7 months...seriously!!!

I can't believe it's been seven months since my last post. Oh, the shame. I wonder if anyone reads this anymore?

Oh well, I will try to make this a priority again as I would like to make my blog into a scrapbook and it seems 2009 is seriously laking.

Okay, where to begin.
Right after the last blog post, Miss Sofie's family arrived from Norway for two amazing weeks! We went non-stop but had an incredible time with our extended-international family. When Sofie left, on June 16, we all suffered from some serious withdrawal. Imagine having someone live in your house and be a central part of your family for ten months, then poof, she is gone. Perhaps that is similar to what it will be like when K and O 'leave the nest', but it sure was tough.

Soon after that, I started an intense interview process for an elementary principal position, that lasted three interviews over a 4 week period. I did get down to the final two candidates, but ultimately, the other guy was chosen. I was disappointed, but soon another opportunity came up which lead me heading back to a work as a Behavior Interventionist. It's a full-time position and it sure is hard to juggle everything.

Going back to work full-time after five years at home has been an adjustment of ginormous proportions. I am learning so much from this position and feel like it is a perfect fit to one day become an administrator, but it's also overwhelming. The kids are doing incredibly well at school and daycare. Still hurts sometimes, to think what I've been missing.

But, onward...life has been happening full force, but I must get back to documenting!

Happy Holidays!

Kailey's Tap Recital

Kailey's in the second row on the far right. Such a cutie-pie! This was my amateur video but a better DVD will arrive soon!

Sofie's Prom!

Sofie's Beautiful Corsage of White Roses

The BIG group of Prom goers




Saying goodbye for the night after a long, fun day!

I took over 100 pictures today and so many of them were beautiful! Blogger would not be pleased if I posted all of them, so I'll have to pick and choose. Sofie and Brianna, along with help from Brianna's sister Erika got ready over here, then we had the parents, grandparents, sisters, etc., take pictures, complete with smiling faces from neighbors. (Everyone loves Prom!) We then went over to the open space in front of the water with what seemed like 30 other couples for some gorgeous pictures. Sofie and her date (just friends) Evan looked like a Hollywood couple on the red carpet!

The group then traveled to Minerva's for dinner, then will go to the Grand Traverse Resort for the actual Prom. It was an absolutely insane, crazy day, but an amazingly great one too! I know I'm biased, but Sofie was the belle of the ball! What a beauty!

Kailey's Recital

Kailey had her first official tap recital this afternoon. We did have a dress rehearsal earlier this week, so she was adequately prepared for her few moments on the stage. I must say, those Tiny Tappers (ages 3 and 4) were an absolute hit! I will try my best to upload the video, but until, enjoy the photos of our sweet beauty from both today and dress rehearsal!

Oh, and when we asked her what she'd tell Daddy was her favorite parts, she replied:

- The flowers that she received

- Dancing.

That about sums it up!

Senior Night

Senior night for soccer, already. Where did time go?

Last night we attended Senior night at Sofie's final, regular season home game. During half-time, we presented Sofie and walked across the field. Of course, there were some differences from the other families.

A. We are host parents and not her real parents (but we love her just as much!).

B. We were significantly younger than most of the other families.

And C. We were the only family to have a SCREAMING two year old.

When I describe screaming, picture full-on, arched back, won't move, have to pick him up screaming. He was fine one minute, then screaming the next. We actually heard the crowd laugh. Poor Sofie, it was supposed to be her moment to shine, but that is life with a two year old. I'm sure she'll remember it forever! Oh, and notice our WINTER coats...does this place ever warm up?

Sofie has been able to be a part of something very special. In Norway, sports teams don't coincide with the high school. School spirit is a new phenomenon for her and has been incredibly exciting for her to play such an important role on her team. I'm sure she'll always remember with fondness, "We are the Titans, the mighty, mighty Titans!" Go West!

Getting Older...

Happy Birthday to Me! Again, Paul had duty, so we went out to a lovely lunch (which is my favorite meal of the day, anyway) and had delicious Potter's cake on the deck. I received lots of cards, well-wishes, my favorite wines from San Francisco and Sofie also got me an 'S' charm and an M-22 shirt...awesome! What a great day and I'm sure 34 will be my best year yet!

Spring Time Fun

Duck, duck goose; Ring around the Rosie; Hide and Seek...what could be better than Spring time fun?

Horray for May 17!

Why? Because May 17 is Norway's National Day! Everyone can use a good reason to party, so we took advantage of it! We couldn't really celebrate with parades, red pants and Norwegian flags, so we celebrated American style. We grilled out, played baseball with the T-ball, lit the chiminea (because it was really cold), roasted marshmallows, had S'mores and lit sparklers. This was the first time Sofie's ever had a S'more and I think it's safe to say she will be introducing this fine American treat to her fellow Norwegians.

Tiny Tapper

Last Saturday was Kailey's last official day of tap class. We have her recital this weekend (along with Prom) and will post lots of pictures. Her costume is quite a hit...complete with gloves and a sparkling necklace. All in all, she loved tap. Well, that's an understatement. She pretty much smiled through the ENTIRE class, each week. She wants to move on to ballet, but I secretly hope she will want to take tap again!

Look what Owen can do!

We couldn't be more proud. He figured this out all on his own and is quite good at it. Dave Letterman, here we come...crazy kid trick! (Is it a problem that we often encourage it too?)

Prom Dress Shopping

A few weeks ago, I took Sofie and her friends to Grand Rapids to try on Prom dresses. In TC, there are few places that have prom dresses and with two very large high schools in town, it is likely that another girl will have your dress, and that would be bad. Of course Paul had duty, so we all (yes, Kailey and Owen included) loaded up in the mini-van...have I mentioned that? We're mini-van owners...that's another entry! ...and headed two hours down South.

I was skeptical that we would leave GR with three happy teenagers with lovely dresses, but we did it! In just one hour and one stop each girl found a beautiful dress. And can you imagine Kailey's pure joy to watch not only Sofie, Brianna and Ally try on dresses, but other ladies trying on wedding gowns too? One bride tried on a dress, walked out of the room and Kailey gasped, "Wow, she's beautiful, mommy!" The bride heard and couldn't contain her smile. Note to all: bring a princess obsessed 4 year old dress shopping, she will make you feel awesome!

Here are the dresses, I won't reveal the winning ones until after Prom this Saturday, but they will all be stunning, I am certain!

Game Winning Goal!

From the Record Eagle:

TC West 1
Gaylord 0
Sofie Utne scored the game's only goal with three minutes left to lift Traverse City West to a 1-0 victory over Gaylord.
Maddisen Coil assisted on Utne's goal.
Taylor Ross posted the shutout for the Titans (5-8-3, 3-3-1 Big North Conference), who received solid defense from Mallory Litwiller, Carolyn Vlach and Natalie Sutherin.
TC West hosts Jenison on Saturday.
Gaylord falls to 6-3-1, 4-3 BNC.

Thomas and the Princess

During the long winter days, we spent a lot of time dressing up in between writing papers. Ah, thank goodness winter is over and double thank goodness writing papers is over. But, we're left with some pretty great pictures!

What's she doing to our Owen?

Owen and Kailey adore Sofie and want to be just like her in every single possible way. Owen likes Sofie's sunglasses and Sofie likes to indulge her sweet Owie. Sorry it's blurry, but it's too good to pass up!

Trike-A-Thon

This past Tuesday, Kailey participating in the much anticipated St. Jude's Hospital Trike-A-Thon. All proceeds are going to an amazing charity and research foundation, but the impact it had on Kailey was huge. The Pre-Kindergarten class had a four lesson curriculum on bike safety that culminated in the two hour event. Kailey ended up riding 48 laps!!! Wowee Whoppers! Aunt Nancy and Toosie got suckered into pledging $1.00 per lap, but again, it was all for a good cause!