Eating Joe!

One of my kids favorite meals is Sloppy Joes. However it has been shorted to just Joe, and now the joke. "Look, I am eating JOE!"

Child Labor Laws..........

When our kids get in trouble and loose a privilege they have to earn it back by doing two jobs out of the job bucket. One of Eliza's jobs was to mop the kitchen floor. The girl LOVED IT! She cried when we told her the floor was sufficiently wet and clean that she was done. So much for it being a "Chore".

The Jungle Book

The kids' charter school put on the musical, "Disney's, The Jungle Book". They had to audition for the play if they wanted to be in it. Vincent wasn't the slightest bit interested but Addison was very excited about it. He auditioned for the play and got casted as one of the elephants. They put the whole show together in 9 days. I was very impressed. They did a wonderful job!


Two of our ward members children were also in the play. Mackenzie Clift was one of King Louis Monkey's, and Grant McBride got casted as the lead and played Mowgli.

Murray Park Pool

So, I bet you are wondering what I did with my first day of all kids in school.....took a nap, watched a movie, sewed, cleaned my house,......pshaww...I WISH! I spent my first day of four hours of freedom sitting at the city pool for three hours chaperoning my sons 3rd grade field trip to the city pool. It actually wasn't that bad. The Weather was nice, and the kids had a great time. They just put in a big slide which was a BIG hit.

First Day of Preschool

Eliza has officially started preschool. This mommy has all 4 of her kids in school! Whoo Hooo! Well only for one more week and then the big boys are home for the summer. Eliza has been wanting to go to preschool ALL SCHOOL YEAR LONG! As noted in our family Christmas Letter I was leaving the preschool with two kids crying. Nicholas crying because I had just left him at preschool, Eliza because she wanted to stay at preschool. We had planned on starting her in the fall when Nicholas went to kindergarten but she wanted to go now. Grandpa and Grandma Sanders told her if she potty trained she could start preschool as soon as she was done. So this last month we have practiced and have learned to be a big girl, and she did it! So, last Thursday Eliza got her wish and she got to start preschool. She was so excited. She already has a new friend Isis. Since she is so much like Addison in social skills I know she is going to have a blast.

Wild Woman Hair

What happens when you have your hair in two french braids the whole day before and then sleep in them?


You get Wild Woman Hair!
I wanted to spray it with detangler and comb it out some, but she down right refused. She just wanted a red bow and for me to leave it alone because it was PRETTY!

Addison=Aunt Jennie I think that is a pretty good comparison

I know I have done a post similar to this before, but we have to laugh about this one as when Addison gets a hold of the camera you are bound to find at least one self portrait. This time I got a self portrait of himself, a close up of Nicholas' teeth, and a close up of his own eye. What has Aunt Jennie always been known for?

Self Portraits, as seen in this recent picture. Note to self...Maybe I should get Addison his own camera for self portriats.
The two of them also have very similar personalities. When I hear stories of John and Jennie when they were little I picture Vincent and Addison. Vincent has John's very reserved personality, Addison, well is a fireball of energy.

Summit Academy International Night

As with every year they had international night at the kids school. They set up booths with food and games and each class does a dance from somewhere or sometime.

Vincent's class did Hawaii and did a dance to the song, "Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride. They did a great job!





I enjoyed watching both my boys perform and they both did wonderful, but I have to say I think I enjoyed Addison's classes performance this year the best out of all of them. It was cute..... They did a dance to a medley of songs. They started off singing the hokey pokey together as a group and one of the kids said, "This isn't how its done." and the music started and it was You Aint Nothin But a Hound Dog. Then it went into the Chicken Dance, Walk Like an Egyptian, The Marcarena, Billy Jean, and then they ended with the Thriller Dance, and by then the audience was screaming and cheering them on. I think they got the best audience response too. It was sure a lot of fun to watch them do dances that came out long before they were even born or thought of.






Well we tried for a group picture.

Happy Birthday Nicholas

This year for Nicholas' Birthday we had a family party. We made cupcakes and he decided that we needed to put Star War's Characters on them, so we did. We enjoyed a dinner that he picked which was Hot Dogs and French Fries, and then opened presents. It was a very low key evening but we had loads of fun.

Mother's Day

It all started last night when John and I headed to bed and he asked me for the recipe for the dinner I had listed on the menu for tonight. He wanted to be the one to cook dinner for me for Mother's Day. I didn't know how to respond to that as In our close to ten years of married life, John has nooked things well in the microwave and has warmed up things in the oven, but has never really "cooked". I smiled and chuckled at the thought, but told him I would get it for him in the morning. As we were up getting ready for church this morning John announced that after church we were going up the mountain into Springville to have a picnic for Mother's Day. I looked outside and saw the dark rain clouds rolling in and knew there was a chance of rain today. The kids right away got very excited about the idea and through out sacrament we got asked several times if we could go home after sacrament and head up to the mountains. After church we came home and I packed lunches for everyone, and got things gathered up for a picnic and then we headed up the mountain. It was cool and the rain clouds hung over head and threatened to start pouring, but the park was empty and we had a great time. We ate the lunch I packed



and played on the two playgrounds that are adjoined by a walkway.




Even though rain threatened our day, it was a WONDERFUL day with my family, and I was so happy to be with them and enjoy the day with them. for with out them. I wouldn't be a MOM!

And wouldn't you know. It started raining HARD and wind blowing VERY HARD within ten minutes of us getting home. And four house later....it still is raining!

Addison's Birthday Party

Addison wanted to have a swimming party this year, and I just wasn't sure at first how I was going to do that. The city pool hasn't opened yet, and I knew a waiting pool wouldn't last a group of six and seven year olds (our family one didn't even last a week this year :-( ) So, after some thought of other ideas and the $$ part of it always coming back as a "NO" I thought of a ward member who has a large backyard and a good sized in ground pool. I asked them if we could have Addison's party out there and they said it would be fine. We had a great time. Addison invited 15 people to his party and 13 attended! That is the most we have ever had attend. The kids got to swim for an hour and a half and then we did a pinata, cup cakes and punch and then it was time to go home. A two hour party that was just right! We are so thankful for the Richey's for opening up their back yard and pool which made Addison's Birthday Party so special and memorable.