Toof-less & Some Visitors!

Jordan sporting a new grin.

Jojo lost another tooth, but this time the Tooth Fairy was nice enough to grant him his request to keep it. We made a little pillow box to put it in & wrote a note to the TF to please leave the treasured tooth. She left him a 5-spot (NICE!) & was swiftly on her way.

Jo gave his first talk in Primary the following Sunday (amazing, for him, since he is so scared of getting up & talking in front of others!). It was *so* adorable, the way he could no longer say his "S's" quite right.

We were lucky enough to have the space available when a friend needed a place to stay this month. She has two kids who often stayed over as well, one of them being Jordan's age. Gracie was a joy to have around! The kids couldn't wait to get up in the morning to see if she was there, & Grace would always watch out the window of the casita to see when we would open our blinds, signaling we were all up & ready to take on the day.

We had so much fun, having them here. My friend Tami was the model houseguest & I miss her now that she's in an apartment. They were with us for about a month & the kids still ask about Gracie in the mornings.

Jo & Gracie crafting together

School for Jojo

Since implementing the warm fuzzies, things have been going remarkably well! Jo continues to try to test me, but I'm seeing an improvement in him. His feelings of not being able to do something are, more rapidly than I expected, being replaced with the confidence he was lacking in but was so deserving of.

We're using the program K12 right now. It's an online school but most of the work is not done online. I received several boxes of text books, reading books, & other material, in the beginning & our mornings are filled with accomplishing something worthwhile.

I went to a mom's meeting last week with some girls from an LDS home school group I belonged to, what seems like a lifetime ago. It was so good to be with old friends & bounce my thoughts off them & share in lots of laughter & fondue (a bonus, I know).

Next week we are headed up to Channel 3 news station for a "field trip" tour with other home schooled kids. Jo is very excited... he's hoping for some airtime. It's not what I expected his reaction to be, but I'm learning new things about him every day!

I'm loving where we're at & where we're going with this!

Birthday Party FUN!

Last weekend we celebrated both Jordan & Tyler's birthdays. Vickie came in town from Reno for their birthdays, as she has every year since we moved to Vegas.

Tyler invited a large group of boys since we decided to have a party "in" this year. He wanted to take a bunch of friends to Gameworks but after finding out how much something like that would cost, we decided against that idea. We set up the casita with a few small tv's, some game systems, & a lot of cold refreshments. The boys arrived shortly after we got home from Soccer practice.

I didn't realize how many people were actually there until I went out back & did a head count so I could order what I thought would be an appropriate amount of pizza for these STARVING, growing young men. Ten boys & seven pizzas later, there were still a few left hungry but we were headed off to the movies to see G.I. Joe.

All the boys seemed to enjoy the movie & afterwards (instead of letting them roam around Town Square like they wanted to...it's a NUT HOUSE there on a Friday night!! I never knew!) Dave & I came in both cars to pick them up & drop them each off at home. It was fun seeing a few boys from our old ward we hadn't seen in a long time.

These are the only pictures I got of the bunch. It was impossible to get them all together in one shot.

Here are a few pics of Ty on his actual birthday.

We gave him his gifts from the family that day. We love to mess with our kids & give them a hard time whenever possible, so that small cylinder-shaped present in the front is actually just a wrapped can of soda. There were a few other gag gifts, too.

Jordan's birthday party was on Saturday. He had six friends come to celebrate with him & celebrate they did!

As soon as they got here they all got a "lab coat" (essential for budding mad scientists!). They made some goggles, picture frames, & each got a name tag.

We made slime, which was either the coolest thing ever or the grossest thing ever, depending on who you asked.

We had an atom bust contest. Each of the kids would get a balloon tied to their ankle & they would try to protect it from everyone else. They had so much fun chasing one another around, trying to pop everyone elses "atoms"! It was the loudest but funnest part of the whole party, if you ask me!

Our eyeball cake turned out to be a hit. Jordan wanted red velvet cake to have more of a "real eyeball" effect.

We had some pinata issues (I think I filled it too full) & instead of breaking it open with a stick the kids had candy & toys rain down on them (somewhat painfully, I imagine....hey, I told them to stand back! LOL). After gathering up all the candy, they had fun practicing their newly acquired kazoo skills with one another.

We had plans to make an exploding volcano but the time simply went too quickly. Overall it was an extremely fun but exhausting weekend! The kids were so fun to have over & it was great seeing everyone enjoy themselves so much!

Fun with a friend

Last Friday was our first night watching kids for our babysitting group. There was only one family available that night but we enjoyed the time just as much anyway. The kids got along with Craig so well, I think we should have him over every day!

The complaining & argueing was at a bare minimum & the kids all played so nicely together!

Notice how my kids are only half dressed? This is a step up from the usual "I need to take my clothes off the moment I get in the door". We're really not nudist's over here. Really.

So excited!!

One of my favorite families from the Desert View Ward moved in to our ward! Rayleen & I have served together in the Nursery in the past & we both moved in to the DV ward at the same time. She's an amazingly sweet sister & I'm so glad to have a friend I've known for the past 5 years in my new ward.

As a side note, they released the other girl that was working in the Nursery with me & have someone new coming in but they didn't officially call her in yet so I'm in the dark as to who it is. Dave went to his first Ward Council meeting a few weeks ago & I'm pretty sure he knows who it is. I hate it when he knows something like that & I don't! :P He might as well dance around, singing "I know something you don't know" while he's at it.

I'm excited to find out who it is. And I really hope she's a bit more dependable than the last person. Not to say anything bad about her because she's a really nice girl & the kids always love her; just that she's a little flaky. I understand flaky & it's been an uphill battle for me to change my ways. I'd just love to have someone in there who will be there each week & enjoys it as much as I do. That's not asking too much, is it?

Babies & GRADUATION!

It seems like there are a lot of pregnant mama's I know right now. I always forget to load up on business cards before I leave the house & inevitably I see new babies & very pregnant mama's everywhere I go!

My best friend, Onala, is expecting again. They moved to Idaho this time last year but stopped & spent the night while driving through town. We got to spend a little time with them, which is bittersweet. I miss having them around! I got to go to an ultrasound with Onala (one of those entertainment-purpose ones) & found out she's having another girl. :) Girls rule. At least in her house. LOL That was so exciting!

It makes me have baby fever SO BAD when I see babies! I absolutely adore babies & I love being pregnant, too. I even love the whole birth experience. Crazy, I know....it's just all so amazing & beautiful & spiritual, how could it not be something to love, is my take on it! It's not in the cards right now, though, so I try not to spend too much time dwelling on this.

We had Kindergarten graduation yesterday for Jordan. It was so neat, the little show they put on. Once I figure out how, I'll upload the video to the net & post it on here. I am so proud of Jordan! I didn't get too many pictures (it was a mad house in there!) but the few I did get were good. I'll scrapbook them as soon as I get a chance.

I can't believe he's going to be in first grade! We couldn't be happier with the teacher he had this year, Ms. Harper. She has been amazing & such a breath of fresh air. I can't speak highly enough about her. We're definitely going to miss seeing her every day!