Waited 3 years...

We've been waiting THREE Years to see some blooms on our irises. We almost had some at the end of April but we had a bad freeze and snow and lost three whole shoots. They're glorious and I can't wait until Travis gets home so he can see them. They're his mom's favorite flower and he planted them in honor of her. Hopefully next year we'll see many more blooms. I love seeing the "fruits of our labors".

No one mourns the wicked

I love the musical WICKED! I've had the sound track for years and knew all the songs, so when the show finally came to ABQ I just had to go. I bought our tickets way back in October and told Travis this would be my birthday present. SO AMAZING!

Aaron has lost his first tooth!

His two bottom teeth have been so loose for more than a few weeks. I told him he needs to kep wiggling them and he has. The other night, right before family prayer, we were all kneeling down in a circle and he showed me how loose his tooth was. I told him to hop up and get a piece of tissue and I would help him get it out. He was really excited and came back with tissue in hand. Travis kept interjecting that all Aaron needed to do was get him a piece of dental floss and it would be out in no time. Have I mentioned before that Travis has traumatized more than one of our children with a piece of dental floss and a door knob. Yeesh. The tooth was still pretty attached to the gum in the front but after a little yank it was out and there were only a few tears shed (mostly due to the fact that Aaron saw a little blood on the tissue). The tooth fairy was nice to Aaron and brought him a dollar (remember when all she brought was a quarter :). He's pretty proud of that gap.
Aaron really needs a haircut :)
To tooth goes in the special tooth fairy box that goes under the pillow!

Teacher Appreciation

My kindergartner has an amazing teacher and an amazing permanent aid. Those two ladies are awesome. Last week was teacher appreciation week. I made up some treat bags and a couple simple cards. Love botanicals with geometrics.

Tessa's 8th Birthday

Tessa turned 8 this April 26th. It's a big birthday for her. She's so excited to be baptized (that came during the weekend). She requested a angel food cake with strawberries. I found a recipe for icing that you mix vanilla pudding in with the whipped topping so I tried that out. Everyone really enjoyed it. Tess also asked for Chicken noodle soup for dinner. I had to make it in the crock pot because Jakob had a performance at the talent show on the same night as well as cub scouts. She loved it. It was also her first night to be able to go to Girl's Achievment (activity days).

Here's the card I made for her. She's really into unicorns and horses right now.

Tessa holding the special birthday plate. I sure hope that thing never breaks.

Blowing out the candles

The best part was that Gramy and Grampy got to be there for her birthday.

We bought this pillow pet for Tessa during Christmas. Put it in the closet and forgot about it. I'm so glad that we waited to give it to her. She was SO happy with it and now brings it to family prayer every night.

Tessa is our only girl. She really is sweet MOST of the time. Very helpful to others and she has a strong sense of empathy. She feels deeply...I think that may be why she can have such amazing tantrums...or maybe that's the girl in her. She is a quick learner. Loves to read and play on the trampoline. She has recently decided that she can't sleep unless the door is open and there is some form of light coming in ( I think this has to do with the fact that Jonah is no longer her roommate, she was fine by herself before he was in her room though). Her favorite color is pink-then purple. She loves Taylor Swift songs. Her hair gets super tangly and is wretched to come after she bathes...she chose to cut it short this last time...I wonder why? She is pretty good about keeping her room clean but has a tendency to shove little bits of papers and other things where they don't belong. She is a super cuddler and frequently asks to get in bed with me in the mornings before it's officially time to "wake up". I love her more than words and am so thankful for her giving spirit. I know she will be a great strength to me.