Besties

These 4 are more like siblings than anything else. Close in age, similiar personalities, they argue, and make up and then argue some more and love one another as siblings usually do. And I love it!
With Betsy gone for a few weeks visiting family, Jacki (my bestie) has taken on the job of watching the girls and Im so glad they are having so much fun. Yesterday at church, Jacki told me that on Friday, Holden (who is 5 like Sofia) wanted the girls to just "go home". He had enough of them. But then all day Sunday was asking over and over again when they were coming back! HEHE. Yep. Like I said. Just like siblings.
Beckett, who is close in age with Ella (about 7 months apart) gave Artyom the death look when he dropped off Sofia the other day and not Ella. Hahaha! He was SO mad at Artyom and got really upset with his Mom asking why Ella was not there! (she was at prek at the time). Then I guess when I came and picked them up the other day, I got put on Beckett's hit list because I took Ella home. Hehe. I just love it.
These are the moments we (both Jacki and myself) wish they would always have)....

 

Of course, THAT is wishful thinking. For now though? These fabulous Four are having the

BEST. SUMMER. EVER.

The logic of a 5 year old

Some background: When I think of the invention of the DVR, it just makes me happy. I know I would probley be much better off without it as I would never watch another TV program from start to finish again or perhaps at all, but I do really like it. Even when I do get to see a show, I am pausing it every few minutes to answer a question, take someone, somewhere, for something...you fill in the blank. So when Little Miss Sofia discovered how to use the remote and turned our upstairs bedroom TV into thier own little viewing nikelodeon cartoon experience, well let's just say a 20 minute program can turn into an HOUR with the amount of pausing she does. Her pausing usually comes from needing drink, getting a snack, going and getting just one more stuffed animal for the bed, yelling at Ella, etc. you get the picture. Pausing it has become a natural part of life for this little girl.

Back to the present:We were saying Family Prayer last night and after the usual debate of who is going to say it which ususally goes like this-the drama rarely happens except when  it comes to Sofia's turn and she does'nt want to say it in Russian. Then we go back and forth with Ella wanting to say it, but we would like Sofia to say it as well. A few crocodile tears and it comes to about a 50/50 success rate of her actually saying it. Well yesterday Sofia promptly went through the days to let us know that it was indeed NOT her turn to say it, but Artyoms. So he started and a few seconds later I hear Sofia, "Mom, can I pause it? I need to go get something...."

I absolutely wanted to pause that moment and remember how CUTE the logic of a 5 year old can be. Sofia my sweets, we just love you!

It's gotta be the accent...

We have been seeing a HUGE increase in Sofia and her Russian and Ella is not far behind. Both girls understand much more than I give them credit for, and when Ella does not get what Artyom is saying (he only speaks to them in Russian- NO English) often times Sofia will step in and let her know, "Ella, Papa said this ________" Its pretty stinkin cute.
So we are now really focusing on them speaking more in Russian. Often that happens when it is thier turn for Family Prayer. We ask the girls to say prayer in Russian. Last night it was Sofia's turn, but as much as we tried to tell her that Heavenly Father WOULD understand her in Russian, she said she was just "too shy" to say a prayer in Russian. Ella, however, was all for saying prayer in Russian and with Papa's help, she started.
BAD MOM SPOILER-I could not help myself but peek a few times as when Ella started to repeat what Artyom was saying, it was pretty clear. Then with Sofia on my lap, when she started to giggle, I knew something was up...so I peaked. Cutest Little Ella was falling asleep as Artyom whispered the Russian words into her ear! LOL. It was so tender and cute!! Her eyes would start to close as he talked and then she would repeat..as best she could being half asleep and it would repeat. She was basically full on asleep by the time we said "Amen". Cutest moment ever. No, I did not take a pic to show. It would have been poor form to have my camera phone right there during the prayer...besides that it was upstairs at the time...I know! I'm working on it!
Sweet Ella, I get it. That Russian accent coming from that voice of your Papa's sometimes puts me to sleep too!

Mothers Day-Incognito

I was a bit laid up this Mother's Day after having surgery on my mouth, I was barely coherent by the time Sunday came around. I DID make it out of bed for about an hour of church and then headed to Aunt Nannettes for Dinner. The girls made both "nana" and Aunt Diane Books- top reasons why they loved them and colored pictures for them....And I didnt get a pic! Can you tell I was a bit loopy?! I also made an apron for Aunt Nannette that was pretty stinkin cute...also no pic. Man... So I dont quite remember much of Mothers Day, but I ALWAYS remember what my Mom and mom figures in my life mean to me. Lucky for me, I was able to copy some of the pics that Josh took of the kids at our Spaghetti Dinner. Good stuff!

I LOVE this pic. Josh said when he took it, she was saying, "Cuncle Josh I LOVE spaghetti. It is SO good!" hahaha. Sounds like our girl. And in case you are wondering, we put old t-shirts over thier cute Sunday dresses so they would not get sauce on them...because it was inevitable that it would happen.

Take note of the sauce on the shirt...and in her hair...yep. Every time.

 I need to figure out how to make the Garlic Toast that we had. Both girls ATE IT UP! But Especially Ella. She came over to the table where I was sitting and took my breat at least twice!

 All the kids at the kids table...I remember a time I wondered if I would EVER graduate from the kids table...now I only wish I could go back!

 Cute pic of "Nana" and all the kids. One page in the book we made for Aunt Nannette, said, "We know we have our Grandma Pederson in Heaven, but are lucky enough to have our Nana here in Utah.

We convinced Papou to get in a picture as well. Nice looking group if I do say so myself!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers out there. We love you, we respect you, we need you!

Tis the season...for chalk art

One of the girls absolute favorite thing in the Summertime is the chance to draw all over the sidewalks and driveway of the house. They worked so hard on thier works of art and I was so excited to see thier masterpieces. Betsy drew some and then the girls copied hers. So fun!!
The other day Sofia asked me what I did when I was a kid in the summertime. Chalk art was one of the things I mentioned to her...among about 20 other things- none of which included the TV.
LONG LIVE SUMMER!

Yes Sir Master Hong!

That was a phrase I heard quite a number of times in a 2 hour period on Saturday when the girls were given the chance to go to a Tae kwon Do class/birthday party. It was one of those moments as a Mom when you feel as though you are doing at least SOMETHING right. Sofia had an opportunity of going to a Birthday Party for Samuel (but mom, we call him Sam) who is in her Prek class. Sam's mom made it a point to come over and tell me that Sam was limited to just a few friends and Sofia was the first on his list because, "she's nice". Hehehe. I beamed inside. Yeah! It was so good to hear that she is making friends and "is nice". So these next few photo's are from the party. The girls had a blast with Master Lee and Master Hong. Sam's mom was nice enough to let the younger siblings be included in the party and Ella was pretty much beside herself with excitement. Master Lee ADORED Ella and stayed with her for most of the class. I later found out that Master Lee is over the 3-4 year old class-AHHH. I see. He was just so good with her and she had such a fun time.
They even got to break a board at the end. They almost had Ella sit this one out, but that little blondie had more in her than they thought. She broke in on her first try!! It was awesome.

 I loved watching/hearing Ella say her "Hi-ya!" each time she threw a punch. They kicked, punched, jumped and even cut the Birthday Cake with a sword! Pretty. cool. stuff.

This was THE cutest face on Master Lee's face when he was working with Ella. You could tell he works great with kids, on thier own level and was very patient with her...Im sure it didnt hurt that the other parents kept on commenting on how cute she was..

Here are the girls proudly displaying the boards that they broke with thier awesome push kick. Sofia then broke hers again at home because she had to show her Papa just how she did it. "I totally got this Mom." And she did!

Journal Jar Entry

Q: Do you still have/remember your Grandparents/Great Grandparents? What do you remember about them?

A: If I had my old files on my computer, I could probley find a pic of my Grandparents. Especially the ones that I was able to have in my life.

Alas, I do not have the files on this computer, so no pics today. Maybe Ill come back and add them at a later time. However, that does in no way, shape or form diminish my memories that I have of both sets of Grandparents-both the Pederson and Demars side.
One of the best memories I have of my Grandpa and Grandma Demars is of them coming to visit at Christmastime. Grandma would french braid my hair (one of the few times it was done when I was a kid) and she did not tread lightly. That braid would have stayed in for DAYS as tight as she did it, but I loved how it looked all wavy once I took it out. After she had a stroke later in life, I was privledged to see a much softer and more sensitive side of my Grandma and it was wonderful to be a part of that. She showed tough love, but it was love.
My Grandpa Demars, as with most of the grandkids I remember him telling the story of Epandimondos! I also remember chocolate covered orange and raspberry sticks, eating cheerios on the dek of thier house with fresh raspberries or whatever fruit was in season, playing the thier back yard and beautiful garden, and seeing his bushy eyebrows shoot up on his forehead when I came in the morning and snuggled with him. Gentle and kind till the end, I love telling stories about him to the girls. I even call Sofia "sweets" alot because of the way Grandpa would answer the phone when he found out it was a grandaughter calling, "Hello my sweet!"
My Grandma Pederson was the sweetest, elect lady you could meet. I remember her sweet little pat, pat, rub, rub pat patter on your hand as she just loved you. She would always say, "Kiss you once, kiss you twice, kiss you once again." Petite and with snow white hair, she stayed that way till she passed away. She knew how to handle Grandpa Pederson and you could SEE how much she loved her grandchildren. I was sad that I was not able to see her with the girls, but I know she is proud of them.
Grandpa Pederson was for the most part in my memories, a boys Grandpa. He loved to hunt, fish and was very respectful and demanded respect from others to thier elders. He was a tall, broad shouldered man and had his favorite chair. I dont remember him smiling a ton, but when he did, his face sure lit up. It was usually when he was holding one of his grandkids that you would see the gentle giant emerge. I drove around his old red pickup truck "The Hoopdie" was what it was nicknamed and I always remembered that it was his.
Grandparents are the reward we get for helping our parents survive our childhood. They have thier reward simply in thier name which is not simply given, but earned. They help us remember that we did not get her by ourselves, spoil and sometimes overspoil us, because they can, and give us something and someone to aspire to. What a blessing they are. Im so grateful for the example "Grandpa" shows to our girls. He is truly thier hero.

Family Home Evening-A night of music

Samantha, our neighbor, one of my former Young Women, and our babysitter, was having her Spring Concert in the Utah Youth Symphony and asked us to come. The girls were SO excited to go and we put off going to the park to go to a concert instead. It was a wonderful time. A great Family Home Evening to talk about just one of the many things that Heavenly Father has given us. The main conductor at the end of the concert suggested that it was his belief that we as a human race have been able to obstain from even more wars, violence and at times find peace through music...I completely agree with him.

This is when the musicians were just tuning thier instruments. I LOVE the look of awe on Sofia's face!!
Some of the other fun things I observed while at the concert:

• Ella asked for popcorn at least twice....I get it. Auditorium, dark, she figured this was a movie, only LIVE! It was still pretty funny.
• Ella thought the clapping was cool...at first. Then started to cover her ears saying it was "TOO LOUD!"
• Sofia leaned over to me at one point and said, "I wish when I was older I could play music." Oh baby girl, you can!!!
• Ella was seen more than once moving her hands in sync with the conductor mimicing thier hands/arms moving to the music. It was precious.
• I remembered how much I loved being on stage for choir and drama. Good times.
• The Phantom of the Opera song freaked them both out and said it was too scary, but during the Mission Impossible theme song, Sofia was not waved into thinking it was actually for Mission Impossible and not The Incredibles.
• I absolutely LOVE and respect the conductors, teachers and parents who keep the art of music alive in thier kids and help them know of its power.

Thanks for the invite Sam! We love you and loved hearing you play.