Man! I feel like a woman!

Today Ellie and I went with Grandma to get our nails done! I so rarely do anything like this...(like never) and it felt good to be pampered. I just got a basic manicure, and Ellie got her nails painted. Grandma got a pedicure and manicure. Ellie has informed me that next time we go, she would like a full set of acrylic nails! :-)

Cute Girls

I have to share a few cute things about the Bearden girls....


Last night we were playing Apples to Apples. The word we were all trying to describe was "Calm". Ellie was the judge, and the words she had to choose from were: Camels, Dolphins, potato chips and high heels. When Ellie chose Camels as the winner, Annie got a little mad. (in true Annie fashion) She thought hers would win for sure! I asked which one was hers. "It was high heels!" she said in a frusterated tone. I tried to think of a way that high heels could be considered calm. Before I came up with anything she explained by saying, "you know,... cause the grass up there is really softly blowing..." After a couple seconds of puzzlment, we all burst out laughing. We realized that she thought the card meant, "High Hills". Annie laughed at herself too. It's so cute when first graders start to read by themselves! :-)

A couple of days ago, Ellie wouldn't listen to me when I told her it was time to leave play practice. She wanted to play with her friend instead. As I have done many times before, I pulled out the ol'......"Ok, I guess you want to be in Ana's family now,...see you later." Ellie LOVED this idea! The next day at breakfast she brought it up again. She asked if I could take her to Ana's family that day so she could be their new sister. I then tried to bring her back to real life by saying, "But Ellie, wouldn't you miss your mommy?" She got a bit thoughtful and said, "mmmm, no, I think I've had enough time with you."


I got a message on my phone the other day from Annie. She had forgotten her homework folder and needed to turn it in that day. She called from the school and said this: "Hi Mom...this is Annie...I forgot to bring my homework folder to school today....I also forgot to DO my homework...so...could you please do my homework and bring it to me at school?" I laughed out loud and still haven't erased the message.

Parade!

Yesterday the "Von Trapp" family marched in a parade! The kids looked so cute in their costumes! Mike didn't have his costume ready yet, but he still looked cute. :-)

I had to add a picture of me as a pregnant nun...on a cell phone...I was totally pushing out my belly in this photo..just for the affect. :-)

A BUSY Saturday!

We had such a great, but tiring day today!

9:00 AM It started off with a photo session. We all needed a picture to go along with our Bio for the playbill. The director of the play is a photographer so we met with him this morning and had our pictures taken. Mike and I were laughing as we tried to come up with a Bio for Ellie. We thought we would put...."You may recognize Ellie from such performances as....The 1st Ward Primary Program..." We think we are funny...."we kill we!"

10-11:30am The next activity was a Dance rehearsal at a local gym. The kids and Mike got to practice a few of their dances in front of mirrors. This is Annie with her cast practicing "The lonely goat herd."

12-4:oopm On to the next, and main event of the day....Casie's birthday party! She had 11 friends come to our home to help celebrate the big 10! As most children who anticipate their birthday, She had REALLY been looking forward to this! Her lists and her plans have been mapped out for the last six months. I seriously remember her coming to me with her "game plan" in December! Some of the items on her list were...BBQ, Swimming, pinata, making fun flip flops, giving everyone sunglasses and gift bags, and playing games....(is this child trying to kill me?) We didn't do everything on her agenda, but we had a great time! It started off with lunch...pizza...yes, boring, but what 10 year old doesn't like pizza? Then we loaded the girls up and took them to Mike's mom's neighborhood pool. They had such a blast! Casie was an adorable and gracious birthday girl. We finished the day by getting slushies and having cake....oh, and opening the SLEW of presents!

5-6:30pm The next activity came about because Casie's cousin Keri stayed after the party to play. I wish I would have taken a picture of the adorable "Spa" they set up on the deck. Casie received lots of cute nail polish and lip gloss for her birthday. She and Keri spent the evening giving Ellie and Annie make-overs. They looked SO cute! If I hadn't been napping on the couch,....I totally would have taken a picture of them. :-)

7-9pm After my power nap, and after Mike found out that his Priest activity was cancelled...(due to lack of priests..) We decided to let Casie and Keri babysit while we went out with some friends. We had a great time at a park playing board games and visiting. We don't usually group date...now that we are married, but decided it was fun enough to do on a regular basis! Because I forgot to bring our camera on our date,...here are some pictures we took while "watching" the kids swim!

10..11..12..1:00am Our last activity of the day is still in the making...I am sitting her blogging amongst the MONSTROUS mess that we call home...(remember all the fun we had today?)...and Mike is taking Keri home. As soon as Mike gets home I will be off to the store to buy some "special" items for a Fathers Day/Birthday breakfast tomorrow. I also need to wrap a few gifts and make a birthday cake...who needs sleep anyway!? Actually...I guess Annie and Juno..(Mom's dog) decided that the day had been busy enough. Isn't this adorable!? :-)

A little spoilded

It started with a VERY messy toy room....If I weren't so desperate to have it cleaned, I wouldn't have resorted to bribery. But if bribery had power over anyone...my five year old Ellie is that person. Because I knew it was a big job, I told her that for every toy she picked up, she would get one M&M. She has a bigger sweet tooth than I do, so she seriously considered my offer. "What if I clean the WHOLE thing"..she asked. "Well, then maybe when we go to the dollar store, you can pick a toy!" "Will I still get the nem-nems?"..."uh...sure"..(at this point I am wondering if I am going a bit over board...after all, it was HER mess...why was I paying her to clean it up?)...BUT...to top it all off, I added, .."And, if you do it all before I get out of the shower, I will put a little make-up on you!"...(at this point I was already in too deep...might as well throw in her last and final obsession.) When Ellie heard me turn the shower off, she called through the bathroom door..."Mom, could you please do your hair and make-up before you come and check on me?"...Of coarse I was happy to oblige...this meant my bribe was working! A few minutes later she came scampering down the hall and announced she was finished. She did a great job! I was so proud. I told her that she earned 37 M&M's (I have no idea how many toys were on the floor, but that sounded like a good amount of candy for all the work done) AND a toy, AND some make-up! Here is a picture of the happy, working, spoiled, princess! Notice the voluptuous eye lashes! :-)

I won't mention that later that day when I asked her to take down a few dishes that were left upstairs, she said,"I will if you give me more nem-nems."

While we had the camera out, I had Ellie take a picture of my blooming body! This is 24 weeks! I have felt SO amazing with this pregnancy..let's hope the 3rd tri-mester goes as smoothly.

Oh so tired...

A Riddle for you....

What do you get when you have play practice three nights a week, and kids to bed at 11:00 three nights a week?

Answer: Very tired children, very tired parents, and a great experience!

We are having a blast with the play. The girls absolutely love it! (thankfully) They are doing such a great job. Half the time, little Annie out sings her whole stage family! I can't believe the projection on that girl! Ellie is loved by all! She totally loves having older "brothers". They swing her around and hold her all the time. It makes me a little sad that she doesn't have one in real life...Mike is becoming quite the actor as well. I can't joke any more about his lack of acting ability. He's great....although, he is having some awkward moments getting "cozy" with Maria on stage. I guess when you have been married to one woman for 12 years,..gazing into another woman's eyes and singing at close proximity doesn't come naturally! (again...thankfully!) They don't have to kiss on stage...(although strangely, I am a bit disappointed...I always hate when the two people in "love" don't kiss. Shows like: My Fair Lady and Pride and Prejudice...(the six hour one) I am not too torn up though. :-) I am having fun doing the props and being a pregnant Nun. We have ONE month until show time...I hope we are ready!

Also...if you would like to know when show times and dates are, leave me a comment with your email and I will send you all the info. I am a bit nervous to post all that info. on my blog. I don't want a coo-coo to show up and steal one of the adorable Von trap children!