familywithfivekids

happenings around our house

2009-11-12T15:07:00.002-07:00

Reid was invited to a birthday party for one of his best buddies, Matthew. Even though it happened after Halloween he had everyone come in costume. Reid went as a vampire - here he is in the process of getting his make-up done before adding his costume:

I made birthday goodie bags for Ryan's classmates (sorry for the blurry picture!), he passed them out on Monday. All reports home state he had a great birthday at school:

Chase is enjoying playing club soccer this year. He loves that a lot of friends are on the team, they have a great time together and play good ball together. Here's photos from Saturday:

After Saturdays game I took him to Dairy Queen for a post game treat!

There was no school on Veteran's Day so the boys got hair cuts

and went to the dentist. Ryan was treated like a king by Dr. Wolfman and Dr. Lele. He received a birthday crown and birthday bubbles along with lots of other fun toys.

Thursday was our wards Visiting Teaching Conference. It was a wonderfully relaxing evening surrounded by great women. I was asked to participate in a skit entitled Women of God that featured appearances of various women from the scriptures.

I portrayed Eve. It was an honor to be asked. Isn't it amazing that participating in a small event such as a skit pulls your heart closer to that topic. I have enjoyed studying in the scriptures of Eve.

Birthday celebrations!

2009-11-10T08:21:00.004-07:00

Yesterday Ryan turned seven!
Seven is such a fun age, he loved opening his presents, grinning ear to ear during the entire process...
We got him a Star Wars R2D2 toy:

Nana and Papa got him a Star Wars Clone Wars game for the Wii with a lightsaber so the action is real! Thanks mom and dad - he loves it and is excited there is no school tomorrow so he can play it some more.

He loved his card from the Wilfongs with a big number 7 on the front and the $$ on the inside!

We gave him another puppy for his puppy collection and...

Wii batman.

Posing with the money from Aunt Cindy and Nana and Papa.

After the opening of presents we went for ice cream at Austin's Ice Cream Parlor, a Tucson tradition. Ryan had chocolate chocolate chip - yum! He was so excited to be there!

He was even more excited when his ice cream came out with a birthday candle on top!

We all got to sing him Happy Birthday and he did his happy dance.

Happy Birthday Ryan, we love you!
More birthday celebrations coming on Friday with a bounce house and a friend party!

Happy 7th Birthday Ryan!

2009-11-09T08:31:00.004-07:00

(photo taken in Utah, summer 2009)
We hope you have a fabulous day at school buddy! We love you so much.
Seven years ago today was the due date for you to be born, however none of the other kids came on their due dates. Most of my pregnancies needed to be induced two weeks after the due date, but you were determined to come and join our family. The morning of November 9, 2002 your dad and I went to the hospital since I was contracting pretty hard. We told the nurses that it was 'probably a false alarm' but it wasn't - you were on your way and you were born later that afternoon. Your brothers and sister were excited to come to the hospital to welcome you into our family. You were just a little baby back then and continue to be the 'baby' in the family even today. But you are growing up and turning into a young man. You are a big first grader now! We are proud of how well you are doing in school. You are reading really well, making new friends and gaining the confidence to try new things.

(photo taken Sept. 2009)

We are looking forward to a celebration in your honor tonight, a dinner of your choice (chicken nuggets and fries) and then ice cream at Austin's ice cream parlor with birthday presents to open! Happy 7th Birthday Ryan. We love you to the moon and back.

Welcome November

2009-11-06T22:18:00.002-07:00

November is a month for feeling thankful. I welcome November!
October came and went in a huge blur. I hate to admit I did not even get out any of my Fall home decorations (and I think I like them even more than my Christmas decorations!). Fall is my most favorite season! Yet those 31 days of October just flew by.
I snapped this picture of the pumpkins at the Safeway down the street from our home but I never did even purchase one pumpkin this year. so sad. :(

I snapped these pictures while I was in Washington. I visited a pumpkin patch in Puyallup during my stay. I'm still sad I didn't bring any little pumpkins home with me, my parents even offered me some from their own garden.

I have so much to be thankful for in my life. I need to make sure I record my blessings this month in my journal, naming them one by one.

Halloween 2009!

2009-11-04T21:26:00.001-07:00

Our neighborhood always celebrates Halloween on a night other than October 31 so things are nice and calm. It is a great night to be out in the neighborhood streets, talking with neighbors and friends and seeing the kids all interacting one with another.
Reid was too much of a big-kid (now that he's in 6th grade) to go trick or treating this year so he stayed home to help hand out candy, but Chase and Ryan sure enjoyed the night.

Our kids really have never been huge trick-or-treaters. They enjoy dressing up and going out to the homes on our street but truthfully it normally stops there - they are done after that (and I'm the one urging them to keep going!). Ryan did well this year - he went to both sides of two full neighborhood streets but then we called Reid and asked him to come meet us so he could walk Ryan home.
Chase on the other hand stuck it out almost going to the entire neighborhood. He got plenty:

Ryan had too much fun at home with our own candy bowl:

I love how they come home from trick-or-treating and immediately start sorting their candy into piles of like items. Kindly offering the ones they dislike off to other family members and hording their favorites:

Last week we had our ward trunk or treat at the church building. Chase had already gone to school, yoga class AND soccer that afternoon so he was DONE for the day and had no desire to leave the house again. SO - it was just James and I with Reid and Ryan. It was a lovely low-key event. They had our Fall Festival earlier in the month so this was a come, trunk or treat, and go. I think we were in and out of there within 45 minutes. It was very fun to see all the costumes and chat with good friends.

I was thankful for these early Halloween celebrations as come Sat., Oct. 31 both Reid and Chase were sick, both missing church on Sunday and school Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. They went back to school today but I still think we will skip out on soccer practice today, resting up to finally arrive at complete health. James did not feel well all weekend also but went to work on Monday. He came home and has been on the couch ever since. That is so unlike him - he truly has not moved for three days (except for going to the couch to the rocking chair). This flu has hit us hard, everyone has gotten it except for me. I'm holding out like a rebel - no time for it.

YW Sabino Canyon/Olive Garden Outing

2009-10-29T07:20:00.003-07:00

James and I had the opportunity to take some of the young women to Sabino Canyon on Saturday! We had a great day riding the tram up the mountain, enjoying the fantastic weather and fresh air.

These young women were unable to attend the extended temple trip but nonetheless definitely deserved a fun day all their own. It was a privilege for James and I to be able to spend the day with them.

We read scriptures and talked about some of the topics that were discussed during the four-day temple trip such as sacrifice, virtue, pioneers...They each added their names to our banner as a commitment to remain virtuous young women.

They each received their virtue bracelet. The color of the Young Women value, Virtue, is gold because gold is pure and refined.

We raised our banner high!

We released gold balloons as a symbol of our commitment:

Afterwards we enjoyed a delicious dinner together at Olive Garden.

It was a great day!

Mustang!

2009-10-22T15:38:00.002-07:00

James told me on Saturday evening that he had a date scheduled for me Monday night, the evening before I went to Seattle. He told me it was because we hadn't seen each other very much lately (with my trip to Utah and my attending Time-Out for women) that we needed a date before I headed out once again.
So we drove to what I thought was dinner but when we got on the freeway I was getting a little suspicious. Soon enough we got to auto row and I contained my excitement until we pulled in and met with Tom, 'our' salesman. (I say 'our' salesman because he's sold us three of our four cars now - I can't say I'd buy a car from anyone else)

James and Tom took me to the parking lot and there sat this:

My belated birthday gift - A 2001 blue Mustang convertible GT, white top, white leather seats with a V8 engine! It has 62,000 miles - pretty good for a '01. All bought and paid for the Saturday prior. (James was busy while I was off playing in Phoenix at Time-Out for Women!) I love it! Almost made me want to cancel my trip to Washington. Right now Arizona has the best weather for a convertible.

Afterwards we went for dinner at Olive Garden and I was so excited I kept telling the wait staff "He just bought me a car!" I'm sure I sounded like a fool. Regardless, I am thankful and appreciative and excited.

Some things I've learned this past week while driving my new car: Groceries for a family of seven don't fit as well in the trunk of Mustang as they do in a mini-van. Another Mustang driver actually waved to me today - will this continue? Is there some 'mustang club' I don't know about? lol... My hair dries really fast with the top down on my way home from my early morning swimming class. My high schoolers really want to drive my car (I have not let them yet), my middle schooler got excited when I picked him up from drama saying "I was hoping you would drive this car!" I'm loving having a 6 cd player - it's all loaded up and I'm enjoying having easy access to my favorite cd's (right now that includes two Micheal Buble cd's, Wicked soundtrack, Randy Travis, The Forgotten Carols by Micheal McLean and a EFY cd).
Thanks James!!!

Washington!

2009-10-21T21:56:00.004-07:00

I had a wonderful time in Washington!
I spent time with my amazing friends (from left) Kelly, Maria and Ann. Each time I'm around these three makes me miss them more and more:

We spent the day shopping at Gilman Village, enjoyed a yummy lunch and great conversation at Starbucks. Even the Washington state rain did not dampen our spirits (or our mood to shop)!

Kelly gave me this beautiful scarf for my birthday - I love it! (so love this lady!)

My parents do a great job decorating the outside of their home and yard for each holiday. I loved what they did for Halloween!

I got to enjoy lunch with my sweet friend Janie! Janie was a young womens president when I was newly married and I was called as a Beehive advisor and later second counselor in the YW under her. She taught me so much and is a great example to me.

I got to have dinner with this sweet young lady. It was so great to see her again!

My mom and I drove down the driveway of my parents old house. Lots of memories there.

My mom and I went to lunch at Ivar's fish and chips. How I wish we had a Ivar's in Arizona.

On my mom's birthday my mom, sister and I went to the Fifth Avenue Theater and saw Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. A wonderful show!
Here we are being silly:

We stopped at Starbucks for a hot apple cider following the show!

And then we went to Claim Jumpers for dinner.

My mom with her birthday cupcake! We also ordered the Claim Jumper chocolate cake and ate it later that night - yummy! It was a great day. We helped my mom pick out some new flooring, saw a great Broadway show, did a little window shopping in downtown Seattle, ate terrific food, saw the movie Julie and Julia...
The next day I left early for the airport but my mom made me homemade donut holes - one of my favorite fall treats.

My brother stopped by to chat before I went to the airport. It was great to visit with him. It was nice to get a quick picture of my sister, brother and me:

my time-out

2009-10-12T10:35:00.002-07:00

This past Friday and Saturday I attended Time-Out for Women in Phoenix. It is an event sponsored by Deseret Book and attracted 1800 women from all over Arizona.
On Friday I went with these beautiful friends:

me, Wendi, Kristen, Stacie
When we lived in Gilbert we were all in the same ward and have remained friends through all these years.
I was especially excited about Friday night because I got to see this man:

JOHN BYTHEWAY! And we got to sit in the center section, second row! I'm sure he thought I was a total stalker, I took so many pictures of him. But yes I did listen to his fabulous message on finding joy.
Saturday Kristen couldn't join us (we missed you!) but we did have a great time. Of course I took pictures of each and every presenter - maybe I'll post them later (and maybe not?) but we DID have a wonderful time and can I say on Saturday we again got to sit in the second row - woo hoo!

I met this guy...

Kenneth Cope. His singing was amazing. I wish Molly was there to hear him, she would have loved his songs along with his testimony.

Austin

2009-10-11T17:43:00.002-07:00

Austin had his picture taken last week for the school yearbook so afterwards I snapped a few pictures. It's hard to believe he's a senior and will be graduating this year. Go Cienega 2010!

Young Women Four-day temple trip!

2009-10-08T11:18:00.008-07:00

We met at the church at 6 a.m. so our four-day temple trip could begin!
A quick picture of the entire group before we left:

The two vans that drove: eight people per van.
Red van code name: Cherry Tomato
White van code name: White Storm

We had a 4 p.m. appointment at the Las Vegas temple but arrived at 2:30. They were able to get us right in. I was able to be baptized also. It was an amazing experience. I have only performed baptisms for the dead once before so it was a real honor for me to be able to do that and also to perform them with the young women present.

A group photo outside the Las Vegas temple following the baptisms...

Following the Las Vegas temple we had dinner at Wendy's and then drove on to St. George.
Here is a photo of my friend Joanne and I outside the St. George temple. She recently was put in as our Laurel advisor - I am so glad she went on the trip with us!

Molly and I in front of the St. George temple:

Me with the pretty flowers:

We were able to watch the Joseph Smith movie at the St. George visitors center. It was a wonderful start to our day!
Part of our group in front of the Christus statue:

Molly and I outside the Jacob Hamblin home:

We toured the Brigham Young home:

A favorite attraction was the St. George Tabernacle - the girls just loved it! They let our group sing "I am a child of God".

Brother Johnson shared his testimony and some thoughts about baptisms with our group following our touring of the Tabernacle.
We got matching t-shirts for our group - they say "Stand Ye in Holy Places" on the front and have a picture of the St. George temple. It was nice having the shirts because it distinguished us as a group.

We performed service at the St. George Deseret Industries. They had us pull all the blue labeled clothing items from a section of the store. We got a lot done for them and it felt great to perform service:

The sweet Young Women of the Desert Willow Ward:

The women leaders/chaperones. Each of these women is just amazing. Through our combined efforts our trip was a huge success. We also had two priesthood accompany us that were just as great serving as drivers, general help and priesthood.

We got to attend a spiritual concert at the Dixie College Institute. They have only been meeting a few weeks but they were great! They let our young women choose a closing song to sing with them. Our girls choose "As sisters in Zion", the EFY version. The director actually had the music for that song and we all think it was the highlight of the concert.

The girls with Patty and Claire. These two ladies did an enormous amount of work getting the homes ready for our stay. The girls sang "I love to see the temple" and "Families can be together forever" as a simple thank you to them.

We went to pioneer park and Brother Nichols gave an outstanding talk to the girls about what guys look for in girls (and how their expectations change between the time they are 12 and the time following their missions). (Julie Nichols spoke to us the previous day on the topic sacrifice. Her talk was just as amazing. The girls (and leaders) really connected with her message.)
I followed him and spoke on the value virtue. Molly helped me by reading a quote:

Everyone signed their name of a gold banner as a symbol to the world of our commitment to remain virtuous. They also wrote their names on a gold balloon and we released them on top of the red rock.

We ended our last day with a testimony meeting. There were so many amazing experiences during this trip. I really don't think this blog post is touching on a portion of good things that occurred. It was well worth our year of preparation!

Young Women four day temple trip

2009-09-28T18:33:00.001-07:00

The adventure begins at 5:45 a.m. tomorrow! I am so excited to be able to go to the Las Vegas and St. George temples with nine amazing young women and six terrific adults. I'm sure there will be lots of pictures to post upon our return!

concerts galore!

2009-09-25T17:25:00.003-07:00

We had the opportunity to attend a concert almost every night this past week!
On Monday we went to Chase's fifth grade musical performance. He did a great job. It was great that he was in the front row so we could see all his fun dancing moves:

Chase and his friends just before the show!

On Tuesday we attended Reid's middle school choir concert. It was great to be back at DSMS and enjoy a great concert. We are all very proud of Reid that he is doing choir this year.

But nobody is more proud than Molly! She is just thrilled her little brother is in choir and drama!
On Thursday afternoon I got to attend the middle school awards assembly and watch Reid receive three different certificates! He received the Technology award, the Pride award (for never having a 'no' stamp) and the Principal's award for straight A's! Great job Reid - you are starting off middle school in a great way!

Chase is having a blast with soccer this season. He is on a team with all his buddies (about six live in our neighborhood!) so he is having a a great time!

I'm having fun taking this little guy to practice and seeing him socialize with the other kids there...so fun.

Last night we attended the high school choir concert. Molly is in Concert choir (she had a solo and did great!) and Show Choir (they did some really fun music at this concert) this year and is loving every single minute of it. She is really looking forward to the school musical coming up after Christmas break. Right now she is thinking of songs and monologues for her audition. Such a fun time in her life.

The above picture was taken in her Concert choir dress before leaving for the theater and the photo previously she was in her outfit for show choir.
Tonight Austin is off at an away football game playing in the band (wish I was there to get a picture but that will wait for a home game)...

Birthday wishes

2009-09-22T08:23:00.002-07:00

I had a great birthday "weekend"!
I guess I should start off earlier in the week since I enjoyed a birthday lunch with James and Susan. Susan spoiled me with an amazing gift (thanks so much!) and the gift of her time. It's always nice to see her.
Friday James and I attended a salad/dessert potluck with some of the leaders from this past summers Young Women camp. (Nothing to do with my birthday of course but a terrific time with outstanding people, wonderful food and atmosphere and just very relaxing.
Saturday morning James and I went to the temple in Mesa and after had lunch at Cafe Rio. Last Sunday both of us spoke on the blessings of the temple in the University ward and I told him that is what I wanted to do for my birthday. A great morning and a great place to be together.
Saturday night we went to the Gaslight theater to see Cronan the Barbarian! The oleo following the show was Johnny Carson so that, of course, was just as fun! We loved it!

I spent my birthday morning (Sunday) in ward council and then church. The young women spoiled me with a birthday song and gift of letters that each had taken the time to write to me. I am deeply touched by their kindness and the nice things that had to say. Very overwhelmed!
After church James made a delicious dinner of Caesar salad, rolls, pork chops, mashed potatoes, squash and a birthday brownie for dessert! My family is my greatest gift!

The kids all made me homemade birthday cards (my favorite gifts!). James gave me a pocket digital camera, new scriptures, a magazine, chocolate covered raisins, Pride and Prejudice book. He knows all my most favorite things. He is also making plans for an additional birthday gift that is still 'in the works'. It's not necessary but I'm looking forward to it!

I'm feeling blessed...

2009-09-16T09:50:00.003-07:00

because of some 'outings' I've taken recently. Three in particular:

1. A Labor Day trip to Southern Utah to visit family, attend a high school reunion for James and scout out sights for another upcoming visit.

2. A weekend on Mt. Lemmon with the Relief Society sisters in our ward.

3. A family dinner out. We did not travel far but it was just very enjoyable. I've realized before that we don't go out to eat as a family very often but it was brought to my attention again Monday night. Ryan and Chase were just so happy bouncing on the dining bench, so happy to be there, thrilled they offered mini corndogs. A great family meal and worth every cent of the outrageous $$ of paying for seven people to eat out. A great evening!

I'm feeling blessed for some upcoming 'outings' happening soon:

1. Four day temple trip with the Young Women from our ward. We are taking them to the Las Vegas and the St. George temples and to visit some church historical sights in St. George. Everyone is getting very excited. I am feeling very blessed to have two sister-in-laws that are doing so much behind the scenes work in getting houses ready for our stay. Also feeling blessed because of the amazing women I have the opportunity to serve with in Young Women, they are incredible.

2. Time Out for Women Seminar in Phoenix. So blessed I have the opportunity to go with a friend Friday and Saturday. And that we are getting a hotel so we don't need to commute two and 1/2 hours back and forth each day. Looking forward to the messages of the presenters.

3. Seattle! It will go by so very fast, but I am feeling so blessed that I will be able to spend time with my parents, celebrate my mom's birthday with her, see friends and enjoy the Fall weather.

Relief Society Retreat!

2009-09-14T20:44:00.002-07:00

Our ward Relief Society hosted a retreat this past Friday night to Saturday afternoon at Camp Zion. It was, for me, a much needed getaway to recharge and escape to cooler weather.
It was wonderful to be surrounded by such wonderful women:

It was nice to be out among the trees and away from all responsibilities:

It was nice to be with good friends (me and my buddy Joanne!):

It felt good to laugh out loud at these crazy women and the fun skits they performed:

Friday evening we were treated to a talk by our stake Relief Society President. It was amazing! She talked about how each and every one of us has gifts and talents and the importance of recognizing them within ourselves. I was able to get A LOT of scrapbooking projects complete later that night - so fun to work while chatting with terrific ladies.
On Saturday I got to go rappelling (only my second time doing that, so fun!) and just enjoyed walking around the camp, participating in the different conversations with the ladies, reading my scriptures, working on some projects for the young women, etc...A wonderfully relaxing weekend!

James' 30th High School Reunion

2009-09-14T19:20:00.003-07:00

James had his high school reunion in Southern Utah over Labor Day weekend. We were unable to go to the Friday night potluck at the park but did attend the Saturday evening dinner at the local middle school.
James attended his five year reunion (long before we met) but had not been back to a reunion since, so he was very glad he was able to arrange his schedule so he could go.
It was a wonderful evening reconnecting with high school friends. I have heard stories of all these great folks through the years and I quickly learned upon meeting them that these are all good people and James' life has been blessed because he knows them.
His graduation class had 66 graduates, these are those that attended the reunion:

Labor day weekend in Utah

2009-09-09T09:20:00.005-07:00

We took a quick vacation to Southern Utah for Labor Day weekend. It was James' 30th high school reunion (as well as Peach Days in Hurricane and a trip to preview the sights for our upcoming young women temple trip).
We visited Pioneer Park in St. George - a gorgeous area overlooking the city, the temple and with a beautiful backdrop of red rock. We hope to have a devotional here when we return in a few weeks:

On Sunday we got to go to church as a family! Since James is on the high council he has only gone to sacrament meeting with us twice since he received his call in June. It was extra special that he shared his testimony during fast and testimony meeting.

Always a highlight when we go to Southern Utah to visit James' mom! She is an amazing woman and blesses our lives immensely.

The Sullivans invited us to Sunday dinner at their family cabin. It was a fun retreat to the woods and cooler weather for all. I enjoyed the beautiful green on the drive.

Molly and Ryan going for a ride with Uncle Terry...

The cousins playing games together.

Aunt Patty made all the kids pajama pants! They were a huge hit - the kids all love them.

It took us eight hours to get there and about ten hours to get home but worth every minute of it.

Today I'm...

2009-09-03T12:52:00.003-07:00

Today I'm procrasinating getting ready for our weekend get-away. I've done all the laundry, bought the snacks for the car ride and food for our arrival but I'm not finding the energy to pack.

Today I'm thrilled to say I weighed in at WW and lost 4 pounds - woot woot!

Today I'm glad my kids are all healthy and fever-free. Fever and achy bodies have been passed from one to another lately.

Today I'm feeling so tired of all this Arizona heat. Bring on Fall!

Today I'm thinking about a friend from college I've recently reconnected with. Don't you love it when you have friendships with people that just 'get you'.

Today I'm missing my family. And the Seattle waterfront. And grass. And Ivar's fish and chips. And wearing socks and scarves...

Today my mind continues to think of each and every one of the young women I have the privilege to work with at church. As I pray for them each day and each night I hope they know how much I truly love them.

Today I'm ignoring most of the things on my to-do list and telling myself it just doesn't matter.

Today grateful for my many blessings.

Youth temple trip

2009-09-01T22:15:00.002-07:00

On Saturday I had the opportunity to go to the temple with the youth of our ward.

The young women went in first while the young men went to the visitors center. Afterwards we switched and got to look around inside the Mesa visitors center.

We also had a little photo shoot which is always a lot of fun!

We also had a testimony meeting while we were waiting for the young men. It is always wonderful to hear the thoughts and feelings of these remarkable young ladies I have the blessing of associating with.
I am currently serving with these two ladies in the YW program. They have both just received callings and we are thrilled they could come to the temple!

This trip to our local temple has all of us looking forward to our upcoming four-day temple trip!

Chase's tenth birthday!

2009-09-01T21:48:00.002-07:00

Chase had a fabulous tenth birthday! He opened his presents on Monday night (his birthday was last Tuesday) since his Tuesdays are pretty busy with school, then yoga, then cub scouts.
He opened gifts from mom and dad, nana and papa and aunt Cindy...

I brought snacks into his classroom for his birthday also. He choose pretzel goldfish and colored goldfish so I put them into individual sized lidded containers. He also brought Oreos for a snack to share with his friends at yoga. By the time cub scouts rolled around he chose not to bring anything as he was all 'snacked out'.
It was a good day.

Chase's birthday party!

2009-08-24T16:38:00.003-07:00

We celebrated Chase's tenth birthday with a PaRtY at our home on Saturday morning. He invited five friends over to swim, jump on the trampoline, play games, eat pizza and cake and ice cream - a fun time was enjoyed by all the kids!
Hard to believe this little guy turns 10 tomorrow!

We played this game that my mom always did for me when I was a kid, "how well do you know Chase?" The kids had a fun time seeing who knew Chase the most.

Since Tuesday is a busy day for Chase with yoga and cub scouts we will have him open his presents tonight (he is more than excited!)

Chase earned his Bear award

2009-08-24T16:32:00.002-07:00

Last Tuesday (one week before his birthday!) Chase received his cub scout Bear award! Whoo Hooo Chase! I am very proud of you! He also received some awards for attending cub scout summer day camp and for completing the archery belt loop.

high school open house

2009-08-24T16:24:00.002-07:00

I attended the high school open house last week. 2 children x 7 classes each = 14 teachers to meet. It actually went really well. I think I've learned the trick to getting in and getting out - go early! don't talk too long! save questions for the parent/teacher conferences! compliment the teacher (they work hard and I'm thankful for all they do on behalf of our kids)!
Molly needed to be there early since the choir sang:

Sadly, I missed the performance. I dropped her off, took Reid to McDonald's since it was fundraiser night for the middle school at the local McDonald's - all the teachers worked there and the restaurant donated proceeds to the school. Since he got a receipt that he attended he received a homework pass. Then I dropped Reid off at home and went back to the high school for the open house - whew! The teachers all seem great and I think it will be a good year for both Austin and Molly.

YW changes

2009-08-24T16:15:00.003-07:00

We have had some changes in our Young Women board this month.

Our first counselor is moving to a different (local) ward - we will miss her even though she will only be a few miles away. I'm thinking we will need to schedule some lunch dates together!?! Our secretary was released and placed into the primary presidency. Although she will just be down the hall from us on Sundays, she, too will be sorely missed. The bishopric also released our Laurel advisor who has received a calling in the stake primary presidency. I am beyond thrilled though that she will remain on our board as the ward camp director. All of these women have taught me much as we have served together this last year and a half.
As a thank you gift I made them each a candy lei necklace and I found some simple bags at Michaels craft store that I placed photos of our time together in Young Women and had the girls all sign the back.