Gorgeous Grace

I took these pictures of Grace last month and neglected to post them. She rarely if ever will stand for a picture so I had to take this opportunity to post these miracle pictures of my gorgeous Gracie. Thank you for letting me brag.

Hart High Spirit Day 2007

Bailey and her babysitter Cassandra S.

For the third year Bailey attended a cheer leading camp held last weekend at my old high school, William S. Hart High. At this camp she gets to spend 6 hours with the cheerleaders and other girls ages 5-12. They play games, learn cheers and have lunch. They get a camp T-shirt and a framed photo with their favorite cheerleader. At the end the parents come back and watch what their kids have learned. Bailey looks forward to it every year and she has a blast. Now take a look at the attached video and you will see that cheer leading might not exactly be in her future but she is having fun and giving it her all. That's all we could ask for.

I Got Tagged!

Ok so a "friend" of mine by the name of Lisa tagged me in a game of question and answer. These are the questions she asked me and here are my answers. Enjoy!
Ok Lisa Here it Goes!

1.What is your funniest/ most embarrassing childhood memory?
I'm not sure that I have a severely funny or embarrassing memory. I did wet my pants in the 5th grade when I was tickled to death during recess but I wasn't too traumatized. Maybe I should have been but after 20 years I have gotten over it. Other than that I'm sure I have several embarrassing moments involving boys but I did alright in the end.

2. What dessert just makes you feel happy?
I LOVE dessert. They all make me happy. I would have to say when I am sad or pregnant I reach for the Ben and Jerry's or a slice of chocolate pie.

3. Which of your children is most like you and why?
I would say that both of my children are a lot like me for different reasons. I guess I have strong genetics. Bailey is like me in that we are both very sensitive and we love to read. We also both love animals, music and art. We are both very dorky. Grace has my hot temper and strong will and my sense of adventure. Grace also loves movies and she is my movie buddy.

4. What would be your "dream job" and why?
Don't laugh but if I could be anything it would be a Broadway star. If I had the talent I would love to be on stage for the rest of my life. I just wasn't given the gift so I go to as many plays as I can. I am so envious of those that sing and dance well and get to do it for a living.

5. What color best matches your personality?
I would say blue because I can be peaceful and I truly love to relax and just be quiet sometimes. I would say yellow because I feel that yellow is a friendly and energetic color and I would say red because I certainly have a fiery side. I try to use it for good but it doesn't always work out that way.

So those are my answers. Since I don't have too many friends with blogs that have not already been tagged I will just have to do it through email. Thanks Lisa for the fun game. It is a nice way to share something about myself with my readers.

Bailey's First Day of 3rd Grade

Bailey started 3rd Grade today and I can't believe how quickly she has grown up. It has been so cool to have Bailey attend my old elementary school and this year she is actually in my old classroom; Rm. 18. This year might be a challenge for Bailey because she really does not know anyone in her class. Most of her friends are in the class next door; however if anyone can make the best of this it is Bailey. She is a pro at making friends and being positive. We are excited to have a 3rd grader in our home and can't wait for Grace to start Kindergarten next year. Here are a couple of pictures of Bailey on the first day of school. The bottom picture is of Bailey and one of her good friends Camaryn.

Viva Italy!!!!

This past weekend we were blessed to have family arrive from Italy. Nino and Mariada came all the way from Melfi, Italy to visit their family in California while on their honeymoon. We really enjoyed our time with them and now we eagerly wait our turn to go to Melfi and visit them. They were so sweet and the girls; especially Bailey; just loved them. It was quite amusing trying to have good conversation with them but by the end of just a few days we were doing pretty well. In fact by the end of their visit Bailey was speaking and singing in Italian. We just loved them and hope to stay in touch.

4th of July

This 4th of July we stuck with tradition. Bailey was picked up by "Poppy" at 5:00 a.m and they staked out the perfect spot for the parade. The rest of the family came by 9:00 a.m and the parade started around 10. The parade in Newhall is a big deal and it was celebrating it's 75th year. We have been going to the parade almost every year for over 20 years. Then we had a BBQ and went to see fireworks at the local mall. They were spectacular. It was a very patriotic day. It was also very hot!!!

Gracie's School's End of the Year Hoedown

On the last day of school Gracie's preschool had a Texas style hoedown. They had a BBQ, pony rides, cowboy ropers, they dug for gold, and of course in true cowboy style they had bouncy houses. Grace spent the entire time riding the pony and jumping in the bouncy house. She had a blast. She cried when we left. It was a good way to end the school year.

Preschool Awards for Gracie

Today Grace's preschool had an end of the year awards ceremony. Gracie received an award for being the most polite. We always joke that she will always say "excuse me" or "please" just before she grabs your toy out of your hand.

Grace had a great first year of school. I can't believe we have just one more year of preschool before kindegarten. Time sure flies.

These are just a few pictures of Gracie and her class at the ceremony. Of course we have a great shot of Grace and her partner in crime Emma. They are so cute.

What Californians Do When It's 100 degrees Outside

It has been way too hot lately so the girls begged to get wet. However the water was entirely too cold and they didn't last long. Also there is no need to place the date on these pictures as the white skin of my children is a clear indicator of the beginning of Summer. I have to be honest they won't be much tanner at the end of the Summer. (Nice leaning palm trees too huh!)

The Big Day!!!

Today Bailey was baptised. This was such a special day for our family. James was able to baptize her and we had many friends and family there to share in our special day. We are so proud of our not so little girl. She is growing into quite the amazing young lady. Thank you all for your love and support and for your good examples. We love you all.

Bailey's Baptism

I took these photos of Bailey prior to her big day and I was overwhelmed by how I felt seeing her all in white. We are so proud of her and she is so amazingly beautiful both inside and out. We love our Bailey and we feel so blessed to be her parents.

Bailey's Birthday Bash

This past Friday night I opened my door to 8 little girls to help Bailey celebrate her 8th birthday. I had no idea what to expect. We had dancing, pedicures and manicures and even a small conflict with some older boys over the fence of our backyard. It was everything I remembered about being a girl and so much fun.

And So It Begins!

So everyone I know keeps sending me links to their family blogs. I thought I would start conforming and make all of you look at my kids for a change. I do truly see the value in creating a blog and keeping in touch with all of those that mean the most to me. Plus I think my kids are stinking cute and I want to let the whole world know. I guess I should update you all on some of the Howell Family News.
James is working hard at work.
Amanda is in school...all the time. But I love it.
Bailey is turning 8 on June 4th and we are eagerly awaiting her baptism on June 9th.
Grace is in Preschool and terrorizing all of the children and most recently she let me know she wants to kiss boys. Why? Why do I have girls?
We are very proud of our little family and can't wait to keep adding to this and filling you in on all the juicy details.

The whole family standing with a cow. Cool huh! We are such tourist.

We went to Texas to see my younger brother Patrick graduate from college and all of the men felt a strong desire to throw their backs out. James lasted the longest but I should mention that he did go to the doctors two days after we got home to California.

Grace and her friend Emma. Emma is actually the daughter of a friend of mine. Grace and Emma are the only two girls in both their preschool and Sunbeam classes.

Grace at Preschool. She loves going to school and Mommy loves that she goes to school.

The Saturday before I entered the Temple the girls and my parents walked the Temple grounds. It was a great day. Feb. 2007

The Girls at the Beach.

Can you tell who prefers to be infront of the camera?

In case you didn't guess it's Bailey

Updated Pictures of the Family

The Howell Family "somewhat" enjoying a day at the Santa Barbara Zoo. I loved it but I think we traumatized the Girls.