Mom's School

Tui was so sad when the girls started school and he couldn't go with them. But then I told him he gets to go to his own schools where the mommies are the teachers. He was so excited to go. Us mom's all take turns teaching a new letter once a week. Tui Has been learning so much! He even got a Lightning McQueen backpack that he didn't take off for the whole day. I hope his enthusiasm continues through out his school years!

Out of the Ordinary

We have some strong bonds in our family. Sydney was instantly best friends with Haylie the minute Haylie was born. And again when Tui was born, Sydney was immediately his favorite person. Haylie on the other hand was a bit....rough with Tui when he was a baby. She would pinch him or sit on him just to hear him cry. Why she felt she needed this extra noise ( and ultimately the added negative attention from me), I will never understand! Well, I feel it has permanently scared Tui. He and Haylie continue to butt heads and he always runst to Sydney when he needs a friend.

Well since school started, Tui has been home alone without his sisters. He waits by the door for them to come home and as soon as he sees them cross the street he is out the door running. He always...always runs to Sydney saying " Sydney...your home. I missed you so much!!!!!"

This past Sunday at church Sydney got Tui out of nursery. She got a hug from him, but all of a sudden started running down the hall toward Haylie. He threw his arms around her waist and gave her a huge hug and said " Haylie, I missed you so much. I love you!!!!"

I couldn't help the little tear in my eye! Sydney was a bit perturbed at the change in his behavior. I think he spoiled her.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

My baby is now 3 years old.....I guess I should stop calling him a baby. He is so much fun right now. He is stil very cuddly and he loves to be tickled. He is getting better at forming cohearant sentances. He has even started using bigger words like " disgusting" and " dangerous", and he even calls me " beautiful" instead of pretty. I love my boy! He is all about Thomas the train...he an't go anywhere without Thomas! We even saved the piniata for next year since they didn't manage to bust it open. I am sad that he is growing up so fast though!

Grump Old Man

I am proud to say that I have worked in retail and the service industry. I think that everyone should have to work at a restaurant or a retail store at least once in their lives so they will understand how to treat people who work at these places.

Unlike the old grumpy man I encountered tonight. It is Tuis birthday, so we let him decide what he wanted for dinner....it was an easy choice...Pizza! So we ran up the street to Little Caesar's. We love that they have pizza made and ready to go...but I also know that it gets very busy around dinner time. So I was not upset when the girl at the register said it would be about a 5 min wait...no prob...really is 5 minutes a big deal?

After I place my order, 10 more people file in and place theirs...all of whom are asked to wait 5 min...no prob...everyone is cool with that. Then, out of the darkest corner of the universe, comes the grumpiest old man ever!!! He asks for a pepperoni pizza and a cheese pizza...bot of which are in the oven as we speak. The nice college age girl at the register asks if he would mind waiting 5 min like the rest of us. No prob.....NO WAY! He proceeds to rip into her about false advertising and that it just isn't right to advertise " Hot and Ready" if it is not really ready. The poor girl was not flustered and just asked the man if he would still like to place his order. He rudely says yes, but that this was horrible service. He then found the closest seat to me, unaware that I was boiling on the inside and ready to rip him a new one.

Just as I was about to say something, my pizza order was up. The nice girl called my name and I went up to the register. I told her she was doing a wonderful job...and then I turned around to face the old decrepit excuse of a human being, and said " Some rude people just don't get that this is a busy time of day". Nothing to demeaning, but I was pleased to see that his face had gone white and his mouth was hanging open. I took a peek at the girl behind the counter, and there was the biggest, most grateful smile I have seen in a while.

Those two looks are priceless to me....putting rude people in their place....and helping a smile appear when, at the time, that is the last thing the person was thinking of doing.

Back to School

First day jitters were no where to be found at our house today! Haylie and Sydney were so excited to go back to school. Sydney is in officially in third grade but will be learning 4th and 5th grade material for some of her classes. It is hard to decide what to do with her...what is best? She is reading at a 6th or 7th grade reading level and a 4th grade math level and she just soaks up everything she learns. But the more she advances, the more she is separated from her peers. I can't even keep up anymore. But she loves it and she has a really great teacher that keeps her learning.

Haylie is in Kindergarten this year and is now in school full time. It has been so strange not having her home for part of the school day. She has a wonderful teacher as well and is already learning so much! I am so proud of my girls...and of Tui. He is so excited to go to school too. when we dropped the girls off at school the first day he asked where his teacher was and where his back pack was. Man they grow up fast. Tui will be doing a mom's school with me this year and possibly next...his birthday is the cut off day for school...so we will see how he does this year. He is a smart cookie like Sydney though...I bet he will be ready next year for preschool.

Tee-Ball Time

Haylie decide after watching Sydney play softball last year, that she wanted to play too. So we signed her up for Tee-ball with one of her little friends. She loved it! Thank goodness because last year she pitched a fit and sat down in the field and cried the whole time.

This year she was much more active...a bit distracted when she was fielding, but she loved to bat! We we even got her her own pink batting helmet.

Soft Ball Season

Sydney was on the marlins this year...her first year of real softball. Last year she was still in coach pitch. She was nervous at first, but she did so well and learned so much! Sydney is the type of person who likes to do everything, but also wants to be perfect at everything. Some things come very naturally to her( smarts) and others she has to really work at and practice ( sports). Needless to say, she was very frustrated when she would strike out or not be able to pitch as well as some of her other teammates who have been playing for longer. She worked hard and had a lot of fun playing though. Her team won 1st place in their division. I am so proud of her for sticking with it! Next year will be even more fun! Maybe I will even coach?? It is so hard for me to sit on the sidelines...after all I played for 11 years...and man do I miss it!!!

Visit From The Canadian Grandparents.

We were very lucky to have my mom and dad come visit us from Canada. They got here just in time for the 4th of July. We invited some friends over to meet them and had a BBQ followed by a trip to the Unidome to watch the fireworks. We sat in a big open field right up close to where the fireworks were set off. It was awesome!

I have to share an amazing experience with you.( those with weak stomachs be warned)

My Dad had an accident when he was a young man. His arm was cut off in a farming accident....well almost cut off. He had about an inch of skin holding on his forearm to the rest of his arm ( just below the elbow). Back then, without the technology we have today, the most common solution was amputation...I mean, his arm was already hanging by a thread...literally. But a miracle happened! Prayers were said and blessings were given and many surgeries later, my dad has an arm. The doctors were able to reattach everything except for the tendon of his pinky finger. Now his arm has a large concave scar on the inside of his wrist all the way up to almost his elbow and his pinky finger is always bent. He can't straighten it...but he can still make those 3 point shots ( my dad loves basketball, but because of the way my dad looks, some people think he can't play...boy does he have them fooled!).

Anyhow, most people avoid that hand or are unsure about what to do when my dad shakes their hand. At the BBQ my dad made a new friend...an innocent child who saw past the scars and saw my dad for the awesome grandpa he is. My good friend's daughter, Kate, instantly bonded and was always near my dad. As we were walking up the hill to watch the fireworks, Kate ran up to my dad, took a hold of his scared hand and held it tight as the walked together to the field. It brought tears to my eyes to see the innocent love of a child and the kindness that my dad deserves!

The next part of our visit with mom and dad takes us to Nauvoo. When I was a child, we had travelled through Nauvoo many times, but there was always something missing...the Temple was not there. My parents are huge church history people and always taught us about the pioneers and all that they went through. I have a deep appreciation for the pioneers because of what my parents taught me. This trip was special for my mom and dad because it is the first time they have been to Nauvoo since the Temple was restored. How wonderful it was for them to be able to go inside and feel the spirit there. It is so calm and beautiful! After going through the Temple, we enjoyed the sights of Nauvoo and all the history there. We happened to be there during the Nauvoo pagent and were able to participate in extra activities. The kids got to play all sorts of pioneer games. Even Anthony played stick pull. Stick pull is a game 2 people play...you sit on the ground facing each other and put your feet together while holing a stick in between you. Then you pull. The winner is the one who can pull the other person up off his butt. One man there thought he could beat Anthony...silly man! Once this man was beat he grabbed the actor who plays Brigham Young in the Pagent....Brigham has never been beat...not until that fateful day. It was a bit harder this time, but Anthony was able to pull Brigham Young up not once, but twice. My big strong man!

Mom and dad continued their journey from Nauvoo, so we said our goodbye's there...the girls had such a hard time saying good bye to them, so did I! We loved having them visit and can't wait till they can come back again!

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Erie Trip

The last day of school was also the first day of our vacation. We picked up the girls from school and took off for Pennsylvania. It is always nice to go visit Grandma, but we had an extra surprise visitor to see. Anthony's brother, Lawrance got engaged and brought his Fiancee out to meet us. Coral was super nice, my kids loved her! We had so much fun going to the beach and down to Pittsburgh to visit James and Amy and their kids. The girls really bonded with their cousins on this trip. One of our favorite memories was trying to catch gigantic tadpoles in the pond by grandma's house. Not only were there huge tadpoles, but also a couple of water snakes that would swim by every once in a while. To top off the trip we went to Waldamere (sp?) park and went on all the water slides and roller coasters we could. What a fun trip!

P.S...to view the slide show above, hit View all....for some reason I couldn't get the slide show to show up on my blog....if anyone know s what I did wrong, let me know!

Haylie's Graduation Party

Haylie was in Pre-K this year. I was worried about her because she wanted nothing to do with learning at home. She didn't even like to color...what girl doesn't like to color? But, she had wonderful teachers who encouraged her to open up and to have fun learning and she really had a wonderful year.

At the picnic, she sang songs that they had learned and she was able to say goodbye to her teachers and friends. I am so proud of how hard she worked and how well she played with her class mates ( even the boys).

The whole gang doing " Muscle Man"

Addy with the snorkel Sydney and her sling shot.

This is Tui's " Muscle Man" impersonation.

Haylie with her snorkel mask.

Fun In The Sun

Summer is sneaking up on us and the kids are getting restless...Time to pull out the pool.

Pool time is much more fun with friends.

Catching Up
I am now in the process of trying to catch up on everything I have put off since my computer crashed. There has been so much happening, so please bear with me. For some reason my computer is still not right...there are little things not working right. One of them is my blog page. I have to work backwards...when I upload a picture, it goes right to the top of my page and won't allow me to move it...so all of my pictures will now be at the top of my post.

Baptism Day

so, Sydney is now 8. She has been looking forward to being baptised for a long time. In our church, we believe that in order to understand the difference between right and wrong and to be able to act on that knowledge, you must be a certain age. At the age of 8, children can recognize when they must make a choice. We let them choose to be baptised and to follow Christ's example. Sydney made that choice and we are so proud of her for always trying to be Christ-like in all of her actions. She was also very happy to be able to share her baptism day with her special friend Jayden. It has been so wonderful to see these two grow up together and now to be baptized together. We love you Sydney!

School's out

It is tradition for all the teachers to come out and wave good-bye and sing to the kids on the last day of school. " Na-na-na-na....Na-na-na-na...hey, hey, hey....good-bye"

Syd and her teacher

Best buds...Syd and Ali

Haylie and her school friends
School's Out!

Sydney and Haylie had an amazing year. Sydney was in second grade but in a 3rd grade class. She was not only able to learn the 3rd grade curriculum, but surpassed all of our expectations. She finished the year at a 6th grade reading/writing level and a 4th grade math level. She is such a hard worker and loves to excel. She also got several awards for physical education this year.

I was a bit worried about Haylie at the beginning of the year.

She was so stubborn and not eager to learn. But she had wonderful

teachers that encouraged her and helped her to open up. She also has surpassed

our expectations. She is even starting to read and can't wait for Kindergarten next year.

ANIMAL DEATH TRAP

Yup .....that is what my house is. I have been so lucky ( heavy on the sarcasm) to have found several dead animals over the past few months. First was a burrow filled with frozen baby bunnies at the beginning of spring. Then a few weeks later I had to put ant killer all over our lawn. I told the kids they could not play on the lawn for a day or two. I guess I should have told the animals also. I had to clean up a rather bloated chipmunk that had gotten into the poison.

Next were 2 dead birds...who knows why they fell on my deck.....it must be a thing like the Bermuda triangle. I have also found the skeletal remains of a squirrel in my garden...just laying there as if it died yesterday.

This morning was our latest dead animal sighting....on not only our front sidewalk, but also our back sidewalk, was a lovely arrangement of chipmunk guts. Actually the guts must have been the good part because all that was left for us to enjoy were the heads, tails and a whole bunch of fur.

So...if you have pets or pests you would like to get rid of....feel free to send them to my house.

I know I have not posted anything in a while....my computer crashed for a while. I do apologize that this disgusting post is my first one since I have been back. I promise that there will be more pleasant ones to come.

Too Stressed to Think Straight!

I don't want anyone to take this post the wrong way. I am by no means complaining....This post is meant for me to look back on and laugh at.

The next couple of months are very busy for us. Our schedule is planned as such....

This week: pick one room a day and deep clean it. We are going on vacation next week to Pennsylvania, so it would be nice to come home to a clean hose. Also in preparation for our vacation I am washing cloths and making lists and buying things that we need for that. I also have to take the car in to the shop to make sure it is ok to drive...cross my fingers and hope there is nothing immediately wrong! To top all that off I am having a garage sale the week after we get back...that means that I also need to have the garage cleaned out and all garage sale items together and marked so that I do not have to stress about doing all that when we get back.

By the way.....

If anyone wants to come to the garage sale it is

June 25th, 26th and 27th

and everything is $1 or less

( with the exclusion of a few larger items)

Well, now that I have advertised ( he-he)....I can get back to the craziness. Part of the reason I need to get all this done is because I also have my parents coming down to visit from Canada for the 4th of July and the following week. I am so excited! But I also need to get tons done before they come. I need to paint my living room wood work as well as the entire kitchen, yet one more reason the house has to be clean this week....I will definitely not have time to do it after the garage sale.

I find that my plans are falling apart. I have cleaned and prepped 3 out of the 8 rooms I had planned to clean this week. Part of the reason is that I am still running a daycare...not that the kids are trouble or hard to handle. They are sweet children, who all get along really well! But...kids are time consuming. Another time consuming aspect is that it is the end of the school year....award assemblies, class parties and picnics....they all interrupt my cleaning efforts. And to top this all off...Anthony is away this week at a managers training meeting. The only ray of sunshine is that the kids will be able to help me more once school is done. Yay...Slaves!!

So, here is the funny part. This is softball season. Sydney is playing AA ball and is really starting to show progress. I think she will have more fun when she figures out how everything fits together and it is not just learning the basics any more. I have volunteered to help coach, which for now has not been a problem. So, last night at softball, Tui was playing on the big metal bleachers and kept falling or hitting his head and I of course comforted him every time...but it was getting rather bothersome to deal with the extremely tired and grumpy boy. At the end of practice, I picked up Tui, put him on my hip and continued to talk to the coach...working out vacation plans, then I rounded up Sydney and Haylie, got our bags and was ready to go. As we were about to leave, I noticed Sydney and Haylie walking ahead of me, but no Tui...I looked around frantically because we were almost the last ones there and I couldn't see Tui any where. He likes to wander off and hide, so I started getting really worried. I started walking faster...looking behind the bleachers...the port-o-potty...the bushes. I was running around in circles yelling Tui's name. I turned to look at Sydney and she had a look of confusion on her face as she asked me what I was doing. I said " I can't find Tui...Help me find him!!!"

She said " O.K." and pointed right to him. Where was he???? Right where I left him.....on my hip. Thank goodness no one else was around! That was the most absent minded thing I have ever done!

Will I ever have a fully functional brain again? Probably not, but it makes for one entertaining life!

Nature Lover

I am not one that minds bugs....as long as they are not in my house. Tui hates them...freaks out whenever he sees an ant or a bee. Sydney is not afraid of them...but not always willing to pick up any bug she sees. Haylie......she is a bug lover!

We were at Walmart shopping for groceries....we usually get fresh produce from Fareway or farmers markets, but I was in a hurry and didn't want to make 2 or more stops. So I was in the mood for corn on the cob. As I was peeling the corn, I came across a caterpillar that had made a home in my corn. Immediately I tossed the entire ear of corn into the trash can. You would have thought I had committed murder the way Haylie's face looked. She said that a caterpillar is a part of nature and that we shouldn't kill it. She then insisted that I fish the corn out of the trash so we could pick up the catterpillar and put it outside on a tree. So here I am in Walmart digging in the trash...once the poor creature was found, Haylie gently picked it up and carried it out the door....in SLOW MOTION, so we wouldn't scare the poor thing. As we placed it on the tree, the caterpillar peed on Haylie. She was not pleased that after rescuing a part of nature, she was repaid by getting peed on. I explained to her that peeing is also a part of nature...so if you are going to play with bugs...you are most likely going to get peed on.

In the Car....

Tui has started singing along with whatever I have on the radio or, most of the time, children's music. I love that he sings. Maybe he will be like his daddy!? Sometimes I even catch him singing at home...it is usually just one word over and over and then at the end of the song he sings " Oh Ya"

So in the car today, he was talking and laughing with Haylie and another little girl. One of them had let a little toot out and then the potty words started. Tui then started singing " poop, poop, poop, poop, poop.......oh ya" At this point I had asked him at least 10 times not to say poop anymore. I said " Tui...No more potty words". So what does he do....he starts singing again but this time with different words....." potty, potty, potty, potty....oh ya" ! He thinks he is so smart!

May 4th, 2009

One of my favorite lines in this movie is when Mr. Kimball ( aka. Arnold) is sitting in his class room talking to the kids and getting very frustrated. He says...." I have a head ache". A small boy then blurts out " It could be a tumor". Arnold's immediate response is " It's not a tumor....it's not!"

Well after some nail biting and nervous anticipation, I can quote that line....." It's not a tumor...it's not!"

For the last couple of months, Anthony has had a constant head ache which does not go away or lesson in pain with medication. He has been feeling fatigued and just not up to doing much of anything. We had x-rays taken to see if the bone structure in his head and neck were fine.....after all, he has had football injuries. Those showed nothing, so we went to the Dr. and explained the symptoms. He suggested a Cat scan to rule out the possibility of a tumor or other serious problems in his head. So for 3 days we have been waiting for the results. We are very thankful it is not a tumor, but now we are back to square one trying to figure out what is causing this.

I would like to thank all of our family members and friends who have said so many prayers for us and who continue to support us! I have a testimony that through our prayers, others needs are met. When Heavenly Father knows that we care, He will prove our love for one another by answering prayers! So thank you for your love!