Dance your little heart out!

Or, stand there with a blank look on your face and *sortof* do the moves you've been working on all year. Either way, you will look darn cute. Ava had her first dance recital last week and it was SOOOOO cute! I loved every second of it. She loves to dance, but gets nervous in front of people so I really thought she may just stand there and stare at the crowd. (I know what you're thinking. Nervous? Shy? Ava? I don't think so. I promise you that Miss Ava does have some shyness in her.) She actually did do the dance, although she was looking for us the entire time. She didn't find us until she took her bow at the end and when she did, it was all smiles and a big wave!

These are pictures from the Dance Rehearsal. Ava was in heaven. Kai, on the other hand, threw up all over me. Needless to say, he was his happy self the second before and the second after. *sigh* Thank goodness there was a fabulous mom there to help me. She insisted I didn't even owe her thanks. It's just part of the "Mom Code."




The Big Day. Ava LOVED her hair and makeup. Every mirror or window we went by called for Ava to stop and smile at herself. After it was all over she kept saying, "Can you still see it?" "The makeup is still there right mom?" I hope I haven't created a monster.








All in a day's work . . . . .

Family Matters . . . . .

One fabulous thing about living in Vegas is that we actually get visitors! Plus, since we see our family less, it is super exciting when we do see them! This is just a small sample of the fun times we've had with family lately.

A few pics of us at Sammie's Woodfired Pizza: Our new favorite place to eat. Grandma Annie, Aunt Jessica, Uncle Robert, and Great Grandma Warren came down to visit for Ava's dance recital and we had so much fun! My grandma rarely missed any of our dance recitals or competitions when we were younger and now she's moved on to watching her great grandkids! She is such an amazing, supportive lady and we love her so much.



My mom really wants Robert to trim his hair. Robert insists he doesn't want it cut because it would ruin the "look" he's going for. What do you all think???? He gets told he looks like Justin Bieber all of the time. Although, in my humble big-sister opinion, I actually think Robert is much more handsome than Bieber.



We also got to go swim with Ryan, Lisa, and the kids. We have so much fun with them! We were having so much fun I only got one picture. It is such a cute one though. :) Tiger is only 2 months older than Ava.

We also got an overnight visit from Scott, Lori, and the girls. Ava was in HEAVEN! We were too actually because we have such a good time with these guys! Ava just thinks Hailey is the coolest girl ever. They caught lizards, got to have a sleepover, and just had a lot of girl time. We were so glad they were able to come and visit!

Family Fun . . . . . .

A few pics of our recent fun times.

We went to a nearby park to watch some fireworks for Memorial Day. I thought Kai would be scared, but he sat on my lap and watched the whole time. He loved it and hardly moved! That made me pretty excited for the big 4th of July celebration. Both of my kids are going to have so much fun.



We also took a day and went down to the strip to see the Bellagio Conservatory and the new Aria/City Center. Ava LOVED the Conservatory. She was pointing out all of the huge flowers, bees, and butterflies. She wanted us to smell all of the flowers, and well, since it's a Conservatory :), it took quite a while to get through it. One thing that I know for sure about my kids is that they love water. Thank goodness because I think we're going to be spending a lot of time in it to beat the heat this summer.





I love this picture. I wanted to get a picture of the kids both looking at me. (I don't know why I try, it's almost impossible). Well, Ava got impatient and took matters into her own hands. Literally. She was physically turning Kai's head toward the camera.

She's a graduate!

Ava graduated from her first year of preschool, which is kindof funny because she's actually going back to the same preschool for one more year, so she didn't technically graduate. :) I'm happy that she isn't going to kindergarten yet because I don't think I'm ready for it. She loves preschool SOOOO much! Ava had a darling preschool teacher when we lived at my parents and as soon as we moved down here she was asking, "When can I go to preschool? Is it a new teacher? Will there be friends?" By chance, I ran across Ava's teacher and it was meant to be. Ava LOVES Mrs. "Hutcheson", loves preschool in general, and LOVES her friends. At the graduation her teacher said that she loves to play with her girlfriends, loves to do "Go Team" cheers, and is a social butterfly. She has learned so much this year and I've already had to explain to her that she won't be going back to preschool for a few weeks, but she still asks every other day if it's a preschool day. Also, for the record, when she grows up she is going to be a princess. Belle, to be exact. I'm cool with that. Belle was the first princess to really take a stand and have some major attitude. Ava's got the attitude part covered already.

Before the big ceremony . . . . .



Ava and her friend Taylor, who is actually the preschool teacher's daughter. Ava said to me one day, "Mom? Did you know that Taylor LIVES at preschool?" She just couldn't believe it.





Ava and her preschool teacher. We are so happy to have found her! She is actually in our ward and Ava has said a few times, "Mommy! That looks like my teacher!" I keep telling her, "Honey, it IS your teacher." :) Apparently she thinks that all preschool teachers do is teach preschool and nothing else.

Food . . . . .

I'm fairly certain this is my first food post I've ever done; with good reason. I do cook for my family and I choose to believe they like it. :) I am certainly no chef though. I have a hard time getting all of the fruits and veggies in. I've always fed the basics to my kids but for some reason the produce department intimidates me, but I LOVE fruits and veggies. Well, I have found the absolute best solution: Bountiful Baskets. 50% Fruits, 50% Veggies, $15. It's FANTASTIC! Especially since I have a "garden" area the size of a shoebox. I don't have to wander the aisles of the store trying not to look stupid and ask myself inquisitive questions like, "How the heck do you cook this?" I place my order, pick it up, and all of the decisions are made for me and it's always a fun surprise as to what I'm going to get. Most of the stuff I actually do know how to cook :), but for the stuff I don't, I call my mama or grandma, or search the internet to figure out a recipe. Anything that I have leftover goes straight into a healthy smoothie which my whole family loves. It has been FABULOUS! Biggest surprise of it all? My kids actually really dig a lot of the stuff!

Here is an example of a bountiful basket. $15 People!

An easy recipe I found for brown sugar brussel sprouts and carrots. (BTW - My kids really didn't like the brussel sprouts. I guess there's a reason they are quoted so often as "disgusting" vegetables. I just sortof liked them. The carrots, on the other hand, were divine!)


Strawberry Shortcake thanks to the delicious strawberries we received. I've also found out that strawberries are Ava's very favorite thing. Kai, not so much, but he can down grapes like it's nobody's business.

Ava's new favorite thing: Corn on the cob. When I tell her we're having it for dinner, I might as well tell her we're headed to The Happiest Place On Earth. She thinks it's so great and always tells me "Don't cut if off Mom!"

Thank goodness for Bountiful Baskets because this is how my "teeny tiny, but promised to be delicious" tomatoes look:

On the other hand, my strawberries are thriving! Still, I don't know if 3 or 4 "small, but delicious" strawberries would fill my family's summer quota for fruits and veggies. :)