We have ARRIVED ... and so has Austin

Wednesday night Austin graduated from Elementary School. Yes folks, he passed the sixth grade, and he was part of an elite group of students who are the first graduating class to have attended Eagle Valley Elementary School for all seven years. There were only eight kids in this group who have been here all that time. Austin thought that was pretty cool.

He's grown into quite the young man. He is just about my size (yes I have four-inch heels on in the picture ... so what?) and has such a big heart. It's fun to see him get older and want to learn and be interested in so many things. I love that he still thinks his parents are cool ... hopefully we've got a few more years of that. In fact, he just called me (just to check in) from his friend's house where a last day of school video game junk food extravaganza is going on, and before he hung up, he said, "Love you." WHAT?!! Love this kid.


Austin loved his teacher this year, and he had some great friends in his class. I was the room mother for his class this year, and we had some fun parties and field trips. It's been a really great year.

So as part of the graduation, they handed out a few awards, and you'll be happy to know that Paula, Melanie, and I were voted by the faculty as the Volunteers of the Year at Eagle Valley and we each received a lovely plaque.

So there's a funny story behind this. Our friend Aprill who got Paula and I started with volunteering at the school via the Book Fair many years ago is what you call a super-volunteer. She literally LIVED at the school volunteering here and there and everywhere and she is AWESOME. We loved doing Book Fair with her (and anything else) because she is so much FUN. And of course she was voted Volunteer of the Year. And we were jealous and we bowed to her greatness and we hoped and dreamed to aspire to her level of volunteerism. And it would appear (according to the plaque pictured below) that WE HAVE ARRIVED! And it turns out we didn't even need to literally LIVE at the school for two weeks a year like we did during those Book Fair years ... all we had to do was make the teachers dinner four times a year during SEP conferences and one super special lunch during teacher appreciation week.

We have been the SEP food committee for years (maybe five?) and we all really enjoy it. Melanie keeps us organized and on track with spreadsheets and tracking amounts (i.e., counting paper plates) as well as the shopping and Paula and I keep busy with our assignments for PTA coordination, food prep, and set up and serving of food. Honestly it's a lot of fun, and I LOVE that I get to know my kids' teachers. It makes a HUGE difference in our experience with their school. We really love Eagle Valley and I have enjoyed volunteering there for the past seven years. It's a great school with great teachers and staff, and if you don't know that, then spend some time over there. It will make a difference to you and your kids.

London's Big Day

London got baptized back on April 30th. She was SO excited and loved having some of her extended family here with her on her special day. Unfortunately I got very few pictures. Ooops. She was VERY worried about her hair coming up so we did it in a crazy tight style with a bunch of elastics in the back, and it all stayed down. What a relief. London asked Grandma Morton to give a talk about the Holy Ghost, and she asked me to lead the music (????). Bro. Monsen called me up for an impromptu testimony at the end with about five seconds of warning. I realized my kids have hardly EVER heard me share my testimony from the pulpit, so I was grateful for the opportunity.





We tried to get a nice family picture before the baptism, but it didn't go too well. You would think it was unusually bright and sunny out... but it was actually just about to start snowing. Jackson is apparently being blinded by the brightness of the oncoming snow?

And T.J. is normally very photogenic, but we have apparently hit a bit of a snag with that.

SERIOUSLY PEOPLE!!! WORK WITH ME HERE!

T.J.!!!! What in the world?

Anyway, we had a very nice day and are so proud of London for her decision to get baptized. She has been trying harder to do what is right and to fix it when she does wrong. I'm glad she understands the importance of making good choices. We're so proud of you baby girl. :)

Party TIME

Jackson turned 11 on May 12th. He wanted a JIMMER jersey SOOOOO BAD. Unfortunately his kind and loving parents were not willing to fork out $100+ for such an item. So we searched and searched. Utah is apparently sold out of them ... unless you want a signed one, and then it's anywhere from $250-$500. NOT GONNA HAPPEN. So, I resorted to my old friend Ebay and bought a jersey from a highly questionable source in the Phillipines. Don't judge. And then it took so long getting here, it wasn't here for his big day. So I was ticked and demanded my money back, which I got, and the jersey arrived the next day. What a fiasco. So, long story short, Jackson turned 11, got spoiled rotten, and the birthday partying went on for days. And Jackson is wearing around a Jimmer Jersey that would fit Dave. Whatever. The kid is in HEAVEN with it.

First a picnic at the park complete with Krispie Kreme donut cake. We're not much for traditional cakes around here. We're more into donuts/Twinkies/Ding Dongs/cupcakes/cookies with candles in them, and that's just the way it is. By the way, notice my face in this picture. I told you I'd be happy once it was sunny and warm out. Do I look happy to you?

Jackson chose a day of fun at Boondocks for his birthday, and we took two of his favorite people with us - Landon and Carson.

The park was EMPTY when we got there, so our go-cart rides were extra long. My foot was actually getting tired. Notice who is AHEAD in this picture and who is getting left in the DUST. Don't think I won't risk getting us kicked out of the park for violating the rules of no bumping or reckless driving just to stay in FRONT of Dave for a 10-minute ride ... cause I wouldn't put it past me for sure.



Gotta love the water bumper boats. I play photographer on this one every time. I am no dummy.

Dave abandoned T.J. in his own water boat which he didn't know how to drive so he could ride behind London and use her for a human shield. Hey Dave, a word of advice. Next time you need a human shield to save you from little droplets of water, PICK SOMEONE BIGGER.

Since WHEN does he act all cool and grown up. And good grief, when he did start looking so OLD?

London was so excited to drive her own car and keep up with the boys.

Now if that's not trouble, I don't know what is.
Okay I do. THIS is definitely trouble.

I love that we have fun doing this stuff together as a family. Go-carts, Laser Tag, Mini-Golf, SUNSHINE!!! What a great day.



After hours of trying to use up all the freaking tokens, we finally ran out, bought some lovely candy with our tickets as a parting gift, and were ready to leave (it was like 9:00 at night). Then some nice lady walks up to Austin and hands him a bunch of tokens. I almost punched her. So off they go to use their pile of tokens. And they were using them on the dumbest game ever, which I normally object to, but since I was WAY ready to go, I left it alone. Of course, this was not before I had to throw in, "You cannot win games like this. It's a trap. It will just take your tokens." Literally as soon as that was out of my mouth, Austin hits the jackpot and wins nearly 2,000 tickets. I've never seen these kids so excited. Austin was so proud.

So we cashed them in and the kids got more useless junk that they could have ever hoped for.


So Jackson had a great 11th birthday. We had fun together as a family. I LOVE spoiling my kids on their birthdays. To me, birthdays are special. Once a year, it's YOUR day, and that deserves some seriously SPECIAL treatment. Jackson brings a lot of excitement to our home. He's always cooking up something to do and bringing half the neighborhood over here to do it with him. We love having his friends around, and I'm so glad they feel comfortable in our home. Jackson loves being around people and loves to laugh and play and have fun. He's always goofing around and trying to make us laugh. And he's a big help to me. Hope you had a great birthday Jacks. Love ya.

Busy Boy

Jackson has had a busy couple of months. First, the Pinewood Derby. Dave and I are almost as bad at making fast Pinewood Derby cars as we are at potty training children. Definitely sub-par on both accounts. But one thing we certainly can do is making a good looking car, and frankly this year, we rocked it again with a Jimmer car. Jackson was all over that design, and it was fun putting it together with him. And after taunting Dave about his lack of proper wheel placement over the last few years, I finally got a "If you're so good at it, do it yourself" from him. And you know me .... that's exactly what I did. And guess what, Jackson had his FASTEST CAR EVER. I'm just sayin. Dave did admit that my wheel placement technique was far superior. And that's pretty much what I was after ... well that and for Jackson to be happy. We are not "spend hours bonding over making a Pinewood Derby car" sort of people. We are more the "let's see how cool we can make our car look without having to use any power tools at all" kind of people. You get the vision. Jackson REALLY loves this car. So we are calling this year a success.




As a fifth grader, Jackson got to participate in the Hope of America celebration at the Mariott Center last month. I think this is just about the coolest thing the fifth graders do all year. Our family really enjoyed the program once again. I think this is exactly what our fifth graders need ... a bit of patriotism and pride in their country. They (and all of us) are subjected to WAY too much bickering and complaining and nonsense from the adults about this country that we live in, and I don't want them growing up not being proud to be an American. We have a lot to be grateful for, and if it takes hundreds of kids sitting in the shape of a flag singing to us in order for us to remember that, then I just hope we can always take part in the Hope of America program.

Easter

This year for Easter, we had an egg hunt at Dave's brother's house, and they just happen to have the PERFECT landscaping for such an adventure. The kids had a great time ... despite the completely unreasonable temperature.

Check out all those rocks. It took them quite a while to gather all their eggs and goodies.


London's basket was overflowing with "stuff."

This is the picture of Austin HE wanted me to take. The theme is "too cool for Easter egg hunts."

This is the picture I wanted to take. The theme of this one is "If you're hunting for candy (and eating the candy), you're sure as heck getting your picture taken with the basket."


We then went to my mom's for the traditional egg hunt in her backyard.

See ... you can tell we're related. The eyes are the same, the smile is the same, etc.

My dad (being the Scouter that he is) came up with a compass orienteering course for the older boys to find their Easter treats. He figured the typical egg hunt was just getting too easy for them, but there's no way they were missing out on the candy. It was AWESOME! Kept them busy for a LONG time and they learned some great skills. Way to go Dad.



We dyed Easter eggs. We don't always do this because sometimes I conveniently forget to pick up eggs or dye ... or I bribe them out of it. I despise eggs. Jackson despises eggs (see picture above). They smell. The die gets on my counter. The whole thing is very silly.


For those of you who think I never compromise ... see the above pictures for reference. Eggs are GROSS.


In the interest of honest reporting, you should know that this is a fake Easter morning picture. I totally spaced it on Easter, hence this was taken last week (May 8th). I'm over it.