Last week of school 8-)

It's finally here!! The last week of school. Sierra will be busy with yearbooks, Lagoon Day, 9th grade promotion, and her 15th Birthday party on Friday!! Luckily for her, no drill practice this week (thank goodness!).

Justice and Montana will have field games, lunch barbeques, and a carnival after school on Friday!!

This is always a fun week, but I am sure by next Monday they will be bored already!!

Montana Marie :-)

Looking at Montana this morning I am honestly shocked at how quickly she is growing up. Not only physically but mentally as well. She has already entered the "pre-teen phase". She has mastered the texting on the phone all morning and night, the rolling of the eyes when I ask her to do something, the constant phone calls/texts from her friends requesting sleepovers or "hanging out", the sending of e-mails without help, etc. etc.

She still wants to cuddle (yay) and have me carry her to bed- which I cannot do now because the kid is practically full grown! Her appetite is voracious!! She eats constantly- and always has- but now she is conscious of calories, fat, and working out. She and Sierra are always working out together- which is fine- I prefer for them to know that you have to be aware of the calories in/calories out equation- but I see her looking in the mirror and pinching her skin and wondering if she is fat. WHICH SHE IS DEFINITELY NOT!! The outfits she picks are much more trendy, color coordinated and so cute on her!! The hair- is the one thing she has not become crazy about-yet! She keeps trying to shave her legs- but momma keeps telling her- NOT YET! You're only 9 for crying out loud!!

She has always been a story writer and illustrator. Her stories are very important to her. Her latest story was a love story and full of the drama of break-up, crying, and then finding a love that would never die!! The drawings were fantastic. It's so fun to see how even her writing is taking on a grown-up twist. This kid is so lovable!! It's hard to watch your kids grow up- but I am trying to enjoy it and help her enjoy it too! So far so good!

What a weekend!

We had so much fun this weekend- and got so much done. It feels like the last 4 days have been two weeks long.

After church yesterday we went to decorate the graves. It was really rainy so we basically just left flowers and didn't get to do our usual shining of the stones and edging. Which was just fine. Mom cried this year- she is really missing John. We all are- it has been 18 years since John died. He is still a part of our everyday life. Can't wait to see you again buddy! I will hug you and kiss you, and then shake you and kick you right in the butt! After the decorating mom invited the Mc family over for a BBQ! My family is always a hoot. Lots of hugs, laughs, and food. The kids had so much fun they didn't want to leave, and ended up sleeping over. Fine with me.

Then today we FINALLY got the kids settled into their new rooms. This has literally taken forever to accomplish but we are so happy with the results. Thank you so much dad for helping me disassemble and reassemble the beds. That ended up being a lot harder than I had anticipated. I could not have done it without you! The kids are soooo happy and the rooms look great!! We still need to paint and decorate- but that will be a piece of cake now! And that can wait for another day. We are all exhausted. We need a day to recover- but there will be no rest for the weary. Back to normal tomorrow. Can't wait for summer!

Once we got that accomplished- I took the kids swimming to celebrate- and to relax! It was so nice. The kids were being very adventurous today. Justice went down the slide several times by himself. I waited at the bottom- but then he decided he didn't need me because he could land and even go under the water and would be just fine. Montana was jumping off the side of the pool into the deep end, floating on her back, practicing her strokes. She is so proud of herself. They can't wait to start swim lessons now. Sierra decided not to come and went to spend time with Ari (her new best friend from Drill). So it was just me and the little ones.

Pet Project

I was cornered at church today and found out that "a little birdy" told someone that we need a lot of work done on our house. I wasn't sure what to think about this at first but after the initial embarassment I was so excited. I am not sure who is going to do it exactly but it sounds like a bunch of different organizations: the boy scouts, the young men, and the elders in the ward are coming together to do the fix it projects in our home. The Elders Q president is coming on Tuesday to find out exactly what we need done. The first project that we discussed (that he already knew about) was the railing on the deck and down the deck stairs. They are worried about the safety issue of that. So that will be done first. We have just gotten use to it after two years. Also the fence needs to be fixed because Roxy keeps getting out and it is literally falling over. He wants me to show him anything that needs fixing. Should I really whip out my big old list?? Or just be modest and show him a handfull of the most important things? I am not sure. I just feel so blessed that in our time of need people just step in and do things for us without us even asking. That is divine intervention in my book. I am excited but nervous. I guess we will see how this irons out. It's kind of weird being a "project family". But I won't complain!!

The funnest family day ever!!

I made the kids stay home with me after playing with friends all afternoon. They all wanted to scatter to the wind for sleepovers and whatnot- but I said no. I wanted to have a family night. We worked some more on switching the rooms (it is never ending!!). We are so close. I think we could actually finish by Monday!! Wahoo! It has helped us weed out so many things that have been hanging around forever. Anyway-we had such a fun time just being together and laughing and working. We wore ourselves out after several hours and decided to have dinner and relax for a bit. After dinner we decided to play the Wii together. We all took turns trying to break weird world records (a game we borrowed from neighbors). It was seriously a riot!! We were laughing, yelling, and cheering for each other. Justice and Montana kept doing a kick line. Sierra and I could not stop laughing at them. I have not laughed that hard in a long, long time. I love my kids so much. They bring me so much joy and purpose. It's so amazing when we can just do nothing and have a great time.

Family Mini Golf Date

I have been in the dumps this past week and Grama Mc wanted to take me to do something fun to get my mind off of things. She suggested we go miniature golfing. I thought that sounded so fun. We were trying to come up with a date to go and it turned out that EVERYONE had the day off today. The kids got out of school early- of course I'm free and just brought Skyler along, mom had the day off, and dad and Grama Mc were both not busy today- so the WHOLE GANG went! It was a blast! We went to Mulligans out in South Jordan/Sandy area. It is beautiful there and a fun course. They have two different courses- so we want to go back and do it again. The weather was perfect and a nice breeze blowing. It took us a couple of hours with our huge group- but it didn't seem that long. Can't wait to go back!

Voices Spring Performances

Tomorrow is our last spring performance for Voices. It has gone by quick- but two weeks of performances is a lot of work. I have had such a great time with these sweet ladies who put up with me. I think after 5 months I am finally making some progress with my voice. Yesterday I had my vocal director, and the group coordinator tell me how great I sounded. I was so happy to hear this because usually I am getting direction from everyone on tone, diction, note correction, etc. So that put a big smile on my face.

We have performed for several nursing homes, senior centers, our friends and family concert, and today we performed at a very very special school. It's called Jordan Valley School- a school for physically and mentally disabled "children"- from 5-adult. It was amazing. They were clapping and dancing and singing along. You could just feel the love in the room. All the staff and teachers have a great attitude and genuinely care for these kids. I feel so blessed to have been able to bring some happiness/entertainment to people we have performed for. We love to see the tears, and when people sing along, or smile- it makes all the rehearsal hours totally worth it! It's been amazing. I hope I will be able to do the Christmas season- but I will have to see what happens with the job situation. I will post some pics tomorrow after our last performance!

Oh yeah!! It's gettin cold in here...

My friend Reed came and hooked up my swamp cooler today!!! I thought we were going to melt the last couple of days. Seriously, we had all the windows open and fans going day and night. He came in just the nick of time!! I am so grateful!! Maybe we can actually sleep tonight! I love my neighbors!!

3 weeks left!

The kids only have 3 weeks left of school! They are so excited for summer to be here. All three of them have a severe case of spring fever. They are very restless, don't want to go to school, and can't stop talking about their summer plans.

Sierra has her summer pretty much full to the rim with activities. Drill from 6-9 in the morning :-(, Stars a couple nights a week, friends, friends, friends, drill camp, Vegas Competition for Stars, and she has acquired a pretty serious boyfriend (Mark) so I will be keeping an eagle eye on the two of them. He is really sweet to her and I like him- but that makes me even more worried :-{.

Montana has decided to try out for STARS Showteam. So we will be crossing our fingers that she makes the team. So she has that to look forward to as well as the Vegas Solo Dance Competition. She's turned into a little dancin' machine. She has tons of friends in the neighborhood so I am sure she will be busy with them all summer. Swim Lessons will be in there somewhere and don't forget her Birthday in August. She will be turning 10!! How can that be???

Justice has been consumed with playing the Wii since we got it. It has been so much fun. I actually don't mind it- he plays lots of games on the Fit Board, and his favorite is the Free Run. So he wiggles, jumps, and runs on that thing every chance he gets!! It keeps him and his friends entertained- which I much prefer to the usual running, jumping down stairs, throwing stuff at each other, and screaming all over the house. It's much more manageable. He'll have swim lessons, he wants to play soccer, and I am trying to get him back to Tae Kwon Do. He has decided he HATES it. So it's been a struggle- because he is SO GOOD at it!! What to do?

I'm still on the job hunt. And that is getting real old. I've got a couple of interviews this week so I am hoping that one of them works out. I also am considering switching schools. I have decided that a teaching degree is not the direction I would like to go. It just won't be enough money in the end. I am considering becoming a surgical tech. School is only two years and the pay is a lot better as well as being a wide open market for jobs. Plus it would be so amazing!! I am still looking into it. But I am pretty sure I need a switch. My need for a larger income is outweighing what I would "like" to do.

So there is a preview of things to come this summer. Never a dull moment!

A total sweep!

Today was the Stars North Regional Competition. This is the first REAL important competition for the girls. As usual- they were amazing. And the awards proved it.

First in Lyrical
First in Jazz
First in Show
First in Drill Down
Best Show Overall
Region Sweepstakes Winner
+One of Sierra's dances (Selling your soul) was chosen as the best routine of the day and they were able to perform it again during the awards ceremony. It was an amazing day!

Here are a few fun photos of today! Way to go babe!

Another Big Day for Tana!

Tana had her second solo dance competition today! She did such a good job! She really improved from her last competition- took her time, pointed her toes! It was so much fun to see her making so much progress in such a short time. She worked hard and she really earned her trophy! She took 2nd runner up! Way to go sweet thing! We are so proud of you! (Forgot the memory card for the camera- so I have no pics :-0 crap)

Sierra, Justice, Grama Laura, Grampa Dave & I were all there to cheer for her! It was fun being there as a family. When Tana came out to dance- we all went crazy. Justice even shouted "I LOVE YOU TANA". We all looked at him and laughed. That was totally out of character! Usually they are fighting like cats and dogs- so it was sweet to see the love come oozing out of him in a moment like that! We got some video so I will see if we can transfer it! Also I will try to wrangle some of the pics that dad took and get them posted.

She is very proud of her growing trophy collection. We got her entered for Nationals in Las Vegas. It will be a great experience for her. I told her- no pressure! Only do it if you really want to. She said "Well, we will be there for Sierra anyway- so I might as well." So we still have a lot of work to do to prepare but I know she will rock it!! Vegas here we come!!

Switcheroo

For the past year we have been talking about the kids switching rooms. The downstairs room is bigger and has two closets- so that really would be more ideal for the girls. We were using one closet as storage and the other for Justice. Yesterday we decided to get started on switching closets. Sounds easy enough. But now the ENTIRE house is in chaos. All of the storage closet contents ended up in my room, and then it became Sierra's new closet with her dresser inside. Hopefully all of her belongings can be contained in there and not all over the room like they usually are. Montana and Justice switched closets and are still in the process of switching dresser contents and toys. Then the furniture and it will be done.

I need to install lighting in all three closets, repair the closet doors upstairs, and rehang the door to the downstairs bedroom. I am quickly learning about home repairs. We are also painting and trying to come up with a new design scheme for both rooms. The girls have kind of decided to do Pink & Blue with Brown accents? It has been very hard to find in bedding. But I think I might be able to do a pink/brown pattern for Sierra, and then a similar blue/brown for Montana. Finding a mix of the three colors has been discouraging. But we will see. If you have ideas or sources let me know. Of course they can't agree on the same colors- that would be too easy!!

Justice wants to do a Star Wars theme. So that should be easy. But getting rid of the peach paint in his "new room" is top priority. Anyhoo- we will be busy for a few days!! Although it is a huge and daunting task- it is so nice to go through closets once in a while. More than once yesterday I heard "Mom, look what I found", or "Oh- I've been looking for this forever!". Plus I found a million things for our yard sale coming up!! Well, back to work!!

Mother's Day Merriment

This had to be one of the most enjoyable Mother's Days' yet. Eric sent me a text telling me thank you for being a great mom. That got my day off to a great start. My kids fussed over me all morning. Cards, handmade gifts, Sierra did my hair (which I love), and the kids got ready for church without complaint (a major feat in our home). Tana and Justi sang with the primary during sacrament meeting- that brought tears to my eyes. They are growing up so fast.

We went and spent the evening with mom and dad. Mom was busy planting her garden and flowers. I think she never relaxes. She taught me a little about planting a garden because I am starting one at our neighborhood garden plot. She always has a successful bounty- hopefully I will get a green thumb from her. We brought her flowers in a pretty pitcher to use later. She still made a delicious meal- she is amazing. I love my mom to pieces.

Dad bought a new Harley. He sold his old one and wanted a bigger, better machine. Holy cow- he got a cruising machine. It's a pretty green/tealish color. It's called an Electroglide Ultra Classic or something fancy like that. It's top of the line. He bought it from someone in Idaho. It will be fun to see mom and dad crusing around on it. I will take some pics. Anyway- he was busy customizing it and grinning from ear to ear.

We absolutely love spending time with them. Sierra was busy taking pics of everyone and everything with Dad's camera. It was so cute to see her posing Montana and having Montana giggle and grin for the camera. Justice was digging in the dirt with Grama and loving it. My heart was full of love and happiness. A great family day. I'm so blessed to be a mom and have my mom to enjoy!!

You Tube Links

Here are the youtube.com links for Sierra's routines from the dance concert.

It's hard to tell which one is her, but for the most part she is the shortest blonde either doing lots of turns or being lifted or thrown around. Most of them start black and come in after a few seconds.

1. Hypnosis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXKheSOJloI This is the one Sierra choreographed.

2. Puppets http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvLEvLqev94 Sierra choreographed this with her friend Tiffany.

3. RamaLamaBangBang http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWinFWArSDg

4. Walking on Air http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMgbDwdrWW4

5. Mercy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw0Yre89qOM

6. Finale http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4sCWTPS3oA

All she wants to do is dance!!

Last night and tonight Sierra had her dance concert for BJH. She has worked for weeks after school in rehearsal. She choreographed a Lyrical Routine entitled "Hypnosis". This one was my absolute favorite of the whole show and not just because I'm bias- it really is good! She also choreographed a prop/jazz routine with her friend Tiffany S. Half the group were puppet masters holding a contraption we made with paint sticks and pink duct tape, and attached to each end of the sticks were long 3" wide elastic strips that attached to the "puppets" wrists and ankles. It turned out really cute. Hard to explain though. She was also in 4 other routines.

I was really impressed with the girls. They all did a great job on their choreography, selection of costumes, and for the most part- the routines were pretty clean and had good technique. Definitely not drill team or Stars quality but really good. It was hard for Sierra to participate with this group because she has to really dial it down- but the choreography was something she has not had a chance to do yet. So it was really a great experience for her!

I took Justi and Tana to see it last night, and tonight I went with Mom, Dad, and Grama Mc. They were pretty impressed with our Bofi!! She rocks. She has more talent in her pinkie than all of us combined! Congrats on a fantastic concert! Now it's over and you can relax for a bit!

I will post youtube links when I get them.

Early Mother's Day

My kids brought home these gigantic mother's day cards yesterday. They couldn't wait for me to open them- they begged and begged. They were so cute. They were the kind of card that plays music when you open them. They are so proud of them and play them constantly. Justice was cuddling with me later and said- "Mom, I'm going to save a thousand dollars and buy you something really special. You know those angels with a bowl under them and they spit water? That's what I want to buy you. Do you think a thousand dollars is enough?" I told him that a fountain would be a really special gift, but, he was all the gift I would ever need. What sweet kids I have!!

Montana's First Dance Solo

Wahoo!! She did it!! And she did a fantastic job!! I think I was way more nervous than she was. Her hair was so cute. We had it in a french braid crown with a flower on one side. Her turquoise costume was so perfect for the way she moves and her dance. And she smiled and had fun too!! She is so proud of her trophy! 2nd place!! Not to shabby!! Way to go girl!

Sierra at the Tville Drill Showcase

What a night! Sierra had to wear a "prom dress" for the occassion. Since she made the drill team next year- they had her come and help with tickets, decorations, etc. She also danced in the program for BJH dance co, and BJH cheer. Then towards the end of the program she got back in her "all too beautiful" dress and they introduced her as a new member of the team for next year!

I took her to Olive Garden after to celebrate- and people from all over the restaurant were coming up to her to tell her how beautiful she and her dress were. It was kind of crazy- but of course she was soaking it all in. I could not have been a prouder mom tonight!