6th Grade Promotion

Whitney is officially done with elementary school. They were not allowed to call it graduation instead it was called Promotion Celebration.  The kids were all super excited and giddy!  I didn't think I would be that emotional but I was.  Had to keep fighting the tears.  I really shouldn't have been surprised since I am a big cry baby. She is growing up and it is bittersweet.  Nothing would do but that she have a new dress and her eyebrows groomed at the Asian eyebrow threading place.  I'm gonna go broke keeping this girl's eyebrows tamed and under control. 

Whitney reading her essay. Each  6th grade teacher selected two students to read essays they had written about their memories of Quail Run.   

Here she is receiving her President's Award for Educational Excellence.  They had gold and silver.  She received the gold. It came with a pin and a letter from President Obama.  She also received a citizenship award which the principal said we parents should consider our award.  I am so very proud of this young lady. 

Whitney & Tori

Whitney, Czarina, Maya & Ayla

The kids had voted on Most Likely to...Whitney was one of 3 female nominees for most likely to become president and most likely to become a professional athlete. 

Arizona Study Program

Some info about the program:

(The Arizona Study Program (ASP) was started in 1958 to provide a consecutive and comprehensive plan of music study designed to motivate and encourage the student to strive for growth and excellence. The Arizona Study Program is a 12-year graded course of study developed by ASMTA to provide for the development of musical Performance, Theory and Technique. It is organized in terms of the twelve years of public school, with one level for each of the years a student would be enrolled in school. It requires continual work throughout the year and is evaluated each spring by a master adjudicator and a written theory test.)

Whitney had been working on the Arizona Study Program with her piano teacher for some time now. She had to memorize four pieces of music to be judged on.  A few months ago she complained that she was tired of only playing classical music and working on the same songs for so long, that piano just wasn't as fun anymore.  We talked about it and discussed what kind of goals she wanted to make for herself. Whether she wanted to be the best pianist she could be or just have fun.  We talked about the parable of the talents. I told her that she needed to finish out the school year and then we would decide whether or not to stay with Linda or go back to her more laid back teacher.  

May 7th was the big day and we headed down to the University of Arizona campus.  It is just the student and the judge in a room together.  Which somehow seems more nerve wracking than an audience to me! The other downside was that you don't get your results until a few weeks later.  Whitney's teacher didn't tell Whitney this until after the competition but Whitney had one of the harshest and most critical judges.  When I picked her up from her lesson yesterday she was grinning ear to ear and holding her purple ribbon.  Her level was 3A and she earned the highest award, Superior with Honors!  She was pretty excited and proud of herself.  Later I asked her if she thought she would like to stay with Linda.  Her answer was a resounding, YES!  Whitney is all about recognition. Give her an incentive and she is all over it.  I pointed out to her that all her hard work was paying off and now she was reaping the fruit of her labors.  I think/hope she learned a valuable life lesson.  And to me that is the best purple ribbon of all! 

I told her I wanted a smile with teeth and this the smile I got...BIG AND CHEESY!  Be careful what you ask for my friends. ;)

The songs she played:

Minuet in G Minor BWV 115  composer J.S. Bach

Sonatina Op. 55, No. 1 composer Kuhlau

Arabesque composer Burgmuller

Clowns Op. 39, No. 20 composer Kabelevsky

Terrific Two - Landon's Had a Birthday!

Landon is 2!  Chris and I have decided instead of the Terrible Twos we are going to refer to this time as the Terrific Twos. Though we have been experiencing the Terrific Twos for awhile now he seems to have decided to kick it up a notch or two lately.  Two seems to be the age for train obsessions so we got him a "Tommy" cake.  He knew he was supposed to blow the candle out and did so immediately.  We had to keep relighting it so we could get it with the camcorder.

I love this one!  I guess he didn't want to dirty his hands.

Gavin had a train birthday for his second birthday also.  Landon drove the train around his cake just like his big brother did. 

He loves this Ironman robot.  He picked it out himself when we went birthday shopping. ;)  Chris kept trying to show him what he though were cooler robots but he stayed true to Ironman.

I love his look of concentration in this one.  He was a birthday pro! He got right down to business and opened all his gifts pretty quickly. 

His trike or as he likes to call it "me car" was his favorite gift.  We went for a long walk at the end of a long day but he did not want to get off of his car.

Chuckecheese's...Where a Kid Can Be a Kid! Last month we went to a friend's party at Chuckecheese.  Landon LOVED it!!! Ever since then he has known the Chuckecheese logo and will scream CHEESE excitedly when he sees it.  He loves putting the tokens in the machines so much I am a little concerned about a future gambling problem.  He even liked the person in the Chuckecheese costume.

This hoops games is one of his favorites.

Landon with Barney the Purple Dinosaur.

Landon taking Ashlyn on a wild drive.  I love the expressions on their faces in this shot. 

Decisions, decisions...trying to decide on his prize.

Gavin's First Piano Recital

Gavin started taking piano lessons in January 2010.  He took a little convincing to start taking lessons.  But finally expressed a willingness to try around that time.  I think he surprised himself by enjoying it.  This was his first recital as his teacher, Sister Hancock, doesn't typically have lots of students.  Sister Hancock is the best!  She even makes house calls and comes to us sometimes!  I was a little surprised by how excited Gavin was for his recital.  He played "Bittersweet" and did an excellent job.  Funny side note: he did not like the tie he is wearing.  When he saw it, he looked horrified and said "You got me a rainbow tie?!"  Chris had to give it his seal of approval before he would agree to wearing it.



Ashlyn Graduates From Preschool

 On May 19, 2011 Ashlyn graduated from preschool.  After the brief ceremony they were having a water party and that was all she could talk about for the last few weeks.  She kept reminding me that Ms. Dana said she needed to wear her swimsuit under her clothes. 

We started off with their usual morning routine.  Ashlyn was the pledge of allegiance helper.  Then each child recited a nursery rhyme.  Ashlyn did Little Miss Muffet.  She did a super job!  She rattled if right off with no problems.



Here she is receiving her diploma from Ms. Dana.  Ms. Dana is an absolute treasure! I had heard rave reviews about her from many people and deservedly so!  Ashlyn improved greatly during the school year.  The way to Ms. Dana's house is the same way we go to the YMCA.  I can't tell you how many times Ashlyn tried to convince me that she had preschool or Ms. Dana really wanted her to stop by for a visit.  The finality of graduating hit Ashlyn at bedtime that night.  She just sobbed and sobbed that she already missed Ms. Dana.  Sometimes moving forward is hard.

 

Maddie, Ashlyn & Ella

There were 5 girls and 5 boys in Ashlyn's class.  Little Ella was the youngest child in the class (Ashlyn one of the oldest).  Ashlyn just loves Ella Bella!  Ashlyn's strong maternal instincts were in full effect.  She was always telling her how adorable she was (in baby talk) and trying to baby her.

Women's Conference 2011

Left to right: Lori, me, Natalie, Deb

April 29, 2011

(Sadly this is the only photo from my trip to Utah.  I decided to take my old camera so I wouldn't have to worry about my nice camera.  Turned out to be a bad decision cause it died on me.)

In January Natalie asked me if I would like to come to Women's Conference.  Of course, I wanted to go but wasn't sure if I could work out the details of making it happen.  I talked with Chris and he said he couldn't get the time off from work.  Little did I know that he was secretly planning a surprise trip for me to go!  He was going to tell me on Valentine's Day but he could not hold the secret in that long.  He was so excited tell me!  My husband really knows how to spoil me.  

This was my first time going and it was a wonderful experience! It is held on the BYU campus in Provo, Utah. In a nutshell ( description borrowed from their website) this is what women's conference is all about:

The BYU Women’s Conference is a two-day conference for those 16 and older. We have general sessions where all participants meet together in the Marriott Center. We also have concurrent sessions, when you get to choose from 14 or 15 different sessions per hour. Topics include home, family, marriage, service, gospel topics (scripture/doctrine), and others such as missionary work and education—all discussed from a gospel perspective and directed toward women. 

This year's theme was "By Small and Simple Things Are Great Things Brought to Pass" Alma 37: 6-7.   It was so hard to decide which classes to choose.  Needless to say it was a two day spiritual feast!  I listened to some excellent speakers.  It was a much needed time out from day to day life where it is so easy to get caught up in the here and now and on things that really just aren't that important. A chance to step back and look at things with an eternal perspective. Attendance ranges from 15,000 to 18,000 women!  One of my favorite parts was when we would all gather in the Marriott Center.  When we would all sing songs together the feeling and spirit was incredible. 

We also had time in the evenings to eat out, do a little shopping and enjoy some girl talk. I then got to spend a couple days with the Pierce family in Garland which was also a treat!  Special thanks to Natalie for thinking of me.  Thanks to Deb and Lori for sharing their hotel room and experience with a stranger.  Our common love of Natalie brought us all together.  Hopefully we will be able to do it again someday!

Chris was completely worn out when I got home and much more appreciative of me.  Chris swears he did not sleep the whole time I was gone.  He tried to get Ashlyn to sleep with him but she said he "squeezes too hard"!  Which is very true.  I think Ashlyn missed me the most while I was gone.  She is completely devoted to me...though oddly enough that devotion doesn't usually translate into trying to please me...she is such a unique little person.  She did clean her room for me again and insisted on getting me pink roses.

Easter 2011

All the kiddos ready for church. This is the first time that they have not coordinated on Easter Sunday. *sniff, sniff* Whitney picked out her own Easter dress this year. *sniff, sniff* This shot is so not ideal...at least we tried? We also never made it to see the Easter Bunny this year. :(

The Easter Bunny finally brought Ashlyn a pair of much wanted Twinkle Toes. These shoes light up when you walk. One of the girls in her preschool has a pair and she has been wanting some since September. Normally I would never let her wear tennis shoes to church but made an exception just this one time. She couldn't wait to show them off/brag to all the poor children who do not yet own these gems.

I always tell the kids that the Easter Bunny doesn't bring baskets to kids with dirty rooms. Ashlyn was a little skeptical. But then Whitney and Gavin started telling her about the time they only got rotten eggs because they didn't clean their rooms/were naughty.  Totally untrue but hey we all do what we can to keep Ashlyn in line. :)  I think I have mentioned in the past that Ashlyn is stubborn.  That girl has never cleaned her room on her own no matter what punishment is inflicted.  She ran up to her room and did an amazing job cleaning it and quickly too!!! And it was a huge mess to boot.  Chris and I made a very big deal about it and gave lots of praise. 

Landon chilling on the love sac. His energy levels were starting to fall so he remedied that with some fresh sugar intake.

We finally got smart this year and assigned each child an egg color. Why we did not think of this simple idea sooner I will never know. Gavin was green, Whitney was purple, Ashlyn was pink and Landon had blue. Gavin got a new yo yo (since he lost the one he received at Christmas) and some cash which he later used to buy books at the school book fair. He brought home a book each for Ashlyn and Landon. He was so excited to give them their books. He is such a great big brother!

Ashlyn spied this chocolate bunny at the commissary and the Easter Bunny delivered.

Landon got some six shooters. This boy loves guns!

Whitney requested a giant peanut butter egg in place of a chocolate bunny. She got cash from the Easter Bunny this year. The Bunny tried to super glue the eggs shut but it did not work out as well as he had hoped.