Christmas!

On the 18th we had Christmas with my parents and sister.  We had a nice brunch of Skier's French Toast, hash browns, and bacon.  Then the present opening began.

Chloe got an Easy Bake oven, Cooper got Spygear stuff, Zane & Zac got money.

I got a book, and a case of birch beer. Kyle got money.  After presents we sat around and chatted.  Then we snacked and played games.

Kyle's parents came to spend Christmas with us.  We went and saw them at Thanksgiving as we do each year.  This is the first time we've gotten together for Christmas.

They hung out with us Christmas Eve.  We chatted, ordered pizza for dinner, and just had fun.  The kids didn't go to bed as early as I had hoped.  After they went to bed, presents were wrapped, stockings were filled.  I got hooked on a couple of Christmas movies.  I think I dozed for about 2 hours.  Then I got up to make scones.

Grandpa & Grandma came in the morning.  We had a nice Christmas breakfast of scones, eggs, hash brown scramble, bacon, monkey bread and juice.  Then the present opening began.

Chloe got a bike, some dolls, a Zhu Zhu pet, and a purse.  Cooper got Legos and Magic cards.

Zane got money, a hat and Magic Cards.  Zac got money, a hat, and shirts.  Grandma gave each of the kids a book and a science themed t-shirt.  I got movies, movies, and more movies; Despicable Me, Sorcerer's Apprentice, Family Guy, SA Christmas Carol, Corner Gas 5 & 6; and a book.  Kyle got a Sears gift card, Iron Man 2, and a netflix membership.

 After playing and talking for a while and taking naps, we had a nice Christmas dinner.  I used the china I had gotten from my  mother-in-law.  We had Cornish game hens, roasted herb potatoes, carrots, stuffing, and sparkling cider.

Rudolph (You Don't Have To Put On The Red Light)

Crazy Cat Lady Costume

You may not know the crazy cat lady character from The Simpson's so here is a picture of her.

So a few year ago, I used a dress that I had as a template and made a dress.  Then I went to Deseret Industries (DI)  and bought the sweater and slippers.  I bought some cats at  DI, Shopko and the dollar store.  I attached the cats to my dress, sweater and slippers.  I put a cat in a pocket and I stained that pocket yellow so it looks like the cat peed on me.  I have a cat that meow when you grab it or throw it.  That is the cat that I throw at people.

So I have a cat on my shoulder, one on my behind, one in a pocket, a small one on a slipper and one that I throw.  I want to get some more and have one climbing up my arm, one hanging off the dress and attach one to a headband so that there is one in my hair.

It's been ages

Wow, it has been ages since my last post. Let's get y'all up to speed.

My internship at Bingham High School is awesome.  I have an awesome group of students that I work with.  The teachers and paraeducators are awesome.  The peer tutors are awesome.  Recently we went to Homecoming.  I took Kyle as my date.  He looked hot.  I will post some pics as soon as I get them.

Chloe is in 1st grade this year.  She has a new group of friends, and some old friends from her Kindergarten class.  She is reading very well.

Cooper is in 4th grade this year.  He hopefully on the verge of a growth spurt.  He seems to like his class and his teacher works well with him.

Zane is in 9th grade this year.  I don't know how well Zane is doing because he is in his moody teenage phase right now.  But he's got a couple of groups of friends that he hangs with.  He and a friend have been taking dance lessons.  He plays the cello in orchestra.

Zac is in 11th grade.  He is taking Japanese and guitar as some of his electives.  He has his learner's permit and is registering for Driver's Ed for next semester.

Kyle is working.  He works a split shift.  He goes in to work for a couple of hours, then comes home to get the kids off to school, then goes back to work.  I leave the house by 6am to be at work by 7am.  The kids don't need to leave until 8am, so...

The two dogs are fun to watch, but I am giving them up to a good home with a better fencing system that will keep them in the yard.  So if you, or someone you know would like a dog...

That's about it.

2 female English Pointers

Sadly, I must give up my dogs.  My work schedule (along with family and scouting schedules) has me busy that I do not have the time to give my dogs the attention they deserve.  If you or someone you know would like a good hunting dog, or companion dog, please let me know.

These two girls are fun, friendly, spirited and energetic.  I have worked on training them to sit, shake, stay and down.  They are about 9 months old.  They have not been spayed, but they have had their first shots.  The gray one is named Pepper and the white one is named Speck.  I hate to see them go, but I  am just not able to walk them and play with them as much as I would like and as much as they need.

Best Buddies

The high school where I work has a program where general education students are paired up with a student with special needs. This is a national program. Tonight at our meeting we watched a video about the program. You can check out there website here, Best Buddies International.
I am one of the faculty advisors for our school's chapter.

Forks are for eating, tridents are for ruling the Seven Seas

I've been catching up on The Big Bang Theory.  Such a quirky, funny little show.  I had seen this episode a couple of weeks ago.  Then recently, Kyle and I went out to eat for a date.  This clip came to mind.

Kyle and I went out to eat at Olive Garden, and what should I notice?  My utensil was a three-tine fork.  Excuse me, a trident not a fork.

I think it is funny that the girl in the clip mentions going out for Italian food, and an "Italian" restaurant is where I find the three-tine fork.

Lagoon

Today I took the family on a surprise trip to Lagoon.  Well, I had actually spilled the beans to Zac & Kyle, but the others didn't know.  We got some discount passes from a purchase at Deseret Book.  We weren't able to be there all day because Zac had work tonight.  But, we got to ride a lot of rides and have some fun.  It started to rain as we were about to leave, so I guess our timing was good.  Here are some pictures.

 

Kyle and the boys on the Wild Mouse

 

Chloe on the Merry Go Round

 

Cooper & Chloe on the Bumper Cars

 

Kyle, Naomi & Zane on the Rocket Blast-Off

 

Kyle on the Top Eliminator

 

Cooper & Zac on Thunder Track Go Karts

 

Chloe & Zane on Thunder Track Go Karts

After Lagoon, we ate lunch at JCW's The Burger Boys.  It was very good.  I recommend it.

New Teacher Training

So this week I've been attending a new teacher training called Running Start.  It is put on by the Utah Personnel Development Center.

Most of the topics I have already learned about in my Special Education program but, it is a good refresher.  Also, the presenters may have another view point or a different slant on that topic, that has been beneficial.  Most of us are new teachers this year.  Then there are some experienced teachers acting as coaches for us.  My coach is from the school district where I will be interning.  She has been very helpful and given lots of insight about my class.

Not only are the presentations good, but we have been given some free stuff.  I got a bag, binder, pencil case, and door prizes.  Also, they provide breakfast and lunch.  The food is awesome.  Kyle was so jealous that we had steak for lunch and biscuits & gravy for breakfast.  We all commented that we are going to gain so much weight by the end of the week.

Also, I am getting a stipend to attend the training.  (that means I am getting paid to attend).  Bonus!

Children's Parade

Cooper & Chloe were a part of the Children's Parade for Spanish Fork Fiesta Days.  The theme was, Surround Yourself With... and then each ward chooses their own.  Our ward chose to Surround Yourself with Your Ancestors.  They wanted each of the kids to dress up like pioneers, and to hold a sign of the name of an ancestor.

Cooper was wearing an Amish straw hat.  Chloe wore a bonnet and apron.  The two ancestors I chose were my grandmother Velma Griffith, and Kyle's grandmother Doratha Jones. 

Neither of these ancestors were the 'typical Mormon pioneer".  But both of these women were the first member of the LDS church along with their two youngest children.  The other interpretation I wondered was, do they mean pioneer as in first family member to come to Utah?  Well, that would be me and Kyle as far as coming to Utah for school and then just staying here to raise our family.

4th of July

We had a nice vacation in Newcastle, Wyoming for the 4th of July weekend.  Kyle's high school has an all-class reunion every five years.  Some events are planned for everyone, and some are planned by individual classes.

We left Thursday night after my class.  We drove through the night.  I did most of the driving.  I felt like if Kyle could sleep on the drive then he'd be awake and available for the activities his class had planned for Friday and the weekend.  I on the other hand could sleep away.

We all stayed with his parents, Jim & Mary.  Kyle and I had the guest room.  His brother Kellen and wife Trista had a room set up in the garage.  (It looked like a triage unit with all the tarps.)  The boys slept in a tent outside.  Kyle's sister Candy, her children Sadie, Cruz, and Caysen, and Kyle's high school sweetheart Shelli slept in the spare bedroom.

Yes, I said Kyle's high school sweetheart.  They dated off and on during high school, went to prom and such.  We keep in contact through Christmas letters and are Facebook friends.  And no, it wasn't weird having her there.  It felt like she was a cousin, or a friend from church.

Friday night Kyle went to a restaurant, the Flying V, where they had a band playing.  He visited with lots of people there.  I stayed behind at the house, visited and slept. 

Grandpa Jim had some fun activities for the kids.  They were divided into teams and sent on a treasure hunt on the property.  Each kids ended up with $13 in gold coins.  Also, Jim has a 3-hole golf course that he is setting up.  Cooper and Cruz helped out to earn some more money.

They are manly men with their shirts off.

Saturday there was a parade.  Zac, Zane & Sadie were fighting for candy that was thrown from the floats.  Tootsie rolls seemed to be the candy of choice to be thrown.  For lunch we went to Taco John's which is a restaurant that Kyle frequented as a teenager.  You know he was a frequent customer when the owner recognizes him and calls him by name.  Later that night, Kellen and his friend Tim set up a fire pit and we roasted marshmallows for s'mores.

Kyle went to the Antlers Hotel to meet his classmates and then on to a street dance.  He again caught up with old friends. 

Sunday we all went to church.  There were quite a bit of adults, who were teenagers in that ward, that bore their testimonies.  Again, it was picture time after the meetings. 

Here are Shelli and Carma.  Carma came up to the house for a visit, but I slept through that.  Bummer.

We set off fireworks that evening.  In Utah you can only set off flowers, fountains, snakes, poppers, smokebombs, and flashers.  But in Wyoming you can also set off some bottle rockets and aerials.  That was cool.  Then later that night we went to the fairgrounds and watched the firework display.

Cooper & Zane battled a cold all weekend, but, all in all we had lots of fun.  We ate lots of food.  Got to take plenty of naps.  Had great visits.

Cleaning and Ice Cream

This morning, four of us had dentist appointments for teeth cleaning.  We got there at 9am, and left there about 11:30am.  Zac has 1 cavity. Zane has no cavities, but his 12 yr. molars came in and the dentist recommended getting sealants put on them.  I have some receding gums.  And Chloe has about 3 cavities.  Now Cooper didn't get his teeth cleaned because he had gone in recently for that, they had also pulled some of his teeth.  He's got appointments coming up for his cavities.

After our visit to the dentist, we went out for lunch. I had a Subway gift card, so that is where we ate lunch.  Of course, I couldn't find the card until after I had already paid and we left the restaurant.

After lunch we went up to BYU campus.  I had a textbook to purchase and one that I had ordered had arrived.  We stopped at the Cougareat for some ice cream.  Cooper and Zane got donuts instead (I realize we had just been to the dentist that morning).  They noticed that there was a maple bar with bacon pieces on it.

We went to the pond on campus and fed the ducks.  Then came home.  It was an eventful day.

Short Little Visit

My mother and sister, Rachel, were traveling from Carson City, NV to Niles, MI.  We had them stop in Utah for lunch while they were passing through.  My other sister, Emma, and her kids joined us.  The kids were able to visit, we adults were able to visit, and we all got to eat good food.  We went to the Jimmy John's in Bountiful.

My kids have gotten a lot of visiting family this past weekend.  We had gone to Emma's on Thursday because our cousin, Laura, was bringing her son, Steven, out here to attend BYU.  Her mother, my aunt Glenda, also came.  It was nice to see some extended family.

Well, the little ones talked us into having a sleep over.  So, Chloe & Cooper stayed the night.  I came back up the next day, Friday, with a change of clothes and swimsuits.  Emma's ward was having a pool party.  We joined them.  Zane stayed the night, along with Cooper & Chloe.  The kids stayed Saturday also to go so Toy Story 3 with their cousins.  Then Emma brought them all to my house on Sunday.

It was weird getting ready for church that Sunday morning without hounding little ones to hurry and eat breakfast, brush their teeth, take a bath, get dressed in Sunday clothes, quit fighting over who sits where in the minivan, etc.

We had a nice Father's Day dinner.  Kyle had a steak, we had ribs, shrimp skewers, roasted herb potatoes, pasta salad, and brownies with ice cream.  Yum, yum!

Internship

I got a call from Jordan School District asking if I was still interested in interviewing for an internship.  Even though that area is about 45 miles from my house, I hadn't been able to find anything closer, so I agreed to interview.  First I interviewed with a woman at the district office.  She then contacted the principal of the school where there was an opening to see if I could interview with him.  He did not have time that day, but would call me later that night.

So later that afternoon, I got a call from the principal.  We had a nice conversation about my past experience with the schools as a paraeducator.  He explained about his school and the various programs they had. They have a strong inclusion program between special ed. and general ed.  They have peer tutors, best buddies and are involved in Special Olympics.

At the end of the phone conversation he said that I was hired.  I asked, "Don't you want to interview me in person or is a phone interview good enough?"  He said that yes he still wants me to come in, not only to meet me, but for the rest of the special ed. team to talk with me.  We set up a time for my interview.

Then I went to the school.  I met with the principal, an assistant principal, and their director over special ed.  They asked me all sorts of questions, asked if I had any questions for them.  The principal really liked me and again told me I was hired if I still wanted the job.  While I am not looking forward to the commute, I felt like this school had a very strong program and that I would learn a great deal from them.  So I accepted the position.

The assistant principal took me on a tour of the school.  He talked a bit of the history and legacy of the school.  Oh, I guess I should mention the school, Bingham High School, in South Jordan.

Chloe Got a Haircut

So Chloe had a haircut at the beauty salon.  She wanted her hair to be like one of her friends from church.  It is an a-line style.

Doesn't she look cute?

In the last 10 years, I ...

OK, I stole this idea from my sister, Emma.


In the past 10 years, I...

- had my 3rd and 4th children

- I've changed job locations twice

- got a dog

- lost a dog

- got two dogs

- was a Webelos den leader

- was the Cubmaster

- was the Girls' Camp Director

- started a barbeque concession business

- traveled to Indiana, Michigan, Wyoming, Nevada, Arizona, Oklahoma and Arkansas

- attended funerals for grandparents

- went back to college and finished generals

- started degree program for Special Education

- took PRAXIS exam and did exceptionally well

- bought a new minivan

- got rid of the old minivan

- replaced water heater and furnace

- realized I was addicted to caffeine

- became caffeine free

- back on caffeine

- started Pumpkin Party tradition

- lost 12 lbs.

- gained back 12 lbs.

- upholstered couch with help from siblings

- took in a stray cat, named him Dave

- accidentally killed cat in the dryer

- got two more cats in addition to the one I had

- bought a laptop for schooling

- got on myspace, facebook, and started a blog

That's all I can think of for now.  So, what have you done in the last 10 years?

Girls Night Out

My husband and sons were at a Fathers & Sons camp out.  So, my daughter and I had a girls night out.
We had dinner at The Pizza Factory in Spanish Fork.  We got the twisty breadsticks; one garlic, one cinnamon  sugar.  

Chloe got pepperoni pizza.

I got pastrami, onions and green olives. 

It was yummy despite how it sounds.
Then after dinner, we went to Blockbuster and got some movies.  She got Pollyworld (it is about Polly Pocket) and I got Stranger Than Fiction.

Schools Out For Summer!!!

OK, here are some pictures of Cooper and Chloe for their class programs and Chloe's Kindergarten graduation.

So there is Cooper at his desk.  Cooper with his teacher.  Can you find Cooper getting ready for the Third Grade Program?

Chloe had a part in the Kindergarten Program.  Hers was the very first that began the program. (I'd show you a picture but it is all fuzzy and blurry).  Her line was, "Everything we need to know, We learned this year in School.  We learned about the ABC's, And how to live the golden rule."