Celebrate!!!

It is summertime, and we are celebrating in the Fairhurst household! Ariana finished her first year of pre-school. She did great, had a fun time with her friends, and always enjoyed telling us about what she learned. She was very aware of the rules and made sure I knew that she was obeying her teacher. Pre-school was also an accomplishment for Kindra as she took turns with the other mothers to teach the kids. They did a great job, and the kids loved it!
Kierra finished kindergarten. She did great! At an awards ceremony at the end of the year she was given an award for citizenship, musin and p.e. I was especially proud of the p.e. award. Kierra did not love p.e., specifically she disliked running laps outside in the Arizona heat. However, she stuck with it and kept a good attitude. Apparently she gave a good enough effort for her teacher to notice. I am glad she didn't give up.

I also completed my second year of the doctoral program. The culmination of the first two years was a qualifying exam. I found out on Friday that I passed. What is my reward, you ask...three more years of school! I am happy to have the exam behind me and to be on to my next steps in the program. This, again, is something that Kindra deserves to celebrate. She has been the foundation during this hectic time. We celebrated with a night out to a seafood restaurant. Great food, great company, and no homework hanging over my head! The perfect way to celebrate!

We have been having a lot of family fun to celebrate. Bowling, trips to the pool, reading together, and, mostly, relaxing. We also have a baby girl that thinks she wants to crawl. She is constantly getting on all fours and falling forward. Enough face plants and she will eventually begin to shuffle.



KID QUOTES

Kierra: Ariana, you be the mom and you can be married to dad!
Ariana: [Gets an excited/nervous/blushing look on her face]
Kierra: Ariana, are you daydreaming...because I am definitely daydreaming!

A Thorn in My (back)Side

We are gearing up for summer. Kierra's last day of school is Thursday and I have a qualifying exam on Thursday and Friday. Saturday will be a good day! Towards the end of the year, Kierra's school held a field day. They had many games and capped it off with an inflatable water slide. Kierra had a blast!


The girls have been playing pretty well together. They do all sorts of things. One thing they like is dress-up. We have several Disney princess dresses, tutus, leotards, etc. Of course, those aren't what they use for dress-up. This last week, they dressed up as mom and dad in our clothes. I have to say, Ariana looks ready to be a mom!


Arizona, not surprisingly, is full of gnarly looking cacti. What we didn't expect was all of the thorns on plants other than cacti. Kierra has had a particular knack for finding plants with pokies. I have lost track, but several times she has come home with dozens of tiny thorns that had to be picked out of her hand one by one. The latest occurance was this past week as Kindra and the girls visited the local Botanical Gardens. However, Kierra's experiences pale in comparison to Teya's. One night this week, Kindra was changing Teya's diaper. She yelled that something was wrong...Teya had been stung by a bee. I came in and felt the bump on her bottom, and, sure enough, it felt like a stinger was in there. Kindra grabbed the tweezers and started the extraction. The 'stinger' kept coming and coming. Kindra pulled out what was either the stinger from a bee the size of a small bird or a large thorn.

This thorn was sticking directly into her bottom (thank goodness for padding). We have no idea how long it was in there. All I know is I couldn't find a hole in her diaper or clothes and the thorn had been in there long enough to get soggy! Poor Teya!

KID QUOTES

Mom and Dad: What did you learn about in church today Ariana?
Ariana: I don't know...my teacher didn't tell me!

Dad: Are you excited or sad that kindergarten is almost over?
Kierra: Both...I am excited because I need a break. I am sad because it means I am that much closer to 1st grade!

Easter Surprise and Kid Quotes

On Saturday of Easter weekend, Kindra had a four hour meeting. A friend of mine was alone with his kids as well. So, we decided to take the kids to the park, let them play, and have a little Easter egg hunt. I went out to hide the eggs while the kids were playing. I scattered them all over a sandy area away from the playground equipment. With only a few eggs left, I noticed a dirt mound that I might be able to set an egg on. However, as I got close I realized the dirt mound was already occupied...by a sonoran sidewinder (rattlesnake). Fortunately, it was asleep. We kept our distance and finished the egg hunt. Since then I have been having nightmares of sending four you children egg hunting with rattlesnakes. Luckily, the hunt turned out well!

KID QUOTES
Ariana: Dad, did you know that when I get big I am going to get married and have kids and move to a different house than you? Don't worry though, I can visit you whenever I want to!

Kierra: Knock knock.
DJ and Kindra: Who's there?
Kierra: You guys watch too much t.v.
DJ and Kindra (thinking we were funny): You guy watch too much t.v., who?
Kierra: You guys watch too much t.v. of Chuck.

Ariana: At church, my friend and I went to the bathroom together. We heard really loud shaking. We thought that a giant was going to step on us in the bathroom. Then we realized we were under stairs.
Kierra: When you were scared, you should have yelled 9-1-1!

Kierra: Ariana, you don't have to eat your candy so fast. You can save some of it.
Ariana: Oh yeah, I forgot that candy doesn't go bad!
Kierra: Uh oh!!! We forgot about dad!
Ariana: You're right...I better hide my leftover candy!

Here are a few more pics:

The girls playing in the mud/sludge.

I'm so glad when daddy comes home! I usually get mauled when I get home. It makes everyone happy (especially mom!).

A family campout in the living room. It wasn't too hot and we didn't have to worry about snakes and scorpions.

The girls got their face painted at a community easter egg hunt.

Mom and Teya on Easter Sunday.

Peas in a pod!

Kierra Lillian

Kierra is surviving a long year of all-day kindergarten. She had Spring break this past week and she had so much energy. I think she is all but ready for summer vacation. She loves stories. She constantly wants stories from Kindra and I and when she can't get it from us she turns to the cell phone to call her grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles. She is well-liked by her classmates and her teacher tells us that she is always encouraging others when they get discouraged. She loves plants and animals. Every time I ask her to pray, she includes a new animal that she is grateful for.[Translation: I accidentally was playing with the cupcake wrappers. Sorry. Kierra]

Ariana Susa

Ariana is our Miss Independent. She loves to play ponies or fairies. She also loves mischief, such as hiding, running away, and, of course, pretending that she is not bothered by any consequences she might get. She is also very sweet. She loves to play with her sisters and her parents. She is learning to love stories just as much as her big sister. Ari started primary at church this year. She is very sociable. Kids of all ages at church know her and say hi to her. She still loves her thumb and her blankie.

Teya Bailey

Teya is generally a happy baby. She is starting roll a lot and giggle occasionally. She loves to be around her family. Her sisters each have their own way of playing with her, but she just loves them all. Like Kierra was, she is a binky baby. She sleeps through the night most nights. She is starting to work baby food into the mix. She is bald and chubby just like our other girls...the perfect kind of babies if you ask me.