Cute Cousins!

Lauryn and I got to have Aubrey over this morning while Todd & Lara worked. It was so fun! She is such a cute little girl - always smiling! It's so weird to see MY baby, Lauryn, not be the baby. She looks so grown up when she is around her younger cousins. She is such a good little helper! Brady also stopped by to play for a few hours. Lauryn and him are such good buddies! It's nice to have them living so close by!

Go Suns!!

Guess what we'll be doing tonight?! Our date night will be spent at home, on the couch watching the Phoenix Suns play ball. I love the play-offs! I really love it when the Suns are winning! Hopefully tonight we can turn things around! Last year Hunter was soooo superstitious throughout basketball season. He had to wear the same jersey for every game and sit on the same spot on the couch, in the same position for the entire game. If someone moved in or out of the room during the game and something "bad" happened, he would freak out. "Don't move, mom. You're gonna make him miss the free throw". I'm not kidding. Thankfully this year he has grown up a little and relaxed a lot. It was pretty tense last year - with tears actually shed at the end of the season. Hopefully this season will have a happier ending than last years! Go Suns!!

Has Anyone Seen My Dustpan?

I have lost my dustpan! Actually, I think one of my kids has lost my dustpan. I have been looking for this stupid dustpan all week. It should be right there, in my laundry room, next to the broom and mop - but it isn't! I've been sweeping up little piles of dirt into wet paper towels all week and I'm getting pretty sick of it! I just might have to break down and buy myself a new one!

40 Years!

Saturday was my mom and dad's 40th wedding anniversary! We all met for dinner at Nando's and had a great time! I'm so lucky to have two great parents who are such good examples to Brian and I. Thanks for letting us in on your celebration, mom and dad!

David & Julie
Lainie & Brian
(Kyle's arm) Todd, Rachel, Ryan, Kade, Lara, Kristen & Mackenzie
Todd, Aubrey & Lara

Mackenzie

Kristen came over on Friday to help Sommer with her Student Council campaign posters. Of course, we like having Kristen over, but we like having Mackenzie and Rowen over a little bit more! Cousins are so much fun!! We especially love making Mackenzie laugh - which isn't very hard! What a cutie!!

Fabuloso

We used to have a cleaning lady, Josephina. She would come every other Thursday. It was soooo nice. Those days are long gone - I'm not sure why. I think it has something to do with a bigger house payment, higher gas prices and more food consumed by our family. Anyway, I loved walking into my clean house after she'd been there for an hour or two. It had a certain "Josephina" smell to it. I never knew what product she used to clean it, and never bothered to ask her (mainly because I didn't speak the same language as her). But as I sat today waiting for Lauryn's dance class to end, that familiar smell came wafting down the hall of the dance studio. When the cleaning lady came around the corner I told her about Josephina and how wonderful I thought that smell was. She just said to me "Fabuloso". I said, "Yeah, it is fabulous." She said, "No, the name of the cleaning product is Fabuloso. You can buy it at Bashas' for about $2." Holy cow! So I took myself up to Bashas' this afternoon because we needed more milk AND to buy some of this Fabuloso. I came home and cleaned the master bathroom. Tomorrow I'll tackle the kid's bathroom upstairs. I'm really excited about it! I know, it really sounds stupid, but I can't wait for Brian to get home! I know he'll recognize the smell and have the same fond memories of Josephina's clean house. Those were good days!

Preschool

Lauryn is in a preschool program this year at Skyline High School, which is taught by the high school students. She is there for 1st and 2nd hour and she has a different "teacher" for each hour. It is really a cute program and she thinks she is pretty cool to be in high school already. She loves the attention she gets from the older high school girls and only wants to dress in "popular" clothes. She cracks me up!!

What's For Lunch?

I love getting the "what's for lunch?" phone call from my dad! I'm so lucky to have such a great dad who likes to spend time with me! It's even more fun when my sister or sisters-in-law can join in! Love you, dad!!

Free Carwash!

Tomorrow is the opening of the Tempe store which is located in the Tempe Town Lakes Marketplace. This will be Brian's 6th store! They will be doing free car washes for at least a week or two! They break ground on the Ocotillo and Rittenhouse location next week! Hooray!!

Fun with Cousins

The girls and I went to watch Courtney, Kendyl and Connor play their last soccer games of the season on Saturday. We had a great time and the weather couldn't have been better!

After the game I took Sommer, Sydney, Courtney & Kendyl to lunch at TGIF's. These girls are so silly! I think they laughed the entire time at just about anything they could think of! I'm so glad they like being with each other and I hope they will always stay good friends!

So you think you can dance?

The twins & I were able to take a Master Class from Jason Celaya in February. He was on the tv show Grease last year, where he auditioned for the lead (Danny) on Broadway. He brought his friend Jaymz Tuaileva, who was on the 2nd season of So You Think You Can Dance (our favorite show) and also in High School Musical!! We had such a fun time! I don't think I've seen Sydney work so hard in her life!

End of the Season for Brian

Brian played in his very last softball game last night. No, the season isn't over. No, he wasn't injured. Here's the scoop:

Brian and his brother, Michael, were playing on a co-ed softball team last night for the University of Phoenix and Brian was playing 3rd base. The other team was about to score a run so Brian threw a line drive to the catcher at home plate to get the runner out. The only problem was the runner's head was in the way. He threw that ball straight into the back of her head. The thud from the ball hitting her head could be heard in the outfield. The runner dropped like a rock. Brian complely knocked her out. When she came to, she couldn't even hold her head up. I guess the force of the softball to the back of her head was just a little too much for her. So they ended up calling 911 and the paramedics came and took her to the hospital. We're not sure how she's doing. We hope she'll make a full recovery. I'm just glad I wasn't there!

Silly Lauryn

Sydney & Lauryn
Sommer & Lauryn

Lauryn is such a fun little girl! This is her last year at home with mom before she heads off to kindergarten. It's always such a sad part of the day when her big sisters leave for school and she is left at home. But we always find fun things to do together - like lunch with grandpa, getting the car washed, playing with cousins, going to the grocery store, shopping at the mall and visiting our neighbor, Sister Draper. Lauryn is my little tag-along and I'm not sure what I'm going to do with myself next year when I'm all alone! I'll be the crazy lady at the grocery store who talks to herself. (I'm turning into my mother!)

Let there be light

The light bulb in the highest possible place in our house burned out recently. These are pictures of Nate scaling a ladder and risking his life to put a little brightness back into our family room. Thanks, Nate!

My Little Sister

This is my sweet little sister, Kristen. Isn't she so cute? She's always been so special to me. I was 12 when she was born and she was like a little doll to me. I had wanted a sister soooo bad after having 4 brothers - and finally my mom and dad came through! She's been the best sister ever! And now she's a mom and I'm so proud of her and what a good mom she is! I love you, Kristen!

Need Some Fashion Advice?

This is our lovely Sydney in her 5th grade fall pictures. I did her hair that morning - used the blow dryer and the flat iron. Spent a good amount of time making her look like a "girl". She looked cared for when I left the house that morning to take Chloe to school. In the time I was gone (maybe 15 minutes) she managed to change her clothes, pull her hair into this great looking "do" and ride off to school. Imagine my surprise when these pictures came back 3 weeks later! By the way, this is the girl who told me the other day that I needed to take some fashion advice from her!

New York

This Spring Break I was able to go to New York with the dance studio I teach for. It was so much fun!! We were able to take a few dance classes, see a few Broadway Shows and spend the rest of the time shopping, eating and sight-seeing. It was wonderful and I can't wait to go back with Sommer and Sydney in 5 years!

New York Subway
Lainie & Riley on our way to Hairspray!
"Spirit Fingers"
This is where I gained 2 of the 4 lbs I brought home

Crumbs Bakery - the other 2 lbs came from here