Paper

When I was in college, a question of concern for my field was if the Internet would take over the printing industry. Well, over 10 years later books and other printed materials are still being made... and my kids are starting to bring home more projects and paperwork.

Since only five weeks are left at school, the kids came home with some major projects they worked on this year. Jonathan studied the planets and brought home a book full of information about our Solar System. I must admit that not seeing Pluto kind of bummed me out. He also had a couple other projects completed that he wanted to hold on to.

 Ella brought her family coat of arms home and loves it so much she decided to tape it up in her bedroom... along with her star of the week poster she completed months ago. Even though it was Earth day this week, I was surprised the only thing brought home about it was a writing piece Ella wrote.

Future projects include both kids learning about Arizona and Jonathan starting prep work for Biztown along with a book report. Fun, fun, fun!

This past week was Spirit week! Both kids dressed up in their PJ's on Monday. Ella dressed up in the 50s Era on Tuesday but did not want to dress up Wednesday or Thursday. The day she was most excited was Friday, where she could dress as a super hero... a Ninja Turtle. Leia wanted to dress up as well, so we had two Ninja Turtles that morning.

 

Thursday evening was pretty busy. Right after Jiu Jitsu we drove to Jonathan's pack meeting and was about 30 minutes late. He was able to participate in a game, say the closing prayer and then eat a yummy donut. He had a blast, so glad I went the extra mile and took him there. He also received his awards from camp. I was surprised how many he got considering he only went one day. I guess when you're organized a lot can be accomplished.

While at the library a couple weeks ago we found out the kiddos could read for a free In N Out hamburger! On Friday we dropped off the forms and the kids have their certificates waiting for a good time to get their hamburgers. We could not go on Friday because Jonathan went to the Father/ son camp out.

 

Ryan was not able to go to the camp out so Uncle Reuben took Jonathan. It seems like there was a lot of stuff to do... and yet Jonathan wanted to go to bed by 8:30. Before he turned in he did play a game of capture the flag where a thorn bush attacked him and was able to help pitch the tent and make his own dinner. He also shot a paint ball gun and finally had an opportunity to do some archery, although he was disappointed he only got one bulls eye even thought he was shooting with his right, not left hand. On Saturday he started to feel sick and when he came home did not look well. After a shower his spirits picked up so he went to a pool party with the Huntingtons. However, when he came home from that, instantly he did not look right and then proceeded to throw up in the living room... poor boy. I ended up carrying him upstairs because he was too weak to walk and was shaking terribly.

Jonathan is not the only one sick, I have some type of stomach bug that has done me in this weekend. Yuck! Oh well, hopefully I'll feel better this coming week.

PS.- I spend part of Saturday cleaning baseboards and walls. As if the kids don't practice drawing enough on paper, Leia did this little piece on the wall. As I cleaned up a few pieces of artwork, I noticed a theme... happy faces. Well, at least the girl is happy. Me, not so much.

 

PS, PS- Ryan has wanted a side table next to the couch and we finally found one. Audrey decided to take over when Ryan got up for a drink. All the kids are trying to eat there and I am not thrilled one bit about that. Lots of reminding has taken place about no eating on the couch. There are already enough messes in other areas to deal with, we don't need another one... gosh, I sound really mommish right now.

New about Audrey- she is the fastest kid to put her shoes on and get in the car... Jonathan is the slowest... still scratching my head about that one. She also loves to "read" her own book while I read a bedtime story to Leia. She loves to jump... off the ground, bed, ottoman... one crazy kid.

Testing... testing

What happened last week...

On Monday we had a fabulous FHE where we talked about Spiritual treasures, complete with a little paper treasure chest and gold paper coins. Thank you Friend magazine! Also on that night Jonathan made a lime cake. It took awhile but I can say he made it. I would show him how to do something, put it back to where it was and then he would do it. This way was rather time consuming but he learned a lot of baking skills so it's all good. The cake was delicious.

From Tuesday to Friday was AIMS testing. This was the first year Jonathan dreaded taking it. Usually he likes testing week because it means no homework.

 

 

Thursday was Fairytale night for Ella. She wanted to be herself as a princess so I made her a dress... without using a pattern. The kiddos could wear their outfits to school for a dress rehersal. It was fun watching Ella curtsey around the playground showing people her dress. Ryan and Leia went with Ella to the night time performance while Audrey and I took Jonathan to Jiu Jitsu.

 

Friday morning Leia woke up not feeling well. She ended up puking and then off and on felt bad. As the day progressed she felt better but Ryan snapped this pick of her during one of her sick moments.

Friday and the weekend consisted of seeing Huntingtons. The kiddos had a blast playing together. Friday morning/ afternoon the two little kids played with Andrew's kids. Then in the evening Reuben and his kids came over to play and have dinner. Later that night some of the kids had a lot of fun playing with a handmade ping pong launcher.

Saturday morning Ella went to a party at Peter Piper Pizza! She was super excited and even wrapped the present herself. It was fun dropping her off , especially when she walked up and two boys at the same time exclaimed, "Ella!" She had a blast and ate all the candy from her gift bag on the drive home.

Later in the day, the kids went swimming. The pool is still rather cold so most of the kids were done within the first five minutes but a few of them stayed in longer. Again lots of playing and a little bit of micheiviousness.

Sunday was church and then breakfast for dinner. At church Leia was picked for spotlight and every time they mentioned something she would get excited and repeat what they said. For example, they said the person's favorite show is Star Wars then Leia exclaimed, " Hey, my favorite show is Star Wars too!" When they told the class this person had 6 people in her family, Ryan said Leia paused and looked like she was trying to count how many people were in her family. Super cute. I wish I was there to see it. Oh well. I was in Nursery playing with Audrey and Levi with them trying to sit on my lap off and on. It was rather interesting, especially since my skirt was slippery.

PS- Audrey has been super cute lately and when I get her something, she always replys, "Thanks mom".

Leia is starting to think about b-day presents...

Last week...

Some fantastic things happened last week.

Wednesday was just a busy day after school. Jonathan's trumpet was having some issues so we went downtown to drop it off at the music store for a tune up. Since we were super close to the "big" library we went inside to get some new books and pleasantly found out the school age kids can read books to earn a free hamburger at In and Out. You can actually do it up to three times. Sounds delicious! I think Jonathan already earned on, we just need to go back to get his voucher. After the library the kiddos were super hungry so we were off to Frio Mio for frozen yogurt in support of a school fundraiser. It seems like frozen yogurt places are popping up all over the place. It is getting warmer... the 115 degree days are creeping up on us.

Thursday Jonathan earner his first stripe in Jiu Jitsu. We were thrilled but then found out the stripe is just a piece of tape wrapped around the belt. The actual meaning behind it is awesome. Jonathan worked hard for that stripe and it was great to see him get it. The girls behaved well and we were even able to stay a little bit after to watch the class do their warm up. Audrey was super cute trying to do the moves with them. Then she started to get loud and that was when we needed to step out.

 

On Saturday Leia went to her first friend birthday party, complete with real princesses. She was super excited and dressed up for it. When we arrived she became very shy but started to warm up and move to the table when she discovered lots of candy and cookies were there. It was fun to just be with her and watch her have a blast with her little friends. Ella was very jealous, but that's another story.

 Sunday Leia had another first. She gave her first talk in Primary and did a wonderful job. We wrote out the talk together and she practiced it a couple times at home. During Sacrament meeting she had a melt down and I thought she would not be able to pull it together for the talk but Ryan helped her turn things around and she gave it. We are so proud of her. That's a hard thing to do at such a young age... heck, any age.

Later that evening Ella worked on her Coat of Arms for school. She had a lot of fun choosing photos, paper and stickers. It was also nice to just work on a project together, with no interruptions. She loved spending time one-on-one. All the kids enjoy those moments and look forward to future times where they can spend time alone with me or Ryan. It makes them feel special and loved. I need to figure out how to work it in more.

Easter

Easter was filled with egg hunts this year. We did not dye eggs but instead participated in a few Easter egg hunts. The day before Easter our ward had a HUGE Easter egg hunt. We live in an area that has regular homes mixed in with super uber nice homes and plots where people have their own farm. The hunt was actually at two members' homes/ farms that lived side by side. On the grounds of one home was the breakfast and the other home was the egg hunt. Tons and tons of eggs were scattered on what I think was a grazing area for livestock.  We stayed a little longer than the other kids, letting Audrey pick up some left over eggs that were opened and then ditched once the candy was taken out. It was fun to train her in the art of finding Easter eggs.

 

The little kiddos, Nursery and Sunbeam age, went first which gave Leia and Audrey time to walk around and choose their 12 eggs. Next was junior Primary, Ella, who totally did not hear only 12 eggs and filled her basket up. Once I told her only 12, she went through the process of deciding which ones to keep. Last was senior primary, Jonathan's group. Many, many eggs were left after that group so all the kids were released and went to town loading up on eggs. Except for Audrey. Once she realized candy was in the eggs, she plopped herself down looked at me with her pleading eyes to unwrap the candy she discovered. I did and she was one happy girly girl.

Anyway, the event was fabulous, the kids had fun despite three of them still recovering from being sick and I left in amazement at what a great ward we are in. I think this is a traditional event so I am looking forward to next year.

After the event, Leia and Audrey were done but I had to quickly run and drop Ella off at her friend's house. She was invited to an Easter egg hunt over there. She spend a good part of the day there while the other kiddos vegged and healed.

For Easter we had our traditional Easter egg hunt followed by opening the eggs and reading different scriptures about Jesus. I really love this part of Easter. I wished I would have spent more time during the week going over the last few days of Jesus' life but as Ryan read the scriptures and a reverence came over us, I realized the scriptures were enough.

 

 

 A little later in the day we went to church. Sacrament seemed to be amazing, from the songs I heard from the foyer. We were fortunate that one of Ryan's coworkers offered to work for Ryan so he could enjoy Easter with us. Ryan gladly said yes. There are amazing people out there.

After church we went over for an Easter egg hunt with the Huntingtons. It's so fun to walk around with Audrey and help her pick up eggs. Truly a fun, wonderful day.

PS- In case you were wondering, it is a tradition for Jonathan to wear his Easter basket on his head. Why? I have no idea but it is a must do on his list of Easter events/memories.

Ella turned 6!

Back in March Ella celebrated her birthday. I already talked about her school party so this post is about her actual birthday.

 

The day started out with her waking up to balloons and a note. This was the first year she could actually read the note by herself. She was a little disappointed, I think because her room was not super decorated but then she opened her door to a curtain of streamers and proceeded to walk downstairs for her b-day breakfast.

After breakfast Ryan took the three oldest kiddos to the water park while I made her cake and added a few decorations. The kids had a blast and when they arrived home it was presents, then cake. Ella was super excited, especially since she was getting an American Girl doll. It was the main, almost only, present she got from us. Those dolls are expensive!

A special thank you to all the presents sent by family. She loved all of them. The little pony Nana sent was a favorite among all the girls and the outfit Auntie Heather sent is currently on Elizabeth, Ella's doll. Also, at a different party with the Huntingtons, just about everyone pitched in to make a fabulous bed and quilt for Elizabeth. That is one lucky doll.

As a side not, Ella's middle name is after a Cabbage patch kid doll I loved, Lizzy, but we decided on a little more formal name for Ella, Elizabeth. I found it rather fitting she named her doll Elizabeth... after herself of course.

Once the cake was eaten, I went out only with Ella to pick up a picture from Costco while she looked for an American Girl dog she had her eye on. She found the perfect one and we were off for home.

Ryan left for work and Jonathan had Jui Jitsui so the b-day celebrations




were side tracked. On the way home from Jonathan's lesson we stopped by Pizza Hut to pick up her favorite pizza and eat it at home.

It was a great day. I really like not having a huge b-day party on the actual b-day but just be able to spend it as a family.

I can't believe our first girl is now 6. She no longer looks like a little girl anymore. I am a little sad about that but it is fun to see her grow up. She is smart, funny, and can be a fabulous big sister... if she wants to be.

We love you Ella!!!

PS- I HAD to share this photo of Audrey. This is her "sad" face. It works well with the shiner from her accident. This was probably the worst it looked. Poor baby.

Where to start?

sigh.

Monday morning started off rather well. Ryan took Jonathan in the morning and they ended up going on a pretty wild helicopter ride.

While they were gone, I did some yard work while the kiddos played contently in the back yard. At one point Audrey approached me saying, "ouchie" but I saw no signs of an ochie. However, later in the day I noticed her front tooth was chipped but there were no signs that she fell, was pushed, etc. Maybe she decided to eat a rock?

Ella broke one of the doors off our very expensive entertainment center. The kids have a habit of hanging on the door even though I continously tell them not to. I was there when it broke, looked at her and she started to cry. Luckily it was a clean break and Ryan was able to fix it.

Ryan was off one of the days so we drove around doing this and that. That is when Leia finally got her first professional haircut. She loved the place, and since I still have guilt over taking Jonathan for his first haircut w/o Ryan, well Ryan was the one that went back with Leia. She did so well and has asked to get her haircut again. The place was super cute, gave her a 1st haircut certificate, took her picture and included some pieces of her hair. Her hair even smelled like cotton candy.

I finally had my eye exam and ended up taking the kiddos with me. The two older ones waited in the waiting area while I had my appointment and I  took the little two with me. Leia was great but Audrey was not happy being in the little office watching mommy put her face in different things. She basically whined the whole time... mostly fake crying/ whining and by the end of the appointment was making spit bubbles by saying Mommy over and over again. The doctor was great and just worked through it. So glad I can get new contacts!

I also started reworking on the kiddos baby books. I feel bad not doing ANYTHING for Audrey's book so one night after kiddos were in bed, I stayed up until 2am just working on it. Then I looked through Leia and Ella's and realized I have a lot of catching up to do.

On Thursday the boys went to play laser tag after Jonathan's Jui Jitzu class. I was still putting little girls to bed when they called so nothing major happened for us. Jonathan had a lot of fun and wants to go back with his cousins.

Friday night while I was getting Leia ready for bed, Audrey decided to go downstairs instead of hanging out with Ella. (She can do that since I no longer can put her in a crib) While braiding Leia's hair I heard a thump, like someone fell, and started to go downstairs, heard crying and then was met up with a crying Audrey. I immediately looked in her face and mouth, no further chipped teeth, and did a quick look over but saw nothing. I took her upstairs and then started to really look her over, hands, arms, feet legs, tummy... nothing. Then I looked at her face again and that's when I saw it. I huge bump on her forehead. And a little swelling around her eye. I put the other girls to bed, took Audrey out to observe her, and texted Ryan since he should hopefully be done with work in an hour. Her eye continued to swell, Ryan asked to text pictures and then after seeing the pics said we should go to the ER BUT when he got home and actually saw her, it didn't look as bad as the pics. So I put her to bed and checked on her every two hours during the night. She acts normal but has a huge black eye and it  gets even blacker with the passing days. Luckily the swelling has gone down a bit around her eye. A few people commented on it at church. I feel awful but as Ryan reminds me, accidents do happen.

 

Sunday we had a semi special St. Patrick's day. I made the kids green pancakes and after church we had stew and rolls... along with green cookies. We no longer eat corn beef since it mostly went to waste when I use to make it. Nothing major but at least something. It was a nice day. Ryan was able to go to church, we watched a movie together as a family and had a nice dinner.


Oh, I almost forgot. Our pool had to be drained and refilled. That took almost the whole week! Then I noticed a termite tube while talking to my dad on the phone so I called our termite company, they sent someone out the same day. I learned the guy had worked on the house before we lived in it, and did a lot of work in the master bedroom... where I saw the tube. Great. Luckily termites are different out here compared to California so usually structural damage does not occur.He treated the area and hopefully they will not come back anytime soon.

Craziness

This week had some pretty crazy moments in it. I still can't believe some of the things that happened. The most unexpected event transpired with Audrey. I can't remember what day but it was sometime during the week. She was acting tired, cranky and screaming so I decided to try and put her down for a nap. I set her down, proceeded to leave and within a second heard a thump. I turned around and there she was, on the floor, still crying hysterically. I picked her up and immediately began running my fingers down her neck to see if she did any serious damage. Luckily she was okay but later that day the crib came down and she has been sleeping on her mattress, on the floor for a few days now. The first two nights I camped out in front of the door, for at least an hour, to stop anyone trying to get out and would nicely tell her to get back in bed. The first night was a party between her and Leia but tonight Audrey went down fast. Now Leia is another story...

Oh Leia. She is grinding away at any patience I have left inside of me. Today she randomly peed on the floor. She is potty trained but for some reason felt that she did not need to use the toilet. She has been horrible at being reverent during Sacrament and today I took the three girls out... into the car, where they could practice being reverent... without any distractions. We once again missed Sacrament meeting but at least this time they were not wandering halls, talking away.

Speaking of church, I was released as being one of the Cub Scout Bear leaders and called to be a Nursery leader. I have been hanging out in Nursery anyway since they released one of the nursery leadersabout 2 months ago so nothing is really different for me. It will just be easier to take Jonathan to Jui Jitsu on Tuesdays.

The biggest event this week was Ella's b-day party with her class mates. She decided to have a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle party which surprised me. I sewed some turtle shells out of fleece, cut out some masks and all the kids were able to suit up for Ninja Turtle training. The each had a "bad guy" which was really an Elmo balloon, to practice their Ninja moves on. Then the kiddos went through an obstacle course. After a work out they must eat a Ninja Turtle's favorite food... pizza. Next we played a game where they passed around a present wrapped multiple times and each time the music stopped who ever had the present unwrapped a layer. I also put a candy in each layer to make it super exciting. The kids made me laugh because some of them passed the present rather slow, looking at me the whole time to see if I was going to stop the music. Then realizing I wasn't, and the present had to be passed, had a look of dissapointment on her/ his face. When the last layer was unwrapped, inside the box there was a note for a secret mission. The kids went from clue to clue until they found the present, which held all their goodie bags. Jonathan really got into this part of the party and even suited up as a Ninja turtle to participate. I laugh, I mean smile, just thinking about it. When the present was found, ALL the kids were excited and ready for their "prize". After that was presents and cake. I made a small cake for Ella and Ninja Turtle cupcakes for the kiddos. It seemed to go well and Ella had a blast, which was the goal. FYI, I totally stink at taking pictures because I am too busy with party stuff. This was the only pic I got.

Audrey as a Ninja Turtle while eating a ring pop she snagged from someone else.


Other happenings:
 Ryan was gone for part of the week and missed the party but was able to spend time with family in Simi Valley.

We had some crazy weather out here, which made carrying 15 balloons along with a 20 month old, and a three year old hanging on to me rather challenging. Especially since it was very windy with rain off and on. At one point Audrey was tangled in the balloons and was not happy about it at all. Oh well. Just the normal life of a mom.

On Saturday I made a couple houses out of foam for the girls. They made a mini neighborhood in our front room. Audrey would giggle as she moved from house to house, upsetting the other girls in the process.

Even though church was not great, this morning the kids behaved fabulous. Jonathan and Ella played a board game for at least an hour without any complaints. Just happy moods and laughter. I joined in for a bit before making breakfast.

I think that's the major events for the week!



Totally forgot to mention, the kids are officially on Spring Break.

This week...

I have not been keeping up with the blog as much as I would like so I am attempting to at least write once a week with some of the things that happened. Here we go...

This week was Read Across America so the kids had a fun surprise on Friday with seeing the Cat in the Hat along with Thing 1 and Thing 2. I really like the kids school. It has a nice balance between academics and fun.

For almost 2 weeks Jonathan has been going to Jui Jitsu classes. He really enjoys it but unfortunately the class is in Scottsdale. However, since we get to use the car pool lane, it makes the drive a little less painful, especially since we usually have 1 -2 screaming kids during the ride... I am serious about the screaming kids. So glad he likes his classes.

Jonathan also participated in his last Pine Wood Derby for Cub Scouts. He did most of his car last minute but I can honestly say he created it all on his own. He did a few last minute fixes before turning the car in. There are tons of LDS people in AZ so the whole derby thing was way different than PA. So many rules out here but it was still fun... thanks to Janelle. She makes all of the scout events fun.

I have two kids with toe infections, one is on antibiotics. I don't like antibiotics just because I am so bad at remembering to give it to the kiddos, especially when the kid needs to be on it for 2 weeks. My kids don't mind taking it though so that's a plus.

Ella's b-day is coming up. The invites were sent out and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle theme/ preparations need to begin. It should be fun.Jonathan is excited and commented, "finally Ella gets with the program and chooses a fun party idea." Ryan is sad he'll miss it.

Leia is crazy right now. She continually gets out of bed after her bedtime and then wakes up early. No nap. Just craziness due to lack of sleep. Hopefully it will end soon but I have a feeling it won't.

The craziness does not end there. Leia has been very sneaky lately. She sneaks candy and hides up in Ella's closet. I caught her with Nerds the other day. She still marks on herself and the walls with markers... Ella now has a few pieces of artwork in her closet thanks to Leia.

Audrey is now climbing up and down the stairs... safely. Between her and Buddy, the kids definitely need to put their stuff away.

Buddy is still eating everything. He finished up the mop and somehow got hold of Ella's Lady... which I saw and saved before any damage occurred. Loosing Lady would be like loosing Ella's blanket... complete devastation.

Finally got my new debit card :) The computer system at one of the grocery stores out here was hacked and debit info taken. I was one of the people whose info was stolen but luckily my credit union called when charges from New York started popping up. The bad note is when I called the credit union back, the person I talked to was incompetent and did not order a new card or tell me how I could reverse the charges. Needless to say, a second and then third call was made to the credit union and everything has been fixed. I love our credit union and they apologized for the lack of competence. So glad I have my debit card. I was old schooling it for a while using checks.

Oh, and my lovely husband changed my phone to the Darth Vader music from Star Wars and my phone refers to me as The Dark Lord Sith. Lovely. I didn't change it because no one else I know has that ring tone plus I don't know how to change it. Ryan accidentally showed me how easy it is to change the name though.... now I just need to decide a nickname for him!

Musical Leia

Ryan and I are starting to notice Leia has a natural ability or appreciation for music. My dad also noticed it during one of his visits. I don't quite know how to explain it but she has some type of connection with music. When the two older kids start a song she quickly joins in. She loves to sing, frequently creates her own lyrics to familiar songs (or does animal noises to the beat) and is drawn to watching shows which involve music. What she did about a week ago really surprised me.

We were in the car driving somewhere and she was listening to kid songs. About half way through one of the songs she told me, "Mommy, this song has shadows in it." At first I didn't know what she meant but then realized she was talking about the background singers in the song. They were repeating the same words as the main singer after she sung them, like a shadow. It will be very interesting to see how this love for music evolves through out her life.

Jonathan's book review

Jonathan ALWAYS has fantastic ideas/ inventions/projects but unfortunately he does not always have everything he needs to make these ideas come true. At school, they gave him the option of doing a powerpoint for a book review and then his mind went crazy with different ideas. He settled on a powerpoint which had the feel of a Reading Rainbow book review. I know he would not want me to share all the videos, since he has specifically said it was for his teachers only, but here is a clip of Leia's part of the project...

 

 

... and Ella's part.