to the theater

so, the Hale Center Theater here in Gilbert puts on children's plays every summer. this year it's Cinderella, so i knew Anna would be thrilled. i told Jason about it and he said, "let's all go!" this was slightly astonishing to me since the idea of taking an 18 month old to a play sounded difficult to me, the one who usually takes her places. but he insisted it would be great, and as usual, he was right. they were both a little scared of some of the louder things about the experience, but overall they were enchanted by the lights, music, and magic of their favorite princess. and Jason and i were captivated by out two favorite princesses, what a great Earl family outing!

this is the best picture i got of all three of them together, even at intermission i could not get the girls' eyes off the stage.
afterward the cast forms a receiving line for autographs and pictures, Madeline would have none of it, but Anna thought it was too cool to meet a "real life Cinderella!"
here's our little lady who was so well behaved, until we left. Maddie, thanks for saving the tantrums for the car!

i don't even know what to say

not sure what the motivation was behind this outfit, Anna says, "because it's just cute," but i crack up everytime i look at this picture.

now it's done

so, i finally finished the other wall in Anna's room. it's really not that big of a deal, but the way i drag things out and refuse to commit, it makes the whole project seem much bigger. it's a little hard to read the painted portion, but all together it says, "i believe in fairies." i had fun doing it, and i love all the colors, and most of all i love how cool Anna thinks it is. she is really into fairies right now, from Tinkerbell to dust (which i told her was fairies because when she was little she was scared of dust, long story), she wants to be a fairy for halloween, and she can tell you where all the fairies live in her room. so cute!

dance take 3

how awesome is it to have reliable friends. this morning, i had a real estate appointment that was really hard to work around, but i just called up my friend Nicole to see if she wouldn't mind taking Anna to dance and she didn't. she even put an extra car seat in her truck so i wouldn't have to move mine. thoughtful and kind, thanks Nicole. so, here's Anna's chosen outfit for week 3 of dance. she is really loving it and practices what she learns very diligently!

the kids are always really proud of the stamps they get on their hand after class. this week's was a star. and each week Anna asks her teacher to give Madeline a stamp for being a "good watcher," she's such a caring sister always making everything fair. thanks Anna!

entering year 7!

Jason and i celebrated our 6th anniversary this weekend! it was wonderful. we have a routine for anniversaries that i particularly like, including sticking to the traditional gifts and being creative, but Jason broke with tradition and topped the cake with delicious icing by sending me to the spa for a maternity massage!!!!!!!!!!! i cannot put into words how wonderful this particular present was to me on this particular day. first, i've been far and away more uncomfortable in the past few days and weeks than with any other pregnancy. my legs are always cramping up on me, and my back has given me issues all along. to be honest, i really didn't think a massage was going to do it, a full time masseuse maybe, but a massage? let me tell you, 2 days later, i am still the most blissful person ever to walk the earth. and it turns out Jason was giving himself a little gift as well, the whole time i was getting the massage i felt an almost uncontrollable urge to thank my husband. i could not get him out of my mind, i was composing love letters in my head, thinking he was the best husband in the world, trying to come up with something wonderful enough to repay him. in short, i thought i could never love anyone as much as i loved him before the massage, and now unbelievably, i love him more! the masseuse gave me a new pair of legs. i feel like dancing. i meekly presented Jason with his gift, his favorite treats and a new golf club (year 6 is candy and iron), and we finished up the night with a trip to the temple to do sealings and a romantic dinner out. such a perfect day! not to be repetitive, but i love Jason Earl. happy anniversary honey, you are the best thing that's ever happened in my life. when i think of all we have (and are expecting!) i am overcome with an enormous sense of peace and happiness. thank you for making my life so wonderful, even without the world's greatest massage, i am the happiest woman alive!!!! i love you!

dance take 2

so, for my own need to document, i'm taking a picture of Anna each time she goes to dance class. each week the class covers, tap, ballet, and tumbling. it's almost impossible not to since she takes such care in picking out which of her 4 leotards to wear, and how exactly she wants her hair done. here she is in her "gynaxist suit" performing a few of her moves, and showing love to her number one fan!

happy to be the real me!!!!!

our ward put on an outstanding program for the young women and their mothers tonight. it's called Happy to be the REAL Me, and it emphasized the importance of eternal perspective on things like body image and worldly beauty. i was particularly struck with the brilliance of this book:i immediately hopped on Amazon and ordered myself (and my girls) a copy. i thought the presenters did and outstanding job of exposing the media "tricks" that effect our self esteem, showing the impossibility of living up to worldly ideas of beauty, and underscoring the idea the we are really daughters of our Heavenly Father, with experts from talks by Elder Holland and Sister Tanner.

as a woman, and a mother of girls, i hope to overcome my own negative issues and allow my daughters to become who they are intended to be, without being dragged down into the traps of self-pity that the world puts out for us, and that Satan hopes will distract us from our ultimate goals in life. i am thankful for my body and all that it enables me to do! I LIKE MYSELF!!!!!!!!!!

the morality of Magnum

so, you may remember my recent post about Magnum PI in my children's lives. it's true, i'm obsessed. but tonight, Magnum taught us a lesson. our regular Family Home Evening routine is to let Anna and Madeline flip through issues of the Friend choosing a "lesson" while i make dinner, then Daddy comes home, we eat, play a game (usually "naughty bear" a game Anna made up which basically means Daddy pretends to be a bear, chasing the girls around the house until they use their water powers on him to turn him back to Daddy, i must get a video of this game), then it's time for the girls to present their chosen lesson. Anna explains what she's extrapelated from the pictures, and i follow up with the actual story. tonight, Anna chose Bullies and Brothers. now just to set the scene, i'm a little emotional this pregnancy, so i got choked up explaining how the girls were mean to Heather and called her names, but her big brother stood up for her. then, during the family discussion portion of the evening Anna said, "Dad, today on Magnum, Rick called Higgins a snob. that wasn't very nice. i would tell Rick to apologize" it's good to know that my obsession is correlating so well with our family gospel instruction!

my little photographer

so, the aforementioned disposable camera had a few pics left on it. i gave Anna a go, which was funny because she would take a picture and then look at the back of the camera and say, "oh, that's cute, that was a good one," like she was looking at the lcd on the back of a digital camera. classic. i was however, surprised with the results: not too shabby.

date night

so, Jason and I readily admit that we are somewhat boring, at least by other people's standards. we are both pretty happy staying at home relaxing with the kids and then watching a movie when they go to bed. i know, boring. we do however, go to the temple monthly and also sneak in a dinner out with about the same frequency. so, when our friends offered us 2 tickets to the Counting Crows show, we decided to brake the mold and do something FUN!!!!
i like Counting Crows. their music was popular when i was in high school, but i can't say i've kept up with any new stuff. Jason was pretty clueless about them. but our neighbor Rich is a SUPER FAN. apparently if you are a super fan, this was the worst Counting Crows concert ever, but for us it was fun. i will say we were all on the same page when it came to Maroon 5, not all that crazy about them.

tiny dancer

so, i enrolled Anna in a dance class at the Chandler Community Center. she gets to go with friends Riley and Sierra, and they do tap, jazz, ballet, and tumbling. i like the fact that it's a low-key introduction and just really fun. she was extremely excited to start, picking her outfit a week in advance, and after the class was over she exclaimed, "mom, that was awesome!" i thought so too. (incidentally she has her outfit picked out for next week too!)

i think we might put Madeline in a hip hop class!

flashback

i found an old toss-away camera up in my cupboard and discovered pictures from a Cure show that Jason and I attended with Ali and Greg in August 2004. it was so weird to see ourselves a mere 4 years younger, but looking like teenagers with no bags under our eyes, no bloat from extra lbs., no worries really. ultimately, we may look 10 years older than our 4 years-younger selves, but it's all been worth it! at least for Jason and me, i think Nalu may have a hankering for the pre-baby days when apparently i used to lounge around with her all day showering her with attention. (funny, i barely remember it.) but, maybe if she could talk, she'd say the eye poking, ear pulling, lack of 3 mile jogs and personal space, is all worth it too!!!

obsession confession

so, you may or may not know that i have a very serious obsession. one that i'm not sure many relate to. it has consumed me for many years, ever since my Friday night babysitter used to let me stay up with her. i've always done what i could to find it. at one point it became a daily habit. i'm talking about Magnum P.I.i don't know what it is, the intrigue, the characters, Hawaii, Robin's nest, the ocean, the fast cars, pretty guest stars, but i've been hooked for over 20 years. and now i know this obsession must run deep in my veins, because i've passed it on to the next generation:

we disposed of regular tv and now watch only dvds. luckily my brother gifted me with the first season of Magnum. the girls immediately fell in love. one day after her nap, Maddie kept saying "num, num." i opened the refrigerator, the pantry, anything to find the snack she was asking for. finally, she grabbed the dvd case and said in a very demanding voice, "num, num - show!" she was ready for her fix, and i can't blame her.

here's Anna on Magnum: