Note From Mr. Carroll

I have added a note to the post below with Mr. Carroll and the girls. He sent this to me this afternoon.

So Long Sixth Grade

Andie and Julie, first day of kindergarten and last day of sixth grade.

Greenfield Elementary hosted a sixth grade BBQ yesterday. Haley, Brooke and I went to help. I didn't realize that leaving that school for perhaps the last time would be so emotional. It was.

Mr Carroll, our favorite teacher. He was Brooke and Andie's ALP teacher for math and language ever since Brooke was in fourth grade. We will miss him!

ADDITION: The following is a note I received from Mr. Carroll: It has been a joy to have your daughters in my class. They are as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside. You are truly blessed to have such wonderful girls. I will miss having a Carling in my class.

Mr. Carroll

And here's the gang. Sometimes they're fun...sometimes they're not! Thank you Greenfield for keeping my kids safe all these years. So long.

Centurion Picture At Last

Brooke's picture came home today from the halls of Highland Seminary. So proud of her for making Centurion her freshman year!

Andie's Colloquialisms

Andie's wit has been at an all time high the past week. Maybe it's because she knows it's her last week of school and she's trying to use all that she's learned this past year. Or, maybe it's just because she's so darn funny.

Sunday Steve was sustained to the office of a High Priest. Andie was sitting down at the kitchen table eating her muffin and when Steve walked in the door from the garage. Andie said, "Is that our High Priest coming home?" Not sure she totally understands the significance of it all but it's sure funny to hear her make such a big deal out of it.

Also on Sunday, we were headed to our first of two sacrament meetings (our niece Bethany's farewell) and Andie nonchalantly said, "Let's get ready to praise Jesus." We asked her what in the world she was talking about and she said, "Well, we're going to so many sacrament meetings today."

And finally last night as I was tucking Andie into bed, she said, "I'm never going to marry a man who hunts." She has some friends at school who are constantly missing school to go hunting. I guess she doesn't want to be a hunting widow.

I can always count on Andie to make me laugh!

Soccer in Flagstaff

We just finished another exciting weekend in Flagstaff (actually only Saturday for us, our team played on Sunday.)

Andie played very well! On the way home Steve said, "Andie, thanks for being our entertainment today!" It really is fun to watch her team.

Here are just a few highlights.

Fun family weekend. We missed you Rylee!

Gaggle of Girls

Brookie and her friends had a professional photographer take their pictures. They are a fun bunch of girls! Here's a sampling of my cutie patootie:

And yes, they're ALWAYS laughing!

A Mother's Wish

The girls asked me, Sunday morning, what I wanted for Mother's Day. Keep in mind they had already attacked my blog (see below), made me breakfast and gave me wonderful cards with some money to order canvas prints from Costco.

So as we were lazily sitting around (waiting for 2:00 church, ick) I asked them if we could watch "Once Upon A Time," that night. (This is our favorite Sunday show we record and watch on Monday.) Our family has an unspoken rule that we do not watch TV on Sunday except for maybe a Disney movie or "The Sound of Music."

No sooner did the words leave my mouth when Andie said, "If you watch that show tonight, I will not watch it with you. I will go to my room and pray for your forgiveness." Brooke and Haley laughed and said, "Fine." I however, could not laugh and say fine, I had to respect the wishes of my youngest and so we watched it together on Monday.

She's a stinker sometimes but the girl knows what's right and tries her hardest to choose that right always.

A Great Day

My lovely family made Mother's Day a great day. It started out with a yummy breakfast, followed by a homemade white chocolate blueberry cheesecake for lunch : ) concluding with a yummy dinner with the missionaries.

We of course had to do our traditional taking of the pictures on the porch swing since Mother's Day 10 years ago is when I received the swing as my Mother's Day gift.

The rest of the goofy pictures I cannot explain because "it is what it is."

We missed you Rylee.

It Is What It Is and Other Mother's Day Lessons

Rylee, here.

I have hijacked my mother's blog (with her permission...which I think defeats the point of hijacking, but whatever) in an attempt to create a Mother's Day post. I think my mom mostly wanted me to do this to tell everyone how she's always right since I accidentally made a statement alluding to that the other day, but you know...she definitely knows what she's talking about. Most of the time. :)

Here are a list of lessons I have learned from my mother over the years:

• It Is What It Is. This phrase drives me nuts. Of course it is what it is! What else would it be! It can't be what it isn't, so what choice does it have other than to be what it is? What the heck is it anyway? Nobody can tell me. What I can tell you, though, is that whenever my mother uses this ridiculous phrase, it generally means that although life can be difficult, some things you just can't change. She always emphasizes how I can change how I react to them, though, and how I can "keep on keepin' on" and take control of what I do have control over. While sometimes this advice falls on hard ears as I curl in a fetal position and repeat "No--I don't want to! It isn't what it is!" But it turns out she was right--it actually is what it is.
• Love is spelled T-I-M-E. I was thinking the other day about how much I love music, and how that appreciation stems from the years of musical training I've had. I started thinking about how great I was for pushing through all those years of practicing and lessons and recitals and concerts when I realized that what I did would not even be remotely possible without my mom. What if she had dismissed a simple 4-years-old's dream to play the violin? And refused to put up with what I believe is possibly the worst possible instrument to give to a young child? And what if she wouldn't have driven me to piano lessons, paid for voice lessons, and encouraged me to try out for youth orchestras? In that moment, I had this panic thinking about all the things I would have missed out on had she not been there every step of the way.
• Continuing with this theme, I started thinking about everything I know how to do. Sure, when my cousin and I were the same age, she could sing the Alphabet Song and all I could do was raise my hands and exclaim "Me!" when I was asked who the cutest girl in the world was. (One trick pony kind of thing.) But then I think about how my mother instilled a love of reading in me at a young age, and always pushed me to be the best I could be. I often fell short (and still do,) but she keeps encouraging me to be all that I can. What a great gift to have someone constantly reminding you of your potential and never give up on you--even if you did light that feather-duster on fire or rear-end that other car in high school.
• Also in the T-I-M-E category--did you know I talk to my mom on the phone almost every day? We've made such a habit of it, I just don't feel complete until I've told my mom about all of the big things that happened that day. Whether it's what I did at work that day, roommate drama, or recounting my latest date in which I was almost killed by a psychopath, my mom is always willing to take time out of her day to listen to what's going on in my life. I'm sure she must get some enjoyment out of it, too, but I don't know if she realizes just how much it means to me that she'll set aside 20 minutes each day to listen to the ramblings of a crazy person. 

I know that these are only a few things, and I really don't want to make a super long post that will bore people, but I hope you've come to realize through all of these things that my mother is a truly selfless person. I asked her the other day what she's going to do when Andie's out of the house, and as she listed off all the things she had to do with only two kids in the house, I realized just how much her life revolves around being a mom--around putting 4 other girls (and my dad, too, I guess) and their needs above her own and constantly providing us with an example to follow. I honestly have never thought a lot about being a mom, but reflecting back on all that she's done for me and the wonderful woman she is, I've realized that there's nothing I'd rather do than follow in her footsteps. This is the conclusion I've come to.

It is what it is.

17 Reasons why our Momma is the Best!

If any of you know our mom like we do, you'll know that 17 is her favorite number to exaggerate with.
For example: "I've told you 17 times to make your bed!" or "You've listened to the same Justin Bieber song 17 times in a row!" (she's obviously not a Belieber...But we still love her.) and finally, "You've sneezed, like, 17 times this morning!" (she doesn't allow sneezing in the house.)
Whelp, let's get this list started!
1. She references cool YouTube videos on a daily basis. Her favorite one-liner is "Ain't nobody got time for that!"
2. She is the best example we have. She goes to the temple weekly, serves people daily and we can always find her in the mornings in her blue chair reading her scriptures.
3. She likes food.
- Bacon. Lots of bacon!
- French Fries. Her favorites are: In N Out, 5 Guys and McDonald's. (She's very picky)
- Potato Chips. She yells at us from wherever she is if she hears us open the Lays bag...
4. She is a hard worker! Every Saturday she is outside with us pulling weeds and trimming bushes.
5. She sets rules.
- No sneezing
- No saying "crap" (oops...)
- No wet hair on her pillow
6. She teaches us how to be good sisters and friends to others.
7. She watches The Five most every day and enjoys yelling at the TV from time to time.
8. She is the biggest support ever! She never misses a soccer game, choir concert or piano recital if she can help it.
9. She listens to all the "hip, new" songs on the radio. Her favorites include Call Me Maybe, What Makes You Beautiful and Boyfriend. (Just kidding about Boyfriend. She really isn't a JB fan...)
10. She is the greatest Mini Van Chauffeur around and is always willing to take us where we need to go. It's also fun to drive around with her because she is fun to talk to and serenade during the drive.
11. Her vocabulary is incredible. Phrases like "just real..." and "that's right girlfraaann" are used daily.
12. She always keeps the house clean and teaches us how to keep our things clean as well.
13. She is smokin' hott.
14. She is selfless. She is always thinking of others before herself.
15. She inspires us to want to be amazing moms like the one she is someday.
16. She is very good at keeping us humble. Whenever we get too full of ourselves or complain about something she reminds us that we can get over it because she "carried us for nine months!"
17. She is our very best friend and the only person we can talk to about everything.
She's all that and a bag of chips! (Her new favorite saying these days.)
We love you mom and hope that you have the best Mother's Day! You deserve it, thanks for everything that you do!
Love,
Haley, Brooke and Andie. (We're sure Rylee feels the same way... She just isn't here at the moment.)

Food Network Here We Come!

So tonight Haley and I made yummy, yummy chicken fried tacos.

They were so darn yummy (recipe from Pioneer Woman cookbook)!

My dad, of course, thought we bought them at Taco Bell. Taco Bell my foot.

For mutual tonight Brooke had to take an "out of the box" treat to mutual to share. In other words, no cookies or brownies, it had to be something new and original. The girls were asked to include the recipe with their treat.

Haley and I came up with the idea of strawberries, sour cream and brown sugar, one of our all-time favorite snacks!

Brooke added her own little touch with the labels. They turned out so cute!

Paula Deen, watch out!

The Rain in Spain...

stays mainly in the plain! (We love "My Fair Lady.")

Andie is doing her country report today on Spain. We know more about Spain that we had ever hoped to. Such as Holy Week and how grown men run around the streets of Spain in attire that sadly resembles something not so holy.

We also learned that Spaniards like to eat Spanish apple tarts or tarta de manzana casera. So this morning that's what I made (yes dad, I made them) to take to Andie's class to enjoy while she impresses them with her knowledge of Spain.

I hope we get an A.

Family Home Evening

This morning Steve asked if Haley would prepare Family Home Evening since she was...not busy.

So today before leaving for Brooke's violin lessons, I reminded Haley of her assignment after which she quickly recruited Andie to help her. (They've always kind of been partners in crime.)

After returning home from Mesa and after Steve ate a late dinner we commenced with FHE.

We started off with a not so Mormon Tabernacle quality opening hymn, "O What Do You Do In the Summertime?"

I said opening prayer.

Haley and Andie showed this video:

http://www.lds.org/media-library/video/mormon-messages/mormon-messages-2011?lang=eng#2011-06-012-moments-that-matter-most

We then talked about our goals for this summer as a family, as individuals and those things we need to spiritually improve upon.

I love my kids.

Linus and Lucy

Andie performed in her spring piano recital yesterday, we all (except for Rylee, sad face here) were in attendance.

The number Andie chose was Linus and Lucy by Guaraldi. She was amazing!

We are so proud of our little Beethoven.