Pool Fun

Yesterday morning the kids and I jumped in the pool (Everyone except for Kaylee and Jordan who were at school). It has been REALLY fun to have Alexa all school year. The days she wasn't here Lexi was bored to tears. I almost feel guilty for having been paid to watch her, but the money was nice. We'll have to have her come over during the summer to play.

Alexa and Lexi swimming

Mason swimming. We recently bought mason this swimming suit because he refuses to wear arm wings or get into a floaty. He was so scared to get in the pool. He mainly just sat on the stairs the entire time.
On a side note...I thought I would throw this picture into this post. Kaylee woke up 2 hours before I had to take her to school and since we had lots of extra time...she chose this hairdo for me to style on her today. Love it! Criss Cross Up Do.

Fun with hair

Thanks to my friend Amber for sharing her cool finds, I've been checking out this blog that has some awesome hairdo's for little girls. There are a ton of hairstyles that I still want to try out, but here are some that I've done this week:

Kaylee: Criss Cross Braids with Pig TailsLexi and her friend Alexa -Same hairstyle (Front View)

Kaylee-Fishtail Braid

Lexi-French Twist Braids

Lexi-French Twist Braids-Front View

I also did an up do on Sunday for Kaylee's hair, but forgot to take a picture. It was exactly like this last picture of Lexi, but you curl the ends and pin them up. Soooooo much fun. I'm still an amateur, but with lots of practice I should be able to get these down. This is the first time I've done a french twist and a fish tail braid. They're both very easy. I thought I would share for all of those who have little girls out there. If you have any cool hairdo's, don't hesitate to share them with me. :)

My Fireman

Fireman PJ's, Fireman hat, and Fireman Trucks.

My little Firefighter!

Happy Birthday

Today Doug turned 37. Happy Birthday honey!

Over the past 15 years we have had an amazing journey. I consider myself extremely lucky to have married someone who loves me, supports me, is a worthy priesthood holder, and a hard worker. We have many things in common...reading, talking to each other, the same TV shows, working in the yard, eating out, camping, and vacations...to name a few. Of course, we have our differences too....he likes converse shoes, Phil Hendrie, and spicy food. None of which I care for all that much.

Today he has a busy day of work, Hit Parade auditions, and Scouts. I'm glad we celebrated his birthday on Sunday. Happy Birthday!

Company

This past weekend, Doug's mom and dad were able to come visit us. We had a fun time visiting and it went by way too fast. On Friday, Doug and I went on a date while the kids had some one on one time with Grandma and Grandpa. We went out to dinner and to see the Star Trek movie. We both had a great time.

The next day, due to the heat, we decided to go swimming for the first time this season. Some of us only dangled our feet, but it was very refreshing.

(We put Doug's mom to work skimming)

On Sunday,(along with going to church of course) we celebrated Doug's birthday. Doug's birthday is not until Wednesday, but we thought it would be fun to celebrate it while Doug's parents could join in on the action. We threw some meat on the grill, opened presents and ate some cake and ice cream. Yummy!

Homemade German Chocolate Cake...mmmmm.

The kids made some coupons to give to Doug. They each had their own colored cards and included items like....free massage, 2 hours of peace & quiet, help in the garden, a hug & kiss, etc.

Overall we had a fabulous weekend. Unfortunately, Lexi came down with the stomach flu on Sunday morning. She missed out on all of the birthday celebration. :( I saved her a big slice of chocolate cake for when she gets better.

Random Thoughts

First of all...."The Biggest Loser". I was extremely disappointed in the winner of The Biggest Loser. Early in the show Helen encouraged everyone to vote her daughter off and let her stay. Who does this? Who throws their own child under the table? She's not 60 and at higher risk...she's in her 40's (although she looks a ton older). Her daughter has an entire future to look forward to. I'm not saying she doesn't look great. I am amazed at all of the Biggest Loser contestants and think highly of their dedication and accomplishments. Helen won fair and square as far as the game is played and how much weight she lost. I just think that if she would have let her daughter stay...maybe her daughter could have lost a ton more weight. What did you think?

Next...I want to say Congratulations to Jordan. He earned 100 percent on his Math CRT's (State Test). His name went into a drawing and he won $50 to Walmart! He bought a Sonic Wii game with his winnings. Congratulations Jordan!
Today was a great day for the girls. Kaylee had a field trip to Lieds Children Museum with all of the 2nd graders. She had a fun time. After school, Lexi and Kaylee headed to girl scouts where they were treated to a manicure and pedicure at a professional nail salon. Afterwards they went to an ice cream store for a treat. I was pretty jealous. Their nails look great.

No more braces

Last Friday, Jordan was able to get his braces and spacer off....Woo Hoo. He only had to have them on for about a year. His front teeth are very straight now and he has more room in his mouth to allow his other teeth to come in. I'm hoping that we won't have to have any more orthodontics on him. I'll keep my fingers crossed. The first thing he ate was a big pretzel (not allowed with braces) and the last two days he's been eating granola (that wasn't allowed either). So he is enjoying eating some of the foods that weren't allowed over the past year. Tomorrow he gets a retainer that he has to wear.

Dance Recital

Last weekend we enjoyed watching the girls perform in their dance recital.

Alexis is in Beginning Tap and she performed to a western song called "Firecracker".

Lexi's Dance Recital 2009 from Kristi Farr on Vimeo.

Kaylee is in Beginning Ballet and she performed to "A Dream is a Wish" from Cinderella.

Kaylee's Dance Recital 2009 from Kristi Farr on Vimeo.

On your mark, get set, GO!

Jordan had a good time at the Pinewood Derby. Jordan received a trophy for the "Most Unique Car". His car didn't race as well as his car last year. Last year he won first place out of all of the wolves in 4 wards. But he was extremely happy to get a trophy this year. All of the cub scouts really enjoy this event every year. Jordan has already started planning on what he wants to do for next year.

Pinewood Derby

So, it's that time of year again. The Pinewood Derby. This year Jordan decided to make his car look like spongebob. Here's a pic:

Jordan painted all of the main colors and I just helped do a little of the detailing (eyes and tie). He did a great job. Masking tape helped him paint straight. Doug helped sand the wheels, drill the holes, and all of the stuff behind making the car go fast (hopefully!). We still have to put the weights in, but tomorrow night is the race. Wish him luck!

Bedtime Stories

We recently rented Bedtime Stories from Redbox. We really liked it and laughed all the way through. (If you don't like Adam Sandler, you might not like this movie) One of the things that we laughed at was Adam Sandler's ring tone on his cell phone. Mason noticed that we were laughing and for the past few days he has imitated the ring tone. I decided to catch it on video. If you haven't seen the movie, you might want to watch this short clip from Bedtime Stories first.

Zion's National Park

During Spring Break we decided to go to Zion's National Park for a few days. One of my work clients called and asked that I clean their account another day due to a function. This allowed us to have an extra free night in our schedules.....yeah! We had 2 free nights at a Holiday Inn hotel...so we packed up some food and headed out. We had a great time. We definitely could've stayed another day and it makes me antsy to go on another fun adventure since we had such a good time. Summer is just around the corner.

During our time at Zions the kids picked up the Junior Ranger program for $1 each. They completed their books and were able to earn a Ranger Badge. The books taught them how to keep the Park Clean and to look for wildlife. They learned a lot and we were glad that we bought them.

Things I learned on this trip:

• The water jug leaks when it tips over. (After a trip to Wal-mart for a pitcher and towels to bail out the water from the trunk...we were good)
• It would be a great investment to buy each of the kids their own hiking backpacks to carry their own water and granola bars.
• Mason does NOT sleep in hotel rollaway cribs. Lucky Mom and Dad!
• Roasting hot dogs and smores with the family was sooo fun!
• A free hotel with swimming and a continental breakfast...need I say more?
• Leaving the toiletry bag packed at the house does not do us any good on the road. We now all have a travel size deoderant, shampoo, toothpaste and toothbrushes.
• Being surrounded by these beautiful huge mountains can be such a humbling experience.
• I like family vacations more than material things. But I have to take pictures so I can remember the experience. Here are some pictures we took:

Easter Highlights

We had a great Easter weekend. On Saturday, the kids decorated Easter eggs:

Mason ate an egg while we decorated:On Sunday, we dressed up fancy for church: After church we were all very excited to get a visit from my brother Scott and his family of 6. They went to California for the week and stopped in on their way home for a short visit and to spend the night. We had a yummy Easter Dinner and played games. They left this morning. It was very fun to see them. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures.

Another note. Kaylee and I had this conversation on Saturday:

Me: We are going to have a special family meeting to remind us all about the real meaning of Easter. You know...Jesus being resurrected...NOT about the Easter Bunny.
Kaylee: Well, Jesus made the Easter Bunny. And he made him to give us candy.

Overall, we had a great Easter!

Spring Concerts!

Concerts! Concerts! Concerts! Concerts! Last week Jordan, Kaylee, Lexi, and Doug all had spring concerts. It was fun to see all of the kids sing and it made for an extremely eventful week. I was glad that my parents were in town to see them perform and help out with the kids during their performances. I owe a big THANK YOU to them! I recorded all of their concerts, but to save you from having to watch all of my kids perform their entire concert, I am only posting one song for
each child. For those who are interested, enjoy: (Don't forget to scroll down and pause the music player)

Lexi's Kindergarten Spring Concert from Kristi Farr on Vimeo.
Kaylee's 2nd Grade Spring Concert from Kristi Farr on Vimeo.
Jordan's 4th Grade Spring Concert from Kristi Farr on Vimeo.

Doug's students had their choir and band concerts and Doug sang in the Community Choir as well. I was only able to make it to the band concert due to our busy schedules, but it was very enjoyable.

Doug even jumped on the drums for one song that the Jazz band played. The Jazz Band received an Encore from the audience and I could tell that the students were really enjoying themselves. Very entertaining!

Mason's Birthday

Yesterday was Mason's birthday. He turned 2 years old. My parents have been in town and it was fun to have them here to join in on the celebration. It's amazing how much he has changed in the last few months. He talks and understands so much now. It's fun to see him learn and grow. Here is a video of Mason blowing out his candles. He actually blew the candles out himself.

Mason's 2nd Birthday from Kristi Farr on Vimeo.

Package from Grandma and Grandpa Farr:
Mason's favorites: Books, Cars, Trucks, Trains, Elmo, Blues Clues, The Wiggles, playing outside, and eating.
Favorite Sayings:
"Mom, watch" (And then he does something silly)
"Mom, Car. Mom, truck. Mom, car. Mom truck." (He says this while we are driving in the car because he is tall enough to see the passing cars and trucks. It does get a little repititious.)

Mason loves his siblings and gets very excited when they walk in from school every day. He calls Jordan "Jo Jo", Kaylee "Kaywee", and Lexi "Kaywee" (It sounds slightly different, but I'm sure it sounds like Lexi in his head).

Happy Birthday Mason!

Dance

This year Kaylee has been taking Ballet and Lexi has been taking Tap. Their performances are coming up at the beginning of May, but they recently had pictures taken so I snapped a shot outside of the Dance Studio since they were all dolled up. (Kaylee is performing Cinderella, and Lexi is performing a western show)

I'll post the professional picture once they come in...and the recital in May.

Crystal Reservoir

My parents have been in town this past week. We've had a great time. Last Wednesday we decided to go to Ash Meadows Wildlife Refuge and throw rocks into Crystal Reservoir. Doug and the older 2 kids were in school and were unfortunately unable to join in on the fun. It was really windy so we didn't stay for very long, but we all had a great time. The Refuge also has a boardwalk that was about a mile and a half away from the reservoir, so we walked along that too. Pictured below: Lexi, Alexa (Lexi's friend), my Mom, Mason, and my Dad. My Dad....he looks like he was going to jump right in. (They do allow swimming, but it was waaaay too cold)

Crystal Reservoir from Kristi Farr on Vimeo.

The Little Blue Man

The following video is of Doug's sisters Heather and Tiffany singing "The Little Blue Man". If you listen to the words....it is a little creepy, but my kids loved it anyways! Both of his sisters were in Madrigals during High School and have beautiful voices. Take a look:

Klutzy me!

The other day my vegetable lasagna came to life and jumped right out of my hands. After doing a little dance, it flipped upside down on the inside of my oven door. Okay, Okay...so I may have contributed a little bit to it's little dance. After scooping off the top of the lasagna back into the pan and cleaning the inside of the oven door at a temperature of 375 degrees, I decided an oven cleaning was in order. In my earlier married years I was intimidated by cleaning an oven. It looked so difficult and I just didn't want to deal with it. I remember my Mom cleaning my oven when I moved out of my house in Roy, UT. Now, however, after owning a cleaning business and cleaning SEVERAL ovens, I learned that ovens are very easy...as long as you know all the tricks.

I thought I would share a few tips on oven cleaning. I know that most ovens these days are self cleaning ovens, but I hate using them. Every time I do...it doesn't come out as clean and shiny as using oven cleaner. I like using fume free Easy off oven cleaner...safe for self cleaning ovens. Here are a few easy steps:

• Spray Oven and racks. Close Oven and let sit. (I like to let it sit for a few hours)
• Take racks out and wash with SOS pads. Rinse, Dry.
• Take a tile and glass scraper (This is a razor blade...found in paint section at department stores) and scrape the entire bottom of oven and the oven door. (Make sure it is a new razor blade) THIS STEP IS A LIFE SAVER!
• Wash sides of oven with SOS pad
• Wipe out with old rag or paper towels.
• Shine oven with glass cleaner and paper towels

Another tip: You can put your racks in a large heavy garbage sack and pour ammonia in the bag. Close the bag up tight and let sit several hours. Take the racks out and rinse. All the black stuff will just fall right off. CAUTION: The ammonia is very strong. So be careful when taking the racks out.

The Before Picture:

25 Minutes later:
I hope this helps anyone who feels intimidated to clean their oven!

Eventful school days

Yesterday, Jordan turned in his Science Project and presented an oral report. He had the choice of making a spaceship, the solar system, or a future city. He was set on building a future city. Here is a picture of what he created:

A few features "Robotica"provides are neighborhoods built up above powered by a windmill, hovercrafts that can float on or fly above the "water roads" (powered by hydrogen), and buildings only made up of recycled materials. Oh...and people can purchase robots for $500 that will do chores and tasks at home (like pull weeds, cook dinner, fix your car, clean up after pets, etc.). There are some days that I wouldn't mind having something like that around. He hasn't received his grade on this yet, but he said that he did well when he presented his project.

Today was career day at school. The kids were asked to dress as if they were going to a job interview. I took a picture of each of them before school.

Kaylee

Jordan

Lexi

I hope this will teach them how to act during an interview so they can get a well paying job that they enjoy.