Back to School!

So I went back to school. Yep, two nights a week you can find me in Spanish Fork taking English 2010 through UVU. I decided it best after ten years to only start with one class.
My first night I was extremely apprehensive. Would I be the oldest in the class? Would the teacher and I get along? What if nobody sat by me? What if me, a writer, didn't do a good enough job writing college English papers and discovered that I am not a writer after all? Needless to say I was all nerves. I left the house way to early, had to sit outside the classroom for 30 minutes waiting for the other class to end, and it really was beginning to look like no one was going to sit next to me. But lo and behold, things worked out--so far.
I like my teacher. I am not the oldest in the class, though I am up it the top percentage! People sit by me now, and work with me when we need to pick groups. Okay, I have only gone twice, but I am liking it. I am still nervous for those 6 research papers I get to do, but I like class. I like the ride to and from when I can sit and think without the distraction of Radio Disney and yelling children. I like getting to go and talk to adults, to share my opinions, and to be validated. Most of all, I like that I did it. I said I wanted to go back to school last year and I chickened out. But not this time. I am there, and I hope I am there to stay (at least until I finish that pesky degree!)

Lightning always comes before the thunder!

Which means that Lightning is first, number one, primo! Here at our house we think our own little Lightning star is number one as well. M has been learning there is a lot more to soccer than getting the ball, running down the whole field and scoring while leaving all the little girls in the dust. With this new team she is learning positions, how to work with a team, the endurance of playing on a bigger field, and that a game usually doesn't end 17-0. She has a great coach and a very talented group of girls that she has the privileged of playing with. She also has some great opportunities, such as training with an amazing trainer(and today we found out she gets to train with two amazing trainers because they want her to be backup goalie based on a scrimmage they had a few weeks ago that their goalie missed and M was put in the goal box for the first time ever and did amazing), playing in some major tournaments(her team took second place in the Sparta Cup--Utah's premier soccer tournament--loosing barely to the number one team in the state for their age division in double overtime), and attending her first REAL Salt Lake game(in which her team was picked to go out with the REAL team and stand for the national anthem check them out on this link ). She is also learning about dedication. She has to do daily drills and a daily workout as well as running each week. This takes planning and a lot of hard work. But she is loving it, and each time I see her play she gets a little bit better. I am so proud of my girl, she is a great example. Go Lightning!

M isn't the only soccer player in the family though. We got C's schedule today and it looks like Monday's will be taken up as well with her practices. That means we will be doing soccer everyday but Sunday for the month of September. C is a lot less competitive than M, but she shines in her own way because she gets the strategy of the game, and as she has been watching her older sister work out and practice she has been learning some new skills that I am sure will make her shine on the field this year.

And then there is little L. This will be his first year and we got his team schedule he will be playing with all of his little friends so it should be fun. There is no coach yet, I told them this soccer mom can't be the coach, but if it came down to it I could co-coach so who knows what will happen there. All I know is I will be able to say"Why Yes, I am a soccer mom" for sure by the time September ends! And in advance thanks to my mom and my Father-in-law who I will be calling on to help when I have to be at a game in Orem and Lehi at the same time two or three times a week! You guys are official Soccer Moms as well!

YARD SALE!!!

HEY EVERYONE!!! I am having a huge yard sale on Saturday at my house from 8am-12pm. There will be tons of baby clothes, both boy and girl up through pre-teen, some adult. A cars toddler bed, a bassinet, baby baths, over 70 rubber stamp sets, books, movies, maple cabinet, lady bug baby bouncer, book shelf, cd/record player, Double tandem stroller, jog stroller, printer inks, and so much more. If you are interested leave your e-mail and I will send my address. This is not one to miss!!! (Multi-family)

Happy Ten Years Baby!

Ten years ago today D and I were married in the Mount Timpanogos LDS Temple. We had picked a Thursday to be married on because we thought there wouldn't be as many weddings on that day. Well a pesky little tornado in SLC the day before changed that by closing down the Salt Lake Temple. So all brides who were to get married that day south of Salt Lake came down to Mount Timpanogos. The nice thing was however, that we had come to the temple the day before and taken all of our pictures so we only had to do family shots on the day of.
It has been a crazy 10 years! We have lived in 8 different places, 5 different cities, and 2 different states. We have been blessed with 3 beautiful babies, who fill our lives with joy. We have lived in apartments, a trailer, with family, and now our own beautiful home. We have made it through job changes, two degrees, and an emergency airplane landing. We have been there for one another through sickness, messy houses, screaming kids, broken down cars, never having any socks folded in the drawers :), and many other things. We have fought and cried, loved and laughed, and watched a lot of TV series (our nightly, kids in bed, wind down routine). And through it all the I LOVE YOU's have been there. So now I will say it once more. I LOVE YOU, DUSTIN. Happy Anniversary!

Preschool Help

So as it turns out, the preschool the girls went to was no longer functioning when I went to get L signed up. So I scrambled looking around, all local ones I could find were filled, or way too much for a miss frugal like me. I even found out about a joy school group in the ward, but they said they were already established and didn't want a new kid (yeah that's the type of ward I live in unfortunately). The gist of it is. I am doing Preschool for L myself this year. I have an idea of what I would like to do based on some great information C's Kindergarten teacher gave me last year. I am planning on doing it three days a week, with one of the days focused on playdate/fieldtrip time, so he is still getting some social networking.
My question is please please please if you know a great website with preschool ideas, a great idea of your own for activities, or a great field trip opportunity in the area that isn't too highly priced, I would love to hear about it (even and especially seasonal things such as: Pumpkin patches around Halloween, or Christmas Festivals (daytime activities). I decided if I paid myself each month for supplies just as if I was paying for a normal priced preschool (or a little less since I don't have to pay me, just for supplies). I hope it works out. I want him to have fun and be prepared for Kindergarten, as well as have some fun friend and mommy time.
Thanks!

Climb Every Mountain

The moment you realize that you are fat is not a happy one. You may know that you have a few pounds to shed, you may know that sure you don't fit into the same jeans you did when you got married, but the actual realization that you can't remember the last picture you took when you actually felt good about yourself is a sad sad one. And sadly to say I have discovered that this past year. The good thing? I am finally motivated to do something about it.

The thing is, I don't run. I have my reason. I see friends and neighbors who are awesome inspiring women that run like crazy and I just can't do it. Also, I don't do the gym. I am too self conscious. I did great in the water aerobics when I was pregnant with L because I was the youngest one there and I was pregnant, it was okay to be fat. But going in my fat sweats as everyone else walks by in their little tight pants all perky and happy, is not my idea of motivation.

So in an effort to help me get in shape D went out and bought me a Wii Fit. Which I had been doing at a friends house and really enjoying. But my husband doesn't do things half way. He also go me a program called Wii Active, which I love. Bob Greene (Oprah's Trainer) put it together. The best part is the 30 day challenge. You get a different workout each day tartgeting different areas, unlike the Wii Fit (which I still love for the Jackknife challenge, balance games and yoga) You don't have to stop in between each exercise and pick a new one. You can choose your intensity and then you get a 20-30 minute workout that targets strength and aerobics together.

I have been enjoying it, and while the scale has not decreased (thanks stupid Wii Fit scale and your "That's Overweight" sayings) I can tell it is making a difference. The jeans are comfortable, not tight. I can chase the kids around the block and not get tired. I can walk my stairs a million times a day and be fine. But I always like a challenge and so when my sister suggested a join her for her early morning trail hikes, I thought I would give it a chance.

The picture above is why I love it. I take M with me and it is so fun to see her discover nature (she can run up a mountain, that girl is so fit, but she stops and rests when mom needs too). We do about a 3 mile round trip hike in the mornings. M thinks our goal should be to climb to the glacier by the end of summer. I smiled and said "We'll See". But if I can go with my girl it would be worth it. This morning she discovered some squirrels which she fed a cracker to. The look on their faces was like they had hit a jackpot and the look on M's face made the pain in my bottom half worth it! I really need to take my camera with me.

So it looks as if this is going to be a regular thing. We have a great trail, and as long as M wakes up at 5 with a smile on her face, we will continue to climb every mountain as part of our fitness routine. But don't worry Wii Active, I have not forgotten you. I'll be back, but sorry, the TV screen can't compare to nature!

Freedom

I wanted to make a great and wonderful post on freedom, but I didn't want to debate the current problems with our government and so I decided to post M's reflections essay that actually says a lot.

My Grandma's life is WOW! by M age 8

When my grandma was little she lived in Berlin. When the Russian army marched into Berlin she had to hide in the cellar with her mom for 10 days and 10 nights. They had only a few potatoes to eat. Every day her mom would cook one and she would eat the skin while my grandma would eat the middle.
One night their neighborhood was bombed and many people died. My grandma and her mom lived But lost everything, except my Great Grandma threw a feather bed out of the window while the house was burning. She had put her favorite china plate inside it and it did not break. My Grandma still has the plate and I love to look at it.
After the war was over my Grandma live in East Berlin. One day her dad decided it was bad to live in a communist land and he told my grandma that they would have to flee East Berlin at night. They had to sneak out at night and coulden't take anything with them. They had to leave their house and all their things behind. My Grandma then lived in West Berlin and on August 13, 1961 the Russians built a wall dividing West Berlin from East Berlin
I am glad my Grandma was in the west at that time or she would not have been able to move to America and become my Grandma. She has touched my life, and taught me about freedom.
WOW what a life.



Hope everyone has a happy INDEPENDENCE Day. Remember our blessings and lets not take them for granted!