arts & crafts

When Lucy had her last dance recital in June I worried what would keep her busy or entertained over the summer. We've done a lot of fun things but she needed a class - something to look forward to each week and give her a break from home. So she started a summer art class in June and it has been the best thing ever!

A cute friend of mine helped put the class together (her sister in law is the teacher) and it's saved Lucy this summer. Each week she goes to Annie's house for an hour and a half (plenty of time for a Target run!) and learns about a new artist, has a story, a little snack and brings home plenty of AMAZING pieces of art!

Before this class Lucy would color a little bit but now she is an art master. She's doing elaborate drawings, paintings and her imagination can go crazy on the canvas. Her teacher is truly wonderful and so good with the kids. I can't believe how much Lucy has learned about each of these artists and styles of art.

This was yesterday when I picked Lucy up from class. They learned all about Georgia O'Keefe, studied flowers, made their own magnifying glasses and Lucy ate gobs of watermelon. I swear, sometimes I struggle with getting her to eat but every week at Annie's she shovels in every snack put in front of her.

When I pick Lucy up from class this is usually what I see. Paint hands, huge smile and begging for me to come back and pick her up "in five more minutes." She's in class with one of her besties Amelia and even Amelia will say, "Lucy's mom, we're not ready for you yet." Over the summer we've practiced a lot of writing and recognizing letters and numbers but I also think having more artistic time has helped her writing. Sometimes I'm too uptight about art messes so it's been nice that once a week she can dive in, get messy and be creative.

All of this new original artwork started to take over my fridge so it prompted me to work on a new project the past couple weeks. We've had a playroom downstairs that has been very neglected. Hopefully I'll take care of the finishing touches this weekend and do a post with the playroom makeover.

Lucy's had such a great time in art this summer so I know that preschool will be her dream come true! I'm taking the whole "back to school shopping" a little overboard but it's just as fun for me as for Lucy to pick out a new backpack and cute school shoes. We have just about a month left before she starts and it will be hard in the beginning (for me) I'm sure but seeing how much she loves being in a class, learning and being with friends it will be so worth it.

p.s. if you have any interest in fall art classes let me know and I can put you in touch with Lucy's teacher Annie. She is an accomplished artist and I can't say enough about how amazing these classes have been. She is planning on doing a series of classes in the fall - her house and art space is located in the avenues.

book worm

My genius.

Well she's not reading yet but she earned herself her very own library card. We've been working on writing numbers and letters this summer. Lucy could practice all day so it's not much of a thing to 'work' on for her but she's done so well I thought this would be a fun reward. Last week we went to the library for the puppet show (still can't decide if this is a hit or miss) and then Lucy got her card, 5 books & movie.

The librarian was so cute with her and when she asked for her name Lucy stood on her tippy toes and in her clearest voice said "Lucy-Cate-Schreck".

My big girl.

Between her bedroom, playhouse and playroom things that don't belong to us are sure to get lost so all library books have to stay in a separate space. I probably should use this same strategy on redbox rentals. I could have bought Barbie Fairy Secret for as many $1 nights we had it before returning.

This last picture was from my phone one night when we drove up Millcreek. We walked as far as this trail marker and then I felt creepy crawlies on my legs (or possibly a breeze) and it was time for me to get back in the car. But I just love this picture of Lucy. Eyes closed, long curls and those red pants!

Lucy was finally able to get out for a legit hike this past weekend. Lucy, Blake and her Poppa hiked to Dog Lake bright and early. I heard Lucy was a champ but it's a good thing she can still fit into the hiking pack because she needed a few breaks.

In between the summer fun we've had some lazy pool days, movie days and backyard pb&j picnics. Ahhhh...the thick of summer!

the 4th is fun

She only wore them for about 20 minutes but I was able to squeeze Lucy's (sock free) feet into these boots for one last wear.

Lucy's big into holidays so we've been talking about fireworks, bbq's, America's birthday for weeks. Finally the day arrived and we headed to my grandma's house for 'grand old flag' party.

Hmmm, who here likes loves holiday costumes?

A backyard "march" is one of my favorite family traditions. My grandpa started this years ago. He would bring out the bag with all of the hats and flags, CRANK up the patriotic music and lead the march around my grandparents' backyard. Oh I miss my grandpa.

But we brought out the bag of hats, grabbed a flag and again cranked up the music! I was so happy to see my Nani march around with us. Just weeks ago she was very, very sick and in the hospital. She is doing much better and I'm so glad she was willing to let us have our party once again in her backyard.

After a couple of loops in the backyard this impromptu (and kind of odd) circle was created. We all just kept marching in place with big, goofy grins across our faces! If that wasn't awkward enough we all decided to take this performance public and head to the front yard.

I love us.

Bobbing for apples. This year the event was timed and Blake and Brinton tied for 2.4 seconds. They were going to have a bob off but after all of our faces swimming in the tub they wisely decided against it.

Coleman! This is the first summer in years he has decided to stay in Utah. Usually he's off to Alaska until the fall but lucky for us he and Calah are local and get to participate in all of these fun family activities. No way is Alaska cooler than that!

This was Calah's first experiencing bobbing and maybe she's already decided on Alaska for next summer :)

Haylie couldn't resist my harassing chants to participate.

We finished out the night with some fireworks and dessert. Lucy declared she loves 4th of July and Halloween (!!) best. Now onto Halloween costume planning...

weekend

Yeah, it's Wednesday. But last weekend was fun and relaxing and I have a few cute pictures, so here you go!

Finally! Temperatures warm enough for sprinklers.

We visited a new perennial nursery from my aunt & uncle's recommendation and got a few more goodies to add to the yard.

Friday night we paid $9. to take Trax to the Arts Festival. We could have driven there in about 10 minutes (for free) but it was my grand idea to take the train. Oh well. We found Brinton volunteering in the face paint tent and Lucy was a (kind of creepy) red cat for the night!

They had a lot of really cool free activities for kids and Lucy did them all. We wandered the booths, bought a birdhouse from a guy whose pottery studio is in Long Beach, ate some yummy food, people watched, introduced Lucy to a 'port-o-potty' and enjoyed a perfect night in downtown SLC.

On Saturday night Lucy had a sleepover camp out in Caitlin & Brinton's back yard. Blake and I had a dinner date night on the patio at Rino's with a little shopping afterwards and then finally watched The King's Speech (we've only had it on our kitchen counter for about two months). Lucy had the time of her life at Caitlin's house. She stayed up late and woke up early and I'm sure was annoyed with me checking in on her.

It was a great weekend and hopefully we'll have just as fun this weekend!

a very merry unbirthday!

June 16 ~ four years ago on this date we were finally able to bring our baby girl home!

After 79 long days in the NICU - her bedroom, jammies, puppies and mommy and daddy all ready and waiting.

I remember Dr. Fox calling early one morning - always a sense of dread and panic when the NICU phone number showed up - he said it was time. We had been at the hospital day in and day out for almost three months and for me it had turned into a comfort zone. So a small part of me felt like maybe we weren't ready - but Lucy was and that's all that mattered!

Lucy's latest obsession is everything Alice in Wonderland!! I mean, obsessed. So I guess that means a trip back to Disneyland is in order...we'll see.

But in the meantime I decided to celebrate her 'coming home' day we would do a little family dinner, just the three of us and celebrate Lucy's 'unbirthday'!

I was excited to cook something special for Lucy's dinner but no one around here seems to think I can cook so when asked what she wanted to eat she asked for Chipotle. Okay - easy enough for me.

Nothing special to anyone else ~ but special to our girl!

Her favorite things ~ flowers, balloons, fancy dishes and cupcakes.

And a special night for the three of us to spend together and remember how far our sweet girl has come and how thankful we are for every sparkly speck of her!

southern utah

It's been a week since we returned from our little southern Utah getaway. I've been pretty lazy enjoying summer (finally) since we've been home but this trip was a success and needed to be documented. About an hour after Lucy's dance recital we were on the road to St. George.

Our first night we had tickets to Tuachahn to see The Little Mermaid. Our cute friends the Nance family had tickets too and were staying the night in St. George before moving on the next day to Disneyland - yeah jealous. We got to chat at dinner before the show and Lucy and Dakota got in a mini playdate.

Lucy and cute Flounder after the show.

I thought the show was a-mazing! I loved in more than Blake (tired) and Lucy (scared of Ursula) but I think overall they both enjoyed most of it. Does anyone want to drive down and see Grease?! I've never seen anything at Tuacahn and was so impressed.

Waiting for breakfast at the Bear Paw - peanut butter pancakes are worth the wait.

We took advantage of the splash pad - wading area. It was Sunday and pretty empty so I put my paranoid-of-rotavirus concerns aside and let Lucy be four.

Monday we were up bright & early and in Zion National Park.

She looks like a natural but prefers pretty pools, nice linens and a fun restaurant...just like her mom (and who are we kidding, just like her dad too).

No, we all really enjoyed ourselves and I didn't complain once about our mini hikes. It was a beautiful day and Blake and I even wanted to stay in the park longer - but Lucy said she was hot - and I think it was 78 degrees....

So this is the oddest but so cute new thing Lucy's been doing. I noticed it a couple of weeks ago. At home, restaurants, she would put her hands together like this for just a second and close her eyes and then eat. She doesn't say anything and it lasts a split second. I hesitated to ask what she was doing - religious practices are kind of a personal thing - but finally had to know. She rattled off some weird OCD explanation about how she's cleaning or calming (she's said both) her hands before she eats. So maybe it's not a prayer like I thought but whatever it is it's adorable.

We finished off the trip with a stop for squeaky cheese and cow watching.

It was a fabulous trip!

Tangled!

Lucy's dreams came true when Miss Julie announced their spring recital would be Tangled! Since I don't sit in on her dance class I wasn't even sure if it was true for awhile because Lucy has been OBSESSED with Tangled forever. But she was right and I've been looking forward to the spring show for a long time.

Lucy with her Tangled curls. So right before Lucy's first number (and the first dance of the whole recital) she said "I might have to pee". I asked if she could hold it and she said yes and scooted herself on stage. Well the girls were standing up there as Miss Julie welcomed the audience and recapped pretty much all of the Tangled story. Blake and I were sitting on the floor up close with video and camera rolling and Lucy starts dancing around (not in the tap and ballet sort of way) and then my favorite moment - starting holding herself. I just prayed the music would hurry and start. I figured once she started dancing she'd forget about it. Well the story of Tangled was running a tad long and Blake said "I'm taking her - do you know what it will do to someone if they pee themselves on stage?!" Uh, no, but maybe he does?! Good daddy that he is he ran on stage, grabbed Luce and told Miss Julie (in the middle of her speech) they were out of there.

Well according to Miss Julie - the show must go on! She told Blake to put her back on stage and told Lucy (over the microphone) that she had to go to the bathroom too so they'd both have to hold it. The whole audience laughed and Blake reluctantly plopped her back to the dance line. Yikes. I so didn't want to have to clean up pee in front of a packed house.

Luckily our little rock star held it and danced her little heart out - what a dramatic intro!

This show, costumes, set and music was by far the cutest of all of Lucy's performances - we love ourselves some Rapunz & Flynn.

Lucy and her dance bestie Amelia.

"The show must go on!"

So proud of our girl!