Coast trip

Mike and I went to Sebastopol in California's Northern Coast for a Couple's Conference. Although I had to leave a day early because our little one was so sick, I did enjoy some R&R and some great time with my sweety. We had some inspiring classes, nice meals, and some fun relaxing free time. We stopped at the beach before I left and enjoyed some more time together (without kiddos! Fun!). Thanks to the conference planners and thanks to the Hodnetts for hangin' with our kids for some time, even though little Addy was really sick. It broke my heart when I talked to her on the phone the first night to calm her down and she was screaming and saying, "Mom- where are you? Mom- I WANT YOU!" It was nice to get a little break, but I was also glad to get home to take care of the little sick one and get her to the doctor.

I love the things Addy says that make sense in her 2 yr old world.

Like when something is hard, like getting a shirt over her head she says,
"It's Heady"-
meaning it is heavy.

Or when I ask her if she is sleepy and she says,
"No- I'm happy!"
Like as if there is 2 phases- sleep and happy. Wish I was always happy when I'm awake...depends on how much sleep I got, I guess. She doesn't know the word awake. Not sure if I want to teach her, it's so cute to hear her say she's happy.

Or Counting..."1, 2, 9, 10! 1, 2, 9, 10!"

Or when she insists on doing everything herself now.
Or when explaining something that belongs to her, she says,
"That's myes."
Because if it belongs to you it's yours.

And how she says,
"Pish"
for fish, and when we try to get her to say it right, she says,
"FFF...Pish!:

But My favorite thing of all is when she climbs up on my lap, wraps her little arms around my neck and says, "I wuv you" or, "I missed you!" in that little tiny voice! AAH- melt my heart! You are growing up girl!

Being Positive!

So this month I had a birthday. My hubby was very thoughtful about my gifts and I loved them. But one of my favorite things was something my little Sydney made me (she's 10). I wondered what she was doing all day, then went to get a tissue and all the tissues were taken out of the box. The box was missing...So I had to laugh a little when I opened this gift. Syd gave me a

"MOM's POSITIVE BOX".

At first, I thought it was for the kids to write positive things to me, but then I read the side instructions:

"- pick out one of the papers, -write one positive thing about your day,
-put it in the box (do it every day).
-In a year, you will pick one every day and read it-
it will help you to be positive".

I guess some days I need a little help in that area. I used to be a very positive person but with all the family craziness around here sometimes, I forget. Thanks, Sydney for such a thoughtful gift!
p.s. My teenage son didn't read the instructions and misunderstood what it was too, so the other day, I looked in and found about 15 notes from him saying, "Good work", "Good job for finishing the day so peaceful and positive", "Mom is so good-looking", "Mom is nice", "Mom is a positive boxful of wonderful joy", etc. I don't think I'll tell him...

Science Fair

Nathan did a project- almost all by himself for the science fair. He was determined to do it and talked about it almost every day for 2 weeks. Then of course, the night before it was due, he did all the work. He was so excited and got a great evaluation. It truly was a 2nd grade level, especially when I went and saw some of the incredible contraptions that his classmates the parents made for the fair. Proud of my little Nathy~

Bradley's Basketball season...

Not sure if we will try the basketball and wrestling seasons again at the same time. Can we say overscheduling? It just happened. But I think we all learned some things. Way to go Bradley for sticking with it.

What a kid...

Nathan decided he wanted to read the Book of Mormon before he gets baptized (which is in June- yikes!). I'm proud of this little guy- always with a positive attitude, always trying to do what's right. I catch him in his room reading from the book for about an hour or two a day. Not sure if he'll make it, but he's trying! I don't even say anything about it to him, just tell him I'm proud of him when he talks about it! What a sweet boy!

For you, Mom...

(since you didn't get to see the Dance Festival, here's a bit...)

Dance Festival

Our stake held a dance festival last Saturday where 250 youth participated. Bradley did a Strippling warriors dance and the opening and closing numbers, and McKenzie did an all girls number, and swing and waltz and was also in the specialty numbers, latin and hip hop. She loved every minute of it and you could tell by how she smiled as she performed. We didn't realize we had such a performer in the family...she always surprises us when she gets on stage. Everyone said later, "I didn't even know she could dance" and "Wow- she was so fun to watch- she really looked like she was having fun!" She was having fun and I think both of our teens will remember this for years to come..."Build these walls around me" was the song that was written especially for this and the theme was "Heaven, don't miss it for the world". I'm grateful for all the work that went into this for our kids!

Play date...

Addy and Penny were excited to play with each other today since they missed Monday's playdate since Addy was sick. After a couple of not sharing episodes with Addy (this is a first), I used the distraction method...I got out the shaving cream and made paint. The girls loved it and it entertained them for a good hour while I got the floor swept and dishes done! We are almost ready for some sort of preschool- I think Addy would love it! Maybe in the fall...stay tuned!

McKenzie's accomplishment...

McKenzie with her amazing teacher, Betty


McKenzie recently participated in the California Music Teacher's Association's Certificate of Merit Auditions. It's a very difficult audition, complete with sightreading, scales and arpeggios, and 3 memorized classical pieces. Then she took a written theory test, which took her over an hour. She was surprised to get the message on the phone from Betty, her teacher, that said that she got 5 plus on each area, including her sightreading and 91 % on her written test and was invited to play for the honor's Recital! There were about 300 that auditioned in this area and 40 students invited to play for the recital. We were very proud of her- she worked hard this year! It was fun to see all those amazing (and all asian- descent- except for McKenzie) pianists play at that recital. McKenzie was in good company- they were ALL AMAZING!

Bradley's 13th Birthday!

Bradley turned 13 on Valentine's Day (hence a pink cake, which I swore I'd never do for my boy after the age of 5, but Dad made it this time.) Bradley didn't mind, since it does of course, contain sugar. Dad wanted to make this one special for Bradley so took the boys out for an IMAX 3D movie and dinner, then we all celebrated with Bradley. He got the latest photoshop program and has LOVED IT! He has a crazy sense of humor, so we are often finding pictures of us hanging off a cliff or some other precarious place! Happy Bday teenager!