Work perks

Sometimes I get to cover a really cool story for my job, this was one of them.

The Utah Jazz chose one of the schools I cover to give a big welcome on the first day of school. The Jazz Bear rode the bus to pick up kids, Derrick Favors was a crossing guard, Buzz the Bee was there, so were coaches Quin Snyder and Brad Jones, plus some of the Jazz dancers!

It was pretty awesome and I’ll tell you, these are some nice people! They made this a very special day for these kids and had a fun time with it. Since we were there with other members of the media, Annie made it into the Deseret News that evening.

Kudos to the Jazz, thanks for a magical morning!

      

New pics

Dad has discovered the coolness of canvas prints. He had a great idea to print up a big one of the kids and hang it in his room. He matched the size to one he had of John Stockton and Carl Malone…These pictures look so amazing on his wall!!!!

This give you and idea of the size…they’re not little!

You gotta hand it to this guy, he knows how to decorate!!

Let’s get together, ya, ya, ya

We have some great youth in our ward. One of my goals in Young Women’s is to strengthen the relationship between the young men and young women, to help them feel comfortable and friendly with each other. It’s nice to have a group of people who’ve got your back.

So,

for our combined activity, we decided to “Friend Dating”. It’s kind of like speed dating, without the romantic connotations. Let’s just say my idea was not super-well-received when I presented it. But my stubbornness prevailed and the activity was a go.

It turned out to be a smashing success! I had envelopes with questions for each round and the kids had about three minutes before the switched…the girls stayed in their chairs and the boys rotated. That way, each of the girls could visit with each of the boys.

Tender mercies abounded and there was almost an exact number of boys to girls (16 girls, 17 boys…so close!) The kids had such a fun time, it was great to watch them talk and laugh and get to know each other.

Let the School adventure begin…

Let me tell you how I feel about having five kids in school all day…no, there is too much to say. Let me sum up with this picture:Since Beau is in first grade this year, that means all my school kids will be gone all day until 3:00. Furthermore, there is no more early-out days at the elementary school. That means about 7 hours every day that it’s just me and Annie. What?

I miss my little munchkins, but somehow find plenty of ways to stay busy while they’re gone.

This year, Koko is in 9th grade, Emma is in 7th grade, Colin is in 5th grade (last year of elementary!), Camri is in 3rd grade, and Beau is in 1st grade.     

  

Annie did NOT want to be left out, she wanted her own picture! We’re gonna have fun this year. Here’s my elementary school kiddos. Man, they grow up fast!!It’s hard work hanging out with Mom every day. Sheesh!

High School time

Well, I’ve officially made it, I’m a high school mom. Weird considering I feel like I just got out of high school myself. I guess I’m old enough for this to happen. So strange.

Even stranger, Koko’s totally ready. She’s on track to complete her associate’s degree by the time she graduates (in the International Baccalaureate Program – IB). She’s excited to be in the school’s plays. She’s looking forward to meeting new people and seeing old friends.

It’s going to be a great year, I can tell!

She got to do an early half day with the rest of the freshmen so they could get the lay of the land. I think it helped, my baby girl is ready to go!!

Dropping like flies…

Beau’s teeth, that is…

And he’s getting some pretty great rewards…$5 for two teeth seems like a great deal for a six-year-old, no? The going rate goes up when they have to be yanked out.

He’s just so darn cute!

Peewee Pride

Our amazing little league Peewee team was invited by Midvale City to participate in the Harvest Days Parade on August 16, it was quite an honor!

Coach Larry had a train made out of big barrels…the kids and I rode and picked up a few more team kids on the route. It was very hot and so fun to be part of this community event. Joe taught the boys part of “The Chain Gang”, but had them sing “The TRAIN Gang” while they marched and danced through the streets.

“That’s the sound of the man, working on the train….gang, oooh, ah, ah, ah, oooh, ah, ah, ah…”

It was pretty great!

After the parade, we met at the middle school (where we practice) for our green and white game scrimmage and Beginning-of-the-Year Family Picnic. We have enough boys on our team to split them into two teams, first time we’ve ever had enough to do that.

It was a good game, there was one injury and Jaxson had to go get checked for a concussion, but he was okay. After the game, we had our picnic. Some of it was potluck, we had hot dogs, salads, chips, cookies, and drinks. Yum!

It was quite the football day!!

   

Teeth, ew.

Let me paint a picture for you. Beau had four teeth where he should’ve had two on the bottom of his mouth. His two baby teeth came out and the permanent one scooched up to their proper place. No problem.

On top, again, he had four teeth where he should have had two. Because his two front baby teeth were still in, and because the tooth next to his front teeth came out first, his permanent one came in too far over from the middle (next to his baby teeth that it was supposed to replace). Follow? His other middle permanent tooth was coming in behind and we knew we had to get those baby teeth out. Joe worked on them several times (he’s the tooth guy around here), to no avail. He could never get a good grip with the tweezers.

So, I took Beau to the dentist. R.L. warned me that the teeth would probably come flying out and to watch for them. Instead, he had to grasp them and twist and pull until they came loose…see those roots? No wonder we couldn’t get them out!!

Beau was a good sport and didn’t squirm or anything, he just took it like a man.

And was greatly rewarded when the tooth fairy came.

He’s my little tough guy!

Our Future is Bright

August 15, this is what we call a marathon day!

The kids wanted to go on a hike, so I offered them a few choices and they picked Ensign Peak downtown. We drove to Salt Lake, parked at the trailhead and worked our way up to the peak. It is not a bad hike, but I think they thought it would be shorter. The view, though, was totally worth it.

There were a few people up there, but it wasn’t crowded at all. Look how pretty!   

After the hike, we were right there by the State Capitol and decided to go in for a tour. Luckily, we got there right at 1:00, when the next tour was starting. Good timing! They gave the kids a little paper with “I-Spy” stuff on it to look for while we were walking around. It was very cool.

They saw the courtrooms, governor’s office and everything in between. I just wanted my kids to see their future offices!! I would love it if we had (finally) some good people in government positions, and if that means my kids will change the world, then so be it!

Of course, we were hot from hiking, so we stopped by the neighborhood watering hole. We’ve got to make these last days of summer count!! We picked up Jared to join us, he’s such a cute kid.

     

After swimming, we raced home so Colin could get ready for football practice…the whole family went. Like I said, marathon day.

And totally wonderful!