Sir Paul

I have now officially seen one of the real Beatles in concert. (Not the Beatles cover band we saw play in Park City when I was about 8 that I merely thought were the real Beatles.)

Paul McCartney came in town just for my birthday this year. My cute husband seized the opportunity to surprise me with tickets. (Smart man... knows it's a win-win.) It was such a fun night. I didn't know if cameras were allowed; so I have exactly 0 pictures to document the occasion. Oh well. It was a concert I won't soon forget. (And just in case I do forget I'll just glance back at this pic I stole off the internet. ;)

I have to say that, now that I'm 31, I am truly not made to stay out till 1:00 and function the next day. (It doesn't help that Eva was my rooster at 6:30 the next day.) My only complaint is that Paul forgot to sing the birthday song for me. Still... any time I have the chance to catch Sir Paul in concert, I'm there!

Sunday at Snowbird

Yesterday we went up to relax for the day at Snowbird. It's always nice to be up in the mountains during the Utah summers. It was such a nice day. Here's a quick video of the girls doing flips on the trampolines up there. (Feel free to ignore the annoying mom in the background. Do I really sound like that?!)

AND because I can't figure out how to flip this, you get to look at it sideways.

And, because I am such a responsible parent, here is a picture of my child feeding cranberries to a ground squirrel:

Seriously... you can't judge me though. This provided hours of entertainment, and I need my rest. I'm still getting over "the mono." See... Look how tired I look:

A Name and A Wish...

I have oodles of stuff to blog about. (Some of it from way back when there was snow to ski on!) I don't know when (or if) I'll get around to it, but I didn't want to forget these two little tidbits.

First from Eva... Lately she tells me all about how she wants to be a grown up. She can't wait. She wants to drive, buy things, have a phone... and of course have a baby. She's started telling me that she wishes that she were me. Today in the car...
Eva- I really wish I could be you... Do you wish you could be me?
Me- Sometimes.
Eva- Right now... Will you wish it right now?
Me- Okay.
Eva- (pause) It didn't work. Maybe we can try it again another day.

I love her.


Now from Naiya... Yesterday in the car (again... we live in the car lately) We talking about names. Naiya LOVES to make up names. She has since she was itty bitty. They asked about why Neema is called Neema and Pa is called Pa (although they know the stories... they have heard me tell them many times). Then...
Eva- What will Dad be when I have a baby?
Me- He will still be your dad.
Eva- No... what will we call him?
Me- I don't know... maybe Pop Pop. Maybe your kids will think of something.
Naiya- Yeah, like we did.
Me- What will your kids call me?
Naiya- (without missing a beat like if she's been thinking about it for years) Basil.

Basil? I love her!

New shoes, New shoes, Shiny white and blue shoes...

Okay.... so they aren't white and blue, but grayish white and yellow just doesn't have the same ring to it. (Seriously if the title on this post isn't proof enough that I need a break from teaching kindergarten, I don't know what is!)

A few weeks ago the Salt Lake Running Company opened a new store. They moved it to a location that I drive by at least twice every day (to and from work). Twice a day I drive by the store and see the big "now open banner." Every day after work I notice the neon sign shining "OPEN." They even had a bounce house/party thing going on the last couple of weekends. I'm going to go ahead and assume that fate is trying to give me a push. I went and bought myself new running shoes today. Turns out fate was right. The wonderfully helpful sales rep did a video tape evaluation of my stride and then brought SEVERAL shoes that would work best for how I run. He did the "lets see what feels best and then look at the price" thing. My feet have expensive taste.... but fate loves me. The most comfortable shoes for me turned out to also be the most expensive... until you count in that they were 1/2 off. 1/2 OFF!!!!! Oh yeah! I now see that fate is all but tying the laces for me and giving me a kick in the butt out the door.
The only bad part was when I was paying for the shoes, the guy asked me how many miles I'm putting in. I had to answer.... "Miles? Uh... I guess I'd have to say zero...." He was nice about it though... he said at that rate these shoes were going to last me a long time. ;)

I ran two miles as soon as the girls went to bed. I know it's nothing compared to my miles of ole, but it's a start. I'm hoping I'll need a new pair of shoes within 6 months.

Side note: 8 more school days left! :)

4 weeks

As of tomorrow, there are 4 weeks left of school. 20 days. I am so excited to start summer adventures. You know on that last day, I'm going to be peeling rubber out of the parking lot with the windows down and "School's out for the summer.... " blaring on the stereo. This year has been the most challenging/biggest adjustment period in my life. (Keep in mind that I had two kids 13 months apart!)

Right now my "adventures list" looks something like this for the next 2 weeks:
Stay up late grading SAT tests
School Science Day- tomorrow
School Clean-Up Day -Friday
Next week we have 2 field trips
I'm in charge of a baby shower for one of the teachers on Tuesday
The girls have 3 birthday parties to attend in the next week and a half
(not including Auntie Betsy on Friday or Uncle Martin on Saturday)
J and I have a wedding to attend next week


I can't wait until it looks something like this:
- Camping in Moab over Memorial Day
- Trip to the family Ranch 2nd week of June
- Road trip to visit Uncle George in Oregon and Courtney in Seattle at end of June.
- Vegas girls weekend in July (Jealous? Heck yeah you are... but don't be, I EARNED it!)

4 weeks... doesn't sound so bad. I just might make it yet! :)

Winding down the March Madness

This week was the craziest one yet. After having parent conferences last week, you'd think we would get to relax a little this week, but that isn't the case. This week was the school's Shakespeare Festival.
On Monday morning, I got to get the girls all dolled up because the preschool students sang before the play in the afternoon. They wore their cute dresses that Nana Janet bought for Easter last year. I spent at least an hour ironing the flowers nice and flat the night before. Of course, by the time they performed (after lunch) the flowers were little wrinkly bits again. (At least I tried.) Jared was even able to make it for their performance. They only sang a couple of songs, but this time BOTH girls sang. Naiya sang nice and loud and led the class in all the hand motions. Eva sang to the floor, but at least she sang!! I took them to Diva's for cupcakes and hot cocoa after school to celebrate.
Tuesday there was another matinee performance of the play (The 12th Night), and this time my class danced the May Pole Dance after the play. The months of practicing paid off because they did a wonderful job.
Wednesday was school as usual. Jared was able to take some time to come and help in Naiya and Eva's classroom in the morning. They have been learning about plants; so he came and helped them plant some flowers and seeds. The girls were in heaven having their daddy help at school.
The girls got to spend the afternoon with Neema and Pa because my students performed again in the evening. We performed after the play (not until about 8:30). It makes for a long day. The long day is especially long when you know that you have to do it all again the next day. Thursday was our final performance (again after the play in the evening). Friday was school as usual (with a load of tired students and teachers.)
All in all I realized that I was "Mrs. Chamberlain" for well over 50 hours last week. It was very nice to get to see my family and be "Mommy" again Friday after school.
The girls had a birthday party at Fat Cat's on Saturday. It was a lot of fun (even if a couple of my students were there to call me Mrs. Chamberlain again ). Then the girls and I went shoe shopping for Easter shoes (for them). Eva had so much fun, she didn't want to leave. She told me that she would like to come back and try on more shoes again really soon. Naiya was just wondering why she couldn't wear her sneakers (or her snow boots) with her Easter dress. Jared worked yesterday until well after dark. Landscaping season is in full force.
I am EXTREMELY grateful that we only have one more week of school before spring break. I've never been so ready for a week off. A "week off" so that I can spring clean, file the mountains of paperwork on my desk at home, do taxes, find songs for the spring program, get my things together to renew my teaching license, go to the dentist and OBGYN, spend some time with my family, and maybe get a little sleep.... maybe.

Is it just me?

Does any one else feel strange when they sit back and look at their life? Today I was working on school stuff on the laptop in Neema's kitchen watching my girls play and waiting for my husband to return from a trip to Home Depot. It hit me how strange it is that this is my life. I know I'm 30 and all, but I still don't feel old (responsible/grown-up) enough to have a husband, a house, kids and a "real" job. I'm not complaining, I LOVE my family, it's just strange. Am I the only one that feels like that?