the dance recital 2011

{May 21st}

Macie has been so exited for her dance recital. She loves going to ballet and being with the other girls, however, she doesn't like to actually dance in front of people. I know she knows the stuff, but she gets nervous when other people are watching her. She may not be as graceful as the other girls, but she loves it and does everything the "Macie" way. And I love it!

This year she was lucky enough to have three good friends in her class. I have to admit I loved it, too. Who doesn't love carpools?? ;-) She loved her teachers Miss Bridget and Miss Ivana and talked about them all of the time. It'll be sad when we move and no longer get to benefit from Hancock College Dance. We have loved it!

The song that her class danced to was "The Lonely Goatherd" from Sound of Music. It was very cute to watch her dance. I was impressed with all of the little girls as I watched them do all of the ballet positions and moves, they knew what they were doing. The costumes were adorable. I was a bit nervous about Macie in the costume, though. When we tried it on in the store, it was funny, she was all one color. The blond hair, the pale skin, and pale pink leotard, she sort of was lost in it! But, with a little bit of dark makeup and bright lipstick, she didn't look so washed out!

The morning of the recital Macie woke up at 4:30 AM. She was ready to go. When I told her we still had 4 hours, she insisted that I just put the make up on then, and then she'd go back to sleep. I didn't give in. I did make her wait, but I'm sure the wait was awful. She was more excited to put the makeup on than anything else! We will never be doing any beauty pageants, by the way. She is much to young to be putting make up on her. It was scary! I thought I had put enough on and then at the rehearsal it was apparent that I did not. You couldn't even see her face, and so for the performance she got a much heavier application of eye shadow! But, she didn't complain. Not one bit!

Last year, I cried watching her. I wasn't pregnant then. So, of course, I cried this year too! She was just so dang cute up there dancing. And so brave this year. Last year we were all a bit worried that she wouldn't make it through the song. This year she was very confident. She was a pro. On the way to rehearsal, her and her friend Aliyah were talking about how since they did this last year they weren't scared at all. And they were right, they weren't. The two were probably the most scared last year, but this year were awesome!

After the show, it was very cold. And the poor girls weren't wearing much! So, Macie was not happy having to get her picture taken. The four friends all got a dozen roses and a ballerina Barbie, and Macie was so excited to get it. Especially the roses from Daddy. She was also happy to go get frozen yogurt however cold she was!  Go figure. She did sit in the car while everyone else ate outside.

I'm proud of my little ballerina.

easter 2011

{yes, I'm slow. Hey, I'm pregnant. It's okay! ;-)}

My kids have come to expect too much when it comes to holidays. Christmas I can see, but when they start making lists for Valentines Day and Easter, I think it's time to draw the line! I wanted Easter to be more Christ centered this year, and not so much all about the Easter Bunny. Yes, the Easter Bunny still did come, and he did bring lots of candy and a movie for each child, but we also did something extra. Each kid got a Book of Mormon in a case. The older two got a flip book of pictures of Christ, and Jacob got a gospel ABCs book to look at during Sacrament Meeting. It worked out well. They really enjoyed getting these gifts. However, waiting until the night before to make the scripture bags was not a good idea! I was up until 3 making them plus bow ties for the boys. I'm very glad I didn't decide to make Macie's dress! 

I think my kids are finally starting to get what Easter is really all about. Macie came home after church and retold the story of Jesus' resurrection. She was right on. She got every detail about the tomb, the spices, his clothes...everything. I was very impressed. I'm so glad that all three of them love going to Primary, and that they have great teachers who teach them effectively, and they are loving learning about the gospel. It makes me so happy to see their love of the gospel.

I always try to get cute pictures of all three together, but that is nearly impossible. Even an individual pictures with Noah is far and in between. And now we'll add another into the mix, and it's going to get even worse. Goodness. 

mother's day

Happy Mother's Day!

I'm grateful for all of the mother's in my life. My own, my mother in law, my grandmothers, my sisters {who used to think they were my mother anyway! ;-)}, and all those others who have impacted my life. There are too many to name, really.

I love my mom. She probably gets sick of my multiple random phone calls all day long, but, I always know she'll answer, or call right back. Sometimes it's just comforting to hear things from your own mother, even if it is just to ask what to make for dinner! Thank goodness to modern technology! Mom, you're great! I can't even being to express my gratitude for you and for everything that you have ever done for me!

And, Carol. I really couldn't have asked for a better mother-in-law. She has always been so welcoming to me, and treated me like her own daughter. Although we wear her out when she comes to visit, we love her visits. And, I love taking advantage of her design eye! ;-)We love you.

{I've been trying to upload a picture, but it isn't working. This may be your lucky day, Carol! ;-)}

And, I can't forget to thank these little munchkins for making me a mother. They all have been showering me with love all day. I've gotten many cards and pictures. I love being their mother, they are seriously the best kids there is! Sometimes they make me crazy, but just crazy enough to be able to laugh later on! It's never a boring day at the Christensen house, and I love it. Every single minute of it. I wouldn't change anything! {well...maybe I'd change their willingness to clean up the toy room, but that's all!}

 

 

On a side note, I made Macie this dress yesterday. It was super easy. It may have looked like she belonged in an asylum at first, but in the end, my vision was successful! She looked very cute. Well, she always does.

Oso Flaco

If you come to visit us, we'll probably take you to Oso Flaco. It's a "hike", or more of a walk. You start out on on a dirt train surrounded my trees. And then you get to a Lake. A bridge gets your across. However, if we go with you, I will not be walking with you on the bridge. I will be FAR ahead of you, pretty much sprinting across the bridge. {Bridges are so not my thing.} And then you hike along a boardwalk for a while until you reach the ocean. Usually it's pretty secluded. It's a bit windy there, and it's not the best laying out or surf beach, but it's the ocean all the same! We love it there. We love where we live. We took Carol on this excursion.

photo courtesy of Macie Photography

Usually we take the stroller along for the ride, but this was our first attempt without it. If Jacob can walk the 2.5 miles roundtrip, anyone can! He loved being able the just run like Noah and Macie. He's getting far too old, far too fast! 

So, who's next?

little fish

We stayed at the Residence Inn in Camarillo for Adam's training. It was a two day training, Monday and Tuesday. It was a bit chilly, and the pool was outside, but that didn't stop my little fish from going swimming. There was a hot tub that wasn't that hot where they spent a lot of their time. They don't really swim distances, so the small space was just fine for them!

LA Fabric District.

Have you ever been? You need to. Everyone should experience the Fabric District in downtown Los Angeles at least once in their life. Seriously. It's an experience different from any other. My friend Jennifer had a link to a blogpost of a blog that I frequent, but hadn't ever noticed THIS post. I was convinced. I HAD to go. I am looking for fabric for curtains, and the fabric stores around here have astronomical prices, so I thought I'd have better luck at the fabric district. After we picked up Carol in Long Beach we headed there. Thank goodness for Mom's who have the internet to look up directions, and Navigation to get me places!! I studied that blog post. I knew where to park, I knew where I wanted to go, I knew what I was looking for, I had cash in my pocket in small bills, I had my envision in my head, and I was ready to go. And then we got there. Oh my heck, talk about OVERWHELMING. There were blocks and blocks of fabric rolls. EVERYWHERE. There was shiny, glittery, minky, velvet, linen, and lots of crap as well. And there were people. Lots and lots of people. This is not a fabric store by any means, it's crazy. And when we got there, all of my research was shot. I didn't have a clue what I was doing, where I was going. And so we wandered. Macie loved the textures of all of the fabrics. The wheels were turning in her head as she was redesigning her bedroom with all of these fabrics. She's definitely my daughter! It was a bit scary with three kids. {I had also read that this was not a place to take kids...but what was I supposed to do?} We walked into one of the last "shop" along our route {which we shortened due to attention span of toddlers}. It looked like it had decent fabric. The shop owner was sitting at a desk peeling an orange saying, "Good prices, very good prices" over and over again. I found some fabric that I liked, but didn't love. He told me it was "Leanin" I laughed. I answered back, "Yeah, it's leaning toward me." Thinking he was saying I should buy it...you know, being witty. Yeah, no. These people don't speak English very well, I forgot that minor detail. So again he said, "No, Leanin." It took a while until I realized, oh...LINEN. Yes, it was linen. Or linenish. I felt pretty stupid, and started walking out, it was still $12/yard, more than I wanted to spend. However, if I just would have told him I wanted 6 yards, I'm sure we could have bargained, but I didn't. We left without buying anything. There were millions of rolls of fabric and I didn't get ANYTHING. Maybe next time. Maybe next time. 

{by the way, I didn't take pictures because of that blog, I found out that they don't like you to take pictures there, and I was very scared. Yes, I live in California. But, hey, I'm still an Idaho girl at heart. LA does still scare me!}

Nana visits.

We picked up Nana on Monday, April 18th in Long Beach. Adam had a training in Camarillo, so we went along for the ride, the hotel stay, and being closer to Long Beach to pick up Carol! It was worth the trip! Her flight was supposed to arrive at 1:05. After a few loops around the parking garage, I finally found a spot, it was 12:50. We rushed to the gate to see when her flight would be there. I guided Noah and Macie to the screen, while Jacob kept saying ,"There's Nana." I a frenzy of just getting there and worried about all these people getting off the plane and losing my kids, I didn't acknowledge him. He kept saying it. I finally saw on the screen that the plane had already arrived. And then it donned on me that these people were probably from Seattle. So, I moved closer to the door, which Jacob got louder and said, "THERE'S NANA, RIGHT THERE!" I looked over, and yes, there was Nana. My 2 year old found her before anyone else. Far before anyone else! It was quite comical. She did have the cutest welcoming committee there was, or is! We finally retrieved Nana and her luggage and left the airport. 

{come visit us, and you may get your very own flag and sign. Just sayin'}

two wheels.

Noah is officially a bike rider...without training wheels! He got his bike for Christmas two years ago, and after some traumatic falls and pushes down the hill, he decided that riding his bike was not something that he wanted to do. He resorted to training wheels for a while, and didn't have any desire to ride that thing again. In fact, the morning that he did ride without training wheels he told me that he was going to be 12 and still have training wheels because there was no way he would ever take them off. Ha, what a little bribe of Yogurt Creations can do! {and it didn't help that technically Macie did it first...eventhough she won't do it again, and Adam didn't see her, so we'll give the credit to Noah for being the first!}

He started off on a littler bike, but now has transitioned to a bigger bike and loves riding his bike. Unlike his father, he always wears his helmet, don't worry! It's quite a huge thing to ride a bike. Good job, Noah Balboa! You did it!

and the verdict??

We went in for the big ultrasound today. Macie has been very insistent that this babe is a girl. Noah, on the other hand, is very insistent that it is a boy. Jacob thinks it's a birl. And if you tell them otherwise, it's drama in our house.

When the ultrasound guy said, "It's a girl!" Macie smiled, Noah, however, did not. "I'M NOT EXCITED! I DON'T WANT ANOTHER SISTER!" Sorry, bud, you will! Jacob was just content to have a baby, and the fact he's going to be a big brother!

We are very excited to welcome another little girl into the world! However, the little bugger did have her legs crossed, but MOST LIKELY a girl! There weren't any other appendages, and I've watched it several times! I think it's safe to say that we'll have an even count: 2 boys, 2 girls!

...

april fool's.