Long time, no blog....

I hate when people talk about how long it has been since they blogged......so, I just won't do it. BUT-I can't believe that summer came and went and I didn't document any of it. We have been just a little busy.....

Our Summer 2010 can be summed up in one word:

"ANNIE"
I never knew how much work goes into one of these productions, but let me tell you, it's insane! I'm talking serious amounts of time, people. However, it has been one of the most fun things to be involved with-ever! The girls started practicing in June-about four hours a week. They did that all through July and then when August hit......WOWZA! It turned into over 12 hours a week! I barely saw my daughter-but I have also NEVER seen my daughter so happy. I believe she has found her " true medium" :) Until the dress rehearsals started I don't think Allie had ever stayed up later than maybe 10 in her whole life. When they started the full-out dress rehearsals she wasn't getting to bed before 11 for about two weeks. I was so worried that it would become too much for her or that she would get sick, but not even once did she complain or act like she didn't want to go. She LOVED every single solitary minute and that made the entire process so amazingly fun! The whole cast becomes like a family and she has met some of the cutest girls in the world. Can you imagine? She spent the summer with 12 other girls that love to do exactly what she loves to do. It was performing arts heaven. ;) haha...

Working the parades.....(Perry 4th of July and Peach Days)

Publicity photos...

So after hours and hours of work the show opened on Friday, August 27-2010. I sat with my parents(Paul was on a rafting trip-more to come on that later..) and Easton on the third row and spent the whole 2.5 hours beaming. Literally beaming. And okay.....crying. I was so proud of her. It also made me wish for the days when she was my newborn and it was just me and her in a quiet, tiny apartment all day. Things were so calm and easy then. We would/could spend hours leisurely walking around Target together, her with her perfectly matching bow and outfit and me and my empty wallet. ;) Now she is growing up so fast and its all kinds of crazy at our house....but also so much fun. I love watching her and helping her do what she loves to do. I have now seen the show SO many times that I would be embarrassed to tell you the amount of money I have spent on tickets-so let's just call it a charitable contribution shall we? ;) It gets better every time I see it and I will never again be able to listen to "Tomorrow" without bawling. It's not like Allie had some huge part either. Really it was pretty small-I think she had one or two lines total but she did get to sing and dance her heart out. Can you imagine how I would be if she ever gets a lead part? I'm sure it will be annoying and you will all be allowed one eye rolling session-but after that.... step off! I'm one proud(stage) mama! ;)

The show has done really well for Heritage Theatre, so they extended it another week which I believe brings the total number of shows up to about 18. It ends next Saturday and there will be plenty of tears when it ends, but it will definitely be an unforgettable experience for her!

Your never fully dressed without a smile!

So it might seem like the entire summer was about Allie being in Annie....but I assure you that isn't the case. Easton and Olivia were not forgotten about-you must remember that I grew up as the middle child, therefore I am extremely cognitive of that fact that there is more to life than the golden "first born". hahaha......

We spent lots of time at city pools this summer, although not as much as Allie and Easton would have liked too. I found myself torn this summer between two older kids who wanted to be going and doing all day and a one-year-old who still required a three hour nap in the middle of the day. It was hard and made me think I should have had my kids closer together. *sigh* Coulda, woulda, shoulda...right? I also realize that Easton is really too big for a floatie but again, I was torn between watching Olivia (who refused to sit in one) and making sure Easton didn't drown himself. Safety first people. Allie also decided to go down the big slides this year (applause please) and yes, I'm completely aware that she is about six years late on that one......but you can't drag a horse to water.....or whatever that saying is. The main thing is this: She now goes down the big kid slides(thanks to a one day trip up to Lava Hot Springs-no pictures) and has stopped going down the little kid slides where she looked ridiculously too big to be going down them. Hooray.

Easton got a wild hair and decided that he needed to build me a bird house. So Paul, being the nice Dad that he is, whipped out the saw and hammer and nails and WaLa!......a bird house! They have since painted it in Easton's favorite colors: Black and blue. Yes, that's right. A black and blue bird house. I figure the most heavy-metal of birds can live in my maple trees. :)

On the 4th of July we drove up to Willard Peak. The kids thought it was so fun to play in snow in July. Me? I was still remembering that we had snow in June. I was for from missing it yet.

My three little "Paul-ettes." Fantastic. :) Olivia couldn't understand this little day trip at all....so she happily watched Elmo's World in the car for 90% of it. haha..
Isn't that pretty? I love living here.

4th of July! My favorite holiday! The funny thing? She hates bows and refuses to keep them on most of the time, but she will wear these? Attention hog.....;)

I took almost 50 pictures of the three of them.....this is as good as it got. Dear Easton, you should look at the person taking the pictures. NOT the tattooed, crazy man getting his groove on behind me.

Walking to the Brigham City fireworks.....THE only place to watch fireworks in my opinion.

Happy 4th y'all! This bottles for you! ;)

Her outfit(a Wal-Mart special) made me laugh most of the day. She looked like a little old lady who winters in Boca. I kept asking her if she was on her way to a game of Keno and if she had horse hound candy in her purse.

Look! A rare sighting of me on my blog. Happy 4th.......I look like my mother. :)

Happy 4th.....she looks like her Dad. :)

My kids always want to watch fireworks with my mom. Allie did and so did Easton and when the first firework "boomed" Olivia ran for my mother. It's funny......and she loves that they like to sit with her. Olivia loved them after she got used to the sound.
I then made Paul purchase a car payment amount of fireworks and we had our own little show in the driveway. Easton was in heaven......and so was his Dad-with his blow torch. It took almost two hours to light them all off and no one was injured or lost/singed any hair in the process. Did I mention that I love the 4th? LOVE

Easton was old enough this year that I could actually put him in golf lessons. The kid is OBSESSED. I put him in for most of the summer and he loved every minute of it. He's pretty good and Paul takes him whenever he can. I love that golf is something he can do with his Dad. After watching Easton's lessons, I decided(stupidly)that I wanted to go and try it. So Paul took me one night and let's just leave it at this: I sucked. Golf sucks. I felt stupid. The end.
Had to throw this in......first pigtail? Step off!-it's the closest thing we will have to one until she is 17.

Easton at his lesson....

If you could "hear" this picture, you would hear Olivia singing, "Anything you can do I can do better!" She is such a sassafrass! You may think she looks like her Dad, but this girl ACTS exactly like her mama and of course she gets whatever she wants. Pampered little poodle!
These two.......there were days this summer that they made me want to pull my hair out! There were days that I MAY have shoved them outside and threw popsicles out the window just to keep them out there. Just maybe.....;)

I give up. Honestly...is it that hard to get a picture of all three smiling?! Yes, it is. Between Olivia's evil grimace, Allie's bad comb over and Easton deciding mega-tron is part of the family.....this, again, is as good as it got. I do love their brownie eyes though.

Olivia pretty much adores Allie. After she went to school this year, Olivia would walk around the house with her hands up going, "Aa-yee?" "Aa-yee?" Poor thing wondered where her sister had gone. They look so much alike sometimes! On Sunday I put a dress on Olivia that made her look exactly like Allie did in 2002. Olivia is even starting to get curly hair. :)

Olivia's obsession with Elmo is far from over. They have a relationship, of sorts:

We have entered "that" stage where if left alone for just a couple of minutes.....a disaster will occur. I'm exhausted by the end of the day.

Don't trust this face. She's about to make her move...

This about sums it up perfectly. (Please notice that Olivia was in the process of pulling Easton's hair and stopped for a half a second to pose. I believe they were fighting over those yellow trucks) I promise I did Allie's hair at some point during the summer.

Hop-scotch with Allie...

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! Can you believe I have a third grader? Weird. I actually remember 3rd grade really well. My mom always takes all the grandkids back to school shopping and gets them an outfit. My mom later told me that Allie had said that this was the year she wanted to, "look hot." WHAT?! I think this can be attributed to hanging around older girls all summer, because she also told me what her wedding colors were going to be. ???? This isn't how Allie talks.....but I do think it's how a few of the older orphans in Annie talk. Oh....and so you don't die in suspense, she wants them to be pink and green. haha!!
Kindgergarten! Man has this kid waited forever to go to school! So far he has really liked it-other than the fact that he is "girl trapped" on the bus and in his class--meaning he has been assigned a seat that is surrounded by girls. Easton doesn't enjoy girls one bit. We had to have a stern talk about not being mean to them. (Can I hope he stays this way until 17,18?) I love when their backpacks are bigger than they are. :)

Well.....because she wanted new back to school shoes too. Olivia hates bows....but she LOVES shoes. She will bring me shoes to put on her and these are her very favorite. Allie has the same ones and when she saw Allie putting them on she lost her mind! She thought Allie was stealing her shoes. They really are cute. Aubrie has made me promise to save them just in case her next is a girl. HA!

After school cookies. :)

"What you talkin' bout Willis?"

Because Annie is over next week, we have some fun things planned for the next few months. Paul and I are heading to San Francisco for a little get-a-way and then Disneyland for the whole family! It has been too long! Stay tuned.....:)