Summer Here We Come

Well, we are officially on Summer Break - the girls had Monday off, and then went to school on Tuesday and Wednesday (really - why would you do a teacher in-service with only 2 days left in the school year....) and then they were done.  On Wednesday, after school, a bunch of kids from the girls classes and their parents got together at a near by park to play and have a little end of school party.  They had a blast - but Eileen and Anna's favorite part was this tree - it was a huge and very climb-able tree - Anna went nearly to the very top of it - but did just fine both on the way up and on her way back down.  All the kids had a great time - It was really warm - Aaron just ran around playing, Evie befriended all the parents (mostly because they were near the food) and I chased after James for an hour and a half.  He was funny to watch - at first he just stood by me quietly observing.  Once he got going though, he was unstoppable.  He climbed up a grassy hill, then scooted down on his bum saying "weeee-oh-weee-oh-weeee"  

Mostly he wanted to run around looking at people and things.  

The girls have been wanting to get their hair cut for summer, so we took them to the mall to get a hair cut - Eileen and Anna both have cute little bob cuts now (you can kinda see in the picture below)  While we were there, I took Evie to get her ears pierced - she has wanted it for awhile now and she did pretty good - she cried a little, but was fine once she got her suckers.  The only problem, she lost one and she didn't like sleeping with them on - and so before she had them pierced for 24 hours, they were out.  I'm rather sad and annoyed by it...... but what can you do.  

Dan got into town early Thursday, he sent me out of the house to meet Becky for lunch and a pedi - it was really nice to get out for a bit and nice to de-stress.  Then we went to piano lessons and then home.  On Friday, Dan took the girls up for a Daddy-Daughter camp out.  They had a blast - but Daddy came home totally exhausted on Saturday.  Saturday night, we got a baby sitter and went out with Newell and Becky to see the new Star Trek movie.  

Aaron and Evie got a hold of some combs and water and had fun doing my hair for awhile - it's funny to listen to them - and I like getting my hair brushed - even by two little kids.  :)

Church was really nice today - James was rather talkative, but at least he was happy.  One lady who gave a talk quoted the psalmist who said "Children are an heritage of the Lord" then reminded us that they are a gift!!  And I started thinking that often, I think and act more like I am God's gift to them - when really it's the other way around - so my goal for this upcoming week is to look for ways that my kids are a gift to me, and also look for ways to show my gratitude for that gift.

Happy Birthday Dan!!

It's been a busy week around here - my cousin Frankie was with us until Friday - he was very helpful to have around - he mostly kept to himself and spent his time getting homework done and playing games - but being able to let James sleep while I went to get the girls from school was a BIG advantage.  

Tuesday was a bit crazy,  Marie and the kids came over to play with us around lunch time - we filled up the little water table and the kids had fun making mud and soaking each other. In the evening, the missionaries and Dwayne and Nicole came over for another discussion about the Plan of Happiness - it's so neat to share these truths that I love and that I KNOW have made me a better person with people that I care about!  I had to leave a bit early though for a meeting at a school - we are still trying to figure out what to do with Aaron for this upcoming school year.....  followed by a presidency meeting at my house.  

Wednesday we went to the library.  The kids had fun at a "superhero" themed story time, and then we had fun in the kids are until James got cranky.  The kids always enjoy the library - and the kids area there is nice and closed off, which is really helpful.  

Eileen and Anna had a fun week at school - the school had 2 days of "immersion classes" where the kids got to pick a subject that they wanted to study and then spent 2 days with a teacher learning and doing cool things.  Anna chose a cooking class - she got to have lots of fun learning about kitchen and dining etiquette and rules and cooking yummy food.  Eileen chose an outdoor animal class where they got to spend time talking about animals, dissecting an owl pellet and then going to a local wild life refuge.  

Great Grandpa Francone got Eileen a bird feeder and a bird house for Christmas and now that the weather is warming up - we are finally getting visitors to the feeder - Eileen has been having a blast watching for birds and then identifying them.  

Anna has been having fun making playdough - we got a recipe from her teacher as part of a math assignment and she made 3 full batches of playdough - big batches - and the kids have been having fun playing with them.  The recipe involved  15 minutes of kneading the dough - which she did amazingly well at - not only did she do almost all of the kneading, but she did it really well.  

Friday was a fun, but totally exhausting day - since Dan would be leaving on a trip on Saturday morning, we had a birthday party for Dan on Friday night - which means that I spent almost all day Friday cooking and cleaning.  We had lots of family and friends come over to celebrate with us and enjoyed lots of yummy food and had fun playing together - Evie told me the next day "mommy, I really liked having all our friends over here - I wish they could all come over again"

Saturday was dismal.... lol - not only was I still recovering from Friday but Dan left - I love my kids - but my world is SO much better with Dan in it - Eileen and Anna have recently started bickering a LOT - and both have been so self obsessed and unfeeling towards each other, and by Sunday,  I was heartily sick of it - so before they could eat a yummy dinner, I made them sit down at the table and Eileen and Anna each had to say 1 nice thing about the other person,  2 nice things that the other person has done for them, and 3 nice things that they could do for the other person.  After hearing their half hearted attempts (and not allowing comments like "she's nice to me SOMETIMES")  we had a WONDERFUL dinner, full of polite conversation and kindness!  I told the girls that any time they start fighting or arguing, they are going to have to sit down and do this again.  :)  This little idea was a flash of inspiration from the Spirit that I am SO grateful for - as I try and teach these children, I am so grateful for help and guidance from the wonderful examples around me and especially from the Holy Ghost and the prompting that he gives me in ways to help my kids understand and be a bit better.

Evie was so sweet this morning - as I was getting ready for church, she came in and saw me and said "I really like this skirt mommy!  You look FABULOUS!  I wish I could have a skirt like that!"  Little sweetie made my day!

Spring, Spring, Spring!

It's been a busy but fun week around here - we had our usual busy-ness.  James has been working on learning to feed himself with a spoon - he is actually getting pretty good - he gets more in his mouth than on the bib anyway.... (which is a definite step up!) He also hates to have anyone else feed him anymore - he wants to do it all himself - at least until he gets frustrated with his low skill level.

Eileen has been complaining about not being able to see small print that is far away, so we set up an appointment with the eye doctor for her and Anna and got their eyes checked.  Anna has perfect vision, but Eileen needs glasses - her vision isn't too bad, but she will need glasses for in her classroom at school and at church.  She loved picking out her glasses, but was very picky about the ones she wanted!  

Our neighbors wanted to clear out a weed-filled area and put in some rock, so Dan (and the kids) helped them to clear it out and level it out and shovel the rocks - James loved having a shovel to dig in the dirt!  We also cleared out one of our flower beds and filled it with plants this week.  The kids had fun digging and planting - now we just gotta hope that they live....

We got a lot of rain this week - I'm so happy that it was warm enough to rain and not snow (though there was a bit of hail) and this weekend it warmed up and the sun came out and it's been beautiful!  The grass in the back yard is needing to be mowed and it's really starting to feel like spring... just in time for summer break....

Friday, we had Dwayne and Nicole and family over for dinner - we did a little pizza party and the kids watched a movie - we also had the missionaries over and had a neat discussion about the plan of happiness.  

Saturday was busy with cleaning the house, working outside, filling the freezer, and Dan spent the afternoon and evening driving up to the cabin to help grandpa move some stuff out of his house and into the cabin.  He also brought Frankie back with him to stay with us for a week while his parents are out of town.  

Sunday was a gorgeous Mother's Day.  After church, we all enjoyed sitting and playing outside and enjoying the beautiful day.  The kids had fun playing hide and seek and playing on the play set.  

Everyone spoiled me rotten for Mothers Day.  I got this awesome cloak from Dan (too bad it was much to warm to wear to church today...)  I got a beautiful bouquet of purple roses, a sweet wonderful card and some bath salts from Eileen, Anna made me a beautiful heart shape, Evie rubbed my feet and put lotion on them  :)  Aaron rubbed my back, Eileen and Daddy made me breakfast in bed.  Also Eileen built me a lego "holder" with hidden compartments to hold stuff - Evie made me lego "baby birdies" and Anna made me a lego heart.  :)  All in all, it was a wonderful day with lots of love and hugs from my kids and husband!  We all chatted with my mom for a bit - the kids had fun talking to her and telling her everything they could think of.  I am so blessed to have these children and the wonderful examples of motherhood and womanhood around me!

May Day! May Day!

Well it's a good thing that this week was less stressful than last week since last week nearly put me out of commission for two days after.  Or maybe that was depression over the newest 4 inches of snow that got dumped on us.....  Thankfully it's mostly melted now.  And thankfully, between the snow, it's been beautiful and sunny - so we have still been able to spend a lot of time playing outside.

Wednesday - the first day of May we had a bunch of snow dumped on us - but thankfully the roads never got bad - the kids and I went to the library that morning - the only bad part was walking in it since the wind was driving it into our faces.  But the library is becoming a weekly trip again - Aaron and Evie are each allowed 1 book and I grab 1 book - so it's easy to keep track of them :)  and when we go each week, we don't have any over due books and if Eileen doesn't leave her lunch in the car and requires us to drive back and drop it off, we can even make story time.

Anna left out a half eaten apple - she had put it down, meaning to come back and finish it after some time on the swings, but James got to it first - and really enjoyed chewing on it - he didn't get much, but he really seemed to like it.

Friday, Eileen had a slumber party that she went to - she had a blast and exhausted herself good - and while she partied, the kids back home got to have their own little pizza party.

On Saturday, Eileen, Anna and I went to a Dolly and Me Tea Party at my Great Aunt Joan's Church.  She was one of the main organizers and many of the dolls on display were hers.  The girls loved coming with their dolls and getting their dolls dressed up and doing a special event with mommy.  They enjoyed making new friends with the other little girls there and they loved putting their dolls up on the display tables and then bringing every sweet little old lady who would give them her attention over to the table to see their dolls.  The girls also had a great time stuffing themselves with cookies and treats.

We have also been slowly getting some yard work done and trying to make our yards look more like we would like them to.  Getting some flower beds ready to plant and getting old and kinda ugly stuff taken out and dead stuff taken out.  The kids have had fun working with us and are looking forward to picking their plants to put in the flower bed.