The Return of the Dancing Diva!

Okay, so today Becca FINALLY started back into dance! We are now going to a studio literally two minutes away called The City Performing Arts Academy. It is pretty intense, especially in the Jumps and Turns class she is taking. Becca has a lot of work to do this month if she is going to audition for their team, but we know she can do it!!!

I will be updating this entry next week to include a closer-up picture at the beginning, with her outside her new studio. Bec is the one in the middle of the frame in the black shoes.

The man walking by is JP, one of the owners of the studio. He seems very nice, and thought she did a good job trying to keep up with his fast pace. Becca is happy to be dancing again!

A Fourth of July at home!

For this Fourth of July, we spent the day swimming, barbequing, making strawberry ice-cream, and of course doing fireworks!

As you can see, this summer season, our pool is full of inflatable toys, rafts, sharks, and this contraption- the "wave machine." And it TOTALLY lives up to its name. Once the girls get it going, there are waves everywhere and the entire deck is waterlogged! They love it!

Becca with her kickboard!

Bec and Daddy enjoying the nice water- it was 100 that day, so the water was really nice!

Then, Daddy was the grill master, making us hamburgers, hotdogs, and even a couple of cheddar brauts- yum!

the sillies eating...

the home-made strawberry ice cream, YUUUUM!

doing a weird ice-cream eating pose!

Mallory doing sparklers with one of our smaller "safe and sane" fireworks in the background- funny story: we did our "finale" one, this big monstrosity that Kris had bought at the fireworks stand.

Well, 10 minutes after it had gone out, it started smoking again, and burst into flames. It took three separate times hosing it down to get it to stop re-igniting! Glad it didn't take the fire department to get it out, hahaha!

A cute picture of Mallory at a Rawhide game, this time it was our ward activity! This girl loves her some baseball!

Well, that's it for now. These pics were all taken on our iPhones, since I killed my camera. I need to get a good one soon!!!

Mallory's Door Encounter

So last week, we were at my school at a three day workshop, just two doors down from my classroom. It was a last minute deal, so they let me bring Becca and Mallory, and check on them every few minutes, as they read books, worked in their workbooks, and played with their Nintendo DS (they each have one and the only reason I was completely okay with getting each of them one this year for their birthday is because they have Math games and a Critical Thinking game that is pretty cool. They also have a cooking one that Mallory wants to get)
But anyway, I am digressing :) One of the times I went to check, it just happened to be after they had returned from using the restroom, and Mallory was crying. She had smashed her finger in the door, and it was already very blue. We gave her Children's Tylenol and urged her to keep it elevated, which made her feel better. In the 2 or 3 days after that though, it got even darker. These pictures are her finger when it was at its gnarliest, the same day I finally decided to be a good mom and seek the advice of her doctor. He said that it would be okay, the blood would dissepate eventually. Then the next day, blood oozed out the top of the nail- ALL the blood, and all the blueness disappeared. It isn't blue- except at the bottom of the nail bed, and the swelling is gone. So now we just wait for the nail to come off. Poor Girl!

As you can see by the smile on her face, when her finger was it's ugliest, it actually didn't cause her any pain!

Right after this, Kris came down with shingles! Whaaaat????? So weird! We didn't know what was going on with him, then he was feeling lots of pain and a little feverish, and that is when he went to urgent care and found out. He is on antibiotics and doing better. The rashes were on his armpit and one side of his chest. He wouldn't let me take any pictures though. I guess I don't blame him.

Well, I have been lazy with blogging, so I will try to do better. No excuse, since it's summer :)

How About This???

Loving the Hollister top, Marc Jacobs purse/sandals and Juicy Couture Necklace!!!

and for a more casual look... by Kfrogdiva featuring Juicy Couture accessories

I Want This!

I got this site off a friend's blog. It lets you design outfits and even show you where you can order all of the items! It is fun just to look through everything and just create! This little ensemble includes Prada, Christian Loubotin, and Juicy Couture. SO appeals to my diva-ish self!!!!

So Me! by Kfrogdiva featuring Juicy Couture

Random Photos from the Eventful Week!

me with some of the sweetest, cutest kids around!!!

These are some other random photos from our fun week, and a couple that aren't from that week, but we still wanted to share. This is the first night everyone came, and the girls camped out with Grandpa Dennis in the living room with thier Hannah Montana sleeping bags. This is funny, since they camped the last night too, in Grandma Carol and Grandpa John's motorhome in the front yard! They had fun this night with Dennis, and the next day when Mallory got her card games, and they played and giggled for a long time. They also did a puzzle together, of course- but they did it so quick, I didn't get the picture!

here's my gift from the girls on my team- an autographed, pink softball! So cool!!!

Becca's scriptures- blurry, but I had to take a pic to show she had gotten some on her baptism too, just to be fair! They are dark green with gold leafing and her name in fancy gold lettering...

Mallory chose blue with silver leafing and silver block lettering to match the titles on the spine (that is what she chose! :) )...

a crazy graduation shot Kris got...

Mallory writing in the fancy journal grandma Carol gave her

...and Grandma Judy, we are going to get cracking this summer on the Baptism books you gave them!!!! I will be calling and asking for you to email your testimony, etc. It will be a very special book, for sure!

and here are some Easter pictures I forgot I had taken. Don't think they made it into the Easter blog entry...

we had fun coloring eggs!

Mallory going up to bat! This may have been the time she hit a double! She is a slugger when she wants to be :)

The team shirt, compliments of an awesome team mom!!!!!

Okay, so I went over the top with photos and anecdotes, but we have had a lot of fun around here lately!!!!!

p.s.- I forgot to take a picture of my master's degree- that is the only thing missing! You can imagine it all fancy and saying Kim has a master's in school administration services! I am going to get it framed!

YES, I am a dork :)

Grandma took a pic of the girls downtown at the farmer's market. We walked around there for a while, tried to find white corn for our barbeque the next day (before Star Trek/the play/parents seeing friends). No corn to be found, but we had fun listening to the live music, looking around, and eating at the burger/mexican walk-up window place on Main and Church.

a baptism pic including all the cousins and grandparents in attendance- It is dark, arrrgh!

me, tired and thirsty after sitting in the hot, direct sunlight!

Graduation! Woo Hoo!

My Mom trying to adjust my master's hood! It just wouldn't lay right! I didn't get a picture of the dean actually awarding it to me, maybe I will get it in the mail as part of the package- I hope!

If you look closely, you can see me going back to my seat from the podium

with my girls afterwards!

and supportive hubby

and proud parents- I am proud they are my parents!

It was a very hot day to be wearing all black with a velvet and satin thing around the neck, but it was a very nice ceremony. The speaker, the Dean of the School of Education, and the girl who sang, were wonderful. I didn't realize there would be so many graduating from the School of Education, the School of Business and the School of Social Sciences and Religion. Almost half of us were there to recieve a master's too. Afterwards, they served cookies, punch and grapes, and the girls thought that was cool. I also saw a fellow teacher from Castle Rock, there to celebrate with her daughter, who had recieved her bachelor's. I found this to be very crazy, since she was in my reading class the first year I taught, I am pretty sure! Commencement was supposed to be indoors in the event center, but because of all the scare over the swine flu, they moved it outside. It was a great day, and we followed it by eating at Famous Dave's Barbeque, and that was some wonderful food! Yummy barbeque, corn bread, beans, slaw, etc.etc., you get the idea. Woudn't be a Harkey/Stohl celebration without food (yes, Stohls that weren't there, we ate a few bites in your honor, too :) )...

OH, I want to thank everyone that honored me with cards and gifts, for my graduation, and for my softball team gift! The card from Judy and Cammi that said "Master's" was especially cool, and I am glad I could honor them and my parents with my married and maiden names both on the program and read from the podium. I am going to use the certificates/card/check to buy something special to remember them all, and how special they are to me!