Carver is SIX!

Carver turned six on June 13th. This was a much anticipated day for my boy. He has been charting it on the calendar for months. I can't believe that Carver has grown up so much. It seems like yesterday I was just getting used to "the boy thing". Carver is a great son and we are so proud of him. I thought I would write some of Carver's favorite things at six years old:
-Legos
-his bike
-cold cereal
- rough housing with Dad
-Playing with Cooper
-snacks (because he is ALWAYS HUNGRY...I mean ALWAYS)
-friends
-The movie Transformers
-"Ben Ten"
-Bionicles
-Mcdonalds
-his family
Carver had a fun birthday. He and I had a special date for lunch and we went to Mcdonalds, just the two of us. Then we packed up and headed to a Disney hotel for a night with the whole family. We had such a great and memorable time. I told Carver that I was not going to allow him to turn six because he was getting too grown up. He looked and me and said, "It's okay Mom...I will still kiss you every day". (Where's the tissue)

Cooper's new "ride"

We love to go on bike rides as a family, and we finally found a way to include Cooper. Cooper loves to head around the neighborhood with us now. We have been enjoying our "summertime", where early bedtimes are a thing of the past, so we like to take bike rides in the evenings. We have a great sprawling neighborhood with lots of flat streets and bike paths (well...all of Florida is flat"), so it is fun to ride around. Cooper makes cute little sounds and squeals as he rides and holds tight to his little handlebars.

End of School events

Okay, school has been out for a week (hoorah), but I am just getting around to blogging about a few events. It was such a busy "end of the year", and lots going on in the summer already, so I am just getting around to it. Anyway, Kinsey had many events, and received many awards. One of her awards ceremonies was for being on Honor roll and getting straight A's for the whole year (for three years really). I love this picture of her and her friends. I call it "Smart and Beautiful". I love it that Kinsey has such smart and wonderful friends. All these girls are such great students and they all work so hard for their grades, yet they are so cute and know how to have fun. They are all off to high school next year. Almost all of Kinsey's church friends went to different middle schools, so I am glad that she found such great friends at her school. We are so proud of Kinsey.

Principals list all year

Carver's class did such a cute program at the end of school. They sang all sorts of songs to us, and recited poems. They also published a book and got to read their page to the whole class. Their book was called "In the Sea". I have to say, my Kindergarten boy singing songs to me with his cute little crooked smile, just about melted my heart.

Kennedy also published a book this year (I forgot my camera the day of her "reading"). Her class had a huge Luau to present the books to their parents. In third grade they write and illustrate the whole book themselves, and then they send the books off to a company to have it printed and bound. Pretty cool. She got to read her whole book to the class and parents and it was so fun to hear it. Kennedy also got so many end of the year awards including straight A's for the year, highest AR points for the year (reading points), first place for "good as gold" awards in her class (tokens they earn all year). I am so proud of the helpful and wonderful student that Kennedy is. Her teacher tells me she just couldn't have gotten through the year without Kennedy.

IT'S ALL ABOUT ME! (Kennedy)

Tonight was Kennedy's dance recital. She danced to the song "It's all about Me". She worked so hard all year and did such a great job with her dance. The whole week-end was devoted to dress-rehearsals and the recital...and after recital celebration. So much fun. Kennedy is so cute when she performs and has a great stage presence. She is becoming quite the dancer.

Kennedy and her dance group.

Kennedy recieved a special trophy this year for working hard for three years at this dance studio. We are so proud of her.

My Jewelry Party

A week ago I had my spring jewelry party. I only have two parties a year here in Florida, so it was a big deal. Thankfully...all my friends love jewelry and love to shop...so they look forward to the party. It ends up being a really fun girls night out. My house is usually packed. The month before my party was just crazy. I spent hours and hours making this jewelry, and it kind of takes over my life. But now I have had a succesful party, and I will sell some more jewelry in Utah, so it is all worth it. I figured this time I made about 150 necklaces, 60 bracelets, and over a hundred earrings to add to my already existing stock. I wanted to be well stocked for the summer, but it was hard work. Luckily, I love coming up with designs, and I love making the jewelry. It is fun to see so many people I know (and don't know) walking around in "Amy Lopez" jewelry.

To view more of my jewelry, check out some of my designs on my web album

http://picasaweb.google.com/amyinorlando/AmySJewelry

Kinsey's first Dance

Kinsey got to go to her first church dance since she is now 14. And even better...I GOT TO GO TOO. (fun for me...probably a little annoying for her...but she was a great sport). Since I work in the Young Women's program, I got to be a chaperon, and it was such a fun experience to get to be at this dance with Kinsey. She has A BLAST and danced almost every dance. She is an old pro already. All the kids in our ward really have a great time together at these dances and it was fun to see them all enjoying themselves so much. Above is a picture of Kinsey with Keriann Roe, and Savannah Raskey.

One of the many many line dances that they do. The kids love it. Cupid shuffle, Cotton Eye Joe, the electric slide (hello...I did that one at dances) and many others. Very fun.

Kinsey and Clay Roe doing a little swing dancing.

All the kids seemed to have a great time.

Birthday clothes and good friends

Just a few more pictures that I had to throw in of Kinsey. She just looked so cute in some of her birthday clothes, so I had to take a picture. I also wanted to post this picture of Kinsey and some of her best friends. Veronica Prado, Rosie Reitze, and Savannah Raskey. I am thrilled with the friends that Kinsey has made. They are such wonderful girls. Veronica and Rosie go to school with Kinsey and they are smart, and dedicated students, but they love to have fun as well. Savannah is one of Kinsey's best friends from church, and she is also such a great example and influence. I just love these girls.

While Kinsey was OUT!

Kinsey turned 14 yesterday. I had been planning a little surprise for her for about a month. Okay...a BIG surprise. I decided to re-decorate her room, "While You Were Out" style. So I found a way to get Kinsey out of the house for about 30 hours (One of my former YW organized a little night out with Kinsey and some of her friends...ending with a sleep over...Thanks Alexa...you are amazing!). I had been planning this room for about a month and getting the stuff together, but I couldn't start much until she was out of the house. I knew that Kinsey loved one of the rooms of this years HGTV dream house, so I kind of went with that for my inspiration. I knew I couldn't do it alone, so I recruited Sara Rose, one of my dearest best friends in the world (and also highly talented in this area), to come and help me. She came over as soon as Kinsey went to school, and so did Stefanie Dowdy (another dear and wonderful friend, and the Young women's president), and we got to work on the room. It was a crazy day of priming, painting, sewing, and hoping our little kids didn't destroy the rest of the house. It was a long day...but so much fun.
This is Kinsey's room "BEFORE" the makeover. Cute and fun...but time for a change.

Stefanie was so sweet to come over. She knew I was doing the makeover, and just showed up on my doorstep right after Kinsey went to school. She helped me get that whole room taped and primed. Invaluable, and so fun to have her there. She stayed until her kids got our of school and she worked so hard. Thanks Stef.
This is Sara and her daughter Emma. Emma was actually quite the little helper. We also had two babies in the house, Gavin and Cooper (both 1 year). They both tooks naps, and then Sara even painted with Gavin on her back. When school got out, we had three more kids in the house. Sara and I said that we should host a new show called, "How to make-over a room with six kids in the house". It was crazy, but it all worked out. Carver and Sara's boy Luke did sneak up to the room while we were down stairs sewing, and they decided they wanted to paint something. Heaven forbid they just paint primer on the already primed walls. No...they had to take the roller to the screen, and to the top of a lovely antique dresser. Luckily we found it quickly and got the paint washed off the dresser. The boys had to clean up the entire upstairs as a punishment...and that was no small chore.
I made a new comforter cover for Kinsey, also about seven pillows, and I recovered a simple chair. Her bedding turned out so cute...and if you can believe it, I got the bedspread and shams at a garage sale. Never been used...and I bought them for $15.oo including amazing curtains. All white with dimensional raised designs. WHAT A DEAL. I figure I saved about $120 dollars right there. I just sewed a sheet to the back of the bedspread and made a comforter cover. I was able to do the comforter cover earlier during the week, but I couldn't do some of the pillows until that day as I was recovering some of pillows that were already on Kinsey's bed. Sara and Kennedy painted a bunch of accessories black for our new decor.
John and Sara's husband took the kids in the evening, and so Sara and I had some time to get some things done. When John came home, we only had the stripes left to paint, and he helped us get the lines on the wall. The striped wall is the focal point, so we wanted it to work out well. John's perfectionism and his love of his level, helped to make this wall great. I think we finally finished painting around 1:00 in the morning. There were so many different things to do during the day, and I was actually impressed that we got it all done. Sara was such a fun friend and a great sport to stay so late. But she is like me...once she gets on a roll, why stop. Plus, the best part is seeing it all put together. She helped me put the bedding on around 1:30 a.m. and we were just giddy at the way it was turning out. We had so much fun together all day long. We even made a "While you were out" video for Kinsey, documenting the whole day. Goofy, but fun. I think Sara finally went home around 2:00 a.m. Now that is true dedication. I LOVE YOU SARA!
YEA! IT'S FINISHED AND IT TURNED OUT SO CUTE. The room really turned out even better than I had planned. It just turned into such a relaxing and beautiful space. Clean and simple and just lovely. Yellow, and white, with lots of black accents. I did some photography of some cool iron finials and put them in frames on the wall. We gave Kinsey a little dressing area with a mirror and accessory holder. The recovered black and white chair in a corner (shown in my web album...link at bottom of post) is a perfect place to read. I THINK I WANT THIS ROOM.

I love this little built-in alcove area in Kinsey's room. It really popped with the yellow behind it.
When Kinsey came home, we caught it all on tape. She had some friends with her, but also some others waiting here to surprise her. She had such a shocked look on her face when she came in. I don't know, maybe she figured some of it out herself, but I think she was pretty surprised and SO HAPPY AND EXCITED. She can't stop talking about all the things she loves about her room. Her friends all loved the room too. What a fun experience. Thanks Alexa, Kerianne, Savannah, Sarah, Rosie, and Veronica, and Kennedy (who helped so much with the room). What great friends to come and help with the surprise. Also Thanks to Andrea Slaughter who gave me great ideas and helped with the surprise.
Thank you again Sara, my partner in crime. It was fun to have you involved. Thank you to Stefanie and Alexa too. Couldn't have done it without you. We all love Kinsey, so it was fun to do such a big project for her. Kinsey is a wonderful daughter, and I am glad that she can have this fun new room. HAPPY BIRTHDAY KINSEY! I love you so much!

If you want to see more pictures of the make-over, go to my web album;

http://picasaweb.google.com/amyinorlando/WhileKinseyWasOut?authkey=eRHgP-lFG2Y

Why I love being a Mom

Mother's day was wonderful this year. My family took care of me so well. John took me to dinner on Saturday night. Kinsey made me breakfast on Sunday morning. All the kids and John gave me thoughtful and fun gifts. They made one of my favorite dinners for me (grilled chicken quesodillas), pampered me all day long, and let me sit around and relax. No diaper duty. No bedtime duty. It was amazing. As I watched my sweet family on mother's day, I was reminded of why I love being a mom.

I love being Kinsey's mom because she is such an amazing and responsible child. I am constantly amazed by her self motivation and work ethic. I am always so proud of her. She also is SO fun to hang around with. I love to shop with her, watch American idol with her, and watch movies with her.

I love being Kennedy's mom because she always has something to tell me. That girl knows how to fill me in on "details". I love seeing how Kennedy has always been such a good helper. She loves to learn new things, she loves to do projects with me, and she is a great side-kick.

I love being Carver's mom because he makes me laugh all the time. He has some crazy dance moves that keep me pretty entertained. Carver is all boy, but still loves his mom so much, and is willing to snuggle with me. I love going to his soccer games, love watching him play in the neighborhood, love seeing his joy when he is boogie boarding. It has been so fun and interesting to see things through the eyes of a five year old boy. I love it when he stops what he is doing to tell me how pretty I am. Can't beat that.

I love being Cooper's mom. I ADORE having a baby. I cry when I think of him growing up. I love everything he does (well almost everything) and he makes me smile all the time. I love his slobbery kisses, his funny little jabber, his cute laugh, his funny little walk, and his chubby cheeks. He is such a sweet baby and he brings joy to all of us.

Okay, so I know that I am not John's "mom", but I can't leave him out here. John is such an amazing husband and he does so much for me. He did so much to make Mother's day wonderful. On Saturday he cleaned the house, did the laundry, (while I was madly making jewelry for my upcoming party), took the kids shopping for me, and then took me out to dinner. On Sunday he let me relax while helping the kids make the day nice for me. But to tell you the truth, he is always like this. He is probably the most helpful husband that I know of and I just feel so incredibly blessed. He is the love of my life, my best friend, and I still get excited when I see him walk in the door at the end of the day. He is always thinking of me or the kids, he is such an involved father, and he has wonderful relationships with each of our children. Very "hands on". John works so hard for us, and he is incredibly talented and creative in the work place. He is friendly, open, and caring, and such a non-judgemental person. I love going on dates with him, talking with him, or watching movies with him. He makes me laugh (after 17 years, we have quite a few ongoing inside jokes), always wants to hear about my day, and just makes me happy. He honors his priesthood, serves in the church, and teaches his family correct principles. I feel so blessed to have him in my life. I love you Babe!

Carver, the Ladies Man (video)

Okay, you just have to watch this cute video of Carver. Recently I attended Carver's field day at school. I couldn't help but notice that the girls couldn't stay away from him. No matter where he was, all the girls would follow him, tease him, or just want to hang out with him...and he didn't seem to mind. Though I know he loves hanging with "the boys", Carver has also told me in a matter of fact way that all the girl like him and they spend their recess trying to catch him. I asked him why and he said, "Well, I guess it is because I am so cute". I agree with these girls. I am also pretty in love with my little blond cutie.

WICKED! FINALLY!

WE FINALLY GOT TO GO SEE WICKED! For three girls who have been slightly obsessed (can you say "slightly" when referring to obsessions?) with the musical WICKED, a dream came true for us yesterday. The girls and I have been listening to the music of Wicked for over a year now and we have been dying to see the Broadway production. It finally came to Orlando, and I got tickets way before Christmas, but then surprised the girls with them on Valentines day. They have been so excited. Kinsey has even been counting down the days. Wicked (if you don't already know), is the back story, or the prequel to Wizard of Oz. The music is amazing, the sets wonderful, and the whole production was was just perfect. Such a funny and clever story. John went with us, and he loved it as well, and his obsession level was nowhere near ours. Anyway, we got the girls out of school early and made a day of it. What a fun outing for us. Even though I had to leave a sick, possibly throwing up child (Cooper) with a friend (amazing friend...thanks Beckie), it was still worth it.