Here's the video clip of my favorite song from J's kindergarten graduation.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Kinder-GARDEN: Growing Young Minds...
J had an amazing year at school. He LOVED school. No, that's an understatement. He thoroughly enjoyed every minute he was there. Thanks to a really great teacher- Mrs. Dzida. We love her.
B had her for Kindergarten, and she came highly recommended from a few friends. She can be silly with the kids, but is structured and just makes learning so much fun!!!
Kindergarten graduation was great. Not too hyped up. But enough to make the kids feel proud of their hard work. Here's all the PM kindergartners singing some songs together. They were soooo cute. I'm going to try to post the video of one of my most favorite songs that they sing. J is in the front row (as usual!). He looks like he has a mean look on his face. Hmmmm. I think he was ready to go back inside!
B had her for Kindergarten, and she came highly recommended from a few friends. She can be silly with the kids, but is structured and just makes learning so much fun!!!
Kindergarten graduation was great. Not too hyped up. But enough to make the kids feel proud of their hard work. Here's all the PM kindergartners singing some songs together. They were soooo cute. I'm going to try to post the video of one of my most favorite songs that they sing. J is in the front row (as usual!). He looks like he has a mean look on his face. Hmmmm. I think he was ready to go back inside!After they sang all together they went back inside to their own classes and had a little ceremony. J's class sang some more songs and then they got their diplomas. Mrs. Dzida puts together a great book full of their best art projects that year and spiral binds it. Guessing from the budget crunch, it came out of her pocket this year. My favorite page from this book, is his self portrait that he drew, and then he got to write a little about himself. This is what he said, and it pretty much sums it up:
I am a boy. I play baseball. I like steak.
What can I say, he's a simple guy! I can't believe he's so big. Time flies by! This kid is the funniest, friendliest kid I know. There is just something about him that just makes you smile. He has such a good heart. Maybe that's what I love the most about him.
Zoo Time!!
As a last hurrah for Mommy and Me, we went with Ms. Becky's Preschool to the Zoo for a field trip. I was able to bring J and S, and we had a lot of fun! We got to hang out with friends and see some pretty cool animals!
S playing with her friends. She had fun running around and looking at the animals with them.
We had fun. J was our Tour Guide. He carried the map and helped designate where we should go.
Our favorite animals were the tiger and the monkeys. The Orangutan actually got up and moved. I actually (gasp!) remembered my camera, and had a really cute picture of Sophie in front of the Orangutan, but sadly, I can't find it.
S playing with her friends. She had fun running around and looking at the animals with them.
We had fun. J was our Tour Guide. He carried the map and helped designate where we should go.
Our favorite animals were the tiger and the monkeys. The Orangutan actually got up and moved. I actually (gasp!) remembered my camera, and had a really cute picture of Sophie in front of the Orangutan, but sadly, I can't find it.We also really enjoyed the Reptile House. There are some pretty scary looking snakes in there! I must confess, I'd rather see a mouse or a spider than a snake. Reptiles and me are NOT friends. I could never have a pet lizard, snake, etc. NOT Happening here. They frighten me!
Mommy and Me
In January (I think?!?) S and I started going to a Mommy and Me Group at Ms. Becky's Preschool/House. We had lots of fun with each other and it was a definite bonus that my sister Jody came with her daughter too! They are best buddies (sometimes even worst enemies- just like sisters!!) We are working on painting Easter eggs here.
Here we are doing some puzzles. Obviously something was funny!!
We are assembling out Itsy Bitsy Spider. S is really afraid of spiders. But she liked this one!
So, I've been meaning to blog about Mommy and Me, and now I did. It was great for S and I to spend time together but also great to be around other Moms and visit. Thanks Becky for opening up your house and all the hard work you put into organizing Mommy and Me on top of your Preschool classes. Anyone looking for a Preschool teacher, I HIGHLY recommend Becky. She is my good friend, but anyone who is around her when she's with kids can see she truly loves being with children and teaching them. And she's really, really good at it! Her Preschool website is linked on the side of my blog. Check it out!
Here we are doing some puzzles. Obviously something was funny!!
We are assembling out Itsy Bitsy Spider. S is really afraid of spiders. But she liked this one!
So, I've been meaning to blog about Mommy and Me, and now I did. It was great for S and I to spend time together but also great to be around other Moms and visit. Thanks Becky for opening up your house and all the hard work you put into organizing Mommy and Me on top of your Preschool classes. Anyone looking for a Preschool teacher, I HIGHLY recommend Becky. She is my good friend, but anyone who is around her when she's with kids can see she truly loves being with children and teaching them. And she's really, really good at it! Her Preschool website is linked on the side of my blog. Check it out!
Wow! Its been a month since I blogged last! I've got some catching up to do! So, here goes.... Over Mother's Day weekend, our ward Primary had an activity at the Temple. So, we went as a family and walked around the grounds and had a picnic lunch. It was great. Thanks to Rhonda who ALWAYS has her camera, we have some pictures that captured the moment.
After we ate our lunch the kids ran around on the grass and climbed trees. It just doesn't get better than this!
Of course, it was hard to get J out of the trees. He is 100% pure boy. He LOVES to climb trees. He looks for a tree to climb everywhere we go!
This is most of the kids in our Primary. We are missing a few families. I'd guess that this is about 80%. I know somewhere out there, a picture of my family in front of the temple is floating around in somebody's camera. If someone could forward me that picture, I would really appreciate it!!
After we ate our lunch the kids ran around on the grass and climbed trees. It just doesn't get better than this!
Of course, it was hard to get J out of the trees. He is 100% pure boy. He LOVES to climb trees. He looks for a tree to climb everywhere we go!
This is most of the kids in our Primary. We are missing a few families. I'd guess that this is about 80%. I know somewhere out there, a picture of my family in front of the temple is floating around in somebody's camera. If someone could forward me that picture, I would really appreciate it!!It was a great day. The kids all took the opportunity to touch the temple. President Monson said to let our children go to the temple, and walk around the grounds, and reach out and actually touch the temple. And as they touch the temple, the temple will touch them. As well it has. We love the temple and are excited to get to go to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House as a family when we go visit later on this month. (Hopefully, I'll remember my camera then!!)
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
13.1 or bust!
American River Parkway Half Marathon- DONE! It was a great experience. Here's a group shot before the race started. We didn't get a group photo after the race, but that's okay. We all looked pretty jacked up by then!
We got there with enough time to take care of some bathroom "business" (a MUST before a long run!) and walk around to a few booths. As we were walking, we started talking big. Like Marathon, big. Some of us thought that would be a "fun" idea, to run a marathon together! We laughed about it, but I was seriously thinking, yeah, I'd like to do that soon. I mean, I'm half way through the training now, right?
Ask me how I felt about it at mile 10! Not so enthused about 26.2 miles. In fact my exact words were...well.. Hell NO! It was truly how I felt!(Its just like asking a woman who just gave birth if she wants to have more children. I think a similar response would follow!)
So the race started with Brian and Justin WAY ahead. The four of us stayed together through the first 4-5 miles. But by mile 8-9, Becky and I were the only ones together. Everyone else was running solo. Anyways, at about mile 1o I was hitting a REALLY hard brick wall- like the hardest I've ever hit before as a runner. Becky had said she was hitting a wall, and I commented that I was hitting it hard. Two ladies next to us tried to cheer us on, which was very thoughtful. But, it wasn't that we were going to give up. It was just SO HARD at this point, we had to mentally "breakthrough" the wall. Physically, I was well past done. This is when I mentally have to power up. Well, my theory was, as long as I was breathing normally, I was going to keep moving as fast as I could. It worked. I kept moving.
Here we are getting ready to cross the finish line. Our game plan is, when you get to about the last 1/4-1/2 mile of the race, you make a break for it. When you can see the finish line, it becomes an all out sprint. Becky was about 2 strides ahead of me. She looked back and grabbed my hand, so we could cross the finish line together. It means something to us- with all of our training together- to cross the finish line together.
Crossing the finish line was quite a euphoric feeling, a powerful feeling, even. I can't quite describe it. It might be one of the reasons why I love to run. All I can say is, it felt good accomplishing something that was really physically and mentally hard for me. It was so hard, but so worth it!! Running that distance for me is so much more mental than it is physical.
We got there with enough time to take care of some bathroom "business" (a MUST before a long run!) and walk around to a few booths. As we were walking, we started talking big. Like Marathon, big. Some of us thought that would be a "fun" idea, to run a marathon together! We laughed about it, but I was seriously thinking, yeah, I'd like to do that soon. I mean, I'm half way through the training now, right? Ask me how I felt about it at mile 10! Not so enthused about 26.2 miles. In fact my exact words were...well.. Hell NO! It was truly how I felt!(Its just like asking a woman who just gave birth if she wants to have more children. I think a similar response would follow!)
So the race started with Brian and Justin WAY ahead. The four of us stayed together through the first 4-5 miles. But by mile 8-9, Becky and I were the only ones together. Everyone else was running solo. Anyways, at about mile 1o I was hitting a REALLY hard brick wall- like the hardest I've ever hit before as a runner. Becky had said she was hitting a wall, and I commented that I was hitting it hard. Two ladies next to us tried to cheer us on, which was very thoughtful. But, it wasn't that we were going to give up. It was just SO HARD at this point, we had to mentally "breakthrough" the wall. Physically, I was well past done. This is when I mentally have to power up. Well, my theory was, as long as I was breathing normally, I was going to keep moving as fast as I could. It worked. I kept moving.
Here we are getting ready to cross the finish line. Our game plan is, when you get to about the last 1/4-1/2 mile of the race, you make a break for it. When you can see the finish line, it becomes an all out sprint. Becky was about 2 strides ahead of me. She looked back and grabbed my hand, so we could cross the finish line together. It means something to us- with all of our training together- to cross the finish line together.
Crossing the finish line was quite a euphoric feeling, a powerful feeling, even. I can't quite describe it. It might be one of the reasons why I love to run. All I can say is, it felt good accomplishing something that was really physically and mentally hard for me. It was so hard, but so worth it!! Running that distance for me is so much more mental than it is physical. Anyway, mine and Becky's time on the picture says 2 hours 22min- that's the gun time. But our actual time, when we crossed the starting line (the time our micro-chips recorded) was 2 hours 19 min- which shaved about 14 minutes off of our first Half Marathon time- YES!!! I was hoping just for a minute or two improvement, but 14 minutes was beyond what I'd even thought of!!
Brian did so great! He ran it in 1 hour 57 minutes!! He shaved a minute off of his time from the last one-dang he's fast! But Justin beat us all, coming in at 1 hour 53 minutes! Yaw-ser!! Maybe its all that soccer playing...
Dena came in at 2 hours and 33 minutes- which is outstanding, especially for her first time, AND she was sick the week before! Terry came in at 2 hours 25 minutes. He continues to amaze me. I think pretty soon, he's going to outrun us all-distance and speed!
Brian is the best husband ever! He finished up when we were at mile 11. He ran back to the car to get the camera and move the car closer cause he knew we were going to barely be able to walk afterwards, and we parked pretty far away. So, he was back in time to take these pictures of us coming in! I wish I could have caught some pictures of him coming in! It was great to cheer on the rest of the group as they crossed the finish line. T. Weav, J. Webb and D. Webb rocked the house for their first Half Marathon!
Brian and I feel so blessed to have family and friends who love and support us. It was an amazing experience- something we will definitely do again. As far as a Marathon goes, I'm sticking with the Half for now. I'll keep the Marathon in my mind....just WAY in the back!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Sunday- the BEST day of the week...
This is totally out of character of me- doing another blog entry so soon. Its only been, what, 9 hours since my last one?
So, Brian and I have been talking a lot about life, and how insanely crazy it has been lately. It seems as though, just when you think a break is coming your way, it just gets crazier. I'm not complaining. Life is good. We are happy, healthy. We have work enough to do! We have wonderful family and friends. But sometimes, we get caught up in the craziness of life, sometimes we forget for a time that we are not alone in this craziness!
I love Sundays. Sunday is usually the one day that allows a break from the world. A rest from all the craziness. We, as a family, devote Sunday to going to church, spending time with family, and pretty much just shutting out the "world" to reconnect with each other and spiritually reconnect with God-our Heavenly Father, and our Savior Jesus Christ.
So, this morning I took a little time to read in the November Ensign, the last few articles from October Conference that I'm missing. I love being able listen to Conference and then go back through and read the talks. I really love that I have 6 months between sessions, I need that. Obviously, since I'm just finishing up November's and we just had Conference this month!!
Anyhow, this morning as I read, a talk really struck me. So, here I am. Trying to share my thoughts to the blogging world. A little unlike me. Well, okay, A LOT UNLIKE ME. I'm pretty(really) personal, but I felt like I should share this one.
My attitude about life somewhere in the last few months has gotten slightly off kilter...a little like a frustrated child "I can do it MYSELF..I don't need help!" I wanted to do things MY WAY, in MY TIMING. I didn't want anyone telling me how things should go.
Yeah. Stop laughing. Its true.
Everyone knows that I NEED HELP! Apparently, I didn't get the memo!
Here's where his talk (Elder Corbridge of the Seventy) struck me:
"One of the most popular and attractive philosophies of men is to live life your own way, do your own thing, be yourself, don't let others tell you what to do.
But the Lord said, "I am the way."
He said, "Follow me."
He said, "What manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am."
Yeah. I'm listening now. (This is why its SOOO important to take the time to Be Still- and listen!!)
Elder Corbridge goes on to say that we might get caught up in thinking we can't really follow Jesus Christ because the standard of His life is so astonishingly high as to seem unreachable. We might think it is too hard, too high, too much, beyond our capacity, at least for now. DON'T EVER BELIEVE THAT! (This is the part I LOVE!!) While the Lord's invitation to follow Him is the highest of all, it is also achievable by EVERYONE, not because we are able, BUT BECAUSE HE IS, and because He can make US able too. (Yep, there it is. HE is able. Who am I to think that I can "do it myself?")
The Lord's way is not hard. Life is hard, not the gospel of Jesus Christ. We can either follow the Lord and be endowed with His power and have peace, light, STRENGTH, knowledge, confidence, LOVE, and joy or we can go some other way, any other way, whatever other way, and GO IT ALONE- without His support, and without His power, without guidance, in darkness, turmoil, doubt, grief and despair. And I ask, which way is easier? "
Life is hard, but life is simple. (Here it is...the grand finale...)Get on the path and never, ever give up. You never give up. You just keep on going. You don't quit, and you will make it. There is only ONE way to happiness and fulfillment. Jesus Christ is the Way."
I LOVE that. Get on the path and never give up. Keep on going. Can I just tell you, I can pull a whole lot of analogies about life through running- especially running LONG distances! There are times, during a long run, when you'll hit an incredibly hard wall- your body just wants to be done. But you don't give up. You have people- cheerleaders, friends and family, some who run with you during those hard times to keep your head up and your feet moving, people who know how you feel cause they are hitting that same wall (or did 5 minutes earlier!). So, you don't quit, you keep on going. In life, when I'm hitting that wall, I have my Savior who is there, reminding me to keep my feet moving and my head up. He helps me through "the wall". You don't quit, you never give up, and you will make it.
Yeah. Its a good morning. These are all things I know. But its been really nice to be reminded. I really needed to be reminded that I am certainly not at this race of life alone! And if I do feel that way, it is because I have moved, not Him. He is the Way. Get on the path and never, ever give up. You just keep on going. You don't quit, and you will make it...
So, Brian and I have been talking a lot about life, and how insanely crazy it has been lately. It seems as though, just when you think a break is coming your way, it just gets crazier. I'm not complaining. Life is good. We are happy, healthy. We have work enough to do! We have wonderful family and friends. But sometimes, we get caught up in the craziness of life, sometimes we forget for a time that we are not alone in this craziness!
I love Sundays. Sunday is usually the one day that allows a break from the world. A rest from all the craziness. We, as a family, devote Sunday to going to church, spending time with family, and pretty much just shutting out the "world" to reconnect with each other and spiritually reconnect with God-our Heavenly Father, and our Savior Jesus Christ.
So, this morning I took a little time to read in the November Ensign, the last few articles from October Conference that I'm missing. I love being able listen to Conference and then go back through and read the talks. I really love that I have 6 months between sessions, I need that. Obviously, since I'm just finishing up November's and we just had Conference this month!!
Anyhow, this morning as I read, a talk really struck me. So, here I am. Trying to share my thoughts to the blogging world. A little unlike me. Well, okay, A LOT UNLIKE ME. I'm pretty(really) personal, but I felt like I should share this one.
My attitude about life somewhere in the last few months has gotten slightly off kilter...a little like a frustrated child "I can do it MYSELF..I don't need help!" I wanted to do things MY WAY, in MY TIMING. I didn't want anyone telling me how things should go.
Yeah. Stop laughing. Its true.
Everyone knows that I NEED HELP! Apparently, I didn't get the memo!
Here's where his talk (Elder Corbridge of the Seventy) struck me:
"One of the most popular and attractive philosophies of men is to live life your own way, do your own thing, be yourself, don't let others tell you what to do.
But the Lord said, "I am the way."
He said, "Follow me."
He said, "What manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am."
Yeah. I'm listening now. (This is why its SOOO important to take the time to Be Still- and listen!!)
Elder Corbridge goes on to say that we might get caught up in thinking we can't really follow Jesus Christ because the standard of His life is so astonishingly high as to seem unreachable. We might think it is too hard, too high, too much, beyond our capacity, at least for now. DON'T EVER BELIEVE THAT! (This is the part I LOVE!!) While the Lord's invitation to follow Him is the highest of all, it is also achievable by EVERYONE, not because we are able, BUT BECAUSE HE IS, and because He can make US able too. (Yep, there it is. HE is able. Who am I to think that I can "do it myself?")
The Lord's way is not hard. Life is hard, not the gospel of Jesus Christ. We can either follow the Lord and be endowed with His power and have peace, light, STRENGTH, knowledge, confidence, LOVE, and joy or we can go some other way, any other way, whatever other way, and GO IT ALONE- without His support, and without His power, without guidance, in darkness, turmoil, doubt, grief and despair. And I ask, which way is easier? "
Life is hard, but life is simple. (Here it is...the grand finale...)Get on the path and never, ever give up. You never give up. You just keep on going. You don't quit, and you will make it. There is only ONE way to happiness and fulfillment. Jesus Christ is the Way."
I LOVE that. Get on the path and never give up. Keep on going. Can I just tell you, I can pull a whole lot of analogies about life through running- especially running LONG distances! There are times, during a long run, when you'll hit an incredibly hard wall- your body just wants to be done. But you don't give up. You have people- cheerleaders, friends and family, some who run with you during those hard times to keep your head up and your feet moving, people who know how you feel cause they are hitting that same wall (or did 5 minutes earlier!). So, you don't quit, you keep on going. In life, when I'm hitting that wall, I have my Savior who is there, reminding me to keep my feet moving and my head up. He helps me through "the wall". You don't quit, you never give up, and you will make it.
Yeah. Its a good morning. These are all things I know. But its been really nice to be reminded. I really needed to be reminded that I am certainly not at this race of life alone! And if I do feel that way, it is because I have moved, not Him. He is the Way. Get on the path and never, ever give up. You just keep on going. You don't quit, and you will make it...
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