Monday, March 29, 2010

Wax Museum

Hailey just finished up her Wax Museum project where they had to pick someone who has made a difference in the world, read a biography on them, write a report, make a poster, then dress up as them for the rest of the school to come see. They each were supposed to sit there like wax statues then when someone pushed their button they recited a 3-4 line statement about that person. Hailey chose Clara Barton who was instrumental in founding the Red Cross and helping others see the need for it and assistance it could provide. She was just fine doing the reading and writing but as any of you that know her would not be surprised to hear, she DID NOT enjoy the part where she had to sit there for others to look at her and then recite her statement. :) But she did it!! We found lots of pictures of Clara but the one that stuck out to Hailey was where she was in a plaid shirt and long skirt rather than the big dresses most women wore back then. Clara was a tomboy and refused to ride a horse sidesaddle, but instead rode like a man. So when we had to find her "dress up" clothes Hailey immediately went for the plaid shirt look...I don't know that Hailey's necessarily a tomboy but she's definitely not a big staunchy dress girl! :)
You'll notice how thrilled she looks below as she sits and waits for someone to push her button...probably secretly praying that nobody will. :) Those prayers were not answered however since 3 or 4 people pushed in just the few minutes I was standing there. :)



Below is Hailey's good friend Kaelen who dressed up like Lebron James.





Thursday, March 25, 2010

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful to have resources for just about anything in life at the touch of a fingertip or within a few miles from my house. I was reading one of those funny emails the other day about what we have now vs. what we had/didn't have 30 years ago and it really hit me that life has been made increasingly easier with the ongoing development of new technology. It referred to the fact that if we were doing a report when we were kids and had to research the topic we actually had to go to the library and find the books we were looking for using the card catalog. Now we can sit down with our children in our homes in front of the computer and at the touch of a button find a wealth of information on any topic. We also use our library regularly but we use computers to tell us exactly where to find the books we are looking for...like the biography on Clara Barton we recently checked out for Hailey's wax museum project at school.

I was also struck by this yesterday as I was waiting for the kids to finish piano lessons. I ran some errands while they were there and returned about 15 minutes early to pick them up. I had my Kindle with me so I sat at a picnic bench in the condo complex where they take their lessons and finished the book I was reading. I still had a few minutes before they were out so I browsed in the "store" on the Kindle and immediately downloaded another book to start. Amazing!!!

I'm thankful for the things that make my like more simple and for the brilliant minds who keep moving technology forward in positive ways!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Cute Miamaids


I started my new job at church this week as Miamaid Advisor. (For those of you who don't know what that is, it is working with the 14-15 year old girls in our ward.) I taught for the first time on Sunday and I love these girls already. They were warm and open and funny and accepting and I think we're going to have a great time together. :)

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Thankful Thursday

This week I am thankful that Nick is such a trooper with his contacts. Putting them in and taking them out has not come easy to him but he has not given up and is getting better every day. He REALLY likes being able to see so it's all worth it to him. He is now taking them out without my help but I still pry his eyes open for him to put them in. :)

I'm also thankful for him being so aware of what pleases me. On Sunday he stayed home from church because he's had a really bad cold and he didn't want to sniffle, blow and sneeze all through church. When the rest of us were getting ready to leave he asked if he could make banana bread while we were gone with the bananas that were ultra ripe. He's never made bread before but he has made cakes & cookies so I thought he could probably handle following the recipe. We walked through the doors after church to the smell of the yummy bread fresh from the oven but even better, I walked into a CLEAN kitchen. He knew that he probably wouldn't get to do that again if he left everything a mess so that awesome kid cleaned up after himself...a mother's dream come true!!! :) I love that boy!!

Friday, March 12, 2010

Thankful Friday

Wow I am really not doing very well on my Thankful Thursday posts. I need to recommit to doing them actually on Thursday! :)

This week I am thankful for great friends, a great husband, a patient helper at the eye doctor, and getting to help Hailey babysit our favorite little friend Ellie.

I went on a quick shopping excursion to Park City this week with a couple of friends and I really appreciate how much fun we always have together. We laugh, we make fun of ourselves, and if we're lucky we find some good deals! :) I also got to have a fun lunch with my friends from Primary and although we are still very sad we won't be working together at church anymore, I am very grateful for the friendships I made with these women and I hope those friendships last forever!

I'm also grateful for everything Brian did this week. It wasn't any particular grand gesture, but just a lot of little things that show me he cares and is helpful and I appreciate him so much!

Nick had a big week this week in that he got contacts. We've been noticing his eye sight has been getting worse but he really doesn't enjoy wearing his glasses. So we made the leap to contacts and they eye doctor (who was NOT the most positive guy in the world) told us we could not leave his office with contacts unless Nick could take them out and put them in...and he went on to say that 85% of kids Nick's age could not do this so we shouldn't get our hopes up. I was not happy that he was being so negative about it right in front of Nick and setting him up for thoughts of failure before he even tried. But the nice office assistant patiently walked Nick through the process and cheered him on as he tried....and tried....and tried....and tried for an hour to get them out. She finally started doing some other tasks around the office so I snuck over and pried his eyes open for him so he just had to reach in and grab them...which he did...HURRAY!!! So we showed her he got them out and it was on to the task of getting them back in. So he tried....and tried...and tried....and tried for the next 30 minutes but as the lovely assistant was busy on the phone I once again pried his eyes open for him and he got them in...HURRAY!!! So we got to leave the office with his trial pair and even though I am still prying his eyes open for him he's getting them in and out much faster each day. :)

Lastly, Hailey and I had so much fun playing with baby Ellie last night. She is SUCH a cute baby and we love her!!! She LOVES Rocko and just giggles and giggles every time he is near her. Hailey is turning into such a great little babysitter and I appreciate our friend Heather for trusting us with her sweet little one and giving me the opportunity to teach my daughter about taking care of little babies.




Ellie LOVED the Baby Signing Time video Heather brought over and she sat on the couch by Hailey and watched it a few times...so cute!!

Monday, March 8, 2010

Basketball Season

Well another basketball season has come to an end and even though our Saturdays won't be busy going from game, to game, to game, I will definitely miss it. I love watching the kids play and compete and I love being their loudest cheerleader in the stands. :)

Brian coached Hailey's team this year and I thought he was crazy to be teaching the girls how to play a 2-3 zone at their first practice. I kept reminding him that they are 10 & 11 year olds and it's okay to just reinforce the basics. But he knew better than I did...they actually were a great defensive team thanks to learning something new. They won a lot of games but we're going to pretend the last game of the year didn't happen because they got killed...not a great way to end the year. But the game before last was the funnest of the season...they were getting creamed in the first half, but in the second half they came back with a vengeance and ended up winning by 1 point. It was very exciting and I didn't have much of a voice after that game!!

Nick's year was a little rougher on his city team. They only won 1 game which was a little frustrating for him. Luckily he played on the church team as well and they were undefeated. Hurray for that!




Thursday, March 4, 2010

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for the sunshine and warmer temperatures we've had this week. Of course, as I'm writing this there's a combination rain/snow storm happening outside but for 3 days this week we had beautiful weather!! I am really ready for spring and sun and bike rides and walks!!! Spring is such a renewing time of the year and I absolutely love it!

I'm also thankful this week once again for Nick's 6th grade teacher. I appreciate everything he's doing to prepare these kids for junior high and he truly has a desire to help these kids succeed. We've always been pretty lucky with the teachers the kids have gotten, but this one rises above the rest...he should be winning awards and having movies made after him. :) He rocks and we're thankful for him!!!