Dani turns 11

Dani turned 11 years old today. Dani is a wonderful daughter and such a great help to me. I've enjoyed talking to you and watching movies with her. I love her and I'm so honored to be her mother. I wanted to share 11 fun things about Dani and a few pictures.

1. Dani is very involved in school - band, Battle of the Books, Student Council, PNN, and has helped take pictures for the year book.
2. Dani loves animals. She has a pet fish that she loves and takes care of it.
3. Dani loves to watch Rachel Ray and then help me cook yummy food.
4. Dani is kind and helps her younger sisters.
5. Dani has a great memory. She remembers events that happened years ago.
6. Dani likes to jewelry for herself and others.
7. Dani loves to roller blade, especially if she has a partner.
8. Dani loves to play school with her sisters. She creates reading and math problems for them.
9. Dani likes to blog and make scrapbooks on the computer.
10. Dani loves to shop. She loves to shop with her cousins at Target.
11. Dani tells good jokes and makes me laugh.

Dani was blessed on Easter Sunday.

Dani at 1 year old

Dani at 2 yrs. old

Memorable MondaySisters

Dani and Angela

As we finish Angela's birthday celebration, we quickly look forward to Dani's birthday celebration. Their birthdays are two weeks apart. Dani and Angela are two years apart.

Lisa and Tami

My sister and I have birthdays less than a week apart. I am a little less than one year older than her. We are 11 months, .... days apart. Lisa knows exactly, so I always relied on her for the answer. Lisa and I are the same age for 6 days. Many times, our mom had one birthday party for the both of us. My birthday is on a holiday and Lisa's in on my parent's anniversary, so it made sense to have just one party. People often thought that Lisa and I were twins, but we just look alike. It didn't help that my mom bough us the same outfit in different colors. I'm guilty of that too. On Christmas and Easter, I dressed my girls in the same style and color of dresses. Lisa and I have different personalities and complement each other. We help each other out with our different talents.

Cavalcade

Dani participated in Cavalcade this year. Piano teacher in the valley organize this event and it was very well attended. At the performance, there are twenty pianos and two students per piano. The students have to follow the conductor and listen to the beat of the drummer. The students had to memorize two songs and perform them as a group. This was Dani's first year and she was a tad nervous. It was a great experience for the Dani. There were about 10-11 groups, so a lot of kids participated in this event.

Dani played Primo on "Skip to My Lou" and Secondo on "Blue Danube Waltz" with her partner.

These hands are not Dani and her partners, but so cool to see.

Dani's group as they practice the morning before their performance. It's a great experience to follow a conductor.

After the performance, we have to make a big deal in her accomplishments. Good Job Dani!

Memorable Monday Girl's Bedrooms

Our three girls have to share a tiny little bedroom. There's only room for one bed and some bookshelves and a little bit of play area. With three girls, Jim and I have thought long and hard about how to have the girls sleep comfortably in the room. We tried many different options before we decided to spend some big bucks and purchase a twin bunk bed with a trundle. Each girl has their separate bed without compromising on space.

That reminds of our sleeping arrangements growing up with my family. Our brothers shared a bedroom right across from my parents while the three girls shared two bedrooms down in the basement. The bedrooms downstairs had an opening between the two rooms, so sometimes we considered in one huge room. It was as big as my parents' room, our brothers' room, and a closet combined. It was awesome! The basement wasn't finished and the walls were dry wall. We drew on our walls and wrote cool messages without getting in trouble. It was great sleeping downstairs, but my dad always knew when we weren't sleeping. Lisa and I could talk all night if given a chance. When we moved to AZ, my parents bought a house with four complete bedrooms. The boys picked the bedroom that was the farthest away from my parents. I think they planned that. My sisters and I have had a lot of great memories of that old bedroom. I hope my girls create memories and enjoy sharing a room.

Pictures of Angela

Here are pictures of Angela this past 9 years.

Angela's Birthday

Sometime Between Saturday night and Sunday morning, Angela turned 9. Her birthday is Feb. 29th and since this isn't a leap year, she didn't have a real birthday. Angela thinks her birthday is on the 28th and I'm going to let her believe just that until her 12th birthday. For Angela's birthday, we took a friend out to dinner to celebrate. It was a great evening. The next day, we went to Grandma's to celebrated with cake and more presents. Grandma has the kids pick their birthday dinner and that makes them feel so special. Angela is such a sweet girl and we love her very much.

We had a 20 minute wait before we could be sitted, so we played cards outside. Is Emily cheating? She could be if she understood the game. She is such a cutie!
We found the kids's new favorite restaurant. How many can you have? This restaurant serves both Mexican and American food. We had a great time.

Birthday cake and presents at Grandma's was just the ice cream on the cake.

Mesa Temple

On Saturday, I made this temple picture. I stained the picture, painted the frame and adhered the picture to the frame. I made a few mistakes, but I'm the only one that will know where they are. From a distance, the picture looks great and will look great in my home. I want my kids to look to the temple and live worthy to enter it's doors. It's important for Jim and I to remember the covenants that we've made and a reminder to go often. It was a fun craft to make and I'm so glad that that it turned out so awesome.