Birthday Girl

On the morning of Ariana's birthday we let her open presents from us, and the one from my mom before we got ready for her party. She got some clothes and new pjs (that I bought on sale in February!) She got a lot of books. We have been buying books at DI, since most of the children's books are 50cents, and 50 cent books are 3 for a dollar. I got her 9 Barbie books for $3! She also got some other books that I just thought looked cute to read, also Peter Pan because she loved the Disney version so I thought it would be fun to read, and The Secret Garden because I loved that when I was little. I also got her a few "homework books" she loves the little work books, and I found 2 different ones about the U.S. that I knew that she would love because they have maps of the country, and of all the states, and she loves maps. She didn't have any Barbies but has wanted them for a while, I found a Barbie suitcase at DI that was full of Barbies and clothes, she LOVES it! I have wanted to find a nice kitchen set for her for a long time but have not found a nice one that I would afford. My favorite one that I have ever found was in a catalog, it was pink wood, and in 2 separate pieces, it was $99 for each piece! Well I found one almost identical to that one at DI for $8 a piece! It's used of course, but in pretty good shape. I got a some cups and bowls, mixing spoons, whisks, and hot pads at the dollar store to go with it for now. She really loves that too, that is another thing she has been wanting for a long time.

My mom was not able to come for her birthday, but she knew what she wanted to get for Ariana so she just gave me the money to get it here so that Ariana could have it on her birthday. It is a really nice Disney art kit. It has a projector with over 80 images of princesses and fairies to trace and color. It came with paints, markers, glitter glue and magnets to hang the pictures on the fridge.

Art projector set

tons of books

Kitchen set

Playing with the Barbies

First couple weeks of school

I know that I said that I would get pictures up of Ariana's first week first, then of Gerry's, but I just slack when it comes to keeping up on posts! Ariana has been in first grade for 3 weeks now, and Gerry has been in kindergarten for 2! Wow, I can't believe how bad I have been slacking! Not much has gone on in school, mostly still just getting to know the school and routine. They haven't even gotten homework, except for that they are supposed to read every day. They both love their classes, there teachers and the school in general.
Ariana loves that she gets to stay for a full day now, and gets to have lunch at school. They have both made quite a few friends, I was surprised that Ariana has actually made a several friends who are in different classes too. She was worried that she wouldn't have friends since it's a new school, but she is such a friendly girl, she makes friends where ever she goes!
Gerry is doing really well in school, he has had so much fun! He is learning a lot already, and just having a ton of fun with all the work and his new friends. His class does show and tell every Friday, but they get assignments for it. The first week they had a theme of 'gingerbread man' the whole week. So for show and tell, the teacher sent home a full page outline of a gingerbread man that he had to decorate and bring back on Friday. This week, the show and tell assignment was that he had to bring something that starts with the same letter as his name. I asked him what he wants to take, and he immediately said "Genasee!" We have pointed out to him several times that not only does her name start with the same letter as his, but that it is a 'G' that says the 'J' sound. I thought that it was cute that he wanted to take her, but thought that a picture of her would probably be better. Genasee came over yesterday morning and brought us some cheese cakes and cup cakes for Ariana's birthday party (which is today) and she brought some pictures of her and her husband Rich playing with a baby lynx and some baby tigers. So he took the pictures to show and tell, he thought that was really cool.
Anela really wants to go to school with them, but has been really good about not getting mad that she can't go, and she hasn't been really clingy to me when they are gone. When Ariana went to preschool, Gerry was so clingy to me for months! And when she went to kindergarten he was upset that he didn't get to go too. So I am glad that I don't have to go through that with Anela. She just asks a few times a day where they are, but has gotten to were she doesn't ask as often, and when she does she answers the question herself.

Gerry posing in his new Buzz Light year shirt, new pats and new shoes

Another shirt from Toy Story 3 (they were on a good sale, what can I say)

Ariana showing off her new school clothes

She loves her Barbie lunch box!

Her very first day of first grade. She hated getting up early the first 2 weeks,

but this week she has been getting up before me. You can't really tell in this

picture, but she wore the same outfit to her first day of first grade that she

wore to her last day of kindergarten.

That's it for now. Today is Ariana' s 7th birthday. She is having her first 'friend party' this year, and is very excited. I am a bit nervous, we have always just spent her birthday with our extended family, now I have to entertain a bunch of kids. We will see how that goes! I will post in a couple of days to let you know if I survived, and pictures of the event.

First day of First grade!

Ariana started first grade today. She goes to year round school, but is on D track, which starts the school year off. The first week of school kindergartners don't go every day. They each have a scheduled appointment with the teacher for a pre-school assessment, then start regular school the next week. So Gerry will start Kindergarten next week.
I think that I have been just as nervous for Ariana to start full day school, at a new school as she has been. I was kind of on edge all day not knowing what was going on with her. I felt a lot better after I picked her up and she told me about her day. There really wasn't a lot to tell. Of course with a grade so young, they don't really get to work right away. It was mostly learning about each other, and how full day school works, what the rules are etc.
It is funny that I get so annoyed with the kids since I am home most of the time with them. We spend so much time just the 4 of us that we really get on each others nerves. I am always glad for a little break from my job around the house as wife, mother and house keeper. But every time that I get away, or the kids are away, I hate that they are not with me where I can see them to make sure that everything is OK. Every time I have feelings like that, it amazes me. Motherhood is an amazing thing. It really makes you go crazy! You never know that you can feel like this until you have kids of your own.
Anyway, we are all excited for Gerry to start school (all except Anela who feels left out that she doesn't get to go too) and anxious to see how he handles it.
More to come next week about His first day, and Ariana's first week. And of course pictures!

WHAT!!

I've been doing laundry all day, my least favorite chore. Mating socks is my least favorite part of my least favorite chore. There are a lot of things that I hate about doing laundry, they all have to do with after the clothes are clean. But I hate mating socks because there is always at least one without a mate. I just did the girls clothes and came out with 34 little girl socks (some Ariana's, some Anela's) with no mate!!! Where on earth are all the mates? I have no idea!

Not a single pair in the whole bunch!!

Kids stuff

Princess Garden stuff from Aunty Genasee!

My dear sister Genasee got my girls some really cute Disney princess gardening things. They each got a hat, gloves, apron, bucket, flower pot, shovel and tool bag. They were on sale at Lowes where she works, and when she saw them she said that she just had to get them for the girls. They have really enjoyed playing with them in the sand box. Here is a picture of Anela modeling them and demonstrating how they work.

Bike

When we moved from the house to the apartment we got rid of a lot of stuff. We gave some away, some to DI, and threw some away. Afa (my husband who goes by our last name) gave/threw away a lot more than he should have. Including the kids bikes and art table which he gave to some guy we don't even know. I think that he thought that we wouldn't have room for them, so he got rid of them when I wasn't around to tell him otherwise. Anyway, I have been looking for replacement bikes at DI ever since. But it is hard to find bikes there in good condition, and the right size. Well last week I finally found a good one for $5. The only thing is, it is really tiny. But I figured it would be OK for Ariana and Gerry to share for now (I am still looking every week for bigger ones in good shape) and next year it will be perfect for Anela.

The back tire really needed some air, it held enough that I knew that it didn't need a new tube, but not enough for them to ride it. So I went to Chevron by my house were they have a free air pump. I tried to pump the tire, but the pump was broken, so I went across the street to 7eleven. Their air is 75 cents. I looked around, but I didn't have any quarters. So I went further down the street to another Chevron thinking that their air would be free too. Well theirs was $1.00. I went to the other 2 gas stations on the same intersection looking for free air, before remembering that I had a dollar in my wallet that I could go into the store and change for quarters. I got the quarters and payed the 75 cents that the last station charged and tried to pump up the tire. The stupid hose was shaped in a way that I couldn't fit it onto the tire!! So after fighting with it for 3 minutes the air turned off and we still had a flat! I was really mad about the wasted time and was ready to go home but decided to go to the Jiffy Lube across the street to see if they would do it. They weren't busy thank goodness, so I asked them. They were so nice. When I told them that I had gone to the gas station first one guy said "You didn't pay for air did you!? Air is free, you don't have to pay to breath it!" That is exactly how I felt. So he took the bike, filled up both tires, put a new cap on the back tire since it was missing the cap, and tightened up the training wheels. Then the other guy joked that I would need to bring it back for a tire rotation 'cus the back on was wearing unevenly, or else tell them to ease up on the breaks. They were so helpful and playful, and talking to the kids about their "cool bike", it really made me feel better. I had been in a bad mood after fighting with that air hose, it's good to meet good people who can make you feel better like that!

Ariana on the bike

Ariana and the downstairs neighbor Epeli

Anela

Anela loves her big sister so much. She follows Ariana everywhere. Ariana usually is perfectly happy about this, but sometimes she gets annoyed and tries to hide from Anela. She hid in the closet only to be followed directly by Anela. I wanted to take a picture to illustrate and got a good one right as Ariana rolled her eyes at the situation.

Anela is at such a fun age. Every day I am amazed and amused by the things she does and says. It makes me sad to know that she will be grown out of this stage all too soon. I didn't feel so sad about the others because I knew I would have more. It's really sad to know that my last baby isn't a baby anymore!

Anela put a cup on a ball like a hat and sang "happy birthday" to the ball. I tried to take a picture of her while she was singing, but she ran away.

Kimberly getting ready for her ride.

Anela giving Kimberly a ride around the apartment in her baby doll stroller.

Sick Kids and Independence Day

Not a whole lot going on here. The kids were all sick from about the middle of last week and through the weekend. They seemed to be getting better, but I think the cold, wind and smoke from fireworks aggravated the situation a bit. Ariana did her usual thing and slept till she was better, but Gerry and Anela are still coughing a lot. Anela is having a hard time sleeping because of the coughing. She fell asleep just now, since she was up most of the night, hopefully her body can heal itself now.
For the 4th we went out to Genasee and Rich's house in Tooele. Gen made hot dogs on the bbq and mac and cheese. She also had a huge bowtie salad that was really good, but we didn't end up eating much of that. We went on a walk to the park (Anela stopped on the way to throw up, then just kept walking like nothing happened) (Gerry walked right into a drop off box as we passed the library, and Genasee laughed her head off at him) the kids had a lot of fun playing with some of the other kids who were there. Then we left when Anela fell down at the end of the slide and just laid there on the ground. She had been going down the slide continuously the whole time we were there, but I could tell that she was getting too tired. When we got back to Gen's we had pie that she made special for Ariana, because Ariana loves pie. By then it was getting dark so we went out for the fireworks. We started with the sparklers, then the fountains, then we moved across the street to join their neighbors and took the big ones that Gen and Rich got. It was cold and kind of windy, and after we went across the street the kids were running around with the other kids, which I didn't like because it was so dark that it was hard to keep track of them. So it wasn't quite as fun as I thought it would be, but I was glad that we got to go out there, because we don't go very often. It was nice to get to spend time with my sister anyway.
I took my camera out there, but I didn't end up taking any pictures. Sorry.
Afa is working out of town again this week. I guess the kids and I are just going to be staying in all week till they are all better. I hate having sick kids! Last night while Anela was trying to sleep and couldn't, she was kind of moaning and rolling around. I just wish that there was something to make her feel better!!!