Christmas Skirt

I saw this fabric at the store, and just new it needed to be made into a skirt.  I love it when projects turn out, it gives me confidence to try something else.  Alyssa wants one now, darn I guess I’ll have to go and buy some more fabric and make up another skirt.  It was a great pattern, actually no pattern, just some rectangles that you measure and sew together, my kind of project.  Aubrey has a Christmas concert at the school this week, I can’t wait for her to wear it!

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Tanner and Turkey

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We celebrated Tanner’s 9th birthday and Thanksgiving this week.  This is a crazy time for our family, we have two more birthdays the same week as Christmas, and then Danny’s birthday in January.

Thanksgiving was great, we had Mom and Dad and my brother Monte and my other brother’s two kids Marcus and Megan.  I don’t see my niece and nephew often, so it’s been great spending time with them.  They are growing up so quickly and turning into delightful young adults.  The kids have loved having their cousins here, I think they are driving them nuts, but they just love them.

After our Thanksgiving feast yesterday we needed to walk off some of our food and went down to the river.  The kids loved jumping on the ice in the little frog pond, and we watched deer cross the river.  A beaver swam by us and poked his head up to say hi.  Great, relaxing day.  As for Black Friday, I’m not an observer, my sleep is worth more then the few dollars I might save.  Oh speaking of sleep, Hallie has been sleeping better and the exhaustion induced eye twitch has gone away.  I must say I am so relieved, it has been very nerve wracking to have my left eye lid in a constant twitch, or muscle cramp.  A few nights of the baby sleeping through the night and it is gone.  Hopefully never to return.

We went bowling and out to dinner for Tanner’s birthday.  He got a new DS game and some legos for his birthday.  We love you Tanner and are so proud of you!

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Thanksgiving Pictures

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Just some thoughts

Yesterday I went visiting teaching, and had sort of a flash back moment.  I was remembering a visiting teaching trip from 10 years ago.  I had one child, and I knew EVERYTHING.  I had a partner that I really liked, she had 5 children, was building a house and was the busiest person I knew.  As I was having my flash back moment, I remembered thinking when I was with her that I would NEVER have 5 children, I would never feed my kids in the car on the way to dropping them off at some one’s house so we could go visiting teaching,  and I would never run around crazy trying to accomplish so many things in one day.  I have 5 children, and yesterday I fed my kid some fruit loops as I ran her to someone’s home so I could go visiting teaching, and then picked up my partner and explained to her that we had to stop at the bank on the way to our sister’s home because I had dropped my purse in the parking lot like some crazy lady and had to stop and pick it up because someone was nice enough to turn it in.  I realized yesterday that I, yes me, had turned into this lady.  “Now what” I said to myself.  Not only did I do everything I said I wouldn’t do but I used to know everything, and now, I have realized I know NOTHING.  Someone hold the boat, reverse, back it up people.  Where did the time go?  I plead with you, please tell me where it went.  Those mom’s I knew back then told me time would go fast, they warned me, why didn’t I listen?  Now I’m the OLD Lady with all the children, who is slightly crazy.  Sigh… I guess that’s all I have to say about that, I must think on it more. Life is good though, so good, and I wouldn’t trade these crazy years for anything, I will take the time to notice everything, I will be slow to judge, quick to forgive and I will enjoy every moment that I have been given with these 5 children that I cherish so much, and I will drive around crazy.

So it’s been a couple of crazy weeks.  Danny has been really busy with work.  A small school district here had a massive computer problem and had no back up for all of their stuff.  Danny walked them through a couple of things on the phone and told them that they’d have to send their hard drives out to have them recovered at a cost of $11,000.  He thought about it for a while, and finally called them and said if you have someone drive your server to me I will see what miracle I can perform.  They drove it to him, and he spent many hours on it in the garage, but eventually my mad scientist emerged from his man cave victorious and the little school district was very happy.  He charged them a small fee, and he quickly thanked his Heavenly Father for the gift he has been given.  I’m not sure if he’s an evil genius, mad scientist, or just a computer geek, but I’m thankful that he’s my husband.

A section that Grandmas and Grandpas can appreciate:

Emma got the first quarter academic of excellence award from her first year in middle school.  She got all A’s, and parent teacher conference had words like “ray of sunshine, delightful, beautiful child.”  We attended her first flute concert last night, and her band teacher made her stand in front of everyone to embarrass her because she had written music, and words, for a Language Arts project and then played and performed the song, the band teacher was impressed.

Tanner also got a straight A report card.  He also received the Student of Excellence award for October.  His teacher had nothing but good things to tell us about Tanner.  She said that she had sat him next to a very shy girl who was struggling, and enjoyed watching him help her, even convincing her to go and ask the teacher for help on something, and her grades were brought up because of his influence.  I recently read a note he wrote to his sisters, he put on there “you guys, are the best sisters ever.”  I had to laugh that he calls them guys, Freudian slip?

Aubrey got an equally great report, her teacher said you’d never know that she was the youngest kid in the class, she’s mature, smart, and just a great kid.  Aubrey, I worried a little more about starting school, she’s a little more stubborn than Emma and Tanner, but she is controlling herself and saving her stubbornness for me.

I guess those are my thoughts for the week, here’s hoping for a Thanksgiving holiday with family that doesn’t involve computer emergencies, like the last few weeks have had.

Hello November

I was so happy to see November come, not that Halloween isn’t fun, but in Nevada Halloween is a multi day event, and really I’m just about sick of Halloween.  As a child Halloween was so much fun, but as an adult I see it in a whole new light, I’m sorry Mom!  Nevada Day happens to fall on Halloween, so the kids had Friday the 30th off of school, so the parties at school were done on the 29th.  They moved trick or treating in Carson City to Friday night I still don’t know why but where we live it was on Saturday.  Then there is the Trunk or Treat and well, it just goes on forever.  So now on to Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Christmas shopping mostly done so it should be a stress free enjoyable season.  Is it bad that Santa is bringing Hallie a carseat?  She needs one and really I don’t think she’ll hold it against the jolly man.

For Nevada day we went to California.  We went to the Sacramento Zoo, IKEA, and Danny’s favorite place on the planet Fry’s.  I must admit I was impressed with Fry’s, it’s probably more fun though because we have to drive so far to get there.  Overall a great weekend.

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Alyssa had to pick a costume we had on hand and she picked a spider.  She has never been happy with this costume, if anyone knows Alyssa she is truly a princess, and something scary and icky was not up her alley.  She almost opted out of Halloween at the thought of being something scary.  I finally told her to put on a leotard and be a ballerina.  I have never seen her so pleased with how she looked.  She couldn’t stop looking in the mirror.  She loves all things of beauty, and she kept spinning at the doors and telling everyone that she was a pretty “balleringa”.  I’m so happy I was able to make Halloween happy for her.

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