Mikayla is Quotable!!

Isaac shared this story with me and it's just too darn cute not to share!!!  Last night, Mikayla and Isaac were on their way to her basketball practice and they were driving on a new road in our area.
Brief history on the new road.... The new road is called the Inter-County Connector, (the ICC).  It is a toll road and you must have an EZ Pass to drive on it as there are no toll booths.  If you were hoping to pay with cash or forgot your pass, you are hit with some large fees.
Back to sweet story of my baby....
Mikayla asked her dad what happens if you get in a wreck on the ICC.  He said the same thing that would happen if you get in a wreck anywhere.  She said she was confused why all the signs said you couldn't get in an accident on the ICC.  Isaac told her he hadn't seen any signs that said that.  She in turn told him that every single sign she saw said that, then as they were passing one she said "See, right there, No Crash".

The ICC signs that are posted all along the road say "No Cash".

Just a moment that Isaac shared with me!  He chalked it up as a precious moment as well!    

Catching Up...

I really really really need to do better about updating this blog.  I follow several blogs that are updated daily, some twice a week, some once a week, but not very many that only update once every couple months!  I'm that person and no wonder i don't get many responses....I never post! LOL

It is one week after my anniversary and Isaac and I couldn't be better!  We each have new callings.  Well, mine I've had a few a couple months.  I'm the activity coordinator for RS.  Isaac is now in Young Men's.  He's the counselor over the Deacons quorum.  I think he's going to be fabulous in this calling.  Plus, he's serving with a good friend of ours. 

Jacob finds out tomorrow whether or not he made it to "call backs" for the musical tryouts last week.  He tried out for Captain Hook in Peter Pan.  If he gets this part, I promise to work more with him on matching pitch.  I know now that he is not completely tone deaf.  How did I figure this out?  He can hear music and go pick out the melody and sometime harmony on the piano!  Tone deaf people cannot do that!

Erica has become the little party planner for her best friend's birthday party.  Shiwei is no longer considered a guest in our home.  As a matter of fact, this weekend I explained that if she came over she too would have to help clean!  And she did!  She is not a member of our church, but she has been so frequently with us that many of the girls invited to the party are from church (plus a few from school).  I'm so glad Erica and Shiwei are friends.  I had a friend like this when I was young (Kim).  We were permanent fixtures in each other's homes and wound up going to church together too.  Recently, she and I have connected again via Facebook and even exchanged Christmas cards.

Speaking of being younger.... My 20 year high school reunion is this SUMMER!!  YIKES!  Has it really been 20 years since I was in High School?  I look back over the past 20 years and I think of all the roads that I could've gone down and am so happy that this is the one I chose. 

Happy Monday everyone!  Love to all!  And I didn't mention any Mikayla stories on this post....but honestly, with all she says, she just might deserve her very own post! : )

Thankful...

Oh Dear!  I can't believe it's been so long.  I always have the best intentions of keeping up with this blog.  So today, I'm at work & yes, it's Black Friday, 2012!  Isaac and Jacob are on their way to New York to help with relief efforts after Hurricane Sandy just devastated the area.  There is a group of 10 going up from our ward, and almost 1000 going from our stake.  They will be doing hard labor like ripping out ruined carpets, cutting out ruined dry wall, shoveling out water and mud from people's basements.  They took sleeping bags and MRE's and will hopefully crash at one of our church buildings.
Yesterday for Thanksgiving, Jacob went to the Turkey Bowl to play football with several men and YM from our ward.  He seemed to really enjoy himself.  Isaac, Erica, Mikayla, and I went to the church to meet up with some people who wanted to do a family fun run or a turkey trot.  The 5k wound up being 3.52 miles rather than the standard 3.1.  Although I shed a few tears from the pain and lack of breathing abilities, we completed it! 
After that we went home to gather the food we prepared and loaded up to go to our friends, the Bearman's, for a Thanksgiving Feast.  It was super yummy and everyone seemed to have a blast eating, visiting, and playing.
I'm super blessed right now with good health.  After fighting a rare bacteria for most of the year and three unexpected surgeries, I am so blessed to be healthy.  My spirits are high and my energy levels are almost back to normal.  I'm able to work out now, so I anticipate my energy levels to continue to climb.  I'm blessed with a wonderful family and a happy home.  I love having a husband that makes me laugh and makes me feel like a queen.  I love that we are happy together.  I'm so grateful for my Heavenly Father and they guidance of the Spirit.
May all of you have a happy holiday season.

Can't wait to post about....

If I make a list of everything, then maybe I'll remember to update this blog....
Being sick
Kids school year activities
Maureen's visit
Aria's visit
Jacob's first kiss
Primary president
There's more but at 3:11 in the morning, this will have to do!! These things will be good posts to update this a little!!

Is Summer time for School work?

It's that time of year!  The teacher in me struggles each summer with whether or not to implement a "school work" section into our summer break.  Every single part of me and my training knows that my children need this.  Every single part of me knows that my oldest will read no matter what.  Every single part of me knows that my middle NEEDS me to implement a schedule for her.  And every single part of me knows that my youngest will be a little rebel about this.  So, I think I will try to be creative.... If I work on cooking with Erica, that will help implement both reading and math.  If we go to the library, everyone will be excited to get new books to read.  And if I make myself set a timer and sit down with them, we can get a lot accomplished in a little time about 3 days per week.  I could work out a deal with Jacob where he helps with one while I help with another, and that's actually keeping him busy as well.  Although he's always hated having to be a peer tutor....see....being the smart kid isn't always so fun!
Anyway, I think my one that needs more attention will not mind doing some stuff with me, since she will view it as time with me, rather than time working.  And I bet she and I could sneak off and do some sewing together as well!   So....I guess you could say that the teacher in me won on this struggle!  : )
Happy Monday to Everyone!

The Cast(s)

Water proof cast

I never posted on the blog that Erica broke her leg during her 4th grade picnic.  Her and another student were playing and they fell on top of each other, sat out of playing for about 10 minutes to rest, then got up and went on playing.  Then the next day was Field Day.  Her foot/ankle/bottom of leg area was tender, so she opted not to participate in any of the racing events during Field Day.  By the time she got home on that Thursday, her limp was quite substantial.  But me still being wary, told Isaac that I would take her in for an x-ray AFTER piano lessons.  So that night we went in, and the doctor was shocked to see the x-ray, the bottom of her tibia is fractured and her growth plate was broken as well.  Luckily on Friday, the orthopedic doc that we see had an opening.  She got to choose a really cute tie-die looking cast (pictures in a little while).  Of course after getting that cast was when everyone started asking us why we hadn't gotten a water proof cast.  Well, we didn't know there was such a thing.  So we went for her 2 week check up on Friday, where she got permission to start applying weight, and we got a water proof cast.  It's the greatest thing since sliced bread, especially because it's summer time!! 
There's an art to getting all the water out, but so far, so good.  Now she goes back in another 2 weeks and I'm sure he'll do another x-ray at that point to see how the healing process is going.  Everyone says kids heal so quickly.  I hope that's the case for her, even though she's being such a trooper!!

Last day of School

Today is the last day of school for the 3 munchkins.  That means our year of having a 7th grader, 4th grader, and 1st grader has come to a close.  All in all, it's been a pretty good year.  Jacob always keeps us on our toes and we routinely have to check his grades online.  For some reason, even though he probably only turned in half of the homework assignments he should've, he still managed to stay on the honor roll all year!  I guess it's a good thing he makes nearly a 100% on all his tests!
Erica has shown vast improvements this year.  School doesn't come as easy for her as it does for Jacob, so she has to work really hard for her grades.  But I remember when I was teaching, that students like Erica were always well liked by teachers!  Hard workers are the best!!  Her biggest struggle is spelling...which she gets from her dad!  She made the biggest improvements in math.
Mikayla is a lot like Jacob when it comes to school.  She does work hard and is hard on herself when she makes mistakes.  But she's very haphazard when it comes to homework.  And she will not be one of the girls with the cutesy handwriting.  Mikayla loves compliments on her clothing and loves to wear cutesy outfits. 

They are all 3 registered for Summer Camp at Fort Meade.  We will be able to drop them off at camp, then work our 8 hours, then pick them up and head home!  It's a pretty sweet deal, even if I lose my quiet commute to and from work!  It will also keep them busy and active this summer.  Jacob is the least excited about it, but the one that needs it the most.  He's getting much better about socializing and making friends so this will be a good experience for him, even though he usually talks the ears off of the counselors!

Boys will be boys....

We were very lucky to have someone from church give us some cupcakes (6 of them).  Really, we got lucky because I had keys to the church building to go "save" the cupcakes, so we were given 6 out of kindness for my efforts on the rescue of the cupcakes!  They were Cherry Limeade cupcakes and the girls seemed to love them.  Anyway, last night there were 3 left and Mikayla decided on the one she wanted (the prettiest one, of course).  She wrote her name on a paper plate with a sharpie and put the cupcake on it for the morning after breakfast. 
Jacob is up before the girls.  He thought it would be funny to switch the prettiest cupcake on the plate with one of the others from the island.  So he did the evil switch and then left for school.  A few minutes later, Erica came down, took a bite out of one of the cupcakes on the island and proceeded to fix her breakfast.  When Mikayla came downstairs, the first thing she noticed was that the cupcakes had been switched.  The one on the plate was no longer the prettiest one AND there were two rings on the plate proving her theory.  Then she went over to the island to find hers, and low and behold, the one Erica had taken a bite of was the prettiest one!!!  So the tears began to roll.  Bless my baby's heart!  Her brother meanly switched them, her sister innocently took a bite of one, and now she didn't get to eat the prettiest cupcake any longer.  She had to settle for one of the "ugly" ones!! LOL...  Keep in mind these were white cupcakes with pink frosting and a cherry on top of each.  They were all pretty! 
Luckily Daddy was home to help dry the tears and while each girl enjoyed their cupcake, Daddy enjoyed the third one!

Play Ball!!

It's all of their first years to play ball!! They are all loving it!