Our week in review.....

Peyton started singing lessons again. Oh my, what was I thinking??? This year she has a different teacher since we are in a different area. This teacher seems much more on top of things and structured. Peyton came home with homework from her first lesson. Ok, she just has to look up and write the definition of performance, but still, it's homework.

She came right home and showed me her breathing exercises. She has to lay down and put a lightweight object (the tape dispenser was her object of choice) on her midsection and then make la, la, la, la sounds and see if the object goes up and down. If it does, she's doing it correctly and breathing with her diaphragm instead of just her chest.

Here is her notebook to write down her homework and make notes about the songs they are learning. Her group should have several performances throughout the next few months. They are even going to try out as a group to sing the National Anthem at a sporting event (not sure which one yet...). Peyton is hoping she'll get to be on TV. She has big dreams of being a star!
Peyton is learning to write cursive at school. She learns three or four new letters every day and she comes home so excited to practice them. She is getting so big!!!!

This week Sydnie is learning about the letter "E" at school. She came home on Tuesday with this beautiful elephant hat/mask. It was great until she put it over her eyes and ran into the wall. That was the end of playing elephant.....

Peyton's baptism weekend

Peyton was baptized over Labor Day weekend. We were so fortunate to have family and friends come down to take part in her special day. Here is the beautiful little girl before leaving for the church. We searched high and low to find a "modest" white dress for the occasion.
Jeff and Peyton

Cousins

Silly girls

Jeff and Peyton in their white clothing for the baptism. Peyton wanted to take it home. Sydnie called it the ugly outfit. They are so different. :-)

Our good friend Brooklyn with Peyton

When we arrived at the Stake Center we were surprised to see Maya a little girl from Peyton's school class last year was getting baptized too. She is in our Stake and they hadn't see each other since school ended last year.

Peyton with Ashley one of her friends from church and school.

All of the kids who were here for the weekend. Chloe, Peyton, Brooklyn, Sydnie, McKell and Jaxson.

Daddy and daughter

Our family

Our family plus Chloe. She seemed to adopt me as her new friend over the weekend. Anytime Deb and Ben want to send her my way she is welcome. The offer expires when she turns 13. :-)

Me, Grandma Judy, Peyton and Sydnie

After the baptism we came back to our house for a barbecue and then we took the kids to the pool. It was a cool day, so Brenda and I talked while the kids froze in the pool.

Brooklyn, Sydnie and Mckell

Jaxson, Peyton, Brooklyn and McKell playing in the fountains.

Brooklyn and McKell

Peyton and McKell

Good friends......

Chloe and Sydnie sharing a moment on the couch. Such silly girls.....

Chloe cookin dinner for her mommy.

Twirling......
Dizzy little girls.....

POPCORN!!!!! It's funny how a popcorn maker captivates little kids (and Jeff)....

We had a great weekend filled with family and friends, lots of noise and love. Thanks to everyone who traveled here to be with us for this special occasion!

Random pictures....

One night this week after homework had been done and bath time was over, Sydnie decided it was time to "teach" Jeff how to write. She got out the crayons and markers and gave him several demonstrations. The first demo was how to hold the marker correctly. The second demo was how to draw curved lines. And last, but most important was her explanation about not panicking if you made a mistake or didn't know how to do it correctly. She would give him an example of what would happen if you panicked (yelling and getting upset) and how to do it without the panic. It was hysterical. Her teacher must talk a lot about "don't panic", because it was the first time we've ever heard that in our house. Coming from Sydnie made it that much funnier.

This one is especially for Grandma Judy. She loves to tell a story about when I was little and I snuck behind the drapes and colored on the wall. When I was done with my masterpiece, I asked from behind the drapes how to spell "Hailey didn't do it". So, when Peyton discovered this under her desk I couldn't do anything but laugh, grab the camera and think of Grandma Judy. Isn't it just beautiful! When I asked Sydnie why she had drawn all over the underside of Peyton's desk she simply said, "because I couldn't find any paper". It was a perfectly logical answer to my question. I was just happy it was washable and not on my living room wall. :-)

It looks like she was practicing her letters. I can make out an E, S, L and a backwards J.

Go ahead and laugh Grandma Judy. I know you're enjoying all of the pay back I get from Sydnie.

These are blankets Grandma Vickie made for the girls for their birthdays. They love them and have them on their beds. They really are adorable! Sydnie's has the cutest cupcakes.

Peyton's has hearts.

Two silly sisters....

We decided now that Peyton is eight and her blanket was a pile of rags, it would be a good time to retire the beloved pink blanket from when she was a baby. Anytime we talked about it with her she would get very emotional, so I decided to take her to Build a Bear and use the blanket as stuffing in an animal. Now the blanket is safely tucked inside this new pink bear (of course it had to be pink) and she was much happier about parting with the blanket.

This little lady was very cute with Peyton and helped her stuff her bear with stuffing and parts of her blanket so it felt just right.

Then she got to pick a heart and had to rub it so it would have lots of love inside it.

She had to make a special wish before putting it inside.

Then the last piece of blanket went in before it was all sewn up.

This was the finished product. Notice the pink, suede boots with fringe on them. She had to have them. Keep these in mind as you scroll down to Sydnie's creation..... My little Peyton is so much like her aunt Kristy.

More silly sisters on a different day....

Jeff took Sydnie to Build a Bear for her birthday. She picked a monkey and of course it had to be dressed like a princess.

Here she is in all her glory. Sydnie even named the monkey Sydnie on the birth certificate they give you.

She always has to pick out the fanciest shoes for her animals. Last year with my mom she picked out sparkly red shoes like Dorothy's from the Wizard of Oz. Why the need to pick the fanciest shoes?

Well, so she can wear them, of course! She's a little miss matched, but she didn't care. Notice the big toe sticking out of the black one.

Now here's a view from the side...... She will put them on and walk or run all over the house. She actually asked me if we could go for a walk around the block in them one night. Oh, she makes me laugh.

I hope you enjoyed some random pictures and had some laughs. These girls of mine crack me up.

Sydnie's birthday

Wow, I can't believe it has been 3 weeks since the girls started school. Time goes by so quickly when the girls are gone and the house is quiet. They are both enjoying school and making lots of new friends. Sydnie turned 5 on Monday and here are some pictures of her day.


I always make cinnamon rolls (ok, they're Rhodes, but I bake them...) for the birthday person to wake up to. Sydnie wasn't thrilled to wake up to her family singing Happy Birthday to her and a pan full of cinnamon rolls with candles. She got over it once we were quiet and she could eat in peace.

Yummy!!!

Sydnie's class sang Happy Birthday to her again when I brought in birthday treats. I thought she would pick Princess cupcakes, but she decided on Sponge Bob instead. They were a hit with everyone!

Her Sponge Bob ring from the top of her cupcake. The little boy next to her is Tavares. I'm pretty sure she has a crush on him. I'm positive they shouldn't sit next to each other. It's trouble waiting to happen!!! He's just as full of it as she is.

We ended the day with on of Sydnie's favorite dinners, chickalada's (chicken enchilada's) and brownie's for her cake. She loves her chocolate!

Make a wish and blow.

The day wouldn't be complete without presents. She got most of her presents in SLC in July, but Jeff and I made her wait for ours.

This was a sassy Barbie from Jake and Nikki. I'm still not sure if Jake or Uncle Andy picked it out. She had a very cute swimming suit on. Sydnie loved it!

The rest of the presents were Tiny Tink stuff. Sydnie loves fairies and princesses and anything girly! Judging from the smile on her face I think she enjoyed her day!