Charlotte's First Day Of School

What else can I say except that she loves it! Savannah thinks it's cool too. Hyrum drops her off everyday on his Huffy bike and all the other kids in her class are jealous.

I had to hold back tears on the first day. The next milestone of Charlotte's that I will probably cry is the day she is too cool for princesses...

Oldies But Goodies

I found a few gems while browsing my photo library. Consider it a little peek into the "real" Cheleyne.

My dad holding a green squirt gun- close to his heart (and I just noticed he's sitting next to a 2 liter of Squirt. Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not.)

This is what happens when your teenage sister loves Robert Smith from The Cure

Family shot (one of many without Melanie in it... She was the "Jan". We do love you Mel. Really.)

Nothing like bright red tights (and handheld poker game- awesome, hours of fun). Both a staple in my high school years.

But c'mon., really? I could have done without the bright red socks and matching belt... and holy c*** what's with the Laura Ingalls dress! The sad thing is you can tell I feel pretty dang cool in this outfit.

Renee and I made this "horse" to play on. I have nothing else to say about this one. Except you can see Melanie up in the window wanting to get in on this action. Who wouldn't?

See where I get it from? It's in my genes or maybe we drank contaminated water.

Bathtub sleepover party. Jason and Melanie are not really asleep. It wasn't that comfortable.

Classic. Mel and I in our PJ's. I think this was the same night I poured Sprite in the gutter than slurped it back up...

Aw, the good old days.

The Girls

Note to Hyrum: You are so wonderful at putting up with all the glitter, tutus and moodiness.

We Still Exist

I know I've been slacking on the blog. I'm sure I will continue to slack. But I have a minute to let all my loyal blog followers know that we are well and having a great summer. I am working a few mornings a week running a dance program. Hyrum has been busy tending to our beautiful new garden and learning to bake breads and can our fresh produce. And the girls are busy being kids!

Savannah is not a big fan of tan lines.

Charlotte loves bugs. (I try not to be too grossed out)

Hyrum's new hobby. (It has grown a lot since this photo)

Thank you Grandpa Gary for getting us started!

Savannah The Monkey

One little monkey jumping on the bed. She fell off and broke her arm. Momma called the doctor and the doctor said, "Go get a pretty pink cast!"

PS *side note When do babies grow out of sucking on their feet?

Easter Time

We enjoyed incredible weather, parties, peeps (candy and humans) and tons of eggs! Hooray for springtime!

My Tiny Dancers

I swear I don't force my kids to like the things I like! I am excited that they love to dance. Savannah just started her music and movement class and loves to sing and put on "pretty" skirts. Charlotte is taking a ballet/tap class and loves to dance around the house and sometimes in public. I mean, who doesn't get the urge to bust out into an arabesque in line at WinCo?

Trip to the Beach

We spent last weekend at the ocean and it was incredible.  The first day the weather was perfect and the second day it was cold and gray.  Nevertheless, we played on the beach for hours!  The girls collected sea shells, made a sand castle and poked at jelly fish that had washed up on the beach.  The tide was a low as I have ever seen it.  The only flaw of the trip was that we left home without shoes for Savannah (apparently, she had taken them out of the bag I packed for her and dropped them in the bath tub.)  When we got there and realized she had no shoes I got creative and tied a pair of Charlotte's shoes onto her feet with some string.  You can see them in the photo above.  It was a little bit like walking with flippers on.  But she managed.

As a kid we went to this beach every year, so I have so many fond memories there.  I'm so happy that my girls will have great memories of this beautiful place, too.  We can't wait to go again next month!  Then we will try crab fishing and clamming.  

*Thank you J&K for making it possible!

Coolest Music Video Ever!

Snow Trip

After the last snow storm we took a quick trip up the mountain to see the snow.  Looking at the picture you are probably thinking that we went to some beautiful snow park but it was actually just the Taco Bell parking lot in Sly Park.  Charlotte had a great time.  Savannah, on the other hand, didn't want to touch the snow.  It was too cold and messy!

Our Christmas

Our Christmas was very relaxed and enjoyable this year. We have both of our families so close so we were able to spend a lot of time together. There were plenty of parties and delicious foods. Charlotte and Savannah had a nice morning opening their presents from Santa. Charlotte is at the perfect age for Santa. Everything was so magical to her. Thank you to everyone who gave us gifts and helped make or Christmas truly special.

I will add a video of the nativity puppet show and a game of "love the ball"

Gym Shows

I have 2 kids in Gymnastics shows this year!  On top of that I MC'd 9 other gym shows.  I think by now I'm pretty showed out.  But the girls did great.  They have learned a lot in their classes.  Charlotte has greatly improved in her trampoline skills and is learning handstands and cartwheels.  Savannah hasn't been in class long but she loves to go on the trampoline and likes slides and tries to do forward rolls but her legs are not long enough yet, so she just pushes her forehead into the ground.  Their classes are such good exercise for them.  For all of you who know my girls they are very delicate and need any chance to build strength.  As soon as we have a house with a yard we are going to get a trampoline.  Everyone should own one.  They are a total body workout and fun too!

Frosty the Snowman came to the shows.  Savannah hated him.

Chinese Tea in the Littlest Nutcracker

This year in Charlotte's ballet class they were the Chinese Tea in TRICKS Dance Studio's Littlest Nutcracker.  Charlotte had been looking forward to this day for weeks!  Her class did a great job.  If you watch the video from last year you can see how much she has grown and improved.  Savannah had a good time watching, too.  When the lights would go out between dances she would sign "more, more".  Maybe next year she can be in it!
Chinese Tea from Chilli Bean on Vimeo.

Thanksgiving Rolls

This Thanksgiving we made dinner rolls from scratch.  Our kitchen transformed into a  bakery!  Charlotte became an expert at rolling and by the time we finished the whole kitchen was covered in flour.  We all had so much fun and they were so yummy that we decided to do it again next Thanksgiving. 

Walking Baby!

A few weeks ago Hyrum and I dropped the kids of at Rose's house while we went out on a date and when we came to pick them up Rose commented, "I didn't know Savannah could walk!"  We told her that she can't...  But it turns out that she had been walking all around their house that night.  She has been walking ever since!  Savannah has sure grown up a lot lately.  She learned to crawl, walk, talk a bit and throw fits all within the last couple of months.

Savannah Walks from Chilli Bean on Vimeo.

Being Armless is Cool

At Joy school a few weeks ago we had a lesson about being thankful for the things we have, like arms and eyes.  As part of the lesson we practiced doing  things without the use of their hands.  They thought it was pretty cool to be "armless".  Since then Charlotte tries to do all kinds of things with her mouth or feet- such as turn on the sink and get a drink or draw pictures.

How the Grinch Ruined My Day

So how much money would someone have to pay you for you to wear that sweater in public?  A lot, right?  Well listen to this- I bought this sweater in back in July for $4 to re-sell on eBay.  (My eBay Mentor, Melanie told me once that tacky holiday sweaters do well.)  As I submitted it to eBay for $19.99, which I thought was a fair price,  Hyrum and I made the comment that NO ONE in the world will ever buy this monstrosity.  Less than a minute later it sold!  Shocked, I did some research.  Apparently it is a very rare Michael Simon Grinch Collectable Holiday Sweater which is typically selling for over $100.  So I'm pretty T.O.'d right now!  You live and you learn.  I will always do my research from now on.  

Twilight Movie Review

After all the hype and expectations through the roof, here is my review of the movie "Twilight".  I bought my ticket about a month ago for the 12:01 am showing.  We showed up at the theater 2 1/2 hours early.  Waiting for the movie to start was very entertaining with the overly enthusiastic crowd (that decided to have a talent show).  Almost everyone was wearing a Twilight themed shirt, from "Team Edward" to"Forks".  There was even a guy there that looked like Edward and girls were taking pictures with him.  I had low expectations going into it knowing that Edward wasn't going to cut it.  He's a good looking guy but was no where smooth enough.  He was kind of scrawny, too.  The other characters were cast pretty well. Wait, except Jacob.  Did I miss something?  Am I the only person who thinks he is a total dog?  You know what I mean.  My overall impressions were that the movie felt like the same quality of an X-Files episode from 1991.  The special effects left much to be desired.  They should have done the vampire fight scenes like the movie 300!  It wasn't all that bad.  It was fun and there were a few tense parts.  I had a really good time.  Everyone knows that the movies are never as good as the books.  But I think there are going to be a lot of upset "Twi-hards" out there.  She owes her fans BIG TIME.  If you don't like the book or have not read it, you will not like this movie.  

Back at Work

I know I have been really slacking on the blog lately.  I recently went back to work at Tricks and when I am not there I am cleaning the house or hanging with my peeps (a.k.a. Hyrum and the girls).  I am working in the office, gym and teaching dance classes.  Today was my first time teaching after 3 years.  The leotard was much tighter than it used to be...  I am teaching 3-4 year old Ballet, 4-5 year old Ballet/Tap classes, a boys dance class and in January I will be teaching a Tiny Tots Music & Movement class for 18 mos. to 3 years.  (The photo above is from 1999.  Those kids are almost, if not already, teenagers now.  That makes me old.)

Our Halloween - 2008

This year it felt like Halloween went on for weeks!  We started off with a bang with Trunk or Treat and a Summerhays Halloween party.  After that we dressed up again up for work, school, ballet, gymnastics and then Trick or Treating.  Hyrum got a lot of attention in his costume and was even asked by a complete stranger if they could take a picture.  It was a lot of fun.  Savannah knows the sign for "candy" and the sign for "please" anytime she sees a pumpkin bucket.  Charlotte is already planning her costume for next year.

We also spent some time up at Apple Hill and the local pumpkin patch.