Running on Empty!

Friday was exhausting! Ben and I were up till 3:30 talking, and 6:30 came way to fast! The kids had dentist appointment's at 1:00, so I knew if I got up and showered early, I could nap while Sophia napped. An hour and a half seemed like 20 minutes. It was so hard to get up and going. While I was waiting in the lobby with Sophia, I could hardly keep my eyes open. One of the ladies who was adoring Sophia asked, "You have 4 kids?" I replied yes, and she said, "You are crazy!", in a nice tone, thankfully! I just said, "I'm normally not this tired, I was just up late! It's really not that bad." I don't' think she believed me.

We'll we made it out of the Dentist office with 3 cavities. Aubrie has to have two fillings and Boston needs an extraction and a spacer. The dentist was assuring me that most of it is genetics, because he thought I might take it personally! I just laughed. I told him that I floss twice a day and brush several and still get cavities, and Ben wasn't' introduced to floss until he met me and he never has anything wrong with his teeth. So I know its genetics! Too bad my genes were passed on to my kids, because now it will cost us 500 dollars! The dentist did warn me against fruit chews. He said they pull out sealants (which they did with Aubrie) and fillings! So Friday was a sad day for my children as I banned "fruities" (as my MIL calls them) from the house!

After the dentist office, was dance. I dropped Aubrie off and came home for a quick 30 minute rest, while Sophia napped. Ben on the other hand was golfing, and I have no idea how he made it through 5 hours of golf on no sleep. I figure if he wants to torture himself, that's his prerogative. After Aubrie's dance, and Ben's game, we met up with some friends for dinner. When we got to their house, there were about 6 girls there having a fun "beauty night". Their daughter, Gracey, is friends with Aubrie. They realized it would be fun for her to join them, so Ben and Taylor went and got Aubrie while Terri showed me some of her decorating magazines. Aubrie was excited for the change of plans! We then headed out for dinner. We ate at Fajitas (I probably don't have to tell you what we had!). We did learn, however, that there is such thing as Fajita B.O. Our clothes stunk so bad! As soon as we got home, we stripped our clothes off and showered! Anyway, after dinner, we hung out at their house for a bit, and then DRAGGED Aubrie out of there! I was so ready for bed! Right as we were about to fall asleep, a huge storm started to hit. Being the kids we are, we ran outside and watched the storm for about 20 minutes. It was so windy, and the lightening reminded me of the storms we had in Oklahoma! It was awesome! Finally, we called it quits and went to bed.

Saturday was one of those days where we didn't have a schedule, but many things to keep our day busy. We fit in a Walmart shop, of course, and I kept busy with laundry and various other cleaning projects. Terri Price came and fixed my hair. There were some spots that were bugging me, and she (being the great perfectionist hairstylist that she is) made it look better. Anyone looking for a new hairstylist? She is great! She brought her daughter, Gracey, while she was here, and her and Aubrie had a fun time making a fort in the window well in the front. Here are some pictures of Aubrie and Boston in it. They have a water cooler in there, along with some other "essential" items. They keep looking for things to add to it. Yesterday, Aubrie bought some flowers to plant right by it. They also set up a "hammock" in the tree right in front of it! I love it when kids get creative! They actually let me in it! Guess I'm fort worthy! Oh, here is a chance to check out the new "Do"!

Ben stayed busy planting more tree's around the pool! That poor boy's hands are so chewed up from all his hard work. I told him he should have worn gloves. I just think he wants a good excuse not to rub my back! J/K He also stayed busy putting up these new umbrella's that he scored at Home Depot! I LOVE them. Our other ones were having some issues and these were a nice replacement. I love watching our yard fill in. It's my sanctuary from the heat and world!

Today was another crazy Sunday morning. When the power went out Friday night, our bedroom clock got reset to the wrong time....therefore so was our alarm. We made it to church just as they started the opening song. Sophia did much better this week. She made it through more than half of Sacrament meeting and half of Sunday School. My Mom took her home third hour. It was a combined meeting. They spoke on the Family Proclamation and encouraged us to memorize it and how it would benefit our families to do so! So next week starts the memorizing. I remember when Aubrie was a Sunbeam, the primary memorized it. She got half of it memorized. If she can do that at four, I have no excuse. They gave us laminated cards with the Proclamation on it. I handed one to Aubrie as we got out of the meeting, saying in an excited tone, "Look what I have for you"! She just handed it back to me. I guess once was good enough for her! LOL Or she was more concerned with whether or not she would see Zachary in the halls! Can you guess what our next couple of Family Home Evening's are going to be on?

Tonight, some new friends that just moved in the Ward, had us over for dinner. They came from Atlanta, and knew our friend, Brad Olsen. It's such a small world, especially being a member of the church. We had a fun time with them, and the kids got a long really well. They have four kids, also, who are all the same ages as our kids. Their oldest is in Aubrie's class, at school. The wife reminded me so much of my friend, Janeen Hammond, from North Carolina. She is really nice and so is the husband. Ben and I were talking about all the great people we are surrounded with in this area. It is so true! Isn't it great how there are always friends awaiting you, no matter where you move, being a member of the church? (Only a bonus to all the other great blessing that come from it!) As we move or our wards are split off, we feel that more people are added to our great circle of friends! I just wish I had more time to talk and hang out with them! I guess that's what retirement is for! Ha! Oh, that and my grandbabies!!!!

Who cares? Not Aubrie!

Yesterday was a little busy, but everything fell into place nicely. I'm finally beginning to embrace the busy nights. Weird, I know! I used to dread them and get all stressed out, but now they add a nice flow to the evening, all the way till bedtime! Too much time around the house makes me stress sometimes, watching all the hard work getting the house organized, be undone so quickly! Last night I felt like I was quickly approaching a different stage in my mothering life, as I stayed up putting Rhinestones on Aubrie's dance shirt. How did I get here so fast? When I'm sewing patches on scout shirts, I think I will have that feeling of , "I'm not a young Mother anymore"! Anyway, one of the Mom's from dance said it only took her 20 minutes to get the shirt done. Guess I don't' have the skills, because I only had to do one side and it took me much longer than that! I'm glad we bought it big, because I don't' want to have to do it again next year! (Beside that, it was expensive!)

Here is how Aubrie went to school this morning! Contrary to what you might think, I'm not a mean Mom making my child go to school like this. Here is how it went down. Last night I rolled Aubrie's hair in sponge rollers, per her request, so she would have a curly pony for tonight's performance. When she woke up this morning, her hair was still a little damp. I told her she wouldn't be having curls for her performance because they hadn't set yet. She told me to just leave them in and that she didn't care! I was like, "You don't care if you go to school like this?" She didn't! I have to give her props for not caring about what others think! There is NO WAY you could have gotten me to wear those to school. When I dropped her off , there was a group of older kids staring at her as she got out of the car. I saw Aubrie look in their direction and then turn around and happily walk off. Funny how some things mean nothing to her and she lets them roll right off her back. I wish I could do that more!

THE HAIR THE EVENT

Aubrie had a great time tonight at her performance! Ben took her and made it a daddy/daughter date! Aubrie had to get ready and practice on the Mercury practice court, during the whole first half of the game. They were the half time performance. So that meant Ben had to sit through half of the game by himself. He said he had never seen so many masculine women under one roof in his whole life! Ugh! I try not to think of it since my sweet daughter was performing for them. Anyway, Ben said she did GREAT! After the performance, they left (having no interest in staying for the second half) and Ben took Aubrie out for dinner. Of course, she picked Ah-So. When it comes to food, that girl is high maintenance! She's worth it! We are so proud of her!

THE DINNER SCARY CHOPSTICK/ BEVERAGE SWORD POSE?!?While they were out, I enjoyed a night with the boys. They chose the dinner menu (noodle with white sauce and applesauce). Then I let them stay up late with a movie of their pick. They chose Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (no surprise!). This whole week, they have been waking up early and finishing all their chores just so they could play Lego Indiana Jones (the video game) before school!

So lately I have been frustrated with Sophia, feeling like she is way high maintenance and so needy. I just didn't' remember any of my kids being like this. Then today I watched Erin's girls for a few hours while she went and had lunch with Libby and Eliza. Sophia was so EASY while they were here, and then it hit me! DUH!! My kids always had someone to play with! Aubrie had her first friend Ryan who was her age, and they played almost everyday! After that, my kids were so close together, they always had each other. So it's the 3 year gap that's been killing me! Time for some play dates! Even after they left, Sophia hung out and played with the toys in the family room for about an hour. She NEVER does that, but instead motors around the house getting into everything and anything. Her favorite things are unrolling the toilet paper, getting into the kids plates and cups, throwing things off the balcony (which means they land on my wood floors in the dining room. Good thing they are already distressed), and getting the kids toothbrushes. Gotta love it!

"How else am I supposed to eat this thing?"

Though she acts like she doesn't understand anything, I know better. Today, after finishing a bag of yogurt melts (the yummiest toddler treat around), she walked over to the trash and threw it away and went back to finish the ones that were on the family room floor. She also is trying my patience with tantrums. I don't remember tantrums this early! Unfortunately for her, she is #4 and I know better than to give in, and it no longer bothers me to be carrying a screaming baby through Target. In fact, I often do it with a smirk on my face thinking "your not going to get anywhere with me Missy!" My favorite time with Sophia is when I'm rocking her to sleep. She is so busy, it's my only time to hold her! I wish that she would let me do it more. Guess she is too much like her Mama...likes to keep busy! Of course, I wish she would take after me in the, "can sleep anytime" category! Here is a Sophia funny! Sophia has been a thumb sucker since she was an infant. Lately, when she sucks her thumb, she has also been sticking her index finger up her nose. I guess since it's already sticking straight up in that direction, she might as well put it somewhere. Usually it's just one hand, but this picture is showing double duty!

My NEW responsibility chart! They do their "white board" chores before school and everyday they are in charge of a room. The names are velcrod (therefore interchangeable)! The most coveted and easiest job of the house is Living/Dining!:) The Boys Star Wars movie night! Notice the shirts. They got these free magazines (Star Wars of course) at the movie! Luke Skywalker meets Woody (or Jessie)?!

Whats up!

I know I haven't blogged in awhile, but it just seems pointless when there isn't anything new to talk about. During summer, there always seems to be so many memories to capture. Now it's just the same routine day after day. School, activities, dinner, and TV! Aubrie's dance has been keeping us busy lately, with all her extra practices, and tyring to track down a specific type of shoe all weekend. I'll be glad when her performance at the Mercury game is over with. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad she gets to do it. She is very excited. I hope she doesn't freeze when she sees herself up on that big screen. Hopefully she just zones in and does her dance. Better a Mercury game than a Suns game, right?

This past week I spent shopping for fall clothes. (Which here, in Arizona, means clothes you really won't be using until November) Sophia is impossible to shop for. She has the tiniest waiste but is right on target for her height. So there are hardly any pants out there that fit her. So I had to go all over the area finding her enough pants for the winter. Luckily our winters are short! Ethan enjoyed shopping with me. That boy knows what he wants. He LOVES picking out shirts and shoes. Every time I turned around, he was picking out a shirt that almost always had the color orange on it, or he was trying on shoes. Not something you would expect from him, huh? Sounds more like something Boston would be doing! I finally finished up most of the shopping on Friday. Only a few last things, that can wait till later.

This week was the kids curriculum night (basically a meet the teacher without the kids night and go over what they do in class). Ben and I split up and I took Bostons class. I LOVE Boston's teacher. She is so organized, loving and friendly. I'm excited to volunteer in her class and get to know her better and see Boston in the classroom environment. She said Boston is extremely smart but gets easily distracted. Welcome to my world! I know the stuff he is going over is so elementary (no pun intended) for him and that's why he gets so distracted, but I told told him that he needed to pay attention so he didn't' miss the stuff he doesn't know. Once I tell him to work on something, he usually makes a good effort to change. Every day since, he tells me that he "pays more attention". Aubrie's teacher seems nice. She didn't' go over as much stuff (at least thats what Ben said) but she seems to be on top of things! We did find out that the girl that pinched Aubrie is our neighbor, two doors down! AWKWARD!! I told Ben we should have Aubrie make some cookies and bring them by! LOL

This weekend started off with a dramatic change. After much thought of what to do with my unruly mane, I finally decided to chop it off. It now falls against my chin line. At first I liked it, and then when I got home I had a short lived identity crisis that included me looking in the mirror and saying over and over, "why did I do this?"! I am now getting used to it, and am feeling much better after receiving many much needed compliments this weekend!

This weekend, after so many exciting dates that included dinner and a trip to Walmart, we decided to mix it up and go out with friends. We had dinner at El Torito, which was very good, and then went goofy golfing. When we planned on it, the nights were starting to cool off a little, but just our luck it was a HOT and HUMID night. Though I didn't' enjoy the dripping sweat, we still had a good time catching up with the Headricks and Trimbles! We need to be better at making plans with friends more often! It's fun to hang out with adults, without the kiddos around! (Still love you kiddos!)

Saturday was a Mother/Daughter Activities Day Brunch, for church. It started with a little breakfast and then we played water volleyball (which is where you catch and serve water balloons with towels). Aubrie had so much fun doing that, she didn't want to leave early (she had dance practice)! The whole time we were there I was thinking about how I was over Activity days when Aubrie was Sophia's age and how old I thought the girls were, back then. Oh how my perspective has changed!

The rest of the weekend we just hung out around the house. Church was impossible with Sophia. She was on "ONE" the minute we walked in the Chapel. I spent the first two hours with her in the hall. Ben rescued me third hour, while I went to Young Women. One of our YW taught the lesson. The lesson was on forgiving yourself and others. The girls started sharing some of their high school drama stories and how they got over them. It wasn't the direction I was expecting it would go, but I could tell it made the girls feel better to get it all off their chests! Gotta love that age! Just glad I'm not there anymore!!!!!!

Yesterday Sophia had her 16 month appt. (ya, I know what your thinking, "There is no 16 month appt." That's what happens when you forget about the 15 month one!) She weighed in at 20 lb and is 31 inches ( yes, a string bean)! As we were in the room, waiting for them to bring in the shots, Sophia was getting a little bored. I gave her my keys thinking there would be no harm considering we were so far from the car. A few minutes later one of the receptionists come in our room asking if I had a black Navigator. I instantly knew why. The lift gate was open and and the alarm was going on and off. When I got back to the room the lady was ready to administer her shots. As I was laying Sophia on the table, she reminded me of some paperwork I needed to sign. I walked over there and grabbed a "pen" and then realized I left Sophia on the table. I turned to get her and the nurse was desperately trying to get my attention for something. I hadn't realized that I had grabbed the vaccine syringe instead of the pen. I could have stuck myself or Sophia. The nurse and I had a good laugh! Sophia didn't think anything was funny a minute later as she was getting stuck in the leg. She cried for about 30 seconds and happily took her bottle. She pulled her band aids off before we got home. Vaccinating my kids is such a love/hate relationship!
Last night at dance, a girl was really mean to Aubrie and told her she hated her to her face. Aubrie cried and ran to another Mom.(Obviously, and unfortunately, I wasn't there!) Luckily the Mom told her the girl was just jealous of her, and Aubrie quickly bounced back. Why are girls so mean?? My boys never have to deal with the drama! I so badly want to show up at dance tomorrow and give that girl a talking to, but of course I won't . That's just my protective instincts kicking in! Luckily, Aubrie is pretty good at holding her own! Her burst of tears only came after sticking up for heself for several minutes. She told me she won't cry like that anymore because that gives that girl power. She is a smart cookie!
Today is one of my favorite days of the month. It's the day I get my house cleaned!!! There is something calming about having your house perfectly clean, all at once! It also motivates me to pick up clutter and get laundry done! It definately takes my stress level down a notch. Ben always plans on that! Today also included a trip to Target. Sophia had a break down, and Ethan's Icee exploded everywhere. Fun times! LOL Tonight we swam a little before bedtime. It was fun having family time. I love nights that we don't' have activities! Less stress!!! Aubrie has had the service star for a couple of days (refer to last weeks family home evening). She finally served Ben and I. She pulled down our bed and put our scriptures out and a the remote. She knows us so well! She also wrote notes to each of us and laid it on our scriptures. Mine said something like she loves me so much. Ben's said. "Holy Bible First, and then the Remote". I was laughing so hard. Especially when Ben thought I had a part in it.

Non-stop!

This weekend was not relaxing! Not to say I didn't have a fun time, but there was no relaxing involved! Aubrie now has dance on Friday's from 4-6, which pushes our date night a little later. This week they had a parent meeting for her performance group going over costs, performances, blah, blah, blah! Ben came along and zoned out quickly. I actually sent him to the car because I could tell he was DONE! The meeting went long, and left us eating dinner about 7:30. By the time dinner was over, I was ready for bed. I came home just when the kids started watching Cheaper by the Dozen. So much for that sleep. I had fun watching it with them, but lately there has been a problem with our movie watching. Each kid wants to sit by me, and being there is 3 of them (Sophia isn't movie watching age, or I'd really be in trouble) and two sides of me (that's debatable) there is always a fight! What do you do with that? Make them draw straws?? Anyway, the movie put us till 10:30, and of course there was some Olympics to catch up.....bed at midnight.
Here is our Saturday in short hand, if you can call it that? There is no way to make an abbreviated version of such a busy day!
Up at 8:00 to get ready; 9:00 a visit from a cousin I have never met; leave the house at 10:15 to take Aubrie to her dance practice; run to the Church Book Store (Sophia fell asleep without even making a sound! Why won't she do that on long trips?); run to Walmart for food and a much requested browse through the toy department (found the cutest shoes for Sophia); pick Aubrie up (stayed a few minutes to watch the dance they learned for the Mercury game. Aubrie has been dancing all weekend!); Come home to unload groceries and leave Ben to prepare food for a BBQ with the Sheats, while I run out with Aubrie to find a specific type of Basketball shoe and BB shorts for her Mercury performance without any luck. UGH! (Don't you hate that when you come back from an errand with nothing accomplished?!)? Come home for the BBQ and clean up; Run back out to successfully find shorts (ordered the shoes online) and buy tons of dance gear (I think Aubrie should start a paper route! LOL); Come home to quickly wrap a birthday gift(for Ben's MoM) and head to Ben's parents; While there, Ben runs to Home Depot for a work thing while I entertain kids and catch up with family; Then back home, while Ben runs back out with the boys to see the new Star Wars; in the meantime I get Sophia down, spend some time with Aubrie, and work on my lesson. Just when I think my night is over, my Mom comes home with my Cousin and we stay up another hour and 1/2 talking. Whew! Makes me appreciate those Saturday's when there is NOTHING going on!
Today Sophia made it through most of Sacrament, with much entertaining involved! I think I took her out for one youth talk. She wasn't having much of sitting around the last two hours. Our Stake did a special lesson on pornography which was really good. There was some stats that were quite shocking. One of them was that 100% of the youth will be exposed to some type of pornography! It made me feel almost helpless. I can't imagine my little kids being exposed to such a vile thing!!! Their next point was that the goal is, then, to teach them the skills make the right choice when it comes their way. Ben said that a kid in a nearby school just got their ipod confiscated that had porn on it, that he was showing to other kids!!!! Hearing that made me realized that I needed to be much more proactive in explaining things to them at this early age. Who would have ever thought that we would need to be teaching our little children about this?! OK....that is all sounding a little depressing, but it was a great meeting...the whole 10 minutes I got of it! Sophia was in the halls most of the time, but in the process I was able to see an old friend and catch up! During our conversations we realized that her husbands brother lived in the same ward we went to in North Carolina. I totally knew them! It's such a small world, especially when your LDS!!
OK...ready for the parents of the week award (or I like to call it....it's obviously our 4th child!)After second hour, Sophia ran in the Chapel running towards Ben. Some one grabs my attention and tells me someone needs to talk to me. So I'm talking and talking and then realize I need to go to YW because I have to teach. So I go all the way to the YW room and after a minute or so realize I left one of my folders. I go back to the Chapel and there is Brother Brazelton holding Sophia. At first its seems like no big deal, because he always likes to hold her. Then he comes up to me and says something like, "Forget Something?" Come to find out, Ben never picked her up and she was running all around the chapel and foyer. Two of my friends found her running for the doors and picked her up. How she got from them to Brother Brazelton, I still don't' know. Guess Ben and I need to work on the COMMUNICATION a little more! Thank heavens for helping hands! Also, I guess she wont' have a problem going into the nursery, if she didn't care we weren't' around!
OK...this entry getting long, so to wrap things up. The lesson went well, and a few inactive girls showed up and shared some great experiences. After church I spent time making Lasagna (I realized I have deprived my poor husband of his favorite dish for over two years), reading with the kids, and taking an hour nap, before our home teachers came and then more company for dinner. I felt like the kids were performing a circus act at the dinner table....gotta love that!! It's probaby because they only have one small child and we are used to having friends who have a circus show of their own! Anyway, they left at 8:00 and I spent a few minutes on Webkinz with the kids (some of those games are addicting) before they went to bed. Aubrie and I talked for over an hour, before I left her room. I LOVE when I have time for those bedtime talks! They are ALWAYS the best! Then it was more Olympics(gymnastics) and this! Whew......I hope I sleep good tonight! Sorry to bore you, but my kids will love reading the details, whenever I make this blog into a book! Someday......

New Beginnings!

OK...anyone else having a hard time keeping up with things with the Olympics on? Every night I'm trying to cram in my favorite events, which are swimming, gymnastics and diving. Phelps is just amazing. He is my favorite athlete so far. It might have to do with the fact that he reminds me of my brother Joe (appearance and mannerisms). China's men's gymnasts are unreal. I guess when all you do from the time your 3, is gymnastics, your bound to be good. The only problem with watching the Olympics is realizing how jiggly and out of shape I am. I wish I could look like those swimmers!! Guess I should get off the computer! LOL Anyway, I realized that I needed to stop neglecting more important things, like journaling my kids first day of school.

Monday was the beginning of something new. A new school, that is. Everything went so well. We woke up, showered and got ready, the kids did their chores and practiced the piano, I made eggs and toast, and we still had time left over. I knew I was liking the new school schedule already. An 8:45 start, rather than an 8:00, makes such a difference. Ben and I took the kids, along with the neighbors (Bailey and Andrew), to school. We parked by the community center and walked them to the black top. Waiting on the black top was miserably hot, but the kids hardly noticed because they were so excited.

I walked Aubrie up to her classroom (she is on the 2nd story of the 3 story building) so she could drop off her stuff. Her classroom was done up so cute, and the class seemed so much smaller. It just had such a different feel than Happy Valley, for some reason. After we dropped off her stuff, we headed back to the playground. On the way back her teacher was coming up the stairs with her class. She quickly gave me a kiss and ran to catch up.

Boston's teacher took a few minutes to show up, and I was trying to get me and Sophia in some shade while we waited. Sophia is very finicky about everything, and the heat was making her cranky. Finally his teacher opened the door and we all flooded into the nice air conditioning! We found Bostons desk, and then found Davis Farley, the only boy he knew in his class. He soon seemed comfortable and situated, so we kissed Boston goodbye. Jody Pawlak, a neighbor and friend, is a teacher's aid in Boston's class, so that made me feel even better. Neither of the kids were nervous to start a new school, in fact they were so excited. The just went with the flow and seemed like they knew what they were doing. I left there knowing they were going to have a great day.

Ethan was a different story. He acted all excited for school. He got his favorite lunch all ready (PB&J and a Jello pudding pack), picked out his favorite shirt (his orange shark shirt) and had is favorite buddy (a monkey that was originally a key chain) ready for show and tell. The minute I tried to drop him off, he started his crying act. Sarah just took him from me and I quickly left. When I picked him up he was in good spirits, ready to show me his work (below). Sarah told me he stopped crying at soon as I left. He was totally trying to work me! Today he did fine!

As usual, I was excited for the kids to come home. They came home happy, and LOVING their teacher and the school. Boston's favorite thing of the day was that he got to go to the library. He said class was a little boring because they didn't' do any spelling words or math. Today they did spelling, and he was happy about that. He said he was the only one who knew them all, and his teacher sent home this cute note. He is also happy that they have more tether ball courts. He made a new girlfriend, and when I asked if he played with her, he said during snack time. He said he was making jokes to get her to laugh.... sounds like Boston.

Boston came home, the first day,with this cute note from his teacher. The Hershey's hug didn't make it home. He told me I could keep the peanut! LOLHe came home with this note today. When I asked him why he wasn't being a good listener for me (at that moment), he said because they can send him to the principal and that's scary. Guess I'm not scary enough!

Aubrie really like school, and her teacher, too! She came home excited, showing me her notebooks, assignments, etc. She also came home with this cute little note. I asked her if she saw a lot of people she knew. She said that she sees Zachary in the halls all of the time. In case you are unaware, Zachary is a boy from church she likes. I told her that she could try to like some one else so she wouldn't be so shy at church, and she told me she already thought about that, but Zachary is the CUTEST boy in the whole school. LOL Aubrie gets to sit by her Best Friend from Kindergarten (who also went to Happy Valley) at lunch. She is so happy about that. She has also made several other friends. A girl in her class pinched Aubrie really hard on her shoulder because Aubrie told her "SHHH". The teacher reprehended the girl and gave her a punishment. Aubrie said she was so shocked that the girl did that, and tried to ignore her during the rest of class. The girl kept yelling out, "See she wont' look at me now. She hates me". I told Aubrie to try to be nice because maybe she just needs a friend. We sent a note to the teacher thanking her for being on top of things, and letting us know if the situation gets worse. She called me today and told me how proud she was with Aubrie, because today she kept offering to help the girl in class when she didn't' know how to do something. I guess Aubrie does listen to me. LOL Her teacher said she is a great example to the other kids, and said many other kind words concerning Aubrie. It's nice that she has a teacher who recognizes her strengths and gives her praise. That is something her 2nd grade teacher didn't do. Her teacher last year had many great qualities, one of them teaching the kids respect and order in a class room, but being loving and giving lots of praise was not her strength. Aubrie feeds off of positive feedback, so her new teacher will be great for her!

OK, back to the rest of Monday. Aubrie had dance for two hours right after school, and after that was dinner and a FHE given by Boston. His primary teacher is so wonderfully prepared, and last Sunday she made these Family Home Evening kits for them to give. It was on letting your light shine. He was excited to do it. He did a great job!

Tuesday was laid back. No activities, and the kids still had no homework. At Happy Valley they would already be studying spelling words and math facts! (No JOKE) Ok, I take the no homework thing back. Aubrie had to go around the house and find 5 things to put in a paper sack that represented her. She put in dance stuff, a picture of her riding a horse, a bouncy ball, a webkinz cat....and I can't remember the other one! She had fun doing that. Boston did the same thing today. He put his T-ball trophy, a picture of him at Chick-filet ("because he likes to eat there), a Nephi action figure (because he likes church), one of his buddies (aka stuffed animals) and the guitar pick from the one we bought him in Mexico. ( BTW He did that all on his own!)

So far I'm so glad I made the switch. I checked the rating of the schools right before school started and saw that WW was rated one of the highest in the area, but I still had a hard time leaving Happy Valley. We had been going there for 3 years, and when we called to tell them they weren't coming back, the office lady was so sad. It's nice to go "where everybody knows your name, and their so glad you came"....ha!ha! But that's not what it's all about. It's about the kids being happy and not feeling over pressured. Aubrie is much happier now! Boston is a little bored, but hopefully they'll start doing more for him. I know we made a good choice.

School already?

It seems so weird to be sending kids off to school while the Olympics are going. The last summer Olympics, Aubrie was 4 and we would stay up late and watch the gymnastics and eat ice cream. Ben used to travel back then, and so that was great Mommy/ daughter memories. Aubrie still remembers the last Olympics, and even asked when we were going to have ice cream. Boy times have changed. Today, instead of enjoying the games, I was busying myself with school paperwork, and getting things ready for tomorrow! I have mixed emotions about school. First of all, this summer went way too fast!!! I can't believe they are already starting tomorrow! I'm excited for them to start a new school. They have been going to a charter school and I finally made the plunge and enrolled them at the public school down the street. The kids are very excited, too, about going to their new school. They haven't showed any trepidations about having to make new friends. I'm so impressed with that! With all that said, I'm going to miss the laid back days of summer. I love having no schedules and being able to stay up late with the kids, enjoying movies, swimming etc. Now it's back to early mornings, school routines, extra curricular activities, etc!
Something cool to note....We have recently been praying that a new family would move in our ward who lived close and who would have a girl Aubrie's age. She was the only girl in her Sunday School class that went to her Elementary School. Well....this Sunday a new family moved in the ward who not only has a girl Aubrie's age but also got the same school teacher. So the thought for today....it never hurts to ask!:)

Rocky Point; Finally!

View from our hotel room the first night!

Well, we finally made a trip to Rocky Point, Mexico! We know a lot of people who go down there, but we have always been a little apprehensive about venturing down to Mexico, not knowing the area. Finally we just got online, picked a place, and went for it!

At first I wasn't sure about our Condo, as we passed all these new fancy sky rise hotels. But after staying there, I couldn't be happier about our choice! It was so family friendly. The pool had two slides, and there were plenty of kids there. There was a few Mormon families there for a family reunion. I spotted them right away when I saw their modest bathing suits and little babies! LOL They even had an Aubree and an Ethan in their group!

The main area of the condo. It didn't take long for us to settle in! The view of the pool! The Beach View! The beach was beautiful! We had enough time, when we got there, to get a few hours at the beach before it was dark. Ben stayed back while Sophia took a nap. He wasn't putting up a fight, since he had Breaking Dawn to read. When she was done for her nap, we went downtown and had dinner at a restaurant by the water. It was very nice, except for the humidity! Aubrie was happy that they had steak. They called it Fillet Mignon, but it sure didn't look like one. While we were eating a guy came by and made balloon animals for the kids. We gave him a few dollars, of course. Then a little band came by and sang us a couple of songs. I handed them a few dollars, and then he counted the money right in front of us and said, "It's five dollars a song!" Can you believe that?! We gave it to them because we know they could use the money, but come on. It's not like they posted their prices, or even asked us. Oh well. Their songs added to the atmosphere. After dinner, we had ice cream at Thrifty! Thrifty ice cream is all over down there. It's like our Starbucks! Ha! I grew up with Thrifty ice cream, and it is one of my FAVORITES! Of course their not 15 cents a scoop anymore; not even in Mexico. Things were surprisingly not as cheap as I expected them to be. I guess all my experience of Mexico includes Tijuana and Cozumel. After our ice cream trip, we went back to the Condo, played some games and went to bed.

The first morning we started off at the beach. The tide was so low we could walk out really far and still sit down in the water. It was great! I felt like I was in the Bahamas, again. Sophia was not liking the sand after awhile. It's too hard to suck your thumb with sand all over it! LOL While we were at the beach Aubrie got her hair braided, and we also rented a wave runner. I was a little scared to drive it on my own, the waves were much bigger than the ones I was used to in California. Aubrie LOVED it and wanted to go more; no surprise there. Ethan was crying, after a few minutes, that he wanted off, and Boston had fun, but not enough to ask for more.

After some beach time, Ben took Sophia back to the Hotel for a nap, while he read some more of Breaking Dawn. I went with the kids for a few hours down by the pool. Later in the afternoon, we all headed into town to go through the shops. That wasn't the most brilliant idea we ever had. It was so hot and muggy, we were all dripping with sweat. Now we know that you don't hit the market until nighttime, unless it's overcast or not Summer!

Friday was more swimming and beach time. It was an overcast day, which was perfect. It brought the temperature down, and there was a great breeze. The undertow was a little strong on Friday, so we didn't venture too far into the waters. Most of our time was spent at the pool. The kids had fun making more friends. Here is the friend Boston made. They played tag for a couple of hours. Ben wasn't feeling too well, and so he spent a lot of time indoors. Later in the evening, we hit the Market, again. It was much better at night! It was much cooler, and we got to enjoy a nice sunset! The boys picked out some little guitars, and Aubrie a little dress. Ethan had so much fun with his guitar. It didn't leave his side. He even had it on his lap the whole way home today.

Ethan putting on a show Sophia enjoying the show Ethan having a shy moment

This morning we packed up everything, and the kids, me and and Mom went down to the beach one last time. The boys had some bracelets made, and we put our feet in the water. The ride back was the same as usual; Sophia fussing and the rest of the kids watching a movie. Aubrie and Boston actually pulled out Connect Four (their new favorite game) and played that in the back for awhile. Guess it was too boring with the movie on and all! LOL

Overall, the vacation was great! It has taken place of our Myrtle Beach vacation we used to take when we lived back East, except you have to bring your passport, and you can't drink the water! Ha! I just wish we would have started this tradition (yes, it will be one) sooner! Better late than never!