In Summer!

This is the scene which greeted me outside of Selma Bartlett Elementary School this week. 2 of the happiest, recently minted third graders singing Frozen's "In Summer" at the top of their lungs. We've had a glorious start to the season, even if it is 108 in early June (shudder). Here's what we've been up to this last week:

• We had a great pizza party in Abigail's class celebrating the end of the school year. I loved that all of the class wanted me to sign their yearbooks. I will miss those little crazies!
• Had a great pool party with our friends the Gublers. Aimee makes the most delicious summer beverages!
• Abigail an I discovered that Zabas restaurant has the best brownies ever.
• We went swimming with cousins and friends- including my latest obscure-relative acquaintance, Jean Leavitt and her four kids. I am super happy to know her, because she watches the Bachelorette as faithfully as I do- even if it's making us dumber by the minute.
• Brandon and his friend Clay had round after round of tacos this week as they discussed complicated matters of law.
• Had a great time at the Marz' annual school's out party. Lindsay always keeps me in the San Pelligrinos!
• Abigail had her first activity days event...getting SO big.
• Had my monthly pedicure with my great friend Becky- and the little Asian guy told me that I had the worst feet he'd ever seen.
• Had the Smiths over to eat sausages, watch waiting for Guffman, and duel with toy foam swords.
• Abby got all A's, the citizenship award, the attendance award- she killed it yet again!
• Highlight of the week? Abigail's recital. SHE WAS AMAZING!!!! She is such a gifted dancer, I hope she never quits. She did have one moment in her ballet dance where she chewed out her partner for being in the wrong formation....I call it Abby's natural leadership skills ;) It was great that Brinley and Grandma Susan could come. We all ate at Famous Dave's after and celebrated Abby's hard work. Here are some pictures of our little dancer...

The ol' grey mare...

He's not technically a mare, like the title of my post suggests, but rather a grey stallion!

We were at U Swirl getting some frozen yogurt this week and I noticed Brandon was glistening in the sun a bit more than I remembered. I took this picture so I could show him was I was talking about- he was a little shocked. I'm married to an attractive, mature hunk of a salt-n-peppa-man! :)

Other highlights from the week...

• we celebrated Grandma Kathy and Garrett's birthdays
• I took the Beehives to help put on a church service at Delmar Gardens assisted living. Getting older makes me hive...
• We had a baby shower/lunch for my lovely sister-in-law Brittney. She's getting ready to welcome young Masen Leavitt in a few weeks
• Made 93 cupcakes for Senior night. It was supposed to be 95. I am sure you can guess what happened to the other 2.
• Co-hosted a wheel of fortune style game at Senior night
• We watched Brinley dance in a recital. Always a highlight! We're so lucky to still have Brinley with us and we love participating in all her events
• Finally got my headshot done for work. I look like a tough captain of industry.
• Had a date with my niece Makena. She's a super fun little lady.
• Had my last volunteer day of 2nd grade with Abigail. I left them all a treat on their desk while they were at lunch. Love being room mom!
• We took pizza to grandma and grandpa Humphries. Again...hives...
• We had the most hilarious (and delicious) dessert date at our friends' the Chatwins. It involved a lot of TLC The Virgin Diaries and super tasty pound cake- doesn't seem like a natural combo, but trust me on this one.

School gets out this week- woot woot!

Sorry mom, this post contains a swear word

See those medals around our necks? They are certifying that we are officially, 100% badass. (Sorry mom!) Yesterday our good friends Max and Brityn joined us on a 4.5 mile obstacle race called the Badass Dash. It had 40 treacherous and fun obstacles that left us muddy, wet, sore, bruised and scraped- and we loved it! It totally fulfilled Brandon's military fantasy. (Except the part where he jumped off the 15 foot rope wall and seriously crushed his knee and they had to call a medic.) Easily my favorite race I've ever been in. We all loved it so much that before we were done with the race we all committed to doing it again next year!

Other highlights from the week?

• The Woodward pool officially opened for business. It's so nice to have a family member with a pool! Kari and Ryan are so generous, they've invited us over twice now and it's only been done 3 days.
• Abigail had her last Brownie scout meeting as well as last hip hop and ballet for the year. Bring on the summer!
• Brandon and I have watched almost every episode of Call the Midwife over the last three weeks. Time well spent, that's for sure...

The shoulder season

We are in that special season in Vegas where it feels like what summer feels like for the rest of the sane world. Where you WANT to swim, have water gun fights and be outside eating ice cream. We've been walking to school and riding bikes. We're enjoying it while we can because we're about 3 weeks away from hiding inside the house like mole people.

Ways we enjoyed our week...

• We made dinner for Great Grandparents Roy and Kathryn, ate with them and fixed their bathroom. It's great to have so much family around. Grandma Kathy taught Abby to braid doll hair and she's been quite the stylist all week.
• I went to a fun book club meeting at Rachel's Kitchen where I drunk an extremely off putting beet juice concoction. Very Fear Factor...
• Abby's great friend Melissa Parsons invited her over for a Friday night play date. It was great! She got to play and Brandon and I got to eat and look at travel books in Barnes and Noble until our heart was content. We also spent a chunk of time at Williams Sonoma dreaming we had enough disposable income to actually justify shopping there
• Saturday was super fun- Abby and I attended a baptism where she helped me play the piano while Brandon went to the temple with Max. We then all came home and I made my niece Brinley Whey Low Pizzookies. We had a great time!
• Sunday I took my beehive class and we decorated the bishop's office with balloons, signs and muffins before his meetings started. We had Max over for dinner, since he's widowed. Brandon and I watched a plethora of Masterpiece theater after Abby went to bed. It was a great weekend!

Week in review

It's hard to believe that half a year hasn't gone by since my last blog post :)! Since this is pretty much the only journal/family history/Leavitt record that there ever will be (we're cafeteria Mormons), I should really do a better job of writing down snippets of our everyday. You know...for posterity's sake.

- We had a great teacher appreciation week! We were able to spoil Ms. Moen a bit and it felt really great. Abigail remembered her specials teachers with chocolate cinnamon bears, which is an idea I totally stole from my friend Lindsay because Lindsay gives the best gifts.
- Friday morning, 4:45 am, we woke up and headed to my office. Annually, my work charters a bus to take the employees and their families down to Disneyland for a day. You arrive close to opening and get back on the bus at closing. It makes for a super fun day. Disney highlights for us? Big Thunder Mountain Railroad reopened. Abigail cried all the way through it and then declared it her favorite ride. Saw Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln- apparently Abigail is also scared of animatronics because robo-Lincoln has given her nightmares for 3 nights now. We found our new favorite Disney meal- turkey legs and soup bowls. Also of note, I fell asleep in the enchanted tiki room. And finally...

Brandon rode California Screamin' all by himself (Abigail and I are total thrill ride wimps). There is a place on the pier where you can watch the people on the roller coaster "take off." Abigail (in the blue shirt) is watching her dad take off. Brandon made a really great scream face, and considering he came off the ride super motion sick, I'm guessing he wasn't just making that face for our sake. The next ride I went on just Abigail and I so Brandon could let his stomach settle. When we were on the ride I looked down to see Brandon munching a churro. We exchanged the following text message:

 

Jamie: Thought you said you had an upset tummy, Senor Churro!

Brandon: My thought was to eat something bread to soak up the acid. And yes, my tummy is improving now!

 

-Also this week, Abigail had her dance photos and recital practice for hip hop. She's had a great year with her fabulous teacher Mr. Caine. I will have to post some pictures...

 

-In other noteworthy news, I had my first Pizzookie! A delightful cookie-ice-cream-hot-fudge combination made with love by my good friend Rebecca Chatwin. We love hanging out at their house and it's for many reasons beside Becky being the best baker ever- but she is, there's just no denying that.

 

-I had a fabulous mother's day! We had brunch at our good friends' Olga and Jim Wilsons in the morning, and BOY can they cook! I haven't had meal like that outside of a restaurant ever. We met some of their delightful friends that we never have before- from Belarus, Serbia and Russia. We also had a Hawaiian, a vegetarian and some Mormons. An eclectic and fun brunch bunch!

 

-Brandon and Abigail took me to dinner Saturday night and Sunday morning surprised me with flowers and a basket full of all the foods I like but never buy because they hate (i.e. eggplant, olives, goat cheese, etc). Brandon made me fresh grapefruit juice in our new juicer and cheesy eggs. We went to church and watched a movie as a family that night- great day! We also were able to talk to my mom and Brandon's mom- (which was a bit of an effort since she's in Israel).

Speaking of my mom, she and my father spoiled me rotten again this year. There's a bit of a tradition forming where I get a doorstep delivery of these beautiful strawberries right around mother's day. My mom? She got a card and a canvas self-portrait Abigail painted using neon colors. I really need to step up my game next year because this is unbalanced!

Tidbits and Niblets

Just a post of the random photos I have on my phone!

Abigail has gotten a lot "cleaner" lately. She's been making her bed and decorating her room in new and interesting ways. She told me this particular display was to represent her love of her stuffed animals and books.

We have just entered recital season. This is Abigail in her costume with her delightful teacher Ms. Sheila. I know I am a total mom right now, but I swear she's the best ballerina in there and I can't be convinced otherwise. I keep watching the videos I've taken of her, forcing myself into being objective and unbiased, but the conclusion is always the same- she's the prettiest, most elegant 7 year old in pink ballet slippers I have ever seen!



We went to an Area 51s baseball game with some friends and snapped this great picture of Abigail in the parking lot. As much as I like this picture I like the ones I snapped of helping her get on the giant baseball even better...

We're a classy bunch, that's for sure!

We had a great Easter and I only took two pictures of it! We had a Leavitt family Easter party/BBQ, a great time with friends, spoke in church, had a great Easter dinner, dyed eggs...the whole shebang! I should also mention I was released as primary president and called into young women. I'm adjusting...As long as it's not relief society, I know I'll be able to survive it.

 

I love being room mom. It means I always get to go on the field trips. This last one we went to the Smith Center to watch a play. The kids were super excited, but it was a little bit of a drive, they sat us in the VERY back row, it was a small puppet show (from the back row, it was hard to make out the puppets) and half in Spanish. Needless to say, the natives were restless.

Part of being room mom entrails decorating the window for teacher appreciation week (above, we have a dog/cat theme this year which is why the kids are in animal ears and why we PAWSitively love Ms. Moen) and for Nevada reading week. I wasn't expecting the NV reading week one...I just showed up to volunteer and Ms. Moen asked me to make a Shel Silverstein Giving Tree inspired window using only what was available in the class. It was fun and I think it turned out alright!

 

We said goodbye to our good friends the Gerace boys as they moved to Washington D.C. to pursue romance and better opportunities. This is from Tom's last day (he's in the back in a blue Perry the Platypus t-shirt). We sure do miss them but they're so happy in their new lives that it makes the missing easier.

What we love: Brandon working so close we can do lunch. What were not so sure we love: Brandon's goatee.

 

 

We had Phoebe and Nick Schenker over to play on a Saturday so that Nat could run some errands. They sure did a number on Abigail. There was so much fun and so many laughs that it sure made us miss their Daddy, Mike...

 

 

Apparently when there are birthdays, Leavitts break out sombreros. The top is a picture I texted to our good friend Max on the morning of his 31st birthday. He served his mission in Mexico so we thought we'd send him a little "Feliz cumplianos!" The bottom picture is Ron at our office's birthday celebration. If he could have delicately crawled under the table, he sure would have. That was painful for him. I loved it!

Love being a mom! Abigail left me some delightful whiteboard art in her toy room celebrating my favorite things, which according to the board are- Abigail, making lists, fashion/clothes, scarves, Rome, pasta, and doughnuts. She knows me well!

 

Other things I have failed to document...

• I lost my dear friend Apsen Marthaler to cancer. There wasn't anyone better and it was a privilege to be her friend. We went to Phoenix along with the Smiths and the Woodwards for the funeral. I am so glad we could all go...
• My dad came for a visit and we had a great time. He played at least 3 hours of Go Fish with Abigail.
• Saw the Phoenix zoo and loved it.
• Went on a double date with Max and Brityn where we ate sketchy tacos from the wrong side of town and played a round of mini golf at the KISS themed course in beautiful downtown Las Vegas.
• Met Ryan Leavitt's girlfriend. I hope she's my sister-in-law.
• Attended our cousin Madison Leavitt's wedding in St. George and were able to spend time with grandparents.
• Abigail got all A's....again...she's knocking this good kid thing out of the park.















Sometimes you just gotta let it go...

So I kept imagining that someday I would find a spare 5-8 hours and just update my blog all at once. The more time went on, the more monumental the task became. So, I'm just going to wash out the last few months in one simple list. A lot of this stuff has been life changing, monumental kind of stuff...but alas, it's getting a bullet point for posterity's sake.

• Brandon and I went to Berlin. Touched the wall, the wall touched us.
• We celebrated 12 years of marriage.
• I turned 33, Brandon turned 34.
• Had amazing holidays full of lots of fun, friends and family.
• We lost one of our best friends, Mike Schenker, to a very fast growing brain cancer. He was diagnosed in October and passed away 3 days before Christmas. We miss him very much and I still wear my "tough like mike" bracelet everyday. Don't know when I will take that puppy off...The primary kids sang at his funeral and I was able to play the piano to accompany them and my friend Brityn who also sang. It meant a lot to me to be apart of his service.
• I started going to boot camp and I love it! Brandon and I also started P90X3
• Abigail got all A's, was student of the month for school and for dance, and sung a little solo/duet thing at 2nd grade academic night.
• Speaking of Abigail...she has almost no teeth. They all fell out at once.
• Brandon had shoulder surgery and we decided to take his recovery on the road to Disneyland. Even though he was heavily medicated we still had fun and were able to see our friends the Smiths there.
• Brandon won the Top Performer award for his firm and also won the 2014 Rising Star Award from the national publication, Super Lawyer.
• We had a very nice Halloween. Brandon actually dressed up like Jimi Hendrix for the Trunk or Treat and Abigail was a "Nature Fairy." (Basically we pinned a million pieces of twigs and artificial flowers into her hair and gave her wings.) Being room mom, I got to run the class party and I loved it. I was also able to run the Christmas class party- this is a really fun group of kids Abigail has!

So now for something a little bit more present. Abigail has recently fallen in love with poetry and last night she wrote me three poems. I am going to record them here...

 

The Haiku

 

I love my mom, yes!

Oh Yippie I do, yes yes!

Can you guess how much?

 

 

The "Deamontae" (Apparently it is a diamond shaped poem. She's in 2nd grade and she already knows more than I do about lyrical writing. By 3rd grade she'll have passed me in math.)

 

Mom!

Smart, Kind

Read, Cook, Organize

I love my mom!

Exercise, Decorate, Celebrate

Caring, Loving

Mom!

 

 

Now for the finale, a traditional poem

 

MOM

My mom, I love my mom.

She's the greatest mom ever.

She'd still be great if she wore shorts with a sweater.

She'll always be mine.

I'll share her with dad only- oh fine!

My Mom, I love my mom

Even in a sweater

She couldn't get any better

 

 

....pretty much the best time of my life.