August 16, 2010

For the first time ever, Kyle cared what he wore on the first day of school. In fact, he may have even tried this exact outfit on last night, in front of the mirror, to make sure it looked just right. As Kevin said, "I don't think I cared about what I looked like until after 6th grade. He's way ahead of me, which is good. Because when I look back at pictures, it's just embarrassing."

Well, his hard work paid off because this picture melts my heart. Have you ever seen two cuter kids? If you know Marie, you know she was right there in the action with her "pack-pack," all ready for school. She packed only the most important items: a Capri Sun, a pencil, and a Littlest Pet Shop.

Our first morning consisted of awaking WAY too early, a request of orange rolls for breakfast, a special phone call from Dad, a before-school dance party in the kitchen, and pictures. Then we were off to school to reunite with long-lost (not really) friends!

I followed him to his class with all of his supplies and he settled right in, with a slightly nervous smile. And I said a silent prayer in my heart that his first day would go well. We both deserve it, after the year we had last year. But it's going to be a good year, I can feel it in my bones. We have a great teacher, a fresh start, and a positive attitude.

So here's to 2nd GRADE!

All American

Love this. The National Anthem plays everyday at 1630, and whether we're playing in the driveway or swimming at the pool, we stop and put our hands over our hearts. On this particular day, the kids were all playing inside, but raced outside so they could pay proper respect.

I love that my kids get this experience, it certainly doesn't happen everywhere.

P.S.

We're baaack! It's back to real life, after being gone all summer long. That means I'll be doing a lot of catching up. Consider yourself warned.

Beautiful Eden

Our Turner family vacation / reunion was in Eden, Utah this year, and it was awesome. It's always just relaxing and beautiful, wherever we go. My favorite part every year is watching my kids run around for days with their 14 favorite people (cousins), utterly content and having the time of their lives. There's nothing better than family, especially when you not only love them, but truly LIKE being around them. We're so lucky.

Some of our favorite moments this year were: soccer, tennis matches, the park, catching bugs, watching our "pet" mouse, WATER BALLOONS, bubbles, family movie night, our hike to a beautiful lake (even though Marie made me carry her the entire time), painting shoes, crafts, the bowling pin game, SWIMMING (always!), piling on Rob & Sherstine's bed to watch TV, touring David O. McKay's home (thanks again, Marie!) late nights, good food, and definitely good company.

We loved it! Thanks guys! Can't wait for next year!

Thpeech Thewapy

My son has a phony lisp. And it's never been diagnosed or treated because it didn't exist until this week.

For years, he's spoken (I mean, thpoken) perfect English, and now all I'm hearing is this:

"Marie, do you want to go thwing on the thwing thet"
Translation: "Marie, do you want to go swing on the swing set?"

"Mom, I need to thow you thomething."
Translation: "Mom, I need to show you something."

One of his little buddies has an actual lisp. Another has an issue with his "R's". Apparently, Kyle was feeling less than cool because of his lack of speech issues, so he decided to manufacture his own.

We all faked poor eyesight in the name of cool glasses. And I remember creating a "retainer" out of a paper clip. And don't try to tell me you weren't green with envy when your best friend broke her leg and got to walk around with awesome crutches. If there was a way to fake a broken leg, we all would've done it.

But speech impediments?

Theriouthly???

I've tried telling him that his friends don't do it on purpose. I've tried correcting him everytime he says something incorrectly. Finally, I told him that if he continues , it will become a permanent problem, and he'll have to go to special classes to help him.

I hope he didn't think "special" was a good thing.

But for now, we wait. And hope it's a QUICKLY passing phase.

Thilly boy.

Just a little splash of color...

Look closely at this picture. What do you see (besides my cluttery bathroom)?

Enlarge the picture, if you must. Anything now?

Hot pink nail polish, perhaps? All over my daughter's feet? And shorts?

What isn't pictured here is the fact that I walked in from the front yard to see her sitting on my couch, looking all pink and pretty. I think I had a heart attack. I may, or may not, have screamed.

Also not pictured is the hot pink nail polish all over the tile floor, the CARPET, her legs, arms, and a tiny dot on my leather chair.

Not the proudest moment of my mothering career.
Marie -1
Mom - 0

I couldn't even get mad at her. After all, it was my own fault. Who paints their daughter's toes, leaves the nail polish within reach, and walks out to the front yard to visit with a neighbor? She'd have to be an idiot not to take advantage of that opportunity!

The verdict: The couch was safe (she must have dried off first!), and the carpet came clean! The shorts are in the garbage. The tile floor is still a work in progress. And I'm pretending the little drop on the chair doesn't exist.

Oh, and all nail polish, paint, markers, and scissors are being kept in a safe until she's 18.

Earth Day 2010

Every year, the base holds an Earth Day Fair. And every year, the students at Kyle's elementary school get to take a "walking field trip" over to the fair. This year, I was lucky enough to attend as a parent chaperone, and Marie got to tag along in the stroller. And boy, oh boy, was she the center of attention. The kids could've cared less about the fair, all they cared about was making that cute little girl in the stroller laugh. And that doesn't take much.

They go to a lot of work to make the fair really fun and interesting. But the funny thing is, it's SO CROWDED and CRAZY and CHAOTIC that the kids learn absolutely nothing. They're simply herded from booth to booth, with the adults trying not to lose any kids (or their sanity!) along the way. I think this particular booth was supposed to be teaching them about the PH balance in different liquids, but they didn't know that, and couldn't hear the person explaining it. All they cared about was the fact that they got to wear goggles and gloves, and "make science experiments."

The other highlight is collecting all of the free stuff at each booth. Who doesn't love free stuff?! Even if it is just stickers and pencils and pictures of desert flowers. These pinwheels were one of the highlights, along with free ice cream and balloons.

I wish I could say we learned something about our beautiful earth, how it works, or how to protect it. Sadly, we didn't. But we sure had a lot of fun!

Muffins for Mom

"Please join Mrs. Powell's class for
'Muffins for Mom'
on Friday, May 7, 2010
at 9:00 a.m."

I walked in the door and was almost tackled by a very excited little boy. He gave me a big hug, and handed me a very cool card (probably the coolest card I've ever received - I need to take a picture!) and a writing sample. You know...

M - mom
O - outstanding
T - thotfull
H - happy
E - enrgetic
R - run

"My mom's the greatest because...that she loves me!"

Then we were treated to two different songs - one to the tune of "You are my Sunshine" and I can't remember the other one. But it was adorable, and Kyle sang his heart out, as usual.

After that, the kids served us muffins and milk, and we had a little breakfast. They were so excited and happy, and it was such a fun way to spend the morning. And the best part, every mother came, so EVERY child was happy! It was awesome.

It's moments like this that make being a mother THE BEST.

It gets even better...

I couldn't thank Kyle enough for my lovely slumber on Sunday morning. I thanked him again and again (you know, hoping he'd do again in the future). After my 57th time thanking him, he said, "Oh it gets better, mom."

I asked him what he meant, and he replied, "I can't tell you."

I thought to myself, "That's sweet. He must be planning something for Mother's Day next Sunday" and didn't press the issue.

But my surprise came earlier than expected. At 6:45 the next morning (5 minutes after his alarm went off), I heard my bedroom door squeak again. This time, Kyle tiptoed in with a big bowl of Cap'n Crunch overflowing with milk.

"Here you go, mom," he said, as the milk sloshed onto the mattress. "Breakfast in bed!"

As if on cue, Marie jabbered from the other room. And off Kyle went to rescue her from the crib.

What a kid!