My baby

These pics of Brayden go from age 3 mos-8yrs

On her blog today, my sister posted about not being ready for her son to start kindergarten in 5 months.

Four hours later, Brayden brought me his paperwork to register for his 6th grade classes...due tomorrow.

I don't feel old enough for this. I don't feel like he's old enough for this. How on earth is he going to remember his locker combination? Or get to class on time, with the right book?

It's a whole new world since I was in sixth grade.  My parents had to "learn the ropes" with me, and because of it I always swore I would never have an oldest child.

Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out how to get around it.

So, ready or not, here we come. It's not the same as when I was in sixth grade.  I can't believe all the choices! They have a class period (or two?) set aside for all these extra-curricular type classes.  He had to pick a certain number of classes from each of four categories.  Here's a list of the classes Brayden chose to take (besides the usual Language Arts, Math, Science, etc.):

Orchestra (he is dead set on playing the violin)
Crazy Art (?)
Animation (cartooning and comic book making)
The Art of Science (something about 3-D and painting with light??)
Drawing
Lego Service (designing and making instructions for lego creations to be donated to children's hospitals)
Boy Stuff (the catalog mentioned cool cars, racing, sports, etc.)
Golf
Lawn Games (croquet, bocce, ladderball, etc.)
Soccer-Softball-Basketball
Chess
Crime Scene Investigation
Robotics
Lego Robots (applying Math and Science to Lego Creations)

And just for fun, here are a few of the classes he didn't have time for:

Mandarin Chinese, Totally Awesome Cupcakes, Babysitting (I tried to get him to do this one), Digital Photography, Zumba, Woodworking, Theater, Aviation, Computer Scrapbooking, Podcasts, Sign language, Debate, Rubiks cube & Blow your Mind (huh?), Science Experiments, Electronics, Engineering, Folk Dance, Rockets, Origami, Geography Challenge, Extreme Google, March Madness (seriously, that's a class?), Hip-hop, Indoor Hockey, and Jazzy Jewelry.

Char, if you twist my arm I might be willing to trade places with you...

One year ago...

It was a year ago today that we found out Todd was going to lose his job.  

I posted a picture that day, that I took from our front step, that described how I felt.

This picture, taken from our new front step, is a pretty good description of how I feel now.

I closed my post (a year ago) with the words, 


"It will be interesting, to say the least, to see where the rest of this year takes us".  


And now, here we are.  We have felt the hand of the Lord throughout this year and I have received confirmation from the spirit that we are where we need to be.  We found the house that was prepared for us. The kids' transition couldn't have gone more smoothly.  We're still getting to know the ward members, but Todd's recent call as Elder's Quorum President should speed up that process :o). 


Life is good.


I have saved a little story for several months that I wanted to post today.


Soon after learning about the fate of Todd's job, we realized we were going to have to try to sell our house.  I knew the chances of selling it were slim, and I also knew that any equity we might have gained by finishing our basement was gone.  We considered refinancing to make our payment lower, but it never felt right.  As I was trying to muddle through our options, my cousin Erin came over one day and gave me a hug.  She has a degree in business (and had classes in marketing) and she left my house saying that she was going to go home to pray, and think about what she could do to help me.  


I have to back up here, and let you know that after we got our new van in 2008, we gave Erin and her husband our old van.  When they finished school and were looking for jobs, I heard about the one in our school district and let them know...and they got it.  When they were looking for a house, I directed them to the one they ended up buying.  She was constantly telling me that they "owed me" (which is crazy because I really didn't do anything...but anyway you get the idea). 


A couple days after Erin had been thinking and praying, she called me to tell me that the only thing she had come up with, was the name Bonnie Kaufman, who was a real estate agent in our area.  I had considered listing our house, but I knew we didn't have any equity so we really couldn't afford to use a realtor.  I put the idea in the back of my mind, and a few weeks later when I was desperate and didn't know what else to do, I called Bonnie Kaufman. 


She didn't paint a rosy picture.  She didn't want to discourage me, but didn't want to lead me on, either.  She told me that in all reality she didn't see our house selling for at least two years.  Still, she agreed to come look at it, and do what she could to help us, so we made an appointment.  At the end of our conversation, I was explaining the location of our house and told her it was the 2nd house North of the power company.  When I said that, she said "You live on the same block as the power company?  I wonder if they would want to buy it?  If I were you, I'd call them and see if they have any interest."


I knew it was a long shot, but I was desperate so I hung up with her, and called the CEO of the power company.  I explained our situation to him, and asked if there was any chance that they might be interested in buying my house.  He said, "Well, I don't know...maybe.  I'll have to bring it up at the next board meeting at the end of the month".  


Two months later, after working out similar "deals" with my neighbors, they called back and offered to buy our house.


The Lord works in mysterious ways.  Even though I didn't think using an agent was our answer, it was the agent who had the answer I was looking for.  And it was my dear cousin, Erin, who led me the solution to our problem.


Erin, you helped me a lot more than I helped you.  I'm so glad for the time we had together in "the middle of nowhere" and so thankful that you were "in tune" and willing to help when I needed it.  


What goes around comes around.

a bunch of random stuff...

My friend Mindy came to visit me this morning.  I love Mindy.  We met when I was first married and we served as  beehive leaders together.  She is the kind of person who lifts you up and makes you want to be better.  I thought about digging up a picture of the two of us from girls camp 12 years ago, but I'm too lazy to go find it, and then scan it, since it was taken in the days before digital cameras.  That's how far back we go...

Anyway, Mindy was in town with some friends and she borrowed a car in order to drive for 20 minutes at 7:30 this morning to spend an hour with me.  It was short, but wonderful.  We talked, ate muffins, and drank green smoothies while my kiddos were getting ready for school.  It was the perfect start to my weekend.  Thanks Mindy, you made my day!

A couple weeks ago, I helped my Great Aunt Joan make a quilt for her newest grandbaby. Since my quilting machine isn't set up yet, we pinned and hand-basted the quilt before quilting it on my Bernina.  Sorry the picture isn't great, but at least I thought to take one!

 Speaking of quilting, we are making progress in the room that will be my studio.  The left part of this room was an office in the garage.  Todd knocked out the wall (where the beam is) and built a new wall to extend this room the entire width of our garage so it will fit my quilting machine.

 Our progress has been stalled until we figure out what to do with the floor.  The floor in the part of the room that used to be in the garage, is an inch higher than the floor in the old office.  We're not sure if we can use self-leveling cement, or if we should hire someone to do cement work, or if there's another solution.  I know I don't want to trip over it while quilting!

 We have a laundry situation right now.  I didn't do any laundry during Spring Break and I've been paying for it all week.  The good news is that everything you see is clean.  I'm supposed to be folding it right now--hence the reason you get a blog post about random stuff, so I can procrastinate the dreaded laundry pile a little longer.

The older boys had their first choir concert last night.  They will be performing again at "a well known local amphitheater" (with several other schools) on Caleb's birthday.  I love the fact that our school has a choir.  The boys have gone to school an hour early, two days a week this semester in order to participate.  They did a great job and I really enjoyed the performance. I'll add a short clip at the end of this post for the Grandmas.

My daffodils are blooming and it makes me smile every time I look at them.  I hope to plant the rest of our garden this weekend--tomatoes and all.

Happy Friday!

Caleb on the front row, third kid from the left.
Brayden is on the middle row, on the right hand side (he is behind the director for a second).

If you like books with happy middles...

I've decided that in the next life I'd like to be a first grade teacher.

This is Dillon's first book report.  I love his decorative lettering.

Translation:
Lenny Lion and Molly Mouse is a great book. I really like it. My favorite part is when Molly helps Lenny get out of the net and when Lenny meets Molly.  If you like books with happy middles, you will like Lenny Lion and Molly Mouse.

Spring Break comes to an end

On Saturday, Caleb, Justin, and I attended the Pinewood Derby while Todd, Brayden, and Dillon went to the air show.  Caleb won all but one race with his car this year.  Our ward had a fancy-dancy computerized set-up that timed all the cars and averaged their times.  The times were posted on a giant screen after each race.

 Caleb wanted his car "the color of the sky".  He drew the design himself, and did did a great job sanding, painting, and adding the decals.

Mom, you may want to sit down for this next picture.

My boys helped themselves to the brownies tonight.

(sorry if it makes your eye twitch)

Justin found a marker after church and had so much fun coloring his legs.  

I'm glad he wiggled out of his pants first...

This picture is also for my mom. 

I wanted you to see that I do cut my boys' hair at least quarterly 

whether they need it or not...

Someone told Dillon the other day that he must have been sun-tanning from behind the screen door :o)

Well, I survived Spring Break, and actually enjoyed it.  I'm kind of sad to send my kids back to school tomorrow.  (Did I just say that??)

I'm sure I'll get over it pretty quick.  Tomorrow starts MY spring break.  Stay tuned...

A day at the park

My cousin Erin came to visit us on Friday and brought her two cute kids.  After Justin and Billy had taken their nap, we headed to the park for the afternoon.

We started with the carousel.

 Brayden, Caleb, and Jackie loved it.  Billy liked it in the beginning.  Dillon had to be bribed just to get on (and he sat in the sleigh).  Justin didn't care for it.  (I'll be honest...Erin and I didn't particularly care for it either)

 Next we played in the lazy river, and splash pad.

 The older boys got bored after awhile, and created their own fun by using their towels for capes.  Here is Caleb as "Super Green Man"

 The little boys could have played for hours.  They loved walking up and down the river.

Thanks for coming to visit, Erin!  We can't wait to do it again.

Climbin' the walls...

Spring Break is in full swing over here.

After we spent our morning watching the Blue Angels practice their stunts (from our backyard), 

we decided to go climb the walls at a trampoline arena.

They were too quick for me to get a picture, but the Blue Angels flew over our house today (all six in formation),
and they were so close I could read the writing on the jets.  I'm not into airplanes, but I have to admit, it was kinda cool. 

 Climbin' the walls

 I need this in my basement...

 After fifteen minutes of this...

 We had this...

 ...and this.

 After a short break, they were right back at it...

 Justin had the kiddie area all to himself.

After an hour of fun, I took four sweaty boys to Maverick for frozen yogurt, 

and we rented Wipeout for the Wii.

The Blue Angels are in town

While at the park yesterday afternoon, the kids and I watched the Navy's Blue Angels fly into town. 

Then, this morning, I read this KSL article and saw who was riding in one of those jets...

 I love Pres. Uchtdorf!

I'm sure he was in heaven, and it makes me smile to think we saw a minute of his joy from below :o)

It's so fluffy I'm gonna die!

Name that movie.

This is the tree in my front yard.  It's so fluffy I'm gonna die!  I had a tree like this at my old house, but more years than not, the wind would blow the flowers off the minute they bloomed.  I am LOVING spring here! 

We've eaten out on the patio twice this week, and we've been getting our planter boxes ready for seeds.  I'm told we can plant tomatoes by the end of next week!

We have a fun yard for an easter egg hunt, so I'm trying to come up with a really cool one this year.  If you have any idea's for prizes let me know.  I've walked up and down the easter aisles at the store and I do not want to waste my money on all those dumb "party favors" that are just going to clutter up the house and end up in the garbage.  I also don't want a huge amount of candy around.  So far all I've come up with is homemade bookmarks.  If you have any other idea's I'd love to hear them.

We're planning to celebrate Easter on Saturday (at least the "fluffy" stuff), so that Sunday will be more spiritual.  I've never done it that way before, but it's making me more excited for Easter than I've ever been.

 (I think my green grass and fluffy tree helps, too).  

Puffs

 Best. Game. Ever.

Justin loves playing with "puffs" in nursery so much, that we had to make our own set at home.  I used toenail scissors to cut a quarter sized hole in a cheap plastic container, and bought a pack of "puffs" at the dollar store.  To play, you put the puffs in the hole.  He's been playing this game for over 20 minutes now.  And giggling.

Tomorrow I think I'll add another hole to change things up.

It's the little things...

*make sure your child is past the stage where they put things in their mouth as these puffballs are a choking hazard.

Glow stick fun

 Today is Todd's birthday and, unfortunately, he had to work from 7AM-9PM.  The kids and I sneaked outside as soon as it got dark, and taped a glow-stick message on the garage door. It's the most fun we've had in a long time.  I wish I knew how to get a better picture of it.  Here it is without the flash:

 And here it is with the night setting on my camera:

 Ever since I discovered you could get a package of 12 glow bracelets at Walmart for $1, we've been a little glow crazy at our house.  These are the valentines Caleb gave out this year:

I took Caleb's picture in his Darth Vader costume in the morning before school.  I edited it in picnik, had them printed at Costco, and by the time he got home he added the glow sticks.

Irony

My first daffodil bloomed.

And it hailed.

Isn't that just typical.

Family Home Evening idea

If you need an easy activity for tonight, here it is:

My kids don't know the names/faces of the apostles.  With conference coming up, I decided now would be a good time to teach them.  We're using these free Conference Bingo printables that I saw on pinterest.

Since my kids are older, I'm going to put the names with the faces on the card that gets drawn out, so they can see the name and the face together. They will still have to search by the face on their bingo card.

Hopefully this will help them to learn the names of the apostles.  I think it will help them listen during conference if they feel some kind of connection to the speaker. Maybe in the coming weeks (after we've learned the names) we will start to learn facts about them.

Happy Monday!

Seven

Seven years ago I met my Dilly Rob.

My Dilly-Willy-Doodle-all-the-Day.

Oh, how I love my Dillon.

Here he is with his new Ninjago Earth Dragon and Ninjago shirt.

I took a few minutes today to browse through his pictures (at least the ones on this computer).  

What a cutie :o)  Sunshine comes out of his eyes, you know.

Happy Birthday, Dillon.

Pirates of the Caribbean Party

 Dillon chose a "Pirates of the Caribbean" theme for his birthday this year.  It was perfect timing, because last week I walked into Walmart and found a Jack Sparrow costume, and two action figures on clearance.

I usually don't like making birthday cakes, but I have to admit that this one was kind of fun.

 I used one cake mix and made a 9" round, 6 cupcakes, and 1 mini-loaf.  I cut the round cake in half, stacked it (with frosting between) and stuck it in the freezer while I worked on the skeleton cupcakes.  The ribs are white chocolate covered pretzels, and I used a black sharpie to make the faces on the marshmallows (the kids have strict instructions not to eat the heads). The mini-loaf became a treasure chest with mini M&M's for the gold.

I knew these sword picks would come in handy someday :o).  Dillon wanted either pizza or Ramen noodles for dinner. I had Brayden and Caleb make these kabobs to go with our pizza.  We also ate apples and had "rum" (cream soda) for our drink.

I bought a skein of brown flecked yarn, dug my sewing machine out of the garage and used this tutorial to make Jack Sparrow hair to go with Dillon's costume.  I left the chocolate on his chin for this picture since it looked like a goatee :o).  The hat is super cheap and chintzy, so I will be making another one for sure.  His costume also came with the sword, a map, some pirate gold, and several rings.