'night 'night

Tonight as I was putting Rebecca to bed I hugged her and she said, "I love this face! I'm just going to pop it off and keep if with me all night long!" Then proceeded to give a SUPER tight hug.

That girl...

My little missionary

The other day Hayden was cleaning his room and found his CTR ring that he had lost. He was so excited to wear it and that it could help him to remember to "Choose the Right". He wore it to school the next day and his friend that he plays with every day thought it was a cool ring. She had brought a little toy to give to Hayden that day. (I think she has a little crush on him. They were in preschool together too.) After school he said that he wanted to get a CTR ring for Hailey because she doesn't have one.

That night Jerry and Hayden happened to have their one on one time (Jerry tries to take the kids out one on one at least once a month) For their one on one they got a Slurpee, of course, then went up to the temple and got a CTR ring at the distribution center. He couldn't wait for school the next day to give it to her. He said she loved it.

That day as we rode home from school Hayden was talking about a boy in his class that is not very well behaved in class. The little boy was also in preschool with him last year. Hayden said, "He talks all the time and gets mad at the teacher. He says he hates school." Then Hayden thought for a minute and said, "I know! We should go to the church store and but a CTR ring for B___! That way it will help him to remember to choose the right!"

I'm so proud of my little boy that is a missionary without even realizing it. He is a good example to those around him and not afraid to share the gospel with others. I hope he always has that spirit about him!

Goodies with Grandparents

Hayden's school had a "Goodies with Grandparents" day last Friday. As soon as Hayden heard about it he was excited to call grandma and grandpa to invite them to come. He was thrilled that they were going to be able to come and each morning when he woke up the first thing he'd talk about was how many more days till Grandma and Grandpa got to go to school with him.

They took him to school and got some pictures of him with his buddies that he plays with at recess every day. They said he was cute and stuck with them till he saw his friends at the playground and he was off...

Thanks Lloyd and Carol for going to "Goodies with Grandparents" and making his day!


And of course the other kids wanted their pictures taken too!

Today's RANT!

About 2 1/2 months ago I was woken at about 5:15 am by a phone call from Jerry. Shock! His first sentence was, "Don't worry, I'm OK!" Shock!! He was driving to work and his tire blew out which sent his car spinning on the freeway. He was trying to steer, brake, anything to control the car, but he had no control over the car at all. He didn't stop till he hit another vehicle. Luckily it was a van with only two people in it, and he hit it right behind the front passenger side and no one was hurt. THANK GOODNESS! I was still trying to process everything he was telling me. He said his bumper was scratched up, dented, and needed to be repaired. And the other van was dented, it was actually worse than our car. We are lucky that is all the damage, and that no one was hurt. The policeman arrived on the scene and got everything all taken care of, and issued Jerry a ticket for "Unsafe lane change". Can you believe it!? Jerry told the police officer that his tire blew out, and that the car was spinning. He didn't know what he could have done differently. The cop didn't care, he said that he'd seen other people get a flat tire and they could safely pull over to the side of the road. Then he told Jerry, besides you can just do an online traffic school and get the ticket reduced to $50. Whatever! The insurance repaired the car, but we had to buy the new tire. The old tire had run over a screw and that's what made the tire blow out.

So, now fast forward 2 1/2 months. This morning Jerry had to go to court for his ticket. We probably could have called ahead and just paid the ticket (they don't tell you how much the ticket will be until you call in.) But Jerry really wanted to fight the ticket because we really feel it is unfair that he got a ticket. He went to the courthouse this morning. He tried to plea his case, but they didn't care. They said he could do the class online and it would reduce his points, but not the amount. Ready for the amount?? $300.00. What a joke!! I'm ready to hunt down the person that left a screw on the road and give them a bill for $300. What's the point of even having the option to be able to go to the courthouse and state your case if they won't hear it?! I guess I should just be grateful that there wasn't more damage to either car, and that everyone is fine. Jerry is worth WAY more than $300, but it still makes me angry.

So there you have it! There's my rant!!

Rebecca's first day of Preschool!

My sweet Rebecca started Preschool last week. Honestly I had debated whether or not to put her in preschool this year. Hayden had only one year of preschool and he was very prepared. But Rebecca is a busy little thing. She's a little social butterfly, and loves learning like Hayden does too. A girl that lives close to us started a preschool in her home this year. She has taught in a preschool before, and has a degree, and best of all, she's CHEAP! She basically wanted to be able to give her own kids the preschool experience without having to pay so much money. So the price basically covers supply costs. It's quite a steal.
She LOVES it! The first day she spent a few minutes picking flowers off our bush in the front yard, placed them in a ziploc bag (as you can see in the picture) and smashed them (because she thinks it looks pretty) to give to her "girlfriend" which is her teacher, Mrs. Heather. I'm very happy with it so far. She's learning and having a blast. She comes home singing a new song everyday. Cute! And I must admit, I really like having that time with just me and Sydney.

Today's realization

Today I realized that I have mopped my floor more times in the last 3 weeks than I have in probably the last 3 months. (Don't be too impressed, it's not that high a number)
Could this be due to:

A: School has started
B: The weather is starting to get a little cooler, so my kids can actually play outside
C: I got released from my church calling
D: They have been just THAT dirty
E: I've been able to exercise at times other than nap time
F: We actually had people over to our house
G: All of the above!

Too bad that already today, the kids have run on the sparkling clean kitchen floor from playing outside in the dirt/mud. I just might set a record for myself!!

My Kindergarten Boy

It's here! My boy started Kindergarten last week. We told Hayden we were going to have a little celebration the night before. He decided it was to celebrate... Him! He got to pick out his favorite meal for dinner. Then we made a yummy dessert. Then he got a father's blessing from Jerry. It was a very special night.

Sunday night before bed Hayden had an idea that we needed to make a list of everything he needed to do in the morning before school. (Any idea which parent he gets that from??) So I helped him make a list, and we set out his clothes that he would wear in the morning. No question for him. It was the Lego Indiana Jones t-shirt with all the characters. (He had to specify because he got 2 Lego Indiana Jones shirts.) I admit, I wanted him to wear a cute polo shirt, but he was set on a character shirt, and it's his first day, not mine right?

The next morning was about the longest morning of my life. He has PM kindergarten, but he was in my room, dressed and ready at 6:00 am. He was so excited. I told him that we couldn't go till after Sydney had her nap, and after lunch. 30 minutes after Sydney woke up he was asking when we could put her down for a nap. He and Rebecca fought all morning, Sydney only had a 45 minute nap instead of her usual 2 hour nap. Which was that much harder for Hayden because when she woke up he thought we'd be leaving soon.

Finally it was time to go. Jerry was able to come take Hayden to school with us, and to see him off. He was just adorable.



We got there about 10 minutes early so that he could have some time to play before school.
Then the whistle blew and it was time to line up.


He was so brave. He didn't act scared at all. He was just anxious to go to school. As soon as he went into the classroom Rebecca just started bawling. She was so sad to say goodbye to Hayden. He's been her constant playmate, and now he won't be around to play with her all the time. I had been fine until she cried, and yes, I did tear up a little bit.

When I picked him up I was happy to hear that he had a great first day. Well, truthfully I could barely get anything out of him when I first picked him up. But after we got home and he got a snack, then he started talking all about his day. He's grown up so much. As Jerry says, "We said good bye to our little boy when we took him to school!"

I am so excited for him, but I do have all my motherly concerns as well. Is he making friends? Are there other friends that help him look for anthills during recess, or is he the only one walking all by his lonesome looking in the dirt? Is he going to learn everything he needs to know? Is he going to make good choices when I'm not there to help him? He's a good boy! I'm so proud of him, and I'm excited to see how he learns and grows, but yes, I do miss him a little. He had a little breakdown on Friday after school. I think it had been a long week, learning wears you out, and he didn't know anyone in his class, and it's just a change. He sat on my lap and cried for a bit. Maybe it's horrible of me, but I cherished that moment. I was glad to know my boy, even though he's growing so fast, he still needs his mom to cry with every once in a while.