1st Annual Family Time!

Oh goodness- we had such a great time at our 1st annual Guthrie family time! That's right- I said annual :) We are going to make this a longlasting tradition, right Mom and Dad?? What amazing parents my sisters and I have- they couldn't have been more fun, generous, thoughtful, or hilarious! We saw My Fair Lady at an awesome little playhouse, went shopping, ate and ate and ate, did some more shopping, went to Aussie Floyd!!, and had some really good talks and tons of laughs! Can't wait for next year already....

First Day.... woohoo!

Hello long lost family and friends- sorry I haven't been updating very much- today was newsworthy however- first day of school!! Can you sense the excitement in my typing? :)

Oh what a fantastic day they had- fresh berries and Danimal smoothies for breakfast- new clothes to wear, new backpacks packed with fresh markers, pencils, and paper, and all the cool stuff GG bought for them too! They burst in the door after school while I was on the phone with Mom and were so excited to tell me all about their day- who is in their class, what they had for snacks and lunch- who they sat by at lunch-all about their cool new teachers- and so on.... I'm so proud of these 2 girls!! It's their only year they will ever get to spend together at the same school, but at least we get one, right? Here's pics!!! Oh- I threw in some pics of their newly cleaned and rearranged bedrooms- I realize it's not very intriguing, but I was pretty happy with it :)

Makeover Partay.... :)

Oh good times! We have been helping my dear friend Felicia out with watching her kids while she goes back to work before school starts, so 2 days a week there is a challenge for me to find something to keep 4 to 6 (any given day brings new things and people) entertained! PLEASE let me know if you have any brilliant ideas... this week was makeover day. Now, be aware that I have never, ever been a makeup kind of girl, so I have a limited amount, but I pulled out what I had to share and let the girls go crazy with eye shadow, nail polish, etc... They had a great time and actually did a great job of skin tone matching- until it got to be later in the day and then it was just fun to spread lipstick on everyone's faces :) all in all, I think they had a good time and let me get some work done in between.. this Monday- school registration, work in between all of the extras, picnic at the park with the cool water spouts, and then off to a 3-year-old b-day party! Wish me luck!

• Ah- camping... there's nothing better in my opinion :) We had a great time- lots of sun and water and dirt and bugs!
  
• Family night is a favorite around these parts too- last Monday night we went to Spokane and took the fancy schmancy carousel ride a couple times, slid down the giant red wagon, and then went to Aunt April's for some awesome homemade pizza~~ this week we are having Alyx and her buddy Adam for dinner (shepherd's pie). And week after that gets super fun- clothes dresser cleanout and get ready for school time! I don't think the girls will be quite as excited about that one.
  
• So what's new with everyone else? I am so looking forward to the trip to SLC in October! And then we have started a money jar to save up money for a trip to Florida next year for Ms. Chesney Bug's wedding :) Good times ahead, I'm sure!
  

Well, the craziness has slowed down to a dull roar this last week... finally getting caught up with work, laundry, and general running around as usual since vacation! We had the greatest last 2 weeks ever! Firstly, Grams, Aunt Teresa, and Uncle Kurt came to our neck of the woods so that Kurt could compete in Ironman- he is truly amazing- he placed 5th in the swimming, that's right 5th out of I think over 1000 athletes... let me know how correct I am on that one Aunt T. We are so super proud of you Kurt!

So while I was busy working and getting ready for my trip, they spent tons of time with the girls and entertained them very very well! It was so fun to have them around- I wish they would all move here....

Then after that, Frankie and I headed on over to the East Coast to spend time with my wonderful sister Amy, Ryan, and my adorable nieces.. Niagara Falls is where Frankie's dad grew up and he flew over a couple of days later to attend their family reunion.... it was soooo fun to be able to spend the week with Ames- she showed us all her favorite places (namely some great shopping areas and Wegman's) We ate tons of great food and did lots of giggling... we even went to a free Peter Frampton concert! In the meantime, we spent time with the Ciccone clan- who are all the nicest, most hospitable people and were so very welcoming to us.

Bob (Frankie's dad) took us all over to the spots where he grew up in the 50s and 60s- some great stories were told! He took us down in the Niagara River gorge and we hiked down there for about 3 hours, took some amazing pictures and saw some beautiful country... that was my favorite place we went. Of course, we spent some time at the falls and decided to forgo the 2+-hour wait in line to go on Maid of the Mist- holy line! It was 4th of July weekend, so I think it was even busier than usual... but wow, what an awesome place to experience :)

So here's some pics for you to enjoy! Love you all so much

MS. Teagyn is officially a Kindergarten Graduate!

Oh joy- we are heading to 1st grade! CAllista, Frankie, and I all made it to Teagyn's graduation yesterday- holy moley- it was sooo cute :) She had this funny look on her face most of the time- kinda like she had no lips.... it's her shy and embarassed look, I presume.

All the classes sang some great songs, including You are my Sunshine, which I have sung to her since she was a newborn, and she has always said it was her favorite song, so of course some tears sprung up on that one.

Then they did some cute other songs and each child got up on the platform to receive their diplomas... Teags was the last one in her class, and Ms. Johnson announced her as the littlest, but certainly not the least- she got up there and the entire crowd whooped and clapped for her, which was hilarious and made her so shy! They didn't do that for any other kid, so I think she got lucky to be the last one- but she's also so dang cute that people just can't help it!! So very proud of all my girls!!

Calli's Birthday!!! 10 years old and counting....

YAY for B-DAY's!!! Our sweet, precocious, Miss Callista Bobista turned 10 a couple days ago :) Can you believe it? 10?? She had a delightful birthday.... we had a bit of a "schoolbus fiasco" so her b-day party is postponed until further notice (good behavior) BUT instead she got to have just a family party, plus she got a big bbq party at her dad's the day after- so all in all, I think she made out pretty well :) Her big present for this year is to go back to gymnastics! She is super stoked about that- evaluation is this coming weekend, so we'll see where she is placed at this point- I'm really excited to support her in this again and I think it's a great thing for her.... she had lots of gifts and phone calls and love from all around!

Besides birthdays, we have lots going on- Teagyn's kindergarten graduation is tomorrow, so there will definitely be pics coming soon from that :) Alyx is doing so so great and is working at Albertson's as a bagger/customer service/cart-getter, etc.... and she is excelling at it! She spends time with us every week and we get to hang out with her a lot... also, her school is coming along really quick and it looks like she will be done by the end of summer... I am working hard and all that- not much new going for me- except oh wait!! I get to go see my gorgeous sister Amy in a few weeks!! Woohoo for Buffalo- here we come! Frankie's family is from there, so we will be going over for his family reunion, and I get to spend time with Ames... considering I'm the last family member to finally make my way over there, I think it's high time this came about :) Can't wait to see you Amy and Ry, and my girly nieces!! Love you all so much- more to come soon