Halle and School

Last year for pre-school we did a little co-op with 6 other mom's in the ward. It was fabulous. This year some of those kids went off to kindergarten and the others wanted to do a more formal pre-school to prepare the kids for kindergarten. I knew our budget didn't have room for the expensive pre-schools around here so I  kept Halle home and have been diligent at doing our "home school". She loves it and loves to learn. She has worked hard on writing her letters and numbers and is doing a great job.

 My friend Rachael mentioned she has always put her kids in a pre-school ran by high school students (supervised by real teachers). It's 3 days a week and only costs $35. I was excited until she said that it's in the afternoons when I have my 4 daycare kids either napping or getting on the afternoon kindergarten bus. So that wasn't going to work either. Well sweet Rachel called last week and said "just listen before you say no." She has talked to 2 other moms in the ward who are going to take their kids and they have all agreed to pick up Halle so she can go! At first I felt a little guilty not pulling my weight in carpooling, but I'm thrilled she gets to go. And I am, once again, blessed to have wonderful friends who see a need and fill in where I lack. So starting Tuesday, Halle gets to go to pre-school. It starts this late, because the high school kids have been "training" and getting lesson plans together. We are ALL thrill!

My loves

I have a lot of them, but right now I LOVE...

...that Isaac wants a green smoothie every morning for breakfast.
...that Caite has a note pad and pencil on her night stand to write down the things she thinks about at night so she doesn't forget them. (just like her Nana)
...that Hayden tells me "I have run for my life at recess to get away from the girls chasing me!"  (good thing he's fast!)
...that Halle loves to do school at home and is all about figuring out letter sounds and writing letters.
...that Aaron's schedule will hopefully slow down a bit next month. This month has been incredibly hard on him.
...that I doubled 2 of our meals this week and froze the leftovers. It will make for quick meals down the road. (Why don't I do that more often?!)
...that it's football season. "Rise and Shout the COUGARS are out!" and "GO Mason Saints!"

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Back to School 2012

Hayden 2nd grade

 Caite 3rd grade

 Isaac 6th grade

 He wanted a picture of his "awesome" new digs for the first day of school.

 Waiting for the bus. I say it all the time, but I LOVE our neighborhood. There are so many kids. I should have gotten a picture of everyone at our bus stop, it was crazy with kids and parents. We have about 25 kids at our stop! 3 stops in our neighborhood and the bus is full.

My hope for our kids this year is that they have integrity, high self esteem, good work ethics and that they are kind, hard working, smart, faithful, diligent, respectful, happy, and fun.

Here's to a great new year!

 

 



Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?

We are! Bring in it on!

 Hayden #20: Quarterback. Defensive End

Don't let these cute smiles fool you, these tough boys can play FOOTBALL!

Hayden had a fabulous game! He made both their touchdowns. He ran 80 yards for the first one. And a whopping 95 yards for the 2nd one.  They won 12 to 6. It was tied until there was 11 seconds left in the game. We had been pushed back to the 5 yard line. Speedy Gardner got the ball, his line made some incredible blocks and he ran that ball 95 yards for the win. I think every parent from our team was running right along side him. It was AWESOME!

Speedy Gardner in the end zone! (the first time around)

Keeping this girl entertained. Blue snow cone and chocolate pudding. A great combo for a dirty face!
Isaac Gardner #68: Quarterback. Halfback. Linebacker.

I love it when he wears his red shirt under...I can pick him out better.

For the first game he mostly played halfback and linebacker. He had some AWESOME plays and helped his team win with a 40 yard touchdown run.
We started the season out right with 2 big wins and HAPPY boys!
Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?
Yes, we are!

 

London Olympics 2012

I'm a sucker for the Olympics! It's nothing short of spectacular watching peoples dreams come true. It's true, I had the TV on all day, every day for 2 weeks. Probably more TV than I watch in an entire year. I had tears in my eyes on more than one occasion. The kids, especially Isaac, was a faithful supporter of swimming, diving, and all the track and field events. It was fun to watch how involved he got and how attached he got to the athletes. The kid has passion. He invited all the neighbor kids over to watch women's soccer USA vs. Japan for the Gold.

Although US won, I think the star of the day was Baby Aubrey. The kids wouldn't leave her alone!

At one time we had 13 kiddos cheering on our team! Lots of fun around here.

These Make ME HAPPY

This is the flower bed in my front yard. Once again my vincas and marigolds exploded! I love walking out my front door to bright colors of flowers! It makes me happy!

Scout Camp

Isaac got to go to Scout Camp for the first time. He had a great time having his cousin Kurtis there and getting to know some new boys. We have always struggled to get Isaac excited about scouting, but this time he had so much fun that we didn't have to twist his arm to get him there. What's not to like about being outside, swimming, and rock climbing?