Katy Perry!

7/26/11 - I got tickets, for Carlin and I, to go see Katy Perry in concert!  We love her songs and her crazy outfits!.  I had two extra tickets and Carlin wanted to take her friend Bailey.  Bailey's mom came with us too.  We took the girls to dinner and then headed to the concert.
My cell phone died so I couldn't take any pictures but the concert was awesome!  Baby your a firework!!!

Fourteen!

My baby girl turned 14 in July!  I will say it again, the years go by so fast!  Carlin is such a wonderful young woman and we love having her in our family.  The first year of being a teenager actually went pretty well.  I hope it stays that way :).
To celebrate she had two birthday parties one with each of our families.  She scored with the presents - geesh!  On my side of the family, we celebrate Carlin and my niece Madalyn's birthday together for July.

New Pair of shoes

Money is nice!

Carlin and Maddie

And what is I am sure one of the highlights of her birthday was the surprise party her BFF Bailey threw for her!  The day before Carlin's birthday Bailey asked if Carlin could hang out with her and their friend Matt.  At around 3:00 p.m. they came to her door with their swimsuits on.  Carlin was like "You didn't tell me we were going swimming!"  So she went outside to leave and on the side of the house her friends yelled surprise!  They walked to the park up the street where they met up with Bailey's parents Mike and Bobbi!  They were so awesome to help out Bailey and put the party together.  Dustin and I had given them money for pizza and treats since we were both working.  

The kids had a blast playing kick ball (boys against girls), throwing water balloons and cupcakes at each other, hitting each other with socks full of flour (what a mess - LOL) and the highlight was spraying each other with a fire hose.  Mike works for Unified Fire and had some of his coworkers brought a firetruck to the park!

Carlin and Bailey

Later on they went back to Bailey's house to play games, jump on the trampoline and just hang out!

  

Thanks Bailey, Bobbi and Mike!

Happy Birthday Carlin darlin!  We love you!

Carlin's Basketball BBQ and awards

Carlin finished Lady Wildcats basketball back in March but since her coach also coaches softball, we didn't have her team party until the first part of June.  Her 8th grade team went undefeated during the regular season and took second place in the tournament they played in.  The Girls 9th grade team took second place against the other middle schools which I think was throughout Jordan School District.

Carlin plays point guard and is very competitive!  She did great and will be gearing up to play again in the Fall. This time I made sure I had my camera and batteries (see my post about Caden's baseball end of year dinner).  It was very sunny and it seemed like almost every picture I took Carlin had her eyes closed.  What to do right?

Undefeated!

Woo Hoo!  Carlin played 8 games with her Lady Wildcats team and they went undefeated!!  She has played wonderful and she has a great group of girls on her team.  Now on to tournament games!

School update!

2nd Quarter ended for the kids and time for me to brag again!  Caden earned a 3.5 grade point average and Carlin earned a 3.8!  They both made honor roll again.  We are so proud that they continue to keep up their high level of progress in school with their good grades!  I hope it is not just the monetary reward they receive when they do make honor roll that keeps them motivated.  :) 

Life is a dance, from one stage to the next . . .

Caden and Carlin signed up for social ballroom this year in school.  Carlin has really liked it, Caden not so much.  I think he thought it was going to be cooler than it turned out to be but he has been a good sport about it.  It is only a half year class so their semester performance was a Christmas/Look back through the years recital.  It was a recital with the advanced dance classes along with the social ballroom classes.  Each class was assigned a certain type of dance and that is what they performed.

Caden's class had to do the Waltz.  I am not sure what song they danced to - it didn't have words but it was very pretty!  I told him before the performance to please try to have fun and to smile :) - As you can see my request was not granted!

Carlin's class had to do the Cha Cha and they performed it to "Chain of Fools".  Before each dance, chosen students gave the audience a short speech that pertained to each dance.  Carlin was a "chosen" one and did a great job!

Lady Wildcats Basketball

Woo Hoo - Carlin made the West Hills Lady Wildcats 7th/8th grade A team again this year!  She is super excited and loves to play.  It keeps her busy - she practices at least three times a week after school and then plays one game on Saturday.  Her coach is also putting the teams into another league starting in January so she will play another game during the week.
So far, the team has won the two games they have played.  The first game she scored 4 points and the second game she scored 7 points.  She really hustles!
We love this cutie sooo much!  She really is a wonderful daughter!  I don't know how she manages her time because between her practices, games, and friends she manages to get all of homework done and keep her grades up.  Good job sis - we love you!

Sub for Santa

Every year, at Christmas time, my office helps out needy families that live in the surrounding area and whose children go to the local elementary school.  This year the school gave us six families who were in need.  The families varied from a single mom with a small son to a very large family who had six children.  It breaks my heart every year because their situations are so sad and it really makes me realize how fortunate I am.  One family has a two year boy who has brain cancer and this will probably be his last Christmas.
The parents fill out some paperwork for us such as the names, ages, and gender of the children.  They also give us ideas that they would want or need and any clothing sizes.  Some just want groceries to make a holiday meal.  We make up paper ornaments with the information on it and post them in our lobby.  Employees can take as many as they would like, buy the items for the children, and then bring back to the office unwrapped. 
We have our kids save a portion of their allowance throughout the year so they can specifically use it for charity.  I picked out eight ornaments and let Caden and Carlin each pick four that they wanted to buy for.  Dustin and I took them shopping and we told them that they could pick out the item listed and that we would help them find a size if needed.  They really took the time to try to find something that they thought the kids would like and when we checked out at the register they did it all on their own paying with their money.  We are very proud of them and we always want them to realize how lucky they are to have the necessities and luxuries that some families can't afford.

Just have to brag for a minute!  Carlin received a 4.0 G.P.A for the first Qtr of school and Caden received a 3.5 G.P.A.  They both made honor roll! 
I know they get sick of Dustin and I constantly on the watch to make sure they do their homework, turn the assignments in and checking Skyward on their grades but it is worth it to see the report cards at the end of the Qtr.  AWESOME!

My Baby is 13!

 

My baby girl turned 13 in July!  Now both of my kids are teenagers!  I really don't know where the time as gone.  She has always been such a joy and a blessing to us.  Her and Caden are only 21 months apart.  Dustin and I were overwhelmed with the thought of having two kids so close together.  But, overall it has been a great thing.  It is nice having them so close in age.  She was such a cute baby but she was headstrong from the start!  She definately held her own against her brother.  She also wanted to be independent at a young age - wanting to dress herself or make her own lunch.  She is growing up to be a wonderful young lady.  I thought I would share "13" things you should know about her.

 

 

1.  She is so loving.  There isn't a day where Dustin and I don't receive a hug and a kiss from her.  It makes my heart melt.

2.  She is fiercely independent - she wants to do everything herself and on her own terms.

3.  She is a crack up!  She is always making us laugh with a joke or a silly face or voice.

4.  She is a 4.0 student! 

5.  She remembers everything!  She did a book report on Elenor Roosevelt in the 3rd grade and can still remember the facts about her!

6.  She is great with kids and is an excellent babysitter.

7.  She loves shoes! (Just like her mom)

8.  She loves to play basketball and is very competitive. (Just like her dad).

9.  Her favorite place is San Diego.

10.  She loves Dolphins.

11.  She wants to be an orthodontist when she grows up.

12.  She has a great group of friends who I love!

13.  SHE IS BEAUTIFUL - INSIDE AND OUT!