Mirablog

80's zumba

2012-01-27T15:27:00.001-08:00

I had so much fun at this Zumba to the 80's night. I haven't laughed so much at Zumba.

The 80's

2012-01-27T14:16:00.001-08:00

This week at Zumba we had an 80's party. I gave the girls a bath and then got ready. After Mirabel saw my makeup she immediately took Harper into the other bathroom. This is what I saw only a few minutes later. Oh my gosh, I laughed so hard.

Rain or snow

2012-01-21T16:53:00.001-08:00

It's been raining all day and all last night except when it has been snowing. The girls got their snow boots on and grabbed their umbrellas and went to play on whatever you want to call it out there.
On a different note I think Nic is stuck somewhere in Wyoming because of closed roads. Yuck!

Swimming with the King.

2012-01-20T15:53:00.001-08:00

Okay so we didn't go swimming with the king but we did on his day. Martin Luther King Jr that is. Not a great idea. It was cold outside, it was cold inside, and it was cold in the water. Freezing is more accurate. It was still fun though, well the girls and I thought so, Nic not so much. Mirabel is in desperate need of her next swim lesson to teach her proper swimming instead of what she does. But she can go wherever and not drown. (Never too far from one of is though) And our sweet scared e cat Harper actually didn't cling onto us the whole time. Definitely an improvement.

Why do kids like sleeping on the floor?

2012-01-15T19:57:00.001-08:00

My girls love to sleep on the floor. At times I wonder why we even bothered with buying them beds. We limit it to weekends only. They usually play for a little bit but one of them always gives up and goes to the floor on the other room. However last night that is not what happened. They stayed together and when Nic and I went to bed this is how we found them. Aren't they so sweet. Harper loves to cuddle so it was no surprise that she had made her way over onto Mirabel's pillow.

Shake and bake

2012-01-14T20:27:00.001-08:00

About a year ago my friend Michelle started bugging me to go with her to a Zumba class. No thank you. But she is persistent and I finally agreed just to get her to shut up about it. The time came and I was so sick to my stomach. I was dreading it. For a few reasons 1. I do not dance 2. I can not dance 3. I am uncoordinated 4. I don't like to exercise in front of other people 5. The unknown makes me nervous.
After a year of 'shaking it' I wish I could do #2 a little better but #3 kind of gets in the way. But my stomach doesn't hurt anymore and I am totally in love with it. I love to jam to some Zumba tunes and I often find myself shaking it through out the day. (not very well but still)
During the summer my fabulous (which doesn't even do her justice) instructor took two weeks off so I spent two weeks trying other instructors. No one even came close to Cammie. So when she got pregnant and started cutting back class I was sad to say the least. I found Brooke who I love but she still isn't Cammie.
Well my teacher is officially on maternity leave and today Cari, Julie, and I went to her Zumba baby shower. It was pretty good but too many different instructors for my taste.
Have I mentioned how much I love Zumba. Love it.
Apparently I listen to the the songs enough for my girls to sing lines like "so sexy, so sexy" "Zumba aye" and my personal favorite "I'm sexy and I know it."
Tonight before Mirabel went to bed she asked if I would show her the Zumba moves to sexy and I know it. Too cute.

The tooth fairy makes her first appearance

2012-01-13T09:05:00.001-08:00

Last weekend Mirabel was complaining that her mouth hurt. When Nic checked it out he found her whole bottom left jaw swollen and even her check was swollen. I made a dentist appointment after it didn't go down by Monday.   The dentist said she had an infection with her silver tooth and recommended pulling it out once the infection went down.
So for four days Mirabel took Amoxicillin and talked about how she would lose a tooth before her little sister. She was very excited.
I'll pause the story and give a little history. About a year and a half ago, maybe even two years ago, our dentist at the time put a small like filling in Mirabel's mouth. About a month later, she was sitting at the table eating Skittles when her filling fell out. The dentist assured me this very rarely happened and he would fix it. All was fine for the next six months until again Mirabel found her filling floating around her mouth. Are you kidding me? I had to take her back and get it fixed. Poor little thing. I hated putting her threw it again but what could I do. By the time it fell out again, I know we should have ditch our 'fabulous' dentist for a more capable one. One I didn't want to punch in the face. His solution was to just cap the whole thing. Are you kidding me? Nic and I were furious!   And vowed never ever to go back. We hate Dr Tribe!   HATE HATE HATE HIM!
So you see when our new dentist said it was all a result from her cap tooth I actually wanted our old dentist dead. But not to kill him myself, just.... well enough with that. We despise that man more than it words can say.
I was happy to say good bye to that tooth that had cause so much pain to my little girl. Good ridence.
On the way to the dentist Mirabel started to act different. Scared. She has been to the dentist plenty of times and never really been scared but today was different. She kept asking if it would hurt but I didn't really know because I had never had a dentist pull my teeth. She wanted her Daddy, who had most of his teeth pulled by a dentist. When he didn't answer the phone, she got upset but luckily, he called right back. You could hear in her voice how nervous she was. We dropped Harper off at Joy school and off we went.
Once she was in the chair, she was fine. He gave her some orange gas and a few shots. He got his teeth pliers and worked the tooth back and forth until it came out. Mirabel and I were both surprised how fast and almost pain free it was. Sadly he noticed another cavity that had lost its filling. Grrrrrr.
At night Mirabel got my old tooth fairy pillow and put her tooth in it and set it next to her pillow. She said she didn't want to sleep in it. I can't blame her. Long after she feel asleep the "tooth fairy" crept in and put a dollar in the little pocket. The whole time I was worried what my anti-lying, anti-Santa Claus husband would say about the whole thing so I avoided the subject. That is until he left for work and asked if I had taken care of the whole tooth thing. As gushy as this next part may sound, I loved him for asking. I really love him. I can't explain it really except that he put aside his feelings for Mirabel's.   Very hot!
Girls, one day when you read this I want you to understand how much such a simple thing was one of many things your Dad does because he loves you. And I love him for it.
The next morning Mirabel came running down with her new dollar and tooth. She was very excited. We could figure out why her tooth was still there though. Was it because it was her first tooth, it had a cap, she forgot (she didn't), who knows. I don't think the 'Tooth Fairy' even know why she left it.

TANGLED

2012-01-11T20:29:00.001-08:00

I found some pictures from Halloween last year. I think if Flynn Rider is the luckiest guy around with the two most beautiful Rapunzels ever.

My good, big girls

2012-01-08T12:32:00.001-08:00

This morning the girls were up stairs playing, and I was down stairs cleaning up from breakfast. The girls had gotten in their closets and picked out their clothes for church and put them on. When I saw them I was so surprised. Mirabel saw that I had already picked out dresses and said they would wear them next week. I got myself ready and could hear the girls giggling in the other bathroom. I knew they were up to no good so I went to tell them to stop. BIG SURPRISE! They had changed their dresses into the ones I had set out for them and Mirabel had combed and done both of their hair. Mirabel said they wanted to surprise me. And boy was it surprised. Proud. And yes sad. I was sad that they are getting big and independent.

I left them the way they were and we headed off to church. Both girls were grinning from ear to ear. Oh and I forgot Mirabel helped Harper pack a purse so they could be grown up like me.

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The play by play of a back summer sault

2012-01-07T20:06:00.001-08:00

Step 1. Stand up tall

Step 2. Touch your toes

Step 3. Roll back

Step 4. Over you go

This is what Mirabel has said the "rules" of a back summer sault are for a year. Unfortunately step 4 (over you go) has been a little bit of an issue for Mirabel until recently. She has now successfully rolled over many times. Wahoo!!!

The best part is that as I am writing this Mirabel did a perfect round off and landed it. She has been working on it but mostly just ends up doing a cartwheel.

Even though I've been complaining about her tumbling between her class and the new rule of practicing everyday for five minutes.

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Reflection recognition

2012-01-07T19:29:00.001-08:00

The regional reflections contest program wwas tonight. Mirabel got called up and got a ribbon and a certificate of merit. Very exciting.

The first picture is of Mirabel waiting for her name to be called. The second one is how she likes to smile with her head tilted and the last one is her after her mother told her to stand up straight for the picture.

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To dance or not to dance

2012-01-04T09:54:00.001-08:00

I'm pretty frustrated with Mirabel's dance and tumbling class. First there is more than twice as many kids as there was last year. It went from a 7 kid class to a 15 and 17 kid classes.

Second Mirabel seems worse now after four months of tumbling than she was at her recital. Is it the class size? Her two friends in her class? Her? The teachers? I'm not sure but I've been disappointed with the whole thing where last year I was very pleased.

Mirabel and I have been talking and I've told her she needs to work hard and listen at tumbling and then come home and practice or I am pulling her out. But she loves tumbling and dance so what do I do?

I think next year I will look into a more serious tumbling class.

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A broken lift make for some sad little skiers

2012-01-02T17:36:00.001-08:00

We went up skiing again today after we found out Nic didn't have school today. He went up this morning and did his lesson and then when Mirabel got out of school, I took the girls up. Today Harper skied on her own and couldn't wait to do some more pizza and French fries.

Sadly the Little Cat lift broke down and we decided to cut our day short. That is after we waited in line for 20 minutes. The girls were laying on the snow waiting for it to start working again. It was sad (and a little annoying) when they both started crying as we left the line and Nic informed them that we were heading home.

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Happy New Year

2012-01-02T17:27:00.001-08:00

We went over to our friend Remy and Julie's for New years while the girls went to Savannah's for a babysitting party. They had pizza, games, made noise makers, watch fireworks and just had a good time.

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Snow bunnies

2011-12-30T19:41:00.001-08:00

Today was Harper's first day of skiing. She has been so excited to ski. Last year she had to watch which was sad because she really wanted to ski. Everytime it snows she gets so excited and says "it's skiing time. Right Mom?"

Harper kept saying the funniest things ever today. Like when we got there she says "I'm a skiier now, right Mom?" Or on the way up the girls were arguing because Harper said she knows how to ski because if you don't know how to ski, then you're a baby and she is not a baby. Or when I was telling Mirabel that she was just a little bit younger than Harper was when she started skiing. Harper asked where she was and I told her that she wasn't born yet, she was still in my tummy. Harper then said "and I moved in your tummy because I was excited, right Mom?" She has been watching lots of church videos and one of her favorite is the one where John the Baptist jumps for joy in his Mom's tummy when Mary comes.

If you haven't notice Harper says right Mom alot.

The girls had a great day. We basically had to drag them off the mountain after 3+ hours. They loved it.

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Preparing for the big day

2011-12-29T20:38:00.001-08:00

The girls are pretty excited to go skiing tomorrow. Mostly Harper. She wanted to go tonight and then go to bed instead of going to bed and then going skiing. I'm curious to see how it all goes down.

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I think therefore I BMX

2011-12-28T21:37:00.001-08:00

Nic got a BMX bike for Christmas and has spent the last 3 days at different skate Parks. Today the girls and I went with him. All I will say is I think it will be more fun in the summer when we won't be freezing our tookuses off.

Oh and in case anyone wonders where I got the awesome quote I used as the title, I Googled it. Yup, I'm just that cool.

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Three cast before age three

2011-12-28T08:52:00.001-08:00

Poor Harper dear broke her arm yet again this Christmas year. At first she had a huge purple one that went all the way to her armpit, but they exchanged it for a red one that only went to her elbow.

Yesterday December 27 she got it taken off for good. Stranglely enough she got last years taken off on the 27 of December.

One of the first things she did when she got home was practiced climbing up and down the bunk bed latter since she hasn't been able to do that with only one arm.

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From Front Runner to Trax and back again

2011-12-27T19:17:00.001-08:00

The girls have been talking about riding the train for months. We finally promised them that we could ride it when we went to Temple Square to see the lights.

We left early enough that it was still light outside so the girls could watch out the window. They loved it. Then we caught Trax and rode it to Temple Square. From there we walked around the Temple grounds. Like always the lights were beautiful. It was a good night. Not too cold and not too busy. I think the girls enjoyed it. Then dinner at the delightful JBs (the only place we could see to walk to) and then back on the train. The train back wasn't as exciting. Everything was dark outside and the girls were restless. Fun night! I hope the girls loved Temple Square as much as they loved the train.

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Cookies for Santa

2011-12-27T18:58:00.001-08:00

Nic is not a huge fan of Santa, that is a nice way to say he doesn't want any part of Santa in our house. Its been a fight for years. Neither one if us gets what we want. Nic cringes That being said Mirabel asked to make cookies on Christmas Eve because she had made a Santa plate in school. So we made peanut butter bars, one of my favorite. Luckily for us Nic was upstairs sleeping. I like cooking with the girls. They are good helpers.

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Assembling of Gingerbread houses

2011-12-26T21:55:00.001-08:00

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Christmas Eve bowling

2011-12-26T21:25:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve bowling and gingerbread houses with Grandma and Grandpa S. Fun morning.

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Christmas waffles anyone?

2011-12-24T08:14:00.001-08:00

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Away in a manger

2011-12-22T16:53:00.001-08:00

Last night at a community Christmas celebration (also known as a church program in disguise for non or less active members) Mirabel sang a duet with Dori W. The two little 5 years sang the first verse of Away in a Manger and the first on the 'asleeps' in the chorus. The second and third versus were sung by 5 or 6 ten year olds.

The little girls were quite but very sweet. And during the asleeps they got much louder. My favorite part was after the last verse Mirabel stepped it up and sang the asleeps really loud while standing on her tippy toes into the microphone. I was a mixture of laughs and cries.

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Joy school nativity program

2011-12-19T20:47:00.001-08:00

Harper's Joy school put on a little nativity and sing along program tonight. It was super cute even though the kids were so little. They were all darling especially Harper who was the angel that told Mary she was going to have a baby. She was so freaking adorable. After the nativity the kids sang a few songs, silent night, I am a child of God and We wish you a merry Christmas.

Mirabel was cute taking pictures the whole time. Plus she was happy because her bff from Preschool, Kennedy was there.

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I want this

2011-12-17T20:25:00.001-08:00

I saw this darling nativity the other day and I want it so bad. Its a shame it was $60.00 bucks. Not a typo. I took a picture because my friend Kalani has made animals and stuff out of clay and I'm hoping perhaps by next Christmas I can make one. Here's to hoping.

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I suck at all things domestic

2011-12-17T18:47:00.001-08:00

I may be a stay at home mom but I am far from domestic. I don't bake bread, sew, craft, cook/bake, and today Mirabel told me I can't make cookies either.

I thought that since Nic was out of town for the last three days that the girls and I could make and decorate sugar cookies for something fun to do. BIG MISTAKE! Even though my mother in law makes it look so easy, I don't think it is.

Plus I made the mistake of being over confident and inviting our bf's to participate. I was embarrassed by my lack of skills. Oh well, at least we weren't planning on passing the cookies out or anything, and the girls all enjoyed decorating them, which of course was the whole point.

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Kangaroo Zoo

2011-12-15T20:50:00.001-08:00

My kids love the kangaroo zoo. We went there on Monday for FHE and then just us girls this afternoon. It's cute to see Harper climb up all the bounce houses with her cast. She is actually really good. Better than I would have thought. The best part is how well they play together, I love how Mirabel helps and protects Harper and sticks with her. I have good girls and I love them.

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Airplane rides are awesome when you're awake

2011-12-14T07:38:00.001-08:00

After many, many, many hours hanging out at the Las Vegas airport we finally got on a plane to head home. (Thanks Delta for canceling our flight and turning our two hour lay over into seven) .

We were the last ones off our flight from Hawaii because Mirabel was asleep and would not get up. I ended up carrying her, our two bookbags, and pulling our two suitcases. Mirabel was a champ though except those few minutes when I couldn't carry her at the security check and she laid on the floor crying. To all those travelers around me giving me the stink eye I'd just like to say "bite me, the poor kid was tired."

After a good nap, some lunch, a quick movie, and some plane watching, we finally got on our plane. Plus we had an added bonus of sitting by the window. And since it was only a 45 minute flight Mirabel was entertained just looking out the window. Even though it was her seventh time on an airplane it was the first one she was awake for and will probably remember.

Once we got to SLC we were picked up by our cute Nic and sleeping Harper. So good to be home. My favorite part of that drive home was when Harper asked Mirabel if they could hold hands. So sweet.

SO GOOD TO BE HOME!

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Red is the new purple

2011-12-12T21:41:00.001-08:00

Today Harper and I went back to the doctor to find out how her arm was healing. The doc said it looked great and she could probably get it taken off in two weeks instead of three. And here is the best part, they took of her huge purple cast that went up past her elbow all the way to her arm pit. It was sad. So glad to have her get a littler cast.

She was so funny at the doctor. She kept saying stuff like "doctor is green your favorite color?" She couldn't stop talking to the doctor and the nurse.

She picked the color red but while they were putting it on she told the nurse that its purple. Purple is my favorite color. And on and on. Funny girl.

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fake, fake, fake

2011-12-11T21:43:00.001-08:00

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Ward Christmas carnival

2011-12-11T21:41:00.001-08:00

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Ward Christmas carnival

2011-12-11T21:40:00.001-08:00

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Movie night

2011-12-11T21:34:00.001-08:00

I love watching movies as a family especially when it is not a cartoon. Tonight we watched Home Alone. Some thought it might be too scary but it was good. A little bad language but nothing they probably haven't heard their mother say.

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The trees of the visitor's center

2011-12-05T12:06:00.001-08:00

In the evening we headed to the Temple's visitors center to check out their display of Christmas trees. Holy cow! They were amazing and beautiful. I want a Jesus tree. They had an angle tree, a Jesus tree, a nativity tree, a wiseman tree, a music tree, a tree of flags from aroind the world, the 3 gifts tree, etc.

My favorite was the nativity tree. Big surprise of you know me.

They all were really neat and the feeling of the spirit that was in there was amazing.

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From Hukilau to Temple

2011-12-05T11:59:00.001-08:00

After playing on the beach for hours Mirabel wanted to walk from Hukilua beach over to Temple beach in search for her gingerbread man.

On our way we found the perfect place to play. The sand was rockless (is that a word?) the waves were calm, and the water was clean. We had to stop and play.

When we finally made it over to Temple beach we walked all the way to the end and Mirabel even climbed on the big rock. The only problem to our plan was that it was a long way back and Mirabel was tired. Good thing she is still lite enough to carry.

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Missing gingerbread man

2011-12-04T21:59:00.001-08:00

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I want to be like Mirabel when I grow up

2011-12-04T19:55:00.001-08:00

It doesn't matter where she is, or what she is doing, Mirabel always seems to make friends. I am sure most of it is the fact that she is a kid but I hope she doesn't grow out of it. I wish I could just go up to a perfect stranger and become best friends instantly.

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Waikiki swimming, shopping, and a show

2011-12-03T22:56:00.001-08:00

Grandma and Grandpa went to the BYU vs Hawaii football game today so Mirabel and I drove down Waikiki after the Valley of the Temples. We ended up staying there all day. The weather was good, the waves were perfect, and it wasn't very crowed. Mirabel wanted to make snow angles and to bury herself in the sand since Dad wasn't here to bury.

Swimming at Waikiki with Diamond Head in the back ground. She liked to go out in the deep part and try not to drown. It sounds strange but she liked to see if she could stay a float long enough to swim over to her tube.

This is for you, Harper. The girls loved to play in these pools.

This is for you Dad. The first time Nic and I came over her, when Mirabel was only one, we ate at this Cheese Burger In Paradise place right on the beach of Waikiki. When Mirabel and I went walking to the International Market Place we found it and took a quick picture for her Dad to see.

Did I mention that we were lucky to find the thing that Mirabel wanted to get for Harper. Just before we started to give up Mirabel said we should check just one more place. The lady said she used to sell them and had one left if she could find it. TADA! She did. Mirabel was so happy.

After finding that very special gift for Harper we started the long walk back to the zoo where our car was parked. On our way we saw two guys lighting torches along the beach of Waikiki and blowing a sea shell horn. We followed them and they led us to the night show right on the beach. It was fun watching the dancing of all aged even down to a little boy about two or three.

And we watched the sun set. Really really pretty.

I really hate to brag but I must tell you that today I had at least 5 people tell me how cute Mirabel was, how pretty she is, that she should be a model. It has happened most days of her life ever since she was born. Five years later and we still can't go in public without someone saying how pretty she is. The saddest part, if you want to call it sad, is that to me her personality is what makes her darling and people who pass by her only get to see her and not get to know her. Okay I'm done.

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Valley of the Temples

2011-12-03T22:33:00.001-08:00

Last time we came to the Valley of the Temples the girls loved feeding the birds. This time it was just as fun. Mirabel wanted to ring the bell then ran to the end to feed the fish and bird.

Mirabel got really good at holding her hand still and the birds would come eat right out of her hands.

One flaw in our plan was we forgot that bird poop. Yup you guessed it. I got hit right on the head on the way out. I had to go to the bathroom and stick my head under the sink to wash it off. Then I used soap to clean my hair and rinsed it again. It really wasn't very funny. Maybe tomorrow or next week it will be but today, not so much. It was soooooo gross.

The last time we were hear the girls wrote on the autograph tree. We stopped to see if we could find our names but before we could it started to down pour. Mirabel and I ran to the car and we were drenched. We couldn't be any wetter even if we went swimming in the ocean.

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Mirabel Feeds the Dolphins

2011-12-03T10:58:00.001-08:00

Watch "Mirabel feeds the dolphins" on YouTube

Sea Life Park

2011-12-02T21:47:00.001-08:00

We went to the Sea Life Park today. It is similar to Sea World only mini.

At the hands on exhibit we got to touch things like star fish, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers. They also had baby turtles and fish swimming in this water.

They had exhibits and shows with sea lions, dolphins, and penguins. Mirabel watching the sea lions sun bath and bark.

Waiting for the dolphin show with Grandma and Grandpa.

We also got to see a scuba diver feed the aquarium full of fish and sting rays. To feed the sting rays she would put her hand on their nose and swim around with them while putting squid in their mouths. After they were all fed she danced around with them doing ballet as they called it.

At one of the shows Mirabel wanted to sit in the wet zone which also turned out to be front row for when the sea loins and penguins walked around.

I have pictures on the camera of the best part and if I can figure out how to get them and the video on here I will. But after one of the shows they made an announcement that if anyone wants to pay $5.00 bucks they can feed the dolphins. Mirabel and I decided that would be fun and not too expensive. They took us behind the scenes sort of speak and let us feed the dolphins little 3 inch fish right in their mouths. Mirabel was a little hesitant to put the fish right into the big mouth of the dolphin that was only inches from her so she threw them into the mouth rather than put them in. As I watched I thought I could do better but when it came down to it, it is rather intimidating and scary. I was awesome though to drop fish onto the tongue of a dolphin but every time I dropped one in I would flinch a little at the dolphins reaction.

I still can't believe we were able to do feed the dolphins. It was by far one the coolest thing we have ever done. Mirabel kept saying it was the most fun she got to do.

On our way out we fed the turtle salad. They are different from the ones that were sun bathing on the beach the other day. These ones moved around and would snap their mouths while eating. They would fight for the little pieces of salad and climb on top of each other to get to some. It was a really fun day. On the way home I realized Mirabel and I never made it to the beach. She has wanted to go everyday but we wont tell her it didn't happen today and she didn't seem to notice.

When we got home we ate our pizza on the deck which Mirabel has been begging to do since we got here. It was a nice end to a nice day.

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Friends, fish and food

2011-12-01T23:13:00.001-08:00

Mirabel wanted to get her picture taken by this statue for her Dad.

Last night while we were at Waikiki Mirabel made a new friend. She has been going crazy without other kids to play with and without her sister. Finally she found someone to play with her and the two played together for hours. We couldn't get them to stop playing together. Turns out the family is from Utah too and only a few cities over from us. In talking to the family we realized they flew over on stand by and their flight home was full so they had to stay another day. In the end, we switched phone numbers and ended up hanging out with them today at the PCC and for dinner.

We went on the self paddle boat. Here is a beautiful picture of the back of their heads. The little girls loved having someone to play with. Ashely is a year older than Mirabel and probably 6-8 inches taller than her too but they got along great.

The girls also went fishing at Tahiti where Mirabel caught a 3 inch fish. She was really excited until the guy told her she had to throw it back. WHAT? That's not how her Dad taught her how to fish.

They also fed the fish. Then we headed to dinner. There is a really bad wind storm that hit Farmington area today and since our new friends the Child's live close to there and we have family there it was the majority of the talk at dinner. Except with the girls. They had fun getting gummy bears and M&M's with their dinner.

The PCC is starting to put up their Christmas trees and Christmas lights. It doesn't feel like Christmas time out here even though lots of houses and stores have lights and trees up.

It's the ornaments that are different from back home though. Sea shells, star fish, surfing Santa's, brown snowmen made out of sand, plus strange decorations that are probably traditional of different islands.

When we got home Mirabel wanted to show Grandma her newly found sea shells.

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Sinking wreath

2011-12-01T21:49:00.001-08:00

This morning after doing some homework, (I am trying to make sure Mirabel doesn't fall behind in school) we loaded up for the beach. We were walking to the car when my Dad called and need us to bring him a swimming suit to work? Why I wondered. Apparently he was hanging wreaths on the bridges at the PCC and dropped on into the lagoon. It instantly sank to the ground, which luckily is only 3 or 4 feet deep. I offered my services since I was already in my swim suit. So Mirabel and I met Grandpa at the warehouse where he works and he took us on his cart to rescue the poor Christmas wreath at the bottom of the lagoon.

One of the things Mirabel wanted to do while over here in Hawaii was go for a ride with Grandpa on his cart.

My little poser! She knows every inch of the PCC. I think she could be a tour guide right now if she wanted to be. Notice the wreath in the back ground? This was after I climbed into the dirty and freezing water to get it.

I made the mistake of letting my Mom document my once in a life time swim experience. She is a Tesch through and through and can't take pictures without cutting heads of or getting everyone in the frame. (We still love you though Mom! :)

As you can see the water is not very deep, and it was right when the park was opening so there wasn't any guest watching me take a little swim to save the wreath which you could not see until I pulled it out of the ground.

Finally Mirabel and I made it to the beach. We first tried Castle beach but the waves were way to big and I didn't feel comfortable there, so we headed to Temple beach. Which was closed for some reason, so we went to Hukilau beach.

It was starting to sprinkle when we left and Mirabel was starting to get cold that is why she looks the way that she does. Oh and she "found" sea shells finally today. She was so happy. Coincidental right were we were sitting was about 20 big nice sea shells. She said we must have found the best spot on the whole beach. She was so happy. Wink! Wink!

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Somebody's been sleeping in my bed

2011-11-30T23:20:00.001-08:00

I hope Nic hasn't created a monster by letting Harpsicord sleep in my bed while we are in Hawaii.

Look how sad she looks in that huge cast. In case anyone was wondering this is a current picture. It is not a year old. I know it's confusing so I will clear it up. Yes my baby broke her arm AGAIN! Same time as last year. Poor girl will be in a cast for Christmas again this year. Good thing she is a pro at opening gifts with only one arm.

FYI that makes three cast for our family in a years time.

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Waikiki aka Harper beach

2011-11-30T22:58:00.001-08:00

Last time we were here we renamed some beaches. The ones with no waves we called Harper beach because those are the only kind that didn't freak her out. Waikiki was number one on Harp's list.

This morning after going to the swap meet we headed to Waikiki. We were going to go to the Honolulu Zoo then the beach but the prices went up and were outrages. Without much effort we convinced Mirabel to skip it and just go to the beach. (Have I mentioned how good of a kid that one is? She always has been. I hope that doesn't mean she is going to be a naughty teen.)

Anyway we hated Harper beach. I did at least. After all a Harper beach without Harper was just not the same. I miss her so much. So does Mirabel. I'm counting the days until I'm home and get to see her. I feel like the worst Mom ever coming without her. Yes there was good reasons for her to stay home...at least I think there was. I really can't remember them now.

Is it possible I didn't make it into any of the pictures today? Huh? I'll do better tomorrow.

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Sick in Hawaii

2011-11-30T11:40:00.001-08:00

I woke up Monday with a cold. Everyday I wake up just a little bit sicker. I'm just thankful it's only a cold and not the flu. At least I am functional.

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Polynesian Cultural Center

2011-11-29T22:01:00.001-08:00

The PCC has a new canoe ride that is only a 5 man boat and you get to paddle it yourself. It was pretty fun until the guide decided to bump into his friend in another boat and a regular canoe under a bridge. For a breif moment our front end went way under the water and I thought we were going to go under. Luckily we didn't.

Mirabel loves hanging our at the school house with Cyril. Who she calls cereal. She played with her last summer when we were here. Cyril taught us how to make roses out of leaves.

This is the School house that is Mirabel's absolutely favorite place at the whole PCC.

Mirabel also went around and helped hang wreaths on all the bridges with Grandma and Grandpa.

These are the flowers that we made. Aren't they cute?

we ventured all the way to the end of the PCC today and found this really pretty waterfall that we never saw last time. We also watched the students of Hawaii sing at a end of the day flag ceremony. They all sang a song in Hawaiin (at least I assume it was Hawaiian) while someone takes the flag down. They they got in a huddle and did a chant.

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Temple Beach

2011-11-29T21:57:00.001-08:00

Mirabel's favorite beach is Temple beach. I'm not sure why but loves you can see the Temple, where you park, everything and to me it is just like every other beach around here. But it makes her happy to go there so that is what we do.

As I was watching her play in the sand, I noticed that within a 5 foot radius there was about 20 crabs. The more I watched the more I saw. Even inches away from me this little guy popped up.

My little beach bum. Isn't this a great picture of her? I love it.

This morning Mirabel went to work with my Mom. She was so excited to go with her. She woke up everyday and asked if today was the day she went to work with Grandma. Not sure why she loves it so much but they do stuff like refill the fish food, ride in the carts, crafts,go to the school which is her very favorite place at the whole PCC, watch Grandpa work, and everyone spoilers her. Wait, I guess I do know why she loves it.

I picked her up around lunch time and we went to the beach. We were only there a few minutes before she asked if we could go back to Grandma's work. We did stay at the beach for a few hours before heading back so we could go to the PCC.

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Poor Harper

2011-11-29T21:51:00.001-08:00

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6 turtles and a naked man

2011-11-29T12:23:00.001-08:00

Yes you read that right. Today at the beach we saw six turtles and a naked man. Yikes! Talk about a surprise. Luckily Mirabel was oblivious.

We were in Hawlevia and there were just turtles sun bathing on the beach. At first Mirabel was scared of them and wouldn't go close at all. She finally did get close enough for pictures.

We also went swimming at the same place we went kayaking last time, where Nic broke his arm. Somehow it seemed fitting since Harper got a cast of her own today. I'll blog on that soon.

While in Hawlevia we also hit the shaved ice stand and went shopping. On the way back we stooped at Sunset beach. We went to Sunset beach a lot when we came here in June. This time however the waves where huge and they are hosting the Vans World cup of Surfing. It was pretty cool to see how big the waves were.

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Beach Bums

2011-11-27T20:54:00.001-08:00

Mirabel loves the beach. While making the schedule for our days here Mirabel said go to the beach. So everyday we go to the beach.

We went for about 3 hours earlier and just floated on the waves. It was windy so the waves were pretty big. I couldn't touch when a wave came and then during the lull the water only came to barley over my knees. It was crazy fun.

Grandma and I played lots of games with Mirabel today. Mirabel is really noticing how much she misses Harper. We played Trouble and with her new lizards.

Tonight we went and walked in the beach and played in the waves. It was fun except when I found quick sand. It was actually pretty scarey. I stepped on the sand and sank to about my knees instantly. Luckily I got out of it really quickly but it still scared me.

The highlight of my day though was talking to Harper and Nic on the computer. I miss my family. It was so good to see and talk to Harper.

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Crab legs anyone?

2011-11-26T21:42:00.001-08:00

Tonight we went to dinner at the PCC at the fancy restaurant. Mirabel wanted crab legs but since Nic usually opens them for her and he wasn't here, I had open them. Gross. My hands still smell fishy and I've even washed them.

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Snorkeling

2011-11-26T18:53:00.001-08:00

This morning after Mirabel went with Grandma and Grandpa to a baptism, we all went snorkeling. We drove over to sharks cove but by the time we got there a storm had come in. It was windy and rained a few times on us. Grandma decided to stay back and watch. Mirabel kept thinking there were sharks at sharks cove.

At first Mirabel was really hesitant to stick her face in the water and breathe out of her mouth but eventually she got it. She didn't last long though. She ended up wanting to swim in the waveless water than watch the fish. Plus she was starting to shiver.

Once we took her back to land she was good. She had fun with Grandma looking for sea shells while Grandpa and I went back out.

We ran into another set of missionaries who gave us a bag of Cheerios to feed the fish. It was pretty cool to watch them fight over the cereal. They even jumped out of the water a few times to get them. One time my Dad let a bunch go and a fish swam an inch in front of my eyes to grab it. I can't believe it didn't touch me, it was so close.

I had a lot of fun snorkeling. I decided it was just as awesome as scuba diving without the cost and fear.

On the way home Mirabel was asked if she liked it and she said she did but didn't want to go again. I think the mask felt funny on her, plus she didn't like breathing out of just her mouth, both of which probably would have been fine if she wasn't so cold on top of that.

Oh and the picture of Harper is one I got from Nic. Apparently when Mom is away it doesn't matter what she wears. Who picked it you might wonder. I wondered the same thing. I think Harper did and then Nic added to it to keep her warm.

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Welcome to Hawaii

2011-11-25T19:53:00.001-08:00

After traveling through the night to get here, we finally made it. We arrived a little before 6am and by 7am Mirabel was begging to go to the beach.

We held her off until 11 but she almost burst with excitement. We hung out at the beach for 3 hours before the rain made for a quick getaway. Mirabel, Grandma, and I floated on our tubes for most the time. It was fun and very relaxing.

Now I'm vegging on my blow up bed watching Mirabel and Grandma put up a very Hawaiian sea shell tree. And hopefully getting over my overwhelming feeling of missing my little Harper dear and Nic.

It's been so hard for me to leave Harper. Especially after she said stuff like stay with me, or when she wouldn't let go of Mirabel when we left. I miss her so much. I am regretting leaving her home. Good thing she is with Nic.

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Today I'm thankful for...

2011-11-18T21:24:00.001-08:00

Today I am thankful for a dirty kitchen. I'm serious. Because that means I had friends over for dinner. Which also means I have friends. Always a plus.

Actually my kitchen isn't that dirty. We ordered pizza and ate on paper plates and I have a dish washer for the other stuff. Another thing I am thankful for. The rest of my house isn't messy either. Lots of kids and very little mess.

(Side note: I didn't have a dishwasher when I was growing up. We had to wash them by hand. I remember the kids had to wash a sink of dishes and the last person ended up with all silverware. Never fun to wash the silverware. I have a great admiration for my Mom for always washing the dishes.)

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Reflections Contest

2011-11-17T13:57:00.000-08:00

About two weeks ago we went to the Kangaroo Zoo and on the way home Mirabel asked when she could go again. I told her that everyone who participates in the Reflections contest gets a free pass. Even though it was due in just two days Mirabel wanted to do it.

The theme was diversity means.... Mirabel drew a picture of different colored people. A brown, yellow, black, and yes a green person. Then she wrote "To me diversity means to be different. People are different shapes, colors, and sizes."

Pretty simple but cute.

Then today when I picked her up she came running and was jumping up and down saying look what I won. Then she showed me her 1st place trophy and participation medal. Seriously? I was shocked and proud all at the same time. Mirabel won first place in Visual Arts. Then I started feeling guilty we forgot to go to the display and I didn't go to the assembly.

I am so very proud of her. I have such pride and joy I can't even explain it. I wanted everyone to know (yes I bragged a bit) but I wanted everyone to be as excited as I was for her.

As the day went on I learned she was in a category with all the Kindergarteners, first graders, and second graders. And there was kind of a lot. Plus she will go on the compete in regions.

So today I am thankful for Mirabel, her talent, all the volunteers who put together the Reflections program and the pride I have in my Munch.

Congratulations Kiddo.

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shopping and count downs

2011-11-16T16:48:00.001-08:00

Today the girls and I had to run to the grocery store and I'm thankful they were good. Not always are they both good so I usually go when one of them is at school but they were good and we all survived.

Then this afternoon while Harps took a nap (another thing I am thankful for) Mirabel and I made count downs for Hawaii. Yellow is for Mirabel's count down until we go and the blue and candy one is for Harper while we are gone. Its a count down until we get home to her. I'm excited Mirabel and I get to go to Hawaii but super sad to leave Harper at home with Dad. We will miss her so much, both of them actually.

If you can't see how many yellow rings there are only 8.

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You don't realize what you have until it's gone. Also I'm thankful for our friends. We liked living by them in our old neighborhood and love living by them here. My kids love their kids and especially Teri and Turdis. Kari is so good to us and I love when she feeds us. Kari invited us to go slide at the huge slide her family has at the corn maze. We went last year and Mirabel has been asking when we can go again. It's pretty dirty after the weather we've had but it makes me feel like a kid.

2011-11-15T20:42:00.001-08:00

I knew at 3 am what I was thankful for. Any guesses? I am grateful for a good nights sleep. Didn't realize how lucky I am and how much I love my sleep.

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I love my garden

2011-11-14T14:50:00.001-08:00

Even though today I spent most the day cutting and pulling my spent flowers and preparing my yard for winter I'm grateful I have a nice yard. Well I think its nice any way and I spend a lot of time on it.

It's my favorite thing, I love planting flowers and vegetables and knowing I did that. My yard is still a work in progress and I learn new things every year. I miss working out there while the girls jump on the tramp, swing or ride bikes.

It makes me excited for Spring.

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Family time

2011-11-13T14:20:00.000-08:00

I love Sundays. We pretty much do nothing but hang out after church. At first it was hard getting used to not going to Grandma's for dinner but we still get together with my family every few Sundays.

Mirabel has been waiting to make Turkey hands for days so today we finally did it.

Then Nic and Harper took a nap (something Nic is thankful for I am sure.) And Mirabel and I tried a new recipe for pumpkin cake. It was pretty good considering I hate pumpkin.

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My Mother in law

2011-11-12T19:15:00.000-08:00

Today I am thankful for Jann. Nicvis out of town this weekend and she offered to take the girls for a couple hours. Wahoo! Okay so it was Saturday night and I had two hours to myself. Any guesses what I did? If you guesses laundry, dishes, and basic house cleaning then you were right.

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House, car, flag, and movie night

2011-11-11T18:28:00.001-08:00

This morning when we woke up we found a great surprise outside. Not snow, an American flag. The girls love waking up to the flag. Its almost like Christmas for them. They also like to count how many flags we drive past. On the way home from school we counted 62. Pretty impressive. I am so grateful to live in the United States of America, for living in a free country and for all those soldier both past and present who make it possible.

On the way home from the bus stop this morning I was starting to freeze and was so happy I was only steps away from my nice warm house.

Then later when I was between running errands like picking Mirabel up from school, taking the girls over to Jude and Kennedy's, over to grandma's, Mirabel snapped my picture and it made me grateful I have a good working van. On Monday my car wouldn't start and I had to run over to my lifesaver Kari W's house. (I'm also glad she could and would loan me her car. Did I already say that?)

And as I write this, cuddled with my girls watching Veggie Tales Christmas, I'm thankful for them and how much they love the simple things in life, watching a movie, cuddling in our sleeping bags, being together.

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Thanksgiving program picture

2011-11-10T20:26:00.001-08:00

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Thanksgiving program

2011-11-10T20:21:00.001-08:00

I'm so glad that I am a stay at home mom especially on days like today. Because I don't work I was able to go watch Mirabel are school do her Thanksgiving program and then eat a Turkey lunch with her. It was so cute, she looked darling, the songs were fun, the food was yummy, and I got to meet a few Mom's. Plus I didn't have to take Harper because my friend Jeb R watched her.

Tonight I would also like to add that I'm glad Nic was home to read the girls their good night book. And Mirabel for always picking the Scriptures to read. She loves to hear the stories and learn about Jesus. She has finished the Book of Mormon and is now working on the Old Testament. I learn so much from her and her example.

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Passing it down

2011-11-09T20:46:00.000-08:00

My girls have a desire to learn and participate in anything I make so I was excited to show them what I'd learned last night at pie night. We made 3 more pies and used the left overs for cinnamon crustos. Mirabel had a pie she did most the work on, same with Harper and me. They rolled the dough, dumped the pie filing in, put the top on, tucked it, pinched the crust, cut the top holes, and "painted" the tops with milk.

Aren't they pretty, the pies and the girls? The girls each picked someone they wanted to take their pie to and I did too.

We kept one for ourselves and it was so yummy. I just hope the ones we gave away were yummy too.

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Mmmm pie

2011-11-08T23:39:00.000-08:00

Today I am grateful for R.S. We had an activity tonight on how to make pie crust. Luckily my Mom didn't stick with the whole, pie making and bread cutting rule otherwise I would just barely be getting married. I made a yummy looking (haven't tried it yet) apple pie.

And I'm thankful my friend Cindy came, sat by me, and made me giggle. I think she even flipped some flour on me.

Hopefully now I can make some yummy pies.

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Zumba

2011-11-07T21:56:00.001-08:00

Tonight I am grateful for ZUMBA! More specific Zumba with Cammie. It is my favorite thing to do for myself. And Cammie kicks my butt twice a week. (Brooke does too). I love it. LOVE IT! lOvE iT! I may suck, have no rhythm, and look ridiculous but its the only kind of exercise that I don't hate and that doesn't feel like exercise.

And what could be better than zumbaing with friends? My friend Michelle introduced me to it back in March. Sometimes I even see her there.

Another reason I am grateful for Zumba is that it made Hadley and me really good friends. We were friends before but Zumba has made us better friends. I love going with her even though we don't talk or look at each other, its not allowed.

The other thing I am thankful for is that my husband didn't freak out when I brought his car home looking like this. Opps! It was dark, I was late, (and mad), and I'm not used to his car and I didn't see the curb I hid. The worst part is how nice he was about it. I thought he would freak out, be pissed, and maybe he was, but he didn't show it. Which made me feel even worse. I really am sorry babes.

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This sucks

2011-11-06T21:15:00.001-08:00

I don't know why but today was a little harder for me than the last few days to find my that thing that I'm thankful for . Don't get me wrong I am very thankful but the other stuff cloud my thoughts today.

I guess I will pick I am glad that whoever broke into our family storage didn't take anything or do much damage. I'm thankful that when someone broke into our garage just two months ago they only stole worldly things and didn't come into my house where we were. I'm actually very thankful that nothing too serious happened but I feel so violated and having it happen again just gives me the whilly's. It creaps me out to be in our garage knowing someone ransacked our stuff, took lots of tools, etc, and food. Yes they stole about 1/3 of our newly slaughtered cow. I am thankful they left us some food when, clearly, they didn't have to.

I feel a little better about my ranting and will add I am thankful I am Mirabel's primary teacher. Yes it's a struggle because she acts different when I'm there. She likes to hang on me and it drives me nuts. I'm also thankful its November so she won't be in my class come January. But I do get to hear her answer questions that make me proud and I hear her say things like she knows her parents love her because we let her sleep on the floor with Harper.

And lastly I am thankful I got to talk to my parents tonight on the computer. It's nice to know that even though they are really far away I can still see my Mom, and I get to see my Dad and Nic act like kids while they talk to each other. And we get to laugh with them. (A lot tonight, my Dad was really on one)even when right before I felt far from laughing.

Well look at that, turns out I can have a bad day and still see good through it. And for that, I am thankful.

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Friends

2011-11-05T21:36:00.001-07:00

Today I am grateful that my girls are friends. This morning when the girls woke up to snow they wanted to go play in it. For over an hour they played together in the snow, making snow angles, a snowman, and jumping on the snowy tramp. Then we went to Hailey's birthday party at Kangaroo Zoo. My girls ended up together playing the whole time together. I was so thankful Mirabel stuck with Harper, helped her, played with her, and they both loved it. Mirabel said she was glad "she had her best friend to play with, ya know, the one that lives with me." So sweet. I was proud of her and excited they are best friends. Every time they fight I tell them if they learn to get along they will always a friend.

Secondly and this may sound sad to some, but I'm thankful that Mirabel is one of my friend. I am still her mother, first and foremost, but sometimes we talk and play and she just feels like my bff. I can tell when she gets older we will be bff like my mom and me. Today we watched Robin Hood and made cookies while Harp slept.

And lastly and best of all my hubby came home. Wahoo! He has been working a ton this week getting ready to host a Speech and Debate meet. He spent most nights up in Evanston so the girls and I were really really happy to see him.

I am happy to say that our family is not just family but we are friends.

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Good sleepers and snow

2011-11-04T23:23:00.001-07:00

So I figured since its the fourth and I am a few days behind on my list of things I am thankful for that I would post a few today. First I am so thankful I have two very good sleepers. Okay Harper wakes up everyday around 7:15 regardless of when she went to sleep but they go to sleep and stay asleep until morning. They are good sleepers, always have been. Mirabel started sleeping through the night at 3 weeks old and Harper at 6 weeks. No I am not kidding or exaggerating. Maybe that's why I don't have more kids. I've been blessed so far with good sleepers and my chances of having another one are not good. Mirabel says Harper and I are light sleepers and her and Dad are dark sleepers. :)

And the other thing I am thankful tonight is snow. Yes its snowing. I'm excited for this new season, and for the weather to change. Change is almost always good.

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Her smile

2011-11-04T21:16:00.001-07:00

Today I am grateful for Harper's smile. The girls went and played with Grandma D (another thing I am grateful for) today and when they got home they were really giggly. At one point Mirabel was chasing Harper around trying to take her picture. And Harper being the way she is with cameras, she refused to get her picture taken. So Mirabel chased her around the house with both of them screaming, laughing, running around. We finally had to pin her down and hold her head.

It drives me nuts most of the time but every once in a while it makes me laugh. Stubborn little girl.

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These are a few of my favorite things

2011-11-04T21:02:00.001-07:00

Everyone has been posting on Facebook about November being gratitude month and are posting every day something they are grateful for. So that is what I decided to do too. Starting with Mirabel and her surprise pictures. I am so grateful that my sweet little thing loves to take pictures of herself without me knowing. She makes me laugh. Here are a few recent pictures.

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Goodbye old friend

2011-11-04T10:37:00.001-07:00

If you haven't guessed by now, I live Lagoon. Maybe not guess since I say it all the time but I do, I love it. It's strange though because I get so sick on most rides but that's not why we go. It's for Mirabel and Harper to ride the rides.

It always makes me sad, and a little happy, when the season is over and Lagoon closes. I wanted to keep track of how many times we went this year, drum roll please.....twenty. From May 14 through October 29 we went 20 times. Not too shabby if you consider we were in Hawaii for the month of June.

Goodbye Lagoon. See you in the Spring. Or I guess technically I will see you when I start working there for school days again.

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School parade

2011-11-04T07:52:00.001-07:00

On Halloween morning Mirabel was supposed to wear her costume to school for a huge parade. The kindergarten class led the parade and go through all the grades and then they get in line and join the parade. All the parents were there along the pease route in the halls, library, gym, and cafeteria.
Harper and I got to the school at 840 when we dropped Mirabel off then headed for the cafeteria. Side note: she is my first kids and this is our first year at school so we don't know all the little tricks yet. The parade started at 9 and got to us at 10. Yup Harper and I waited almost an hour and a half to see Mirabel for 2 whole seconds. And I only got crappy pictures. Don't get me wrong, it was fun to see all the kids especially the ones we knew, but next year I don't think I will go so freaking early. After the parade Mirabel was done with school and could come home with us. So by 10:15, yes the parade was only 10 minutes long, we had both Rapunzels heading home.

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Halloween

2011-11-03T21:58:00.001-07:00

I love Halloween especially with the girls. We have a lot of fun people in our ward that make it even more fun. Tons of people give out king or full size candybars and pop. Two make homemade donuts, yummy. Some one passes out pizza, another hot dogs right off the grill. And one gives out flashing toys. It is so much fun and the girls were so excited. Cousin Brackyn came with us. Before we started trick or treating Mirabel told us sometimes she just gets so excited, and now was one of those times.
Did I mention the girls knew they wanted to be Rapunzel last Halloween? They have been planning for a whole year. Nic was Flynn Rider or as Harper called him Eugene. She was either Barbie Rapunzel or if Nic was atiunf she was 'Blonde '. I was dressed as Mother Gothel but a few people thought I was just over dressed. No pictures of me again. I hate that I always take the picture and therefore are never in them.
Ant guesses on what the girls have decided to be next year? Harper is going to be Pinkalious (from the book) and Mirabel will be Purplelious. We will see if they stick to it like they did this year.

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Our Prophet

2011-11-01T21:43:00.001-07:00

This morning we were lucky enough to go listen to our prophet President Monson. He was speaking at our Stake Conference at the Dee Event Center. Nic went two hours early to get us seats. The girls and I were there an hour before. There was a lot of people, a lot of people.
It was really cool to see him enter and see him in real life. I've never seen a Prophet of God before and the spirit he brought with him was amazing. Elder Anderson of the 12 was also there and spoke. His talk was on everything he learned from President Monson.
At the end when President Monson left he stopped and waved. It reminded me of when I was a kid and President Benson (I think Benson at least) he would wave good bye to all the kids since he couldn't stay the whole conference so she would leave during one of the songs and you could see all the kids waving.
I'm excited that my girls got to see the prophet in real life. What a great opportunity for them. And they were really good. Mirabel colored most of it and Harper, well Harper is two and for a two year old she did good.

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Crazy hair day

2011-10-26T17:29:00.001-07:00

Its red ribbon week at school and every day is themed. Monday was red day, Tuesday was backwards day (Mirabel wore her dress backwards) and today was crazy hair day. She decided yesterday she wanted her hair colored pink and purple. We couldn't find the purple so she settled with blue. And it had to be stripped. It was cute, I was just worried she might get made fun of. I prewarned her in case mean first graders came around bbut she didn't care. She still wanted to.
She was pretty excited with the results and came home saying everyone liked it.

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Last day of soccer

2011-10-22T12:21:00.001-07:00

carmel apples

2011-10-21T20:48:00.001-07:00

We've made it a tradition (two years in a row makes a tradition right?) to make Carmel apples every October. The girls love it. They love making them and eating them. Unfortunately Nic and I are on a diet, again, and could only participate in the making and not the eating. Cute little Mataea got to help out this year too. She lives just down the street and both girls get along with her really well. She is mostly Mirabel's friend but the two bigger girls let Harper play along with them. They can play for hours and hours and when it is time to go they get upset that they didn't get to play very long. Mirabel has lots of friends and most of them are pretty good. There is two or three that I absolutely adore and Mataea is one of them. I am glad that she lives close and hopefully will stay friends through out school in spite of the fact that Mataea is a year younger.

Harper didn't wait for her carmel to cool and harden. She started gnawing on it before we were even done putting carmel on her apple.

The best part was watching how serious they get about what and where they put the candy.

Volunteering

2011-10-18T18:27:00.000-07:00

Today I started volunteering in Mirabel's class. Every Tuesday morning I get to go into Mirabel's class and help the kids pass off their sight words and their book for the week. I am pretty excited. So is Mirabel. I am switching kids with Jen. I take Hailey on Thursday and well technically Julie takes Harper on Tuesdays because she watches Hailey. It works out really well.

Mirabel thought it was pretty cool her Mom was at school today helping Mrs. Kilts. After the kids passed off their key words, Mrs. Kilts asked if I could help with the art project too since she was running behind. How fun. Of course I could. The kids picked big leaves, painted them, then rubbed them onto paper. You could see the veins and all the details of the leaves.

I am excited to see how Mirabel is at school and how she interacts and what she does. I am not sure if it was because I was there but on at least 3 different counts the teacher called on Mirabel.

Soccer playing lion

2011-10-14T21:11:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went as a family to Freightmares aka Haunted Lagoon. I suggested going on a hay ride but was vetoed and we ended up at Lagoon. The best part was the train ride. Like usual we ended with the train. Most of the time the animals are lazy and sleeping around and when we got to the tigers that is what we found but the lion was different. She was pawing at the water and when we got closer we saw the lion trying to get a ball out of the water. Finally she used her paw and her mouth to get her ball. Then she started kicking it around. That is when Nic told the girls it was a soccer playing lion. It was pretty awesome. I have been to Lagoon probably 100 times or more and never has anything that cool ever happened.

The Haunted Mansion

2011-10-07T20:48:00.000-07:00

Tonight we spent the rainy evening together just the four of us watching this Halloween movie. We pushed the couch out in front of the tv, got in our jammies, made some popcorn and started the movie. It was so fun. For the most part the girls were not too scared except when the skeletons came to life and then Mirabel hid under the blanket. Harper just laughed and said they were funny. At one point when Nic wasn't on the couch Mirabel asked if he knew it was cuddling on the couch time? I loved tonight and hope that we can do it again

2011-09-21

2011-10-05T20:19:00.001-07:00

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Frightmares

2011-09-24T20:56:00.001-07:00

Frightmares has begun! Ma ha ha!

Who loves Frightmares more? Me or the girls? It's probably hard to tell because we all love it. I love going in the dark, with the cool air, and Lagoon puts on a spectacular aura. Plus we get to see the Campbell's. If nothing else its an excuse for Monica and I to get together. I think that might be one reason I love it so much. We meet them at Lagoon almost every weekend and it is a blast with them. Our kids get along really well even with all the age differences.
At the hay maze the girls got these fake teeth and walked around like this for a while. There is a small chance they might have been stuck.
When we got home I saw the last picture of Mirabel that she must have taken on the way home. She is fun.

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Saturday morning soccer

2011-09-24T10:41:00.001-07:00

Mirabel had a very early game. When we got to the field only two other people were there and no one at our field at all. Finally our team came and we played. Mirabel improves every game. This game there was no nail biting and she played pretty good. She even made a goal! I was the most proud that she kept turning the ball around and would run the whole field kicking the ball all the way to the goal. She run the field with the ball 4 or 5 times. She calls it team work because she let someone else score the goal. It's so funny watching these little girls be shy or aggressive. It is very entertaining.

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Faces

2011-09-24T10:34:00.001-07:00

Harper has been learning about her body at Joy school, with her 5 senses and facial expressions with her mood. She loves making her faces. Most come with cute little noises too. These are her sad, scared, scary, happy and sleepy faces. She cracks me up

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Joy school update

2011-09-23T16:05:00.001-07:00

Harper is loving joy school. She likes her friends as she calls them and she likes all the mom/teachers. I was worried she wouldn't do well because of her age but she is doing great. She loves the songs and puppets and everything about it.

Harper and I have fun in the mornings while Mirabel is at school. Most days she just wants to watch a movie (Cinderella usually except Nic grounded her from it), and hold my hand. Seriously how do I say no when she says "just for a minute can you watch this with me and hold my hand?". I'm a sucker and she is a manipulator. I do like to get most the cleaning done so we can all play when Mirabel gets home.

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I scream, you scream

2011-09-22T07:43:00.001-07:00

Something finally clicked with Mirabel and her homework. She has been sitting so well and she knows her sight words really good. As we were going through the list of words I realized she wasn't needing any help, and she didn't need to think about it so long. So I told her if she could do all 4 lines for Dad when he got home without help we would go for ice cream.
Well she did it for Grandma D and then again for Dad. We were going to go to Cold Stone but it was late and all the way in Layton so we (meaning cheap o me) suggested we go to the store instead. We got 3 different kinds and the girls got to push around the little cart. What could be better than that?

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2011-09-21T22:12:00.001-07:00

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Big sister, little sister

2011-09-21T22:09:00.001-07:00

Tonight we found Harper sleeping like this. It got me thinking, haven't I seen this before? Turns out two years ago we found Mirabel sleeping in a similar situation with the same stuffed animals. I love my girls.

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Harper in a nut shell

2011-09-21T07:53:00.001-07:00

Harper changes her clothes anywhere from 10 to 20 times a day. Not exaggerating at all. Some times she has a dress on long enough to go get another one from the dress up chest. It's a wonder I ever get anything done after all the wardrobe changes. Buttons, zippers and velcro fill my day.
Oh and have a I mentioned she only answers to Cinderella? Anytime you ask her to do something like go potty or get her shoes she says, "you mean Cinderella?". Oh and she is potty trained. Has been since July. I'll post on that soon.
These pictures are from her dance collection. I'll post the princess collections soon.

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Homework

2011-09-20T22:20:00.001-07:00

Every day Mirabel is supposed to do 20 minutes of homework. She is struggling to hold her attention that long. She just isn't used to it. So far she has 2 sight words a week with a total of 9 so far. She was having a hard time with have. But she seems to finally be getting it. Today was the first day she has sat the whole time and knew her words and could say them fast. Maybe that means she is getting used to it.
A little side note: Mirabel got teased today at school for the first time. Breaks my heart. I feel awful. And the worst part is what she was teased for, wearing black cat ear rings. We had just bought them yesterday for Halloween and today some first graders teased her about them. Freaking black cat ear rings that are darling. Way freaking darling. She did say her little friend Kayla didn't laugh. Then we talked about how we should not tease people and that we shouldn't listen when others tease us. They just do it to be mean. It was pretty traumatic for me and Nic but not so much for Mirabel. At least I hope. I wish it would be the last time it ever happened but sadly I know it is just the beginning. I wish I could project her forever.

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Pink Panther

2011-09-18T22:40:00.001-07:00

Mirabel started soccer again this last Saturday. She is on a new team with new colors but she has the same coach. Mirabel really liked Tazma as her coach and loved playing with Cam, her daughter. During the practice part, Mirabel was really aggressive with the ball but when the game started she got nervous and mostly chewed on her finger nails. She did this year too. The first game she chewed on her thumb but after that she wasn't nervous as much. I hope she does that again.
So long Bubble bees, hello Pink Panthers.

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2011-09-18T12:05:00.001-07:00

We love going to Lagoon. Especially when its with Monica and the kids. Mirabel has always loved them (they are pretty easy to love) but Harper is getting to know them now so its no surprise that she loves them too. Next week Freightmares begins. Wahoo. It's my favorite, cool weather, and all the fun Halloween shows, entertainment, decorations and mazes. I can't wait.

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Colors

2011-09-17T09:16:00.001-07:00

I stopped taking Mirabel's picture even though I missed black and white (oh how very cute she was) pink, and rainbow. Now she gets to pick her own colors and she is pretty pumped to do it. She is loving kindergarten and Mrs Kilts. She has made two little friends Jenna and Kayla.
On Friday when I picked her up, Kayla ran back to say goodbye and Mirabel ran to her when she saw her coming. The two girls smacked right into each other (it looked pretty hard) but they just giggled and hugged. I'm glad she has made friends. She was struggling with their names though. She kept asking them but would forget right after. Finally she asked me to read Jenna's book bag and she ran down Kayla and asked her but forgot by the time she ran back to me. Luckily I asked her Mom.
Some days Harper wants to go get Mirabel by 9 o'clock and other days she doesn't want to get her at all. "Just leave her at school, k Mom" she will say.

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Room Mother's tea

2011-09-14T22:10:00.001-07:00

First I want to get it and say right from the begining that this is the first tea party I have been to and there wasn't even tea. None what so ever. Apple juice yes, but tea, nope. Not even a little. Anyway.....
This was my first experience with the PTA. It pretty much seemed like an unorganized version of what you would see on tv. Like that show the new adventures of old Christine (which I have only seen a few times) I felt like Christine. Surrounded by all these high maintance Moms that are too good for everyone. Long story short I just hope it is better than my first impression was, but that not what this post is about. It's about the beauty salon I went to right before the tea party.
My girls dazzled, beautified, and well who knows what else to call what they did to me. Once they started putting bows and flowers In my hair there was just no stopping them.
My favorite though was after I told them that it was enough Mirabel brought me the purple bow that is on top in the front and said she had to add this one because it was the star of the show. Funny huh. They really wanted me to go looking like this. Oh to be a kid again. After I dropped them off at Hadley's I quickly took them all out but before I did I had a few bees swarm me. Kind of scary.
I hope the girls remember things like this not only because it shows them that they had a pretty cool mom but reminds them of the fun times we had together.

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Chuck-E-cheese

2011-09-13T19:08:00.001-07:00

For Max's birthday we took him to chuck-e-cheese for two reasons. 1. Lori needed him out of the house to finish up the surprise party 2. Mirabel wanted to take grandpa for his birthday where she went.
We didn't eat, just played and it was really fun. Didn't cost too much without the pizzas. Apparently I am awesome at wack-a-mole. Got the high score and about 50 tickets shot out. I rule.
The girls had so much fun. They can't wait until we go again and use the rest of our tokens.

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Before and after

2011-09-08T07:43:00.001-07:00

We found some sponge curlers the other day and Mirabel really wanted to try them out. I think the last time we did she was one, so her hair was much shorter. Who knew what it would do to her straight-as-can-be hair? At first glance, before I pulled it back, I wanted to run over to the sink and dip her head in it, but I refrained. So glad I did because its actually really cute. Except the whole not looking like my Munch, it is darling. Mirabel's only comment was that it didn't feel like her hair (while just standing their not touching it). Harper saw it and said so seriously "Mirabel's hair is funny".

So the real question is Shirley Temple or Curly Sue?
Any guess what the color of the day is?

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New beginnings

2011-09-07T22:08:00.001-07:00

Harper started Joy school today. Yes she is a little young but it was such a great opportunity Nic and I thought we would give it a try. 20.00 bucks and every 8 week I have to take a turn teaching. The lessons are already planned out. Harper was so excited. She kept talking about going to school with Jude. We even used it as an incentive to finish up potty training.
Michelle had the first week and today went well. Harper had a blast. When I picked her up she talked about the songs, books, Joy Boy the puppet. She even told me she got in trouble for laying on the floor and not getting up so she had to sit on Michelle's lap. Turns out she was asked to stop doing summer saults which she did but the other girls didn't so she had to sit on Michelle's lap. She even kept singing the songs and everyone she saw she told them she goes to Joy school.
Harper is the youngest kid but so far she is doing good. Of course it was only the first day. She did wear panties which not all the kids are potty trained. It will hopefully be a fun experience for her

Mirabel started dance and tumbling this after noon. Busy day for us. This year I have combined into one long class instead of two. I hope it isn't too much for her. Nic thinks it might be but we will see. Poor Harper kept saying she started dance today too and I had to keep telling her it was just Mirabel. Then she insisted her and Mirabel started dance. She even went and put on her leotard. Very sad. Mirabel has two little friends from church in her class too, Jacee and Dori.

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