Dance Recital

Kaylen had her first real dance recital on Saturday. She has been taking dance for the last year and has thoroughly enjoyed it. She will dance through the house, yelling, "Sachet! Sachet!" She is quite a cute little dancer.

Her recital was at MHS on the stage in the auditorium. She wasn't worried or concerned about it at all. She did a ballet dance to the song, "Rock-a-bye Baby." She even danced with one of her dolls. (All of the dance classes' dances were incorporated into the play, Oliver Twist.)

When Kaylen got done with her dance she was able to join us in the audience and watch the other dancers. While watching them, she asked if she could go back up (on the stage) and dance more.

We went out to dinner afterwards with my sister's family (Abbie and Hannah were in the recital too) and my parents.

Baseball

For a family activity, we went to a baseball game for the local university. We had fun lawn seats where we sat on a blanket, watched the game, ate over-priced hot dogs and nachos, and where the kids had fun playing around. When we got to the game, Kaylen asked which color was the bad guys. (I think Eric has been slightly influential with the kids' sports knowledge and opinions.) It wasn't too hot, so it ended up being a fun activity.

Lindsey's Birthday Party

Lindsey (actually behaved this year and) was able to have a birthday party. We did it at a local wave pool. The girls (plus Spencer and his friend) had 2 hours of swimming time. They had fun, but the chlorine in the pool started to hurt their eyes, so they were ready to get out by the end of the party. Most of them went into the restroom, rinsed off, and used the air hand dryers to dry their hair.

We took the girls back home where we had a party sub, chips, watermelon, and cupcakes.



It was a fun party. The girls played in the back yard while waiting for their parents to pick them up. They were a bit mischevious; they threw pinecones into the nasty neighbor's pool behind us. (He ended up calling the police.)

Happy Birthday Lindsey!

My baby, Lindsey, is now 12! It seems as though she were just born, not 12 years ago. Time goes by so fast.



Lindsey's day started out by being taken to her YW leader's house for breakfast (an initiation into Beehives). Lindsey opened some presents at home.

We celebrated dinner at Lindsey's choice, Macaroni Grill. I told our server that it we were celebrating Lindsey's birthday, and Lindsey was brought a piece of cheesecake.

Spencer & School

What an odd school year this has been. It feels like I've been so out-of-touch with things at school this year. I wasn't able to volunteer in the classroom a lot because of Grandma and Kaylen. I really feel like I've missed out and wonder how much it's affected the kids, by me not being at the school on a weekly basis.

Another oddity of the school year has been the teachers. Lindsey's teachers have been fine, just what I've expected. Logan had Mrs. B. until March, and then she had a baby and Logan has had a permanent substitute since (whose name I don't' even know). Mrs. B hasn't even visited the classroom, which I find a little odd.

Spencer's teacher has been quite an experience. He had a rough beginning of the school year. He had a hard time with his teacher and how she treated the kids in the classroom. He missed the first week of school because he was concerned about some of the bully kids in his class. He has been sick off and on throughout the school year. Looking back, I've realized that some of the sicknesses (which have been at least twice as many as previous school years) were brought on by anxiety about the teacher and the class.

We recently received a letter from the principal stating that Spencer's teacher would be looping with the class and that Spencer would have her AGAIN as his teacher for 5th grade. Since then, Spencer has been sick for the last week, since Tuesday. He has had stomach aches and vomited every morning. After lunch, he would always get better and be fine until the next morning. I finally took him to the doctor after a week of him feeling yucky. The doctor didn't' think it was a virus, and wasn't sure if it was anxiety-related, so he wanted to rule out everything he could that would be a medical reason for the nausea. Spencer had an MRI done to rule out anything wrong in the brain, particularly swelling which has a symptom of morning nausea. I took him on Tuesday (the 20th) to have this done. The results came back negative, so the only conclusion the doctor and I can come up with is that his sickness is anxiety-related. That was a lot to go through, just to come to this conclusion.

Shortly after receiving the letter from the school, I talked with the principal about everything. He (reluctantly) offered me the choice of having Spencer put in a different class. I jumped on the offer. If he wasn't even going to offer that, I was all set to pull Spencer and Logan out of the school and find another school. It was just too bad, though, because the principal said I couldn't tell anyone, especially Spencer. So, Spencer has worried to the point of being sick about being stuck with the same teacher next year. It's been pretty frustrating. I know the teacher he'll have next year will be excellent. I'm just hoping that this past year hasn't hurt Spencer and made him dislike school. I hope he'll be able to move beyond this whole stupid year and look forward to the upcoming year and opportunities.

Last Day of School '09

The end of the school year came and found me slightly emotional. Last year was really hard for me, mainly because of the friendship I had made with Spencer's teacher, Mrs. Grove. This year was easier, though I was still so very grateful for all the work the teachers have done for the kids this year. Overall, it was a ok year.

Lindsey with the 6th grade teachers (all of who taught her) -

Mr. Morris, Ms. Ruffner, and Mrs. Lenz

Spencer by his classroom door (we missed his teacher)



Logan with his substitute - Mrs. T

Lindsey's Graduation

Lindsey was in 6th grade this past year at school. At the end of the year, a graduation/commencement was held for the kids. They practiced singing songs and walking across the stage the week prior to the graduation. I took Lindsey shopping to buy a dress just for the occasion. It was a fun celebration. We ended the night with frozen yogurt at home with Grandpa and Grandma.

Memorable Monday - End of School Year

With the kids finishing up another school year, my mind goes back to when I was in school and the celebrations at the end of the year.

In elementary school, we would have water day. We would do water activities outside. The fire department would come and spray all the kids with their hose. The hose would spray so hardly, that it would be painful, but nonetheless, most of the kids loved it. It seems like we'd hang out in our swimming suits in the classroom while we cleaned our desks, took down room decorations, and cleared the floor.

My fifth grade school year, I was able to be the one who took the class pet, a gerbil, home for the summer. I ended up not wanting to return him, so he became our pet.

In junior high we had a party at a local water park, which I opted out of because I'm not much of a water/swimming fan.

In high school, I always attended my classes, never ditching. So when senior ditch day rolled around, I decided I needed to participate. I even participated when I was a junior, by going to a friend's house. We didn't do anything that was exciting or noteworthy. I just think I thought it was cool because I was ditching and I got to hang out with a boyfriend. For my senior year, my bff and I went rollerblading on senior ditch day. We also made an appearance at the senior picnic, but decided it was retarded and left.

This year, my kids have had some end of the year celebrations. Lindsey's have included illegal-snack days, pajama day, an awards assembly, and a graduation ceremony. Spencer hasn't been at school, so he has missed out on anything they've done. I don't think they are doing too much on the last day of school, because he was grumbling about how stupid his class is because they're not doing anything. Logan has been on a field trip (which I couldn't go on because only 1 parent/class was allowed), had a read-a-thon and a game day.

Piano Recital

We recently changed Spencer's piano teacher. The recital was coming up, and Spencer chose the song, "Dragon Hunt." He learned it in about 2 weeks, even memorizing it.

Spencer's teacher presented him with an award for earning the most points in a day (the students can earn points for practicing, memorizing, and various other things).

Catching Up

Holy Cow! Where have the last few weeks gone? Oh yeah, they've been eaten away by a horrible monster called YEARBOOKS. It seems as though the last few weeks (since Vegas) have vanished and all I have left is a sense of relief that yearbook season has once again come and gone. Well, almost gone. At least I can breathe again (and get a pedicure).

This year didn't seem to be as bad as years past. I did, however, have a couple of breakdowns where I just cried because I was so incredibly stressed by all that had to get done, all that I wanted to do, and all that wasn't getting done. The late nights were minimal. In past years I've had to stay up well past midnight to work on things. This year I stayed up only a couple of nights until 11:30. Not too bad.

I am just relieved that time keeps on moving at a constant, steady pace and that crazy/busy times will pass whether I'm ready for it or not.

Some of the highlights in the past few weeks include (which I hope to blog about later):

- Women's Conference

I decided just a couple of weeks before W.C. that I needed to go. Since it was such late notice, I ended up going by myself (flying, driving, and motel-staying). I did meet up with a friend while there, which made it more fun. It was, once again, an awesome experience. I loved the speakers. I love BYU campus. I love being motivated, encouraged, and lifted up. Great times.

- Spencer & Lindsey's orchestra concert (post to come)

- Spencer's piano recital (post to come)

- Mother's Day and my family's brunch. For Mother's Day I decided to host a brunch the Saturday before. I had my family come over and we ate some yummy breakfast food. On Mother's Day, I was starting to get sick. Eric's mom and brother were in town, so we cooked for them (yes, Eric and ME). I did, however, get a gift certificate for a much-hoped-for spa day.

- My birthday. The kids decorated the kitchen with streamers. I brought home BYU brownies for my birthday cake, but Eric decided I needed a cake, so we also had cake. We went out to dinner as a family. Eric and I then went to a movie (which I can't even remember what it was).

- Swimming lessons (new session again). I hope I don't melt. It's getting yucky-hot now.

- Still walking (not worthy of a post by itself, but I am still walking, usually 4 mornings a week when I can drag myself out of bed at 5:30 in the stinkin' morning)

- Sickness. Spencer, Logan, and I have each had a turn at being sick. Thank goodness for Sudafed. I would not have made it through Monday without that blessed med.

- Single Parenting (for lack of a better term). It's only been 3 days, but Eric has been out of town, so I've been completely on my own. Today, I swear my kids were little demons. They were quite a challenge.

- Pregnancy. Things are still going great. I've been attending my hypnobirthing class. The baby is very active. He's now to the point where he'll move and push my tummy out. I can push him back in, almost playing with him, which is fun. Kaylen and Logan are so dang cute with my tummy. They'll pat it, rub it, and talk to it. Poor Logan, whenever he tries to hug me, there my tummy is in his little face. I've been really tired lately. I'm not sure if it's a pregnancy thing or a stress thing.

Me and My Monkeys

Our annual Mother's Day picture, it only took 7 pictures to get one that looks ok.

Wordless Wednesday

Birthday Celebrations

Kaylen, standing by a birthday picture she drew for me (and hung up with 20 pieces of tape)

Decorations for my birthday, courtesy of Lindsey and Spencer

A Trip to the Water Playground

Water Playgrounds are a fantastic idea here (except if you happen to be an adult who doesn't want to get wet and ends up sitting in the heat and roasting). Shelly and I met at one of the playgrounds for the kids to play around and for a picnic. They ended up having a great time. Kaylen has since asked (on a daily basis for a week) if we could go back.