Summer!! May 30, 2008

I can now say it is officially summer for the Hoag family – everyone is out of school and we went to the Chart House (or the Lighthouse – whatever, it will always be the Chart House to me!).  We all ate food that is no where on the Weight Watchers plan, played a couple games of pinball, then went outside to swing on the rope swings.  All the girls took their turns and even Scott managed to take a turn climbing up to the top…unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of that!  I’m so excited to start summer.  I’m can’t wait to start hanging out at Grandma’s pool and the aquatic center, but what I most excited for is (drum roll please) not being pregnant for the first summer in two years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Yes, I love my babies, but I am looking forward to a quiet afternoon floating in the pool with a cool drink – I might even find a little umbrella to put in it!  By the way, I will be forever grateful to any babysitters that might make this dream a reality!  Ha Ha!

Emma spent most of the evening creating videos with my camera, so I’m sure we have some great footage from tonight, but the battery is now dead.  I’ll post some pictures tomorrow after it charges.

Tatoos May 29, 2008

Here are the pictures of the bug paintings from the Art Center. 

Becca & Emma:

Becca:

Emma:

Important Lesson May 29, 2008

Emma learned a very important lesson yesterday morning.  She came upstairs holding onto a section of her PJ’s and said to me, “Mom, somebodylet me go to bed with that stuff I was playing with last night.”  She then showed me her favorite pajama top with Silly Putty stuck to it.  I thought about getting mad at her and lecturing her on how she knows better than to take Silly Putty to bed with her, but I couldn’t help but just laugh at her.  Only Emma can get herself into these situations.  She is so calm and collected about the way she handles things like this.  Becca would have been hysterical, just flipping out about the ruined pj’s and thinking she might get into trouble, but not Emma.  I had to throw away her favorite pajama top, but she just said that she has another one that’s blue and she’ll wear that one!  You gotta love her! 

Cousins May 25, 2008

Genevieve is staying with Dale & Joyce this weekend.  We spent Saturday playing with her and Liam.  The cousins love to get to see each other!  We tried to picnic at the park.  The weather wasn’t exactly what was predicted and I think it makes Grandma a little nervous to have 3 preschoolers/toddlers running around on the playground equipment, but we all survived…not without a few scrapes and one face full of mud (poor Liam!), but we did survive!!  After that adventure, I headed home to put Lucy down for a nap and to give the rest of us a little downtime.  (Did I mention that Becca left the park in tears because her mom is so mean??  No, she can’t swimming when it is only 70 degrees, even if the pool is open!  And if she asks one more time…oh my, the two of us can go round…and I know, there is only more to come.) 

After a little break I let them go to the Discovery Center with Grandma.  Lucy was still sleeping so she, Brady and I stayed home.  Grandma, Genevieve, Aunt Heather, Liam, Becca and Emma went through the Discovery Center.  Then Heather remembered the artists from Project Insect would be at the Art Center, so they headed over there.  I haven’t taken pictures yet, but the girls got beautiful paintings on their arms of diffent insects.  These are the first “tatoos” I haven’t been dying to scrub off as soon as possible!!  I’ll add some pictures soon! 

Preschool Graduation May 25, 2008

On Thursday, Emma had her preschool graduation.  It was such a cute program.  I was a little emotional about the whole thing.  They played the song “Friends” on the crystal bells and I started tearing up – I’m not going to say it was full-fledged crying, but I was definitely teary!  I’m going to miss her so much when she’s at kindergarten all day next year!!

She had been telling me that she needed a beatiful dress to wear for graduation.  I looked in Iowa City on Tuesday and didn’t find anything that I really liked, so I kind of gave up and figured we would find something in her closet.  Well, I’m sure we could have found something, but she asked again (this time in front of daddy!) so I had to go on a dress hunt in town.  I went to Elder Beerman and found nothing. Then headed down to Penney’s.  I stumbled onto a sale and struck gold – a $50 Easter dress marked down to $9.97!  The funny thing is another mom did the same thing!

More pictures from graduation:

    Emma & Isabel

 

       Mrs. Nelson, Emma, Isabel, Mrs. Storr

Toothless Emma! May 23, 2008

Emma lost another tooth!!  She decided to do a cartwheel in Grandma Joyce’s living room on Tuesday afternoon and crashed into a chair!  The second tooth on the bottom is what came out.  Joyce was in the bathroom and Emma came in and said, “Grandma we have a problem and it hurts!  And I’m bleeding!”  She says it wasn’t loose, but she just lost the other bottom tooth a few weeks ago, so I’m suspicious that it really was.  Between Becca’s braces and Emma’s missing teeth, I think I’m going to be cutting a lot of corn OFF the cob this summer! 

Phew!! May 19, 2008

We survived our last crazy May weekend!!  It was just one thing after another this month…Becca’s First Communion, her birthday, Mother’s Day, Scott’s 1/2 marathon, dance recital…plus throw in a couple field trips and meetings and wow, where did May go?!?  This weekend is Memorial Day weekend and we don’t have any “real” plans.  Heidi, Luke and Genevieve are going to try to come home, so that always means we spend most of the weekend at Dale & Joyce’s house.  We haven’t seen them since Easter so the girls are very excited to see their cousin! 

My other exciting news is that I just wrote my last checks as the Colorado School PTO Treasurer!!  My term is officially over.  It was fun to get involved and see how much the PTO does for the school – I had no idea the things that a PTO provides to the students.  Things you would think our tax dollars would be paying for but budgets are always tight at schools so it lands on the PTO to help out.  We are so, so lucky that our Fall Festival brings in enough money to pay for the “extras”! 

Since I did so much work to get everything organized it was a little bit difficult to hand the reins over.  But the new treasurer is much more qualified than I ever really was so I’m sure she’ll do a great job!  (Don’t worry I’m still co-chairing the Fall Festival, so I will still get my fill of volunteering at school!!!)

Emma May 17, 2008

Today was Emma’s dance recital.  She did great – actually her whole class did great, I’m so proud of all of them!  If I sound a little surprised by her greatness, it’s because I am!  At rehearsal on Thursday night, she got a little lost during ballet; looked at me; shrugged her shoulders and just smiled!  For those of you who know Emma you know that’s how she is.  She is so laid back, completely hugable, and totally hilarious.  There are why too many “Emma quotes” to list, but I have been told to just follow her around with a video camera because I could make my own show – “Emma Says the Darnest Things!”  Last week when we got costumes,  I plopped her hat on her head and she looks at me and goes, “Mom, I look like an egg!”  Then after class she says,

E:  Mom I have 2 new pairs of tights.

M: Yes, because you always manage to get a hole in your tights.

E:  But they don’t know that!

That’s my Emma! 

 

Happy Birthday Becca!! May 15, 2008

Becca is now officially eight years old.  We went on her field trip to Nauvoo and saw the pioneer village.  It was really neat.  There was a blacksmith who made a little tiny horseshoe and since it was Becca’s birthday she got to keep it.  It will be something that she will alway have to help her remember her 8th birthday.  I am just so happy I got to spend it with her!

P.S.  I was the loser mom that forgot her camera…hopefully I’ll get a few pictures from the better prepared moms!

Becca May 14, 2008

Well, my goal with this new adventure into blogging is to record our daily lives, so I can remember what was happening at this crazy time in our lives.  I’m going to try to recap a little where each of the kids are at this point in the game.

I guess I’ll start with Becca.  She’s turning 8 years old this week.  I can not believe my baby is 8.  She just received her First Communion last Sunday.  I had a complete stranger come up and tell me what a beautiful girl she is.  I already knew that…but sometimes I think I may be a little bias!

Then on Friday she had her first slumber party!  I have to admit it went way, way better than I had expected.  I didn’t know how six little girls would behave, but everything went fairly smoothly.  I may let her do it again!

Tomorrow is her birthday and we are going on a field trip to Nauvoo.  I’m looking forward to spending the whole day with just her (and 49 other 2nd graders).  It will be a long bus ride that I am not looking forward to, but I just have to remember how lucky I am to be able to go.  There are many days when I’m pulling my hair out and start thinking that it may be easier to just get a job or times when we wish we could afford a nicer car/vacation/whatever it may be and I think maybe I should be working, but when these days come around I remember why I do this.