Cienna's Birthday Party

(sassy mom + sassy dad = THIS)

A couple of weeks ago we celebrated Cienna's 4th birthday. For those of you who know me, this had to be a perfectly planned, themed party. We decided to do an ice cream theme since her special day is in July. I made some really cute invites with an ice cream cone, which had to be sparkly and pink of course. On the party day, we woke up to cloudy, yucky weather. I was running around in a panic trying to find somewhere else to hold the party... with no luck. We decided to just keep it outside and hope that the rain held off. The rain did hold, but it was actually pretty cold. We still had tons of fun with all of our amazing family and friends. We had an ice cream sundae bar with as many toppings as you could imagine... chocolate, caramel, strawberry, sprinkles, whipped cream, cherries, etc. We were supposed to have an ice cream relay and play "freeze" tag, but it was just too cold. We ate ice cream and opened presents and called it a party. :D Cienna got a ton of Hannah Montana stuff (her fave) and school supplies and clothes. She got spoiled!!! That is ok... I guess that is what birthdays are all about.

What to do?

My husband left for the weekend with some friends of his and the kids are in bed... but I am having a hard time deciding what I should do?!?!?!?! Should I....

*Read my book?

*Clean the kitchen?

*Catch up on laundry?

*Read my book?

*Watch old episodes of 'So You Think You Can Dance'?

*Wash the walls?

*Sleep?

*Exercise?

*Work on sponsor letters?

*Read my book?

*Sweep the floors?

*Clean my computer desk?

*Put dinner away?

*Upload the thousands of pics from my camera?

*Work on my Scentsy order?

or... just READ MY BOOK?

I think I will go read my book. :D Good night!

Happy Birthday Cienna!!!

WOW! Time really does have a way of sneaking up on you. I can't believe my BABY is 4 years old today. It is so easy to recall this day 4 years ago... sitting in a hospital, holding my baby girl, hoping and wishing everything for her!

Now look where we are... I have an almost completely independent preschooler who doesn't like to snuggle and would rather play with friends then her mommy. :( On the bright side... she is so full of energy and spunk and life. Cienna can make you feel so special with just one little smile. She has a way with people that make them fall instantly in love with her. I am not sure how she does it, but she can make a total stranger feel like they are so important in her life... they probably are and I just don't know how to piece it all together. I have never seen a child that can make your want to cry and laugh all within 1 minute of each other. For those of you who know Cienna, you know exactly what I am talking about. And for those of you who don't know her, you are seriously missing out on one INCREDIBLE little girl!!!

Here are some small, but beautiful moments in my little one's life.

Update... it has been a long time.

WOW! I am such a slacker... so sorry. Here is a little update... and then I will try to be better about writing.


-Brian did not get the job with the police department

-We sold our house

-Moved into an apartment... kinda looking for a new house

-Brian's work is crazy slow... but we are making it












-He will probably leave to work in Arizona in a few weeks

-I am still teaching dance, cheer, and tumbling... love it!



-Girls are still dancing like crazy... I think they like it, no they LOVE it!



-Both girls will be trying out for the showteam this year

-My brother Jon got married to his long time girlfriend on Saturday



-Jon and Becky's daughter broke her leg the night before the wedding


-My brother Matt and his wife had a beautiful baby boy... Phillip Bryant


-I get to take care of this baby during the week :D


-Cienna is turning 4 on Thursday... where does the time go?


I am sure there is more, but this had to be quick. :) Hope you are all doing well! Love and miss you all!

Friends

I think it is so funny how you don't really choose who your friends are going to be. I mean... you can be picky and say that you don't want to be friends with someone, but most of the time you just get to know someone and they turn out to be a friend. I have been very blessed to have some amazing people in my life! But I do have to giggle a little and the diverse selection of friends that I do have. I am putting your names on here and if you don't like it... tough! :)
Chantelle- We were born to be best friends! I swear we have been friends since kindergarten... no I am not lying! We love to talk and laugh together and I am sure it will be that way for a very long time.
Kyra- best friends since the moment we met! We have kept in contact through 3 kids each and living 600+ miles away!
Marilee- best friends since high school. We are in totally different seasons of our lives, but somehow we manage to have things to talk about.
Aria- came into my life when I needed a friend more than ANYTHING! We have survived 2 moves away from each other and still celebrate life's joys and disappointments together.
Brianda- instant friends. We moved into the same neighborhood 2 weeks apart from each other. Bonded because we were both the new ones, but became instant sisters. We had kids around the same age too, so we had many play dates to get to know each other.
Stacey- backyard neighbors. She became my friend when I found out that we shared the crafty bone. We have since done a gazillion crafts. We also have kids that are very close in age.
Diane- she is old enough to be my mom! She has been all of my kids preschool teacher, now I consider her a friend! We double date :) and are going on a trip together this fall. She is such an amazing person to know.
Lisa- we are SO alike. She started out as my girls dance teacher (oh and mine too). Today, I would intoduce her as my friend. We think alike, have the same shoes :) and I love being around her.
There are so many other friends that I have made along the way, but I wish all these people could know each other so they could see how truly different they are and how much I love them the same. Maybe I will have a big party and they will all be REQUIRED to come so that they can all meet. I love you ladies!!!

For Sale

So, it is official... we put our house up for sale.

We have lived here for almost 3 years and it has been some of the best years of my life! But, sometimes things need to change. Brian's work has really slowed down (went from 80+ hours per week to 20) and we are really struggling with what is to come. We have decided that the best route to take is to downsize, reduce our monthly payments, and get Brian back in school. He is really great at what he does... and gets paid well too, but he can't keep up physically for the rest of his life. He is going to get old one day, whether he likes it or not, and I think now is the time to change. I am excited to have another goal to obtain and to work towards that. You know how you set goals and then you work really hard? And then one day you accomplish that goal? And then there is really nothing else to do? That is how I have felt about the house. We worked our butts off to get in here, made huge sacrifices, and it all paid off. I was a homeowner at the age of 23!!! Now, I feel like I want to do something else. Brian is really excited to go back to school too. We have tossed it around a couple of times and it never seemed to be the right time. Now we are all ready and willing to do whatever it takes!



I got my degree in Health Care Administration in October and I haven't had a chance to use it. I will get that opportunity sometime this year as I work to put food on the table while Brian goes to school. He is still planning on working part time but it will be very minimal so that we can get his school done as quickly as possible. The kids seem fine with the idea of moving. Caden was actually excited that he gets to meet new people and go to a new school. We will stay pretty close by so that our kids can play with their old friends and we will be able to visit those friends that have meant so much to us these past few years.



Anyway... sorry about the rambling! There was a lot to get out and no real structure. :) I hope everyone is doing good in this rough patch and I will for sure keep you all updated. Love and miss you all!

Winds of Change

Yup... the winds of change are blowing for the Candelaria family. We went this weekend to Evanston, Wyoming for Brian to take some tests for the police department. We also got to visit my mommy and we got strep throat. I know... pleasant, pleasant, not so pleasant! On Thursday night Brian took the written test which was about 3 hours long and was just math, language, and reading comprehension. Brian said the test was pretty easy and that he didn't struggle with any questions. We got the results back and all it said was that he received a 12.9+. We had no idea what that meant but knew that he must have done pretty well. The next morning he woke up early to go to the rec center to do the physical test. He did well on this test also. He had to run a mile and a half and he said that that about killed him because the elevation is so much higher than where we are now... but he did what he needed to do. There were about 20 people there and about 8 got an interview time for that same day and Brian was among the 8. I was so proud of him!!! He had his interview and he said that he felt it went really well. He said there were some tough questions but he just answered the best he could and moved on. In the interview they said how impressed they were with his score because there is no 13 on the grading so as far as they were concerned he got most, if not all, of the questions right. :) That is my hubby!!! We should get a call sometime this week telling him if he should come back for some more testing/interviews. We are really keeping our fingers crossed and praying for him to get this job. I think it will be so amazing for him. He is so smart and should be doing something with that. He is such a good man and I think he deserves the best out there... but I guess I may be a little biased. Anyway, wish us luck and keep us in your prayers for this amazing opportunity! Thanks! Love and miss you all!