Price of beauty

In an effort to help the girls be more conscious about money, I decided that when it came to buying to school clothes, I would give them the cash to spend however they wanted to. I told them they could choose to buy a few expensive things or several cheaper things but when the money was gone, it was gone and that was all they would get for school clothes. Chelsea asked if she could go shopping with her friend. I guess she's at that age when it's funner to shop with friends than mom so I said yes. She was super excited when she came home to show me her new things, including her new school shoes.....

Now, I'll admit, they are cute, but practical for walking all around school???? I just rolled my eyes. But I did say she could do whatever she wanted with her money. She did a good job spending the rest of it and got several cute things. Chelsea said she liked having the cash and was more aware of how expensive things were and how to spend it so I guess the lesson was successful.

She wore the shoes the first day of school and looked fabulous. She even got lots of compliments. Her feet hurt "a little" but she didn't care and still loved her new shoes. She also wore them the 2nd day with a few bandaids placed in strategic places. This morning she opted for more practical shoes like her converse. Her poor feet! I guess sometimes you have to pay the price to be beautiful. (You can't see all her blisters but you get the idea - OUCH)

School begins

First day of.....


It's the most wonderful time of the year!! I'm not sure where the summer went but let the 2011-2012 school year begin! Once again we have the 4 kids in 4 different schools. Our day starts early but luckily is staggered.


Brianna starts 9th grade at Las Vegas Academy. It's on the other side of town (about 30 min away). Luckily her friend's big sister is also attending the school and drives herself there. So she leaves at 5:30 with Bryn to get to early morning seminary and then starts school at 7:00. She took the bus home which is quite a process. She has to change buses at 2 other high schools. Today it took her 3 hours to get home!! She was hot and sweaty after sitting that long on a bus with no a/c and it being 110 degrees outside. Hopefully we can find her another way home, but this is an option.


Chelsea is the next one out the door at 6:30. She is starting her junior year at Coronado. The school moved their start time back an hour so she is taking morning seminary this year. She is taking some AP classes but is most excited about her guitar class. She would be very happy if we were able to buy her a car so she could drive herself to school and back, but we haven't yet.


Cord starts his preschool class at 8:00. A bus is supposed to come get him and bring him home, but we haven't heard from them and it didn't show up this morning so I get to take him and pick him up at 10:40. It will be an interesting week with me trying to get sleep after working. He was super excited to get to school and had a great day. His favorite part was finally getting to play on the playground outside.


Mason is the last one out the door to school. He is starting 7th grade this year at Bob Miller Middle School. The middle school doesn't start until 9:00 this year. That's good for Mason because he like to have a lot of time in the morning to eat and get ready. He even has time to take a quick shower in the mornings. The bus stop is close to our house and he doesn't mind riding it.



Cord was happy to be at school finally and had a great day.

Holding out til the end

School starts tomorrow!!! YEAH! Mason is holding out until the very end, squeezing in as much time on the x-box as possible. It's time to put it away and get back to reality. He has enjoyed his summer...... of doing nothing. He told me that the 3 best things about starting school are 1) getting to have lunch with Nick every day, 2) the feeling you get when you come home from school and there is vacation the next day, and 3) the feeling you get when you come home on the last day of school and it's all over. It's going to be a long year! We went and picked up his schedule on friday. He was surprised to find that he is in pre-algebra (an 8th grade math class). We'll see how that goes. Math is his strong subject.

Cord's first campout

Out ward was having a one night camp out up on Mount Charleston to end the summer. I realized that we haven't been camping as a family since before Cord was born. We have a tent but didn't even know what condition it was in. This was a great opportunity for Cord's first camp out. He was so excited to be able to sleep in a tent outside. That's the only reason the kids even agreed to do it. Then I left the camera in the car and didn't get many pictures (shocker for me I know). Cord loved to wander around the camp site and I just followed him around. But then sometimes I would turn around and he would be gone so it was little stressful at times. He loved finding sticks that he could throw in the fire and was disappointed that he was to little to go across the rope bridge. Mike was able to take his bike and do a 20 mile bike ride on the mountain roads early saturday morning. It was nice to be able to escape the heat that Vegas has been having the last week and be together before we headed back to school.

Cord's new teacher

For the last week, Cord has been begging to go to school every day! We've had a countdown going but it's really hard for him to understand that he has to wait. He is going to a new school (McCaw) with a new teacher (Miss Lynn). He is sad that he doesn't have his old teacher, but he likes the big slide at the new school. We went to meet the teacher and see his classroom. He's very excited. It's been quite the drama getting him to a school that will help him with his speech needs that is close to us so we are hopeful that this program will be the best for him.

Youth Conference

The girls were off on their last adventure of the summer. They got on these busses and headed up to Heber Valley for youth conference. They left on tuesday morning and got home friday afternoon. They played a lot of games to pass their time. The girls said they had a great time with some good learning experiences, but were exhausted when they got home. It's been a busy summer. Now it's time to get ready for school to start again.

Swimming and sleepovers

Ever since Mason took swimming lessons, he's been begging for some flippers and a snorkel. Since the girls are gone to youth conference, I decided to take Mason down to the sporting good store and get one. He was so excited and couldn't wait to jump in. The boys spent 2 hours in the pool this afternoon and then jumped in again for another couple hours tonight. Since I got put on-call tonight we decided to have a movie night complete with our traditional popcorn and orange julius. We rented "Mars needs Moms". Cord was so funny during the movie. He would get so tense and then break out laughing. I had more fun watching Cord than the movie. Then the boys headed upstairs for their sleepover. This sleepover has lasted all summer. They've slept more in the playroom than in their own beds. Next week we start our "school training". They will have to move back into their rooms and start waking up early/ going to bed on time. Otherwise they'll have a big shock on the first day of school.

Cord at the dentist & random pics

Time to take all the kids to the dentist but this was the first time that Cord was actually getting his teeth "tickled". We've had little "happy visits" before where the dentist counts his teeth, but this was his first cleaning. I was so proud of him, he did so good. I loved the glasses they put on him so the light wouldn't get in his eyes. At the end of his visit he hopped off the chair and shouted "I did it!" and raced to the treasure chest for his prize. Then he said to me, "now that my teeth are clean can I go to school?" He's been bugging me for a couple weeks now about going back to school. Poor kid, still has 2 more weeks to go.





Cord is still Chester's buddy. We are in the car taking Chester to get his haircut.

Summer fun can be so exhausting!! I'm surprised that Cord has used the pool more this summer than the other kids. He is asking me everyday if he can get in. We have really enjoyed our first summer with the pool!

Concert Fantasy

This is the weekend that Brianna has been waiting for all year. It's what she has been working on all summer. It's the main reason she wanted to be on the preforming dance team at Fern Adair. It's their big Concert Fantasy. The members of the preforming groups get more parts and this year instead of 2 dances, she has parts in 12. Even though the last few weeks she has put in some long days, she is soooo happy! Today was their dress rehearsal. It's the only time that we can take pictures or video. I'm so proud of her and all that she has accomplished. I love watching her dance and the expressions on her face. She wears her heart on her sleeve when she dances.




































At the end of the rehersal all the girls were sitting on the stage waiting for instructions. Ms. Fern started calling names and told them to stand up on the stage. As Brianna and the other girls stood there they had no idea why or if they were in trouble for something. Ms. Fern stalled for awhile and let them squirm. Then she announced that these girls had earned their pointe shoes!!! The girls started screaming, jumping up and down, and crying. I was also super excited for her. That has been one goal of hers for a long time. In order to be able to learn to get on pointe you have to put in your time and prove yourself. This is her moment!