Jonah's new class~ Lilly's new hair~ Jayne's new trick

We'll start with the oldest. Jonah had his first day of his new kindergarten class today. It took a little persuasion to get him to line up with his class and go in, but after that he did great. We had this conversation after I picked him up.
Me: "Did you have fun in your new class?"
Jonah: "I guess so."
Me: "Is your new teacher nice?"
Jonah: "She's nice, but she's not very smart. She called me a different name that is not my name."
Me: "What name did she call you?"
Jonah: "She said Jaclyn when she was supposed to say Jonah."
Me: "Oh, but other than that, was she a good teacher?"
Jonah: "I guess so."

So, he's less than enthusiastic about the new class and new teacher, but he didn't freak out about it either. He said that he made one new friend today, but he couldn't remember his name. I assured him that he would learn his new friend's name in no time. So far, so good.

Now, to Lilly.... Lilly does not like having her hair combed, or washed, or put in a ponytail, or touched in any way. After about a month of trying to convince her, she finally came around to the idea of having it cut short so that she wouldn't have so many tangles and we wouldn't have to put it in ponytails. Last night, Aunt Rachel did the honors.

Here is a before picture. This is Lilly getting a pedicure from Daddy a few days ago. That's about as 'done' as her hair would ever get. We'd put in a clip to hold her bangs out of her eyes and that's all she'd let me do. As a side note, what a great daddy to give his little girl pedicures! Love you Babe!

Here is the after. Her hair likes to fall straight forward into her eyes. We took this right before getting ready for bed last night, so I didn't put a clip in like we did today. She loves her new hair and was so excited when I combed it this morning and we had NO tangles!

Jayne has a fun new trick. She's walking! She started taking a few steps on her own a couple of weeks ago. She doesn't walk exclusively yet, but she does it a lot and can take ten or more steps all by herself. I don't have a picture of her actually walking and I haven't got it on video yet (I know, I know, I'm totally going to lose that 'Mom of the Year Award' for that), but here is a cute picture of her pushing her little walker that she plays with sometimes.

She's trying to figure out how to put it in reverse.

So, that's what's new with our brood. Thanks for letting me share!

The Infinite Wisdom of our Elementary School

It all started with a letter. About a week or so ago, Jonah brought home a letter from the school informing us of the "wonderful" news that they were creating a new kindergarten class in order to reduce class sizes. They would be talking kids from the 2 existing kindergarten classes to make the new one, which will be on a completely different track schedule. The letter stated that kids who did not have older siblings attending the school would be taken first, that would be us. The letter also went on and on about how we should volunteer for this "happy" change because our kids really don't care if we put them in a new class with new teachers and new kids because they're only 5 years old. It said that kids are really flexible at this age and that it wouldn't be a big deal for them. Do they not KNOW any 5 year olds?

Anyway, then they sent home a little paper asking us to check yes or no on whether we would want to move our child to the new class. I highly doubt anyone volunteered. No one wants to disrupt their kids schedule. They've been in school for 5 or 6 weeks now and have just gotten used to their teacher and made new friends.

So, what really bugs me about this is the timing. They've known that their 2 kindergarten classes were overloaded since last spring. If you're going to make a new class, why couldn't you get it done BEFORE the new school year started? I don't get it. People plan their lives around their kids' track schedules here. I know one family who has their vacations and things planned around it and now their child would miss a lot of school if put in this new class, which she was. I know her mom is trying to get her out of it. At the beginning of the year the school sent home a letter on attendance policy basically stating that the only good reason your child should ever miss school is if they are deathly ill, then they go and make this change which will probably result in kids missing school for vacations and other preplanned family activities.

Well, I'm sure you've guessed by now that we got the letter today telling us that Jonah has been "chosen" for the new kindergarten class, which starts next Monday. This means he won't be on track break in a few weeks, instead he'll be on until December. Not that he'll care about that.
Jonah just doesn't do well with change. I told him about the new class, trying to be all excited and upbeat about it, and he had a breakdown. He's very attached to his teacher and just made new friends. So, I thought if I could find out which other kids from his class are in the new class, it might make things easier for him because he would have some familiar faces to look forward to. I called the school and they so very politely(not!) informed me that they can't tell me which other kids are in Jonah's new class. They don't give out that information. WHAT?!!! At the beginning of school they had class lists posted on the front doors of the school for everyone to see, so why can't they tell me who will be in my son's class? ARGH!

Anyway, I just wanted to share this fun little experience with you all. I'm sure Jonah will adjust just fine. It will take a week or two of him being grumpy, just like at the beginning of school, and I'm sure there will be tears(there already have been), but we'll survive.
I'll keep you posted.

I came. I camped. I conquered!

Aren't you all just so proud of me?! Nate and I had a wonderful time on our little one-night camping trip.
We left Saturday morning and headed up Mirror Lake Highway. We chose a campsite in the Shady Dell campground. It was nice and secluded, with lots of trees. The only drawback was the somewhat lengthy walk to the outhouse, but at least we didn't have the smell.
We got our tent set up and we set up a tarp over our picnic table because we were pretty sure we were going to get rained on. We could hear really loud thunder from the moment we got there.
After we got set up, we decided to play a rousing game of checkers. I'm sorry to have to admit that we had to read the rules. Neither of us had played checkers since we were kids.
During our game, a couple and their little girl came over to talk to us. They wanted to know if we knew if hunting season was on in the area. We had no idea. Apparently, they were up the road a little ways with their little girl and had pulled off to look at a family of moose grazing in the meadow. There was a male, a female, and a baby. They said there were at least three other families with young children standing on the side of the road watching the moose and taking pictures when a hunter shot the male right through the head. Their little girl,no more than 5 years old, described it to us in dramatic detail, complete with the moose's red blood going everywhere and him falling down dead. "DEAD!" she yelled.
They were concerned because the animals had been less that 100 yards from the road and the hunters had shot toward the highway. So, we told them their best bet would be to drive to the ranger station and report it. Not sure if they did. We didn't get to talk to them again. Anyway, it was an interesting conversation.
After playing checkers, we started into some reading. Nate really likes Louis Lamour books and sometimes we read one together. He brought a couple and we took turns reading out loud. We actually finished the book by the time we turned in for the night.
We didn't see much wildlife, but we did make one furry friend. This little chipmunk was fearless and came right up to us to eat some cashews that we had brought.
He even tried to come back for more once the fire was going, but decided it was too hot.
It started raining around late afternoon. It would stop for short periods, but it really poured during the night. Luckily, we came prepared and stayed dry.
I only had one bout of paranoia during the night. My imagination went a little crazy with the pouring rain making all sorts of noises outside our tent. But, it didn't last too long(the paranoia that is) and I managed to get some rest.
We got up early the next morning and headed home for stake conference.
So, there you have it. I camped, and I survived. Next time we'll have to try for two nights in a row!

I leave with a picture of the two "happy campers"

I'm about to make another attempt at.....

...camping! My poor Nate desperately wants us to be a camping, outdoorsy family. We've already made two attempts over the summer---one with the kids and one without. We lasted one night on each. I just don't camp.
But...I love my husband. So, tomorrow morning my mom and sister are coming over to stay with the kids and Nate and I are going to head up the Mirror Lake Hwy and spend the day basking in Mother Nature's glory. We're only staying one night, so I'm pretty sure I'll survive. Besides, who wouldn't want 24 hours alone with the hubby? Even if I have to use the stinky outhouse and can't sleep because I just KNOW I'm going to be attacked by a bear or some psycho during the night......
Man, I've got issues

Happy (late) Birthday to Me!

Last Sunday, the 13th of September, was my 27th birthday. In honor of the occasion, I thought maybe I'd write about something that I really don't like to write about----ME! But, before that, I'd like to tell you about my wonderful birthday weekend!~
On Saturday night, Nate brought me home some birthday flowers after work and then took me out to celebrate.
We saw a movie, "Julie & Julia", and then went out to a late dinner at Buca di Beppo's. Nate doesn't like Italian food, so taking me there to eat was an extra sweet gesture! The movie was fabulous! I highly recommend it.The food was even more fabulous! They always give you TONS of food at Buca, so I got to savor the leftovers on Sunday and Monday as well. Yum!
On Sunday, Nate made me breakfast. This is a HUGE deal because we have 9:00 church and we all had slept in until 8:00. So in the midst of rushing to get all of us ready and out the door(which Nate helps out with every week), he found the time to make me some breakfast, and to make it look all pretty!
Nate had planned to take us all on a picnic for my birthday. Alas, the weather did not cooperate. We had a big thunderstorm that afternoon. So, we stayed home and just relaxed. We all took extra long naps (the best birthday present ever!), and just laid around enjoying each others company. Jonah was a little concerned that no one was coming over to "have fun" on my birthday. So he made sure that I got some candles in a cake that my mom and sister had brought the day before. He and Nate and Lilly all sang to me and the kids helped me blow out the candles. I must say, this birthday was one of my absolute favorites!

Now,about me... I was thinking about it, and I decided that most of you lovely people who read my blog either A) haven't seen me in a LOT of years or B) have only known me for a couple years or less. This excludes my immediate family, of course. So, I thought that I would share 27 fun facts about me, in honor of my 27th birthday. Okay, "fun" may be pushing it, but here I go.....

1) My mom was baking chocolate chip cookies when she went into labor with me. 27 years later and I've still got a horrible sweet tooth. I love anything that can pass for dessert!

2) I got married at the ripe young age of 19 and I'm not afraid to admit that I was too young and too naive.

3) My first "real" job was my senior year of high school at Office Max and lasted about 6 weeks. I quit so I could do the school play and have time for chamber choir. Well, actually I quit because I hated it.

4) As mentioned above, I was in choir all through school and in college. I was a vocal performance major at SUU and then at WSU.

5)I went to college for about 4 years, but didn't finish. I've got my A.S. and plan to one day go back and finish with a degree in something related to family studies or psychology.

6) I make the best chocolate chip cookies in the world! My sugar cookies aren't bad either.

7) I played soccer growing up. I started when I was in kindergarten and played until I was 15. I did it pretty much year round, doing indoor soccer for a couple winters.

8) I can understand Spanish pretty good, but I don't really speak it. Nate thinks it's funny that he can have a conversation with me where he's speaking Spanish and I'm speaking English.

9) I'm the 1st counselor in our ward's Primary Presidency. I've had the calling for almost two years. Before that, they only ever had me play piano or lead the choir---very different

10) I LOVE the TV series "Friends"! I've got all the seasons on DVD and could watch them over and over and over and over and over.....

11) I sort of teach piano. I've only got one student right now.

12) I love a good workout. My favorite way to de-stress is to go to the gym, turn on the ipod, and spend an hour on the elliptical machine.

13) My favorite/lucky number is 13

14) I love to play Scrabble, but I'm not very good because I don't get to play it often. Nate is not a fan of the game.

15) Laundry is my arch-enemy

16) I'm not crafty. I like to think that I could be if I REALLY tried, but that's probably not true.

17) I think that mail is a fabulous thing! Not e-mail, or texts, or facebook messages, I'm talking about real, postal mail. there's something so special about getting mail....

18) I value my sleep. I'm not a happy person when I'm not getting my sleep. My college roommates used to call me Grandma Ashley because I would go to bed at 9:00.

19) I'm an optimistic, look on the bright side, kind of person...........most of the time. =)

20) I have 3 beautiful children and don't plan on having any more

21) I love to travel, as long as it includes sleeping at a hotel (not in a tent), eating out, and not having to do dishes

22) My biggest pet peeve is parents who don't "parent" I could jump on my soapbox for hours on this topic, but I'll spare you all the lecture since none of you are in that category

23) I love the smell of fresh cut grass. It reminds me of those Saturday morning soccer games of my youth

24) I'm a sweater person. I love the chilly weather that lets me wear a sweater, but not a coat.

25) Places I've lived: North Ogden, Farr West, Ogden, Harrisville, Hooper, Las Vegas, St. George, Cedar City, Saratoga Springs, and now Magna

26) My favorite "non-chick" movie is Live Free or Die Hard.

27) I'm addicted to diet cola. It doesn't matter if it's pepsi or coke or generic, one little glass can brighten my day. I know.....it's sad. But, hey, isn't life about finding joy in the little things? =)

Well, if you're still reading....thanks for getting to know me a bit better.
Thanks to everyone who sent birthday wishes. I truly had a Happy Birthday!

Our Fresno Fiasco! Part 3: Getting Home

We decided to make the trip home all in one day. Nate had Tuesday off, but wanted to go in and finish up some computer training. The drive is 12 hours, so we decided to start nice and early. Nate set the alarm for 3AM. When it went off, he got up and got everything loaded. I tried to get up and help, I really did, but the bed must have had some sort of extra strong gravitational pull, because when he came to get me up at 4Am I hadn't moved.
My sister, Rachel, had driven to CA with our cousin, but would be driving home alone. She decided she wanted to follow us so that she wouldn't be all by herself. She didn't want to be alone, but she wouldn't let anyone ride with her....go figure.

Here's a shot of everyone's big smiles so early in the morning.

Even Nate was smiling....well...sort of.

I fully expected everyone in the backseat to fall asleep for the first few hours of the drive. That didn't happen. Jayne went back to sleep, Sarah starting snoring pretty quick, and I think my mom even dozed off for a bit, but Jonah and Lilly were wide awake. They just don't sleep much when we drive. We were making good time when we stopped off in Barstow for some breakfast. Due to lack of funds, we decided to just hit the local walmart and grab some granola bars or something. We found some muffins and juice. When we were walking inside Lilly looked at me and said, "Mom, why are we going to Wal Mart with me still in my jammies?!" She thought that was strange.
The drive went pretty well until we were just outside of Vegas. Then the little ones got really restless. Lilly just kept saying "This is too long of a drive, Mom." Jonah kept having to use the bathroom, which I think was just a ploy to get us to stop so he could get out of the Jeep. No one has to go that often. So we decided to make a longer pit stop in Vegas and go to Nate's parents house so that the kids could have some lunch and run around and play for a bit.
It was a very nice break. We made the kids some mac-n-cheese and they got to ride the pedal-powered tractor around the backyard and play with Aunt Emily. I don't know about anyone else, but I really didn't want to get back on the road. I was ready to just crash at the Barnum's. But, Nate was bound and determined to get home that day and so was Rachel.
The kids all complained when we had to buckle them back in.

Nate relaxing at his parents house. Can you tell he's a bit tired? =)

Emily helping us load up to get on down the road. She's always so great playing with the kids. They hate leaving her.

The drive was uneventful (aside from more potty stops and a little more whining from the back seat) until we got outside St. George. We had just finished the climb between St George and Cedar City when Rachel called to tell us that her car's transmission was acting up. She said she thought she could make it to Cedar City and to wait for her there. So we got to Cedar and gassed up. I think it was about 4:00 or so.
Rachel called again and said that her car wasn't going to make it. She had pulled off at the rest stop near New Harmony. So my mom got on the phone with her insurance company to see what they could do to help. They were absolutely NO help. It took her at least 30 minutes to get a real person on the phone and then they said they could tow it, but they needed to know the name of a place to tow it to. HELLO! we're from out of town. How are we supposed to know the name and address of the nearest mechanic? Anyway, we piled back in the Jeep and turned around to rescue Rachel.
Nate checked out her engine and said that he wanted to try driving it for a bit and see what the problem was. That made me official driver of the Jeep. We got back on the freeway and headed north. We stopped in Beaver for potty breaks and some dinner and to let the kids run around a bit.
When we were getting loaded up again, Nate said to me "We're going all the way home this time. No more stops." Easy for him to say. He's not driving a 3 and 5 year old with limited bladder control.
Needless to say, we had to stop. We stopped in Nephi and then planned to pull off in Draper(where Rachel lives) to drop her off and get Nate back in the Jeep. We were just getting to Lehi when I hear "I need to go potty" coming from the back seat. It was Lilly. I told her she'd have to hold it. Luckily, she made it. She started crying at about the point of the mountain. My mom reached back and held her hand and told her we'd be there soon and then Lilly fell asleep. I had to wake her up to take her to the bathroom.
After that, we went straight home. I think it was getting close to 10pm when we finally pulled into the driveway. We got the kids straight to bed. They were exhausted. Except for Lilly's 10 minute nap, they didn't sleep the entire drive.
So, there you have it---our adventure. We were all so exhausted that we pretty much slept all day Tuesday. Nate ended up not going in to work and we just relaxed all day.
We definitely made some memories on our little trip to Fresno, and it was great to see the Bennett Clan, but I can tell you one thing for sure........we are NOT making another drive like that for a very, very, very, very, very long time.

Our Fresno Fiasco! Part 2: Being There

After arriving in Fresno Saturday afternoon, we all took a much needed nap. We were so exhausted that we had to set an alarm and wake the kids up to get to the birthday dinner on time.
The dinner was nice. We had yummy food and got to listen to my mom and her siblings tell stories about Grandpa. I learned a lot of stuff that I never knew. Such as...my mom once lived in Chicago, they owned a vineyard for a while growing up, and my Grandpa was all about farming. Crazy how little I know about my own family.
I really need to work on that.
After the dinner we headed back to our room and put the kids to bed. I thought about sticking around to socialize a bit more, but the kiddos were all tuckered out and I knew that if I kept them up much longer, it would be a long night and a long day to follow.
We all slept much better that night. The kids even slept in--Thank Heaven for hotel black-out curtains! We got up around 9 and got ready for church. We attended a ward in Fresno with my mom. Afterwards, the family was all planning to get together in the hotel courtyard and swim and have lunch. We got the kids in their suits and headed out. Everyone else was eating first, but my kids insisted on getting in the pool first. So we swam first and ate later.
After swimming, it was nap time again. Can you tell that we love our sleep? =) Jonah, Lilly, Nate and I headed back to our room to snooze while Jayne slept in Grandma's arms. I hear she was quite the social butterfly while we were napping.
Anyway, after naps we played outside and visited some more. It was so nice to see so much of the family that we NEVER see. It was also fun to find out how many of them read my blog and therefore already knew everything going on in our lives. Isn't technology amazing?!
Here are a few fun pictures from the party. Somehow I didn't get any pictures of Sunday.

Lilly is blowing on her chicken strip to get it to cool off. She would put it right up to her lips like she was giving it a kiss.

Nate being a good sport even though he's wiped out from all that driving.

Jonah loved the fancy glasses for our lemonade. He just had to clink his glass with whoever was next to him. Aunt Rachel was a great help with the kids while we were there. So was Aunt Sarah, but I didn't get a picture of her. Thanks Sistahs!

Jonah, Lilly, and me with Grandpa Bennett. Doesn't Jonah look just thrilled to be there?! =)

Well, that about wraps up our time in Fresno. Check back soon for the final installment of Our Fresno Fiasco---- "Getting Home: The 18 Hour Driving Marathon!" Trust me, this is where it gets really good!

Our Fresno Fiasco!

Okay, calling it a 'Fiasco' may be a bit dramatic, but I really love that word.

Anyhoo, before I get into writing about the trip, I should give a bit of background on why we took the trip in the first place. My grandpa on my mom's side turned 80 years old last week. The family planned a big shin-dig in Fresno, CA to celebrate. It's very rare that this side of the family gets together in large numbers. Well, it's rare that we can go when they get together in large numbers. To save money, we drove my mom and sister, Sarah, with us in our Jeep and they contributed to the gas fund. So, the scene is set--four adults and three children on a 12 hour drive ....let the fun begin!

Part 1: Getting There: The Master Packer and the Death of the DVD Player

We planned to leave first thing Friday morning. My mom and Sarah came to our house and we proceeded to load up. We had discussed different options for hauling the luggage, since all the room inside the Jeep was filled with bodies. Nate decided that he could fit everything into a car-top luggage bag. I really didn't see how that was possible, but he is a master at packing large things into small spaces. We used every nook and cranny inside that bag, as well as inside the Jeep, but he got it done. On Friday we planned to drive to St. George and stay the night and then finish the drive to Fresno on Saturday. We have a car DVD player with two screens for the kids that we bought in March to use on road trips. At our first stop for gas, we tried to start up a movie for the kids. Yeah...that didn't happen. Our DVD player wouldn't work. It was getting NO power.
After trying everything we could think of, we pulled out the coloring books and headed down the road. Jonah and Lilly actually did really well, with very few complaints- just a lot of potty breaks.
When we made it to St. George, the first thing we had to do was swim in the hotel pool. Jonah had been looking forward to it all day. So we got our suits on and dove right in!

Jayne absolutely LOVED the water! She had a great time floating around in this little dolphin toy.

After we were done in the pool, we got to visit with some of Nate's family. His parents, sister Emily, brother Tyler, sis-in-law Rebekka and their son, Quinn all drove up from Las Vegas just to visit with us. It was so great to see everyone, even just for a short time. It was especially great to get to see Tyler before he left for his military training this last Monday.
After the family left, Nate and I set out to fix the DVD player. We were NOT wanting to attempt the next day's 8 hour drive without it. Our first stop was Best Buy, where we bought the DVD player. They helped us figure out the the fuse in the car adapter was blown. Sadly, they don't carry that type of fuse and the only place that would was closed. They told us to try Checker Auto Parts and see if they had one. So we headed over there only to find that the fuse we needed was the ONE kind of fuse they didn't carry. We headed back over to Best Buy and bought a universal car adapter that they assured us would do the trick. We tested it out and it worked great!
Here's a shot of the kids getting some much needed sleep after a busy day of travel.
I think they were the only ones who got much sleep that night. They kept Nate and me awake by talking in their sleep and rolling on top of each other a zillion times during the night. Then there was a noisy thunderstorm around 3am.

Saturday, we got up bright and early to hit the road. We got a movie going, the kids were happy, and life was good. Two hours later, life was not so good. After just one movie, the DVD player stopped working again. We tried everything we knew how, but to no avail. Alas, we had to face the fact that we were going to have to finish this trip sans movie entertainment.
Needless to say, the drive was LONG. There's not much to look at out the window between St. George and Fresno. But, we made it. We were all hot, tired, and a tiny bit cranky, but we were there. We got checked into our hotel and rested up for the big party later that night.
Stay tuned for our next installment--- Being There: Food, Family, & Fun

September is such a magical time, going back to school and all. Jonah just finished his second week of kindergarten and Lilly will start preschool next Wednesday. Jonah has always loved school. He did preschool for two years. He was a little grumpy the first week, but has been much better this week. Today, when I picked him up, he ran up to me and about knocked me over with a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek and said that he had a "so much fun" day at school.

Lilly asks me every day if it is time for her to go to 'her' school yet. She's getting really excited. She'll be going twice a week. I met her teacher last week and wasn't too impressed. We're going to give her the benefit of the doubt and see how it goes. I'll be volunteering in the classroom quite a bit, so I'll be able to see how she runs things.

Last Sunday we had a fun visit from Uncle Loron and Aunt Cathy. Loron bought the kids all kinds of fun stuff for school. They each got new backpacks and big bag full of crayons, coloring books, paper, pencils, pens, and anything else you could possibly need to start off your education right. Jayne especially loved Lilly's new backpack. Jayne loves bags. It's like they pull her to them with some invisible force. If you put your bag on the ground and Jayne is anywhere around, she'll find it and try to drag it with her.
She quickly latched on to Lilly's backpack and even walked around the living room with it. Since Sunday, she still goes into Lilly's closet anytime it's left open and drags out the backpack. So cute! A few weeks ago, the kids helped Nate wash the Jeep. They were so cute that I had to take a picture. Here's Jayne on the front porch overseeing the fun.

Lilly & Jonah were such good helpers, almost too good sometimes. Nate would have a spot dry and they would come and 'wash' it again.

Last weekend, Nate decided that he'd had enough of our white walls. One trip to Lowe's and about an hour and here's what happened.

Our kitchen is now "marasca cherry". He has big plans for the rest of the house too. We'll keep you posted.
Anyhoo....that's about all I've got for now. Hope everyone is having a happy September!