Last 1st day

Tuesday was my last first day of kindergarten. Oh my how we have been looking forward to this day.

Truthfully, I would say at least a year anticipating this day.

It has been hard having a tail end. All the others had someone to keep them company, but not Alex. I'm just as excited for him as he is. He has Mrs. Burge.

Kiersten's first day 2004: Magna (Pleasant Green Elementary; Mrs. Elliott)

Erik's first day 2005: Stansbury Park (Stansbury Elementary; Mrs. Jensen)

Nate's first day 2007: Stansbury Park (Stansbury Elementary; Mrs. Craig) -- I'm not sure why we sent him to school in that shirt. It's kind of got some attitude for the first day of school.

Ashlyn's first day 2010: Stansbury Park (Stansbury Elementary; Miss Womack) -- We moved to Lake Point half way through, necessitating the need to start riding the bus.

And here they all are side by side for comparison. Eleven years has gone by in the blink of an eye.

Four kids in three schools

My elementary kids (plus Alex)
Yesterday we got a call from the school informing us that Ashlyn has been moved to a different class, a 3rd grade/4th grade split and will have a new teacher. She handled the news okay, although I could tell she was a little nervous. I took her this morning so we could find her new classroom and new teacher. Honestly, Ms. Marshall looked a little unsettled herself. I hope it was just a case of first day jitters and that this whole situation will be a positive one.

Nate is the "big fish" this year entering the 6th grade.

Alex desperately wanted to go to school today after dropping Ash off at her class. So we came home and I got out a tracing page and had him trace lines and color them in as I made my traditional first-day-of-school cookies.

My high school "little fish" and jr. high "big fish" 
Kiersten started 9th grade; Erik is my other big fish starting 8th.

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Rocky Mountain Cookies 

1 c. sugar 

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. butter, softened

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla

2 c. flour

1 t. soda

¼ t. salt

½ t. baking powder

2 c. old-fashioned oats

2 c. Rice Crispies^® cereal

6 oz. chocolate chips

In a large bowl, cream together sugars and butter. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Stir in flour, soda, salt, and baking powder. Fold in oats, cereal, and chocolate chips. Place by spoonful on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes.

Math name tags

This is how Santa chose to identify his gifts at our house last year.
That's right. There was a little bit of work involved in determining whose presents were whose.

Several years ago Tyler and I committed the ultimate oops when we left a child of ours home. Ever since that day whenever we are all going somewhere, one of us will initiate "sound off." This simply means that every child has a number and they yell out their number, IN ORDER (that way we know if anyone is incognito). Kiersten is 1, Erik is 2, Nate is 3, Ashlyn is 4, and Alex is 5 (who recently learned to say his own number and join in the fun).

We also have a bunch of math whizzes in our home and "Santa" thought it might be fun to challenge them a little bit. Each math equation's answer corresponded to one of the kids' sound off number. If the answer was 3, the present went to Nate.

Oh, it was a lot of fun. The morning went a little slower and the kids enjoyed working together to make sure those gifts got to their rightful owner.

At the beginning of this Christmas season I was stewing about what I could do this year that could be just as fun. I had read a book not too long ago on organization and the author mentioned that one way to be organized is to decide on one thing and do that same thing year after year. For instance, she has decided that for each grandchild's first birthday, she will give them a book. When it comes to that first birthday, she doesn't stress and worry about what to get them.

That thought hit me one day, and SERIOUSLY, why mess with a good thing.

So Santa is back on board with our little math name tags and has some pretty good ideas on how to jazz it up. He's thinking about throwing in some algebra (you know, like solving for X), a little geometry, and definitely some story problems.

Christmas morning can't come soon enough.

Consistency is the key

Our stake president issued a challenge at our previous stake conference to read The Book of Mormon by November. And then a couple of weeks later the talks in sacrament meeting were on The Book of Mormon. 

Our little family is reading The Book of Mormon for the second time and I'm hoping that we can finish by November. I think we can do it.

For me it all started 6 1/2  years ago when we moved to Stansbury Park. Our magazines hadn't quite caught up to us yet when President Hinckley issued the challenge to read The Book of Mormon by the end of the year. So I didn't even know about this challenge until September, and by that time I was a little discouraged that we would be getting a late start. I even contemplated NOT doing the challenge, but after much thinking I KNEW that this is what my little family needed. I began our family scripture readying knowing that we would not finish by the end of the year. And three years later we finished. It was such a good feeling to know we had been obedient to a commandment.

Since then we have continued to read the scriptures. We aren't perfect. Weekends and summers are very difficult for us to find a good time to consistently read. But I know we have been blessed for our efforts.

Tyler and I escaped to St. George several weeks ago to take in the home show. It seems silly since we've already built, but it was fun to get decorating ideas. Although I found myself several times saying, "What a great idea! We'll have to remember that for the next house we build." Just to clarify . . . that will never happen.

We decided to leave the three oldest at home since they had school and activities that weekend. A bonus was their aunt and uncle live next door and would be around if problems did arise.

That Monday morning following our get-away weekend, I got the kids up to read scriptures and had them turn to the chapter we were on. Nate piped up and told me that they had already read that chapter. He told me how they had gotten up Friday morning and read scriptures by themselves before heading off to school.

I have been blessed with amazingly good kids, but I know it's the consistency in reading scriptures that has blessed us. That habit has been instilled in them. I love The Book of Mormon. This past year in reading I have learned so much as I have read with different eyes. When you realize that 532 pages cover 1000 years of history, you then know that everything contained within those pages is critical to our day.

Major power surge

Wednesday evening the lights didn't just flicker, they went on and off and then boom!

Erik was upstairs on the computer and thought the TV up there had exploded, which it did, along with the computer he was working on and the one next to it and the DVD/VCR combo.

We also lost our range hood lights which were halogen and not cheap to replace.

I've noticed several light bulbs out and our outside eve lighting doesn't work.

Tyler's office survived, but the surge protector everything was plugged into did not.

The smoking electronics set off the fire alarm and poor Ashlyn was in the tub at the time.

The exasperating thing about this whole deal is Tyler fought with our electrician to put in a whole house surge protector, just hook it up to the box. Tyler even bought one at the Home Depot, but it was the wrong size and the electrician said to not worry about it, that he'd get it sorted out. Ya, that didn't happen. We shouldn't have paid him until it was done right. But with home building, we learned you just pick your battles sometimes.

Anyway, it looks like there's enough damage to warrant a claim, although I'm a little hesitant to file right away. There's likely to be something else to stop working due to the surge.

Some good news in all this is that my kids are going through computer withdrawals and they actually pulled out a board game to play together today.

When we get kid computers functioning again, we may just have to implement an electronic fast every now and then :)

John Bytheway

I've become that mom I never wanted to be. You know the chauffeur mom who  shuttles the children to all their various activities. I mean just take a look at my calendar. That's just the way it is when you no longer live within walking distance of a lot of functions.

But I rediscovered a secret a month or so ago and his name is John Bytheway (rediscover being the key word since he was around when I was a teenager!). I insert him into our van's CD player and he keeps the kids entertained. I love his insights into the scriptures and hopefully my posse is also learning something as we travel back and forth.

I love that Kiersten gets in the van with her friend and the first thing she says is to shush because they have to listen to this part.

I love that Nate laughs hysterically while saying how much he loves this guy.

I love that my nephew is quoting him on the playground at school.

I love that Erik chooses to watch his DVD rather than something else.

I love that they request certain talks instead of certain radio stations.

He definitely has a way with the youth and I'm hoping he has a way with my youth.