Best Friend Date!

Since the 3 older kids are in school all day, I get to spend a lot of time with Carly by herself. Most days we have my nephew Anthony, but there are those occasional days where it's just her and I. We always do something together and Carly calls it her "Best Friend Date". I love it! Of course when Raya, Malia, and Ethan come home, I'm no longer her best friend...they are, but that's fine too! Today we went to Wendy's and the craft store. Nothing big, but we're making memories! Love this girl!

Before & After

You all may be familiar with the term "The camera adds ten pounds". I used to believe that was true, but over the years I've learned that it probably isn't true. In fact, I'm pretty sure that the camera DOESN'T add ten pounds...you are just seeing yourself as you really are.

Lucky for me there's this little program called Photoshop! It's like magic! If the camera is the yin then Photoshop is definitly its yang.

Most of you know that I've been losing some weight. It's been slow...very slow, but alas! I'm sticking to it. Last weekend I was at Ethan's soccer seeding tournament. I had my camera and was taking some shots. I'm used to being the one behind the camera so when someone is trying to take a picture of me...I freak out a little. This particular day, a guy I grew up with had his camera and took some pictures of me.

I've lost 23 pounds and feel like I'm looking pretty good. Then, I see the picture that he took AND posted on the team's website:

GAH!!!! Being an administrator...I deleted it from the website right away!

It was really kind of a wake up call that I need to kick my butt a little bit harder! Yes, I've lost 23 pounds, but yuck! Maybe I need to wear black...anyway...

I decided that a little bit of magic was in order so I took that picture and uploaded it up to good ol' Photoshop. Have I told you how much I just love Photoshop?

It's just A.W.E.S.O.M.E!!! Check me out now!

Funny thing...when I was working on this photo, I started to believe that I was really that thin...I'm not kidding. It was a trip! I'm totally printing this picture out to use as motivation. Maybe print a bunch and hang them all over the house. Here it is again:

You know, because I look SO friggin' GOOD!

Art Class

The artist gene runs in my family. I am constantly amazed at the artwork my brothers do! Drawing, Paiting, Sketching...you name it, they do it.

Even though the gene is recessive in me, it kind of peeks out every once in awhile, but I have to be inspired by somebody else's work first.

My kids all draw, they enjoy it, but they don't necessarily have a "passion" for it per say. I signed them all up (sans Carly) for a free drawing class down at the Parks and Rec center. It was free and the kids loved it!

And then there's this guy. I guess you could wonder now if he's my favorite child since I've posted numerous things about him, but really...he LOVES to draw!!! I love watching him too.

Here are a few of his pictures.

He is totally into Star Wars so it's only fitting to draw characters from it. Batman and Spiderman are also at the top of his most liked character list too. Malia actually brought home a book from the library that shows you how to draw characters from Avatar the Last Airbender and he's been working on Momo, Appa, and some coy fish all afternoon. He is soooo going to love his art class in first grade! Can't wait for hi to meet Mr. Art Dude!

A Window to his...Tonsils?

Finally!!!

Ethan has lost his first teeth! I pulled the two bottom ones out last night and even though he was super scared, he was so brave! I remember when I was young and my teeth got pulled out, how nervous I was. Once they were out, I remember thinking "why was I so scared?" Despite the times changing, feelings of tooth pulling hasn't. Now my sweet little boy has a "window" in his mouth.

The situation reminded me of a time when Ethan was about 3 years old. Patrick was playing around with him and started to pretend there was a monster in Ethan's room. Patrick told Ethan that he was going to go into his room to capture the vicious thing, which of course, led to the monster grabbing and pulling on Patrick. Ethan couldn't see into his room as Patrick was holding onto the door kicking it and whatnot to get the full effect. I guess Patrick has a little bit of talent for acting because Ethan believed that Patrick was really being attacked by a monster. Without hesitation, Ethan grabbed onto Patrick's arm and as scared as he was, he started yanking on Patrick to get him out of the room.

I often think about this story as I watch Ethan grow. He really has been brave in almost everything scary. Getting shots, blood drawn, teeth pulled, saving his daddy from monsters etc. etc. He knows what's about to happen and will always step up and get things done.

I love this kid...he rocks!

Kid Quote of the Week!

Me: "Be careful Ethan! You're gonna break your neck!"
Ethan: Are you kidding? That was Awesome!"

First Day of School!

First day of school already. The time is going by way too fast.

Raya in 7th Grade:

Malia in 4th Grade:

Ethan in 1st Grade:

And of course Carly, my little shadow...who kept insisting she was going into 1st grade:

Welcome 2011/2012 school year! We're ready for you!

Smile!

With teeth that looked like this:

We decided to get braces for Malia. She sported them for a little over a year:

Malia is now brace free, but not metal free:

The Orthodontist office gave her a small candy bar cake and sang a funny song about being able to eat gooy yummy sticky stuff now that her braces are gone. You can view that video on the DVD at the end of this book. It is titled "Malia's Braces Off".

The difference is amazing!