Art Night.

On Friday night Abbie and Poppy came up to take our family to dinner.  We went to Burrito Grande.  Obviously.  After dinner we went to the elementary school for Arts Night.  I headed to a kiva to be a volunteer curator for a bit.  Ruthie and Sam took Abbie, Poppy, Isaac and dad around to each kiva to look at all the art.  Abbie and Poppy bought Ruthie's art and then Sam's art.

After a bit Ruthie got on stage with the other 4th graders for their performance. 

They sang This Land Is My Land.  Awesome!

Shortly after that the 6th graders got on stage to dance.  Sam did some dancing and had tons of fun.

Then the choir, including Sam, got up to sing.  They did such a great job.  They ended with What Does The Fox Say.  Then some teachers got up and lip synched and danced to the same song.  It was so much fun.

It was a fun filled night.  Our school made lots of money from the art and auction to help purchase safety items for the school. 
Thanks Abbie and Poppy for coming and sharing with us!

The First Day...

Yesterday, Monday, the kiddos and I went to lunch for last day of summer fun. 

Then we went to Back To School Nights at the junior high and elementary.  We met teachers and saw classrooms.  The kids have fantastical teachers and it's going to be a fantabulous year!

I ended up at the school doing PTA stuff way longer than I'd planned, so I ran home, made sure everyone had dinner and then we did Father's blessings.

Then I got out the back to school treats.  I usually put their treats out on the first day, but because of the excitement and bits of anxiety, I brought it all out last night.

It says... To my SweetTarts.  U-no you are such a Smartie(s).  This year will be a piece of Cake. You may feel like you're on a Rocky Road, and that only Sour things are happening.  Remember all the Good n Plenty you already know.  You will Skor big in Crunch time.  You're a Star.  Have Fun.  We love you to Pieces!

The root beer says We're Rooting for ya!  And, of course, there are Hugs and Kisses.

Bright and early this morning Isaac left for the bus.  I was close enough to a lady talking to an office staff person Monday night to hear that this year the bell rings 5 minutes earlier so the buses may be coming 5 minutes earlier.  We also heard lunches are determined differently.  I suppose I'll find out how this afternoon.  Isn't he handsome?!  He got confused as a 7th grader by some teachers, but all the students will be wearing their ID badges with a grade color coded lanyard beginning tomorrow.  So there will be no confusing the 8th grader.  Although we've recently purchased a couple pairs of jeans and they are too tight and a tad short.  Rats.  He's growing and we'll be shopping again!

Here are the other two.  Sam is beginning his last year in elementary.  Oh my!  He's got a terrifical teacher and there are 33 kids in his class.  It will be a fun year.  Ruthie is in 4th grade and is in a 4th/5th split class with a superterrific teacher.  They both wanted to get on the back of the banister for the picture.  Obviously I am not invited to leave the car when I drop them off.  But I got dressed anyway. 

So now I'm blogging and thinking I'll just head to the school to help with lunch.  I suppose I should clean the house.  But it really is still summer.  I'm still on vacation.  We'll see.

Wax Museum And A Farewell.

Today was the fifth grade Wax Museum.  Sam said that when his teacher was pulling kids' names out to pick who they wanted to be, he was prepared.  When she said "Sa" he said "Unlce Sam!".  He wouldn't wear the red sweat pants I got him.  Oh well.

Here he is.

Wait..

That's better.

I want you!

Last evening we went to say good-bye to our favorite 3rd grade teacher. 

Ruthie will still finish the year with her, but it was her retirement open house.  She cried when she read the block we gave her.  We love you Ms. Nonnie.

Biography Day.

Today was Biography day for Ruthie.  She chose a book about Florence Griffith Joyner.

Ruthie dressed in a shorts outfit, 3 gold medals and a silver medal.  At the end she raised the baton and cheered.  She did put on some long fake nails.  But when I walked into the room she came up to me and said "I can't pick anything up with these on!"  She was very upset.  I told her that's why I don't have them.  It's like having a plate at the end of your finger.  She took them off and did a tremendous job anyway!

Today is our favorite 3rd grade teacher's retirement open house.  

This is what I made for her.  I hope she likes it!

The More You Know..

So I was at the elementary school yesterday and was speaking with another mom who was complaining without hesitation about the snow.  And then there's all the snow.  It's ruining her life.  After going on for a unseemly amount of time on the snow, she finally resorted to the answer.  Of why we have so much snow.  Are you ready for this??  Because I sure wasn't.  We're stupid.  We have the lowest test scores in the world and our kids are stupid so we have all this snow.  Are you following this?  So I said, "I don't think test scores determine how much snow we get", very kindly, yet rationally.  And I am so totally serious.  This was the conversation.  So she paused and relented.  But still we have stupid kids.  Umm.  I beg to differ.  My kiddos are pretty sharp.  Cute too.  They're even cute AND smart when covered with snow.  But I just happen to know it's NOT the test scores that make so much snow.  So in case you were wondering why we have been getting so much snow here in the lovely state of Utah, it's cause your kids are stupid.  Wait!! Just kidding.  Whether your kids are stupid, ugly, sharp as a tack, or the next Einstein, we still get lots of snow.  We live in Utah.  We get snow.  Can you here the jingle from those commercials?  The More You Know....

Aaaaand... They're Off!

Our day began at 6:30 am.  Isaac's first words when I woke him up were "I hate this".  I told him to get up and get it over with then.  But first!  I got stuff for my kids' first day of school treat.  Here it is.  I got them each a cup and did card stock dividers and then filled each section with candy.

Kisses, Tootsie Rolls, StarBursts, lollipops, Smarties...

But the Fruit by the Foot didn't fit, so they hung out next to the cups. 

And here's the note.. 

When Isaac read the note he said "That's really cool".  He ate breakfast, got dressed, brushed his teeth, checked on the goats, then headed for the bus stop.  Doesn't he look excited?!  He gets out in a few minutes and then I'll find out about his day when he gets home.  Yay 7th grader! 

Sam recommended I just take his picture in the car before we even left.  He is excited to have Isaac's 5th grade teacher.  At least I got a slight smile.  Yay 5th grader!!

Ruthie changed her outfit a couple times.  Decided on purple.  She has the same 3rd grade teacher both of her brothers had.  YAY!  And Yay 3rd grader!! 

The 2 younger kids don't get out for another hour. Then we'll see how their day went.  Me?  Laundry is done, my name is on the PTA checking account and my house is still a mess.  Well, relatively speaking.  It is an early out day after all. Yay mom!!

Some Organizing.

In the process of cleaning up and out the basement, I had to get through all of the kids' school boxes.  Each school year I get a carry tote for each kid and throughout the year we put in art projects, papers, report cards, notes from teachers and other such stuff.  Over the years little hands have gotten into the boxes to find fun stuff from school.  A royal mess ensued.  So I brought all the boxes up and went through each one and snapped and then duct taped the lids on.  They are now back in the basement waiting to be transported to a storage unit while we finish the basement.

I cleaned out a lot of papers and stuff that just didn't need to be kept.  These are 3 of the 5 garbage bags that I took out.  This is just preschool through 6th for Isaac and preschool through 4th and then 2nd for Sam and Ruth.  I may have to rethink my system for the future of basement space availability.

And these two got to work on a mural while some basement cleaning went on.  Fun Fun.

Science Fair Project...DONE!

Breathe a sigh of relief. But first...Just a look at what's living on our deck lately. We now have a "poop deck" again. Cass will be home next week!
Science fair was today. Here is Isaac after getting his poster put together. I told him I better get a good grade for all my work on the poster. This look is usually the one I get when I talk like that. But it's the truth. What can I say?
And just to prove that dad was there... We really enjoyed walking through all the projects and looking at all the really cool things these kids did. Lots of really great ideas proven and reported.

Economics Fair.

6th grade is killing me. To you parents of 6th graders, especially at our school here, does it seem there is a project of some kind or other every time your kid comes home from school?? A friend of mine who has one in high school now says that junior high is way easier than 6th grade. To be fair, they are learning. I mean, do you see all that homework and stuff? And do they understand that parents have to be directly involved in some of this stuff? You can't just send a 6th grader home to make or build 100 somethings for the economics fair telling them it's their project, mom can't help, and expect him to get to it. I have to purchase things. I have to help in the assembly line. It's only the beginning of second quarter and I'm beat. Ready for summer vacay. Okay. Done.

So let's look at the Economics Fair fairly. The assignment was to make or build 100 somethings to sell at school. Then the money they would bring in would be used through the year to pay for things such as field trips and parties and such. So Isaac takes in a few ideas and one was accepted. Jack O Lantern suckers. Easy. So we got all the stuff and cut stems and put a line together to put them together. We wrapped each sucker with orange napkins and wrapped and tied brown yarn around it. Then I hot glued a stem on top of each and then Isaac and his siblings drew faces on the things. 100. Did I tell you it had to be 100 things? The day of the fair I went in to check it out and see what everyone had done. I have to say I was disappointed. Some of those kids had only done something like stick a paper saying "witch's brew" on a soda can. C'mon. That's building or making something?! Here is my sweet boy. He did work hard. But he had a sore throat and couldn't yell over the ruckus around him. But he did sell a few.
They did turn out cute. He sold 36 of them. So guess what we handed out to all of our trick or treaters? Yep. 2 Jack O Lantern Suckers each. So now we just eat the rest of them whenever. There are so many. One mom spent waaaaay more for supplies than the recommended amount and did tons of work to help her son make these really cute steel wool spiders. But in the end he sold fewer items than Isaac. She asked if I wanted any spiders to decorate my house. I suggested a trade for some suckers. She suggested next time she'll just donate money and keep her kid out of it.
The bigger issue for me right now is the stupid science fair. Another teacher is having every student do it. The other teachers don't know what's involved with it so you have to either fend for yourself or go see that other teacher. I've done both. And it ain't pretty. By next Thursday I'll have pictures and a smile again. Until then I just remind myself that it's only 6th grade. It's not a Masters program. It's not do this or die. It's just 6th grade. Speaking of 6th grade. I had to retake my 6th grade yearbook picture. So I dolled up. I'll let the picture speak for itself...
Never mind. I must speak. I was the coolest person in the world with that head band on. My mom didn't like that I wore it in the picture. At least she didn't have to sweat a science project.

It's The Most Wonderful Time...

And I'm all alone. Alone. Alone. Alone. And my house was clean by 10 am. I am showered and blogging and it's only 11 am. Laundry is running, too. I'll take a nap Wednesday morning at 8:30 am.

We began our morning with school preparation. We have great teachers and classmates this year. We are all excited. Just look at the excitement on these cute faces...
Let's try that again... Looks like Ruthie is the really truly excited one. Isaac had written these cryptic words on the calendar about a week ago. "The day the kids DIE!" I told his new awesome teacher last night that he might die today. Just call me if he does. I'll come get him. So far, no call. He must be okay.

And......We're off!

This is......"THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!"

My House Is A Mess.

Hi. My name is Jennie and my house is a crazy mess. Because it's been summer and my kids have been home. And I can't think clearly when my house is a mess. I'm vacillating between cleaning my house or going back to bed next Tuesday at 8:30 am when my kids are finally back in school. Or exercising. Because I can't exercise when they're home. I don't know why. Just can't. But I think I'll wait on the exercise thing for a couple of weeks. Why? Because my house is a mess and I can't think clearly and I certainly can't exercise in a messy house. Do you still read my blog? I'm just wondering. No one comments much any more. And not too many really blog any more. But then someone will mention something I've blogged and then I know at least that person read my blog recently. Or not recently. I really can't think clearly. My house is a mess. And then there's the fact that I haven't had any chocolate recently. It's killing me. And makes it so I can't think clearly. Why? No idea. But it's chocolate. That should explain a lot. Plus did I mention my messy house? So it just makes me wonder what's the point of blogging if no one's really doing it anymore and no one really reads this. You know? But then I look at my blog books and think, oh yeah, great to blog. I don't have to scrapbook or keep a very tight journal. It's all right here when I blog and then get it made into books every Mother's Day. Thanks to my dear Daniel. So what do I do? I don't know. My house is really messy and I really need to clean it. But if I clean it right now it will just be messy by the time my date and I get home tonight. Because my kids don't care if it's messy. Actually I don't really think Daniel minds the mess. Except the shower. He really hates the black stuff that grows in the shower. So he gets this awesome stuff to clean it. Then he cleans it. I wish dirty dishes bothered him as much. Or a filthy floor. Or an unmade bed. Or. But my kids will be in school next Tuesday. So I'm trying to decide if I will clean the house or go back to bed at 8:30 am. Cause I'm tired. But my house is a crazy mess...

The First Day.

They all just sat at the counter for breakfast. The boys wanted mac and cheese. Who am I to argue? While they sat there I thought, "Oh my! They are so grown up. I'm really gonna miss them!" Then we got started for school.

They got their backpacks on and stood in front of the crumpled back end. Aren't they cute?!

And I'm not washing my car for anything! I don't care that it's filthy. Inside and out. It will be gone soon enough. I need to use all my gas.
I dropped the boys each off at their grade kivas and then waited for Ruthie to go into her classroom. My baby is in first grade!
Then I got home.
I ate breakfast.
I cleaned up a little bit.
Yesterday we cleaned the house, so it wasn't much.
I checked email and such.
I decided to put some jars to work.
We use sticks with each of our names on them for prayers.
When your name is picked you pray.
Then you get to pick the stick the next time we pray.
The sticks have been in plastic cups for a while.
The cups aren't very sturdy.
So I hot glued some signs on the jars.
One for prayers.
One for Saturday jobs.
And one for summer boredom busters.
Which we used already.
Then I thought, "What the heck? Let's make a jar specifically for the sticks to go into as we use them?
And why not label the jar I have all my pens, pencils and scissors and such in?
And the mess at the bottom of the pen jar, you ask?
It's purple ink that leaked from a broken purple pen.
I didn't know it was broken and put the pen in my church bag Sunday.
When the kids pulled out a pencil, all the leads were covered with purple ink.
I still haven't looked into my new zebra print awesome church bag to check the damage.
The fabric inside is black.
I'm assuming it will blend.
Then I took a shower.
I ate lunch.
I made first day of school after school snack cookies.
I missed my kids.
I went to pick them up.
They had a tremendous day!
So we went to get Icees to go with our cookies.
The End.
At least for the first day back to school!

Do You Smell That?

It smells like school.

And I have been dreading it.

I will be alone all day.

Boo hoo.

But last night my sweet kids and I went to Back To School night.

I started by seeing my good friend Holly as she was leaving.

Then I saw the class lists!

I was giddy!

I was thrilled!

We have 3 spectacular teachers!

Ruthie has Isaac's first grade teacher who jumped up and shouted YAY when we walked in.

Sam has Isaac's third grade teacher.

She gave me a hug and said she was so happy when she saw our last name on her list again.

Then we met Isaac's fifth grade teacher.

His are always the ones I'm slightly nervous about.

I don't know the teachers.

He's my first.

But she had a huge smile on her face and asked me all about Isaac and is excited to have him this year.

And she's quite shorter than I am.

My Isaac has a giant spirit, but his height hasn't quite matched it yet.

She kinda reminds me of his Primary teacher.

Then we came home and Dad gave everyone a Father's Blessing.

I cried.

I hugged them each.

Then he gave me a blessing.

I love that!

I am excited for my kids and their upcoming school year.

I am excited for what the Lord has in store for me this school year.

Tomorrow we begin!

Tomorrow begins a glorious year!

I may start off with a nap.

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year. Part 2

Today was the day of days and I am a free woman. At least for just a few hours each day.

This chickie went to Kindergarten and, boy, did she love it. She keeps reminding me that she had fun at school. Then she reminds me that she needs to go back tomorrow and that I don't need to walk her up to the door. Sheesh.

The most wonderful time of the year is officially here!

Hallelujah!

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year. Part 1

Today my boys went back to school! Yesterday was the first day. But we spent the day with family for Rebecca's funeral. So today was the day of days.

Sam woke up and the first thing he asked Isaac was, "Are you nervous?". Isaac said yes. And they talked about the first day of school yesterday and that today is their first day and they are nervous because everyone else knows everything and got all their instructions, etc.

I agreed to walk Sam to his class and mention to his teacher that today is his first day.

Then we got dressed, attempted to eat breakfast, brushed our teeth and took a picture. Sam wanted to have a picture.

I think he will be fine at school.

This is the first year I actually dreaded going back to school. As much as I am looking forward to having some time alone, I am really not looking forward to being alone. I will miss my kids. It will be an adjustment. But I'm sure with chocolate and diet pepper I will be able to accomplish ANYTHING!

And then I'll love being alone.

And...

Then I'll have a baby!

Less Than 2 Weeks!

And these sweet little things will be back in a classroom.

Listening to another adult telling them what to do.

And these 2 hammers will magically disappear!

It's Here...

It's May 29. It's Friday. It's a short day. It's the last day of school. I have been dreading/looking forward to this day since the end of last August. I knew it would come. It's finally here.

So where does this leave me? I don't have to do homework anymore. No more making kids read for 20 minutes every day. No more making boys get dressed before I count to 50 so we won't be late. No more homework. No more enforcing early morning teeth brushing. (They will still have to brush, just not till 10 or so) No more "Hurry and eat or your eggs will get cold/cereal will get mushy!" No more homework. No more rushing to get back from running errands so I can be at the school for kid pick up on time. No more watching over projects that the teachers think the kids will do on their own. (Hah!) No more homework. No more lot of things.

I now have 3 kids to entertain every day for 3 months. I now will have a messy house all day every day for 3 months. I now will have muddy floors from kids who have been playing in the water and then play in the dirt and then come right in the house. I now will have to buy popsicles every week to keep up with the popsicle fetish. I now will have to try to persuade my kids that reading is still fun and they really should do it. I now will have temperatures in the 90's on up to contend with. Heat makes me cranky. Really cranky. At least we won't have any homework. I am now looking forward to August 24.

I am going to fill my summer with lots of diet pepper to keep any sense of sanity. I have 4 hours and 15 minutes left to enjoy. I better get to it!

100 Days

Today marks 100 days of school. Has it been that long? How many more days are there left? In 1st grade, they get to bring 100 somethings to share with the class. Sam has been building a lid collection. He decided to use all the white lids. There just weren't enough red, blue or silver lids. I asked him if they were going to count to 100 100 times today. He said, "No way. That would take hours!" Then he suggested they might count to 100 100,000,000 times.
Sam hasn't missed a day of school. So today is really really his 100th day. Isaac has only been to school 97 days. He needs to get back in there soon. No fever so far today!

The Sarajune Project

This morning Ruthie and I took a trip to the local grocer to pick up some prescriptions and decided to make the trip more fun by picking up a donut. Or 2. Okay, 4. I have 3 kids and I need one, too. We ran into a mom from last year's Joy School. She had her baby not too long ago so we looked at the cuteness.

As we walked over to the donut section, Ruthie said, "I really don't want to look at any more babies. Unless it's Sarajune."

Today we celebrate 28 months of endless waiting. Is celebrate the right word? No. We are tired of waiting. Tired of questions. Tired of not being done with our family and not being able to do anything about it. We're just tired.

In less than 2 weeks the Spring Festival starts. We call it Chinese New Year here in America. In China it's just called Spring Festival. And it lasts 2 weeks. Do you think anyone would complain if we took a 2 week vacation from everything? In China they do. Not complain. They take a 2 week long vacation. No one complains.

I have already made arrangements to go to Isaac's class to do my CNY presentation. I am working on getting a time set up for Sam's class. I got Ruthie's new Chinese dress the other day. She grew out of the old one. The boys still fit in their Chinese outfits. If I don't fit in my Chinese jacket, I'll just wear my Chinese scarf. Daniel's Chinese ties are still in good shape. When we wear our Chinese outfits to church on January 25, people will most likely ask if we are wearing our Chinese clothes to celebrate that we are going to go get our baby! I will again say No, we're just celebrating Chinese New Year. When we go get our baby, you and everyone in a 55 mile radius will know!! Trust me!

I'm looking forward to Chinese food for dinner on Monday the 26th. I love putting up our CNY decorations outside and inside. I really like that everything is red. It's my favorite color.

And I really don't want to look at any more babies. Unless it's Sarajune.

Ketchup

Or is it catsup? Oh, wait! No! It's Catch Up!

Well, I guess I've said it one too many times. Or maybe 15 too many times... "We never get sick!" "We never get sick!" "We never get sick!" "We have immune systems of steel!" Umm. I jinxed myself. 2 colds in the last 3 weeks and the stomach flu on Monday. Yuck!

So I will no longer gloat about not getting sick. But if I get sick one more time this season, I'll be really upset.

On to much happier things...

Abbie's Cookie Party....
Here's the whole group. Abbie made new aprons for the coming years. Some of the bigger kids looked like they were wearing bibs last time. This is my favorite group shot. Sam couldn't keep his arms down and I had to threaten to cut them off. Jeremiah just wasn't up for posing and decided to take a rest.

And here we have Isaac who frosted every cookie green and still hasn't eaten any of them.

Sam is just cheesy. He seriously would not do a nice face. It must be from his father's side!

And here we have Ruthie. Each cookie was just so with lots and lots of sprinkles.

The littlest ones were the best...Josh doesn't get much sugar. He was dancing and wiggling and smiling away with his dose of sweet! And Jeremiah loved to lick the frosting off.

The Draper Temple...

My brother Alex is a Lego connoisseur. He still loves to build things. His latest project was the Draper Temple.

Isn't it awesome?? It has flowers, a fountain, benches to sit and reflect on.

He just needs an Angel Moroni to top it off. Although, the Mountain Dew can there says a lot!

And...

For most of today I have been at the school helping with the Santa store thing. I have now caught my blog up and have done my school duty for a while to come. I have a messy house, dirty clothes, dishes to wash and mouths to feed.

I guess I should ketchup on those, too