Friday, May 17, 2013

prayers in Bubbleland

Bria stayed home from school today ... because "I love all my family more than school." [nice try, Bria.] So, after praying over their banana bread and watermelon breakfast (prayer videos below) they played in "Bubbleland" (aka, mommy's trick of getting them to mop the floor). They made bubble angels and slip-and-slid around on the slippery suds. Hopefully with all the soap and bodily contact the floor's a little bit cleaner!







Breakfast prayers ...

video


video

Thursday, May 09, 2013

a Wicked date night!

David spontaneously surprised me with tickets to the musical Wicked! We had great seats on the lower level where we could admire the colorful sets and costumes. And Glinda and Elfaba's voices were A-mazing!


Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Washington D.C.

Emily enjoyed a wonderful visit to her sister Becky (and husband Ryan) in northern Virginia this past week. It was the perfect combo of fun and relaxation. We toured around Baltimore and Arlington and West Virginia. I spent a whole day at the Smithsonian museums (the Natural History, the American History, the Air & Space, and the Native American museums). We visited the DC temple. We saw the Oz movie and shared a huge tub of heavily buttered popcorn, then we got pedicures together. We went to a yummy seafood restaurant and ate "Devilish eggs with caramelized bacon" and delicious seafood. We watched movies and played games. I went on morning walks around their charming neighborhood--so many spring flowers like tulips and daffodils alongside blooming cherry-blossomed trees. Wonderful!
Downtown Baltimore


DC Temple - where David received his endowments

Smithsonian Natural History museum

Harper's ferry in West Virginia

Monday, April 01, 2013

a happy Easter

The Parma family enjoyed a very happy Eastertime. The kids participated in a friend- and preschool Easter egg hunt, we colored eggs, opened Easter baskets, and enjoyed a lovely "Easter Feast" with friends and family (including Uncle Christian). We also participated in our Church Sacrament meeting by speaking and singing. David's men's quartet sang "Beautiful Savior," the Primary children sang "Did Jesus Really Live Again?" and Emily spoke on Jesus Christ as our Master Healer. A lovely Easter celebration!













Thursday, March 21, 2013

Student of the Week

Bria's Student of the Week poster. Kindergarten at Degan Elementary, Ms. Decena's class.

Bria spelled out her "favorite things" (bottom left) all by herself. I also enjoyed her aspirations for "what I want to be when I grow up". Her three "super-cool facts" (bottom right) are 1) her love of spaghetti and meatball, 2) she's a popstar, and 3) she's loves treasure box at school.


St Patrick's day and the naughty leprechaun


Green eggs and ham, leprechaun potion.

      

Our naughty little Liam.
















A plunger, a half-eaten banana, and train tracks. Random. And gross.



Wednesday, March 13, 2013

February has flown ...

Nearly every day passes with "update blog" left un-checked on my to-do list. I thought I'd make it easier on myself by just posting photos, but I don't even have any recent ones! So here's a little update about what's been going on. Em's 30th birthday was great! My friends met me for lunch at Mcdonald’s to let the kids play (exciting, I know) and that morning David has gluten-free muffins and donuts from a specialty bakery (and gluten-free cupcakes for later!) Then he planned a surprise date without kids to a fancy steakhouse, and even ordered lovely pink roses for our table. Mom and dad sent a custom-framed picture of the Savior and many people sent sweet cards. David's birthday “present” to me was a flight out to visit my sister Becky in D.C. in April! Without kids! Emily also enjoyed a weekend away with girlfriends. Good friends make the world such a happier place. Then ... we all had a wicked stomach flu. When it came Emily's turn, the accompanying stomach pain landed her in the ER. Emily was so grateful to David who worked from home and took over with the kids that weekend. And to friends, who helped watch the kids the first day. Gratefully we are all feeling better now, except for Bria who has some lingering tummy troubles (one month later!) but we are visiting doctor's to figure it out. Needless to say, Em's Valentine’s was uneventful, spent on the couch, and she was so sad to miss all the parties, heart-shaped pancakes, romantic candle-lit dinner and love-pons she'd planned. But the kids enjoyed school parties and lots of cute candy. David has been working really hard at JCP. His analytics group has been getting high visibility, and his findings have been shared with the CEO and Board of Directors. The work days can be long and crazy, though. Liam is doing great at potty training! Still in diapers, but tells us when he has to go potty. We have Thomas the Train and Cars underwear for when he's ready to make the diaper-less leap. Cali is enjoying preschool, playing playdoh, helping mommy in the kitchen, and singing in primary. Last week she gave her second Primary talk about how Heavenly Father loves us. Bria is learning a lot at Kindergarten and making some wonderful friends. She especially enjoys art and imaginative play (along with Cali, they play anything from puppies to Barbies to house to puppet shows). Well that's us in a nutshell. Wishing all of our family and friends lots of love.

Friday, January 18, 2013

Gabe's wedding

David and Emily snuck away to Utah to attend the marriage sealing and celebrations of our brother, Gabe. And we are so happy for him and his new wife, Kate. Their sealing at the Bountiful temple was especially touching, and we were all reminded the importance of nourishing and cherishing our relationships. Although the Utah weather was frigid, we enjoyed warm visits with beloved family and friends. The brothers played racquetball, the whole Parma clan met up and dined and shopped at the new City Creek center. We also visited the Church visitor's center at Temple Square, visited with Emily's brother, Christian and his family, relaxed and spent time together with Kate's gracious family, and reminisced at the BYU bookstore. A lovely trip, a lovely couple. We are so happy for them.
The Parma siblings, all together!
Our new niece, Amelia, courtesy of Rosa :)