Glasses for Lex!

The past six months or so, I've had the impression that Lexi may not be seeing as well as I'd thought. No real specific reason, just more of a vibe as I watched her go about her day, her play and her homework. She'd had the basic eye tests at a primary care physician before, but I knew it was time for a full-on eye exam. So I spent quite a few hours with both Jordyn and Lexi at the eye doctor, and it was just as I suspected: Lexi needed glasses, Jordyn didn't.

Lexi is near sighted in one eye and far sighted in the other! Not a correctable condition, but containable. Had we not caught it now, she could have ended up with a lazy eye from over-compensation.

Lexi was 100% fine with the fact that she needed glasses. She has a few cousins and friends with glasses, so she has been exposed. Plus, Tucker wears glasses/contacts.

Jordyn, on the other hand, was absolutely devastated that she didn't need them too. In fact, after her eye test she said to me "Mom, why don't I need glasses? I answered some of the letters wrong!". To which I replied...."How do you know?"! Caught ya! I reassured her that maybe she'll need braces someday....and that put a big ol' grin on her face. Why do we think we want things that we really won't end up liking in life?? So funny.

I glued a little flower and butterfly on the sides of Lexi's glasses to personalize them a bit. She has adjusted very well and definitely notices that she can see better. She has to wear them full-time, so this is the new look of Lexi!

I'm Three Years Old!

Hi! My name is Peyton Jean and I just turned three years old. I had the best birthday! Let me tell you 'bout it!

First, the day before my birthday, I was the luckiest girl in the world because my Grandma and Grandpa picked me up for a special day with them....all by myself!

I love getting in my Grandma's car! I felt soooo special and big! My Grandma and Grandpa took me to pick out my very own bicycle with training wheels! And then (get this) they took me to Chuck-E-Cheese's! I got to spend about 60 tokens all by myself! It was so much fun, that I fell asleep on the drive home!



The next day was my birthday. I was so excited to have a party with my friends and family that night. I endured a little photo shoot with my mom in our backyard, but felt sort of grumpy (you can tell by my picture!).




After my nap, I was ready to party! (well, sort of.....I had to suck my thumb for a while with my bed head). Then I was ready to go!


My friends Ava and Kayla came over and played in the backyard with me. My cousin Paxton came too. So did all their siblings!



One of my favorite things in the world is a slug-bug. I can spot one from a mile away and really get mad if my sisters get it first. So my mom made me a pink slug-bug cake! Yummy!

I got awesome presents! All the kids were so excited to watch me open them! It only took me like three minutes because I'm the fastest present opener ever! I got these really cool sippy cups from my cousin Packy so I'll [hopefully] stop stealing his all the time!


Kayla got me a Baby Alive doll that has it's own baby carrier! And I blew out my candles all at once.

My mom got her traditional picture of everyone who was at my party! It was Grandma and Grandpa, the McLeods, the Navisons and the Prietos.

We all played out in the backyard until I heard my Grandma tell me I better open the front door! I ran quickly outside when I saw my Grandpa wheeling up my new bike!!


I hopped on my new Princess bike and tried it out with help from my Grandma and Grandpa. I loooove it and already started pedeling!



All the kids were cheering me on! And Packy wanted his turn too (of course I didn't let him. I'm three, not 23!). Thanks everyone for making my birthday so fun and special!!!!!




(I love you Pey Pey! Thank you for being such a little light in our family!!! You couldn't be any cuter, smarter or sweeter! - Mommy)

A Second Grade Luau

Last week, Jordyn's old-fashioned, wonderful teacher put together a Hawaiian Luau for her class. Everything Mrs. Stone does is a big deal. She invites any parents who can come and goes all out. She's done most everything she does as a teacher for over 25 years, and she sticks to it! In her class, they "travel around the USA" via learning, so this pit-stop was Hawaii. They got leis, grass skirts, Hawaiian punch, learned the hula and cookies with macadamia nuts. Jordyn has an amazing 2nd grade teacher and is having a great learning experience! Mrs Stone knows how to have have fun, but also how to work. She teaches these kids pure responsibility....it's great!

Here are some self-portraits of my cute Jordyn Lyn...........



And the moms who came to do the hula and help out! Plus Mrs. Stone introducing the hula!



The cute girls...........................................and the wild boys!

The Rest of Tucker's Birthday - A Surprise!

I'm lagging on a lot of things, blogging included. I've been running in several directions the past month....more on that later. I finally did a birthday surprise for Tucker. Something he LOVES. The last time I did a birthday surprise get-together, we were dating and I had all his friends meet at a restaurant. Now, ten years later, I finally did it again. Tucker loves celebrations, surprises and friends/family. So I invited several of our friends over (without kids) for some good food and the "Not-So-Newlywed Game" (one we sort of made up).

I had Mike McLeod take Tucker to Adventure Park for some race track rides and air hockey competitions while I put the finishing touches on the party and people arrived. They were so prompt, that Tucker and Mike showed up before 3/4 of our guests! Oh well, it didn't matter! He was surprised and we had a really fun night anyway.

I made his favorite pork tacos and of course the birthday cake (a triple layer, homemade chocolate frosting with one layer chocolate, one yellow cake and one marbled). I asked the guests to bring a side dish to share. I think there were around 18 people in attendance and after some mingling and eating, we started our game. It's always sure to bring lots of belly laughs and marital "what the hecks??". One of the favorite questions is "How many minutes per day (in a 24 hour period) does your husband spend going to the bathroom?". This one is so funny because the answers range from 5 minutes per day (Mike Scott because he shares one bathroom with his family of 7) to 120 minutes (my dad, according to my mom!). Oh my gosh, it is hilarious to see how different we see things from our spouses! Thanks to all who came and made it a success, and to Lindy for helping me in the orchestration of it all. Twas a crazy day, but fun!


Me & Tucker............................Lindy and Mike with Tucker


Mom and Dad (It was great to have them there!).....Jenn and Al (our neighbors)



Jamee and Matt Gibbs.......................................Jenn and Mike Scott



Tucker with Jim Huff (Amanda was home with sick kids) and Paul and Jonia Nelson


Keith and Rosa Lorang......and somehow we didn't get a picture of Lynn and Amir Navison!

Happy 37th Tucker!

Today is Tucker's 37th Birthday! Since today is a crazy day, we had our little family celebration last night, including Tucker's favorite pizza (Corsaro's, Hawaiian), gifts and some Baskin Robbins ice cream cake! It was a fun evening! We played "Memory" as a family, which was great. It's quite a good game for the ages of 3-37 years old!

The girls think it is so fun to celebrate and make a big deal out of Daddy's birthday. I have a few other things planned for subsequent birthday celebrations in the next week, but none of them include the children, so this was their special night with Daddy!

One of the main gifts I gave Tucker were tickets to see one of his favorite comedians Dane Cook, who is coming to Fresno next week. I'm not big into comedians and often think they cross my personal line of crude humor, but I've watched Dane Cook on TV (per Tucker's request) a few times and found him funny. So I figured I could handle a date night for Tucker's sake. I arranged with Lindy and Mike to go with us, as well. So tonight he opened the tickets and was shocked when he saw four tickets and said "don't tell me your coming to this"!

Apparently, the things I've seen of Dane Cook are edited for TV, so we're pondering if it should be a guys night out instead. Seems like guys like crude humor more than most gals. Tucker had a great analogy, he said "this would be like, when I was little, my mom buying my dad tickets to Eddy Murphy". Which wouldn't have happened!

Getting to Know My Kids

I am a really slow book reader! Not the actual process of reading, but getting myself to consistently pick up a book is hard. There are so many other things I prefer to do, even if I WANT to read the pages....I just get impatient.

Anyway, the book I'm trying to get through lately is a great one: Raising a G-Rated Family in an X-Rated World. So far, I LOOOVE it. It really emphasizes having personal connections with your children as vital. But how?

In it, it suggested a "get to know your kids" quiz. And to really let them answer (even if you don't think it's the "right" answer, it's THEIR right answer) because it gives you insight into how THEY see the world, you and themselves. So I finally did this with Jordyn and Lexi this morning....it was great!....and I want to preserve it:

**********************

Jordyn Lyn – October 10, 2009 – Age 7 ½

1. My favorite TV show is: Max & Ruby.

2. What I like best about myself is: that I’m the oldest in my family.

3. My favorite thing to eat for dinner is: vinegar salad and garlic bread.

4. My favorite color is: all of them!

5. Other kids think I am: pretty.

6. My favorite song is: Love is Spoken Here (Primary Song)

7. What I like best about my mother is: she makes us dinner.

8. My best school subject is: math.

9. My favorite video game is: PBSKids.com

10. When I have to work around the house I: kind of feel happy.

11. What I like best about my father is: he plays with us and helps me.

12. I like my teacher when: we have parties in our classroom.

13. My favorite movie is: High School Musical 3

14. I think my bedtime should be: 9:00

15. When I have free time I like to: get ice cream.

16. When I grow up I want to: be a cashier.

17. I like people who: are nice to me.

18. What I would like to change about me is: my height, because I want to be taller.

19. I do not like people who: aren’t nice to me.

20. If I had lots of money I would: go to Disneyland everyday and get a car for myself.

***************************

Lexi Leilani – October 10, 2009 – Just before 6th birthday

1. My favorite TV show is: SpongeBob

2. What I like best about myself is: that I am in first grade and have my own desk in my room.

3. My favorite thing to eat for dinner is: rice, noodles or chicken

4. My favorite color is: all of the colors except black.

5. Other kids think I am: cute.

6. My favorite song is: Right Here, Right Now (High School Musical).

7. What I like best about my mother is: she helps me practice piano.

8. My best school subject is: math.

9. My favorite video game is: nickjr.com.

10. When I have to work around the house I: clean my room.

11. What I like best about my father is: he gives me piggy-back rides.

12. I like my teacher when: she reads a book to me, or lets us paint.

13. My favorite movie is: Sleeping Beauty

14. I think my bedtime should be: 10:00

15. When I have free time I like to: go to my grandma and grandpa’s house

16. When I grow up I want to: read more (and drink dr. pepper!)

17. I like people who: help me.

18. What I would like to change about me is: to have “sharp” nails (like fake nails).

19. I do not like people who: hurt my feelings.

20. If I had lots of money I would: save it!