Mackenzie has announced that she will never kiss a boy or get married and will live with me forever! This is me making a note!.....For the FUTURE!!!!! :)

I love it when a storm rolls in. It's Friday night and the big kids are at Youth Conference and the little ones and I are sitting on Ashley's swing watching the wind blow the trees above and Phineas and Ferb on the Kindle Fire! Yep, a good night! We are not sure which is more amusing!

 

Parent Teacher Conferences

I don't know why I dread those three words. I go in every time expecting a list of what my kids do wrong, from forgetting homework to making a trip to the Principals office on a regular occasion. Or hitting and scratching the little boy sitting next to her, or complaints that my son is a little too curious for his own good.

Every time I am surprised. All good things. If there is a negative thing it is so lost in the good ones.

Mackenzie's teacher said she has improved so much, especially in the social side. She has friends! And she may doodle and not focus but she has improved so much!

And Joey! Well, his teachers says he hates to read and follow along but he makes her heart smile! She gets his quirks and looks past them and loves him for it!

I joke and tell tall tales about them every now and again but they truly are the lights in my life! They are fun to watch, especially their imperfections, but only because I have them too and if we can't laugh at ourselves, what's the point?  All six of them are a pure delight! And it is so great when you can go in and the teachers can see what you do! That is truly a wonderful teacher and I am happy to say my little ones have that!

And I have experienced what it is like to have a teacher who does not care and a teacher who does. The difference is amazing! And I am lucky if my kids have ones who care about them like I had! Truly priceless!

Ashley sent me an email! She is doing really well! Over a month ago I had her gather boxes for the uniforms to go back to Stanbury because of a problem before she quit. She gathered two or three of them and then helped me box the cadets. We discovered one of the boxes was too small so she got another one from work. She asked me what I was going to do with the box. I told her I would find a  use,  just not the uniforms.

Well, I did! I sent her bedding to her with it! She got a kick out of that! And now my first assignment is to gather pictures of everyone she loves and send her a picture book. Apparently she misses us more than she thought she would! Good thing I have a good camera! I am on a mission!!!

Ashley called!

I talked to her today! She is on her way to Boise! They allowed her to call home for a little bit and it was go good to hear her voice! And I can tell she misses me! She was crying on the phone right along with me!

That and she told Zach she loved him!

A miracle in itself!

Britt got to talk to her too!
(Thank goodness the big ones were home! Sometimes you gotta love AIMS!)

Everyone says these 18 months will go by so fast but I don't think so.

But in the meantime I know she is where the Lord wants her to be.
It was awesome! But now I am a blubbering idiot!

Tomorrow is my anniversary! Twenty three years! And my sweet husband let me sleep in (technically, I dropped Zach off at school at 4 am for his band trip to Flagstaff, but I am not counting that!)  I woke up around 7:15, just in time to see what the little ones were up to.

They were dressed!

Even shoes! (My kids only wear shoes if they absolutely have to! Last minute, do or die, life threatening have to!)

And their hair was brushed! (A school day is not complete without me chasing my kids around the house with a squirt bottle, threatening to hose them down and brush their hair!)

I am impressed! Now, we have a whole half hour to goof around as opposed to the goofing around while getting ready... I think my kids like him better than me. (Joey says Travis is scarier that me!... Well, I can change that!)

He took the day off so I could go to Flagstaff with the band kids but Tami is in the hospital. She is has a blood clot in her spleen. I think the details are still a mystery but I must say I was kind of scared. My grandma died of a blood clot so I know they are not something to mess with. So, we are going to spend the day together and then probably stop by the hospital later on. And, if they need to, Josh and Danni will come over tonite and spend the evening with us again!

 

Practicing the piano

Piano Practice

Why are they so hard?

It's not the teacher.

Sis Favreau is wonderful! She is patient, understanding, long suffering (so, so, so longsuffering!) and always has a sense of humor. (Thanks goodness!)

No, the problem is the two of them!

Practicing is like pulling teeth.

When Joey does practice, he plays this really annoying song that I think Sis. Favreau will forever regret giving him. And then he plays around.

For instance, right now the front room  is a 'Joey Preserve', meaning no one can touch him,

which really means he cannot be picked on while practicing but he reserves the right to start it all back up when he is done whether everyone is ready or not. (Yes, they are at war!)

Who knew practicing the piano was a great lesson in strategy!

And Mackenzie has many other things to do.

For instance, leading the attack on Joey.

I miss the good old days where kids would sit down and practice the piano for a period of time and then quietly put their books away and get on with life.

No, I get flying books, kids running circles around the chair, and another threatening the other with a Nerf gun because even war is not a good enough excuse to take time for piano practice.

 

I need an aspirin.

 

 

Yesterday was practice for regionals!

Sadly, Zach was not there but our would was still involved.

Luke Hagen spent part of the day with us!

He came for 40 minutes before school and then a few hours after.

It was Early out at Franklin.

Luke Hagen is one of Joey's best friends.

I always forget that he is a year younger than Joe. In fact, he is probably closer to Mackenzie's age than my little man. I always forget that because he is so big! But when he comes he always includes Mackenzie! Such a good kid!

 

 

(They are both standing!)

 

They brought their valentine's treasures home from school. And, right on cue, 15 minutes later, three little boys from across the street were here to check out those same treasures.

 

An auction was started over sweets. A movie was started and then a zombie war. Mackenzie protested the Zombie war (that's my girl) but I think she lost out. Poor thing! It's hard to be the only girl there. And I watched from the sidelines, with a book, knowing full well not to get involved unless there was blood or fear of death.
 

Bad picture, sorry!

 

By the time 4:45 hit my family room was littered in candy wrappers, valentines, and nerf bullets. But I must say it was a pretty successful valentines day. I even got roses and tons of chocolate (thanks, Lazona ward young women! Loved the chocolate strawberries the best!)

And then I ended the evening cuddled up to one of my favorite people.

Mackenzie!

 

(And don't tell them but they have a week and then the valentine fairy is  coming to clean house! Those pesky valentines have a way of clogging up my house and this year they are going, going, gone!)

Goodbye, Ashley

This morning we took the kids to breakfast one last time for a while. Cortney and Alex even came. It was good. We joked around (yeah, I discovered Zach needs a lot of lessons in manners. For instance, if you lick a hot plate, it will burn your tongue. And no slurping noises should ever be aloud on a date...and so many other disturbing things....we have our job cut out for us in time for him to turn 16!)

Our waiter came by and took a picture for us and then told Ashley to remember this moment because Family really is the most important thing. He really brought out what Travis and I wanted the kids to realize at that moment in time. And I think it worked...until Alex's phone broke downloading a picture of me! Hah! Karma!

 

Cortney and Alex headed to work and the rest of us went to the airport. If I could do it again I think next time I would want the little ones to go to school instead of the airport because it was one big jungle gym. Escalators to play on, ropes to swing under, and a big plane to point at while running around the escalators.  And I think Ashley was really working on her patience by the time her baggage was checked in.

We said goodbye right outside the security check point. It was so hard! I will miss her so much. I know deep inside that she is doing the right thing but my heart is still torn! We waited until she passed through and she waved as she walked back. Britt and I lost it. (The others were playing tag on the escalators...I am surprised the didn't take pictures of them to post on the 'banned from the airport' list. See? this is why we should have sent them to school!) Even Travis cried. But life goes on whether we want it to or not.

And now, kids are dropped off, watered down, and I am all alone again. I already miss her.

 

I am off to my parents for a good cry and some potato salad.

Can't sleep again

It's 4 am and I am hiding in the front room hoping not to wake up Ashley who is asleep in the family room with her favorite fleece blanket and her trusty dog Dale looking so much like that little girl who would fall asleep on the landing between the stairs when she was three because she didn't want to go to sleep. I miss those days. I long for those days because that would mean I wouldn't be saying goodbye so soon. But there is something I have learned these last few months is that the Lord is in control and we need to have faith in him and his plan and that he loves us more than anything and we need to hold on and he will guide us. But we need to ask and seek for his help. I hope I can remember that and learn to seek more efficiently.

 

 I really am so proud of her!

 

Last night we had her setting apart. The only others who came were Bishop and McKayla. I can't think of anything more appropriate. McKayla has been her oldest friend.

I had to bear my testimony.

One of the hardest things I have ever done.

Mackenzie did a last minute one herself.

It was cute and to the point.

 

 When all was said and done even Joey's eyes were red from all the crying. Everyone's was. Tami even came with a pretty bad case of pneumonia. It was truly a remarkable experience.