DON'T EAT PETE!!!

Nathan and I played a couple rousing games of "Don't Eat Pete" today. In case you are not familiar with this Jefferies' family favorite, I'll explain the play of the game. A board is set up (or handmade if need be) and many small, edible objects are placed on the playing board. ie: Cheerios, Skittles, M&M's, Honeycombs, or....Shredded...Wheat? (that was our second round this afternoon.) Someone is chosen to be 'it' and they leave the room. Everyone else chooses a "Pete". When the player returns, they one-by-one remove the pieces from the board. And eat them. When they reach for "Pete" everyone yells, "DON'T EAT PETE!" Simple, yet enjoyable.

The thing about that game, is it is best played with a large group. For a couple reasons:

It is fun to watch the kids get scared when everyone shouts at them (kind of a demented fun. Like When Hailey was terrified of the buzzer in Operation. We'd play the game just to see her reaction. I know, cruel.) I digress.....Despite it being only Nathan and me, the noise level was optimal. Nathan more that made up for dozens of shrieking 5 year old girls when he would yell, "DON'T EAT PETE!" Followed by laughing. And then he'd say, "Tricked ya!!" It never got old.

The other reason it's good to have at least three players is not so much for the enjoyment factor, as the logistics of the game. Nathan didn't seem to mind. When it was his turn, he'd jump up from his chair and run into the other room. I'd wait a few seconds and say, "OK, you can come in now." He'd skip into the room and hop back onto his chair. Oblivious of the fact that there was absolutely no need for him to leave the room. Who was I consulting with when choosing 'Pete'? I, of course, had to follow suite. So one time, I peeked in to see him pointing at various pictures on the board. As if a debate was going on over which one would earn the privilege of becoming 'Pete'.

As our supply of Honeycombs dwindled, we continued playing. It came down to the remaining piece. It was Nathan's turn to go out of the room. Naturally, I chose the picture under the lone cereal puff. As Nathan bobbed in, he grabbed the Honeycomb and I yelled, "DON'T EAT PETE!"

"Mom! You should have choosed-ed the duck!"

Shame on me. I guess we'll have to play again.

The Third Day of School

(My hiatus is over. I can't say it was particularly enjoyable....thus, the lack of blogging. I have written a few posts, but never posted them due to their pessimistic tone. The last few weeks have been rough. But I am back, and my head is once again above water. Until today, I was embarrassed to have myself over given the piggy state of my house. So, enough of that...on to the good stuff...)

I dropped the ball and didn't post the 'first day', on the first day. So you will get the 'first day', on the third day..... ;)

The first day of school finally arrived! My hopes were a little too high (as far as what I would accomplish with a quiet-er house,) but all is well now.

Casey is LOVING Jr. High! He goes just in the afternoon for lunch, art, band, and drama. He studies his math, science, English, and history online through BYU's distance learning program. We feel good about his education for the first time ever. He has had excellent teachers in the past, but the structure of a normal classroom is not for Casey. He can score A's and B's on his tests despite completing the assignments. He gets so distracted that he struggles to finish stuff. Through the independent studies courses, he can set his own pace. The best part is: each semester consists of, on average, 6 lessons (with 'speedback' assignments) and a final. That's it!!! No busy work. No "this is due tomorrow," and "that is due Monday," and "read this by next Friday." He has complete ownership. Hopefully it works out the way we plan. If it goes well he can even work ahead grades. And in the end, he receives an actual diploma- not a GED.

Who knew that once you hit 5th grade it is no longer cool to have Mom pop into your class to snap your picture? But thanks to my speedy Nikon, I was able to capture a shot right after she moved the paper from obscuring her face. Notice her lovely shade of red.... Hailey loves her teacher. I knew she would. She is a kind lady- much like last year's teacher. She will do well.

Tyler is shining already. That says a ton about his teacher. It takes a lot to get that kid genuinely excited. Mrs. L won an award from the district called "Tech My Class". Her classroom is being completely re-done. New sheet rock and paint. New carpet, desks, and chairs. Video cameras, mP3 players, iPods and these cool 'clicker' thingies. The clickers interact with the smart board so the kids get immediate feedback on tests and such. Way cool! The teacher even keeps her own blog (a woman after my own heart!) and wrote a class song. She is the one teacher still teaching there that had Casey in her class (OK, his 6th grade teacher is leaving after this year.) Just coincidence, I'm sure. They all say they love Casey.

The first day, Hannah reported that her teacher wasn't as nice as she thought she was going to be, because "she treated them like they were in kindergarten!" Can you even believe it?! I assured her that it was just the beginning and things would get better. And they have.

Nathan hasn't left me alone about going to pre-school. Several times a day, he asks 'how many more days?'. And he is not happy when my answer doesn't change. He wants to eat with the big kids at school. So tomorrow, that is the plan. Hailey has the honor of serving school lunch. On pizza day, nonetheless.

Quiet Time

I am enjoying my quiet house at the moment. Casey is gone to Flaming Gorge with his friend. Randy and Hailey are helping someone move. Tyler, Hannah, and Nathan are at a friend's house, and Emma is sleeping. I have tons of stuff to be done, but after my week, (I tell you all about it later....) I am just going to sit here and relax. I'm off to my bed now.

Back to School Bliss

Sunday evening while at my parents' house (BTW- my parents gave their 'non-homecoming, homecoming talks' and did a fantastic job!), my sister-in-law asked me if Casey had a locker partner. Um, what? I totally didn't even think about that. He needed one by 10 AM Monday morning. See where I'm headed? All of Casey's friends are going into 8th grade, and they don't let you locker with someone in another grade. We decided he would just take a chance and make a new friend. That will be good for him, to make a fresh start. So Monday morning, we searched through Casey's closet to pick out something to wear for school pictures. Nothing. Everything has a picture or writing on it. And if you know me, you know how picky I am about what they wear for pictures. No problem, we'll just leave early and stop by the store before registration. How was I supposed to know that there isn't a store around that opens before 9 AM? After driving around for 20 minutes, we found that Target was open. We ran in and found a shirt easily enough. I decided to see if we could find him some shoes that didn't look like they had been through World War II. That was mistake #1. I drove to the store that we have had the most luck with in the show department. No luck there. The next stop: Payless. Not my favorite place to buy shoes for Casey, but it was in the same building and we were running out of time. Buying shoes there only means I'll be back in a month or two for a new pair, and their prices really aren't all that cheap anyway. After trying on a dozen pairs, I convinced him to just get the $5 boat shoes as a back-up pair and we'd get him a nice pair later.

Luckily, we arrived at registration 15 minutes early. First stop: school shirts. He wanted a school sweatshirt, but all I had was a credit card and they only took cash or checks. I didn't bring any because the one paper I got in the mail said that they take credit cards. I scrounged through my wallet and found $20 in a hidden pocket. :) Next, we hopped in line for a locker. I'm glad we got there when we did, because the line quickly extended out the front door to the school. After getting his locker assignment, (thanks, Deidrien!!!!) we got school pictures and his ID card. It was a good thing they took credit cards because I only had a few more dollars in my possession.

The next line was for the actual registration and fees. I had no idea that prior to arriving I was supposed to get online and print out a 20 page packet of forms to be completed before arriving. They did, however, allow me to take most of them home to fill out later. I handed my credit card over to the lady and paid for my child's public education. I was supposed to take my receipt to the next line and be given my son's schedule. But since I didn't have proof of his immunizations (once again- a letter home would have been helpful) they wouldn't give me his schedule. No problem, I'll just bring it back later.

On to the gym for orientation.....As we arrived at the door, we were asked to show his schedule. I explained that we didn't get one because I didn't have his immunization record (which, BTW, if it hadn't been for our awesome pediatrician, he wouldn't' have even been up to date, because nobody even told me he needed a chicken pox or tetanus booster.) We weren't allowed into orientation unless we had a schedule. So let me see, you are telling me that because youfailed to notify us that we needed certain papers, my son won't be allowed to attend orientation? So he will be uninformed about school policies, schedules, activities and the like? That makes sense. Lucky for us, I have gained a backbone when it comes to my kids and their education. I told the man what I thought (politely, I might add,) and he allowed us into the gym.

After watching the cheerleaders dance (...more convinced than ever that my daughters will not be cheerleaders- no offense, anyone...really- it's just not for me) we went for a tour of the school. Casey found his locker and opened it on the first try!

We went to the doctor's office and picked up the needed proof of being a good parent, and returned it to the school. By now, the line wrapped clear around the gym. Did I mention how glad I was that we got there early? I rationalized that since we had already stood in the line once, that I had the right to go directly to the front and present the school nurse with our papers. She filed them away in exchange for the oh-so precious schedule.

It's official. My son is in Jr. High.

King's Peak

Randy had a wonderful time hiking King's Peak. He had great company and gorgeous scenery.

The weather, however, wasn't so cooperative. It rained quite a bit. They were a couple hundred feet from the summit when a storm rolled in. Complete with lightning. They used good judgement and high-tailed it off the mountain. It continued raining the rest of the day and into the night. They were soaked. But happy nonetheless.

Randy was ecstatic that he caught 22 fish. You see, for the past few years, the fish have totally eluded him. Before his trip, he purchased a fly rod...and now he's hooked (pun intended.)

The only food he took with him was a big bag of peanut M&M's, 12 granola bars and two MRE's- and he ate 5 fish. So after hiking 40 miles over a four day period, he returned home- his belt is a little looser.

He's looking forward to doing it again next year.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Toilet Training in Progress

Well, I made the move. The litter box no longer resides in the mudroom. Instead, a roasting pan filled with some litter occupies the toilet bowl. Oreo found it a dandy place to rest.

Wierd cat.

But by this morning, I am happy to report that both kitties have successfully used their new potty. After a few days of them using it like this, I will cut a hole in a raosting pan and replace it. After a few more days, I'll cut the hole larger. And so on- until there is no more roasting pan with litter. Just a toilet with water. If all goes according to planned, we are going to put an automatic flusher on the toilet and then the days of worrying about kitty litter and a smelly mudroom will be over.


As far as Emma's training goes.....well, I'm thinking the cats will be easier. Not that Emma isn't ready; or doing a great job. It's just her lazy mom. Emma will insist on wearing underwear and she'll go potty every time I take her. The problem is, I am so busy that I forget she is in uderwear and she has an accident. Maybe when the kids are in school, and we have more one-on-one time.

There's No Place Like Home

We made it. We spent a week at Randy's parents. First, it was the reunion, and then we stayed for several days to hang out with my sil and her kids. While we had a fabulous time at Grandma and Grandpa's, there's no place like home. Randy's dad was so great- he drove us home! I dropped him off at the airport and he turned right around and flew home. It was so nice of him to do that. If he hadn't, I would have been driving home by myself and six kids. I can tell you right now, that the trip would have been much more stressful than it was. I most likely would have had a flip-out when Casey strangled Hailey. I would have had a meltdown when "it wasn't fair that I had to sit in the back;" and completely lost it when the DVD players wouldn't work. But instead, I was able to keep my cool and enjoy an adult conversation with only occasional interruptions.

......side note: Nathan was asleep the last leg of the trip. He was unaware of the detour to the airport. He just came to me and asked this: How did Grandpa drive us home, drive our car back to his house, and we got our car back? What a smart cookie! How did he think that through? Their little brains never cease to amaze me!!.........

Randy is still hiking- he'll be back tomorrow, and I can't wait! I am so glad he was able to go. Usually his backpacking trips include a gaggle of scouts. This time, it was for the pure enjoyment of the great outdoors, and tow of his best buddies. Hopefully, I'll have some absolutely gorgeous pictures to post from his excursion......

Yesterday was Oreo's birthday. I can't believe it was a year ago that Sophie hopped up on the couch next to me to have her kittens (litter #1) It was pretty amazing.......and no, I didn't forget that it was my niece's birthday, too. And Today is my sister's. Happy Birthday, everyone!!! (I thought I'd let you know that in celebration of your birthdays, I will be toilet training my cats... and Emma.....Wish me luck!!!)

Family, Fun, and Sun

Greetings from the land of sun. OK, so right now it is kinda overcast, but the cloud cover is welcomed.

On Saturday, we attended a family reunion. It was for Randy's great-grandparents'

descendants. Randy's own grandma died while he was on his mission. So I have never met any of them before- or so I thought. I ran into a guy I went to high school with! He is married to Randy's third cousin (OK, so it's way out there, but still.....) anyhoo...... his son will be in Hailey's class next year. And his wife used to teach at the school that my nieces and nephews go to. Small world, huh?!! We were also reminded of a way cool part of my kids' family history. It's called the Howland chart. In case you can't read it, it shows how Winston Churchill, Joseph Smith, and George Bush, among others, are related to Randy's family! OK, so it's way back there...but it's still way cool!

Joseph Earl is my children's third great grandfather

We had a birthday party for my niece at a water park afterward. It was lots of fun. We stayed pretty much until the place closed!

On Sunday, we attended my in-laws' ward. Emma went right into nursery. I have never had such a well-adjusted kid. She is so easy going, while here, she even found a new buddy- her Uncle Mike. They fell in love with each other. And when she wasn't cuddling with him, she was giving kisses and high fives to everyone else.

Monday was back to the water park (we have free, one-week passes.) The same rec center has a free climbing wall! How cool is that?! We had a blast, again! Emma spent a full 15 minutes jumping in without her floaty and kicking back up to the top of the water. And to think, at the beginning of the summer, she would hardly get in the pool.



Today we played at the park and then took Randy to the airport so he could go backpacking with his buddies. He is pretty excited to be climbing the tallest peak in Utah....more to come on that, later.

The rest of the day was completely lazy

and a little goofy.....

Let Me Explain

I want to explain my last post. It was about Hannah and the difficulty she is having with some friends in the neighborhood. I wrote it so that years from now, we can look back and remember. And hopefully learn from it. That is why I wrote it. I hold nothing against any of the kids involved. They are only six, after all. I removed it because I don't want to offend anyone. If anyone was offended, I'm sorry. This blog is first and foremost, my 'journal'. I realize it is open to anyone who stumbles across it. For that reason, I try not to mention specifics in any of my posts- ie: locations, names (especially last names), pictures of other people...... There is a risk, however, that no matter how careful I am, someone, somewhere will know more than I tell- or even put pieces together and figure things out. The post was meant to be about my own daughter and the struggle she is having as a part of growing up, and the hard lessons I am learning being a mom. So again, I hope that I did not offend anyone. That was never my intent.