1.8.13

We woke up early to do chores and get the kids to chess club.

Becky and Josh love and work really hard to get everything done so they can get to school an hour early for the meeting.

It gives me and Katie a little mommy and me time. Too bad we missed the bus and had to drive the carpool to school.

And poor Katie. The one day she has to do carpool and Josh and Becky aren't there to help her. Luckily...she made it in the building.

Eight is Great!

December was a fantastic month.

Becky got baptized.

She looked so beautiful. I cannot begin to express how proud I am of her and her wonderful choices. 

Her baptism was so sweet and perfect. She wore this corsage during her baptism -- she also wore it on the day she was blessed, and I hope one day she will wear it on her wedding day. 

I wish I could capture how sweet the spirit was at her baptism. Andrea spoke on baptism. Joe spoke on the Holy Ghost. And Mikayla and Emma sang "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing." It was such a great day to celebrate with such good friends. 

We feel so blessed to have so many people stand with us when our families are so very far away.

Becky's birthday was also wonderful. We had a quite little celebration at home. 

Becky almost had a coronary when she saw that she had gotten "stumbles bumps and bruises" and her big sister "rosy bumps and bruises" lalaloopsy dolls. It was so great to see her be so very happy.

Spooky

We had our ward party tonight...Troy and I were in charge.

I thought it went well and everyone seemed to have a good time.

There was a huge turnout. I'm certain of the exact number, but I am guess well over 300 people. We had 20 different chilis and I was happy to see the Englis Family take top spot..although the Dzarans only missed it by one point!

I have spent the week getting everyone's costume's ready and I am pleased with the final result.

Everyone chose a different Disney villian.

Mikayla was Cruella DeVille:

Emma was the Queen of Hearts (and I am especially happy with her costume since I sewed it myself...and was super worried about how all the piecing would work on the dress and jacket...but I thought it turned out nicely):

Joe was Lotsa Hugging Bear (sewed this one as well...and I have to say...he is probably the only 12 year old boy in the world who would want to be a giant pink bear for Halloween, but he pulled it off pretty well, and managed to figure out that he could pretty much get any girl he wanted to hug him while wearing this costume. : ) Such a ladies man...don't know where that comes from. lol!)

Josh did not attend the ward party...but he is smee (from peter pan) and I will post his photo on Halloween).

Becky was the evil queen from Snow White (this is her mean face):

And Katie was the witch from Snow White (the Queen transformed -- she got some crazy mask painted on during the children's carinval...so i'll post another photo on Halloween with her nose and basket full of apples):

Finally...Troy was Captain Hook ... although I was unable to pick up his coat before the party...so he looks a little more...Little Richard than Big Bad Sailor. (Sorry Troy!)

And I was running around like crazy, so no photos of my Maleficent costume (I will take one!) So...just a little self portrait after it was all over. (Do I look a little too excited? :) )

The First Day

The kids were so exited for the first day of school.

Everyone was up early and ready to go long before the buses even started rolling.

Mikayla left first and it was pitch black outside.

I can hardly believe she is starting high school.

How did that happen?

But...she is so strong and capable, I have no doubt she is doing to do great.

Joe and Emma are in 7th grade and now without their big sister at the middle school.

The students in the middle school are split into teams -- with half the students getting one set of teachers and half the students getting another.

Joe and Emma have never had the same teachers in school and last year were on totally different teams -- which meant two sets of field trips...totally different learning schedules, etc.

It made for interesting times here.

But this year, for the first time, they are on the same team and will actually have three academic classes together. 

I am excited as a mom for this -- but I hope it's okay for them.

I guess the one upside is that most people don't even realize that they are related and when told that they are brother and sister often don't believe it's true.

Josh is in the 3rd grade.

We are very excited for this teacher this year.

3rd grade is a big year here -- it's the first time they get grades and the first time they really have a significant amount of homework.

Josh is a really smart boy but he's not a huge fan of working hard.

We'll see how it goes.

And Becky. She is in the 1st grade and all of the sudden looks so grown up to me.

I am so excited for her to have a good year and continue to grow. 

And poor Katie. She just didn't understand why everyone else got to leave this morning except her.

She said, "Mom. I don't like this."

I know baby.

But...look for a post on little miss next week when she starts preschool - 5 days a week. MY WORD. 

I'll try not to happy dance in front of her. 

Happy First Day of School.

We Will Miss You

Last day of summer.

I really enjoy having the kids home for summer...it's a lazy time spent swimming and sunning and playing.

Other than never being able to get my house all the way clean...it's really a wonderful time for us.

But...I actually think the kids are more ready to return to school this year than I am.

So, we made it one last time to the pool.

Oh summer. We will miss you.

Instagram Love

I haven't been good about taking my camera with me this summer...but I have just started using instagram and I love the images I have been able to capture.

and even one of me.

Fun in the Sun

When we went up to get Emma from sailing camp, we had the chance to play a little as a family.

We went to the yacht club (uh...never imagined myself at a yacht club!),  went swimming, went boating and tubing. It was a blast.

The kids even talked me into giving it a try.

And totally loved it when i had a major wipeout.

Which, by the way, reaffirms for me that I am well and truly old.

And, poor sweet Becky.

She took a ride with the big kids and had a major wipe out. MAJOR. She was so scared and did not want to ride again.

But, Troy and I got on with her and told her that we would take it nice and slow.

She was terrified of it all. But, she was a trooper and held on. I am so proud of her!

We really appreciate Quoc and Ellen taking Emma for the week and showing us a really good time.

Cause He's the Dad

We had an excellent father's day -- well, at least I did, so I am hoping Troy did too.

The kids made cards and Josh included some coupons in his. Troy's favorite coupon was the one which promised that Josh would give him a whole hour alone. lol! 

Joe's card showed his vision of his super dad ... and for some reason, I was falling off a tall building when Troy swooped in to save me.

Should I be worried that Joe sees me needing to be rescued or that I am falling off a building?

The kids got Troy this great Super Dad card -- and we doctored up the photo on the card to show our own favorite Super Dad.

What more perfect card could you find for Troy than one that has him wearing socks, sandals, and a cape. Classic Troy.

I also made Troy a little gift and made him this little frame with an "I LOVE YOU MORE THAN COKE ZERO" sign.

BTW, It's true.

I know.

Shocking.

We also found Husker Du...one of Troy's favorite kids game.

I love you Troy.

Thanks for being such a great Dad!!!

The Last

My goodness. 

Where did the year go?

The kids had a great school year and I am so proud of all of them.

It has been a year of growth and change. I was thinking that the kids really have changed this year...but I was surprised to see just how much with these side by sides of the first day and the last day of school. 

These kids are amazing. I am such a lucky mom! 

Move Over Picasso

We had the chance to go to a district art show on Saturday. There was a lot of talent there!

And we were so happy to see Becky's beautiful picture. Her's is the hand holding the flowers at the bottom.

She was one of just a handful of students whose work was selected.

So proud of all our kids this week!

Play Hard

What do you do with a houseful of crazy children? 

Well...when there are 10 of them...you load them into two cars and hit one of the funnest parks around -- fantasy park in woodbridge.

The kids had a blast.

The big ones.

The honorary Beatty ones.

The in between ones.

The little ones.

The kids loved this slide -- and it was FAST.

So fast in fact...katie went down -- and evan landed right on her.

Really -- is there a better way to go through life?