Ballet Mania

We inherited a baby swing. It is a hot item in our household. Everett uses it as a spinning chair. He sits on the seat belt bar and rests his body in the chair part. Evelyn once in the swing won't get out for 20 or 30 minutes. The best part is when the kids try to use the baby swing and the other swing at the same time. Let's just say it is a crashing good time. Monday afternoon I was busy swinging Evelyn when a car pulled up and a couple got out with a new baby. Usually I have some small inking that I forgot something, not an inking this time. I totally forgot about a newborn session. Thank goodness the baby was sleepy and relaxed. I mostly focused on beanbag shots and practiced wrapping techniques. I wanted to practice wrapping so asked a friend if I could photograph her friend's new baby.

Everett is enjoying his new found talent for dressing himself. Tuesday he popped into the basement wearing 6-7 pairs of layered underwear, the layers were staggered almost to his knees. Add in his adorable mixed up shoes for one cute boy. Phillip found a lighter at Walmart with a pickle on it. He was so excited...he found the perfect gift for his Pickle friend. I got the lighter and we stopped by Jen's shop to give it to her. He is such a loving boy.

I made Everett and RJ's birthday shirts. We are planning a Ninja Turtle birthday party for this coming weekend. Sarah and I are excited about all the fun activities we have planned. They boys are very excited.

This weekend was quite full with Stake Conference and Dance Recital preparations. Those last few minutes before 1 pm were quite stressful. I underestimated my time again. Justin helped get all my equipment into the truck while I did Amelia's hair and makeup. She always looks so grown up with full costume makeup on. Sheena agreed to help me with the dance photos. She met me at 1 pm the HS cafeteria. I allotted 15 minutes to set up the backdrop, floor paper, and lights. Usually that is sufficient time. My backdrop stand decided to malfunction and ultimately it broke. Grrr. Justin ran over from home with pliers and silicone spray to fix the broken stand. It was useless. Sheena ended up running home to get her stand. Once we got everything set up we were three groups behind schedule. Some parents were a little miffed. I was sad to miss the opportunity to photograph and record Amelia's recital piece on rehearsal day...it is much easier than when the auditorium is full of parents and family. Sheena and I had a couple comic relief moments. I think we really have talent.

Justin left for Cheyenne around 1:50 pm for the leadership and adult sessions of conference. He reported both were quite uplifting and informational. I got back home around 4:30. The kids and decided to treat ourselves to Mexican food at Mi Ranchito. The kids were so tired and cranky that I decided to just stay home and miss the adult session. I would have missed everything had we gone to sit in the nursery for 2 hours. Sunday's session was wonderful. One sister gave an excellent talk on motherhood. She said, "Mothers who know do less." Much needed advice for this momma.

After conference we ate lunch, the kid's usual mac n'cheese. Every Sunday. Mac n'cheese. Gross. Amelia got dolled up again and we rushed over the HS auditorium again. Justin and the boys joined us a number before Amelia performed since she was due to perform near the end of the recital. Everett was keen on delivering Amelia her bouquet of roses. Amelia gave him a sweet kiss in return. She is one amazing child. The boys are also finished with gymnastics for this year. I am looking forward to less activities for the summer.

Evelyn is developing talents for dancing, climbing on tables/benches/chairs/counter tops, she sings Sunbeam, Wheels on the Bus, EIEIO, Row your Boat, and "Let it Go" all the time. She is quite adept at ordering Vader around. She mastered all the dogs commands, like Off, Sit, Bed, Down, etc. Her most recent talent is emptying bags of cereal, baskets of toys, and drawers of kitchen items. Yesterday she walked out of her room wearing red cowboy boots, she found them and put them on herself. She was quite excited. Evelyn is also addicted to eating toothpaste. She begs to brush her "teeeeeee" about 20 times each day. She has contaminated all the available toothbrushes in our house. If you visit us, please secure your toothbrush.