Joel's Open House 2012

 We love Joel's school.  They are really great about involving the families and coming up with great projects to showcase what the students have been doing all year.  The teachers spend SO much time and energy working with the students and families.  And the Principal is AMAZING!  The amount of time and energy she spends outside of the regular school hours is phenomenal.  She knows pretty much all the students and their families and really cares about each one. 

A few weeks ago they had their Open House.  It started with a picnic at the school and Science Fair showcase.  Then we were off to Joel's classroom.

 This last learning unit in their class was about animals.  So their open house projects were lots of the things they did in this unit.

Giraffe counting and My Favorite Animal writing.

Joel showing Vance his table spot.

Joel and his friend Jafar.

Animal coverings: fur, feathers, scales, skin.

Safari board.  I LOVE this pose from Joel.  :)

We're excited for Vance to experience all this next year.  :)  We also went and toured the First Grade classes to give him a chance to see what he'll be doing next year.  We're really fortunate that we moved to the area that we did that has such a great school!

A Solar Eclipse

 Back on May 20th there was a Solar Eclipse.  The boys were interested in what was going on.  So Tj cut up a box and out to the street we went to see the eclipse.

Tj and his typical reaction to the camera.

Tj showing the boys how the eclipse works.

The eclipse.

Vance in his Hulk pajamas out at the street.

Joel in his awesome lime green outfit.

 Joel celebrated his 6th Birthday last week.  I can't believe my first baby is turning SIX!  He's getting so grown up.  It's always crazy to me when we put on something that he hasn't worn for awhile and see how much he's grown.  It's also great to see him interact with his friends, brother and those around him.  He's such a good boy.

 Joel and his birthday breakfast.

Birthday muffins, bacon, yogurt and orange juice.

Breakfast of champions.  =)

 Joel with his yearly birthday banner and balloon.

 Daddy helping Joel set up his birthday gift from Nama and Pa-

a new camera!  Thanks Nama and Pa!

 Joel with his Iron Man shooter from Vance.

This year was so fun to see Joel celebrate his birthday at school.

We went in to drop off birthday bags (no food allowed in his classroom. sad.) and got to watch them celebrate his birthday in class.

 They sang Happy Birthday to him and then he got to mix up the words

and then they sing the words the way he mixed them up.

 His mixed up version of Happy Birthday.

 Getting his "beary special hugs" from his teacher.

Have I mentioned how much we LOVES his teacher?!

Vance and I then went home until lunch time.  Then we took Joel lunch and ate with him.  

 The lunch ladies were confused about his lunch plans.

He got double lunch!  

 Joel, Vance and Joel's friends at lunch.

Joel's big birthday activity will be this weekend when Nama and Pa come to visit.  So we let him have a little gathering of a few of his friends.  He got to choose a friend from church, one from school and our good friends and neighbors Kim and Jordan.  We invaded Red Robin and while it was an adventure it was also a lot of fun. 

 Joel's birthday buddies.

Ethan, Joel, Jordan, Vance and Jackson.

 Joel and Jackson.

At school Joel wrote compliments for all his

classmates.  On Jackson's he wrote , 

"You are my best friend."  

 Joel and Jordan.

We love Jordan.  Such a good friend and just next door!

 Vance at dinner.

(Yes his shirt is backwards intentionally.)

 Joel drinking up the last of his sundae and birthday!

It was such a fun day.  We joked that his birthday was sponsored by the Avengers.  He got the Iron Man shooter, Thor hammer, Iron Man action figure, and of course the massive Avengers balloon.  Tj and I got him a "Yo-Baby" board (basically a skateboard without wheels to learn tricks), a hot wheels track and an angry birds space shirt.  

Joel is such a great boy.  He's smart, funny, musical, kind, sensitive, sweet and tries so hard to be obedient.  I love this kid!

Mother's Day 2012

Mother's Day was such a fun weekend!   The boys made it really special.

Saturday was all about ME!  =)  I slept in and then we got ready to go see The Avengers.  Great movie, great time with the boys and Tj!  Then it was off to Bj's for lunch/dinner.  Here are some pictures at our meal.

Joel and Tj.

Me and Joel.  Such a sweetie!

Vance and Me.  He's SO cute!

 The boys then took me home and they went shopping.
Sunday the boys woke me up with breakfast that they made with the help of Tj.  Toast, eggs and bananas.  Then it was time for gifts.  Vance had made me a vase with paper flowers and a beautiful painted frame with his picture in it.  Joel made me a frame with a little poem and handprint flowers.  They both also decorated cupcakes and daddy helped them get me a garlic press.  =)

I'm so lucky to be the mother of these two sweet boys.  It's the best job in the whole world!

Mother's Day Preview

So life had been pretty crazy.  Once February hit life pretty much revolved around the yearbook.  It escalated from there until April.  I feel like all I said to the boys in March was "We can do that once the yearbook is done."  "We will play once the yearbook is done and turned in."  "Mommy can't because I'm working on the yearbook."  So once it was all turned in a HUGE weight was lifted and I felt like I got my life back.  Of course the blog continued to be neglected but I'm back and hoping to be better.

I LOVE this time of year.  I have to admit that this has not always been my favorite time of year.  Mother's Day is always hard when you dream of being a mom and that is pushed back and pushed back for whatever reason.  This year Mother's Day got kicked off early.  Thursdays Joel's school had their Mother's Day Brunch.  It was fantastic!  I LOVED it.  Joel was SO cute- although his buddy Jordan stole the show!  It was a cute show with four little songs all the kindergarteners sang, followed by a cute video presentation.  Apparently I look the prettiest when I go to baby showers, according to Joel.  =) 

Joel during the program.

Mommy and Joel

Joel and his friends Jordan, Aubrey and Gregory.

More friends: Gregory, Jafar and Ethan.

Joel and his teacher, we LOVE her!

Not to be outdone Vance has also been working hard to make my Mother's Day special.  He made me a special gift at church last week.  Then at preschool he made me another special gift and wilt-proof flowers.  I can't wait to open them on Sunday.  Such a fun time.  I LOVE these boys.  While I appreciate the work they've done to make my Mother's Day special they truly are the best gifts every day of the year. 

A Wicked Good Time

I do believe that I have one of the most kind and generous men as a father-in-law. A few months back I got a call from him telling me that he was buying tickets for Wicked in Portland. He invited me to go on a Girls' Trip with my mother-in-law, grandmother-in-law and some of his nieces. After the original call I called my surrogate sister from Florida who lives in the suburbs of Portland to find out how close she would be and if a visit during my time there was possible. We were able to arrange for me to go out early to visit her. It was a much needed and welcomed vacation. Even the weather cooperated and while there was rain (I've been old that there is always a chance for rain in Portland) it was fairly mild and an excellent visit!

Gram, Kiersten (a friend of Cindy's), Cindy, Manda,
Alicia (my surrogate sister), Brooke, Whitney,
Meagan and Ashley (the nieces) at dinner.

Me and Alicia

Meagan and Ashley

Brooke and Whitney

Ashley and Gram.
(Sorry for the closed eyes Gram but it was the only picture I had of you up close.)

So not only did Tom buy us all tickets to the amazing show "Wicked" but they were the most UNBELIEVABLE seats in the THIRD row. I don't know which was more fun to watch the amazing show or the priceless view of seeing Gram and the girls watch the amazing show. I wish that Tom could have at least been there to see it himself.

Alicia and I in front of the auditorium for Wicked.

Gram, Brooke, Ashley, Whitney, Manda, Cindy and Meagan.

Thank you Tom (and Cindy) for the amazing trip!

The Easter Pageant

Every Spring our church puts on an Easter Pagent on the lawn of the Mesa Temple. It tells of the final days before the crucifixion and subsequent resurrection of Jesus Christ. My sister-in-law spearheaded the production of loading us all up and heading down there to see it Tuesday night. We were a bit rushed to get seats and I know that I was concerned about keeping the kids out late and the pageant keeping their attention but it all was well worth it. The boys paid attention and enjoyed "the act out" (as they called it).

We grabbed a few pizzas from Little Cesear's (thank heavens for their hot and ready pizzas) and were seated just before they started making people giving up "saved" seats. So we sat and had our pizza.

The kids, Aunt Sandy, pizza and caprisuns. Yum!

Gotta love 6-year-olds.
Notice all the silly faces throughout the pictures
from these two- and Vance occasionally.

Me and the boys.
(No it's not an optical illusion- I did chop off all my hair.)

Emma, Vance and Joel in front of
the Mesa Temple.

Vance, Emma and Joel on the grounds
of the Mesa Temple.

Matthew and Brody ready for the sun
to set and the pageant to start.

I wasn't sure how much the boys got out of the pageant until today. The boys were playing up in their room. They came down and asked if I wanted to see their show. I told them I would come up and see it in a few minutes. When I went up they began to reenact part of the Easter Pageant. Thank you Aunt Sandy for the reminder of the true meaning of Easter beyond bunnies, chocolate and colored eggs.

Spring Break Continued

So with Spring Break being so long I was hoping to make a visit to Phoenix to see my brother and his family. His children are close in age to the boys and they look forward to seeing them and talk about them all the time. With gas prices being what they are it looked like I was going to be grounded. However, with a scheduling snafu a trip to Arizona seemed to be the solution. This meant good news for us!

Our trip started out with a birthday party for my niece Emma. They surprised her with a bouncy castle and she was SO excited to see it when she got home from school. A few hours later her friends arrived and although it was sunny and a bit warm the kids had a fun time in the castle, drank enough water to fill a pool and the party was deemed a success.

The following two days were filled with our church's conference and listening to our world wide leaders. I also stole away for a little while to meet one of my cousins for lunch and since I was in the area also stopped by Eegees. One of my favorite Arizona treats. :) Of course I didn't get any pictures of ANY of this.

Sunday my parents were in Phoenix and invited all of us kids who were in the area (4 out of 7) to dinner. We decided on Rain Forest Cafe and the kids enjoyed the dining experience.

The kids (minus Corbin who refused to take pictures)
in front of the tank at Rain Forest Cafe.

The kids again outside of the Rain Forest Cafe.

A rare shot of the elusive Corbin.

A Spring Break Past

This was our first official Spring Break since it's Joel's first year of school. We planned on having a low key spring break. Joel's school break was actually TWO ENTIRE weeks! The first week Vance still had preschool so it was fun to have a couple mornings hanging out with just Joel.

Tuesday the boys reminded me that I had promised them that some day we would go to the zoo. And Tuesday seemed like a good day to be some day. So we got up and headed to the zoo. It was a perfect day to go to the zoo except that the bird show doesn't perform on Tuesday. It started out a bit overcast and chilly. But as the day went on it became sunny without being too hot. The boys had SO much fun and it was a really fun day at the zoo.

The boys and the flamingos.

I love this picture of Joel in his "Joe Cool" pose.

The boys with the giraffe's.
I LOVE giraffes and
I LOVE what good brothers
these two are to each other.

Vance with the lion and her cubs.

The boys and I had such a fun day together. It would have been nice to have Tj there- but I guess somebody has to bring home the bacon. I let the boys pick out something from the gift shop. The boys picked out little plastic chomper animals. Vance picked a cheetah that he named "Cheety, Cheety". Joel picked a crocodile that he named "Ziggy". Unfortunately, Joel broke his crocodile later that week- but Uncle Brody was able to fix it. But then Vance broke it almost a week later in a manner that couldn't be fixed. Bummer! Wish I had gotten a picture with them together before the demise of Ziggy, they really put a lot of miles on those toys.