Goin' a little "GAGA" at the Salon today!

My sister in-law and I were adventurous and headed to my favorite salon up in Salt Lake today and got fresh new makeovers. She totally chopped her hair off and I went with a little edge. I bet I lost 50% of the thickness of my hair. I was informed that I have Asian hair and that no white girl has hair like mine. Then my stylist starts singing Lady Gaga to me and apparently she was the inspiration for my new do. I LOVE IT!!! Tell me what ya think.

Oh and if you want a referal, I can give you a card and you can get a discount. Wooh hoo, who doesn't love that. It's the Jagged Edge Retreat and my stylist is the guy behind us with the mohawk. Awesome...I know.

Don't ya just love Pioneer Day!

My sister and I took the girls to the Pioneer Celebration just blocks away from home here in Provo. It was so fun and they do an amazing job. We got to go through the little pioneer village and the girls spotted this beauty and can you guess what they said..."it's the thing from Sleeping Beauty! Mom, where's the sharp pokey thing?" The kind woman talked to them about the spindle and Gabriela was pretty intrigued.

They got their turn helping this woman make homemade ice cream. To bad we weren't around when it was ready to be eaten.

Love, love, love this photo of Sophia and her western getup. She wanted to wear her boots and I told her to go for it. She totally pulled it off and was catching eyes all over the place. Those dresses my Mom made have come in handy over the last year.

Playing pioneer games.

My sister and I got to make rag dolls for the girls. Gabriela took this fine picture of us, but in the process made a big smudge on my lens so every other picture has a blur on it.

The girls were amazed by the Indian dancers that were there performing. It was so stinkin' hot I thought we were going to pass out.

They had a petting zoo, so Julianne got friendly with the animals again.

They girls with the guy who was singing and playing the drums. Oh, the girls and I got to participate in a group dance. That was pretty fun.

Whew, what a day!

So my sister and I got overly ambitious today with the kiddos and ended up doing way more than any of us could handle. But we started off with a bang and hit Thanksgiving Point Farm Country and it felt like we hit the jackpot. There were baby animals everywhere. I love this shot of Sophia bonding with the baby pony. So stinkin' cute, I'm tellin ya. This child would be a rodeo queen if I let her. Julianne about became the baby cow's lunch. It was hilarious! She would go up to pet it, and yelling all the while, when he decided her dress looked like grass or a scrumptous snack and totally tried to eat her clothes. She would laugh and squeal. I had to rescue her from his mouth. I don't think I've laughed that hard in a while. This was her first experience with farm animals and she loved every minute of it.

This baby pony was born just 10 MINUTES before we got there. He couldn't even walk yet. It so cute watching him hobble around and his mom nudging him along.

My sis, Cortney, helping Julianne get a good view of the piglets. Seriously, Julianne was squealing like a piglet the whole time. I wish I knew what she was trying to say, but I know she was excited. Did I mention my sister is a hot tamale. Just look at her...gorgeous.

The three billy goats gruff!

The highlight for the girls is always the pony rides. Julianne got her first ride today. She had a hard time waiting her turn and she made me laugh, because the whole time she was riding she was trying to push my hand away from holding her. She was grinning from ear to ear and did I mention she likes to yell. My baby is growing up.

When I asked Gabriela which pony she wanted to ride, she just looked at me like duhh mom and said, "My old buddy...the black one." I didn't know she had bonded with a pony previously, but I'm glad they had a chance to rekindle their relationship one more time.

The squealer in action.

It felt like it was a hundred degrees outside, but we found a shaddy spot and had lunch before heading over to the Oquirr Mtn. Temple open house. I bet you were wondering why we were all dressed up to go to the farm. I just didn't want to make the drive up there twice, so I tried to kill two birds with one stone. Big mistake. I was so stinkin' sweaty from the heat and my kids were tired and grouchy, but we pressed forward. During the video presentation they kept themselves entertained with the water cooler. They probably drank a gallon a piece.

I was really hoping to have this glorious experience and was so excited to be able to take Gabriela inside a temple since she's been asking me since she was tiny. What I got was a stressful situation. The girls would wander up the line and out of site and then Sophia had a stinky diaper that I couldn't change until it was over with. Despite the chaos, the temple was gorgeous and had such good design. I was so impressed and encourage everyone to go and see it. Amazing. We survived our day, but just barely. If my sister was concidering having children, I think she's probably had a change of heart after spending this week with me. I'm just glad they are all happily sleeping now.

Snow White and the Little Mami

Ever since Julianne has learned to walk, this is her most favorite thing to do. She loves baby dolls and pushing them in strollers. She also likes to carry purses around. It keeps her busy and I have to admit, it's pretty cute to watch.

Sophia's still loving dance class and yesterday she started Snow White. I think this class is the cutest idea and my hat goes off to her teacher Ms. Bethany coming up with this clever idea. I would recommend it to anyone with little girls.

I got this random shot of Sophia that I thought was cool. Just thought I'd throw it in too.

I don't have any photos of Gabriela recently because she is too independant and is rarely around when the camera comes out. She's been spending her days riding her bike, playing with her cousin and befriending anyone who will listen to her. For example, the other night they had a bishopric barbeque in our ward for all the ladies and their daughters. Gabriela immediately spotted a sister in the ward, who is from China which Gabriela thinks is pretty cool, and buddied up with her. The lady fixed her plate and Gabriela sat and chatted with her the whole time. I was on the opposite side of the pavilion.

Art Lessons anyone?

So I think I'm going to start offering art lessons and use that degree I worked so hard for. My idea is to do a preschool art class once a week, where the kids get to explore with different art media and to teach some basic art skills and techniques. This would be especially fun for those kids who aren't quite old enough to go to school yet. I'm also offering private art lessons for those budding artist in your home who would like a more intensive lessons. We would study a little art history and then experiment and duplicate the famous artist techniques. Really it's what the child wants to learn and has an interest in. If you are interested, PLEASE let me know. I will set this up and get it rolling based on the interest I get from you guys. It would be a lot of fun for the kids and bring a lot of joy to me as well. As far as $, I'm still debating that one because of cost of materials and things. I would really like your feedback.

Congratulations to my good friend Heidi Murray!

Last night I went with some of my pageant gals to the Mrs. Utah America pageant. I know, some of you are thinking, "weren't you just in that?" but this is a different circuit. One of my close friends that I met at the pageant entered this one and she won. I was so excited for her and she looked beautiful and spoke eloquently last night. She will do a great job representing the state of Utah. Not only is she beautiful, but she is an artist, and has three small children. I'm really excited for her.

The Closing Prayer

Gabriela gave me a good laugh on Sunday when I reminded her that she was going to say the closing prayer in Primary. She sighed and said,"but Mom, I wanted to say the opening prayer. The closing prayer is when everyone closes their eyes." I never knew that the opening and closing prayer were referring to your eyes being opened or shut. I've been doing it wrong all these years.