A Blast from the Past

I think I was about 3 yrs old here.

My senior prom portait. I don't know if most schools do this but it's a good idea. I don't mind hanging this on my wall but I wouldn't hang one of me and my date up now.

pics

Tristan watching TV today.

A bag I made for a friend's daughter for her birthday yesterday.

We're throwing out the futon but the kids love playing with the cushions.

I love this pic of Lidia and Aiden's dramatic improvisations.

Back to School

Well I managed to get up on time and get Lidia and Aiden on the bus for their first day of school. They are very excited to go back to school. Aiden is very proud of his new sling backpack with a gel padded strap. He's been wanting one since last year. Lidia loves her pink backpack that's she's had since pre-K. She does look cute in her new jeans though. They havn't grown much so we didn't have to go out and buy a lot of new clothes or shoes. Lidia and Aiden got jeans and Avery and Tristan got tennis shoes. They are carrying a heavy load today with all their school supplies but at least they can unload it all as soon as they get to school.
While walking back home from the bus stop Tristan made some interesting comments. A car drove past us and he said,"That sounds like fire". Then I heard several dogs howling from down the street and he said,"Those are not dogs, they are snow wolves from very far away". Then he stopped at the storm drain and just kept staring down in it. I walked back to see what was so interesting. There was nothing in it but a bit of dirt and a few leaves. Tristan said,"There are crocodiles down there but you can't see them because they blend in with the dirt and bricks". Funny kid.
Aiden woke up at 6:30 this morning with a headache and he said that he had stayed up all night because he was so excited but I know for a fact that he was asleep when I went to bed at 11:30 and had been for at least 2 or 3 hrs. Maybe he kept waking up last night. I gave him some allergy medicine hoping it would help him sleep because I knew he would have problems getting to sleep knowing that school starts the next day. Lidia does not have the sleeping problems the boys sometimes have.
Last night Cory gave them a father's blessing. Aiden was very excited to get a blessing and thought it was very cool but Lidia didn't want one and cried. She wouldn't get out of her bed or stop crying. Aiden said,"I think I need to say a prayer for Lidia not to be scared of getting a blessing" and he immediately started praying for her. This is a kid who usually avoids saying prayers. It was so sweet. After he finished his prayer Lidia was still crying and hiding in her bed. Aiden said,"Uh oh I think the devil is getting very powerful". I couldn't help but laugh. I told him that it was up to Lidia. She finally let Cory give her a blessing but she stayed in her bed for it. She says she didn't like it. Maybe she'll get over it. I worry about her sometimes because I think she doesn't quite know how to deal with or articulate some of her emotions. I don't want her to hide stuff inside until she blows up or freaks out or something. So we had family scripture and prayer and then Tristan says,"Hey what about my blessing?". We told him he doesn't start school until next week but he could have it now if he wanted. So then Cory gave Tristan a blessing too. He was so cute and reverent sitting in the little chair in Lidia's room. Of course during all of this Avery was running around screaming and laughing at us but that's OK.

forgot one

11. It's so funny how you can talk like Donald Duck even though you don't do it often and seem a bit embarrassed when you do.

10 Things I Love About You

1. You're so darn intelligent yet so humble.
2. You're so darn good lookin.
3. You're funny and silly.
4. You understand me enough to put up with my flaws.
5. You never yell or hit.
6. You do the dishes!
7. I love the way you laugh, are not afraid to cry, and sound so funny when you sneeze.
8. I love the way you continually try to grow and improve yourself.
9. I love how much you love me and the kids.
10. I love how we know we are meant for eachother and how at the end of the day, despite some trials and sad times, I know that I'm happy anyway as long as you're here.

Happy 10th Anniversary Cory!


So yesterday was our anniversary. 10 years and 4 kids and 8 homes ago we were married in the Bountiful Utah temple. We knew we were doing the right thing but I couldn't comprehend the joy that would be filling my soul. How could I? I hadn't felt it before and it continues to grow. I like this Boyd K. Paker quote from 1972.

"My young friends, there is much happiness and joy to be found in this life. I can testify of that.

I picture you with a companion whom you love and who loves you. I picture you at the marriage altar, entering into covenants that are sacred. I picture you in a home where love has its fulfillment. I picture you with little children about you and see your love growing with them.

I cannot frame this picture. I would not if I could, for it has no bounds. Your happiness will have no ends if you obey his laws."

That pretty much sums it up doesn't it? So what did we do on our special day? It may not sound too fun but it was. Cory took yesterday and today off work. He has been able to stay up late with me instead of going to bed when the kids do. He helped clean up the kitchen and stuff. I guess we mostly just chilled out. At about 5:30 CoriAnne came over to watch the kids. Cory and I hadn't made plans. We just went with the flow and we went to Target and Old Navy and Marshalls and ate dinner at Panera Bread. So we went shopping by ourselves. This is a rare luxery for us. I got some awesome sandals I've been eyeing for a few months at Marshalls. The price dropped to $15 from $98. Cory got some nice Puma soccer shoes for $15 at Marshalls and a couple of long sleeve Tshirts and a pair of nice dark denim jeans from Old Navy. I got 2 pair of Tommy jeans at Marshalls for less than $20 a pair. I am happy about this b/c it is very hard to find nice jeans that don't have the ultra low rise and that are not flared. I also got an acacia wood salad bowl at Target and picked up baby shower plates and such for my friend Laura's upcoming shower. They are the modern mama plates. Soo cute! Where was all this cute stuff when I was bearing children? Anyway, that's pretty much what we did but it was awesome b/c there was no stress involved. Partly b/c no kids were being forced to shop, which they hate unless it's for toys, but also b/c we didn't make any fancy plans. When there are plans there are expectations. I liked not expecting anything but some free time with my hubby and that's exactly what I got and it was great. We stopped by Blockbuster and picked up Just Like Heaven. We watched it after I took the sitter home. It was very good. We went to bed a bit before 2 am. Good day.

Dance Fever

Hooray!!!Hooray!!!Hooray for Benji Schwimmer, the winner of So You Think You Can Dance! I loved this show. Cory and I have got to learn to dance. Who says Mormon boys can't dance? Benji rocks! And he's a nice returned missionary. And he's straight. Hooray for nice boys that have got their groove on. I'm so happy for him, I even shed a tear. I recorded tonight's show. They had a lot of awesome performances on it. I will have to tell Cory not to record over it so I can watch it again and again. Dance is awesome! I need to enroll Lidia in classes again.

new info

So I found out today that the PreK bus does have seat belts. So maybe I'll let him ride. We'll see. He wants to. Also the PreK teacher I know moved up to K this year so Tristan's teacher will be a new teacher. There are several new teachers at the school this year. Maybe they got more funding or something or some old teachers left. Guess I'll find out when school starts. So this is good. The school system we were part of before we moved out here to the country did not have seat belts and just put the pre-k kids on the regular buses with everyone else. One more reason to live in this county.
I also must say that what almost happened on those 10 flights from the UK to the US is very sad. Brings back sad memories from 9-11 but I think it is great that it was caught in time and perhaps it will remind everyone to support their country and their armed services and intelligence workers. There is a real threat out there. It's a bit scary.

PreK

I am happy Tristan has been accepted to PreK at our elementary school for this school year. There is only one class and they give lower income families priority. But there must have been room for him so this is great. I don't have to find a preschool for him or pay for it or drive into town to take him. I will have to drive him to the school but that's better than into town. There is a bus but it's one bus that picks up all the prek kids so the route is long. I don't want him riding the bus for nearly an hour every morning and there are no seat belts. I really don't see how this is legal when these kids are by state law required to still be in car seats. For the same reasons I have always driven Lidia and Aiden to school until last year. I started letting them ride the bus home from school b/c they were one of the first stops and they are bigger than Tristan. I also have issues with the fact that kids are not supervised on buses. I saw some bad stuff on the school bus when I was little but that was most likely b/c k-12 were on the same bus. However k-5 are still pretty rowdy. I really don't like my kids riding the bus but driving to the school 4 times a day is no fun either and gas is expensive and going up. What should I do? Do I put them on the bus against my better judgement and pray that God will protect them or do I literally become the school shuttle bus and get nothing else done? It would at least help if they started school at the same time but pre-k starts one hour later and gets out a little after 12(2.5 hrs a day total). I guess I'll figure something out. Perhaps I could install a seatbelt on the bus and send a book or two for him to look at on his long journey? I am happy he's going and he is so excited. The teacher is really great with the kids. He had to go take a little test before getting accepted. He got 57 out of 60 points. He missed one b/c they showed him a comb and he didn't know what it was. We use brushes and I made sure to point that out to the lady giving the test. The lady showed him three cards that looked like frames from a comic. She told him a little "story" and then she wanted him to tell me the "story". He just sat there. She asked him again. He said,"But I don't know what it's called". She had not given it a title. She had just said,"Sally woke up. She got dressed. She ate breakfast."I told Tristan the name of the story was Sally. He still didn't say anything. She asked him again an he said,"I did, I said it in my head". I couldn't help but laugh. Part of the problem was that he knew I heard the lady tell it, so why should he tell me what I already knew. She brought in Lidia who had not heard it and he told her, finally. Another thing he missed was she asked him what you do when you cross the street. He told her you wait for the cars to pass then run. Well they wanted the exact phrase, look both ways. He didn't say it. Oh well. I did teach him that but I guess it didn't sink in. I even reminded him of the Wiggles song. He told me that was just a song. I told him the song is there to teach us to really do it, silly kid. Perhaps these are important things and this is why he got accepted. He starts after Labor Day but Lidia and Aiden start the week before. Soccer has started up and Cory has been volunteered to help coach Lidia's team. There go Teusday and Thursday nights. I am gone Wed. nights. When will I see my husband? I hope Aiden has practice the same time as Lidia. His team hasn't started yet. I didn't sign up Tristan for instructional or Mondays would be gone too. He runs around with Lidia and Aiden at practices anyway.

recent pics

We went to the city park and played a bit of tennis and let the kids play on the fun playground.


Here are Lidia and Tristan acting out the Good Samaratin.



We went to Baugher's Sat. and picked 1/2 bushel of peaches. This sign is on their playground.

Cory and the kids playing Star Wars Monopoly on his b-day.

Happy 32nd Birthday Cory!!!

Well I think Cory had a good birthday. Not too eventful being that it's Sunday and fast Sunday at that. He got some cool spice racks for his birthday. He asked for some. Cory likes to cook more than I do. Anyway, the kids drew some pictures for him and I made him shrimp scampi and peanut butter cookies per his request. Other than that we pretty much took it easy and Cory was nice enough to play star wars monopoly with the kids. I was going to make salsa today. I must tomorrow. My tomatoes are ripening fast. Tonight Aiden asked if we could move to Utah tomorrow, he wants to go. Funny kid doesn't quite get how it works. He's been drawing a ton lately. Pretty soon he'll have every scene from Star Wars drawn out on paper in Lego Star Wars style. Avery has been doing a lot better in nursery lately. We found that if he eats oatmeal for breakfast he's good at church. A full tummy does wonders!

little boys

cuteness

I made this backpack purse for Tristan's friend Madison's birthday. She is soo cute. I guess I should have taken a pic of her wearing it. I just got an info packet in the mail from Living Hope adoption agency. They specialize in Chinese adoptions. There is a calender here full of pics of adopted girls and their new siblings. Sooo cute. Perhaps we will have our own mei mei in the next year or two. Lidia is already in love with the idea and has been sleeping with her Chinese cabbage patch baby.