Love Me Some Cheese!

Elijah's line was, "On Saturday the caterpillar ate through one piece of Swiss cheese- and he was STILL HUNGRY!"
The kids waited on stage after they said their lines and Eli held onto that cheese like he was on a mission!

The class danced to a song after the play that was about God loving everyone and everything- like, "If you're a stinkbug, God loves you." There was choreography for each different animal, but Eli stuck with this move the whole time. It was hilarious!

Elijah's spring program for his preschool was on Wednesday. The story was The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Elijah's part was the Swiss cheese. I was worried about his speech in front of a crowd, but he really rose to occasion and I couldn't be more proud! It was adorable. The whole class was great, but I have to admit that my favorite part was after Eli was done with his one line, he made eye contact with me (because I was the crazy mom in front taking pictures!) and yelled, "Hi mom! Did you see me?" My heart fell out of my chest in that moment.

Mother's Day Gift

Rich, Sierra, and Elijah got me a bike seat to hold Sierra so that the family can all ride together. We tried it yesterday at Santa Fe Dam. It was so fun! Sierra didn't show one sign of fear.

The Test of Time

Sierra is holding her most favorite baby.

On Mother's Day Sierra wore a dress that was my birthday party dress from 2nd birthday. It was so fun to see her wearing some thing that I had been photographed in at the same age nearly 30 years ago. She looked adorable and I think it was a special moment for my mom.

Custom Cool

On the Converse website you can design your own All-Stars. Since I always loved wearing All-Stars as a kid, I wanted my kids to have them too and so I designed these Thomas the Train inspired shoes for Elijah. He thinks they are so cool and I love that he's the only one who has them.

Got Thomas?

I was cleaning Elijah's room the other day, and as I was putting away train after train I wondered, "How many of these little guys do we have?" So I took a picture- the answer is too many trains!! These are paintings in Elijah's room that I did for his 3rd birthday.

Oldies But Goodies

These are some fun family shots from before I blogged.
Elijah and I dressed as Woody and Buzz Lightyear for Halloween 2007 Elijah and Sierra pretending to be "Bob the Builder"
A snowy nature walk in New Mexico. November 2007
A very chubby Sierra after a bath and wearing Elijah's boots (anything his is super cool to her)

I love this shot of Eli watching the farmland go by as we chugged down the track in an open air train car.
Sierra is just barely one year old in this shot. She's enjoying a ride on the swing at a birthday party.
Rich and I went to a costume party dressed as Dog the Bounty Hunter and his wife Beth- this was before his show went of the air for him making racist remarks . . . and if you were wondering- they're socks!!

My Top 5

I got this idea from another blog and searched my own thoughts for my top 5. Here we go…
Top 5 List

Top 5 things under $5 that I can’t live without:
chap stick ( Burt’s Bees if we’re getting particular)
bottled water
sharpie markers
deodorant
99 cent tacos from Jack in the Box
Top 5 favorite movies:
Forrest Gump
Pride and Prejudice
Anne of Green Gables
Sixteen Candles
The Fugitive
Top 5 baby names I’d use if I were having more (which I am not planning to)
Skylar Noel(girl)
Micah James
Ezra John
Sonora Grace
and for my inner hippie- I’ve always liked the name Orchid
Top 5 Songs I could listen to over and over:
Gwen Stefani- Wind it Up
Garth Brooks- She’s Everything to Me
Simon and Garfunkel- Homeward Bound
Beatles- Golden Slumber
Vanilla Ice- Ice, Ice, Baby (just for laughs and memories of junior high)
Top 5 NON-RELATED People Who Have Influenced My Life for the Better (this is a tough one because there have been so many)

Tracy
My mom's good friend, Carolyn
My friends (especially Cori)
My favorite teacher from 4th and 5th grade, Mrs. Sommers

My students
5 Things that are always in my purse:
wallet (obviously)
cell phone
chap stick
a toy train (to keep Eli entertained)
coupons for all of my favorite places (fresh ‘n’ easy, NY and Co., Old Navy)

Top 5 Moments that Changed My Life (in no particular order):
My Salvation
My wedding
The birth of my kids
getting hired as a teacher
The deaths of my Grandparents
Top 5 Current Obsessions:
blogging (writing mine and reading others)
eating turkey sandwiches from Subway
looking at autism related websites
trying to plan a summer vacation
writing lesson plans to finish out the current school year
Top 5 Places I’d like to go:
Spain
Australia
Ireland
white water rafting on Colorado River
Egypt (the teacher in me is curious)
Top 5 things around the house that I couldn’t live without:
the toilet (need I say more)
dish washer
my bed
microwave oven
TV
Top 5 jobs I’d love to have if I weren’t already a teacher:
professional artist (painter)
set designer for movies or TV
Host a travel show or review travel destinations
full-time mom at home
buyer for a children’s boutique
Top 5 cars I’d love to have:
1965 Mustang convertible
late 60’s Chevy Malibu
a decked out Honda Odyssey (for the mommy in me)
a 7-series BMW (for my inner- DIVA)
Volvo station wagon
5 Things I’d change in the world if I could:
the vaccine schedule in America (WAY TOO MANY- TOO EARLY)
the cost of living in CA
the hours in a day (I need more)
the percentage of kids who are low performing, don’t know how to read, and don’t have anyone helping them
I can’t narrow it down any further- I see so much need abroad- where do you even start?

I'd love to hear some of your top 5 - think about it.