cassidy's royal party

cassidy's party was a success. we ate, watched a princess movie, decorated our own crowns, ate cake and watched cassidy get messy, then opened gifts. in attendance....michelle, maggie & katie gormally, casey, natalie & tyler norr, rachel dolan & whitney black, and george & pam little. by the time it was over we determined that the party had been more for xander than cassidy. he had a great time with his friends.
here are some of the highlight pictures....
the pink outfit was from grandma & grandad little and was so cute on her. the castle cake was an amazing creation....great job todd.

cassidy turns 1 !!!

hard to believe it has been a full year. one year ago today.....it went by so quickly. yesterday was same ole, same ole....school, home, playing outside. we didn't do a whole lot out of the ordinary. we had ice cream with grandma & grandad little. they gave her some really cute outfits (which i appreciated more than she did : P ) but we'll do the party and cake today. todd really outdid himself and put together a castle cake for our "royal party". all in attendance will be princesses and princes. i'll have pictures of that one tomorrow. happy birthday baby girl!

cassidy's royal party seemed to be a success. very low key with some fabulous family friends. we missed the other part of our sunday family that couldn't be there, as well as family members that live too far away.....
we ate, the kids decorated their own crowns, we let cassidy get messy and then had her open some gifts. todd's castle cake was scrumptous (as per xander's description) and overall it was a very fun evening!
here are some highlight pictures

sunday walk

no where to go sunday after church was just fine with me. i needed some down time. xander, however, was just about to go crazy at home...couldn't play baseball or basketball, couldn't ride his bike, couldn't run in the sprinkler like the kids down the street. the first of many "because it is sunday" talks. (i remember them mom & dad!)

so, we decided that a leisurely family walk was an acceptable activity to pass the time. cassidy loves xander and laughs at everything he does, including trying to put the back of her dress over her head as they were riding in the wagon down the street.

as for an update....
todd is still searching for a job. had a good interview last week, but now he is in the waiting phase.

xander is becoming a little bit sassy. we are working on it, but it makes for some funny reasoning from an almost 4 year old when he wants things his way. he loves "vacation days" when we have a day off of school. we try to do a park or swimming pool - and to him, that is a summer day.




cassidy has had the most changes this last week. while holding her upside down and tickling her just to hear her laugh, i found two eye teeth coming in and two molars. yikes, if she has been cranky now we know why. she is also moving up to a new classroom at school. the 1yr old room. it is a little early, but because of some of the changes that are happening around the school it is happening sooner than usual. so she now sleeps on a mat on the floor instead of in a crib, and her nap time has been pushed back an hour or so, to keep her on schedule with the "older" kids in the room. she is also sitting at a table in a chair and eating, instead of a high chair. poor thing can't even get up and walk out of the chair, she'd just have to slid her way to the floor. but she seems to be adjusting well and taking it all in stride.

as for me, i am working on getting myself ready for school to start in two weeks. i am ready for my regular schedule. no more jumping rooms and work times. no more wandering aimlessly around a classroom with no real responsibilities (other than the kids of course!) i am ready for my classroom. bring it on!

that is it i guess. cassidy's birthday is on friday. i can't believe that a year ago i was huge and waiting for little cassidy to show up. well she did, and we wouldn't have it any other way. she is a little firecracker and she fits right in! pictures to be posted after the ceremony of the cake!

easily sidetracked

i've been trying to get here all night to post updates and pictures, but i have been thwarted by slow connections, kids waking up, answering emails, and oh yeah! my new favorite author's website. (stephenie meyer) she has the equivalent of a dvd full of extras on her site. actually no, it is way more than the extras you get on a dvd. it is fabulous and addicting and as todd and rachel feverishly read harry potter i am sitting here, in front of the computer, my eyes are burning, and yet i keep reading outtakes and background information on two books that i have read in the last two weeks, both being over 500 pages and anxiously await the arrival of book three august 7th. the woman is going to kill me! she has no intention of slowing down and keeps on writing about these characters and i fear that my house work and lesson plans will never be done if she keeps having books published.
so, i've been sidetracked. pictures and updates tomorrow.

pictures from the 3rd & 4th

my favorite holiday

i have decided that the fourth of july is my favorite holiday. this year "sealed the deal" for me. it was a great holiday. we started our celebrating on the the third. we went to the local city park for their "sparks in the park" event - food, moonwalks, concert, fireworks & outdoor movie. we set up our blankets and chairs on one of the ball fields, between second and third base, at KFC chicken, played frisbee, waited in lines to have xander take a turn on the mega inflatable slide (he was a pro!) and an even longer line to get funnel cake! we had a great time. got their before the huge crowds and completely enjoyed the outdoors. xander has a fear of fireworks. has hated them and been terrified of them for the last three years. my intention was to get there early enough to have a semi-close parking space, so we could sit in the car and watch the fireworks with the radio up. that didn't work out. but grandma little brought ear plugs, which he gladly put in his ears thirty minutes before they were scheduled to start. we also gave him sprite, which todd told him made him brave. he kept in the ear plugs, covered his head with cassidy's blanket and then put his hands over his ears. but after a little coaxing from todd he peeked at the sky. the fireworks were being set off directly in front of us at the back of left field. we had perfect seats for the show. i loved it! xander liked it. and cassidy fell asleep during it. if you ask xander, he'd tell you that his favorite ones were "the christmas ones - red & green." we stayed for the movie after and did not get home until midnight.
the fourth dawned very early, early enough for us to make it to the ward pancake breakfast and parade. participants decorated bikes, trikes, scooters and wagons ...xander loved it so much that he did the parade route 3 times by himself. we spent the late afternoon eating and swimming at a friend's pool with several families from church, and then ended the evening early at home. xander had no desire to see anymore fireworks. he had filled his quota the night before, but todd and i sat on our front porch and watched the fireworks that the neighbors down the street were lighting, as well as two close subdivisions displays. it was good enough for me, and all from the comfort of my home.
pics to follow....as soon as i can link to todd's computer. it is being temperamental now.