2 Milestones

Courtney and Dylan both had some big events recently.


Dylan lost his first 2 teeth within about 2 weeks of each other. The first came out and was lost while in the shower. We aren't sure if it dropped down the drain or if he swallowed it. Luckily, the tooth fairy visited him anyways. The second one he managed to pull out and hang on to. He was so proud to put that one under his pillow.


Courtney came home from school a few weeks ago with a note explaining that she failed the eye screening. We've never noticed any problems with her vision. Her grades are good, she doesn't complain of things being blurred, no headaches, nothing unusual. I took her to the eye doctor and it turns out she is practically blind in her left eye, while her right eye is perfect. He prescribed glasses, which she was pretty upset about. But during the next week while we were waiting for her glasses to be made, she had a change of heart. I pointed out all of the kids in her class, including her teacher that wears them. We explained that she only needs to wear them for school work and reading. And we talked to her about how important it is to have healthy eyes. I don't know what did it, but by the time her glasses were ready, she was actually excited to get them. She takes great care of them, cleaning them and putting them in a safe place. She showed them off to her friends. And she is so beautiful with them.

Great Quotes

These are some of my favorite quotes from the LDS Relief Society Broadcast last night. I can't promise that they are the exact words, but I tried to get them down as accurate as I could. As usual, it was wonderful and inspiring and uplifting.

Julie B Beck (Relief Society General President)

• "Visiting teaching is more a way of life than a task."

• "Never supress a generous thought." (quoting Sister Kimball)

• (This is not an exact quote, I couldn't get it down fast enough to get her exact words.)"Women should be worthy of and magnify their membership in Relief Society just as a man does his priesthood."

Silvia H Allred (1st Counselor in the General Relief Society Presidency)

• "True heroines are women who value being righteous above all else."

• "Teach women with love what Relief Society will do for them."

Barbara Thompson (2nd Counselor in the General Relief Society Presidency)

• "Mind the Gap"

• "Nothing can separate us from the love of God."

• "Recognize the Lord's approval in your life."

President Henry B Eyring (1st Counselor in the First Presidency)

• "Charity is born of faith in Jesus Christ."

• "Through charity we can do uncommon things for others even when the unmet needs of self are great."
  

Lessons in the Kitchen

I left Courtney home a few days ago while I went to the grocery store with the boys. Bruce was home for a few minutes and then left for a meeting. She called me on the phone, here's our conversation:

Courtney: "Mom, can I make popcorn using the air popper?"

Mom: "Let me think for a second." (Trying to decide if this is a dangerous appliance.) "I guess it's okay. Do you know how to put the butter on?"

Courtney: (exasperated) "Yes, Mom!"

Mom: "Okay, tell me how."

Courtney: "I just cut up a few pieces and put it on the popcorn and stir it up."

Mom: "Well, the popcorn won't be hot enough to melt the butter by itself, so you actually need to melt it in the microwave."

Courtney: "oh"

Mom: "Put a few tablespoons in a bowl, melt it for about 15 seconds. If its not melted, try again for 5 seconds at a time. Then pour it over the popcorn and stir it up."

Courtney: "Okay Mom. Thanks. Bye."

{About 30 minutes later, as I walk in the door, Courtney has just finished making her popcorn and is fixing some hot cocoa to go along with it. I peek into her bowl.)

Mom: (pausing and thinking for a moment) "Um, Courtney, how much butter did you use?" (As I stare at a bowl of very glossy popcorn.)

Courtney: "Well, it was kind of bland after one stick so I added another."

Mom: (mouth hanging open, speechless, then laughing hysterically.)


I let her eat just a small amount, but told her she wasn't allowed to give herself a heart attack just because she loves butter.

Life's little lessons.

Horse Show '09

Courtney had her first horse show today. It took place at EE Stables where she trains, and today's event was for all of their beginning riders. She was AWESOME. She's been working hard to get ready for the show and it payed off. She did great and had a lot of fun. Here are pictures from her 5 events.

Trail Skills
They created an obstacle course for the riders to navigate. This course was new for everyone. The riders had received a paper a few weeks ago with the course drawn out, and had to memorize it, but could not actually do the course with a horse until the competition. She did great remembering everything. It included turning around 2 barrels, trotting over a jump, weaving through cones, stopping the horse for 3 seconds, grabbing a potato and dropping it in a barrel, turning the horse 360 degrees, dropping stirrups and picking them up again, and trotting to the finish line. She got 2nd place in this event!


Cone Weaving
This event is just as it says. They had to weave through a set of 6 cones 2 times. It isn't timed, just supposed to demonstrate their skill. They are allowed to walk or trot. She did good. The first time she tried trotting and missed a cone. The second time she slowed down and got through them great. Her horse loped a little at the end which isn't allowed. She didn't place but got a participation ribbon.

Flag Exchange
In this timed event, they hold a baton at the starting line, have to get to a bucket by walking or trotting, walk around the outside of it while exchanging their baton with one in the bucket, and get back to the starting line. If they go around the front of the bucket or drop the baton, they are disqualified. She was super. She completed it in 25 seconds, coming in 1st place!!! (She was worried about not be able to beat the first rider who got 1 minute 30 seconds.) I put the video of this event since it was her best.



Jumping
They teach the kids to jump over a small obstacle. They don't ever get much higher, unlike English style. It's supposed to simulate a fallen tree or a ditch in the trail. She loves jumping. They had to go over the jump 2 times at a walk or trot. Her horse loped during the second jump, so she didn't place, but again got a participation ribbon.

Cloverleaf
This event is like barrel racing, but it's not timed. They are just testing the riders skill at controlling the horse. If they go around the barrels the wrong way they get disqualified. Because Courtney had problems with her horse loping some of the other events, she decided to play it safe and walk. She did really good and got 2nd place.


This show was great because it comes almost exactly 1 year since she started lessons. It was a great showcase of how much she has learned and how far she has come. I don't think we'll ever get her away from these horses now.

Courtney & Ben
who she rode for 3 events. He is one of her favorites at the barn.

A group shot of all the kids and instructors.

Sleep, Is That How It Works?

So if you've ever heard me complain even a little about my insomnia, you'll understand this post. It's something I've been dealing with since I got pregnant with Courtney. After each baby, it's gotten worse. I've tried different things, but have put off taking any medication. So here's a small thing that happened, but quite exciting to someone who doesn't sleep.

I actually got to sleep last night at 10:30. 10:30!!! I consider anything before midnight to be good, but this was unheard of. I've fallen asleep at 8 or 9 before, but that is after a really bad week of 3 or 4 hours of sleep for many nights in a row. Last night was a normal night, not overly tired or sick. So what happened?

A few night ago, when Bruce had to work until about midnight, I decided to try something. I'm usually feeling pretty tired around dinner time, but by 8 or 9, when I get the kids to bed, I'm wide awake again. So that night, after dinner, I put my pajamas on and just hung out in my bedroom. I watched a little TV, read a book. The kids were actually quite content and happy that night to just do their own thing. I was able to get them off to bed without any problems. Around 11:00, I drifted off to sleep. It was great. So I thought, maybe that's the secret. To not let myself really wake up again after dinner. The problem is I'm a mom. I can't just check out every night after dinner. There's just too much going on.

But last night I wanted to try it again. Bruce was going to be up late watching the Steelers game. So I put him in charge of Travis, who was going to be up late because of a 3 hour nap. Courtney and Dylan were hanging out in Courtney's room while she taught him to play checkers. (They never play together so I had another reason to rejoice last night.) And it worked, again. I turned the light off at 10:00, and was asleep by 10:30.

I feel really good today. I never feel fully awake and well rested. It's a great feeling actually. I got on the treadmill today, after 3 weeks off. I'm trying not to get too excited. Who knows if this will happen again. But I'll take even one day.

1st Day of School

Herbert Akins Hawks

The first day of school came this week. For those who don't know, we have year-round school, which is why is starts pretty early. Courtney and Dylan actually started on different days, so I'll explain each of them separately.

Courtney started on Monday. I can't beleive she's a big 5th grader all ready. She likes being the part of the oldest in the school. Last year was a really tough year for her. She was upset about having to leave Lander and South Elementary. Plus she had to change schools twice. Once when we first moved here, then another time in September when we bought our house and were in a different school zone. So all of that alone was enough to put her in a bad mood all year. But then she got a teacher at the second school that made things difficult. This teacher always focused on Courtney's weaknesses and what she wasn't doing good enough. Courtney never received much praise from her. No "Good job on that" or "You are sure good at ___." I didn't say much to Courtney about how I felt because she did like her teacher. But she was so frustrated all year and a lot of it came from this teacher's actions.

So this year, we are at a brand new school that was just built, a new teacher who seems great, and Courtney is actually excited to start the year. She hasn't been excited to start the school year since about 1st grade. This is going to be her year. This will be the year that will make her like school again, and get her ready for Middle School. Yikes!


Dylan is in Kindergarten!! I don't know who is more excited, him or me. He's excited to go to a big kid school, to go to Courtney's school, and to be one of the big kids wearing a backpack. I'm excited because he is very ready to be in school. He gets so bored now at home. Having more structure and activities each day will really help. And a little of me is selfish, thining of all the things I can get done with only one child at home during the day.

He only went to school on Tuesday this week. They have 2 Kindergarten classes, but they don't assign them to a class right away. They bring the kids in for just one day so they can do assessments. At the end of the week, they assign classes based on those assessments. We were able to go to the school on Friday and find out who his teacher is going to be, look around his classroom, and meet his classmates. On Monday, he will begin attending every day. He's pretty excited because one of his friends from preschool will be in his class.

He had a great day on Tuesday and loved everything about school. He was a little nervous about a few things. He was buying a school lunch and on the way to school told me about his concern about the counters being too high for him to reach the food. I assured him that his teachers would be there to help. But he was glad to see that the counters were low enough even for him. It's funny to see what worries him. He did have one little incident that day. I got a call from one of the teachers telling me that he had gotten a bloddy nose. She didn't know how it happened. The kids were sitting in the reading corner when they noticed it bleeding. Dylan had to change his clothes, which is why they called. She didn't want me wondering why he was wearing a different outfit when I picked him up. She said he was fine with the whole thing, it didn't seem to bother him. After school, I asked him about it. He told me one of the other kids accidentally kicked him and that's what started the bleeding. Poor guy. What an experience for his first day. But he took it all well and didn't really care. It will be fun to see him grow during this year, learn to read better, and write better, and become a smart young man.

July Birthdays

July is a busy month for us since all 3 boys have birthdays. We always have a lot of fun trying to fit those days into our schedule. So here are a few pictures from each of their special days.


Dylan, July 6th

We celebrated his birthday while in Lander. He loved having his cousins and grandparents with him that day. He had just finished t-ball season, hence the cake idea.

Loving his cake. It was hot that day and the sides started melting from the weight of the M&M's. But it still tasted good.

Opening presents with cousins looking on.

A fun building set from Grandma and Grandpa.

Bruce, July 7th

We didn't celebrate Bruce's birthday until we got back home, so he had to wait a few extra days. But he doesn't mind. I try to make his and Dylan's birthdays separate so they can each have their own day. Bruce doesn't really care though. And I always make different cakes, even if we celebrate on the same day. Again, Bruce doesn't want me to do all that, but I have to make 2 cakes. It's too fun and everyone should have their own cake on their birthday.

His yummy ice cream cake.

The kids picked out these mugs for him. Now he can enjoy nice cold soda while watching his Steelers.

Travis, July 19th

This was Travis' first birthday that he really understood what was going on. He was so excited for his cake and to open presents. He talked about his cake for days after. And he keeps reminding me that he's 3 now. He's just too cute!

He loves anything to do with balls, so I just had to use my pan that makes a round cake.

Present time!

Checking out his garage and car wash from Grandma and Grandpa.

Dylan made him a bird out of his new building set. These two fight like crazy sometimes, but they are best friends.