GIRLS' WEEKEND!

I just returned from a fun-filled weekend in Palm Springs, CA with my mom and 2 sisters.  We have done this every year for the past 25 years (except for the one year when we went to visit Kandis in Japan instead).  It's a great tradition that I highly recommend to all of the women in your life (moms, mother-in-laws, sisters, sisters-in-law, aunts, friends, etc.).  You can create it around anything that you love to do together.  As for us, here is our drill. 

What we DON'T do:

*  Watch sports of any kind.

*  Play or participate in sports of any kind.

*  Talk about sports or sports players of any kind.

*  Watch TV.

*  Clean or do laundry.

*  Cook.

*  Hear the word "mom" every 3 seconds.

*  Worry about bedtime, homework, carpooling, lessons, etc.

What we DO do:

*  Shop at any and every store we can think of for as long as we want (added bonus: getting to actually try things on :)

*  Eat at all the restaurants your kids would never appreciate (Cheesecake Factory, PF Changs, Outback Steakhouse, CPK - just to name a few).

*  Stay in bed til noon reading.

*  Go to at least 2 movies, preferably hard-core chick flicks that your husbands would never want to see (this year's pick: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2).

*  Lay out by the pool (usually not for longer than 15 minutes, though, given it was 109 degrees one day).

*  Think about exercising to work off above said cheesecake indulgence.  On a good year, we actually do work out once or twice.

*  Talk, talk and talk some more.

*  Read every gossip magazine we can get our hands on. 

*  Eat Harry and David Moose Munch til we want to pop.

*  Feel grateful for the women in your life who you love so much!!!

So, to all of you who don't currently do "Girls' Weekends", get on board and plan something and soon.  It will be one of the best and most anticipated weekends of your year, I promise (oh, and could you invite me, please :)  

And thanks Mom, Kandis and Kelly Jo for making it another great girls weekend.  Here's to many more years of 'girl power'!  And a great big HUGE thanks to my hubby, Steve, for taking care of the monsters, er, I mean kids while I was away.  I couldn't have done it without his help (and a little help from our favorite sitter, Holli, here and there too:)  You are the best, hon... love ya!

 

First Grade, Here She Comes!!!

My sweet little Aubrey went to school ALL DAY for the first time today.  She was so cute.  I pulled a Charles and Jenny and followed her as she walked around the side of the school, just to make sure she knew where she was going.  She did, of course.  Parker was even the 6th grade helper right outside her classroom.  Then as I drove home, I did that thing where you laugh, but really want to cry.  I was happy and sad all at the same time.  I will definitely miss having her around in the mornings.  Who woulda thought that this crazy toddler (do I need to bring up the poo-flinging diaper stage?) would turn into my little buddy who loves to help me cook or do laundry, and tells me she loves me just out of the blue.  She'll run any errand with me and can get us all laughing at her weird and crazy dreams.  She'll try new things (eg. sushi) and still holds my hand when we go out.  She reads to Macy at night and loves having "sleepovers" with Summer in her queen-size bed.  As you can tell, this is one of those sappy posts where you reminisce about all the good stuff (and make your readers pretty much want to gag in the process).  But in reality, I just hope I haven't screwed her up too bad before she starts school. So, this is just a shout out to my Aubrey.  You'll always be baby to me.  (In typical 3rd child fashion, I didn't even take any pictures of her.  I'll snap some tomorrow and we'll just pretend they were her first day.  See, there's that screwing up thing I was talking about.  Poor Karen has about 7 pictures from the time she was 2 to age 18 - right, Karen?  And let's not even get started on Jennifer :). 

Yes, in typical Aly fashion, it's been a while since I've posted. Just so much going on with all the kids home that I can hardly keep everything strait, including my own thoughts. This picture to the left is how I feel right now. But it's been a fun and adventurous couple of weeks.

I think the easiest way to catch you up would be to highlight just a few of the events of the last few weeks: (I'll post lots of pictures at the end)

* An overnight getaway to Heber to visit with Aunt Judy, Uncle Carl, their daughter Sarah, and her cute family (see Jones Family blog for more - her blog is one of the highlights of my day), and Aunt Mary and little Grace. We spent a few hours in the mountains where we had picnic lunches, rode the 4-wheelers, caught butterflies and just got really, really dirty (and wet, too). Oh, and our dog, Zac, swam for the first time. I suppose he didn't have much of a choice after Summer threw him in the water.

* The kids came home from a short walk with this frog the other night (see picture). Steve helped him find a good home in our neighbor's pond where he perched himself right on a lily pad. Crisis averted!

* Grandma Judy came for a visit and hung out with us for a while. We stole away kid-free a couple of times for a movie, the parade of homes, and a trip to some home decor stores. Since I always have a million projects going, I talked her into sewing a cute bedskirt for Summer's hawaiian/surf-themed room. Turned out cute, don't ya think? Thanks, mom!

* Parker attended a basketball day camp hosted by Utah Jazz player Matt Harpring. He loved it. He even won the free throw contest, winning himself a couple of tickets to a U of U basketball game. Hmmm... I wonder who he will take with him?

* Summer had a fantastic time at Girl Scout camp. She said she only cried once because she was homesick, and I think that's pretty brave for a 9-year old. She came home with lots of new friends and a cute manicure and pedicure as well. Can I go next year?

* I went up to Girls Camp with the YW for a couple of days. The fun activities and the good food (we had awesome camp directors) almost made up for the bad night's sleep in the tent with 6 other ladies. It was fun, though.

* We went boating the other day with our good friends, the McDougals. All the kids got in the water and tried either wakeboarding, kneeboarding, or tubing - even little Macy. When we got home, all we heard for days was that we need to get our own boat. My response: do YOU have $50,000???

* I celebrated my 36th birthday last week - ugh! It was actually a great day and I had lots of well-wishers who brought yummy goodies or cute little gifts. I have some really great friends and I love and appreciate each one of them! Kandis also cooked a homemade carrot cake (my favorite) and Daisy helped me blow out the candles.

Okay, so now I am looking forward to winding the summer down and getting back to school. The 3 older kids start on Monday and I have to admit that it will be nice to get back to a routine again. A crazy routine with soccer, softball, dance, music, preschool, etc. - but a routine nonetheless. And maybe, just maybe, I will have more time to blog. Then we all win :)

Macy was all smiles on the boat (fyi: we were docked for lunch, hence the no life jacket)

Summer wasn't sure if this was fun or torture

Parker's first time wakeboarding

Poppy and Parker

Sarah, Sterling and Becca

Summer and Zac

Sarah, Madison and Parker

Aunt Mary and Grace

My cousin's baby shower at the Grand America. Just had to add this :)