The past 4 months summerized in pictures

I finally emptied my camera and so here is a snapshot of life since February.



Kenna turned 3.  Here she is changing her new baby's diaper.  She didn't have a friend party because she refused (and still refuses) to use the potty.

Rhyan and Katie competed at the USA Cheerleading Junior Nationals at the California Adventure.  We took a girls trip with Nana and spent a couple of days prior to the competition at the Disneyland parks.



The competition started out rough.  Both parks were closed for a bomb threat and so the first session started over an hour behind schedule.  The girls competed in session 3.  It meant a lot of sitting around waiting because we no longer had a difinitive start time.

At the competition, Katie's team took first in their category.

Way to go Katie!



Rhyan's team took first in their category and Grand National Champions which means they had the highest score for all the teams in all the sessions for the whole day!

Grand Champs!


 


Look at my medal!

Katie and her coaches







 



   





 

 

At the end of February, the youngest 4's birth mom had a new baby... Baby C.  She was placed with another family. (see told you we were really done having kids)!  We went to Baby C's baby shower and got to love on her.



Our sister from another mother!

Here is Baby C with her awesome Momma A!  (Baby C's older brother "B" looks so much like Seth that they look more related then Seth and Baby C do)! 

Katie turned 7.  Her birthday falls at the end of March and in the middle of tax season so her friend party didn't acutally occur until April after the tax deadline.

Finally she got to have her party.  The weeks between her actual birthday and the party were full of a lot of  "when can we go to Chuck E. Cheese!"

Levi turned 13.  He didn't get to have a friend party either because he also chose not to do the things he had to do in order to have one.

The girls' team got recognized by the Las Vegas City Council.  I think its because we are currently the only recreation team in the Las Vegas area but I'm not sure.  The girls didn't care, they got to miss a half day of school.

 

Most of my kids were born without the shyness gene.  I think that's why it was so shocking that at Isabelle's graduation from preschool she was so embarassed she wouldn't even look at us. 

Maybe if I don't look at them they won't know its' me!

Finally, after the ceremony she loosened up a little bit!

Isabelle turned 5.  She had a massive super hero themed birthday party with all of her "best" friends, (all 20 or them)!

Baby C all superheroed out!

  

One of Isabelle's presents.  Does Momma A get her or what?!



Rhyan graduated from elementary school and is now a middle-schooler!  She was so excited because she got six certificates and she told me she never gets more that one.  She got a promotion (graduation) certificate, one for Honor Choir, one for Student Council, one for citizenship, one for the GREAT (Gang Resisitance Education and Training) program, and the Awesome Gladiator award for all her hard work in becoming the most improved in her class.   I am really proud that she got the Awesome Gladiator award.  She has worked hard to overcome all her learning issues and has not let them hold her back!

Family Pictures

We recently had our family pictures taken.  Our local FSA is putting together books on adoption as part of the goal to promote awareness of the option of adoption.  A wonderful local photographer Marissa of Marissa D Photography volunteered her services and we now have some fabulous pictures.

So what do you think?  Pretty great, right!?

Back to School 2011

First Day of School had so many plusses and minuses.

Quiet Naptimes - Plus.
Alone time - Plus.
Less T.V. - Plus.
No More Kindergarten for Katie - Plus.
Less messes - Plus & Plus.
Less fighting - Plus, Plus & Plus.

Rhyan's Last Year of Elementary School - Minus.
Levi's second Year of Middle School - Minus.
Getting Up Early - Minus & Minus.
I'm Getting Older (along with my kids) - Minus, Minus & Minus.

I know...I know

It's been way too long since my last post. I have decided I am waaay too old to be having another baby. Seth has really kicked my butt. So some things have had to go by the wayside. Mostly I am too tired to think up blog posts. Seth is getting older now so I hope to post more often. I make no promises though. So here is the year so far in pictures.

The bliss of (mostly) silence

Today was the first day of school for my kids. Brand new schools for everyone. Levi started (sniff) Middle School, while Rhyan moved to 4th grade and Katie started kindergarten. While kindergarten was very old hat to Katie (who went from full day preschool to half day kindergarten) but it had a few bumps for the others. Levi couldn't figure out how to use his student number to buy lunch and so skipped that meal while Rhyan discovered she had 5 minutes (her words) to eat her lunch and so basically skipped lunch too. On a plus note, Levi aced the lockers and didn't get lost once on his way to class.

The best part of today...my house stayed clean for almost 3 hours. I know, its shocking.

Shameless bragging and begging

Recently Steve and I instituted an online chore chart for the kids. It enables me as parent to set up regular jobs and bonus jobs for the kids to collect points for. One of the bonus jobs for Levi is to write a blog post. Levi is a smart kid who tends to be lazy when it comes to writing because writing takes time. So this is a way to encourage his writing. So if you all are inclined, follow the link on my sidebar that says Levi Rocks! and check his blog out. Leave a comment. He still writes haphazardly, but he's writing. Thats what counts...right?

Wild & Crazy

And may the Force be with you!

Recently Steve and I took Levi and Rhyan to see "Star Wars in concert." It was so much fun and I did not see as many weirdos as I thought I would. Before the concert they had all kinds of movie props and things to look at that were pretty cool. The concert itself was narrated by Anthony Daniels, who for all you non-Star Wars nerds is the guy who plays C-3PO in the movies. While the orchestra played the famous pieces of music from the Star Wars movie they played clips from the movies on the screen behind them. I was tons of fun and as close to culture as this town gets. Here's a small sample of what the concert looked like.





PS I don't know what Levi's problem was pre-show but he is smiling in all the pics post-show.

Happy Birthday Levi!

I know we are a little late for this, Levi's birthday was last week so sorry. Levi got money from Grandma Jean and will get a ceiling fan from Nana & Papa. From Mom and Dad he got more money, some Lego guys and the new Rick Riordan book (author of the Lightning Thief books). I think his favorite part was having money to spend the way he wanted to.

If Levi had 3 wishes he would wish for:
1) A million dollars
2) A a jet
3) 2 more wishes

Levi's Birthday interview

My favorite color ... green, blue and red

I feel happy when ... I am with friends

I like to eat ... tacos, nachos and enchiladas

My Favorite Movie ... Avatar

I feel sad when ... I get hurt

I like to play with ... Lego's

My favorite song ... Tik Tok by Ke$ha

My dad is ... fun

My mom is ... fun to be with by ourselves
My favorite holiday ... Christmas

I love to ... play baseball

My favorite food is ... Chinese food

My favorite thing to do as a family ... play together

My favorite toy is ... my kickball and Lego's
It makes me happy when ... nobody fights

My favorite thing to do in my free time ... run around and be crazy

My favorite number ... 12

I feel frustrated when ... I don't always get to do what I want

I really like it when ... I have fun

My favorite subject in school ... P.E.

My favorite game ... four square

What I like about me ... is that I'm special

What is a funny/interesting thing that has happened to you ... I love fake mustaches and I wore pigtails and a mustache to school on my birthday.

What do you want to do when you grow up... be a rockstar

What is the best thing about your birthday ... getting presents

Who is your hero, the person you look up to, or want to be like when you grow up ... Zack my cousin

So happy birthday to my almost teenager. I can't believe it has been 11 years. It has been a privilege and a joy to be his mother, and I know his father feels the same way. I am so incredibly grateful to his birth mother who chose to place our beautiful baby boy with us. Levi is such a responsible, mature, little man. He is thoughtful of others. He is kind and protective of his sisters. He is concerned about finding his place in the world. I think he will leave this world a better place. Recently I was looking through a box with loose pictures in it and I came across a stack of pictures of him as a toddler. He was giving the camera his stubborn one-eyed death glare. I am so grateful for his stubbornness, (even as I curse it). He never deviates from the path he chooses. Whether its locking himself in the bathroom at church before his baptism or making right choices at school he is not swayed by those around him. So happy birthday Levi. Please continue to make right choices and grow straight and proud before the Lord. Always remember we love you and are so grateful for you.

It's Officially Official

Yes, I am officially the mother of a very important elected official. Levi is Student Council Historian for Culley Elementary School. I know, you are all jealous. His comment to me was, "I guess I'll have to fulfill all my campaign promises." That's how I know he'll never be a career politician.

It's Official

Levi was on the student council last year and had a blast. This year he decided to do it again. He informed me he WAS NOT running for any of the offices. His advisor strong armed him into by saying really nice things about him like 'He's kind to those around him' and my personal favorite 'he always helps out without being asked to.' I knew they must be lies because I very seldom, if ever, see him do those things for ME at home. Anyhoo, the end result was he decided to run for student council historian and that night we worked on his campaign poster. Steve and I figured the first thing we should do was pick a slogan but seeing how Kenna had killed off the last few remaining brain cells our other children hadn't, we couldn't think of a slogan. So we skipped that step and moved right along to the picture. I picked my favorite picture...

and Levi picked his favorite...

Guess which one made it on the poster. We then surfed the web trying to find any good slogans to steal. Levi's favorite was "Vote for Levi. If zombies attack the school, I secretly know to to combat them." Steve finally convinced him that "Levi for Historian. Making history since 1999" was a more appropriate choice. (Though I was kind of with Levi on the zombie slogan. Good thing he has one mature and responsible parent).

Friday was the special election assembly. Levi stood and articulatly expressed all the things he would do if elected student council historian. His speech brought tears to my eyes. He promised to be at and take pictures for every school event. He promised an end of the year slideshow. We should know the election results on Monday. I can't decide if I should be the proud mother of an elected official or that crazy mom who mumbles to herself as she drives him to every school function and actually puts the slideshow together. I'll probably be both.

Heavy Metal

For the past 2 years, Levi has been a part of Culley Elementary School's Steel Drum Band. They only play 2 concerts and both are at the end of the year within a few weeks of each other. So, for those who have wanted to catch his concert and were unable, I thought I would post a few clips for you. The first clip is really short because the battery died. The second clip Steve got from our photo camera and he forgot that you can't rotate video like you can a photograph.

What Do You Think About in Your Tiny Little Pea Brain, Pt 2

The other day Levi told me that he needed new shoes. He's very hard on shoes and they usually wear out before he grows out. He informed me that "The shoes are fine but the laces are too short to tie." I must have given him the 'are you nuts' look and he said "What?!" I informed him you don't have to throw out shoes, they do sell laces. "Really? Okay I need new laces," he replied

Later I went downstairs and discovered he had cut his laces off. When I asked him what the heck he was doing, he informed me that one side was longer than the other and so he cut them off so they would be even.

This pea brain moment is brought to you by Levi!

Happy Easter OR The Easter Bunny & the Easter Grinch

*This story contains major spoilers and is rated M for mature audiences only.* Please scroll below the picture for the full story!



This year Easter Bunny duties fell to Stephen. I was out of town the previous week with the kids and had no time to shop for Easter goodies. With one thing and another, I also didn't have time to fill eggs or hide them the night before. I sat through Sunday School trying to figure out a way to get rid of the kids for an hour so I could hide eggs and couldn't think of anything. We got home and discovered that the Easter Bunny had visited while we were at church. Steve had run home and put the eggs out. After the kids found all the eggs and were munching on candy, Levi kept hounding Steve saying "I know you're the one who really put the eggs out Dad." Over and over he kept saying it until Steve, afraid the girls would hear, pulled him aside and told him the awful truth about the reality of the Easter Bunny. Levi sobbed and sobbed like his heart was broken. I went and talked to him and told him that now he gets to join the ranks of the adults. I told him he could now help hide eggs. That didn't help. I told him he could tease his sisters about seeing the Easter Bunny. That didn't help. He just kept saying that Steve had lied to him his whole life. Wisely, I didn't point out my role in this deception. I kept my mouth shut and let all the blame fall on Steve. For once, Steve was the bad guy instead of me. That night at family prayer, he thanked Heavenly Father for his dad even though "he lied to me for 9 years."

You know though, for a bright boy he hasn't made the connection yet between the Easter Bunny, Santa Claus & the Tooth Fairy. I think I'll just keep my mouth shut.

Yes I'm a Coke Head

If you want your children to grow up really fast, send them to school. They learn about all kinds of things, boyfriends, girlfriends, kissing and the reality and feasibility of Santa Claus. We've already had the "No Dating Until 21" talk and the "If Santa's not Real than He doesn't have to bring you any presents" talk. Apparently, Levi heard the term coke head at school. Of course he connected it to my 6 cans of diet coke with lime a day habit and at dinner asked if I was a coke head. I think I shot dinner out my nose I laughed so hard. So in a bid to keep you young a little longer, Yes Levi, I am a Coke Head.