TeN...DouBle DiGitS…A DecAdE.

Ten years ago, right at this exact moment…at 8:48pm I became a mom. My sweet Maya Papaya entered this world and changed me forever. My mind cannot grasp that ten years worth of moments have passed. I still remember so vividly the night she was born. After all the hoopla was over, I stayed up most of the night holding her in my arms, smelling her hair, counting her fingers and toes, caressing her soft baby skin, staring at her precious little features. I sang to her, I talked to her, I prayed for her. I imagined what she would be like.

I remember her first smiles and her first giggle but I barely remember her tiny little voice. Gone are the Dora and Elmo days. The board books and leap frogs are also long gone. Baby dolls, princess dress ups and barbies all have been given away.

 

Now we watch Design Star and So You Think You Can Dance. We have DS games, chapter books and scrapbooks.

The past ten years have gone by so fast it is really scaring me. I have only eight summers left with my girl before she goes to college….how is this possible!? How am I old enough to be the mother of a ten year old?…I could go on but this isn’t about me.

So here is how Maya wanted to celebrate her ten years of life…

Breakfast in Bed…

Swimming with Friends…

“Monkey” themed party without little sister around…

 

Dinner at Ding How…

(Her favorite…miso soup and sesame chicken)

Presents galore…

(She got a book light, the book Ramona’s World, yellow fingernail polish, a DS game, some polly’s and a giraffe from Ede’s.)

Her wishes came true and I was more than happy to grant them to her.

Becoming a mom was the best thing that ever happened to me. I love being a full time mom, even with all it’s challenges I wouldn’t change a thing. I get to see all the milestones and all the million moments in between that create a strong loving, eternal bond.

Happy Birthday Maya! Mommy loves you so….

Sharing Some Hilarious

If you have four minutes and 20 seconds to spare, you must watch this hilarious video my cousin Ammon made. He is on his way to my house right now then off to BYU for his freshman year.
Here is a taste of his wicked talent  and ridiculous sense of humor…Enjoy! (pause my playlist)

Jam

My first experience with making my own jam was not that great. It was a whole lot of work and money for five jars. I was 25 and I wanted to be domestic so I tried it out and decided it was not my thing.
Fast forward almost ten years and I finally felt like it was time to give it another shot...this time the freezer recipe kind.

So I go me some fruit and decided to make a whole day of it.

It took about five hours and this was product of my efforts.

"Why did it take so long?" Some of you more experienced jammers may be asking yourself...well it's because I don't do seeds so I had to sieve them all out.

It was obnoxious but totally worth it!

(this picture was not staged, that jam fell out of my mouth and onto my foot)

I made raspberry peach, strawberry blueberry and raspberry vanilla. They turned out as yummy as they sound and I think I have officially jumped on the jam wagon. My girls even helped and they are going to make some to sell at the garage sale next year...yay for jam!

*****

Oh and this is for Amy Samps...here is a picture of the girls modeling the darling sandals you got them for their birthdays. They love them and I wish they made them in my size! Thanks for sending some love their way...xoxo

Pow-Wow

While we were in Oregon over the Fourth of July we went to a Pow-Wow. I love learning about other cultures and I love to see how the traditions get handed down from generation to generation.

This was my favorite dancer...

This was Maya and Eden's favorite dancer. They called her the "rainbow girl".

They also loved this girl and they wanted me to take pictures to show Grandma K because they know how much she loves butterflies.

These little sweeties stole the show. They were so precious trying to keep up with the big girls.

  

What always amazes me is the detail in all of the costumes. These moccasins were hand beaded...can you even imagine how long it took to make them?!  You just know some grandma spent endless hours to make them for their little grandbaby.

Here is another beautiful pair.

 

My mom and my Tio Marco took the kids out to participate in the community dance.

The girls spent FOREVER looking at booths trying to find just the right souvenir. They were spending their hard earned money so they were very careful in making their choices. Eden chose a pink beaded box for her shark teeth, and Maya chose a green flute. 

This was my souvenir...I had been looking for a yellow bracelet and this one was screaming my name! Too bad Camden thinks it's candy and licks it whenever I wear it.

Papa Joe was on Camden duty. C thought the bins of merchandise were for him to empty on to the ground. He needed a special escort and Papa Joe got the honors...

 

It was a hot day but worth the effort to create such a fun memory. The only bad moment was when I kind of got into it with some mean Native American ladies who didn't like where we were sitting but nothing too serious. The best part of the day was getting a free GIANT snow cone that the whole family got to enjoy because a vendor thought it we were such a nice family....Thank you Mr. Vendor Man for thinking I was a big sister instead of the mom and for saving me five bucks. I really wanted a snow cone I just didn't want to pay for one.