Courtney wanted me to blog this video of her playing "Nimble Fingers."
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Nimble Fingers
Courtney has played this song before but her piano teacher has been having Courtney go back through old memorized pieces to rework on them. She wants them to make sure they don't forget pieces they have played in the past. Courtney wasn't too happy about this at first because she was frustrated at not remembering the songs she knew before. But she has finally learned to enjoy it.
Courtney wanted me to blog this video of her playing "Nimble Fingers."
Courtney wanted me to blog this video of her playing "Nimble Fingers."
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Funny Primary Class
Ethan came home from Church on Sunday just disgusted with the girls in his class. It used to be that there were 8 boys in his class and 1 girl. But times have certainly changed! There are now 4 boys and 6 girls.
Last week they were talking about Abraham and how he had Isaac circumcised when Isaac was 8 days old. The girls asked the teacher (who is male and a grandpa) what circumcision meant. He told them to go home and ask their parents. Ethan told the girls that they didn't want to know and to leave it alone but they were curious.
One girl had an iPad so she quickly looked it up. Ethan said "I told her not to but she didn't listen!" Soon she said "I'm scarred for life." And Ethan said "I told you so."
He was so disgusted that the girls wouldn't listen to him. It was pretty funny when he was telling it.
Dance Competition
Courtney had a dance competition on Saturday. It was in the afternoon so it wasn't too bad. She did a great job and had fun!
She was not happy to be staring into the sun.
Science Fair Board
Ethan made his science fair board on Saturday an he did awesome!!
I have a tendency to try and get my kids to do things the way I would do them. And make them as perfect as they can. It drives them nuts! Ethan very quickly set up ground rules with me. I could help but I wasn't allowed to talk. Haha!!
He did awesome!! He sketched out on his board how he wanted things to look, used the computer to type it all out and then he let me help him glue things on (although I really only glued the canisters on with hot glue). And it turned out great!!!
Ethan's a shortie
Ethan is at the age where he tried to touch the top of every door e goes through. The archway in our bathroom is one that he hasn't conquered yet. Last week he spent about 15 minutes running and jumping to try and touch the top of the arch. He never made it but he was getting closer.
Friday, March 21, 2014
Piano Lessons
I am done! Today I taught my last after-school piano lesson. I still have one student who is an adult and comes during the day, but I don't have any other students. It feels really nice!
Last month I realized that, although I don't have many piano students anymore, piano lessons were taking too much time away from my kids. They needed my attention and help after school and I wasn't able to give them that when I was busy with piano students. Something had to go. When I looked at the things that were affecting my family the most but not necessary, I realized that teaching piano lessons had to go. There were other factors but my kids was the most important one.
I called everyone to let them know that March would be my last month teaching. Most were very understanding and were actually relieved because their lives had gotten too crazy. But I had some who weren't very happy. But that's okay. I am not making this decision to make other people happy.
Cakes
I haven't posted cake pictures for a while. To be completely honest, I don't really enjoy decorating the cakes that much. I love baking them and have so much fun doing that. But decorating them isn't all that much fun.
I have one woman who orders cakes all the time from me. She is the office manager at 2 doctor's offices so she will get cakes for the employees for their birthdays. Usually she will order a 10 inch round "Twinkies" cake. Then she picks them up at 6:30 a.m. on her way to work. She usually gives me an idea of what the person likes and then I can do what I want with the cake. They are very simple cakes. In fact a few times I have just had sugar paper printed at Albertson's and put that on the top. And they always love them because they are yummy. I told you, I'm good at the baking part.
This month she had 2 birthdays in the same office on the same week. So she ordered 2 smaller cakes and they both wanted chocolate. It was pretty easy to do.
I don't always take photos of the cakes I do for her but here are the 2 cakes I made this week.
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I love the M&M cakes because they are so easy to do! That's the kind of cake decorating I like to do. haha
I have one woman who orders cakes all the time from me. She is the office manager at 2 doctor's offices so she will get cakes for the employees for their birthdays. Usually she will order a 10 inch round "Twinkies" cake. Then she picks them up at 6:30 a.m. on her way to work. She usually gives me an idea of what the person likes and then I can do what I want with the cake. They are very simple cakes. In fact a few times I have just had sugar paper printed at Albertson's and put that on the top. And they always love them because they are yummy. I told you, I'm good at the baking part.
This month she had 2 birthdays in the same office on the same week. So she ordered 2 smaller cakes and they both wanted chocolate. It was pretty easy to do.
I don't always take photos of the cakes I do for her but here are the 2 cakes I made this week.
I love the M&M cakes because they are so easy to do! That's the kind of cake decorating I like to do. haha
Run For a Reason: Shade Our School
At the end of January there was a PTA meeting at Santa Clara Elementary. One of the agenda items was trying to figure out what to do as a spring fundraiser. The PTA president had a few ideas that she threw out to see what everyone thought about them.
The first idea was to have all the kids draw something and then send those drawings to a company who would turn them into items parents could buy, such as magnets, coasters, etc.
The second idea was to have the kids sell rolls of garbage bags door to door.
The third idea was .... I can't remember now.
But the last idea was to have a fun run.
I usually sit in the corner with a few other moms. At this meeting we were in our corner and when the fun run idea came up we were all for it. We started talking about how much fun that would be and how much support we could get from the community because there are SO MANY fun runs/races in the area.
Everyone began debating the ideas and what they thought would work best. It was apparent very quickly that the moms were only really considering the drawings idea. I didn't think they would get very much money doing that because the timing wasn't right. If they waited until Fall they could catch people who would already be spending money on Christmas presents and give them an option of spending the money to help the school while taking care of Christmas shopping. Then it wouldn't feel like "one more thing" they have to buy to help their kids.
Slowly, the five of us who sit in the corner began making a plan for how the fun run would work. All of us have run in races before so we had ideas about what needed to happen. After listening to about 15 minutes worth of debate, we decided to say something. We made the point about the timing and then we stated the pros and cons we had just come up with in doing a fun run. There were a few very outspoken moms who weren't too happy with the idea and said there was no way we could pull it off in 2 months. The PTA president called for a vote (something that was hotly disputed later when one of the unhappy moms realized she had lost, but it did happen!).
Luckily, it was a small meeting so the 5 of us were able to persuade enough people that the idea for the fun run passed....and we were the committee. We met the next day and 2 weeks later we were well on our way to having a great fun run.
Each one of us has different contacts in the community and know different people. I live in a neighborhood of entrepreneurs so I was able to get a lot of them to sponsor our fun run. Another woman knows city officials in Santa Clara and is friends with the police chief so she was able to get us permission for the race and ideas on how to mark the course. Another woman is an avid runner and was able to find a fun course that wouldn't be too hard for a fun run. Another woman knew a graphic artist who did the posters for us. And the other mom is a college student majoring in computers and she was able to set up our website for registration. It's been amazing.
We have met each week and have been able to get things moving very quickly. We made a list of local businesses and then asked other PTA members to approach a couple of them asking for sponsorship and donations. Some were too nervous to help out but others had no problem and were able to get a lot of money coming in.
We got the sponsor letter going and were able to get businesses to help us with finances. For $50 their company name will be listed on our shirt and for $100 we will put their logo on our shirt. We not only collected cash donations but we were given coupons to local businesses and one business even donated the use of their blow-up finish line ...thing that you run through when you finish a race. We have helicopter rides, Tuacahn tickets, meals to a bunch of restaurants (Red Lobster, Golden Corral, Texas Roadhouse), carpet cleaning, hard cover books from Deseret Book, free pizza coupons from Papa Johns, free ice cream from Dairy Queen, and a lot more stuff.
Then we began advertising and having people sign up. We tried to keep the run affordable and we actually had a drawing for 2 free family entries into the race. As of today (1 week before the race) we have approximately 178 people registered to run! Our "out of this world" goal was to have 200 sign up. And we are taking race day registrations so we may have more. As of today we have $1,105 in registration fees, $1,900 in cash sponsor donations, and $3,005 in donated items from sponsors for our prize drawing at the end of the race. Not too shabby for 5 moms with only 2 months!
Our fun run is next Saturday and I am very excited to see how it turns out. We are trying to get this to be a yearly tradition so it can grow and grow. I love it!
The first idea was to have all the kids draw something and then send those drawings to a company who would turn them into items parents could buy, such as magnets, coasters, etc.
The second idea was to have the kids sell rolls of garbage bags door to door.
The third idea was .... I can't remember now.
But the last idea was to have a fun run.
I usually sit in the corner with a few other moms. At this meeting we were in our corner and when the fun run idea came up we were all for it. We started talking about how much fun that would be and how much support we could get from the community because there are SO MANY fun runs/races in the area.
Everyone began debating the ideas and what they thought would work best. It was apparent very quickly that the moms were only really considering the drawings idea. I didn't think they would get very much money doing that because the timing wasn't right. If they waited until Fall they could catch people who would already be spending money on Christmas presents and give them an option of spending the money to help the school while taking care of Christmas shopping. Then it wouldn't feel like "one more thing" they have to buy to help their kids.
Slowly, the five of us who sit in the corner began making a plan for how the fun run would work. All of us have run in races before so we had ideas about what needed to happen. After listening to about 15 minutes worth of debate, we decided to say something. We made the point about the timing and then we stated the pros and cons we had just come up with in doing a fun run. There were a few very outspoken moms who weren't too happy with the idea and said there was no way we could pull it off in 2 months. The PTA president called for a vote (something that was hotly disputed later when one of the unhappy moms realized she had lost, but it did happen!).
Luckily, it was a small meeting so the 5 of us were able to persuade enough people that the idea for the fun run passed....and we were the committee. We met the next day and 2 weeks later we were well on our way to having a great fun run.
Each one of us has different contacts in the community and know different people. I live in a neighborhood of entrepreneurs so I was able to get a lot of them to sponsor our fun run. Another woman knows city officials in Santa Clara and is friends with the police chief so she was able to get us permission for the race and ideas on how to mark the course. Another woman is an avid runner and was able to find a fun course that wouldn't be too hard for a fun run. Another woman knew a graphic artist who did the posters for us. And the other mom is a college student majoring in computers and she was able to set up our website for registration. It's been amazing.
We have met each week and have been able to get things moving very quickly. We made a list of local businesses and then asked other PTA members to approach a couple of them asking for sponsorship and donations. Some were too nervous to help out but others had no problem and were able to get a lot of money coming in.
We got the sponsor letter going and were able to get businesses to help us with finances. For $50 their company name will be listed on our shirt and for $100 we will put their logo on our shirt. We not only collected cash donations but we were given coupons to local businesses and one business even donated the use of their blow-up finish line ...thing that you run through when you finish a race. We have helicopter rides, Tuacahn tickets, meals to a bunch of restaurants (Red Lobster, Golden Corral, Texas Roadhouse), carpet cleaning, hard cover books from Deseret Book, free pizza coupons from Papa Johns, free ice cream from Dairy Queen, and a lot more stuff.
Then we began advertising and having people sign up. We tried to keep the run affordable and we actually had a drawing for 2 free family entries into the race. As of today (1 week before the race) we have approximately 178 people registered to run! Our "out of this world" goal was to have 200 sign up. And we are taking race day registrations so we may have more. As of today we have $1,105 in registration fees, $1,900 in cash sponsor donations, and $3,005 in donated items from sponsors for our prize drawing at the end of the race. Not too shabby for 5 moms with only 2 months!
Our fun run is next Saturday and I am very excited to see how it turns out. We are trying to get this to be a yearly tradition so it can grow and grow. I love it!
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Ethan's Science Fair Project
It is that time of the year again. The time of year I don't like. It's time for the Science Fair. I saw a Facebook post on a science fair project that was titled "Why everyone hates the science fair," or something like that. I really want one of my kids to do that one!
Anyway, since Ethan is in honors science, he is required to do a project. We didn't want to wait until the last minute, and they only gave him 2 weeks to do it, so he got started at once. He wanted to do an experiment to see if facial expressions influence what someone smells.
Ethan spent one day doing research on his topic and found that there is a lot of information about facial expressions but not how they affect what you perceive you are smelling. He spent another day doing the data sheet he would fill out. He spent another day taking picture of what he was going to look like. And then he asked me if I would go around with him while he asked our neighbors to sniff for him. Ethan gave me very strict instructions that I wasn't to talk or do anything but write down their responses. If I said or did anything, he was going to get "mad at you!" I didn't get in trouble once so I was proud of myself.
My mom gave us 3 canisters and Ethan put a different dot on the top of each one. He then filled them ALL with WATER, closed them and we took off for the neighborhood.
Ethan's hypothesis was that he could get people to think that the red one smelled bad by making a horrible face as he handed the canister to them. He also thought he could make someone think the blue dot canister smelled good because he would smile at them while he handed it to them. And the yellow one wouldn't smell at all because he wouldn't make a face.
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We first went to 3 houses where the ADULT in the house agreed to sniff the contents of the canisters.
First the red dot canister:
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Then the blue dot canister:
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Then the yellow dot canister:
All three adults didn't smell anything. All three adults were concerned at the end that something was wrong with their nose. It was pretty funny.
Then we went to 7 kids (ranging in age from 8-14). They were all over the place. One kids said all three smelled "like my cat" and that was a good smell to him. One thought they didn't smell at all. But they were all over the place. I thought it was very interesting.
The adults thought something was wrong because they couldn't smell anything. And the kids thought they smelled something.
Now Ethan has to do his board and he will turn in it next week. I asked if he wanted to use the vinyl cutter to cut out lettering and he looked at me like I was insane. He said, "I'm going to type it up and print it out." Okay. I guess doing boards has changed since I was a kid and we had to measure it all out so the lines would be even and the letters would be spaced just right.
It was a fun project.
Now Courtney has to figure out what she wants to do and we get to start it all over again. Yipee!!
Anyway, since Ethan is in honors science, he is required to do a project. We didn't want to wait until the last minute, and they only gave him 2 weeks to do it, so he got started at once. He wanted to do an experiment to see if facial expressions influence what someone smells.
Ethan spent one day doing research on his topic and found that there is a lot of information about facial expressions but not how they affect what you perceive you are smelling. He spent another day doing the data sheet he would fill out. He spent another day taking picture of what he was going to look like. And then he asked me if I would go around with him while he asked our neighbors to sniff for him. Ethan gave me very strict instructions that I wasn't to talk or do anything but write down their responses. If I said or did anything, he was going to get "mad at you!" I didn't get in trouble once so I was proud of myself.
My mom gave us 3 canisters and Ethan put a different dot on the top of each one. He then filled them ALL with WATER, closed them and we took off for the neighborhood.
Ethan's hypothesis was that he could get people to think that the red one smelled bad by making a horrible face as he handed the canister to them. He also thought he could make someone think the blue dot canister smelled good because he would smile at them while he handed it to them. And the yellow one wouldn't smell at all because he wouldn't make a face.
First the red dot canister:
Then we went to 7 kids (ranging in age from 8-14). They were all over the place. One kids said all three smelled "like my cat" and that was a good smell to him. One thought they didn't smell at all. But they were all over the place. I thought it was very interesting.
The adults thought something was wrong because they couldn't smell anything. And the kids thought they smelled something.
Now Ethan has to do his board and he will turn in it next week. I asked if he wanted to use the vinyl cutter to cut out lettering and he looked at me like I was insane. He said, "I'm going to type it up and print it out." Okay. I guess doing boards has changed since I was a kid and we had to measure it all out so the lines would be even and the letters would be spaced just right.
It was a fun project.
Now Courtney has to figure out what she wants to do and we get to start it all over again. Yipee!!
Funny Kids
Sometimes the kids just do things that make me laugh. The other day we were doing laundry and Bryan was folding it while watching TV. Ethan and Courtney decided to use the laundry basket as their roller coaster. It was really funny! Both of them can still fit in there. I was impressed.
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I was talking to a mom the other day that said her son was really feeling a lot of peer pressure at the Intermediate School. I was a bit concerned so I brought it up with Ethan and asked him if he was feeling peer pressure at school. He looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Who would want to be like those idiots." Okay... I guess I shouldn't be worried. hahaha
I was talking to a mom the other day that said her son was really feeling a lot of peer pressure at the Intermediate School. I was a bit concerned so I brought it up with Ethan and asked him if he was feeling peer pressure at school. He looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Who would want to be like those idiots." Okay... I guess I shouldn't be worried. hahaha
Skiing at Brian Head
The kids really wanted to go skiing (or in Ethan's case, snowboarding). We had planned on taking them Tuesday, but Bryan and I woke up in the middle of the night to really bad winds. When we checked the forecast for Brian Head, it was supposed to be high gusts and really cold temperatures. We decided that wasn't going to work because we wanted to have a great experience. So we put it off until Friday and I am very glad we did!
Friday morning we woke up, got our stuff all ready and then took off for the slopes. We rented helmets for the kids in St. George, rented skis/snowboard in Cedar City, and then drove up to Brian Head Resort. In January, the boy scouts had gone skiing at Brian Head and everyone was given a 2 for 1 pass when they left. So we were going to use those.
While Bryan got the kids ready, I went in and bought our ski passes. If we would have gone skiing on Tuesday, it would have been $25 Tuesdays. But we only ended up paying for 2 lift tickets because of the 2 for 1 passes. So it was okay.
Brian Head was EMPTY!! It was like this last year when we went tubing there over Spring Break. We had thought it was going to be packed and this time was the same. I thought we would be fighting with a crowd because it was Spring Break, but it was empty. I never had to wait in line all day!! And I was never nervous that I would hit someone going down because there weren't that many people to avoid (which is probably good for all the people).
Bryan, being the smart man he is, took pictures of Courtney and me before we started skiing, just in case he never saw us smile the rest of the day. hahaha
Ethan got on his snowboard and went up the "carpet" (the thing you ski onto then stand on as it pulls you up the hill) on the bunny hill so he could practice. Bryan helped Courtney and me into our skis. Lessons were really expensive so Bryan decided to just teach Courtney on his own and she was a natural. We had a bit of a rough start. I am not a huge fan of skiing but I was looking forward to trying it again. But the minute I strapped on the skis I remembered that it wasn't that much fun. After Bryan showed me a few things I told him to just go help Courtney and I would be fine. After he took Courtney up the "carpet" to the top of the bunny hill, I was able to get the hang of things. I just like being left to figure things out and not be pushed to do things I don't feel comfortable with. I like being with my family and having them around. But I do much better if I am just given small suggestions and then left alone.
After a while Ethan was really bored of the bunny hill so Bryan left to take Ethan down the runs while Courtney and I kept practicing on the bunny hill. I actually did really well and had a lot of fun going down with her. I started to relax and we were having fun! Ethan and Bryan went down quite a few runs before we decided to break for lunch.
See?!? There is proof that I went down the bunny hill.
Here is me, Courtney and Ethan on the "carpet" at the bunny hill.
Bryan took quite a few picture of Courtney skiing because she was slower. He didn't get any of Ethan because he was too fast!
Courtney was wearing a pair of ski goggles that our neighbor gave us years ago. Right before lunch the plastic lens came out of the goggles. But Courtney refused to take them off! It was pretty funny!
We stopped after a few hours to have lunch and then we all got our stuff back on and went down the slopes a few more times. Courtney had Bryan take her up so she could go down some "real runs" with him. She did amazing! I stuck with the bunny slopes and was having a lot of fun.
I went down the bunny run called "You're Ready." Supposedly if you can go down that run you are ready to go up the ski lift and go down a "real run." I got to where I could do that run really well and felt comfortable.
Here is the video proof that I did ski and I did okay. I didn't fall once on the bunny slope!
So I went up the chair lift with the family so we could ski down. I don't like chair lifts. I always fall. And it is probably because I am sure I am going to fall that I always fall. But in any case, I fell! ;) And thus it began. But when you go up the chair lift, you have to get yourself back down the mountain. So I started out and Bryan had me follow him so he could show me some turns. But I can't turn as sharply as he can and I went down. I got back up and made it down the rest of the hill okay.
I decided that I wanted to try it again. After all, I had been watching 4 year old go down that hill all morning and they were doing fine. I should have stopped while I was ahead. I went up the chair lift and actually stayed on my feet! Yeah. I got down the first pitch (where I had crashed earlier) and I started to feel very confident. Then I got to the second pitch which I had done beautifully the time before and I got going way too fast and couldn't slow down. I fell hard and twisted my knee and ankle and I was done. I took off my skis, walked down the hill and went to the van. It had been fun but my feet were tired and I was finished for the day.
As I bent down to take off my ski boots and I was very grateful that I had decided to call it a day. The zipper that went up outside of my snowsuit on my left leg had busted. Yup! It was completely open from the ankle until mid-thigh! haha! I tried to get it to zip up so I could get to a spot where the teeth would meet but it didn't work. After having a good laugh and trying to figure out how to sneak into the lodge to change without anyone asking questions about me flashing my thermals, I got to a bathroom and changed into my jeans. Cheap snow pants!
Here is a video of Ethan snowboarding:
Here is part 1 of a video of Courtney going down the slopes:
Here is part 2 of the video of Courtney going down the slopes:
Bryan and the kids kept going for about another hour and half while I sat in the lodge and people watched. It was fun. Then Ethan got cold and was tired so I met up with him and got him out of his ski stuff. At about 3:40-ish, Courtney decided she was done for the day and she found us at the van. (Because it was so empty, we parked right next to the bunny hill so she didn't have far to walk.) And Bryan spent the time until the lifts closed at 4 p.m. to ski the runs he wanted to as fast as he wanted to.
This was Courtney's face when she finished. Can you see the black marks from the lens-less goggles?
We all loaded in the van and drove back to Cedar City to return the ski equipment. We drove back to St. George to return the helmets and then we went to Golden Corral for dinner. I figured that we burned a lot of calories skiing so we could afford to eat there. It was crowded because there were baseball tournaments, softball tournaments, tennis tournaments, college track meets, and a bunch of other activities in town for the week. But Ethan still got his shrimp and fudge. And Courtney got her mashed potatoes and ice cream. So it was a success.
I think it was a great day! The kids certainly want to go again. Courtney wanted to go back up on Saturday. hahaha!
Friday morning we woke up, got our stuff all ready and then took off for the slopes. We rented helmets for the kids in St. George, rented skis/snowboard in Cedar City, and then drove up to Brian Head Resort. In January, the boy scouts had gone skiing at Brian Head and everyone was given a 2 for 1 pass when they left. So we were going to use those.
While Bryan got the kids ready, I went in and bought our ski passes. If we would have gone skiing on Tuesday, it would have been $25 Tuesdays. But we only ended up paying for 2 lift tickets because of the 2 for 1 passes. So it was okay.
Brian Head was EMPTY!! It was like this last year when we went tubing there over Spring Break. We had thought it was going to be packed and this time was the same. I thought we would be fighting with a crowd because it was Spring Break, but it was empty. I never had to wait in line all day!! And I was never nervous that I would hit someone going down because there weren't that many people to avoid (which is probably good for all the people).
Bryan, being the smart man he is, took pictures of Courtney and me before we started skiing, just in case he never saw us smile the rest of the day. hahaha
Ethan got on his snowboard and went up the "carpet" (the thing you ski onto then stand on as it pulls you up the hill) on the bunny hill so he could practice. Bryan helped Courtney and me into our skis. Lessons were really expensive so Bryan decided to just teach Courtney on his own and she was a natural. We had a bit of a rough start. I am not a huge fan of skiing but I was looking forward to trying it again. But the minute I strapped on the skis I remembered that it wasn't that much fun. After Bryan showed me a few things I told him to just go help Courtney and I would be fine. After he took Courtney up the "carpet" to the top of the bunny hill, I was able to get the hang of things. I just like being left to figure things out and not be pushed to do things I don't feel comfortable with. I like being with my family and having them around. But I do much better if I am just given small suggestions and then left alone.
After a while Ethan was really bored of the bunny hill so Bryan left to take Ethan down the runs while Courtney and I kept practicing on the bunny hill. I actually did really well and had a lot of fun going down with her. I started to relax and we were having fun! Ethan and Bryan went down quite a few runs before we decided to break for lunch.
See?!? There is proof that I went down the bunny hill.
Here is the video proof that I did ski and I did okay. I didn't fall once on the bunny slope!
So I went up the chair lift with the family so we could ski down. I don't like chair lifts. I always fall. And it is probably because I am sure I am going to fall that I always fall. But in any case, I fell! ;) And thus it began. But when you go up the chair lift, you have to get yourself back down the mountain. So I started out and Bryan had me follow him so he could show me some turns. But I can't turn as sharply as he can and I went down. I got back up and made it down the rest of the hill okay.
I decided that I wanted to try it again. After all, I had been watching 4 year old go down that hill all morning and they were doing fine. I should have stopped while I was ahead. I went up the chair lift and actually stayed on my feet! Yeah. I got down the first pitch (where I had crashed earlier) and I started to feel very confident. Then I got to the second pitch which I had done beautifully the time before and I got going way too fast and couldn't slow down. I fell hard and twisted my knee and ankle and I was done. I took off my skis, walked down the hill and went to the van. It had been fun but my feet were tired and I was finished for the day.
As I bent down to take off my ski boots and I was very grateful that I had decided to call it a day. The zipper that went up outside of my snowsuit on my left leg had busted. Yup! It was completely open from the ankle until mid-thigh! haha! I tried to get it to zip up so I could get to a spot where the teeth would meet but it didn't work. After having a good laugh and trying to figure out how to sneak into the lodge to change without anyone asking questions about me flashing my thermals, I got to a bathroom and changed into my jeans. Cheap snow pants!
Here is a video of Ethan snowboarding:
Here is part 1 of a video of Courtney going down the slopes:
Bryan and the kids kept going for about another hour and half while I sat in the lodge and people watched. It was fun. Then Ethan got cold and was tired so I met up with him and got him out of his ski stuff. At about 3:40-ish, Courtney decided she was done for the day and she found us at the van. (Because it was so empty, we parked right next to the bunny hill so she didn't have far to walk.) And Bryan spent the time until the lifts closed at 4 p.m. to ski the runs he wanted to as fast as he wanted to.
This was Courtney's face when she finished. Can you see the black marks from the lens-less goggles?
We all loaded in the van and drove back to Cedar City to return the ski equipment. We drove back to St. George to return the helmets and then we went to Golden Corral for dinner. I figured that we burned a lot of calories skiing so we could afford to eat there. It was crowded because there were baseball tournaments, softball tournaments, tennis tournaments, college track meets, and a bunch of other activities in town for the week. But Ethan still got his shrimp and fudge. And Courtney got her mashed potatoes and ice cream. So it was a success.
I think it was a great day! The kids certainly want to go again. Courtney wanted to go back up on Saturday. hahaha!
Gubler Park
Thursday morning Courtney really wanted to go to Gubler Park. It is a park in Santa Clara that is right next to Lava Ridge Intermediate where Ethan goes to school. It is only about 1/2 mile away. So Ethan, Courtney and I got on our bikes and went over there. Last year it was just the baseball/softball fields (4 of them) and then a splash pad. Over the winter a playground and some pavilions were added. Now it is such a fun park! They have twisty stuff but also some traditional stuff. I can see us spending a lot of time there in the summer because there is so much to do at the one park and it is so close!
One of Courtney's friends from school happened to be there at the same time, so they were able to play. Ethan even played hide-and-seek with the girls. They had so much fun just being out in the sun. Ethan was raving about the park when we went home.
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One of Courtney's friends from school happened to be there at the same time, so they were able to play. Ethan even played hide-and-seek with the girls. They had so much fun just being out in the sun. Ethan was raving about the park when we went home.
Ethan's Physical
Ethan had to get immunizations before he could register for 7th grade. He also needed to get a physical for Boy Scouts. So I decided to roll them into one and get his physical done during Spring Break so he wouldn't have to miss school.
He was a bit nervous about the physical and especially about the immunizations. We dropped Courtney off at Grandma and Grandpa's house so Ethan could have his privacy during his exam. Then we went to the doctor's office. We were on time instead of early so we wouldn't have to wait around forever. But they were still quick to call us back. They weighed Ethan, he was 106 pounds. Then they checked his height, he was 5 feet 3 1/2 inches. They took his temperature and blood pressure before taking us into an exam room.
The nurse talked to us about immunizations and Ethan got even more nervous. But she said the doctor would do the exam first and then she would come back in and do the immunizations. The exam went well. Ethan is evening out on the height and weight. He is still in the 96% for height but he is only in the 65% (I think) for weight. So the doctor said he is doing great. All his reflexes were great and he is growing well. The doctor did warn me that, although Ethan is tall, he hasn't hit his puberty growth spurt yet. He said that in about 1 to 1 1/2 years, Ethan will suddenly begin to shoot up. So we need to watch for that.
All during the exam the doctor was talking to Ethan and asking him questions. He asked if he was smart, to which Ethan looked at him and said "Of course." Then the doctor asked Ethan if he felt comfortable at school, if he felt comfortable at home, who he talks to when he has problems, etc. It was fun to hear his answers. He feels safe at school at home. He hasn't ever been bullied or been a bully. He tells his parents important things or if he has a problem he would come to us.
On a side note: it was funny afterward because Ethan was really offended to think that someone would have to ask who he would tell his problems to. I had to explain that some kids don't feel comfortable telling their parents things. Ethan replied, "That's dumb." I had to chuckle. He's a great kid!
Then it was time for the immunizations. The doctor left (because he doesn't like kids to think he is mean, he leaves that to the nurses) and 2 nurses came in. They explained that there were 2 shots and if they both did them at once, it wouldn't hurt so bad. So Ethan got up on the exam table and each nurse cleaned an arm and then got ready. They asked if Ethan wanted them to count down or if they should just do it. He said, "Just stick me!" He was SO TENSE with his shoulders up around his ears. The second the needles went in, he completely relaxed and then it was over! He said "That was not a big deal at all!"
The one nurse couldn't find the hole where the needle went in so she just put the band-aid on his arm in a random place. It was funny. Then they let us go. They were a bit nervous that Ethan was going to get light headed and pass out. While I was talking to the nurse they kept asking him if he was okay. They were starting to make me nervous. Ethan insisted he was fine.
Before we left the office Ethan went into the bathroom and a nurse freaked out. "Did he just go in the bathroom? If he passes out in there, we can't get to him. Was he lightheaded?" I assured her that he was fine but she was really making me nervous. He came out a minute later to 3 women staring tensely at the bathroom door. Poor kid. After insisting, for the 100th time, that he was fine, the nurse let us go.
Fun adventure!
He was a bit nervous about the physical and especially about the immunizations. We dropped Courtney off at Grandma and Grandpa's house so Ethan could have his privacy during his exam. Then we went to the doctor's office. We were on time instead of early so we wouldn't have to wait around forever. But they were still quick to call us back. They weighed Ethan, he was 106 pounds. Then they checked his height, he was 5 feet 3 1/2 inches. They took his temperature and blood pressure before taking us into an exam room.
The nurse talked to us about immunizations and Ethan got even more nervous. But she said the doctor would do the exam first and then she would come back in and do the immunizations. The exam went well. Ethan is evening out on the height and weight. He is still in the 96% for height but he is only in the 65% (I think) for weight. So the doctor said he is doing great. All his reflexes were great and he is growing well. The doctor did warn me that, although Ethan is tall, he hasn't hit his puberty growth spurt yet. He said that in about 1 to 1 1/2 years, Ethan will suddenly begin to shoot up. So we need to watch for that.
All during the exam the doctor was talking to Ethan and asking him questions. He asked if he was smart, to which Ethan looked at him and said "Of course." Then the doctor asked Ethan if he felt comfortable at school, if he felt comfortable at home, who he talks to when he has problems, etc. It was fun to hear his answers. He feels safe at school at home. He hasn't ever been bullied or been a bully. He tells his parents important things or if he has a problem he would come to us.
On a side note: it was funny afterward because Ethan was really offended to think that someone would have to ask who he would tell his problems to. I had to explain that some kids don't feel comfortable telling their parents things. Ethan replied, "That's dumb." I had to chuckle. He's a great kid!
Then it was time for the immunizations. The doctor left (because he doesn't like kids to think he is mean, he leaves that to the nurses) and 2 nurses came in. They explained that there were 2 shots and if they both did them at once, it wouldn't hurt so bad. So Ethan got up on the exam table and each nurse cleaned an arm and then got ready. They asked if Ethan wanted them to count down or if they should just do it. He said, "Just stick me!" He was SO TENSE with his shoulders up around his ears. The second the needles went in, he completely relaxed and then it was over! He said "That was not a big deal at all!"
The one nurse couldn't find the hole where the needle went in so she just put the band-aid on his arm in a random place. It was funny. Then they let us go. They were a bit nervous that Ethan was going to get light headed and pass out. While I was talking to the nurse they kept asking him if he was okay. They were starting to make me nervous. Ethan insisted he was fine.
Before we left the office Ethan went into the bathroom and a nurse freaked out. "Did he just go in the bathroom? If he passes out in there, we can't get to him. Was he lightheaded?" I assured her that he was fine but she was really making me nervous. He came out a minute later to 3 women staring tensely at the bathroom door. Poor kid. After insisting, for the 100th time, that he was fine, the nurse let us go.
Fun adventure!
Spring Break at the St. George Children's Museum
We stayed at home for Spring Break. Courtney was dying to do something and had been begging to go to the St. George Children's Museum. It is closed on Mondays (weird, I know) so we decided to go on Tuesday. It doesn't cost anything to go so we were excited. We found a great parking space and went in..only to find out that you have to go by a window and get a bracelet before you can get in. They don't make you pay, but they "strongly suggest" that you make a donation. I didn't have my wallet with me so I told the woman we wouldn't be able to go in at that time and we turned to leave. She called us back and said that we couldn't be denied entrance because we didn't pay a fee, so she gave us wrist bands. But I wasn't happy with their process. They should let you know that if you don't make a donation they will make you feel extremely guilty. I didn't know about the donations anyway.
It was fun...for about 30 minutes. It's small and so there isn't much to do. Courtney had fun playing in the dress up stuff and the top parts. Ethan had fun in the lower level that was for older kids. They really loved looking at the security camera because you could move it around and follow people.
There was also a music room where the "strings" of the instruments were air. It was fun to run your hand on the harp and not have any strings but still hear it play.
There was a nest to play in, wheelchair basketball and a green screen where you could play soccer, basketball or volleyball. It was hilarious!
They were tired after that so we went home. But it was fun.
It was fun...for about 30 minutes. It's small and so there isn't much to do. Courtney had fun playing in the dress up stuff and the top parts. Ethan had fun in the lower level that was for older kids. They really loved looking at the security camera because you could move it around and follow people.
There was a nest to play in, wheelchair basketball and a green screen where you could play soccer, basketball or volleyball. It was hilarious!
They were tired after that so we went home. But it was fun.
Courtney's Physical and Ethan Working
I realized the other day that I hadn't scheduled an 8 year old physical for Miss Courtney when she had her birthday. So I called the doctor's office and they had an appointment on Monday morning. It was the first day of Spring Break so I thought it was a perfect time to take care of it!
We were early so I thought they would have us wait in the waiting room (would make sense, right?) until our appointment time. But they called Courtney right back. They weighed her, measured her and took her temperature and blood pressure. Then they put us in a room....for 45 minutes. They didn't put us in the rotation when we got there. They made us wait until it would have been our rotation time if we had come on time. Does that make sense? So 3 patients came and went before the doctor came in to see us because those people had appointment times before us. I would have rather waited in the waiting room where there were things to do. But oh well.
Courtney is very healthy. She didn't need any immunizations (yeah for her). She weighs 63 pounds and is in the 61% for weight. She is 50.79 inches tall and is in the 39% for height. But she is doing great and thinning out. The doctor said everything looked great.
While I took Courtney to the doctor's office, Ethan went to my parents house and worked. I didn't find out until later but "Grandpa let me use the chainsaw mom!" Yup, Ethan is in boy heaven at Grandpa's because no one tells him not to use power tools. Luckily, he still has all his fingers and toes (so does my dad, by the way).
We were early so I thought they would have us wait in the waiting room (would make sense, right?) until our appointment time. But they called Courtney right back. They weighed her, measured her and took her temperature and blood pressure. Then they put us in a room....for 45 minutes. They didn't put us in the rotation when we got there. They made us wait until it would have been our rotation time if we had come on time. Does that make sense? So 3 patients came and went before the doctor came in to see us because those people had appointment times before us. I would have rather waited in the waiting room where there were things to do. But oh well.
Courtney is very healthy. She didn't need any immunizations (yeah for her). She weighs 63 pounds and is in the 61% for weight. She is 50.79 inches tall and is in the 39% for height. But she is doing great and thinning out. The doctor said everything looked great.
While I took Courtney to the doctor's office, Ethan went to my parents house and worked. I didn't find out until later but "Grandpa let me use the chainsaw mom!" Yup, Ethan is in boy heaven at Grandpa's because no one tells him not to use power tools. Luckily, he still has all his fingers and toes (so does my dad, by the way).
Pizazz at the Dixie High Jetette Review
Every year Pizazz dances at the dance review of the various high school dance teams. The one for the Dixie High School Jetettes was at the beginning of March....and it was long! The girls were asked to show up at 6:45 so they could all sit together. When I looked at the program I about had a heart attack. There were about 30 groups performing and Pizazz was one of the last. It was going to be a long night.
But they did a great job. I was off to the side so I wouldn't have to fight for seats so the pictures I got were from the side. But here are a couple:
After she performed, we watched the boys do their "make fun of the girls" dance. The dance team each gets a guy to put on the team and then the boys dress up in old dance team costumes and do a choreographed dance that the boys choreograph themselves. They poke fun at the girls and it is really hilarious.
By then it was 9 p.m. and they still had about 30 minutes worth of stuff left. So Courtney and I decided we were ready to go home. It was a long night!
But they did a great job. I was off to the side so I wouldn't have to fight for seats so the pictures I got were from the side. But here are a couple:
After she performed, we watched the boys do their "make fun of the girls" dance. The dance team each gets a guy to put on the team and then the boys dress up in old dance team costumes and do a choreographed dance that the boys choreograph themselves. They poke fun at the girls and it is really hilarious.
By then it was 9 p.m. and they still had about 30 minutes worth of stuff left. So Courtney and I decided we were ready to go home. It was a long night!
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Mom and Me
Every February the elementary school holds a "Moms and Muffins" in conjunction with their book fair. They invite all the moms to the elementary to have muffins with their kids and then they hope the moms spend time at the book fair and spend money. I haven't ever liked the practice because there are always a ton of moms, yucky muffins and then I feel like I have to spend money at the book fair (which is WAY over priced).
Usually I take the kids to get a cinnamon roll at Grandma Toblers and skip the whole "Moms and Muffins" ordeal.
This year they changed it up. The teacher in charge agreed that the muffins weren't very good and she wanted to try and save some money too. So she switched it to be "Mom and Me" and decided to have brownies. Yup, brownies. It's never too early for chocolate, in my opinion.
But the brownies were expensive to buy so she approached a couple of us moms who have our food handler's licenses to ask if we would be willing to make the brownies. She got permission from the lunch ladies for us to use the school kitchen and then bought all the stuff. So another mom and I spent an hour in the school kitchen making the brownies. It wasn't too bad. The school cafeteria ladies cooked them for us and then another mom went up and cut them. It took her about 3 hours so I was happy to do my part earlier.
Courtney had fun and it was fun to sit and chat with her while we ate our brownies.
Usually I take the kids to get a cinnamon roll at Grandma Toblers and skip the whole "Moms and Muffins" ordeal.
This year they changed it up. The teacher in charge agreed that the muffins weren't very good and she wanted to try and save some money too. So she switched it to be "Mom and Me" and decided to have brownies. Yup, brownies. It's never too early for chocolate, in my opinion.
But the brownies were expensive to buy so she approached a couple of us moms who have our food handler's licenses to ask if we would be willing to make the brownies. She got permission from the lunch ladies for us to use the school kitchen and then bought all the stuff. So another mom and I spent an hour in the school kitchen making the brownies. It wasn't too bad. The school cafeteria ladies cooked them for us and then another mom went up and cut them. It took her about 3 hours so I was happy to do my part earlier.
Courtney had fun and it was fun to sit and chat with her while we ate our brownies.
Snow Cone Choir Concert
Snow Canyon is the high school in our area where the kids will go to school when they are older. Santa Clara Elementary (where Courtney goes to now) and Lava Ridge Intermediate (where Ethan is now) are both considered "Snow Cone schools" because they feed into Snow Canyon High. Kids attending elementary school in Washington City are "Pine Cone schools" because they feed into Pine Valley High. And schools that feed into Dixie High are called "Dixie Cup schools." Yes, it is weird but that's the way it goes.
So all the "Snow Cone schools" got together with the high school choirs and had a concert. It was really good and kind of long. But we had a good time. You can see by the first photo that there were a lot of schools. There were 3 elementary schools, 1 intermediate school, 1 middle school and then the high school represented.
Here are photos and videos of the performances.
These are all the "snow cone school" choirs. There were a lot of kids!
Courtney is the blonde with her back to us in this picture.
This song is Courtney's favorite and Ethan's least favorite. It's called "I'm a drop of water" and it's about the water cycle.
This was their last song.
This song is combined with all the other choirs.
And they still have another choir concert for the end of the year.
So all the "Snow Cone schools" got together with the high school choirs and had a concert. It was really good and kind of long. But we had a good time. You can see by the first photo that there were a lot of schools. There were 3 elementary schools, 1 intermediate school, 1 middle school and then the high school represented.
Here are photos and videos of the performances.
These are all the "snow cone school" choirs. There were a lot of kids!
And they still have another choir concert for the end of the year.
My manicure
For my birthday, Ethan gave me a gift card to a local day spa to get a manicure. I haven't had a manicure forever and was so excited. So I made an appointment and went one morning. The girl was really nice and she did a great job. Ethan gave a great present! What a great kid!!
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