Malone's first day of Preschool

Malone is one smart cookie. She's been looking forward to going to school since she was in utero. I mean, what 2 year old do you know that begs with puppy eyes to learn how to read?

So this Fall after much searching, much research and much discussion, we decided that it was time to enroll her in preschool. She was sooo excited but also quite nervous.

On the morning of the first day, she was NOT as excited. We dropped her off, along with many other first time schooling parents, all a bit nervous. It did not go like we had hoped. As the teacher peeled a hysterical Malone off of Cameron's body, I had to turn away not to get a little hysterical myself. Judah, on the other hand, was all ready stay and go to school himself.

As the days and weeks went by, she got better and better and the day we could drop her off without her crying was a celebration day. Now she has even been asking to go to school everyday (she only goes two days a week.) She LOVES the art station and will always choose to do crafts over playing with anything else. We are quickly becoming dealers of great preschool art in massive quantities. I think she's making friends although sometimes its hard to tell who are friends of the "real" category and who are friends of the "make believe" category. But either way, she is enjoying it and we are loving it for her.

Here's some pictures of the first day of Preschool.

She has been waiting for months to be able to use her DORA lunchbox.

Malone and Daddy. She looks very excited.

Malone and her Mommy. She looks a bit less excited and maybe slightly embarrassed to have to take so many pictures.

After school we took her to her favorite restaurant, Chili's, for a special mac & cheese lunch.

I think Judah was still a little upset that he didn't get to go to school.

Mommy and Judah. Again, Judah not very impressed with having to take a picture with mom.

Thinking...

Dangerous words, I know.

Today, I'm thinking about these words:

THOUGHTFUL,

INTENTIONAL,

HEARTFELT,

MOTHERING (or parenting.)

What does it mean? What does it mean practically? How do I implement it in our everyday lives?

Ok, readers, mothers, fathers, non-parents,

what does this mean to you?

Leave me a comment or send me an email if you have any thoughts on the subject.

* And a couple of pictures for your entertainment.

No, your eyes are not deceiving you!

It is true, folks! I am updating you on our crazy little family...emphasis on CRAAAAYYYZY. So here's what's happened in the last 6 months.

- We left Washington. In a snowstorm. In an ice-storm. One of the marking moments in our marriage. We still love each other though (Ya

y! for loving each other.) We were so sad to leave.

- Along the way, both kiddos got ear & sinus infections. Hoooray for driving long distances with sick kids. Clearly, this was also very memorable or else I would not mention it.

- We finally saw Portland (on a historically cold day), spent a couple of days recuperating in Boise, on to see our coolest friends, the Cronks in Salt Lake City, and recuperated some more with Grandma & Grandpa in Laramie, WY. Yes, the Cronks were sooo cool that we needed to recuperate after their coolness. Then we headed to Colorado for a couple of days which was magical. Then for a lovely visit to Albuquerque with Cameron's aunt Evelyn and uncle Don (and cousins) and FINALLY we arrived in Alamogordo, New Mexico where Cameron trained in his new aircraft from March until June.

Isn't New Mexico pretty?

- In April, I loaded up my friend Leigh Anna and the kids and we made our trek to Las Vegas sans Cameron. Boo. We arrived at our new home, got a look around and welcomed the movers. It was the first time that I saw our new house and must say Cameron has good taste. It is the second house he has picked out without me seeing it. While Cameron was still in New Mexico, we got moved in and mostly unpacked. Of course, we left a couple of projects for him. Wouldn't want to leave him out, would we?

Here's Malone and Leigh Anna at the Hoover Dam.

This is what we do when there is no toys and an empty house.

- FINALLY, at the beginning of June, we were reunited as a family of four! Hip Hip HOoray!

- Shortly after Cameron arrived, we celebrated our 5 year anniversary by going on a mini vacation on the Strip for 3 days...WITHOUT the kids. First time ever. And thanks to my awesome big sister, Lydia, the kids didn't even know we were gone. Cameron and I literally laid by the pool, ate lots of awesome food and slept. It was pretty great.

Cameron and I at Comme Ca, a French restaurant at the Cosmopolitan. Amazing!

- Then in July my little sister, Christelle came for a visit. We sooo enjoyed having her here. And I was terribly sad when she left. Come back, Christelle, come back!!!!!!

- My dad also came partly while Christelle was here. Oooh how Malone and Judah loved having their Oupa here. Malone just wanted to show Oupa her new swimming skills and Judah just wanted Oupa to wrestle and throw him around.

- Then a couple days later Cameron's dad and stepmom came for a visit as well. We had such a wonderful time with them going to the pool, visiting and seeing the Elvis Cirque du Soleil. Malone only had her eye on grandma as her new playmate and Judah had a special understanding and communication with grandpa. Judah is, of course, the little Jay Schaefer.

And here we are. Phew!

Now you know what we've been up to. We love it here in Las Vegas and we are fine tuning our friends and family tour. So come on out for a visit!!!

So now I leave you with a little something to brighten your day.

Our new home

Can't write much. Too much to do. Boxes EVERYWHERE. But we made it. And its sunny. And its beautiful. "Really?", you ask. Really. Come visit and you'll see.

White Sands

The kids and I (and the wonderful Leigh Anna) are leaving for Las Vegas this week. So, we thought we should have at least one last "family" activity before we left New Mexico. We decided to go to White Sands National Park...a must see apparently for this area.

It was nice. It was sandy. It was white. BUT we picked the WINDIEST day of the year of our sandy adventure. I don't think the consequences of that needs more of an explanation. We saw, we came and we got pelted by tiny, white sand...and Malone enjoyed it, so that's good.

Introducing....

Friends and loved ones,

I've been working on something the last couple of days that has me so excited I don't even know how to introduce it to you. It is no mystery that I love to cook (and eat, maybe? Maybe.) I love finding new recipes to make for my family and share with my friends. If any of you know me (bible study, girls?) you know that this is true.

So I've decided to start a food blog called, "Not Without My Mom." This new venture is deeply personal for me. You see, my mom taught me how to cook and despite how much I miss her every day, I somehow feel her in my cooking adventures.

I'll be sharing recipes from my own collection, some from my mom's, some that I find from other food bloggers and giving helpful tips for people still growing in their own cooking adventures (hi Dad!) How fun, right?

So head over to www.notwithoutmymom.com and visit me for a little bit. :)

PS: Don't worry, I'll still blog over here about our crazy family adventures.

All my love,

Marelize

Something new

I'm working on something exciting.

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Something new.

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Something fun.

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For me, anyways.

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You're dying of suspense,

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Aren't you?