Yesterday I Cried!

Yesterday I cried and cried. Here is why....

I heard Karl ask the boys to check on Mara, and then I heard Karl say, "No!" and take off running upstairs. I was wondering what on earth was going on and just then Kenyon came running in and said to me, "Mara cut her hair and she looks like a boy!" I couldn't believe it.

I know the pictures look bad enough, but they don't do justice to how bad it really was. There are parts that are so short it looks like she used clippers. My little girl with the beautiful, long blonde hair that everyone always complimented her on. Her beautiful hair....gone. I cried and cried. (The pregnancy probably had something to do with all the crying.) She thought it was great until she realized she couldn't just put it back on. Then Karl said, "All your beautiful princess hair is gone." She lost it. She cried and screamed. She was inconsolable.

I didn't know what to do. It was so bad. I didn't think there would be any way at all to make it look even halfway decent. So, I called a lady in my ward that does hair. Lindsey said to bring her right over. She looked at it and said she thought we would just have to go with a pixie cut. I told her to do whatever it took to make it look decent. She started cutting, and decided that she might not have to go quite as short as a pixie. She worked a miracle, and just look at my beautiful little girl...

It looks so much better than I ever could have hoped for. When you look at it closely you can still some cuts that couldn't be fixed, but Lindsey did a fantastic job of covering them up and making them blend in. So, thank you, thank you Lindsey. I don't know what I would have done without you. It looks better than I could have hoped for. It actually turned out to be a really cute haircut.

So, her long beautiful hair is gone (and I'm still sad about that), but she still looks adorable.

Mara's Birthday!

Mara had her 3rd birthday on Sept. 2nd. She was so excited for her princess party. She talked about it for weeks. Finally the big day came and she was so happy.

I wanted to keep the party simple, so she invited 2 friends, Evey and Natalia.

They got to dress-up like princesses, complete with lipstick and nail polish. Aren't they cute?

The adorable birthday princess.

Mara with her Little Mermaid birthday cake.

The highlight of the presents was a new baby "Darla." For those that don't know, Mara got this doll for her birthday last year, but lost it at church in January. She cried about it for weeks, and every couple of weeks since would talk about how Darla missed and and how Darla was sad. She was even talking about her a week or so before her birthday. It was so sad, so for her birthday we just had to replace her. Mara was sooooo excited.

Our beautiful birthday girl. We love you, Mara!

First Day of School

So, I am finally getting to the first day of school. Cruz's 1st day was so fun for him. He wanted me to take him to school. When we got there they had some Army troops there with this big Hummer. The kids could get in the Hummer and the troops were giving the kids high-fives on their way into the school. He thought that was great! He had a great 1st day, and really liked his teacher.

The kindergarteners started school the next week. Kenyon was sooooo excited. I took him to school, but the principal was at the front door of the school not letting parents in. That upset me. I could see asking parents not to go into the classrooms, but at least let me make sure he gets to the right spot. I was not very happy about that. Luckily we had Cruz. Cruz took Kenyon's hand and took him to where he needed to go. I probably wouldn't have let him go if I didn't have Cruz. He had a great day and he loves his teacher. He got to ride the bus home for the first time at the end of the day. What a big boy he is. I can't believe I have two kids in school!

Kenyon's 2nd day of school he and Cruz got to get on the bus together in the morning. It was fun to see them getting on together. I can't believe how big my kids are getting!

The Blog Neglect Continues

So, I'm still horribly neglecting my blog, and will probably continue to do so for a few more weeks. I know I haven't blogged about the first day of school yet, but that's because what pictures I did manage to get haven't been loaded onto my computer yet. "So do it now," you say - well the camera is downstairs and I am not about to go get it right now (I'm barely keeping my dinner down just sitting here). Actually this is the first time I've even been on the computer at all in about 3 days. "Why, Shari, why?" you ask. Well if you will look at the new addition to my sidebar you will see what has me a little out of sorts these days. So, sorry for my neglect, but it should only last a few more weeks.

A Week With Stokes

My parents came out to visit for a week. We had a great time and did lots of fun stuff that I don't have any pictures of (see the previous post). They took the kids shopping for school clothes, we went to Chuck E. Cheese's, there was lots of wrestling with Grandpa, and a whole lot more. The highlight of the week though was the day at Seven Peaks. The kids had a blast, and I actually got some pictures.

Mara's favorite part was the wave pool, Cruz liked the large waterslide in the kids area, and Kenyon's favorite part was when Grandma and Grandpa were pretending to be alligators and chasing him in the kid pool.

We all had a great time while they were here, and wished they could have stayed longer. What a fun week!

Blog Neglect & Camera-Block

Okay, I know I have seriously neglected my blog for the last few weeks. My apologies to all of you who have been waiting for my next post (Lisa). I will try to do better.

I am having some kind of serious memory block when it comes to my camera. I always have my camera with me for anything even the least bit picture-worthy. I never forget it when there is anything going on that I might want to document - until now. For about the last month or so I can't remember to take my camera with me ANYWHERE. I don't know what's wrong. I must have some kind of camera-block. I have been missing all kinds of important things. I am so frustrated with myself. The icing on the cake was this morning when I actually forgot to take my camera for Cruz's first day of school. UUUUGGGGHHHH!!!!! What kind of a mother forgets to get pictures of the first day of school?! Then later, when I told Karl what I did he said, "Why didn't you use the camera on your phone." AAHHH!!! Why didn't I think of that?! I need some serious help here. Maybe an intervention.

My Fashion-Forward Daughter

I just had to share these pictures I took of Mara today. She cracks me up. I love the mix of the swimsuit with the beanie. About 5 minutes after this picture was take she had put her footed winter jammies on over the top. Fast-forward another 30 minutes and she was in her complete snow-suit and one, yes, only one snow boot.

I think she just might work for Vogue someday.

Breaking Dawn

In honor of the release of "Breaking Dawn" I have changed my background. Don't you love it?! Well, I do anyway. Just have to say that I am way excited for Friday night. But I'm affraid of the post-saga depression that might set in once I've finished it. I experienced it with Harry Potter, and I like this series even more. Why do good things have to come to an end? But in the meantime, I can't wait till Friday!

Kenyon's Birthday at the Dinosaur Museum

Kenyon is 5!

Kenyon turned 5 on the 19th. He decided that instead of having a birthday party he wanted the whole family to go to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point. So the day of his birthday we let him open his presents in the morning.

Then we headed over to the museum.

For one of his gifts we let him pick out something from the gift shop at the museum. He picked a stuffed mammoth, and then spent a little of his birthday money on some prehistoric rhino.

After the museum, he got to pick somewhere to have lunch, so we had lunch at McDonalds.

After all that excitement, we went home. Kenyon got to play with his presents while I made him a cake. Then we all sang "Happy Birthday" and had cake.

It was a very full day, but lots of fun. I think was really glad he chose the museum over a party and so was I.

Happy Birthday, Kenyon! You make our home so fun. We love you!