We TOTALLY rock!!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Snowy Spring Break and visions of puzzle pieces dancing in my head
March 29, 2009
Snowy Spring Break and visions of puzzle pieces dancing in my head
Things I have learned this week:
1. The weather in Iowa never ceases to amaze me!
It’s finally Spring Break, the tulips have started growing, the sun was out, and guess what?? It gave us the dreariest Spring Break weather EVER! We weren’t able to go bike riding or play tennis even once. Then, last night, we got about 5 inches of snow. What?? Dude- its April this week, no more snow allowed!
2. A puzzle with 1000 pieces is just about the right size and it must have many contrasting colors.
We started the Newschwanstein Castle with 2000 pieces. It took us 1 ½ hours just to get the edges connected. The next day we worked for 2 hours and got 11 pieces on. So, we decided to change puzzles. We finished it on Friday night and we are gluing it together. I will include a picture.
3. Doing the dentist and errands on a dreary rainy day during Spring Break is no way to rank good points with your kids towards that “Mother-of-the year” award.
We ran errands until Alayna literally dropped to the floor (flat in the middle of the aisle) in the middle of Kohl’s, exclaiming (quite loudly I might add) that she couldn’t make even one more step. We had gone to the mall to meet dad for lunch, went to Michaels to get poster frames for our new BOM hero posters, went to the music store for violin book and a trombone spit valve (yuck), went to target, went to Barnes and Noble, and went to Kohls. Didn’t get to a bout 4 other places we planned to go. Oh well.
4. When you take one kid out of the mix, often it is quieter and there is less fighting.
It usually doesn’t even matter which kid is gone. Anyway, this week Tyler got to go to his friend’s house to spend the night and play Wii. Sounds like they had a fantastic time.
5. It’s a dang good thing I can speak a foreign language.
If I didn’t speak facebook and texting language I would have been COMPLETELY lost at Kayla’s birthday party. And I am not even kidding. Bob was glad he had joined facebook too or the poking, throwing of sheep and mafia wars would have made him highly confused.
6. Who knew that teens and tweens could and would go crazy over vampires and werewolves!?!
Again, it’s a good thing I read all 4 ½ books so I could understand all the conversations. Plus, there was a huge debate over who was hotter- Edward or Jacob? Kayla had an awesome, kick-butt Twilight Slumber Birthday Party! Happy 13th Birthday Kayla!!!
She planned the whole party herself and hopefully she will post it on her blog. Her party décor was AWESOME so I will include the pics. She and Marisa even put up streamers that looked like they had been shredded by vampires or werewolves. All the girls came over for dinner ( cant remember how many girls there were) Then we all went down and watched Twilight. (By the way, I think they watched that movie about 5 times by morning- not kidding) Then they came up for cupcakes with the new frosting recipe that Kayla requested and she opened gifts.
PS- She has a facebook account now and would LOVE to have some friends.
7. I am getting old
After cupcakes, they all went down and watched movies and played the Wii until 5:30AM!! Oh, to be young with endless energy again!! They were so LOUD! Finally at 2AM, when my I could pry my eyes open no longer, I dragged myself into bed. I heard they had a really fun time though.
8. The movie “Fireproof” has some hideous acting but a really great message.
So, if you have a chance to check it out, you should. Here is the trailer:
http://fireproof-trailer.blogspot.com/2008/08/fireproof-official-trailer.html
9. Busy weeks and busy schedules never get an easier
We head back into the swing of things bright and early tomorrow morning. When the alarm goes off at 5AM I swear it feels like it leans over and smacks you across the face. Really looking forward to that. Personally, I am counting down the days to summer. We hope the weather improves so Kayla can ride her brand new bike around the neighborhood with us. The girls both are in tennis full swing tomorrow and Les Miserables rehearsals become daily for Marisa. It will be a very busy couple of months!!
*Just a reminder that all the kids have a blog now and would love to hear from you!
Snowy Spring Break and visions of puzzle pieces dancing in my head
Things I have learned this week:
1. The weather in Iowa never ceases to amaze me!
It’s finally Spring Break, the tulips have started growing, the sun was out, and guess what?? It gave us the dreariest Spring Break weather EVER! We weren’t able to go bike riding or play tennis even once. Then, last night, we got about 5 inches of snow. What?? Dude- its April this week, no more snow allowed!
2. A puzzle with 1000 pieces is just about the right size and it must have many contrasting colors.
We started the Newschwanstein Castle with 2000 pieces. It took us 1 ½ hours just to get the edges connected. The next day we worked for 2 hours and got 11 pieces on. So, we decided to change puzzles. We finished it on Friday night and we are gluing it together. I will include a picture.
3. Doing the dentist and errands on a dreary rainy day during Spring Break is no way to rank good points with your kids towards that “Mother-of-the year” award.
We ran errands until Alayna literally dropped to the floor (flat in the middle of the aisle) in the middle of Kohl’s, exclaiming (quite loudly I might add) that she couldn’t make even one more step. We had gone to the mall to meet dad for lunch, went to Michaels to get poster frames for our new BOM hero posters, went to the music store for violin book and a trombone spit valve (yuck), went to target, went to Barnes and Noble, and went to Kohls. Didn’t get to a bout 4 other places we planned to go. Oh well.
4. When you take one kid out of the mix, often it is quieter and there is less fighting.
It usually doesn’t even matter which kid is gone. Anyway, this week Tyler got to go to his friend’s house to spend the night and play Wii. Sounds like they had a fantastic time.
5. It’s a dang good thing I can speak a foreign language.
If I didn’t speak facebook and texting language I would have been COMPLETELY lost at Kayla’s birthday party. And I am not even kidding. Bob was glad he had joined facebook too or the poking, throwing of sheep and mafia wars would have made him highly confused.
6. Who knew that teens and tweens could and would go crazy over vampires and werewolves!?!
Again, it’s a good thing I read all 4 ½ books so I could understand all the conversations. Plus, there was a huge debate over who was hotter- Edward or Jacob? Kayla had an awesome, kick-butt Twilight Slumber Birthday Party! Happy 13th Birthday Kayla!!!
She planned the whole party herself and hopefully she will post it on her blog. Her party décor was AWESOME so I will include the pics. She and Marisa even put up streamers that looked like they had been shredded by vampires or werewolves. All the girls came over for dinner ( cant remember how many girls there were) Then we all went down and watched Twilight. (By the way, I think they watched that movie about 5 times by morning- not kidding) Then they came up for cupcakes with the new frosting recipe that Kayla requested and she opened gifts.
PS- She has a facebook account now and would LOVE to have some friends.
7. I am getting old
After cupcakes, they all went down and watched movies and played the Wii until 5:30AM!! Oh, to be young with endless energy again!! They were so LOUD! Finally at 2AM, when my I could pry my eyes open no longer, I dragged myself into bed. I heard they had a really fun time though.
8. The movie “Fireproof” has some hideous acting but a really great message.
So, if you have a chance to check it out, you should. Here is the trailer:
http://fireproof-trailer.blogspot.com/2008/08/fireproof-official-trailer.html
9. Busy weeks and busy schedules never get an easier
We head back into the swing of things bright and early tomorrow morning. When the alarm goes off at 5AM I swear it feels like it leans over and smacks you across the face. Really looking forward to that. Personally, I am counting down the days to summer. We hope the weather improves so Kayla can ride her brand new bike around the neighborhood with us. The girls both are in tennis full swing tomorrow and Les Miserables rehearsals become daily for Marisa. It will be a very busy couple of months!!
*Just a reminder that all the kids have a blog now and would love to hear from you!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Hallelujah! It's finally Spring Break!!!
March 22, 2009
1. You know you are old when…
Your daughter goes to a decade dance and comes out dressed looking exactly like you did in the 80’s. Oh dear!! She did look adorable though- I will post some pics. She danced with a friend who went as a Neanderthal. Some very creative kids.
She started her rehearsals for Les Miserables and started on the tennis team this week. She is going to be one VERY busy chick this month! We will find out soon what tennis team she will be on. She has practices during Spring break as well.
2. Twilight Mania:
Kayla is only a few pages from finishing Breaking Dawn. She has flown through these last few books ( I blocked out a portion of the last book for her though- I think she should wait til she is in HS to read that). We bought the movie yesterday and she is EXTREMELY excited about her “Twilight-themed” birthday party this week. Happy 13th Birthday to Kayla this week!! She is officially a teenager!
She had her band solo last week. Her Battle of the Books team came in 2nd place in the whole school. It was a close match. Kayla also starts on her tennis team the Monday after Spring break. She is looking forward to playing.
3. I was bitten:
Tyler hasn’t been up to anything new, but he and Bob found a show they really like called “I was bitten”. However, the episode last night freaked Tyler out and he was very worried about being attacked by a brown recluse. Yet, he and I watched Sea Beast and it didn’t even faze him.
4. Craving to rearrange:
We spent Friday afternoon and a good portion of yesterday organizing and rearranging Kayla and Alayna’s room. (I blame you, mom and dad, for my constant need to rearrange everything!) But the room looks so cute and much more spacious.
Alayna also had a fun Class Primary Party Friday night. They had pizza, practiced their skit for sharing time and then played the game “fruit basket”. They presented their puppet show during sharing time today.
5. Basketball and possibly the Worst Week Ever:
Bob has had to log in extra hours at work until further notice. They are letting him do those from home which is helpful. Yesterday, he went to play basketball with our ward for the stake tournament.
I had a terrible week this week. Sometimes I wish I could crawl back into my comfy bed and stay there for a very long time. The week before last week I survived 2 days of parent conferences 5 hours each night. Glad those are over with. I have to say I am already looking forward to June 8th! You have no idea...
Other news:
All the kids have their blogs up now. (We are getting Alayna’s up today) Bob is also working today to make their blogs accessible from our website. If you have any questions about it, let me know.
The weather has been gorgeous!! So we have the bikes up and running and even went to play tennis one day. The sunshine and warmth never felt so good.
Bob rocks!! He found me a 2000 piece puzzle of the Neuschwanstein castle for us to work on this week. I need something to work on that will calm me and my elevated stress levels.
We are getting excited to put in our garden. We are going to make two more raised box gardens.
1. You know you are old when…
Your daughter goes to a decade dance and comes out dressed looking exactly like you did in the 80’s. Oh dear!! She did look adorable though- I will post some pics. She danced with a friend who went as a Neanderthal. Some very creative kids.
She started her rehearsals for Les Miserables and started on the tennis team this week. She is going to be one VERY busy chick this month! We will find out soon what tennis team she will be on. She has practices during Spring break as well.
2. Twilight Mania:
Kayla is only a few pages from finishing Breaking Dawn. She has flown through these last few books ( I blocked out a portion of the last book for her though- I think she should wait til she is in HS to read that). We bought the movie yesterday and she is EXTREMELY excited about her “Twilight-themed” birthday party this week. Happy 13th Birthday to Kayla this week!! She is officially a teenager!
She had her band solo last week. Her Battle of the Books team came in 2nd place in the whole school. It was a close match. Kayla also starts on her tennis team the Monday after Spring break. She is looking forward to playing.
3. I was bitten:
Tyler hasn’t been up to anything new, but he and Bob found a show they really like called “I was bitten”. However, the episode last night freaked Tyler out and he was very worried about being attacked by a brown recluse. Yet, he and I watched Sea Beast and it didn’t even faze him.
4. Craving to rearrange:
We spent Friday afternoon and a good portion of yesterday organizing and rearranging Kayla and Alayna’s room. (I blame you, mom and dad, for my constant need to rearrange everything!) But the room looks so cute and much more spacious.
Alayna also had a fun Class Primary Party Friday night. They had pizza, practiced their skit for sharing time and then played the game “fruit basket”. They presented their puppet show during sharing time today.
5. Basketball and possibly the Worst Week Ever:
Bob has had to log in extra hours at work until further notice. They are letting him do those from home which is helpful. Yesterday, he went to play basketball with our ward for the stake tournament.
I had a terrible week this week. Sometimes I wish I could crawl back into my comfy bed and stay there for a very long time. The week before last week I survived 2 days of parent conferences 5 hours each night. Glad those are over with. I have to say I am already looking forward to June 8th! You have no idea...
Other news:
All the kids have their blogs up now. (We are getting Alayna’s up today) Bob is also working today to make their blogs accessible from our website. If you have any questions about it, let me know.
The weather has been gorgeous!! So we have the bikes up and running and even went to play tennis one day. The sunshine and warmth never felt so good.
Bob rocks!! He found me a 2000 piece puzzle of the Neuschwanstein castle for us to work on this week. I need something to work on that will calm me and my elevated stress levels.
We are getting excited to put in our garden. We are going to make two more raised box gardens.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush. - Doug Larson
March 8, 2009
One day this week when I ran the seminary carpool, Marisa came out twirling and spinning around (exactly like Julie Andrews in the sound of music) with a humongous smile. Why? Because the sun was up and it was warm!! Actually warm! It got up to 73 degrees that day and it was absolute heaven! Tyler and Alayna were able to go to school without a winter coat, gloves, hats , scarves, and snow boots. It was a great day!
Bob got everyone’s bikes up and running and had the first family bike ride of the year. Alayna was excited to be riding again and her goal this summer is to learn to ride the bike without training wheels.
I subbed three days this week and am now down with a miserable head cold. I predict a long week ahead. Spring Break cant come fast enough!
I am pretty sure we have the worst EVER luck with cell phones. This week Tyler accidentally dropped Marisa’s phone and now the screen doesn’t work. Ugh!
Kayla made a CO2 car in tech the past couple of weeks. They actually cut it out using the machines, sand it down, spray paint it, etc. She made her car in the shape of a clarinet! So creative! Then they get to stick a CO2 canister on it and race them. I will attach a pic of her with her car.
Upcoming this week:
Kayla has her band solo on Tuesday night
Parent conferences
Teacher/parent conferences for me with my students (10 hours total over two nights)
One day this week when I ran the seminary carpool, Marisa came out twirling and spinning around (exactly like Julie Andrews in the sound of music) with a humongous smile. Why? Because the sun was up and it was warm!! Actually warm! It got up to 73 degrees that day and it was absolute heaven! Tyler and Alayna were able to go to school without a winter coat, gloves, hats , scarves, and snow boots. It was a great day!
Bob got everyone’s bikes up and running and had the first family bike ride of the year. Alayna was excited to be riding again and her goal this summer is to learn to ride the bike without training wheels.
I subbed three days this week and am now down with a miserable head cold. I predict a long week ahead. Spring Break cant come fast enough!
I am pretty sure we have the worst EVER luck with cell phones. This week Tyler accidentally dropped Marisa’s phone and now the screen doesn’t work. Ugh!
Kayla made a CO2 car in tech the past couple of weeks. They actually cut it out using the machines, sand it down, spray paint it, etc. She made her car in the shape of a clarinet! So creative! Then they get to stick a CO2 canister on it and race them. I will attach a pic of her with her car.
Upcoming this week:
Kayla has her band solo on Tuesday night
Parent conferences
Teacher/parent conferences for me with my students (10 hours total over two nights)
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Abundant sunshine, temp of 15, BUT Spring is on the way!
Last Week Report:
Lots of sick germs this week! I think everyone of us have been down with something in the past week. 10% of the high school was out this week sick, including Marisa.
Bob and Tyler made it home safely from what they considered a “Totally Awesome” trip to Phoenix! They were able to go 4-wheeling and to the all-star basketball jam session. I think Tyler really enjoyed being able to go spend some time with his dad away from the girls.
Marisa had her “Festival of the Orchestras” concert this week. She looks so beautiful up there and she is getting so good! I took some pictures and we are trying to get her concerts on a DVD so grandparents can see. Also, because she made the Chamber Orchestra, she is performing with the orchestra for the big high school production of “Les Miserables” at the end of April. She loves the music and loves being part of a “pit orchestra”.
This Week:
Bob was VERY sick this week and even missed 1 ½ days of work. Great news- he didn’t get laid off, but 3 guys from his group lost their jobs. He is feeling better now.
Tyler had the scout Blue and Gold Banquet. Once again he made an awesome cake for the contest. The theme was USA so he made a flag cake. He made it from start to finish all by himself. Impressive!
Kayla’s Battle of the books team won again! They head to the finals tomorrow!
Until next week…
Lots of sick germs this week! I think everyone of us have been down with something in the past week. 10% of the high school was out this week sick, including Marisa.
Bob and Tyler made it home safely from what they considered a “Totally Awesome” trip to Phoenix! They were able to go 4-wheeling and to the all-star basketball jam session. I think Tyler really enjoyed being able to go spend some time with his dad away from the girls.
Marisa had her “Festival of the Orchestras” concert this week. She looks so beautiful up there and she is getting so good! I took some pictures and we are trying to get her concerts on a DVD so grandparents can see. Also, because she made the Chamber Orchestra, she is performing with the orchestra for the big high school production of “Les Miserables” at the end of April. She loves the music and loves being part of a “pit orchestra”.
This Week:
Bob was VERY sick this week and even missed 1 ½ days of work. Great news- he didn’t get laid off, but 3 guys from his group lost their jobs. He is feeling better now.
Tyler had the scout Blue and Gold Banquet. Once again he made an awesome cake for the contest. The theme was USA so he made a flag cake. He made it from start to finish all by himself. Impressive!
Kayla’s Battle of the books team won again! They head to the finals tomorrow!
Until next week…
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