School... and stuff. :)

I still can't believe that all three of my kids are in school this year!  My baby (Kara) started Kindergarten and she is loving it!  She has improved so much since the beginning of the year and is having so much fun!  She loves the homework, too!  I hope she continues to enjoy it!
Jamison is loving school, too.  His teacher is so awesome and great to work with!  Jamison is so good to help the other kids in his class if he finishes his work early.  He comes home from school and gets everything done so fast so he can go play with his friends.  He started piano lessons a few weeks ago and is really enjoying that, too. 
Ariana is likes school, too.  Next year she will be in Junior high and I'm still getting used to that idea.  I don't like the thought of it one bit!  She is doing great this year!  She entered two projects into the Reflections contest.  One of them was for the 3D Art category.  She won and her project is going on to the next level.  She was so excited when I told her!  She also entered in a pencil sketch of two horses.  It was amazing!  She doesn't know this yet, but she won 3rd place for it and is getting an award on Friday at the Reflections assembly at school.  I can't wait to see the look on her face when they call her name!  She is an amazing girl and I am so proud of her and her accomplishments!  She was also chosen to be a reading tutor at school.  She goes in early every morning to read with her "tootie" (I know it's funny!)!  She loves it!  Ariana also started piano lessons about a month ago and seems to be enjoying that as well.

I just can't believe how fast they grow up!  I just hope I'm doing all I can to help them be the best they can be!  I love them so much!

Why do they have to grow up so fast?

Ariana and Jamison have been doing so well getting themselves out of bed in the morning and getting themselves ready for school.  They even get themselves breakfast most mornings.  Ariana likes to have hot breakfast if she can.  She has been struggling with the "runny" eggs and toast.  She likes the yolk to be runny so she can dip her toast in it.  I don't blame her, it's really good that way.  She was getting discouraged so she would ask me to make it for her.  I told her that if she wouldn't practice, she wouldn't ever figure it out.  I don't know what changed her mind but she decided that she liked omlettes instead.  Ok, that's fine.  I told her that I don't really do omlettes because when I make them they turn into scrambled eggs with everything (ham, cheese, tomatoes, and whatever else I feel like putting in it) mixed in.  She decided to try it for herself.  She was so excited that she brought the pan into my bedroom to show me her masterpiece.  I thought it was just as beautiful as she did so I took a picture of it and sent it to Dave (since he was out of town and couldn't have the whole experience along with us).  I am so proud of her, but I have to be honest... I don't really like seeing her grow up so fast. 

Family Vacation to Maui!!

Dave and I decided that for our family vacation this year we would take the kids to Maui.  Dave and I had so much fun when we went last year, we wanted the kids to experience the fun and beauty of Maui. :)  The kids were so excited!  They didn't even care that Christmas would be really small so that we could go on this awesome family vacation.  We hit different beaches every day.  The kids loved the ocean and the beach!  They never got bored.  We went whale watching.  We built sandcastles and even a sand turtle. We watched surfers from a lookout point.  We went on a couple of hikes, and brought home sand from a black sand beach, a salt and pepper sand beach and a red sand beach.  So cool!  We boogie boarded every day.  What a great family vacation!