Let's go to the hop... oh baby

Mason's elementary had a sock hop tonight and we decided to go, even though i didn't have any clean socks (haven't done laundry) and don't have the energy to hop (have worked 6 out of the last 8 days) The best thing we could come up with was Mason's levi jacket we got when it was 80's day at Blueberry Hill. He did think about his outfit though, he wanted a mohawk, but his hair is so long it wouldn't stay up. And he chose a shirt with guitars on it since is was "rocking". They had the gym all decked out like a soda parlor and there were a lot of people dressed up. I don't think I could have fit into Brianna's poodle skirt from 2 halloweens ago so I didn't even try. They had a dj playing all the cool 50's tunes, they had costume contests, dancing, hula hoop contests, and tickets to buy treats like popcorn, cotton candy, and milk shakes. Mason wasn't really into all the fun dancing things but he had a purpose for being there. He had arranged to meet a friend from school there so they could trade Pokemon on their Ninentendo DS. So we looked around for at least 20 min looking for him. By then I was ready to head home, but then Mason found his friend. They immediately pulled out the DSs and started playing....... for at least 45 min. I just sat down next to them and made phone calls to anyone who I had need to call in the last week. It was fun to watch mason laugh and have a good time with his friend. As we walked out to the car we discovered that they even parked close to us. So I'm sure Mason will say he had a great time at the sock hop, but not for the same reasons as the other kids. For the record, I didn't see a lot of boys dancing but a lot of cute little 50's girls were jamming on the floor.

New Callings

We've been in this ward for almost 7 months now and have escaped without a calling, til now. Mike and I have been called to serve in the primary as team teachers for the 7 year olds. Today they had 11 kids in the class. We'll start our duties the 2nd week of October, just in time for the primary program. It's been forever since I've been in primary and I know they have a lot of new songs that I'll have to learn. Mason was sad that we weren't teaching his class. Next year will be interesting with Cord as a Sunbeam, because we'll be in the junior primary with him. That will make it hard to have him sit with his class when we are in the room.

The biggest challenge will be what to do when I work saturday night. We'll have to find a parent to sit in the class with Mike while he teaches. Next year when we go to the 11:00 time slot it should be easier. I guess this also cuts into my traveling schedule. It means we have to hurry home either saturday night or early sunday morning. But I know it is a blessing to be able to serve.

Fall Withdrawl

So there is a slight nip in the air, well it's only in the 90's so it's feeling better. But I've found myself having serious withdrawls from not seeing the amazing fall colors in New England. Growing up in southern utah I was content to see the leaves on the few trees around turn yellow then fall off all within a few short weeks. But after having experienced the fall in Mass last year....... I'm not sure how I'm ever going to survive (a little dramatic I know). I guess its true that you can't miss something you've never had but now I know what I've been missing. Sigh!

I don't know if it makes things better or worse, but this weekend I've been scrapping all of the amazing fall pictures we took last year. It brings back a lot of good memories. Now I guess I'll just have to keep my ears open for new opportunities to celebrate fall here in the southwest.

The braces finally come off!

Happy day for Chelsea. The braces finally come off! She didn't want to start high school with braces, but this is pretty close. An added bonus (one that we didn't plan at all) is that picture day is tomorrow. So at least she won't have braces in any of her high school yearbook pictures. It's fun to watch her smile and rub her tongue against her now smooth teeth. Because of 2 moves, Chelsea was in braces for much longer than she should have been. With each move we had to wait for insurance (usually 3 months) then jump through all the hoops to get established at an orthodontist. It usually took a couple visits for them to start making adjustments. But after this happy day all that is forgotten.

Here's the last picture of both my girls in braces at the same time. We still have over a year with Brianna but they are coming along nicely.

BEFORE:

DURING:

AFTER: Look at that beautiful (expensive) smile. It is worth it!

The orthodontist gave her a gift bag full of all the junk she couldn't eat while she had braces. It was all pretty exciting. Not as exciting as a sticky party (per shelley) but all Chelsea really wanted was some gum. Her daddy took her down to the gas station to let her pick out the flavors she wanted. I think she'll be chewing gum for weeks to come.

Scrap Happy

AHHHH! What a fun, relaxing weekend. Just got back from SLC where I went to the Scrapbook USA convention with Brenda. Besides getting a lot accomplished, it's fun therapy just to be able to talk and laugh for 2 days and not have to deal with all the pressures of being a mom. Thanks to my fabulous honey who took care of all the things at home so I could go. He even sold some old textbooks and gave me the money so I could buy more "scrap crap".

The weekend got off to a rocky start though. I drove up to St. George on thursday night so Brenda and I could get an early start on Friday. My car broke down about 30 min outside of St. George. Brenda had to come rescue me. We left the car there. So then Mike had to make the arrangements to get it to St. George and try to get it fixed. His brother was able to help us out which I'm so thankful for.

We made great time friday and had over 11 hours to scrap and browse the shops. They kicked us out at midnight - bummer. I was able to get 20 pages done. We were in line by 8:30 to get in on saturday morning. That day we only had 9 hours to scrap because they closed down at 6:00. But I was able to get 18 pages done. That's more than I've done over the past 2 years combined. Hopefully I can keep the momentum going. I have plenty of pictures and page kits to put together. I don't think I'll ever be able to get caught up but I'm going to try.

Many people made it possible for me to be able to have this great escape. Now I'm recharged and ready to tackle life again. Thank you!

Here we are in line to get in and hopefully get a good table on saturday morning. We are able to spread all our stuff out and we both got a lot accomplished


The convention center is huge. Whenever we got tired of sitting we would just wander around and look at the vendors. There was a dj in the middle playing songs, having dance-offs, and there were lots of prizes given away. We entered the drawings all day long but didn't win anything that way. There were numbers scattered on the floor so we camped by one. Whenever they yelled "get on a number", Brenda would hop up and stand on her lucky number 29. Sometimes she would have to fight for it but in the end it paid off because she won a page kit.

Look what I got done! WooHoo!

Brotherly Love

Just a couple of cute pics of my boys. They get along so well. Mason is the great "entertainer".

Girls Camp

Knowing that I wanted to scrap the big event, and knowing that the girls had way to much fun to worry about taking pictures with them in it, I asked the YW leaders if I could get copies of the pictures that they took. They went to a family ranch just outside of Zion Park. The girls spent a lot of time in the pond, hiked part of the narrows, and had a great time getting to know the girls in the ward better. They had a pirate theme, "yo ho, yo ho, a righteous life for me". It looks like they had a lot of fun. I wished I could have been there, however, they probably enjoyed it more because I wasn't. I'm just glad my girls didn't kill each other since they had to share a cabin :)

Go Rebels

Tonight was the first football game for the UNLV Rebels. Mike took Brianna and Mason since Chelsea had other plans (girls night with friends :). Cord and I hung out at home. The kids came home excited and really enjoyed the game, especially since they won. UNLV 38 Sacramento 3. Mike said he had fun with the kids, however since they had to sit in the student section (to get discount tickets) they were surrounded by all kinds of other students who were enjoying a lot of alcohol with their game. Not the best environment for the kids. Brianna did her best to dress like a fan with her UNLV Boyd Law t-shirt and red ribbons. Always trying to make a fashion statement - that's my girl!

I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready

After preparing and gathering for the last couple of weeks, I'm finally ready for "Scrapbook USA". Brenda and I are headed up there on Friday to scrapbook, eat, and sleep for 2 straight days. I'm so excited. It's our 3rd trip and we always have a good time. I haven't scrapped for over a year and have a lot to catch up on. I got out all the old scrapbooks, at the kids request, and have had a good time looking back. It makes me glad that I have taken the time to do the scrapbooks and the kids seem to really like it as well. I have been collecting lots of kits and now have printed the pictures to go with them. I even let the kids pick which kit they want for a certain event. I hope I have everything I need. Usually between the both of us bringing our "crap stuff" we get done what we need to. Now I just have to wait for 6 more days!

The Cord-nado strikes again

Why do I even try to clean house? I turn around and this is what the room looks like. UGGGGH!