More summer!

We are not too exciting over here this year.  Taking that "part time" job at Ridley's has slowed down our summer fun.  We still have a few adventures here and there though.

Recently, we celebrated Caleb's 7th birthday!  Holy cow!  Where did that go?  When I asked him what kind of cake I was making he looks at me, very thoughtfully, and says, "Um....I want a pterodactyl."  I just looked at him like "Are you serious child?!"  Well, that morphed into "I want a Jurassic World cake."  Which I was happier to oblige to because that leaves me lots of room.  Then he added in, "Oh, I want a volcano on it too."  Of course he does!  So, here's what we ended up with.

He was pretty excited and really, that's all that matters.  I got to thinking while making this that the kid hasn't even seen Jurassic Park, let alone Jurassic World.  Looks like we'll be having a Netflix marathon while I have a few days off this week!  The boy loves his dinosaurs!  I think about 3-4 of his 7 cakes have been dinosaur related!  He got some fun birthday gifts and was super excited about the one from his great grandpa and great grandma Reeder.  I need to get a picture of him with it!  He woke up sick today so it's apparently going to have to wait a day or two.

The boys finished up their summer camps at the end of June.  They did 2 weeks of a space camp and 2 weeks of paleontology camp.  The fourth grade teachers at Canyon taught the camps and they did a great job.  The boys loved it and it was well worth the $80 I paid.  Nash will be sad when he is too old to go next summer!  This was their astronaut helmets they brought home.

Sam's been to two week long dance boot camps and 2 mini boot camps.  The week long boot camps are a Monday thru Friday 9 am - 1 pm with an hour and a half of ballet, an hour and a half of jazz and an hour of conditioning.  She does not love conditioning, but she does love her four pack!  She's hilarious to watch talk about it!  The two mini boot camps she did were only three days long and each one was only an hour.  She did a lyrical one and a jazz one.  This week she is at GIRLS CAMP!  So, she's missing two mini boot camps, but that's ok, she was ecstatic to go to Girls Camp.  I hope she has as much fun and loves it as much as I did.  I can't wait for her to come home and tell me all about it!  They went to Cinnamon Creek, which is where we went every year but once.  But, they get to go down to the dam and swim one day!  Lucky girl!  We only ever got to play in the river!  I never did go through all the stuff she had out to pack so I'm hoping she had everything on her list and didn't forget anything important!  I don't think I mentioned in my last post that she found a website where you can search for pen pals.  She now has a pen pal in TX, NZ, Turkey, London, one of the Dakota's and one of the Carolina's.  She's become very good friends with the one in Turkey.  They talk daily and have even been able to facetime on more than one occasion.  Sam sent her a package with a bunch of candy, some coins and her favorite book.  (Note to self, sending a box of stuff to the country Turkey will cost you at least $30.  Don't let the dad take her shopping to include candy - he buys the big bags, not the little boxes!)  She also has a cousin that moved to Saudi Arabia that she writes to as well.  She's becoming quite the world traveler through her writings!  Oh, and she finally lost her LAST baby tooth on Sunday night.  Yay!  Now they can put her braces wire all the way back where it belongs!

Brooke is still going to speech class (for a few more weeks).  We had her IEP meeting at the beginning of July and she has achieved all the goals they set for her in her original IEP meeting!  Yay!  That means she now only goes to speech once a week instead of twice a week.  It also means that once she achieves her new goal they will add her to the large group class.  That class is an hour and a half once a week.  She will love it I'm sure because she LOVES school and she LOVES speech.  I can only imagine her excitement when I tell her she gets to go see Teacher Angie for almost as long as she comes to preschool (she has only been going twice a week for 30 minutes each time).  The catch is figuring out how to pick her up from that class because it ends right in the middle of one of my preschool sessions!

Speaking of preschool, I had intended to only teach until noon every day.  I got to looking at my registration list and I realized I had 14 kids on my 4 yo class list.  I do not want 14 kids in one class.  So, it looks as though I'll be teaching 9:30-3 three days a week and only til noon two days a week.  Oh well, it means I'm loved, right? :)  This should be an interesting adventure to say the very least!  Most of the 4 yo kids I had this past year and we already know one another.  There are only about 3 or so new ones.  Right now I've only got 4 kids registered for my 3 yo class so unless I get some more kids registered that will be a little class.  I guess Brooke can always come to that session too! :)  After all, she was going to every single preschool session I had until January last year!  I know it will all work out so I'm not too worried about it right now.  I did ask for the entire first week of August off so that I can get ready for preschool though.  Since taking the job at Ridley's I haven't had much time to get things done like I wanted to.  I was hired for part time but I've been scheduled for anywhere from 24-34 hours a week since July started and it will stay the same through the rest of the month.  It isn't a bad job (could for sure be a lot worse), it just takes a lot of time out of the day when I'm scheduled for 9 hours at a time!  The kids have been mostly really good to watch themselves while I'm at work.  There's been a time or two that I've had to get upset with them, but for the most part they've done good.  I did tell them at Ridley's that once school starts I can only work the weekends and I would prefer to close.  Honestly, I'd rather not keep working, but we do what we have to do to reach our goals I suppose!

We did go to the pool once this summer

And we are going to go again on Friday to celebrate the end of the summer reading program with the city library.  It's also going to be our mini "On Caleb's birthday, birthday celebration".  Kids are pretty excited about that one!  I'm hoping at least one of them wins something from the grand prize drawings that they've got all their tickets in.

Samantha also played softball this year.  She hasn't played softball in a few years so I wondered how she would do.  She didn't do too bad.  When I was growing up and played ball our pitch was a slow pitch and the pitcher took a good step forward off the mound.  That wasn't the case with Sam's team.  They struggled to get the ball over home plate and fast pitch was a decent challenge for them.  When they were able to get the ball over the plate (without pelting the batter) Sam was able to get some good hits.  We only won once or twice, but they had fun.  They played in a single elimination tournament after the fourth of July that Travis was able to coach (her regular coach was out of town).  They lost, but I think they still had a good time.  I hope she will play again next year, as she seemed to enjoy it quite a bit.  Although, we've got to get her to quit running like a ballerina!  You can tell she's a dancer when she runs!  It's pretty funny to watch!

So, you can see that even though I've been working many hours and Travis is only here hit and miss, we've still had a few adventures this summer.  The beginning of the school year is quickly approaching so I'm hoping we can squeeze a few more adventures into our time off!  Hope your summer is going great too!

Summer 2015

Well, to be honest, it hasn't been too exciting around here.  I took a new job at our local grocery store, Ridley's, at the beginning of June.  I'm just cashiering and have been working between 24-30 hrs a week.  I work mostly nights which allows me to haul kids to all their various activities during the day time!  So far it's working out well.  It's been a good preschool income substitute and the main manager has been great to work with as far as my schedule goes.  The work isn't too tough and it's not far from home.  I'll be able to keep working there once preschool starts, I'll just have to cut back to weekends only.  Not super fun, but you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes.

The boys signed up for a few summer camps at their school.  The first two weeks of June they did a space camp and they had a ton of fun.  It's the 4th grade teachers that teach it and they really do a great job.  Last week they started paleontology and they will finish that up this week.  They didn't want to sign up for the Harry Potter camp so this is the last of their summer camps.  It's been lots of fun for them and I'm glad they've had the chance to participate in it!

Samantha has finished up the June Boot Camp and the Hip Hop and Lyrical mini camps.  She starts the July Boot Camp on July 6th.  I think she really likes her new studio and she seems to be making friends, so that's good.  Her very first YW Girl's Camp is coming up on July 14-16.  She's super excited to go.  I'm glad she likes her teachers so much.  She really seems to enjoy going to her activity nights, which makes me happy because she tells me the girls stare at her when she goes to church.  Granted, we don't go often and I'm sure they worry the church will catch fire when we walk in, but still.  Staring is rude.

Brooke is going to speech during the summer.  Her classes will continue longer than the boys.  She goes until nearly the end of July!  She really likes Miss Angie and loves going to speech twice a week.  She nearly beats me over the head with her homework folder daily because she's dying to get her homework done!  Let's hope that enthusiasm lasts her entire school career!

Sam and the boys are still going to piano.  They got to pick a piece of music that's a just for fun piece for summer.  Sam's chosen Mama Mia and Nash wanted to do the Batman theme.  I was looking through his book the other day and it seems he ended up going with a different song from the book we chose - the Batman theme must have been a bit more difficult than he's ready for.  They really are doing quite well with their lessons these days.  Nash has even written some of his own music.  That means both Sam & Nash have written their own music now.  They get that from their dad, NOT me!

I've started getting a few things ready for when school starts back up!  I've got 11 registered 4 yr olds and 3 registered 3 yr olds right now.  I am not worried about the 3 yo class filling up as it usually doesn't until the mid to end of July.  Good thing I raised my prices for this year I suppose!

I'm also still trying to sell the ItWorks products.  It hasn't taken off as quickly as I'd like it to, but it's a work in progress.  I do have a booth lined up for the 4th of July on the square in Hyrum.  I'm hoping to do well at that.  Even if I don't make my first million from ItWorks, I've found products I love and that make a difference for myself and my family so that's really what matters!

Travis comes home again on Wednesday night.  The kids are excited he gets to be home for the 4th of July this year - that's a rarity at our house.  We're planning to go to the fireworks show at the stadium again this year.  I was "lucky" enough to get an early shift at work so I'll be able to go as well. :)

So, nothing too exciting here, just daily life happening.  Hope everyone has a safe and fun Fourth of July!

New Dance Adventures

At the end of the dance season this year Samantha decided she was ready for a new adventure.  She had mentioned about February that she was wanting to switch studios.  For one thing, she was burned out on dancing four days a week, which, I can't really blame her.  Secondly, there was a girl in her class she had been friends with but it had not recently turned out so great.  And lastly, she was feeling like her team's dances were being watered down so that the mini's could compete in the same dances as her team.  I took her request seriously and started to research different studios in town.  I knew I needed somewhere that offered pointe as well as modern styles of dance.  I also knew that I needed a studio that would accept little ones (if I move Sam, I move B - we are a one studio family!).

Over the course of her exhibitions, performances and competitions, I was watching the other local dance companies.  I finally picked one that I knew offered all the styles of dances Sam wanted to participate in.  I got in touch with the studio to find out what we would need to do to get registered there.  I found out that this particular studio required auditions for the girls on their "company" (competitive team).

Here we are in June and 2 days into auditions.  The first two days of auditions are technique classes.  The third day is the actual audition.  She has learned a ballet combo and a jazz combo.  When I've asked her about what she thinks she told me, "LaShar's has NEVER done a dance that fast OR that slow! I love it!  They are really pushing me and aren't just putting it to something at a medium pace that just anyone can do.  This is going to be great and I'm going to learn a lot!"  She has said that it's hard but she's ok with it.  She's excited that they are pushing her and her abilities.  She was excited that when the ballet teacher used French terms she actually KNEW what she meant!

I do not regret our 9 years at LaShars.  Sam learned so much and made a lot of friends.  She's learned and grown in a pace that was just right for her.  I'm glad that she spent the last year at the Whittier Center learning classic ballet.  She grew 100 fold in the ballet class.  I actually think it was the ballet class that made her realize she was ready for something more than what she was getting at LaShars.  She feels bad about leaving LaShars, I get that.  But, she's excited to see what this new company has to offer!

We sat in a parent meeting last night at the end of her class.  They'll be going to DisneyLand in February or March (yay...).  They are required to do ONE CONVENTION a year.  This is something new for us.  It's going to be about $250 for the convention plus a costume, etc., so there is a new added cost I hadn't anticipated, but it's ok.  Tuition for just one studio is cheaper than tuition at two studios so it sorta evens out.  Her costume cost will be comparable to what we were paying as will her competition fees.  As a member of the company team she'll be dancing 3 days a week (2 days 1.5 hrs ballet and 1 day 1.5 hrs company class).  She also has the option of adding a hip hop and tap class if she wants it.  They are required to do at least ONE BOOT CAMP during the summer.  This boot camp is a week in June, a week in July and a week in August.  She only has to go to one but since it's costing me $220 and it isn't an extra cost for her to do all 3 since she's in the company class, she'll be participating in all three boot camps!  She can also pick up a hip hop class this summer if she's interested.  There's a pre pointe class she can pick up in the fall that she's debating about.  This would be separate from the 3 hrs of ballet a week she'll already be required to do.  I suppose if she still wants to do pointe we'll be picking up the pre pointe class as well!  She might still be dancing 4 days a week, but I'm fairly certain she's going to be happier at this new studio and that is what matters most.  For when dance is no longer fun, that's when dance ends.  She has said many, many times she wants to make dance a career.  Therefore I figure we ought to give her as many opportunities as we can...and in case you were wondering, yes, she and I have discussed Julliard :)  If only I had $30K per semester, I would give it to her.  Oh the things we do for our children.

And, on a sidebar, in order to pay for all these new adventures, I've picked up a new part time job.  I"ll be a part time (although I'm scheduled for 30 hrs next week) cashier at Ridleys (the grocery store here in Hyrum).  It doesn't pay a whole lot, but it should cover our new dance adventure costs while preschool is out!  So far I'm liking it and it's going well.  I hope it stays that way!

"It's Moldy!"

So the other day I'm sitting in the living room and Brooke comes up to me.  Here is our conversation:

"Momma?"

"Yes Brooke"

"Do you see that big red spot on my leg?"

"Yes Brooke.  It's just a spider or mosquito bite."
"NO MOM!  It's MOLDY!"

I about died laughing!  I had to bite my tongue so I didn't make her feel bad!  She was so serious and SO sad that her leg was moldy.  Poor girl!  Fortunately, the moldy spot is on the mend and almost better!

California 2015

9 days, 1800 miles, 5 theme parks, 18 people, 2 dance performances = a great vacation!

April 25, 2015 Day 1 Universal Studios
*This was Samantha's favorite place we visited.  She says there were just more things she liked there because it seemed more geared for people her age.

Because Travis is a Platinum Rewards Member for Holiday Inn they upgraded our room to a Disney Themed Suite - the girls were happier than the boys!

April 26, 2015 Day 2 Disney Land
*I didn't upload any photos from my Disney PassPhoto CD.  We met a ton of the princesses and many other characters as well.  I just think it's a bit more fun to just see our actual non posed photos!

April 27, 2015 Day 3 California Adventures
*This was Nash's favorite place.  He liked it because it was a cross between Universal Studios & Disney Land.

April 28, 2015 Day 4 Hunington Beach
*This was a much needed beach day.  The kids were in 7th heaven!  We even saw a pod of about 4-5 dolphins out playing with the surfers!

April 29, 2015 Day 5 Lego Land
*Note to self: If your child is NOT four or older than 12 the Lego Land rides are not for you.  Brooke graduated to 4 yrs old for the day (she's only 10 days away anyway!).  This was Caleb's favorite place.  He was just the right size for the rides and loved all the lego buildings too.

April 30 Day 6 Sea World

Our last night in California we ate dinner down on the pier.  This was our last California sunset!

Saturday May 2 - HOME