Anika attended her first Vacation Bible School this week. Lovely Mrs. Donna was her teacher. A truly wonderful and Godly woman! She was so patient with Anika, understanding that she gets overstimulated with load noises and many people. She praised Anika's strengths in reading and while acknowledging her weaknesses, did not catastrophize them into some kind of syndrome. I pray that Anika will have a teacher like Mrs. Donna when she goes to public school. You can see her preforming the songs she learned at VBS "Commencement" in this video I downloaded on Youtube. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT8NZ91VPGM

I can't believe our lovely children's boutique Junior Towne is closing tomorrow. I LOVE that store. 70% off everything meant that I got Anika dresses and shoes galore! I think she is set on clothes until she moves out. So long Junior Towne. I will miss you!

How much David eat in a day...

One cup lentil soup, 2 ice cubes spinach and tofu, 2 cups berry yogurt, 1 cup salmon chowder, 1 cup banana prune quinoa, 1 cup apricot banana apple tofu...the list goes on and on. How can one little baby put away this much food???

Alaska Zoo Field Trip

Sunday was fairly nice weather, so we decided to take a family trip to
the zoo. Needless to say that the kids were very whiny and
unwieldy. We didn't stay long, esp. since Anika's favorite
"animal" (Bees) were not on display.

This week has been fun-filled. Dave just had his professional 9 month photos taken yesterday. It was fun seeing him in his baptismal/dedication digs again. I really enjoy JCPenney's photos and am glad that we have been diligent in getting so many photos of the children these last few months. I am looking forward to having more printed to hang on our walls.

We have had some successes and misses with Anika's potty training. She is now in "big girl pants" only, forgoing all pull ups and diapers. She has yet to go poo on the potty, making clean ups messy and just plain gross. But I am determined to have her potty trained by the time we go visit the family in Oregon and for sure by the time she enters preschool in the Fall. Not much seems to be working--both positive and negative reinforcement has been tried to no avail. I am hoping that just feeling icky enough for long enough will get her to go in the potty. Enough with the messes already!

I went to bookclub today. I really enjoy the women in the group. I can't believe it has been 7 years since I started the club! Time has flown by. This month we will be reading a book called Comfort Food. Sounds fun and light for the summer. Just what I feel like reading!

I finished the Gold Nugget Triathlon this last weekend and really enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I have been evaluating doing more of them. Thanks to good friend Tracy Morrison, I think that I might come to like this swimming/biking/jogging thing. I really feel more healthy and strong by doing this type of cross training. Only time will tell if I stick to it.

Garage sales are in full swing. While I love the close proximity of the community-wide ones, they seem to be getting more and more crowded and "cut throat". Maybe I am getting too lazy, but I just don't feel like haggling over a 5 cent item. Perhaps my garage selling days are coming to a close. Thrift stores, on the other hand...

Onto another topic--hair styles. I have had the same one since, say, third grade. I think that it is time for something new. So I went onto this virtual hairstyle website and found some styles I like. If anyone feels like commenting, I would love any and all opinions. I plan to get something done in a few weeks. So what one do you like best?

Our Last Bossa Nova Preformance

The Gold Nugget

I am overjoyed to be finished with the gold nugget. I placed #4 in
the most improved catagory, thanks to being 9 months pregnant last
year! I was able to place better than two years ago by about 250
places. Overall, I am very proud to have done it this year. Thank
you Tracy Morrison for having the patience to put up with my griping
and for encouraging to accomplish this!

Today my band, Nouveau Bossa Amore, played at East High School. We were resident artists there, teaching the band students about Bossa Nova. It was great practice for the band. We had a great time. Thank you students for having us!