then colored eggs using Kool-Aid as our dye—that was pretty cool!  Since Easter weekend we’ve been increasing our time in the pool and enjoying it before it gets too hot.

A trio of cuties!

She loves her new dress!

Kool-Aid dyed eggs

The boys have been keeping busy with school projects and all their usual activities—Right now M is enjoying the Cross Country Club at school and Li'l J loves being a part of the tumbling club.  

Li'l J's Skeletal System model

M got to trade in a day of school for a day at the Country Fair when he performed there with the school band—he LOVED it!  This was the first time any member of our family has gone to the Country Fair since moving here. Li'l J got to go on a field trip to the AZ Challenger Space Center.  He enjoyed it and I wish I had been able to go with him. 

M plays his trombone with the school band

While I haven’t been able to go on field trips with the boys this year like I have in the past, I’ve been getting my “fix” to help at school as a co-room parent for the 5^th grade.  A few months back I had to stop going in to help in the afternoons when the schedule of the gal I was trading babysitting with changed.  While helping out behind the scene’s from home by sending out informative emails to all the 5^th grade parents allows me to stay involved, it isn’t quite as fun as going into the school on a weekly basis to help in the classrooms.  I miss the camaraderie with the students as well as with their teachers.

Something new J-rod and I both began participating in during the month of April, is singing in the ward choir that was started up.  Though our ward has needed one for years, there hasn’t been anyone able or willing to oversee one and now we have a sister that is AMAZING!  Our choir is small right now, but we are consistent, sounding decent for our size, and it’s been fun to sing in a choir again!

At the end of April we took our kids to the construction site of what will one day be the Phoenix AZ Temple.  It was neat to see how the construction is progressing and to think back on the groundbreaking nearly a year ago.  We are so excited to have a temple a little bit closer to us!

FHE: The Phoenix AZ Temple

Date-nights: We try to go on a date at least once a month; if our schedule permits we fit them in more frequently.  If J-rod has a day off during the week then we’ll take C-sta with us and go out on a lunch date and run errands together.  When we go out on a Friday or a Saturday we like to go to dinner and a movie; ward temple night; or a musical that has come to town.  If we are staying close by and won’t be gone for more than an hour or so, we’ll have M babysit for us.  C-sta is getting better at staying with M and he is always eager to watch his siblings since he is eager to earn some money.  If we know that we’ll be going a long distance or will be out for longer than an hour and a half then we’ll call a youth from our ward.  Though we’ve tried to do “at home” dates after our kids have gone to bed, we have found those aren’t as effective for us as actually going out on a date.  If we try to watch more than a half-hour show, J-rod inevitably falls asleep.  So if we’re going to stay home, we usually get Panda Express and watch an episode of Friends—always a favorite for us! 

Our ward temple night for April was preempted by the annual tri-stake Prom weekend.  We went two years ago as chaperon's for the Saturday night Youth Prom, but this year we got to go to Friday night Adult Prom and we went with two other couples.  It’s been a while since we’ve gone out with other couples.  We had a great time and hope to be organized enough to go on a group date again soon.  

L-R: C & P L; Zippy & J-rod; and B & J S

The theme for Church Prom 2012 was: Sweet Memories and as usual, the decorations were amazing!