Easton's Last Day

I didn't want to leave Easton out of the end of school posts.


Easton as he was leaving for his last day in 2nd grade. (Don't mind the funny pose) :)

He had a really good year. His teacher, Mrs. Olsen, was such a great teacher.



She was really patient with him. Easton is very social and loves to be the class clown. He loves to be silly and make people laugh. But, this gets him in trouble fairly often. So, I was so glad that he had Mrs. Olsen who understood Easton. She did not think he was naughty. She always told me how much she enjoyed him and how she loved his big blue eyes. But, she didn't put up with his antics, either, which I also appreciated. :)

Easton did very well with his grades this year. I am very proud. He struggled a bit with reading at the beginning of the year. I thought he was reading great, but it turned out that he was in the lower percentile for reading. But, he is doing a lot better now.

I went over to the school on the last day to snap a few pictures of Easton and his friends. Enjoy...


Easton and Rece have known each other since birth! :)





Now....let the summer begin! :)

Kindergarten Graduation

Paisley had her kindergarten graduation on Thursday, May 27. What a fun night! I am sad that Easton never had a kindergarten graduation. It was so fun to see the kids sing and perform.



Paisley is the biggest ham EVER!! After every song they sang, she would bow and blow kisses to the crowd. She was in heaven and so in her element up in front of a big group of people. (She is SOOOOO different from me!!!) It was funny to watch. After the program, the school counselor was laughing and talking to me about what a ham she is. I jokingly told her that it was almost embarrassing. She said, "Oh, no! She is such a shining light up there!" That made me smile. She really is a shining light.

Dave and I were put in charge of putting together the slide show with music for the program. Dave did it all, with some input from me. But, I think it turned out really nice and we got a lot of compliments on it. It was very fun to see all the things the kids had done through out the year. The kids really seemed to love it!

While we were waiting for the program to start, my grandma decided that Avery needed a little sprucing up:




She loved it!!

Easton took my camera for a while and took a bunch of pictures. Here is one that someone took of him. I don't know where he has gotten this new pose:



After the program, we got one more picture of her and her friend, Morgan, and one of her and Mrs. McCammon.



We really loved Mrs. McCammon!!

We brought her a yellow flower and my parents brought her a hot pink carnation. She was so excited to receive flowers!!




I am so proud of Paisley and all she has accomplished! She is such a bright little girl. She is constantly amazing me with how smart she is. Now, on to 1st grade and all day school. What will Avery and I do without our buddy???

Kindergarten Party!

My little girl is growing up much much much too fast! Yesterday was her last day of kindergarten. She has done so well this year. She loved kindergarten so much. She met some great little friends. She had a wonderful teacher. She just thrived in every way. I am so proud of her.

Yesterday another mom and I threw a pizza party for her class. We had a bunch of money to spend in their class fund and so we had pizza, capris suns, and icecream. The kids loved that little surprise!



And, we were also able to buy each child a large ball, a kite, and bubbles. It was a fun little summer gift bag for them to be able to take home.

I have loved helping in her class this year. Her teacher was awesome and her classmates were so sweet. Her very best friends are Kyra and Kianna. They are twins and the cutest little girls. I am so glad that she made such fun friends this year.

I wanted to make sure that I got some pictures of her with her friends. I took one of her with Kyra and Kianna:



Then, another friend wanted in on the fun:



And another:



AND another:



It was funny how they all wanted their picture taken. But, these are her buddies in her class.

Here are a few more cute pictures from her pizza party:

So busy...

I have not blogged in quite a while, too long for sure. But, it has been crazy here. Lots going on. But, this is a momentous post because it is post #200 for me. Crazy! But, sad. I used to be so much better at updating. :(

Paisley has been in soccer and she has been busy with practices and games. But, the bad thing about spring soccer in Idaho is that the weather is usually not good for being outside. They have missed several practices due to bad weather. But, she does really well and enjoys soccer quite a bit. It is fun to watch her. She thought she would love to be the goalie. But, when she finally had the opportunity, she didn't like it. It was much too slow and boring of a position for her. She likes to be right in the middle of the action. She is pretty aggressive and does a great job.

Easton is playing his 3rd season of flag football. Dave is the assistant coach and he really enjoys it. Easton is so much fun to watch. He doesn't have a lot of size but he sure is fast. He is definitely one of the fastest on the team and has pulled a lot of the opposite team's flags. He carries the ball well, also. Last Saturday, he made 2 touchdowns which were the only ones his team had that game. This last Monday, they passed him the ball and he caught it and ran it for a 2 point conversion. (I hope that's the right term. It is embarrassing that Easton knows SO much more than me about football.) But, I am such a proud mom when I watch him play. This season has been a lot of fun for all of us.

We have been really worried about some loved ones lately. Dave's dad had a really bad fall at work a couple weeks ago and since has had to have 2 very serious back surgeries. He spent many days in the ICU. Just a couple days ago he was finally able to leave the ICU and begin therapy. We are so relieved that he is doing so much better. Last weekend, Dave and I went to Washington for the weekend to be with his parents. It was a long, yet quick trip. Thank you to all who helped with our kids. It was so so so appreciated. It was very nice to spend time with Dave's mom and dad. We saw a lot of improvement in his health while we were there and that was very comforting.

At the same time as all of Dave's dad's health concerns, my good friend, Kara, has had some serious health issues. (See her blog about her struggles here.) I have been so concerned about her and her family.

It has been such an eye opening and humbling couple weeks for me. I am learning not to take my good life for granted. I get bogged down with the weight of my own trials. But, then I see the lives of people who I love turned upside down instantly. I am so grateful for my own relatively small concerns. I am so much more grateful for my own health and the health of my small family. I am so grateful that Dave has a steady job and that we have a home. Really, what else do we need? Yet, there are days when I feel burdened down completely. But, as the last couple weeks' events have unfolded, my eyes have been opened to my blessings. I am grateful for that.

So, I have no pictures to post. We have been bad about that lately. But, so much has happened that I had to blog about a small portion of it. Please remember my father-in-law and my dear friend in your prayers. I appreciate it so much.

Bull Riding!

A couple weeks ago, my aunt invited my mom and I and the kids out to her friend's farm where they ride bulls. They have a corral set up and cowboys pay to ride and practice. It was a lot of fun to watch and the kids really loved it!!

Logan Trip

As many know, and have heard me whine about, Dave has been gone for the last two weeks. It has been kinda rough for me. I cried when we dropped him off at the airport, cried on the way home, cried the next night at dinner. Okay, I was a bit of a basket case for a couple days. Luckily, I did pull it together and have dried the tears. But, I did miss him so much. It has been really hard to be without my partner. I just missed him coming home to me each night. I missed his help with the kids. I missed having him to talk to and listen to me. I just missed him. So, he will be home tonight. YEA!! I can't wait to see him!!!

ANYWAY, that leads me to this post. Last weekend, since Dave was gone, I really didn't want to sit home all weekend. So, my mom and I went to Logan to visit my brother and his family who recently moved there.

It was such a fun get-away. I loved spending a lot of good quality time with my mom and kids. I loved seeing Jarom and Jackie and their cute little family. It was just laid back and fun.

Right near Jarom's house is a little ice cream parlor. We stopped there Friday AND Saturday night! :)





Saturday, we went shopping. In the mall, they had a hurricane simulator. You could pay $2 and get in this little area and the winds would get really strong, like a hurricane. So, we put my brother and all the kids in there.



My kids had so much fun that they went a second time...




They loved it. I am not sure how fast the wind got, but as it was coming down, it said 67 MPH I remember. So, the winds must have topped out over 70 mph! Fun, if you are in a little tube, not fun if you truly are in a hurricane!!

Later on we went to the Logan Zoo. It is small and doesn't have a ton of animals. But, it was cheap and was a nice walk on a really beautiful day.






We hung out in the park for a while. The girls loved playing with Jarom's little boys. Paisley thought it was great fun to "babysit" Dillon and Avery. She just mothered them and took care of them at the park. They were so cute and just did everything she told them too.

Here are the cousins, Dillon, Paisley, Braylon, and Avery:




That same day, Dave (who was in Denver) went to a Rockies game with his Uncle Dennis, who lives there. They were able to get GREAT seats. While we were at Jarom's house, he turned on the TV to the Rockies/Mariners game that Dave was at. I jokingly said that maybe we would see Dave. I called Dave and told him we were watching the game. He told me that we might be able to see them. Sure enough, every time they had a close up on a right-handed batter, which was very often, we could see Dave and Dennis in the background. It was so funny. I could see Dave as we were talking to each other on the phone. Dennis kept waving and doing funny things and the kids thought that was so funny. I was just glad to see Dave for the first time in over a week! :)

We had so much fun, ate some good food, (even though I am trying to diet) and just really enjoyed ourselves. Thanks, Jarom and Jackie, for entertaining us! We love you guys! Thanks, mom. I enjoyed being with you so much! You kept me sand as I was being a single mom! I love ya! And, Dave, it wasn't the same without you! I miss you and hope you are never gone for that long again! I love you.

POTTY TRAINED!!

It is official. Our family is a diaper-free family. Finally!! Avery is totally potty trained and has been for a week now. Hallelujah!!!

I had tried training her once before, but it just didn't click with her and so I gave it up for a couple months.

Last Monday I decided to try again. It didn't go well during the day. We spent A LOT of time in the bathroom, but she never did end up going on the potty. But, we did go through SEVERAL pairs of panties that day. That evening, Dave and I taught the kids to play UNO. Right before we started, I took Avery in to try again. After several minutes she decided she didn't have to go. She immediately went in the kitchen and peed her pants on a stool!! That was it! I was so frustrated! I was debating to myself if I should give up and put the diapers back on or not. But, she is 3 now and I knew I couldn't give up.

Once we got the mess all cleaned up, we played UNO. During the game she said that she had peed in her panties again! I looked and she was barely wet. So, we continued on. Then she said she had peed again. I looked and still not much pee. (Okay, I know I should have changed her then, but I was a bit sick of it and lazy at the time AND in the middle of UNO.) So a few minutes later she said, "I have to go potty!!" So, I rushed her to the potty and she went!!! You should have seen the party that went on at that point! :) I think during UNO she had been trying to hold it and would accidentally go a little. But, after she finally did go on the potty that was it. She was trained. She went a couple more times on the potty that evening.

She has done so well since then. She has only had one accident at home, and it was really minor. Then, she and I were at Paisley's soccer practice and she said she had to go. There were no bathrooms around. So, I took her behind a big pine tree and helped her squat down. She did not want to do that. So we went back to the practice and about a minute later she peed her pants. I felt bad for her. She was sad that she was all wet. But, I told her it was okay because there was no potty for her to use. That has been her only real accident. ****UPDATE**** - I wrote this post on Friday...unfortunately she had a couple accidents over the weekend. But, she is still doing well ****

I was telling my friend that I am a little sad she is trained. Of course I don't miss changing the diapers. But, it is sad to me that she is so "grown up" now. I can't believe we are a diaper-free family. I really have mixed feelings about that. :( But, hooray for Avery. What a big girl! She is so proud every time she goes. So, I will be happy for her! :)

Avery's birthday parties (a little late)

I just wanted to post a few pictures from Avery's birthday week that I had forgotten to post...






We had 2 family parties and she sure was a spoiled girl. Thanks everyone for all her gifts. She loved her birthday this year. It is fun when they really start to understand what birthdays are all about. I can't believe my baby is 3! Where did the time go???

Easter 2010

We had a really nice and relaxing Easter. Of course, the Easter Bunny came for a visit...



That morning we went to my mom's for breakfast. It was really yummy and a very good start to the day. After breakfast my mom told us that the Easter Bunny had hidden a bunch of eggs and treats for the kids in her basement.




The kids loved finding all the eggs. They found eggs filled with candy and many eggs with $$$ inside. That was especially exciting! Each of them also got their own special bag filled with goodies. Easter Bunny was sure good to them at grandma's!

Here are the kids with their loot:





After the big hunt we hung out and visited and watched conference. Then it was off to Dave's parents' for lunch. We had another good meal and lots of fun visiting. The kids played with cousins and loved it.

In the late afternoon, everyone had left except for Dave and I and our kids. So, Dave and I took the kids downstairs and watched Wall-e. Okay, everyone napped and Easton ended up watching Wall-e. It was so nice and relaxing.

We had a great weekend. We love hanging out with our families. It is just fun. We are so lucky to have all of our family close by. We missed seeing some of our family (dad, Jarom and family, Dan and family). We missed you guys! Can't wait to do it all again next year!!