Brag

I don't like to use the blog for bragging but I am just so proud of my kids.

School is done, and Nathan had a great year. The school he goes to has a High Ability Strand, and kids from all over the county are tested and bussed to his school. I know every Mom thinks her kid is the smartest, so when they sent home the form to fill out if you thought your child should be tested I just set it aside and didn't fill it out. The morning that the paper was due I got a call from his teacher. She really wanted me to fill out the form and said she had her recommendation all ready for him. They tested everyday for a week and were tested on 4th grade material, Nathan just finished 2nd grade. We told him that if he got in it would be a good opportunity for him to be challenged, but if he didn't that it was totally fine. The results came back and he scored above the 99th percentile for reading/literacy, and 93th for the math portion!

The week before school got out he came home all excited and told me that on his 20 page math test (end of level assessment) he scored a 100%! His teacher told him it was her first ever!

We are glad that he wants to be in the program even though it means he won't have any of his old classmates in his class next year. He was the only 2nd grader from his school to get in.  Maybe he can help out the new kids, and prove that you can be good at sports, and get good grades. He is such a good kid and we are so thankful for the teachers he has had so far that have kept him challenged.

 Ava is really upset that she can not start school in the fall. We talked to the principal and he wanted her to come, but the school board won't let her because she misses the cut off by a month. So ridiculous. I am not anxious to have her gone at school all day, but the girl is ready. She is 4 and reads on a level J. To pass Kindergarten you have to be able to read a level C. Level J books are Magic Tree House, Amelia Bedelia, etc.

We work everyday on learning. We do a lot of baking and playing, but we also learn a lot. We maybe work an hour a day. It is not like I make her sit and write lines all day.

 She is getting really good at telling time on a analog clock,(already knows a digital clock), she can count to 100 by 1's, 5's, and 10's, we write about our day everyday, she can write to 100, we just started doing addition and subtraction (using number sentences), knows if a group is odd or even, she can tell you about what kind of punctuation goes on what kind of sentence, knows her days of the week, months, I am sure I am leaving many things out.  I know that by the time she is at the "right" age for Kindergarten she will be completely bored.

The principal has suggested having her go straight to 1st grade. I know she is advanced academically, and ballet and church have helped her get used to listening to someone other than mom, but we have decided to put her in a formal preschool with more of a classroom setting. Luckily there is a really good one by our house. The teacher is a certified teacher and does a lot of the same things as in Kindergarten. Hopefully by the time next year rolls around she will be all the way ready to make the jump if we still feel she is ready.

The kids have worked so hard and we are so proud of both of them!

Girls Night/ Fathers & Sons

Last week Ava and I kicked the boys out so we could have some girly fun. The boys went and did manly stuff like camping and shooting at Fathers and Sons. They had a lot of fun and came home nice and stinky (campfire...)







 After they left Ava and I put on our, in Ava's words, "green monster faces" (avocado face mask). I gave us both pedicures, then she decided she wanted a bubble bath in the jetted tub. We finished off the night with ice cream, while watching My Little Pony, and snuggling. She was super excited to get to sleep in my bed. 

We missed the boys like crazy and were so glad they came home in one piece. Nathan jammed his finger realllly bad and came home with his pinkie twice the normal size and purple, but he still had fun.

Recital

The kids had their recital a couple weeks ago and we were so proud of them. They did a great job and neither was nervous at all!

 
 My amazingly talented, gorgeous, sister-in-law also danced that night.

 It has been so fun to have the kids dance at the same studio as her. It was the end of 24 years of ballet recitals for my inlaws- all Tyler's sisters are AMAZING ballerinas. Meg is the youngest and is headed to college. I have seen her change so much in the 10 years I have been part of the family...we all got emotional watching her dance. If any of you were there that night, Tyler and I apologize for our obnoxious cheering...ehh, never mind, she deserved it!

 Ava was so excited for her first recital, and to wear so much makeup. We did the kids pictures before the show so they wouldn't be so grumpy after. I said to Ava, "Let me see your Arabesque," and this is what she did:

 
How cute, right?!?

I told Nathan to be cool and this was his pose:

 
 I sure love my kids.

Nathan's group (Hip Hop) danced to Men in Black, and he was front and center which was fun. He has really picked up some good moves.

I Fixed Up This Riding Mower. Before and After Pics

Tyler here.  I've been wanting a riding lawnmower for a while.  We have a big lawn and I could mow it a lot faster with one.  Well, riding mowers aren't cheap.  At Lowe's or Home Depot they are around $1,000.  Even used ones that run don't go for much less than $500.

We were visiting my brother Kevin to see their new baby and noticed there were two riding mowers that looked like they hadn't been run in a while.  I mean a while...like years.  I asked him to ask his in-laws if they were interested in selling me one for cheap.  He inquired and they said I could have the Husqvarna if I hauled it away.  Thanks Reeve family!

We showed up with a trailer to assess what I was getting into.  There were two flat tires and it looked bad.  But the engine didn't look too bad.  So we filled the tires and they held enough air to at least roll it onto the trailer.  The steering didn't work, which was puzzling.

Here are some before pictures so you can see what we were dealing with.

Here is what I did to the mower:

Replaced battery
Fixed two tubeless tires by sticking tubes inside (actually most difficult part of the job)
Repaired brand new tube because I poked a hole in it while trying to get tire back together
Replaced fuel filter
Replaced section of the fuel line
Replaced starter switch
Replaced drive belt
Cleaned out carburetor
Sharpened blades
Reupholstered the seat
Removed deck to scrape off rust and repaint.
Sprayed rubberizer on engine cowling because the fiberglass was disintegrating.
Repainted most of the mower orange and black
Designed new logos and had my Bro-in-law cut them out in vinyl for me

Total cost to restore so far: $106.60

Monica was away when I got it running for the first time and I was going to try to surprise her, but Ava spilled the beans telling a story of me driving the mower around the neighborhood with her in the PowerWheels next to me.  Monica could not believe I got it started.  My brother Kevin could not believe it either.

Well, believe it baby.

Here are the results:



Lest you think it is just eye candy, it actually runs!


 And here are some work in progress photos:

Carnival

A couple of weeks ago Nathan's school had a carnival...it was nothing like my elementary school carnivals, but was still fun. They called it an inflatable carnival and had tons of jumping things and slides, game booths, and a rock wall. The kids had the best time! We got them the unlimited rides bracelets and they ran around for 3 hours. One great thing about our school is it is tiny, so there weren't many people there and they never had to wait in line longer then 2 or 3 minutes.

I couldn't get Nathan to stop running for a picture...

Ava catching up to Nathan

Nathan almost to the top- on the hardest side!

All of the kids in Nathan's class love Ava. The girls are always so excited when we come to help in the class and she gets to go to recess. And the boys love to chase her. The carnival wasn't any different. Ava hung out with Nathan the entire time. I was sitting on the lawn watching them all run around when I saw one of Nathan's friends walking (alone) with Ava toward the game booths. He then played a game, got a prize, and gave it to Ava. It was so cute but I about died- she is my baby, and only 4 1/2! I am not ready for all these boys to be in love with her!!

When it was almost time to go, that same boy ran over to me and said Ava had fallen down hard. I guess she was running with the boys and tripped. Her arm hurt for the entire week.  We thought she may have had a hairline fracture, but she is finally better so we don't know.

Raspberry Cheesecake

For Easter I wanted to make a special dessert. We all love cheesecake, but I wanted to try something new. I found a few different recipes and took bits and peices from them. I didn't want a really tall cheesecake so I halved the amount of cheesecake-y goodness and used an 8 inch pan. If you were using a bigger pan you would use the same amount of crust  and just double the cheesecake portion. Anyway this is what I did:

1 1/2 c Graham Cracker Crumbs
3 Tb Sugar
1/3 c Butter (melted)

Wrap the bottom and sides of a spring form pan with 2 layers of foil (to prevent leaking). Mix  the above ingredients together and press into the bottom of a spring form pan. ( This will make a thick layer, you could probably do 1/2 to 2/3 of the amount)

Bake crust at 325 for 10 mins.

2 pkgs Cream Cheese - softened (I use Philadelphia)
3/4 c Sugar
1/2 c Sour Cream
Pinh of Salt
1 tsp Vanilla
2 eggs

1/2 can of Raspberry Pie filling

Beat cream cheese until smooth, then mix in the sugar, sour cream, salt, vanilla, and eggs until well combined. DO NOT OVERMIX.

Pour into baked crust. Spoon raspberry filling randomly on top of the cheesecake. Using wooden skewer or knife swirl in "U" shapes kind of like this:

Red line first, then purple- no laughing at my drawing :)

Put  entire pan inside a larger roasting pan, then pour HOT water around the cheesecake so that it comes about half way up the side to make a water both. Bake until set but still slightly wobbly in the center~about 60 mins. Remove from water bath and place on cooling rack. Let cool completely before refrigerating. When you are ready to serve it run a knife around the edge of the pan before removing the sides.

Easter

Our Easter was nice and quiet this year. I was so chill, I hardly took any pictures. Saturday we had our annual community Easter Egg Hunt. The kids got lots of DQ and Wendy's certificates(score!)and some good candy and prizes too. Shay & Maria brought Emery up for it and then we all headed back to our place for donuts, strawberries, and juice. It was nice to just sit and relax in the back yard with them while the girls played in the dirt and the boys played football.

 

In the afternoon dyed eggs then we went down to the Art Festival to watch Meg dance. She was awesome of course. After grabbing snowcones we all went to Chick-fil-A for dinner.

 
 Sunday we managed to squeeze in our own egg hunt before 9 am church. The kids were so excited about their baskets and hunting for eggs. I really think less is more sometimes. I usually do quite a few toys in baskets, but this year we decided they have way too much stuff so they got candy and one little toy each. Plus the eggs we hide always have coins (quarters this year) which they think is the coolest. I also got them each a new Lego Minifigure and hid it's parts in different eggs.

 
Here are the kids in their new Easter outfits...Poor Nathan can NOT take pictures outside in the morning...the sun is so hard on his eyes no matter which way he is facing!

I was pretty tired after church. Our sweet friends, the Carter's are leaving for their mission in 10 days, and it was their farewell. The church had more people then Stake Conference! Lots of people love the Carters :) I served in Primary with Kristine~ she is like a Mom to me. We are going to miss them! I had to lead the music in primary so after being emotional in Sacrament, and then standing for 2 hours waving my arm I was beat. After church we headed to the Carter's for lunch, then came home and vegged. Kristine gave the kids chocolate and when we got home Nathan took one piece and said, "I am going to save this until she gets home." They love her lots. I made a nice little Easter feast with Ham, cheesy scalloped potatoes, rolls, salad, deviled eggs, and raspberry swirl cheesecake. We were all so full that we just laid around after dinner.