Throat Scope!

So the girls and I are currently in the waiting room at the hospital waiting for Tucker to finish getting his throat scoped for the first time- FINALLY! He has choked every meal, everyday for 10 plus years. The doctor will come update us in a few minutes as to how bad it was and what, if anything, else he found. Hope it worked!

Fall Festival and Our Signs!

It’s been two years now that I’ve been making signs.  I really enjoy it and love making them for other people.  They get so excited to have such a personalized gift for either themselves or for someone else.  I sort of roped Lindy into it about 8 months ago…and I think she enjoys it too.  She does an excellent job!  We’ve already received over 30 sign orders in the past two weeks…and were invited to be part of a festival where we got several more orders and new clientele.  It was a colder day, but a beautiful festival with lights and music and popcorn and 17 other vendors.  We had about 300 people show up and it was a good day.  It takes a lot of effort to plan for something like this, so it’s a relief that it’s over!

 

Friends & Tetherball

This tetherball has been a big hit!  Jordyn is obsessed.  But she gets SOOOO mad when we beat her!  This is her and Olivia duking it out the other day.

 

 

And Peyton and Ava being silly.  I just love the weather right now.  Finally in the 60’s and 70’s instead of 90’s!

Bathroom – Before & After

Our hall bathroom has bugged me for about 7 years now. I have tried not to dwell on it because I should just be thankful to have a roof over my head.  But the toilet hardly flushes because the builders put such cheap ones in, the caulking around the tub and toilet was growing mold under it, the sink had a crack in it and the linoleum just looked horrible.  So we finally fixed it!  I met a great handyman named Art and felt really good about him.  He was so workable with my changes and twists along the way.  I had a vision of what I wanted the end result to look like, but wasn’t sure how to get there.  For example, we picked out slate for the floor.  But then he explained to me how hard slate can be to lay evenly and how breakable it is.  This was AFTER we bought 150 sq feet of it and had it in our garage.  I questioned our decision a lot, but ended up going with it and we LOVE it.  We toyed around with laminate counter tops versus granite, and weather we should rip out the whole vanity and just but a new one, or paint the old one. 

We ended up getting a clearance piece of granite for $180

Painting the cabinet black and putting hardware on it

Framing the existing mirror with black molding

Installing a new sink, toilet and faucet. 

And we installed a medicine cabinet, which I’ve wanted for a long time. 

I can’t tell you how much I love it and how every time I walk by I breathe a sigh of relief.  I am so thankful we were able to do this little remodel, it’s almost like having a new home!

 

 

  

Halloween 2011

As an adult, Halloween is not my favorite holiday.  Of course as a kid I loved the candy and dressing up.  How could you not?  I distinctly remember one Halloween when I was probably 8.  We lived in Visalia and I was a “punk rocker” (which was very similar to Jordyn’s 80’s girl look).  My best friend Jennifer and I thought it would be so funny to tell our little sisters, Jana and Carly, that “a lot of times people went trick-or-treating the morning after Halloween, so you guys should try it!”  We just wanted to get a good laugh, so we pestered them to do it until they went across the street.  We were laughing hysterically the whole time…until they ran back up to us with the biggest smiles on their faces.  The neighbors had given them a FULL SIZE candy bar!  So the joke was on us! 

 

I think the thing that bugs me about Halloween is all the strange, creepy things that emerge.  All of the sudden, people turn their front yards in to graveyards and there are skeletons and scary dead things hanging all over – even in the stores!  This year, I saw one house with fake sawed off bloody hands & feet hanging all over their tree!  I mean, I’m all for jack-o-lanterns and candy.  But death, blood, ghouls and scaring people is just not my thing.

 

This year, Jordyn and Lexi wanted to be 80’s girls.  Which was great because we made their outfits and just bought some puple hair coloring.  And Peyton had picked out this candy corn princess costume at Costco, and on a whim I bought it.  But she only ended up wearing it to the church trunk-or-treat and would NOT wear it on Halloween night.  She dug out some OLD princess costume from our wrinkled dress-up basket for the actual night.  Silly girl.  We spent Halloween night with the Navisons.  Lynn and I took the girls trick-or-treating and Tucker helped Amir with a spook alley thing he set up on their porch.  It was a fun night (even for someone who doesn’t love Halloween).

 

Another Random Post

Pey’s first trip to Dr. Engstrom and she checked out just perfect!  Even as an avid thumb-sucker, her teeth are perfect!

 

 

 

I always talk about Mrs. Stone, but it is fairly unusual to have a teacher three years in a row.  So she is more like a part of our family now.  Anyway, she is so enthusiastic about everything and really teaches the kids to love & savor things by example.  Her birthday is no exception.  She was so excited to share her birthday with the kids and celebrate with them.  So Megan Wells and I brought in donuts that morning, and this big balloon and she opened some gifts.  I love this picture of her because it is SO her.

 

 

Next, I got to spend a day with Beth!!  She had to come pick up Guillermina from our ward so she could move back in with them and so she spent an ENTIRE day with us!  It was only Lindsay and Clayton that got to come along, but it was a special treat to have her “pop in”.  Reminded me of the good ol’ days.

 

 

 

Jordyn has a very sweet habit of leaving notes all over.  It’s an easy way for her to communicate.  She leaves them on mirrors, papers, white boards, magna-doodles.  I love it.

 

 

Another example of what I get to see when I’m subbing.  Lexi doing cartwheels with her friends at recess.  Pure joy :-)

 

 

Just had to capture a picture of my mom at Harmony.  This is typically how she sits, with Kylee and Peyton competing for her lap. 

 

 

For the first time, I was able to sub Jordyn’s 4th grade class. I wondered if I would embarrass her…because that’s been happening more lately…but I think I made it out okay.  Man, I do have to say that I’m amazed at the amount and level of work they are doing in 4th grade!  To really see all that Jordyn does in a day is a good reminder for me of how stressful school has the potential of being.  It’s a lot to balance and I told her she is doing a really great job at balancing it all.  (The first picture is her disecting OWL POOP!)

Peyton’s 5th Birthday

I’m still in denial that my youngest is 5.  I mean, on one hand, it feels fun and freeing and like I’m definitely in a new phase of life.  So weird to thing that at one point, all of my kids were UNDER 5.  Now they are all over 5.  Strange.  In many ways it feels easier.  On the other hand, there is a strange sadness that comes knowing that I have left a phase of life that I will never return to.  Did I enjoy it enough?  Did I love my kids enough during those impressionable years?  Will I remember it? 

 

But on to Pey’s birthday.  So when I asked her what kind of party she wanted, all she said was: Pink.  She only cared that everything was pink.  No characters, no theme, no certain place.  Just pink.  Easy enough!  So I made her funny invitation.  I made her pink cupcakes.  And I reserved Me-N-Eds pizza party room.  Pretty simple, really.  But it was fun and just what it needed to be.

 

 

Kids made their own labels for their cupcakes and their cup.   Jordyn painted hearts on the kids’ faces.

   

 

Since her party was the day before her birthday, the next day ON her birthday I tool her and Ava to Fresno with me and we ate at Chili’s (her choice) and then went to Costco to pick out a birthday present with her money from Gam & Pa.  She picked out a cute little pink, kids’ digital camera.

 

Peyton: I hope you know how much you are loved.  You are a great mixture of sugar and spice.  Truth be told, I’m happy you are starting Kindergarten a little late because I get one more year to have you as my little sidekick.  I love you!