Fancy Nancy Party

"Fancy Nancy"  is a book series that my girls just started to fall in love with.  We got our first book from the library a couple months ago and since then we haven't been without them.  For those not familiar with this series, it's about a little girl named Nancy who loves anything fancy: bows, butterflies, flowers, glitter, shimmer, tiaras, tutus, parfaits, Paris, France, etc.  In each book, new 'fancy' vocabulary words are introduced like, "posh, elegant, adorable, delectable, unique,etc," along with stories about social skills, life lessons, manners, etc.  Anyways they are quite adorable and fun reads for the kids.  Sooooo......

one day I decided it would be a lot of fun to have Sailor's little girl friends over for a "Fancy Day." We invited 8 little girls over between the ages 3-5. For 2 weeks straight Sailor asked, "Is my Fancy Nancy Party today???"  She was looking forward to it and so was I.  I pulled together all the little "fancy" things I had sitting around the house and had just as much fun putting things together as the girls did dressing up.

 

"...parfait....parfait is French for ice cream sundae."--"Fancy Nancy"

"Ooh la la" is a phrase said often in the series, so we had a "Ooh la la" table that held a hand-held mirror.  We all took turns saying "ooh la la" into the mirror as the girls admired themselves. Most girls had fun with this.

The '99 Cent Store' was so good to me!  The few things I wanted to get for the party I found easily at this store!  These were cute little purses that came with a beaded necklace that were cute as a little party favor.

And here is "Fancy Sailor!"  This was minutes before anyone showed up so her excitement was bursting through the seams.

When someone would show up she answered the door with a, "Bonjour!"

First arrival!

Second arrival!

...and more!

We started off reading one of the books and following had a little quiz to see if everyone knew the difference between "plain" and "fancy."  I showed them two shoes, two shirts, two hats, etc and they had to tell me which was "plain" and "fancy." They certainly knew the difference.


Then, we decorated hats.  Again, "99 Cent Store" made my day when I saw these precious sun hats for sale.  They were just what we needed.  The girls picked flowers and bows to put on them and I and my friend, Aubrey and a mother to one of the "Fancys", helped glue them on the hats for them.  They turned out adorable and all so different.

They all took turns saying their, "Ooh la las!"

Aubrey read a couple more books while I painted their nails very quickly.  The girls did such a great job being patient and waiting for their nails to dry.  Once the nails were done we let the girls get into the dressups and made sure they got all they wanted and needed for their "PORTRAIT SHOTS." I was shocked at how well they took to this.  Each girl was excited to get their picture taken.   

I had to post two of this precious little girl.

And two of this little darling.

 

We ended the party with a little fancy dessert. 

 

It was truly a pleasure having all those little girls over.  Each one is so unique, special, and so full of life. I hope we, as the older generation, can remind them that they are perfect the way they are. And the confidence they all have at ages 3-5 will stay with them indefinitely! :)

5th Anniversary

April 12th is Chase and my wedding anniversary!  I can easily remember this date because we share the date with my older brother.  We decided to be married on his b-day while he was out serving a mission in Brazil...what a great sister I am.  He didn't get homesick at all. ;)  So you see, I don't easily forget this date, but Chase.....well, Chase just isn't very good with dates, so I used that to my advantage this year.

Chase has been busy with school and such so if I didn't bring up our anniversary I knew he wouldn't remember, that is of course if his parents didn't remind him.  And sure enough they didn't, but ONLY  because I asked them kindly to not remind their son about our special day...:) is that rude?

So they agreed and didn't ever bring it up.  I, for the record, accidentally scheduled a little party for Sailor and her friends on this day, so I do admit that I was reminded of our anniversary a week prior as I was typing out the little party invitations.  Regardless, I wanted Chase to remember on his own if it was going to be brought up in advance.  And now that the party was scheduled on our day, I knew WITHOUT a DOUBT it would slip his mind.

I started planning out the little surprise he'd wake up to Friday morning.

That morning I had 6 balloons out in the living room, but that wasn't anything new because I had gotten the balloons the day before, which he saw and assumed they were for the Sailor's party.  As I was walking out of the house for my morning workout I brought to him the first balloon.  Attached to it was a note that kinda read something like this:

"Good Morning.  I love you!  It’s been cinco years since we decided to ride on this journey of life together.  Yeah, Chase, it’s our Anniversary….TODAY. Did you forget??  I thought maybe that would happen. ;)  I’m at the gym, so once you’re ready meet me out in the dining room for a quick breakfast…we may be reunited with an old friend!"

The "old friend" was this little guy.  Darth Vader...but blue...(could not find one store that sells black balloons). Over 5 years ago when we were dating we went out for a breakfast date where a balloon maker made us a Darth Vader. ---thank you, Nate, for creating this masterpiece for me--- On this particular date years ago, I remember thinking Chase was incredible-- so genuine, fun, laid-back, and someone I wanted to marry.  

That was the theme of the day-  notes that described memories or moments from the last 5 years that impressed me or reminded me why I am really grateful for him.

After he read each note I included an activity that we would be doing that day.

1st was a little breakfast date at home.
2nd was our family "birthday" picnic at the temple
  -We started this tradition a couple years ago.  Because driving an hour away is not very convenient, we have been coming to the temple that's right up the road, which is under construction.  We picnic beside it with our pizza and cookie cake, which was the first meal Chase and I had together as husband and wife.  For obvious reasons, we picnic at the temple to help remind us, but especially the kids, how important our temple marriage is. Because we chose to be married in the temple we are sealed for time and all eternity as all as we are keeping our covenants. That is what we should be striving for, to be an eternal family. :)

+

Too bad we will be gone before this temple is completed--it would've been incredibly close!

Sailor was excited to be singing "Happy Birthday" to our family. As I sit here and type this, I realize we should really fix that phrase to be a little more appropriate...

"birthday..."? :s

After our little lunch picnic, we headed home for naps and a little preparation time for Sailor's "Fancy Nancy" party.  Having this party on our anniversary actually turned out great because I stayed and spent time with Sailor and Chase took Seryn to the pool for some one-on-one time.  This was our 3rd activity of the day--to spend some one-on-one time with a child.  I know for a fact Seryn had a lot more fun with daddy at her favorite location than she would've had trying to follow me around at the apartment.  And Sailor told me multiple times how fun her party was and that she should have a "new 'Fancy Nancy' party.  Both Chase and I really enjoyed this time with our children.

Right after the party, we grabbed a little dinner for the kids, took them to a sitter, and rushed off to our dinner date!  Some alone time at last!  This was the next activity on the agenda.  I choose this place because we both enjoy BBQ and we had been wanting to try it out for several months now.  This location was a bit of a drive but worth it since we got to dine with sharks.  The tables are set up next to a big shark tank so it was a fun atmosphere.  Then outside there was a pond full of flamingos.  This date was very special to me because we were phone-free, got out our pens and paper, wrote out our future plans and goals, and discussed topics that we don't always  get to chat about when we are surrounded by our little kidlets--who enjoy interrupting us..all. the. time.  I couldn't have described a more nerdy, unromantic date, but it seriously was what we needed.

Once we started for home I let Chase read his last note and learn that we had a morning date the following morning.  This time I was going to let him choose the activity.  So 10 am we dropped the kids off one more time and we went to the pool and laid out for a while.  This was the best idea ever.

We then went to a local optometry office and checked out some glasses at their optical, which was a great time as well.  And to top off a wonderful weekend, we went to Cold Stone for lunch--by far our favorite spot to have lunc...I mean dessert! :)

We've had such a great and blessed 5 years; each year has been so different and unique. We've (I've) had (emotional,mostly hormonal) ups and downs, but our marriage (Chase and his patience) is what has held us together. Thank you, Chase, for your love and compassion!  I love you so much!

Just an Update of Randomness

Mesa is home to the "Arizona Museum of Natural History."  I was at our local library and thought I'd pick up a couple free passes to the museum so that we could check it out the same day we had planned to go to the temple. 

The temple trip was a must needed trip for myself.  The moment I walked into the building I was brought to tears.  I hadn't been for quite some time and the spirit I felt was amazingly strong.  I had experienced a somewhat homesick feeling not having been there for some time. The plan was to let me go in first to do some work and then watch the girls while Chase does some, but because the temple is busier than Costco on a Saturday at noon, Chase was kind enough to let me go and sacrifice his time. 

After the temple work was done we drove down the road to see some dino bones.  This musuem was just "ok." We probably won't be going again, but it was worth it since admission was free with the passes and we were already making the trip over there. Below are just a few picture of our afternoon.

Chase was a trooper for letting me take so many pictures of him.  "Chase, go stand over there...Chase, I need you!...Chase come model for me in front of this sweet blue door!..."  I'm grateful for that because the girls don't always understand the meaning of "stand here....just one picture....hurry!"

 In the picture below, Sailor is riding a rocking horse/teradactyl/sheep compilation.....

.......it was kind of creepy looking.

 I posted this above picture of Seryn to show her shoes...she put those socks and shoes on all by herself (I'll touch up on that more).  If she wants her crocs on, there's no negotiating that! :)


On another note, I feel like I need to update on what the girls are up to. 

First of all, Chase is DONE with the terrible boards!  He took them a few weeks ago but still won't find out the results for another month or so.  Cruel and Unusual for sure!  The following days after he finished the gruesome test he sat with his calculator coming up with different scenarios of potential outcomes. He kinda sounded like this,

 "If I missed x on the first section, then y on the second, maybe t on the 3rd, and no more then z on the 4th, (plugs numbers into the calculator) THEN I would pass!" ...."BUT, if I missed g on the 1st, l on 2nd, r on 3rd, and p on 4th, (plugs numbers into the calculator once again) THEN I would BARELY pass."............"BUT..."

This went on for a good amount of time. Poor guys! 

Now he's wrapping up his last quarter of his 3rd year!  And this quarter has been the most laid back of all--which has been fantastic for us.  Next month he'll be a 4th year student ready to take on his rotation sites.  We've recently started talking more about our future post-grad and what we should or want to plan for...this is all fun, but a little stressful at the same time....DECISIONS, DECISIONS.... 

The girls and I are enjoying our days together.  Sailor and Seryn play much better together (most days) and both share a love for drawing, they would draw and color ALL day long if I let them. They both prefer a pen and paper--especially the pen Mom is using at the moment. Both girls come to me multiple times a day asking for a pen or asking to "daw"--Seryn. 

Sailor is becoming so mature and knows how to negotiate.  We have good days and tough days but most days Sailor is a sweetie pie.  She is a very understanding and patient little girl.  She watches me...too much.  She notices my moods (and will point them out) and figure out how she can help when I'm upset or sad.  She is an answer to her daddy's prayers because she has become quite the pro at gaming.  She has a few games that she plays whenever she gets the chance to  (meaning whenever dad comes home with his phone).---wow, and as I type these qualities I realize how much Sailor is like her father.--  The girls have also mastered the art of "pickpocketing" which we may have to use to our advantage....just kidding.  But they can somehow sneak daddy's phone out of his pocket without him or I noticing.  Too many times have Chase and I find ourselves chatting in the kitchen when we realize things have gotten to quiet.....where are the girls??  They will both be hiding in our room or their room huddled in the corner playing a game.  Then, they laugh and try to run when we have found them.  It's fun, and for now it's pretty cute.

Seryn doesn't care as much for the phone, but she is always going somewhere or doing something.   Seryn is quiet and conservative but very active.  She has become very independent even if she is so frustrated that she can't quite get the job done. She is quite a stubborn little girl who wants to do everything herself.---wow, and as I type these qualities about Seryn I realize how much she is like her mother...haha they will apprecite this later in life--  For instance, she is only allowed to put her pants back on after a diaper change.  She is also the one who gets to put her own socks and shoes on.  She has mastered this quite nicely but some shoes are just too hard to put on, so she will grunt and scream until it slides onto her foot.  When I try to intervene to help, heaven forbid, that is the last thing she wants!  Seryn is just starting to talk more but still prefers to be silent, unless it's prayer time then you will hear her from outside screaming, "Me, me, me!"-- this is her telling us it's her turn to pray.  She isn't all stubborn though, she really is a friendly and sensitive girl.  She knows when momma needs a hug and she doesn't go a day without cuddle time.

Seryn can figure out how to open anything.  Mascara is one example.  I tighten those tubes so incredibly tight because I know the girls.  Well, one morning as I was putting on makeup I realize Seryn had left my side for a good amount of time, so I went looking for the mayhem I was about to find and there she was in front of my body mirror applying mascara.  She was very proud of herself, so I couldn't get mad.

One of my favorite habits Ser has is putting her dirty dishes away in the sink when she is done eating.  Sailor doesn't even do this without multiple promptings.  Seryn can barely reach the sink but she can get the job done. 

It's been fun watching the girls play, fight, and learn social skills. We read, swim, cook, and dress up a lot lately.  As a mom, I am thoroughly enjoying the ride! :)