Jenna goes to Preschool

Finally...

Jenna has been anxious to start preschool since she could talk. She watched Jadyn go to school and she came a lot to "help" with me over the last few years. Now she is finally big enough to go to school. On her Meet the Teacher day, she picked out her very own outfit and hair bow. Doesn't she look adorable??? It is like she is saying, "I am ready to go!"

She was so excited to see that her spot is a yellow bear. Her favorite color is yellow.

Nana had to explain that preschool actually included work this year...not just the fun projects. :o) I love Jenna's face. It looks like a lot to take in.

Worms anyone? Her apple shaped cookie was so covered in worms that you couldn't even see the cookie! Oh well. She deserved it. We spent all day meeting other students and parents and she was good for the entire day. She was also a big helper - picking up toys that other children played with while they waited. Good job, Jenna Bug!

Now Jenna took a photo of our staff. (Gail (Nana), me, & Sarah) We had no idea when it was going to take, but we were happy that she managed to get our faces in the picture. (She took another one of just our feet.)

Seriously, the backpacks this year are soooooo cute! The girls have bright pink bears with hair bows and the boys have bright green bears with bow ties. Gail always tries to do something a little different with them each year. I LOVE this year's look!

On the First Official Day of School, Jenna is being offered support from Jadyn and Hyrum. (Yes that is her behind the tree.)

I guess she decided to let me take a few photos of her. I got a few that I just LOVE! Off she goes to preschool!!!

One of the advantages to being an assistant teacher is being able to take pictures during class. Here are Jenna and Hyrum (because he thinks he belongs in school also) doing their Hats and Necklaces. Hyrum actually did a better job than some of the other children. He is in such a hurry to grow up!

Now we are really in the school mode. We all love preschool! Jenna is so happy to finally be in school. She calls it "My School" instead of "Nana's School" or "Jadyn's School". She has a wonderful class and the best teacher in the world... Thanks Nana for having such an awesome preschool!

Hey Hooray, today is my preschool day!!!

August News

August was another busy month. We endured the heat and made a lot of fun memories. Here are some of our highlights...

Just for fun

Our resident trend setter, Jenna, kept me entertained with her constant change of clothing and accessories. I swear she will be a clothing designer someday. She is always putting things together and talking about being, "fashionable".

Playing outside in the splash pool was lots of fun at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Thankfully, it is supposed to start getting cooler soon. Summer can be pretty brutal.

After it was dark, the playground was fantastic! (You don't get burned on the slide after the sun goes down!!!)

Let's hear it for Mommy School and all of the fun projects that we made and created. I don't know what I would do without the Dollar Store and all of the creative ideas I found online.

Is this OCD?

Let's be fair, I know that Jared has some OCD tendencies, but this kind of surprised me. I was putting away breakfast when I turned around to discover Hyrum taking all of the projects that we display on our fridge off and stacking them neatly on the floor. Once he stacked up the projects, he took all of the magnet clips and lined them up. This was the first time that I saw him do this, but I catch him lining up cars by color and straightening a stack of books so that they are all all centered. The boy is almost 2. Is this OCD? Jared seems to be so proud...

Just because she can be silly...

Jadyn's Talk on Eternal Families

Jadyn loves to give talks. She loves to stand in front of groups of people. This month she gave a talk in primary on the blessings of families. It was awesome. She had it completely memorized (as usual) and she learned it by herself --reading the back of the pictures. She is so smart! She had photos of 4 generations back and the dates when they were married in the temple. I hope she always remembers how important family and family ties are in this life.

Kyla's Visit and Mom's 50th!!!

My sister flew in from Tennessee as a surprise for Mom's 50th birthday. Mom was in tears when she saw her. It was perfect! Kyla and I had a blast together. She is so much fun and we had a lot to get done for the party. She felt a little under the weather for a day, but she recovered well and helped to make Mom's day perfect.

The theme for the party was "My Favorite Things". We decked out a room with German decor and posters. We had lots of Mom's favorite foods to eat and invited her favorite people. Kyla and I sang an altered version of the song from Sound of Music - "Her Favorite Things". We even created these little head scarfs with braids so that everyone could be a German Frau. Who knew those would be so loved?!? We had a video slide show tribute to her life. Everyone went home with a German mug filled with chocolate and other yummy things. Mom had a great time at her party...she hasn't had a birthday party in 37 years! It was past due and I am so happy that she enjoyed herself. Here are a few photos from the party.

Two days after the party was my Grandpa's Birthday (89) . We went to Serranos for lunch and wished him a very happy birthday!

Jadyn Meets her Teacher!

I agonized for months about what to do with Jadyn. Everything she does is beyond her 'grade level' of Kindergarten. She can read chapter books by herself, do addition and subtraction in her head, write stories with complete plots, and she is very confident and comfortable with people. I had her on a waiting list for several schools that would advance her quickly and I was attempting to skip her into 1st grade. I even considered Home School, but I wanted her to have a social experience. Then I found a program that is through a local public school and is specifically geared towards home school students!!! Basically, the school provides the curriculum and students attend school 1 or 2 days a week and then they are home schooled the rest of the week. I was beyond thrilled!!! Jadyn now goes to school 2 days a week and we do home school the other days. It is a "best of both worlds" program. She gets the social and fun learning at school and she can move at her own pace at home. I LOVE this school. Her teacher is amazing and Jadyn loves her school days. This is Jadyn on meet the teacher day with Mrs. Skipper.

The first Day of Kindergarten

I knew it would come. I just didn't expect all my questions....I wondered if I have done enough to teach my daughter about being kind, being a good friend, how to use good manners and be respectful to teachers, how to stand up for herself, how to be a good Christian example.... All too soon the day came to send her off to school. This was the first time she went away to school without being surrounded by family and she was ready.

Once we got to the school, she marched off to the door of her class. Just like that. I didn't even get a goodbye. She was off and ready to conquer the world. I was a bit teary on the ride home. When I picked her up, she was so excited. School was everything she hoped for. These pictures are of her after school with her new project.

I can't believe that she is so grown up. Do all parents feel this way when they send their oldest off to school? I was so glad that it is only a few days a week. I feel that I have so much more to teach her. Where does the time go?

July...Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!

Start with the 4th!!!

It was fun to have Daddy home for part of the holiday...at least it was enough time to take some photos. We were invited to Josh and Melanie's new home for a big splash day and BBQ. The food was yummy and the kids had an fabulous time playing in the water. We talked about the blessings of freedom, life, and liberty. I hope that my children grow up being grateful for those blessings. After that we spent the evening with my parents and extended family visiting from out of town.

There were a lot of things that made this holiday special, but I think having my Grandpa home from the hospital was one of the highlights.

Irrigation fun...

It was so hot...when Great Papa got the water, the kids were quick to throw on the swimming suits and head for the yard. They ran, jumped, splashed and dunked. The best part was watching them splash Great Papa. He finally started fighting back.

Hyrum's First Haircut!

So, I was in love with his little curls (I think he has more hair then Jenna) but it was getting out of control. We finally set aside a day and took care of the big first haircut! He sat so nicely and never moved. Isn't he handsome?!?

The Hardest Week

We almost lost our little boy. Crazy, right?!? He had a viral infection. It went from a sickness to being unable to hold anything down. He wasn't eating or sleeping. We aren't big worriers, so we figured he would get over it and be fine in a few days. After 3 days of being sick, he was non-responsive. By the time I took him to the ER, the doctors were really concerned. He was very dehydrated and his kidneys had started to shut down. I was told that if we had waited 12 more hours to bring him in, we would have been saying "goodbye" to our son. They gave him 3 bags of saline in those first few hours and it was like watching a balloon inflate. He still had problems with his kidneys so we spent a few days at Gilbert Mercy Hospital. They were WONDERFUL to us. Hyrum was the best patient many of them had ever seen. He did not cry when being poked, prodded or even when they put in his IV. He bravely watched and held my hand. They kept drawing blood and giving shots and he never cried. He was the best boy. His good nature is such an example to me.

I have to mention my sweet friends and family. While I was in the hospital, I never had to worry about my girls - they were being well taken care of by my family. I was brought a care packages of goodies and snacks. My friends came to offer comfort, books, gifts and their love. I was so grateful. Words can't even begin to express how much I appreciated the kind thoughts and gestures.

His favorite visit when we were in the hospital was when Daddy brought his sisters. The girls brought him books to read and even read to him. They gave him a balloon and lots of hugs. It was so sweet to watch them take care of their sick little brother.

This was taken 5 days after we came home from the hospital. He was still struggling, but he was so happy to be home and with his sisters again. It took about 4 days of being home before he really turned the corner. We are so grateful that our little boy is still with us. It really made us appreciate everything about him. It was so wonderful to hear his laughter filling the house again and to witness his good nature influence his bossy older sisters - and make them a little more thoughtful and kind.

What do you do in the Summer Time?

Swim, Swim, Swim!

Visit the Temple...

Act a little crazy...

That wraps up our month of July. We had a few really rough weeks with Hyrum, but other than that, we felt extremely blessed. Members of our family and our ward family made sure we were taken care of and we can't thank them enough. I have much to be thankful for...