paisley pie

Miss Paisley turned 3!
This sweet little muffin is so artistic and loves to paint. She takes it very seriously. When she was painting this canvas I came over to talk to her. At first I was whispering and saying, like, "oh, that looks so pretty." Then I started talking at regular volume to her and she immediately hushed me--she was trying to concentrate!
She drags her magna doodle around with her like a pet, taking it everywhere from in the car to bed. Brad and I agree it is the best toy we ever bought, and since the screen was getting pretty gray...
...we decided she needed a new one. She was so happy!
My parents came to celebrate and we went to John's Incredible Pizza. I crack up at this "I'm eating pizza and watching cartoons" daze they are in.

We rode some rides and played some games and had a great time.
Even little man loved it!

I made her a Rapunzel tower cake because:
A. We love that movie.
B. Paisley's long, pretty hair reminds me of Rapunzel's.
C. Paisley likes to sing that song from Tangled when I brush her hair.
It would be nice if, like in Tangled, Paisley's hair had special power to keep me young forever, but even more so I wish it had power to keep her young forever! I'm kinda glad I don't have the option of freezing Paisley in time just the way she is because it would be very tempting...but probably not so good for her progression. I just LOVE her squishy little body and sing-song little voice and sweet personality so much and wish she could be my little girl forever! These are such precious days when a bandaid and a cuddle can solve most anything.

[May 26] sad day

We started the day with an 8:30 am kindergarten graduation ceremony for Galla. These were her teachers: Mrs. Guillen and Mrs. Kunstel. They were quite possibly the best pair of kindergarten teachers imaginable! These ladies are amazing and I can't say enough good things about them, but I swear they were trying to make all the moms cry that morning by having the kids sing sentimental songs about growing up and moving on and such! It was hard, but I stayed strong.
While we're talking about Galla's kindergarten experience, I wanted to throw in this pic of her at the school's jog-a-thon in April. I went to cheer her on and she did me proud! They weren't keeping a tally of laps, but I'm sure Galla out-ran every girl and all but a couple boys there. I took a few laps with her and she was speedy and determined--I had to explain to her the concept of pacing herself when she was complaining of a feeling like a "crab pinching my side."

Ok, back to our sad day. So after the graduation we headed to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom for the day. We had packed up all kinds of snacks and spare clothes and we were all stoked for a long day of play at the awesome amusement park. We were about 10 miles down the freeway when we got a flat tire. Brad calmly pulled off and parked at a gas station to change the tire. We all piled out and watched daddy skillfully get the dirty job done. The thought crossed my mind to take a picture of the completely flat tire and its intruding nail, but I was busy playing and picking flowers with the kids.

In not too long, we were back on the road and still in high spirits, headed toward the prospect of a super fun day at Six Flags. The kids watch their movie and eat peanut butter sandwiches and soon we are there! The problem comes when we realize we are the only people there...there's a sign blocking the parking lot saying the park is closed for the day. SAD!! The kids are let down, but Brad and I are devastated--we were so looking forward to going! Now what should we do? We sat there lamenting and brainstorming. We have a whole day to kill! We decided on a very sub-par substitution for Six Flags: Fairytale Town (it's next to the Sacramento Zoo). So here's how the day turned out:








So I guess it was ok. It is a magical place for kids, but Brad and I complained to each other of being bored! But so long as the kids had fun our day was a success after all. I do wish I'd taken a picture of the flat tire and the closed sign because they would've really added to this post. Now we know that Six Flags is open daily (it was only open on weekends) starting the day after we tried to go! We'll make it there eventually.