May 27, 2007

May 27, 2007

I am hoping this was the last week of insanity for the school year. We have WAY too much “stuff” going on. Let’s see…

1. Kayla and Tyler had beach day at their school on Tuesday. I guess we have to pretend since there are no beaches even remotely close to here! They got to dress up, bring their beach towels, and had fun music playing all day.
2. Tuesday night, Kayla had her final band concert. I estimate their were a couple hundred in her 5^th grade band (all Linn Mar district) alone!! They sounded so great and have improved so much since they all started just a year ago. We were so proud.
3. However, when we came home from the concert, Bob told the kids to go close the fence and I ran inside for something. After a while (I had changed, gone to the bathroom, took out my contacts) I realized I hadn’t seen Alayna. I asked the kids to go find her, and then later found them playing. I said once again “where is Alayna” and then the worst thought hit me. I ran into the garage and she was in the car screaming her head off- she was still strapped in the carseat. No one had unbuckled her. I felt horrible. She was in hysterics!! She had been trapped there by herself for over 20 minutes.
4. On Wednesday, Kayla went on a field trip with her class to Dubuque to see a cool museum.
5. It was also Alayna’s preschool graduation!!! She is so excited that she is now officially a kindergartener. We keep passing by the new school to see if it is ready yet. Anyway, they sang an adorable little song at graduation, she got her diploma, and we had a picnic lunch.
6. On Thursday, Alayna and I went to help chaperone Kayla’s class (all 5^th grade classes) to Superskate. Kayla was very disappointed that I wouldn’t skate, but I just kindly explained that mommy doesn’t want to spend the entire summer in a body cast! Kayla had a blast though, and came in 2^nd place doing the limbo on skates. I was impressed.
7. That evening, we had a BBQ picnic for pack meeting. It rained all day, so they decided to have it in the church. By the time we got there, the rain had stopped and it was sunny. So, they put the grill in the back of someone’s truck and we had it outside after all, getting to sit in wet grass. Whose idea was that?
8. On Friday, I spent all morning helping out at Kayla’s track and Field day at Armstrong field. It was tiring, but fun. Kayla ran in the 400-meter team relay. Boy she is fast! She won the girls softball throw, and also won the three-legged race with her partner, Jan!!
9. Then Alayna and I came home and mowed both lawns and cleaned the house. Then, that evening, I went shopping with Bob to get the rest of the stuff we needed for our garden. We spent the evening finishing the garden, trimming the yard, cleaning up the trash, clearing the pumpkin patch area, etc. Then I came and folded 8 loads of laundry. Sheesh!
10. Saturday was spent doing the mile long list of things we needed to do. We also got a new shelving unit up and completely cleaned and organized the garage. We also went to an open house for some friends of ours who were sealed as a family in the Nauvoo temple yesterday. Then we came home and made our own version of cold stone creamery ice cream, which turned out awesome.
11. Tomorrow, we are going to the lake with the ward for a Memorial Day get-together. It is also the last week of school- whoo hoo!!! Then our fun plans for summer begin.

Well, we hope everyone is doing well. Thanks to those of you who have sent us the latest updates in your life. We surely appreciate you keeping us in the loop. Have a wonderful Memorial Day!!!

Love-

The Harts

Marisa- Happy 13!

Marisa Birthday

may 20, 2007

May 20, 2007

It shocks me that we are old enough to have an actual teenager!!! Happy Birthday to Marisa!!! Who turned 13 yesterday! We had a busy day and were thrilled Gma and Gpa Hart could come celebrate with us. In the morning, Bob and his parents started our garden, while I went in to Rockwell for my biometrics exam. Then, we went to Sonic for lunch, but it was too crowded so we ended up at Red Robin, which we love. However, the service was so slow that Marisa wasn’t able to get her free birthday ice cream or we would have missed the movie. So, we went to see Shrek 3 which was fantastic. Alayna was laughing so hard. We will have to rent it when it comes out. Anyway, we came home and ate the giant cookie I made and she opened presents. After that, the grandparents had to head home and we watched “Lake Placid 2” and “Iron eagle”. It was an enjoyable relaxing day.

Friday, on the other hand, was not so relaxing. Subbing middle school the last month of the year is for the birds! I was actually excited to sub Friday because it was 6th grade and they are usually the easiest to sub. Boy was I wrong. You will never believe this, but at one point I has 2 kids sliding around on papers, 4 kids writing on the board, one running around trying to be superman with a blanket cape, 1 throwing a football, 2 slapping each other with rulers, and 1 hiding behind the bookshelf all at the same time!!! So, mean Mrs. Hart had to emerge. I think I will focus the next two weeks instead on the 19 credit hours I have to complete ASAP to secure my endorsements.

Marisa ended her tennis season and next year starts with a position in 5th place. Isn’t that cool? Kayla has her final band concert this Tuesday, travels to Dubuque for a school field trip on Wednesday, gets to go to Superskate for the end of the year 5th grade send off on Thursday, and has her track and field day for school on Friday. Tyler had a field trip this past week as well. We also found out that Marisa is getting braces (only on the top teeth) on the last day of school. Kayla is also getting starting braces on her front 4 teeth along with molar brackets. Poor Tyler found out he has to keep his expander on until November! Alayna graduates from preschool this week!! She is very excited to start kindergarten.
I guess that sums up our busyness here….

May 8, 2007

May 8, 2007

Well, I haven’t written in newsletter in over a month and I don’t think anyone noticed. Anyway, life has been extra crazy lately. I guess May is the biggest sub month of the year, after subbing for weeks straight now I see why…that’s when the teachers take their personal days. It’s good for me though, as the work will help pay for all the classes I have to take this summer. I will try and sum up what we have done this past month. It wont be as detailed since after a week, my memory usually fails me.
1. Marisa has been on the school tennis team and is doing an awesome job!! Out of the 60 or more 7th and 8th graders playing, Marisa is ranked 14th! She has won almost every match and she absolutely loves to play. I think she may have found her sport!
2. In April, we had about 3 weeks where everyone in our family (except me) got very sick. Tyler missed an entire week of school, Bob was sick for a week and missed 3 days of work, even Marisa missed 3 days of school. It was awful. I took every vitamin under the sun and drank OJ like there was no tomorrow. Someone must have been watching out for me!
3. In April, Marisa’s orchestra, as well as the chamber orchestra she is in, got to compete all day in the Jefferson Invitational Competition. Her orchestras came in 1st and 2nd place!!!
4. April 22, we celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary!! We went out to lunch and then out for ice cream after dinner. It was a lovely day and we can hardly believe it has been 14 years!!
5. April 28, was our huge stake RS symposium. I was in charge of the women’s choir again which went so well. I also spoke during the main meeting. The symposium is always a lot of work, but it was a great success. And now they are releasing me from the Stake RS after being there for almost 3 years.
6. Sadly, Kayla chose to quit gymnastics. She says she just doesn’t love it even though she is very good at it. She has found a ton of things she would like to be in when she starts middle school in the fall. I think that’s great because she can try out several things and decide what she really likes to do. So, I guess I will take Tyler and Alayna out of gymnastics just for the summer so I don’t have to keep running over there. (25 minutes away!!)
7. We attended the Chamber orchestra recognition dinner for Marisa.
8. Bob has done an amazing job on our yard this year!! He planted 4 apple trees, a peach tree, grapes, black raspberries, red raspberries, and some lilies. We will start on the actual garden this month. He has been working so hard and we are excited about all of it!
9. I celebrated my 36th birthday yesterday. It was a perfect day. We actually started celebrating on Saturday. Our whole family went out to Red Robin for lunch. Then we went to go see a movie at the Theater but the projector had broken down so we got a movie at the Video store instead. On Monday, I turned down sub jobs so I could stay home and relax. We went out to an awesome Mexican restaurant for dinner, my friends dropped by a chocolate turtle cake, and we watched “night at the Museum”. It was peaceful and relaxing. A perfect day!
10. Marisa has a choir concert and orchestra concert this week.
11. I started 2 of my history classes and am studying like crazy. The classes are much harder than I thought they would be. After I complete them I will only have 13 more credits to go. I wont even talk about the job situation because it is horribly depressing and discouraging. Amazing that I have the qualifications I do and I am just not good enough.
12. Bob started his Spring softball team and they already had their first game. He is also doing a lot of overtime until June.
13. Alayna graduates from preschool in a few weeks. Her new school is almost completed. She is already looking forward to kindergarten.

I guess that sums up our month. Overall, we are doing well and are so very busy. We look forward to a lazy summer, sleeping in, and lots of swimming time. We could all use some good solid relaxation. Hopefully, I can make time for another newsletter on Sunday.

April 8, 2007

April 8, 2007

HAPPY EASTER TO EVERYONE!!!!! I hope everyone else had a warmer Easter than us. Our high today was 34. So much for taking spring pictures outside on the lawn. Brrr!

We have had a tough sick week. Marisa and Alayna both came down with terrible colds (body aches, chills, fever, cough, congestion and sore throat). Marisa ended up missing 3 days of school!! Thank heavens it was freezing temps this week so her tennis meet and practices were cancelled. Alayna missed one day of school. Bob has been coughing for a while and came home from work sick on Wednesday. He has been sick on the couch every since!! I feel so bad for him- this wasn’t exactly what he planned or his 3 day weekend! Tyler woke up this morning with a temp of 101. He and Bob are sickies downstairs. Hal and Corey were sweet enough to come spend the Easter weekend with us. I just REALLY hope they don’t get sick too. I woke up with a sore throat and pray I don’t get sick. I have two sub jobs this week I would like to keep.

A job opened at Excelsior and I applied. I had my papers in and talked to the principal before the posting had even been up for an hour. I will keep you updated if anything happens.

We did go to the cooking cottage on Saturday to make some more fun meals. That place can be a real life saver. Corey and I took Kayla shopping to spend bday money and take Marisa to get some clothes while they actually had some modest clothing in the junior section. Boy was that exciting. Then last night, we adults watched an intriguing movie called “The prestige”. Now I am off to conduct the Stake RS choir- we are singing for the upcoming symposium.

Not much else happened this week. We would like to hear from ALL of you.

Happy Easter!!

April 1, 2007

April 1, 2007

Hey, two newsletters from me in one week! Pretty cool, huh? I wrote the first one while I was subbing one day, but was too busy to ever get it posted. It’s been a productive weekend and I have completed almost my entire list of things to do. I love weeks like this when I can look back and visually see the work I have been able to get done. Here is what else has happened:

1. Marisa LOVES the tennis team. Her coach even came up to tell her that her serve looks great. When weather permits, she goes out every evening and practices her serve on the deck, covering the lawn in tennis balls. I am so glad she has found something she enjoys.

2. Tyler had his school musical. He had a special speaking part as George Washington when he was a child. I think we found his strength. We may need to get him in the drama club or show choir. He was smiling and singing with all his heart- he knew every word and action to every song. What a great performance!!! I will attach pictures. Marisa was also specially invited to perform with the Wilkins orchestra as an alumnus.

3. I subbed three days this week. I love being at Excelsior so much, but was disappointed that they don’t have even one position opening this year!! I applied for another job in a different district, but over 50 people applied for the same job who have more experience than me. It looks like there is a possibility of 1 position opening at Oak ridge. So, I may need to switch my focus for next year. I did find out I only need to take 18 credits to get my world history endorsement. I can take them all 6 courses online and 5 of those classes have no exams. It will be exhausting, but I think I could swing it this year, which will make me MUCH more marketable next year. I will be qualified to teach history through 12^th grade, so it will also give me more options. (It will cost about $3000- so I have been searching this weekend for educational loans.) Hopefully I can complete this idiotic middle school endorsement as well. If I get extra ambitious, I can shoot for the gifted and talented endorsement ($5000). If I don’t get a full time job by June, I will get started on all these classes and sub as much as possible. And to think I was excited when I graduated because I would never have to take another class again. Boy was I wrong!

4. Alayna had a nice Spring Break this week. Since I worked, she had lots of fun at friends homes. She had her friend, Jacob, over to play. I got some adorable pictures of them that I will include. They were playing “Princesses”.

5. Kayla is loving being 11. I see her trying to take on more responsibility. She is being a great babysitter for Alayna.

Well, I guess that sums it all up