Welcome to our World

When I feel like I'm about to loose my marbles, I do things to try to cope.  In this case, I asked Margaret to help me throw a party. It was hard to say good-bye to the L. family.  So hard, in fact, Kaelah and I are going to go visit them for a weekend in September.  Then the E. family came over to say good-bye.  We didn't take any pictures, but I couldn't believe that one of the few strangers Kaelah had warmed up to as a toddler would no longer be living in the same state with us.  They were so cool! So when I heard that the G. family and the W. family were both moving away within 2 weeks of each other, I had to take drastic action.  Words cannot express how much I am going to miss Chelsea and Sandy and their families. I was lucky enough to be assigned to be Chelsea's visiting teacher.  She throws the best parties in the world and introduced me to the Hunger Games and Brave.  Those are the only 2 times I've been to a movie theate...

Back to Lakeside... this time to celebrate Kaelah's birthday.  We had a completely different experience from our last trip.  Instead of going in the heat of a Saturday afternoon and evening, we went on Pioneer Day, a Tuesday night when we could use the free tickets the children earned as part of their summer reading program prizes.  We were there for 4 hours instead of 5 and had my dad with us instead of our neighbor.  It was so fun to watch my dad watching my children have a grand ol' time.  I didn't ride a single ride, but I had a blast watching them.  Kind of makes me want to go for my birthday... but not quite. Kaelah's 2 favorite rides were the roller coaster (no big surprise) & the frog hopper (big surprise).  When she went on the frog hopper last year she didn't like it a bit but loved it this year.  I'm thinking by next summer she'll be ready to leave kiddie land for a little while and ride some of the rides where we can go with h...

Dear Kaelah, Oh, what a year you've had.  What comes to mind?  Your 3rd broken bone during your 1st trip to Disney World, your desire to learn to draw and read and write, your fashion sense, your beautiful hair, how much you love your dance/gymnastics class, how badly you want to move to where you have cousins, your potential.  I am grateful you joined our family.  Now that you are here, I can't imagine living life without you.  I hope every year will bring you more joy and less sorrow than the one before. Love you, incredible girl. ~Mom     Kaelah loved being spoiled for her birthday.  Who wouldn't?  I'm glad she doesn't have to wait long after Danny's birthday to celebrate her own... it seems to keep her pretty patient.  (: We had a small gathering: our family, my parents, and Kaelah's friend, Serena, and some of her family. My mother had been sick and I was grateful she was well again in time to attend, even if that me...