Braydon's Ballroom Dance (VIDEO)

I was so giddy watching Braydon perform his ballroom dance this weekend.  I just loved it! 

I rarely post videos, but this one I had to!

It is the cutest thing to watch and I'm excited to share. ;) 

 I absolutely LOVE that he LOVES to dance.  

I was a dancer once...upon a time.  I miss it soooo much!  

But I have even greater joy watching my kids loving it too. 

I think Braydon will be a great date one day when he can take a girl to a dance, and actually have the confidence to dance with her!  I hope he will keep it up. 

 As for now, he absolutely feels at home dancing. I hope you enjoy this clip. The image does improve after a minute and I get some good close ups too. 

Not too shabby for a 12 year old, eh? :) 

 I hope it brings a smile to your face too.  :)

He's the one in the middle:

Sommer's Wax Museum

In fifth grade, the kids have a wax museum presentation where they learn about and dress up as someone from history.  They memorize a blurb about the person's life and share it all the people and families that come through. Sommer had a lot of fun preparing for her wax museum.  She chose

Señora Webster Carver

as her subject.

Remember the movie Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken?

Señora was the young girl who left home to go dive horses off a platform and she dreamed of making her way to Atlantic City.  If you haven't seen it, I definitely recommend it!  It is a great story of resilience and persistence...and love. ;) It's one of my personal favorites, and well, Sommer's too!

A great family movie!

Sommer had to create a backdrop with real photos (if available of the person) to display.  She painted a darling and colorful scene of The Steel Harbor Pier in A.C.

We had fun with her costume because it needed to be 1920's and she and I are totally in love with flapper style dresses and hats!!!  We pulled her hair up shorter and she wore some long beads.  Very fun!

And I think she looked gorgeous! :)

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of the evening:

my favorites!

Livvy hugging her big sis. :)

She did a great job and her teacher said no one had ever done Señora Webster before so it was a fun addition to the wax museum. 

We had so much fun and were proud of her!

Currently known as Braydon...

One of Braydon's missions is to make goofy faces in all of his photos.  He is such a little jokester and a quick wit. :)  I love spending time and playing around with him.  He is my pride and joy. :)

Recently, he said to me, "Mama (he always calls me mama, even when his friends tease him),

 I think you definitely should have another baby."

"Oh yeah?" I asked, "How come?"

(Braydon) "Because they're awesome, and so you have someone to carry on the family name..."

Of course at this point I gave him a quizzical look and so he quickly replied,

"Well, the rest of us will probably all change our names!"

Haha. Very Funny.

I actually did laugh at that one.

Braydon is such a funny kid.  He loves to joke and kid around.

Here are a few highlights about my sweet boy:

Has his own sense of style* Loves to read* Is currently reading the 39 CLUES books* Loves the color-lime green* Loves dancing and is taking hip hop and ballroom* Is a great student* Loves his iPod* Great with technology and computers* Is a good friend and chooses good friends* Likes to eat weird things- like scorpions, chocolate covered ants, frog legs, etc. (SOOO Gross! I think he may go on a mission one day to somewhere exotic so he can "use" this skill. LOL)* Very neat and Organized* Always does his homework and chores* Empties the dishwasher each day* Loves soft blankets and clothes* Great at styling his hair* Great at routines* Funny kid* Mostly wears contacts now* Is a deep sleeper* Kinda slow in the mornings* Very Curious and Nosy* A big tease* Loves his baby sister* Hazel eyes* Always reminds us to pray and read scriptures* whistles all the time* 12 years old* Is a charming, loving boy

I knew I wanted to spotlight my sweet son I love so much, before he becomes perhaps- Bo, Luke, or Jesse...

Love you kiddo.

(so so much!)

Can't contain her..

Lots of fun times ahead for our little one and I'm so excited for her.  Just look away if you see me crying. ;)

A Slightly Altered Nativity Story...

This is one for the books. A- Must Jot Down Now- Story (because it is just so cute.) :)

I just love kids imaginations. I love that their worlds are an interwoven pattern of fantasy, reality, and possibility.  I love Livvy's little thoughts, words, and expressions right now.

Oh, how I love her expressions!!!

 Her eyes get so big when she is telling you something exciting and she can be so animated... or subtle (depending on her mood).  She is so receptive.  Little Miss Perception is what she is called around our house.  She doesn't miss or forget a thing- i.e. anything she's heard in the far or recent past. 

(Like how she explained to Wade today that before she was born she was just a twinkle in Mommy's eye.)

 She remembers everything (almost). And if she gets something out of sorts, its okay, because her version is much, much cuter. 

Such as:

As I was putting away our Nativity last week,  and without making a sound, Livvy came into the living room and knelt in front of the piano bench. She looked at the picture on the Nativity box for several minutes, while I wrapped and packaged the pieces. She loved the Nativities this year and was always playing with them. 

I let her since she was very careful and respectful with them. 

When she looked up at me finally, it was with this darling bright eyed expression of tenderness and remembrance. 

She spoke so sweet and pointing to Mary on the box said,

"OH- Mommy! I know!!!   The fairy came and told her she was going to have a baby!"

She was so proud to have remembered that special part of the story. 

So I want to remember it forever too. 

I love her. :)

The Power of Words- LOVE This!! :)

I just read an AMAZING blog post that I had to share!  It is a fantastic example of the power of our words!  I can't wait to share this with my children in the morning before school.  I think its a really neat teaching tool and probably much better said than, "Please be nice to your sister!" I believe this is more than coincidence and hope you enjoy this enlightening as much as I did! ;)

click:  Raising Lemons- Words and Water

(Make Sure You Watch The 3 min.. VIDEO Included On The Post...)  

I'd also love to know what you thought of this. :)