Aubrey performing at Kingsbury Hall

My little princess was absolutely beautiful last Wednesday. She danced with the Utah Dance Academy at Kingsbury Hall while they performed "Aladdin". The performance was truly spectacular, and Aubrey was magnificent as she danced with her golden lamp. We were not allowed to take pictures during the performance, so the only photos I have are before the performance and after the performance. Before the performance you can sure see the concern in Aubrey's face, but the look on her face after the performance says it all. Pure satisfaction! Grandma Steiner drove down from Rexburg to go with me and what a special treat that was for Aubrey. Grandma gave her Roses afterwards and lots and lots of hugs. I too could not stop hugging my little princess. I love being a mom!!!

Gummy Peanut Butter Boy (Aubrey's Idea)

This post is especially for Alan. Crazy Christian decided to put a big, gob of pink bubble gum right in the middle of his hair. I called Alan laughing to tell him that I was going to have to cut his hair, and was quickly told to put peanut butter on it and let it sit. Well, the kids got pretty excited about this idea. I let Aubrey have the honors of putting the PB on his head, and immediately Christian put his hand on his head to feel what was there. When he saw it was PB, he said "Yummy, peanut butter" and quickly licked his fingers. YUCK! Cameron thought this was sooo funny. Instantly the kids started making silly faces to see who could get the most laughter. What a night! Ironically enough we still had to cut his hair...the PB didn't work.

Exciting Day at Wheeler Farm

Today was an exciting day at Wheeler Farm. The Utah Kids Club sponsored a day of activities, games, and shows. JoAnna, Kelli and I gathered our gaggle of kids and arrived first thing this morning. We started with the Reptile show (very cool) then moved on to the Little Chef booth, where my little chefs got to make fettucine. After that Aubrey and Ella got their hair done by every girls all time favorite salon, Sweet and Sassy. We then moved on to the bounce toys where the kids got to jump on the toys as many times as they liked! Cameron and Christian were estatic to see Spiderman there. Needless to say, they were exhausted by the end.

Budding Photographers...through the eyes of a child

Aubrey and Christian have taken an interest in photography lately...and obviously, I couldn't be happier! Alan would die if he knew (I guess now he does) that I gave Aubrey and Christian turns holding my Nikon. They were in control of finding their subjects, telling them how to pose, and shooting the photo. Although many of these photos are rather embarrassing for me, seeing how they wanted Mommy for many of their shots, I am posting them nonetheless. For anyone who has ever used an SLR camera, they can be pretty tricky. I was so proud of them when I saw how well their pictures turned out. Christian liked his pictures best as black and white, so all of his are black and white. I left Aubrey's in color because she took so many outside shots. This was actually quite the eye opener for me. As they were taking the pictures they kept saying, "Mommy, get down", meaning of course, get down to my level. As I was down at their level, I really started seeing things through their eyes.

Hiking at Bridal Veil Falls

What a day! Alan's sister Kristi is visiting from Boston, so we grabbed our kids and headed up to Bridal Veil Falls for the afternoon. On the way to the falls the kids collected treasures, aka rocks, to be saved for throwing when we reached the water. We had a blast playing in the water, throwing rocks, and of course endlessly chasing the kids. Aubrey, Cameron and Christian took their first hike of the summer by trying to climb up to the falls. It became apparent that the dirt was too slick and they soon came sliding down. Tonight I found rashes on all three of their little bottoms...we must have hit some rocks on the way down! On the way back to the car we collected caterpillars and inspected dozens (although it seemed like hundreds) of leaves for caterpillar holes. We topped it off by playing on the playground and stopping for ice cream on the way home. I love summer!!

Visiting Grandma and Grandpa Steiner

We drove up to Rexburg during Spring Break to visit Grandma and Grandpa. The cousins were all there and what a party! Grandpa had to wow everyone with a cool volcano made from mentos and Fresca, then took everyone on rides on the four wheeler. To top it all off we went to see Horton Hears a Who and then out for ice cream. Whew! I was tired, and Grandma and Grandpa still had more fun up their sleeves! It was a memory we will never forget. I took the kids out to Mud Lake and we were able to visit some old friends we left behind when we moved to Utah.

Aubrey and her serial casting saga

Aubrey had serial casts put on both legs during the middle of May. We were so excited with the results! The range of motion in her feet increased considerably. After her first week of casting her braces had not yet arrived so they recasted her legs (with a more intense stretch) for one more week. The pain was too much in Aubrey's legs and we had to take them off. Now she just has to wear a day brace for two hours and night braces while she sleeps. She loves not having those bulky casts anymore! Her muscles are stretching the way they should and hopefully will continue to grow as fast as her bones are! Oh, we love our little princess...however, lately she has been my little soldier.