Introducing...

Shining Stars Preschool!

I am starting my own preschool, and I couldn't be happier! Last December, I went to visit Lyndy Butler at her performing arts preschool, Talent Sprouts, and she really encouraged me to go for my dream and just do it. I love teaching! It brings me such joy, especially when I can teach my own children as well as other children I know and love. Every time it was my turn to teach joy school the last two years, I was so happy and in my element. So Wade and I started talking and planning, and we made it happen. It's been such an exciting process! Yesterday was my Open House, and I already have more than a dozen parents interested. I am keeping my class sizes small for more individualized learning and will be teaching 3 classes of 5 students each. Here are a few pics of the preschool. Fun, huh?

Spring Music Recital

I have been teaching voice lessons for 6 months now, and last night was the Spring Music Recital for my voice students.

Karin is a wonderful woman in my neighborhood. When I was released as Ward Choir Director last year, she told me how much I had helped her and asked me if I could start teaching her and her grandchildren private voice lessons. She sang beautifully last night and has developed so much confidence since I started teaching her.
Emily sang just like a princess last night, with a soft and sweet voice. I was proud of her.

Here are all my voice students eating cookies after the recital. They even surprised me by giving me a bouquet of flowers afterwards. I have loved teaching voice lessons, but I don't think I'll be able to continue in the fall because my preschool will be starting up, so I'm going to have to let some other things go, so I can keep life simple (sort of).

Talent Show & Family Party

Saturday morning was the Neighborhood Talent Show and our family sang "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and the ABC's. Emily was too shy to sing, which surprised us because she had sung with such confidence at the last talent show. So Jonny stepped up and was the star of the show! He was so cute singing the last word of every phrase without missing a beat. Everybody loved it!

Then Wade hopped on his bike and performed some cool tricks. For his grand finale, he jumped off the stage on his bike, which freaked everyone out, but his landing was perfect. He was awesome!

One guy had created mini machines and had the kids take turns testing them out.
Jonny took a ride on daddy's bike, but I think it was a little too big for him...
...and so was the helmet, but it's sure cute on him, right?

Before and after the talent show, Wade and I spent hours priming and painting the back room to to get it ready for my Preschool Open House on Monday morning. I couldn't WAIT to start hanging up my newly laminated posters and white board and bulletin board. :)That evening, we went to Jeff and Elizabeth's to celebrate Dad and Claudia's birthdays. Brandon and Diana came too, and it was a lot of fun hanging out as a family.

The kids had fun playing dress up. First, Jonny put on these cool sunglasses upside down.

Then Ramsi tried on my high heels.Emily tried on the tutu Elizabeth made.

But Jake really got into it and was even posing with the tutu on. It was hilarious! What a cute boy!

Surprise Date

For Christmas, Wade gave me a gift of 12 Surprise Dates, one for each month of the year. He even scheduled it in my planner for every third Saturday, so I knew he wouldn't forget. It's awesome because I genuinely don't have any idea what we're going to do for the date, which is half the fun!
This last Saturday, we picked up sandwiches from Subway and a slurpee from 7-11, and we headed up the mountain to hike Ensign Peek. What a gorgeous view!
Then we walked around Temple Square, which is amazing this time of year with the flowers in bloom, particularly the tulips. When Wade went to use the restroom for a minute, I played a joke on him by having a complete stranger walk up to him, pretending to know him. I picked the right stranger to play along in my little joke because Wade was SO confused and just couldn't figure out how he knew this guy. It was hilarious, and then he saw me laughing from around the corner and finally figured it out. Afterwards, he wanted to take some pictures of me...
But for the most part, I wasn't cooperating and was just being a goof! Is that a surprise to anyone? ;)

We ended the evening by attending an orchestra performance at Temple Square. The music was beautiful, and we were both in awe of the talent of the young performers.

SNL High School Musical 4

I saw this on a friend's blog and thought it was hilarious!

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Easter Weekend

After a small Easter egg hunt at Leah's birthday party on Friday afternoon, the 2 year olds (Isabelle, Jon, Leah, and Addie) put their baskets aside for some real fun playing at the sand/water table.

Emily and Jonah, on the other hand, found a great hide-out spot where they could devour their candy without their moms noticing. Yeah right! I knew what she was up to, even though she kept shouting, "You can't find me, mom!" lol

After the birthday party, we went to Warren and Elaine's house for a hunt and picnic with friends. It was wonderful, and I realized more than ever how much I am going to miss them when they move.
Jonny and Lydia climbed into the red wagon and just sat there, waiting for someone to start pulling them. It was one of the cutest things I've ever seen!
Aunt Ruthanne and Uncle Austin came over Saturday morning to dye eggs with Emily and Jon. They even brought candy because they wanted to have an Easter egg hunt with the kids afterwards.

I think my kids felt pretty special that Ruthanne and Austin had set up this hunt just for them. Thanks you guys!

That afternoon, we spent time with Wade's family, which we really enjoyed. Mom and Keith had hidden baskets around the house, which were filled with fun little toys.
Then the kids hunted for eggs in the basement. Jon received a picture of Christ when he was the lucky one to find the empty Easter egg, which symbolized the empty tomb, from which Christ arose on the third day.
Here are all the Stoney cousins, minus Taylor and Hayden. Emily couldn't have been more excited to have the same shirt as Ramsi and Ashtyn. She kept saying, "We're twins! We're twins!"

While I was dying Easter eggs that morning with Ruthanne, Austin, and the kids, Wade made an amazing chocolate Texas sheet cake for the family to share. We put 11 candles on one side for Kaylee, 2 candles in the middle for Jon, and 10 candles on the other side for Jo Jo. I kept telling Jo Jo she didn't have to carry Jon everywhere, but she wanted to, and heck, he loved the attention!

Here's Jo Jo, Emily, Kaylee, and Jon chasing each other in the backyard. As we were leaving, Jon said, "Jo Jo my friend. Jo Jo nice."
On the way home, the kids dumped the eggs out, so they could put their buckets on their heads and over their faces so they could make funny echo sounds. So silly!

The second we got home, Jonny ran to the nearest mud puddle and practially gave himself a mud bath. Aren't you proud of me for not stopping him? He had never been so happy!

Last, but not least, I just want to express why this holiday means so much to me. I feel so indebted to my Savior for His atoning sacrifice for us all. It's humbling to think of the great love He has for each one of us. It makes me want to be better everyday, so I don't cause him additional pain. I love Him and I love each of you, and am so grateful for the examples you are to me.

dance the night away

Friday night, the Institute had a Red Carpet Formal Dance. We were excited to attend because we love dancing together, it was free, and we found a good babysitter. We laughed at ourselves the entire evening as we realized we were out of practice and stumbled a little with our swing dancing and waltzing. And it was pretty much hilarious how we faked our way through the line dance moves. Oh. My. Goodness. But it was a blast, and we can't wait to go dancing again.

The best part was after the dance when Wade surprised me by pulling into Pizza Hut for pick-up. He knew that I had been craving Pizza Hut for months (no, I'm not pregnant), but we rarely eat pizza because we've been trying to eat heathier. But it's still one of our favorites, so we picked up our pizza, and then ate it at home while we watched Just Like Heaven. Good times.