Sunday, September 27, 2015

      School has started and we have been busy.  Jacinda made student council.  She had to fill out a form giving reasons why she would be good for student council and what some of her leadership qualities are.  She was one of 3 in her class that was selected.  I was very proud of her.
     McCabe is attending SEM and enjoys learning.  His teacher says he is very smart and wants to challenge him with more learning.  He seems to do a good job at balancing his schedule.
      Xadia likes her kindergarten class.  She was the first student spotlighted.  We had to put together a poster of things that Xadia likes.  The poster contained blue snowflakes because she likes winter and the color blue.  She had a picture of macaroni and cheese, Teen Titans Go, Mrs. Cavanaugh's chocolates, Texas Roadhouse, Roblox, cousins, siblings, and monkeys to represent the monkey bars.  It is always fun to do a poster on the kids to see what they like at that moment in their life.
      Teagan loves going to pre-school.  I got to spend Thursday in his class.  Those kids are so cute.  They try really hard to follow their teacher.  Teagan was great.  He had to draw a picture of himself.  The teacher showed all the students how she draws herself.  Then the students got the chance to draw their self-portrait.  Teagan tried so hard to follow the teacher's example.  He even put dangly earrings on his picture just like the teacher.  That made me laugh so hard.  I just love these kids.

Sunday, August 30, 2015

     Summer is now over.  We did a lot of things to pass the summer.  Some of the most recent activities we did before school started was camping and swimming.  Camping with the ward was fun.  There were games, skits, star gazing, fishing, and yummy food.  It was our last camping trip of the summer and so worth it.  Such good fun and memories.  We also went swimming at Nana Hefner's pool.  We made coconut ice cream and picked peaches at her house.  We love going to Nana's.  She is always so welcoming and energetic.    

     Tim and I took Teagan to the Rec. Center.  We put googles on Teagan and it was an amazing discovery for him.  He kept going under the water and looking at the grates in the pool.  He was loving being able to see in the water.  I was having a great time watching him.  He is such a cutie.

Sunday, August 16, 2015

      Wow!  talk about a busy month.  We trekked to Texas during the end of July and the beginning of August.  We had a fantastic time visiting family.  I made a few movies of our adventures.  These movies are filled with swimming, cooking, playing, and cousins.  I belong to a great family.  Please enjoy the movies!

Sunday, July 5, 2015

     I love the 4th of July.  It is my favorite holiday.  I love America and the freedoms I enjoy.  Patriotism is so important to me so of course I had to celebrate.  We had a great time celebrating our country's birthday.  We went to a friend's house on the 3rd and watched Centerville city's fireworks. There were lots of kids playing on the sports court, a balloon artist, and lots of ice cream and popcorn.  This was Teagan's first time to really watch fireworks.  It was a blast watching Teagan respond to the explosions.  He was cheering and screaming and laughing having so much fun.

     On the 4th of the July we went to Mimi's house for a BBQ and a little slip and slide fun.  The whole family took a turn on the slide.  It was so much fun to be a kid again.  I got a good workout running and sliding on the the plastic.  In fact, I am feeling a little sore from all the fun.  Later that evening we lit fireworks.  We bought some cute little fireworks at Costco that did not go more than 5 feet into the air.  Mimi's neighbors went to Wyoming and bought some show worthy fireworks that shoot 30 to 50 feet into the air and explode with noise and color.  At times, they were scary.  Some of the kids ran from the sidewalk to the house and watched from the porch.  I liked the small fireworks much better.  The bigger ones kept me on the edge.

      McCabe and Jacinda got to light some of the fireworks and they really liked it.  In fact, McCabe is telling me that he needs to go buy some matches so he can play with them.  Just what I want....an eight-year-old boy playing with matches.  I am not a big fan of that idea.  I will try to channel his energy elsewhere, matches are not an option.
     I got some video footage of Teagan watching the fireworks.  Take a moment and watch his enthusiasm.  It brings a smile to the face.

Sunday, June 21, 2015

      Happy Father's day to all those wonderful dads.  We celebrated with a bacon pancake breakfast and then opened presents.  We put together a card for Tim each taking a turn of telling him why we love him.  This is what the children said....."you are funny," from McCabe.  "You are nice," from Jacinda.  "You work," from Xadia.  "You like hot cocoa and quesadillas," from Teagan.  Of course that last one is what Teagan likes not Tim.  Tim also got a can of peanuts and a home-made M&M necklace.  The boys got bubbles and a home-made candy bar necklace.  Teagan ate his before church.  He was really quick at swallowing the chocolate.
     June 19th, was our 16 year wedding anniversary.  What does that bring?  Let me tell you.  It brings 4 kids, gray hair, stress wrinkles, and a whole lot of memories.  I feel very fortunate to be married to Tim.  Marriage is a great union with the right person.  I love him more today than when we first met.  He is an amazing individual.  I cannot believe how caring he is to me and those around him.  It is very rare that he puts himself first.  Wow!  I really lucked out.  How did I get so lucky?  Divine intervention.  I credit God with this one.
       So what did we do to celebrate 16 years of marriage?  We took the family to "Inside Out," a movie by Disney.  It was very cute.  I loved the part where dream boy says, "I would die for Riley," as he waves a dramatic hand in front of his face and then makes a fist.  Disney did a good job on that movie.  It was very entertaining and very relatable.  After the movie, we went to the mall and looked around.  We had to walk off all the popcorn we ate.  Once the kids got hungry we ate at a Chinese buffet in Murray.  The food was decent.  The kids were in heaven.  They could eat all the food/junk they wanted.  McCabe loved the imitation crab.  Jacinda went for seconds on the ice cream and Xadia could not stop raving about the pumpkin pie.  I enjoyed a salad with some ham fried rice.  It was a tasty combination.  Teagan could not sit still.  He kept running around the table.  Thanks goodness he is only 3 and can get away with that type of behavior.  Tim did not comment on what he liked.  He just kept stacking plates full of food.  On the way home, he was getting ready to go into a food coma.  He kept saying, "I am so full."  When he goes into a food coma he just needs to go to sleep because he is too full to do anything else.  So that is how we celebrated our anniversary.  It was a good day.

Mother's Day 2015

A sweet little video from my family regarding thoughts on me.

Sunday, April 26, 2015

      Soccer season has started and McCabe is loving it.  He is #14 on the Knight's team.  He is learning to play many different positions.  Previously in the past, he would play goalie.  I am glad to see that he is running the field.  McCabe also likes to play minecraft.  The first thing that he asks me each day is if he can play minecraft.  My response is always the same.  "Do your reading, piano, and homework and you can play minecraft." He does not get excited about my response but that is life and he is learning.
      Jacinda just had nerd day at school.  She wore some frames without lenses.  Debbie Coburn said that Jacinda looked like Linda Carter wearing those frames.  Jacinda saw a picture of Linda Carter, who once played wonder woman.  Now Jacinda wants to wear the frames all the time.  She wanted to wear them to church today.  That was a big, "no."  She is not letting go of these frames any time soon.  I wonder how long this phase is going to last.
     Xadia is loving preschool.  She also likes to play minecraft.  She is learning to read.  Xadia is my sweet little girl.  She loves to be held, and sits on my lap at night when it is scripture power time.  When we go on family walks, she is the one that wants to hold my hand (besides Tim).  I am glad she is very loving.
      Teagan is a big boy now.  He is potty trained and loves to be like McCabe.  He says that, McCabe is his best friend.  Teagan loves playing in the sand and watching Paw Patrol and Team Umizoomi.  Teagan has also learned how to buckle himself in his car seat.  He is only 3 but is learning so much.  I just love how all my kids are growing.  They are so special to me.