Big Bootie

Just after coming back from vacation to Idaho Summer was playing dress up in her room. I was so excited because she hasn't played in her room for a while. I was even more happy when she came downstairs wearing this.

I couldn't help laughing. I think she wondered why I was, but it was just too cute. She said she couldn't get the tutu off so she just put the skirt on top. I told her she looked like the ladies in the olden days when they wore those big things to make their hips look bigger. Similar to the one in this picture below.
I love it! It is my favorite dress up she has come up with so far. She loves everything girl. In fact the other day Philip mentioned to us that when aunt Laurel and uncle Aaron come to visit that we can't take them shopping because neither of them like shopping. So the next day Summer and I were talking about them coming in a couple weeks. I mentioned that maybe they might like to decorate cookies when they come. She said, "well we can't take them shopping because they don't like shopping. I don't know why aunt Laurel doesn't like shopping because of course all girls love to shop." When she said that I laughed and thought of Philip. He has already been bracing himself for the teenage Summer asking for daddy to give her money to go shopping. What she doesn't realize yet is that daddy isn't that easy to get it from. She is going to have to work hard for those shoes, purses, and accessories.

It is good to have fun moments like these to make life a little less serious as we sometimes get. Having one is a blast, but having more will be even better.

Art by Summer

I have been saving a few of Summer's art and letters that she has been making for me. I have so many that unfortunately I have to throw several away. Here are a few of my favorites that I did decide to keep.

Lately Summer has been enjoying writing letters. She writes several every day and usually all on her own. This letter was one I found in her room when I went to check on her before I went to bed. She had gotten her blankets taken away for some reason I don't recall. She got out of bed, made herself a bed right next to the night light, and wrote this letter which I found next to her fast asleep. My translation of it is "You said that I can have my blankies back. I just want you to give them to me. But I love you."

I just smiled so big when I found this that I laid her back in her bed and put her blankets next to her. It is fun to see her learning to read and write. I love getting little notes everyday.
She brought me this picture and asked if I liked it. I was actually quite amazed that she came up with it all on her own. My favorite part is the possum hanging upside down.
Rough translation: "I love you and can't wait till we have another baby. I am waiting for a baby." I guess she really really wants someone to play with.
I don't recall what she told me this is. I think a dinosaur or an Elephant.

Seriously, it is little things like this that make being a mom so fun, exciting, and rewarding. I am so blessed to have such a happy little girl. I love her so much, and I do look forward to receiving many more notes and pictures.

Halloween Extravaganza

This year has really been an extravaganza. We have had so many Halloween activities that it just seemed to go on forever. We started out at the Nature Discovery Center pumpkin patch. It was fun, and Summer enjoyed all the pumpkins. Since Philip was at home studying I only had her pick out a small pumpkin so we could get the others as a family. Unfortunately we never did get more pumpkins. I just put it off too long I guess. It is not like Idaho where they freeze to death and in January you can still discover nicely carved pumpkins that some people didn't bother throwing away. Here they rot really fast, so oh well.

Summer wanted to be Hannah Montana this year for Halloween. So she picked this picture of her and said she wanted it like that. So this is our version of Hannah Montana. She had fun bedazzling her microphone. On the other hand I had a lot of work on my hands since I could not find a white denim jacket or a jacket pattern for that matter. I had to just wing it.

Here she is receiving her sparkle pumpkin award for the costume contest at the YMCA for ages 5-8 or 9 I think.

The YMCA was a lot of fun this year. They have all sorts of games and prizes, painting pumkins, a silly haunted house, and of course camel rides.

Summer and daddy enjoying a quick camel ride that they waited in line for at least 45 minutes to ride. I think it was worth it to them. A camel of all animals to ride for Halloween. They had fun.

The Friday before Halloween Summer's class had a short little Halloween activity with cookies, and goodie bags. They had fun dancing around and enjoying the celebration. It is always nice to see Summer interacting with kids.

That same day we went to another party that some friends were hosting. I decided to try making homemade donuts for the first time. They turned out yummy and I am so glad that everyone ate them so I didn't have to bring any home.

Finally on Saturday the 30th we went to our ward's trunk-or-treat. Summer enjoyed walking around with her dad while I passed out candy to a ton of kids.

Summer sure does love these girls. She had a blast playing with all of her friends and of course eating too much candy.

Philip finally wore this Asian outfit he bought in High School. I have been trying to get him to get some use out of it every Halloween since we have been married.
The pumpkin carving of the two small pumpkins we did end up with didn't happen until tonight. Summer was so excited to carve one, so I guess we will be those funny people that leave their Halloween decorations out for a few extra days. Unfortunately we didn't even have a tea light candle to put in. I did stick the lighter in for a minute so she could see what it would look like.
Next year I am going all out on the pumpkins because it is such a fun tradition for the kids.

Our Halloween was very eventful and tiring at the same time. I am glad we had fun, but I 'm also glad it is over. I hope everyone had a great Holiday and enjoyed some festivities as well.

Monster Mash and FHE

It was my turn for FHE tonight, so I thought I would make it spooktacular for Halloween week. I love Halloween, and it is one of my favorite holiday's because there is so much fun surrounding it.

We started off with a simple monster mash dinner. I was going to make shepherd's pie for dinner anyways, so I just added a little green color to the potatoes to make them the bright green. Although slightly unappetizing to eat because of the color it still tasted quite good. Of course the color of green potatoes might deter some folks we had fun with it. Philip wasn't sure about taking the left overs to work though. I think he might be a little embarrassed to show his co-workers that he is eating bright green mashed potatoes.

For family home evening I found a really simple and cute lesson here called the three naughty ghosts. Then I went here to print out boo bingo which was easy and fun. That website is great because you can customize any type of bingo theme you want. After you print your first bingo card you can just click on the bingo card button and it will randomly produce a different bingo card. It took me about 5 minutes to get it all set up and get 5 different cards.

For the treat we had no bake cookies which Summer decided to call mud pies. It was sure was fun, and I look forward to the fun festivities of Halloween this week.

Summer's Visit to the Houston Temple

We have been wanting to take Summer to see the Houston temple for some time now. It is a great opportunity for her to walk around the temple grounds. The beauty, and spirit present at the temple is something that can be enjoyed and felt from inside and out. So, we wanted her to experience it a little bit too.
She had a lot of fun walking around asking questions, and finding special things to see there.
While Philip went inside Summer and I sat at this fountain located at the front entrance. It was quiet and peaceful like it always is.

While I went in Philip sat at this fountain and helped her write in her journal. She also drew some pictures.
She is pointing to one of the special things she saw while we were there. This is the date the temple was erected in 2000 engraved in the temple stone.
Of course she loved the flowers the most. she enjoyed smelling them and just seeing how nicely taken care of they were.
This October 2010 Ensign is entirely devoted to learning about the temple. It is such a nice issue that has several pictures of the beautiful temples throughout the world. There are also several talks about temples and the preparation for entering the temple. A short section is directed for children called "Your Path to the Temple" it was a great resource for us to encourage us to take Summer to see the temple.

She counted on her fingers how long it would be until she can go inside. She is really excited and looking forward to it. At least for now, we can take her and help her to feel the spirit that is even present on the temple grounds.

I am glad that we all got the opportunity to go. It was nice to spend time as a family doing something that makes us feel good inside.

Fun With Grandma and Grandpa Harvey

We have been counting down the days for Summer to start kindergarten because shortly after that we would get some of the best visitors.

Finally that day came, and we got to pick grandma and grandpa Harvey from the airport. Summer was so excited that she even made a big welcome sign. Unfortunately we got caught in bad construction traffic, and didn't make it there before their plane landed. So, it was more like we ran up to them with the sign instead of the other way around.

On Monday night Philip was lucky enough to score some super awesome Astro's tickets from work. These were not just any seats. They were on the 6th row right behind the catcher.
To top it off it was all inclusive with a southern BBQ dinner and anything else they wanted to eat or snack on. They had a lot of fun. Mary, and I found them on TV so that was fun. I think this was a huge highlight for Philip, and his dad.
Here Summer was showing grandma and grandpa all the swimming techniques she has been learning at swim lessons. What we didn't know is that grandpa Harvey is a fast swimmer.
Grandpa was so excited to go to school with Summer on Grandparents Day. I think he fits right in. He loved being there with her.
Grandma got to be one of the mystery readers that day. It was really fun so see her read to Summer's class.
Grandparents day was also the day of the school elections. It was really funny to hear all of the kids running for office make their speeches. I think this might be Summer's first school assembly.

Of course they had Grandparent Day photos in the courtyard of the school with onlookers from the window. This will be nice to have because we don't have many pictures with grandma, and grandpa Harvey.
Here we are eating school lunch. Yummy! Summer enjoyed having us there at school with her. Going to school with Summer was definitely the highlight for grandma and grandpa.

After school we went to the zoo. This was the first time I have watched the lions being fed. It was pretty interesting.

To finish up our visit with grandma, and grandpa we went to San Antonio, and also to San Marcus to go shopping at the largest outlet mall I have ever seen. While we were at a department store I found Philip giving Summer a make over. She was in heaven since she is always asking when she can wear makeup. I am surprised Philip let her have it on in public, but I guess it was almost bed time. He is really good to her, and loves doing fun things like this, and daddy daughter dates.

Grandma, and Grandpa Harvey in San Antonio

Summer knows that Grandma Harvey is a huge lover of chocolate. She even remembers that grandma has a stash hiding in the house. I think she even knows the spot it is located. Anyhow, Summer was talking to grandma on the phone about chocolate one day, and the conversation was quite long. The conversation went something like this:

Summer: "Grandma, do you like chocolate milk?"

Grandma: "No, I don't like it."

Summer (with a puzzled look on her face): "Well do you like milk?"

Grandma: "Oh I love milk."

Summer: "Well if you love milk, and you love chocolate they why don't you like chocolate milk?"

To this day she is still stumped about that. She just doesn't understand that if you like both milk, and chocolate why you would not like chocolate milk.

Well, since we knew that grandma loves chocolate we were thrilled to take her to the Chocolate Bar. I love the place and think it is a great place to go have a desert, or a piece of chocolate. We had fun, but I don't think grandma was impressed by the place. I guess when you have yummy chocolate all the time the American versions are just not quite as good. It was still fun, and we enjoyed being together.

It was so nice to have family here, and we are always sad when they leave. This was the first time that it really hit Summer. She cried for about 15 minutes after we dropped them off at the airport. It is just so hard living so far from family. However, it is nice to know that we have such great friends here that are like our family.

Kindergarten!

Summer started her first day of kindergarten on Monday the 23rd. She was so excited to go to school and stay long enough to eat lunch there. Here kindergarten is from 8:00 am-2:40 pm every day.

Being from a little town in Idaho I was not really use to this whole idea of them being gone all day. However, we really have no choice, and I am sure I will get use to being by myself all day long.

Her first day of school started out to my surprise with breakfast in bed made by her dad. I thought it was so sweet of him to think of that. I had a hard enough time getting myself out of bed that breakfast in bed was not on my mind.

After getting ready for school we went outside and took the classic first day of school pictures. She is showing off her princess back pack.

Here she is in her class. She sits in the red chair behind her, but she was heading to put her backpack away. While watching her I got a little teary eyed. I will admit I was a little emotional and sad to see her grown up to this stage of life so soon. Good thing I had to park far away from the school because it gave me a few extra minutes to compose myself.

After school I went straight to the car line up to pick her up. I was a little worried because we were not really given information or instruction on how to take/pick up our kids. It worked out just fine though.

After she got in the car I asked how her day went. She didn't really respond too much. When I asked her what she did at school she said nothing. I think she really must have been tired and in shock from being gone all day.

Later that evening she told me she didn't want to go back to school the next day. If any of you know how attached she can be you would know that I was a little worried when she said this. I thought oh no, am I going to have to drag her in while she is holding on to my leg not willing to let go? I quickly responded and encouraged her that school is fun, and that she has to learn to get use to it because she will be going for a long time.

Luckily she was excited to go back the next morning. I think she just needed some sleep. She is now enjoying school and tells me at least two things she did during the day. Hopefully she will start telling me a lot.

She has been asking me if she could have hot lunch all week long. I kept telling her that on Friday's I will let her have hot lunch. Finally last night after reviewing the menu I realized that every Friday they have fish of some sort. She is a very picky eater, and I know that fish will not go over well. So, I need to let her pick which day going forward. It is funny to me that she is so anxious to have hot lunch. I remember as a kid we always had hot lunch, and only got a cold packed lunch on a field trip, field day, or a party day where it was required. It was such a special thing for us to bring a cold lunch, and I always looked forward to the few days I had one. I guess we all look forward to the things we get the least even if it is sick hot lunch from a school cafeteria. So, today is her hot lunch day and luckily besides fish sticks they are serving chili and cornbread which she does like.

Well, I am over the fact that she is no longer at home with me all day. So, I look forward to this new school year, and the fun events/memories that will take place along the way.

Lemonade! Get Your Lemonade!

A few months ago I made this table cover for Summer to do a lemonade stand. Unfortunately it rained for the next two weeks here, and then I just kept putting it off. Finally we went ahead and set up her stand for business on Thursday. We went out around 4:50 just when people started coming home from work. Since we still live in a complex we went near the mail boxes and set up there.

Summer was so excited to finally get a chance to sell some lemonade.
Here she is in action. She held up the sign and waved it around. She also sold cookies that were pretty much melting in the heat.
After about 10 minutes of being out there she decided it was pretty hot. So she had some lemonade and said that helped to cool her down.

People were so generous and nice to such a cute little girl. Several people bought a cup of lemonade and left her and extra .50 cents to $1.00 for her hard work. The only person who had a problem with it was the guard who said that I should get permission from the HOA. I didn't realize that it would be a problem for little kids to have a little lemonade stand.

She had a lot of fun, and that is what matters. She is learning to work, earn, and have fun. The only big problem about having a lemonade stand in Houston is the location of the stand. I guess I didn't look hard enough, because I set our chairs up right over a bunch of fire ants. We both got attacked, and that is when we hauled everything in and went home. She did sell all of her lemonade and most of the cookies.

I would say it was a successful day of lemonade drinking and selling.