Vacation!!! Yeahoo and a whole week of getting up when I want to and creating my own schedule. Woohoo! Therefore, to appease my guilt I am getting on my blog and checking in with everyone. Here's a brief update:
Life is always busy around our house. I feel like there is always somewhere to go and something to do. School for me has been good. We have a new principal this year and she is great. She's my age and is doing an amazing job. We had a couple of rough years with our last principal. Although, I got along well with her, her PR skills were lacking and there was a lot of tension and tiptoeing around. The staff morale was low and we just moved forward. Cami, on the other hand, is restoring a lot of what was lost. She is very positive, organized, and is getting so much done. She is a go-getter and is a breath of fresh air. She is a good example for all of us and is fun to work with. She and Amy (another teacher) are the two that I'm doing the Associates program with (the two day conferences) and we've had a lot of fun together.
I also have a dream class this year -- 17 students who actually can be trained and do what teachers hope their students will do!! Of course, there are always those couple of students that balance out the rest, but even they are pretty good. I will miss them next year and have a hard time believing our school year is coming to a close. It really feels like I just started with this group! Anyway, it's been a hectic year with Associates and my Reading Endorsement classes, so this truly was a blessing to have such a good group! Poor Amy has my group from last year and they really are a handful. She's counting down the days to summer!!
I just finished a writing class with Brad Wilcox for my Reading Endorsement, and it was a fun, enjoyable class. I had Brad Wilcox at BYU and really enjoyed him there and was happy to get him again. He just returned from being a mission president in Chile and is just such a happy, enjoyable person. He made class a lot of fun and is so easy going! My kind of teacher!! Anyway, on our last night of class, our presentation of the final projects took so long that he just said that we'd forget about the written final. He thought our projects reflected what he had hoped we'd learn in his class. Anyway, like I said, my kind of teacher!!
This term we have Nancy Livingston who is probably in her 80s. She's a hoot and is so sharp. She is very much a stickler on assignments, getting to class on time, and not letting us out one minute early (all opposites from B. Wilcox). So, it reminds me of being in high school again and at least we know we are getting our money's worth!!! It's a good thing she's so funny though! Last week she told us we should all come and visit her in Spanish Fork. We looked at her questioningly and she explained that is where here burial plot is and she'd love visitors! Like I said, she is pretty advanced in age, but still feisty and busy!
At church, I'm the RS pianist. I think the Lord is trying to get me to keep up my piano skills. I have been playing the piano for years and I really am not the most talented. I've gotten better, but I've been humbled many times through it all! I also am a visiting teaching district leader and get to make the fun phone calls asking if visits have been made that month. Once again, the Lord is trying to ensure that I get my visiting teaching done, so I can practice what I preach! I've also been subbing "off the cuff" in primary the last couple of weeks. I have to admit that I am really good at ad lib teaching. Just goes to show I've had years of practice. Just don't tell my supervisors!!
As for the rest of the family...Dave is getting back into cycling again. The weather hasn't been too cooperative, but he's gotten in a couple of good rides already and is excited for the summer season. He has also been doing home improvement projects. We have a new water heater, water softener, kitchen sink (and attached soap dispenser -- as of today). He has also put many hours into our vehicles. He got his truck into top running condition and then purchased a Toyota 4-Runner from our neighbors. He's put A LOT of time into that and has got it running great now too! That was a nice upgrade for him since he was carting around 2-3 kids in his small truck. He never complained though and insisted that I get the van. He wanted me to have a good, comfortable truck for me to drive to and from school. Anyway the 4-runner is much more conducive to car seats and getting kids in and out. It drives really well and is a great car for him. He does love working on cars though, and having 3 cars has given him a lot of opportunities. It looks like we'll be selling the truck soon though and he will miss it.
Dave has also been busy with being a taxiing, stay-at-home dad. He runs Mason to preschool 2x a week. He takes care of the grocery shopping, doctor and dentist appointments and is good to run errands. It helps me a ton and I do appreciate him. I don't know how single, working moms do it! I'd be much crazier than I already am!! :-) He is very much looking forward to getting back to work. He has a huge admiration for stay-at-home moms and wonders how they all don't go crazy!! He has loved his time staying home with Mason and Tanna. We are grateful that he was able to come home when Mason was not able to go to daycare as a baby. He's been able to keep us from putting Tanna in daycare too, so it has been a huge blessing for them. But with Mason going to kindergarten next year and Tanna to preschool, Dave is ready to graduate too and get back to the working world. Keep him in your prayers as he makes this transition!
Scottie is our pre-teen. He's only 9, but he's getting that wonderful teenage attitude already! Auggh!! I'm hoping that he'll grow out of it fast and we'll have some really enjoyable true teen years. He still can be an adorable 9 year old, but there are moments when he forgets.... :-) He loves school, but not for the learning. He is a social bug and is only there for the friends and recesses. I have to be a very hands-on mom with his homework and school work. Thank goodness I'm only two rooms down from his teacher and I can help keep him caught up. Who knows how we'll survive Junior High?!! Homework is not his favorite thing -- understatement of the year-- and he lives to get outside and play with his friends.
He's taking piano lessons this year and, like homework, practicing is also a CHORE! Thank goodness for his piano teacher. She is a computer teacher at our school and she lives out there. He rides the bus to her house on Mondays (Early Out Day), while I am in meetings and then I pick him up. She is so fun and knows how to motivate him. He plays by ear and she supports that while pushing his to look at the notes and learn to read music. She rewards him by letting him play on her keyboard after lessons and do the percussion, etc. He is also writing a song with her and she records them on CDs for him. Anyway, she's a true blessing, because I know he would not stick it out with traditional lessons -- he's not a traditional kid!!
Scottie is also a Bear in Scouts and is able to ride his bike to the leaders' homes for den meetings on Thursdays. Karate takes up Monday and Wednesday nights and keeps me busy. I do use the hour to go to the library or run quick errands with Tanna while we wait. Scottie is showing some natural ability and is excited to test onto his next belt in a couple of weeks. They seem to be impressed with his progress. He doesn't look forward to going to Karate (it interrupts his "friend time"), but he always loves it once he gets there. I have to remind him of that each time. We're trying to teach him that he must stick with his commitments!
(Scottie bandaging up Tanna's hurt back)
Best of all, Scottie is a great big brother. He is so cute with Tanna, and is good to buddy around with Mason. I love that, even with their 4 1/2 year age difference that they still do so much together. I hope that this continues, although I know things will change as they get older.
(Mason's Self Portrait)
Mason is our Mr. Personality. He is so fun to watch as his face lights up when he laughs or is excited. He also tells all when he is sad and every inch of his face looks it! He gets the big lower lip and puppy dog eyes and is very hard to resist! Mason is a great big brother to Tanna. He takes good care of her and plays with her. He can get pretty upset with her, but he makes up for it when things are going well. He is also a great tag-along for Scottie. He keeps up (for the most part) with the "big boys" and has a ball doing it!
Mason loves being 5! He can't wait to go to kindergarten and loves going to preschool. I have high hopes that he will be more motivated in the school department, but who knows?! I helped in his primary class a couple of weeks ago and had to laugh at his high level of participation. He raised his hand and yelled out every answer. Too bad he didn't give the other kids much of a chance! I guess he'll have to work on that in kindergarten!
Mason loves to draw and create. Unfortunately, it usually means big messes because of his big ideas! He's always working on a book, a movie or decorations for a show or party. It's all I can do to sneak them to the recycling bin -- I can't keep even a fraction of his creations. He seems to remember every piece of paper and have a very tuned in tracking device to determine where his works of art have ended up. I try to give everything a couple of days before I sneak it away, hoping he's moved on to the next project by then.
Mason has also become our photographer. He loves to take pictures. His "kid" camera is no longer good enough, but he has to have our family camera. He's gotten pretty good at taking decent pictures. I delete quite a few, but have found some real "keepers" in his collection. It is fun to see the world from his perspective and pictures I never would have thought to take. I do love the delete button, however, especially on my less-than-flattering pictures!
He also is our chef. Unfortunately, without my help his creations are pretty gross. I opened the fridge to a yogurt, carrot something or other the other day. It was very unappetizing and I snuck it to the garbage disposal. He later asked where it was and informed me that he was making a cake! I'm trying to be patient and include him more in the cooking process, but it is much faster without all of the help! I am hoping that his wife will thank me someday and that he takes an active role in the cooking!
Tanna Banana is as cute as ever. Therefore, she is also as busy as ever! She loves to dance and play with her Little Ponies. She also enjoys Little Pony movies. She mostly loves to escape outside and get her big wheel out from under our front stairs. She can do it all by herself and can get up and down the block very quickly. (Faster than her mom on foot anyway!) Luckily Scottie is pretty good to go out with her and keep her corralled. She loves to shadow her brothers too. When she's not skipping town on her bike, she is back on the deck digging the dirt out of my pots or sneaking sand out of the bag (her sand table is still cleaned out from the winter). She's an expert stain maker and is a budding artist (although I'm trying to teach her to contain her drawings to paper --- not her skin, clothing, walls or furniture!!).
Tanna loves to go on drives with her dad and will even opt to tag along on his errands when I get home. I don't complain because I am more productive without her, but am not used to a child that doesn't mind leaving when Mom is home! She also loves to dress up and get her hair done -- well sort of, as long as I'm fast and don't pull her hair into cute pony tails, braids, twists, etc. (Curling it is about as good as it gets!). She is a little mother in a 2 year olds body and loves to keep her brothers in line! Her famous line, which the boys love to hear the most is, "Mom, he said that word!!" You can just imagine that this just inspires them to say all the "potty" words that I strongly dislike!! However, she can say stupid and "shut up" with the best of them just to hear the laughter she gets from her brothers. I really don't feel like I have much of a chance turning her into a proper "lady". She works to please and audience and her brothers get a real kick out of her non-ladylike behaviors!!! Oh dear!!!
Tanna is very close to becoming potty-trained and I'm expecting that will be the first thing we accomplish this summer, when I'm home. She really wants to go to "dancing class" and I told her that she has to be potty trained first, so she is very anxious. I am interested to see how she does in a dance class. She loves to dance, but she's not really into following a group. We'll see -- she could surprise me!
All in all, that's us in a nutshell. We are trying to do what's right and experiment with a lot of wrongs along the way. We are working on the practical application of my future book, 101 Things Every Good Parent Should NOT DO. I'm hoping it will be a best seller and make all this mistake making worth it! :-) But, most of all, we are plugging away and making memories!
