Daddy's Little Helper-

Although he didn't make an appearance on film for the horse visit. He did however stick close to his daddy to help him with clean up in the yard.

Such Good little workers

Showtime

As we settled at the dinner table McKenna excused herself to go to the bathroom. A short time later the floor was vibrating and the air filled with...music as the concert began. We heard songs such as "rain rain go away" and something about "money". As this little girl washes her hands she belts out the music at the top of her lungs. It's fantastic! Wish you could all be here for the show.

Benches-check!

Just an update of the benches-installed.

They look fabulous and so...comfy? Tried them out and love them!

Thanks & Good Job John!

Daddy Daughter Date-Tacoma Raineers

Maple Lawn Elementary had a night out at the ballgame with the Tacoma Raineers Friday night. When McKenna learned about it a month ago she was soooo excited and begged her dad to go. After talking it was agreed that if she worked for the money they would go and for the past month McKenna diligently cleaned out the Chicken Coop for $2 a week to earn enough money to go the ballgame with her dad. (What kind of date makes you pay for your own ticket? :))

She's did a great job and was rewarded and thrilled when the big day finally arrived last night (3rd). With her Football jersey on, her tennis shoes on and her baseball glove in hand she was ready to go when her Dad walked in the door.

I think they had a good time, despite the horrible traffic and lack of parking which meant a lot of time in the car.

*As a side note, Johns said that after the lil dinner of hot dogs, chips and soda that came with the tickets-McKenna was still hungry. She wanted Popcorn, but changed her mind when her dad told her she would have to clean the chicken coop another 2 weeks. I think she's starting to understand the value of a dollar. :)

While John and McKenna were out-I was working on another masterpiece for a friend. Strawberry cake with Strawberry Mousse filling and Whipped White Chocolate Ganache frosting. Same cake as Memorial Day-except this one was frosted, and let me tell you-the frosting was Fantastic! Even John raved about it when he tasted it-and I hardly ever see him get excited about food, let alone frosting. If I could be a lil more consistent and prepared I think I could really get into this baking thing. SO fun!

Memorial Day 2011

Oh it was a busy day-a very good day because we got so much done! I'm still not sure what your supposed to do on Memorial Day when you don't have your loved ones grave sites nearby-but I did get several opportunities to try and explain what Memorial Day was McKenna who wondered why there was not school and her Dad was home. Hope that one day it sinks in and she truly understands what it means and how thankful we as her parents are for those who have and are serving to preserve and defend freedom.

John celebrated by surprising us all by making a couple of benches for the lower deck. They've been stained and we're just waiting for it to dry so he can install them. They are beautiful and look fantastic on the deck!

The Jackson's whom John met through work have become good friends and mentors to our family. Tom is teaching me to become a master gardener-sharing in his wealth of knowledge and plants. Him and his wife Helga came over to celebrate and we planted 15 tomato plants, 8 yellow squash plants and there is more to come.

We then had a BBQ and picnic on the deck-eating Helga's most delicious rolls, some BBQ Chicken and I got to test out a recipe for a strawberry cake that was surprisingly fantastic. Not the prettiest of cakes, but something to work towards.

Of course there was more chicken chasing as Tate has figured out how to open the chicken coop-poor chicken-chased and followed by all 3 kids.

It was great day-one that took me all day Tuesday to recooperate from. :)

Out and Runnin'

The chickens are getting a little bold-I got pecked today while changing their water. I actually dread the day I have to chase any chickens because they've escaped-so to prove a point John let a couple of them out for a little freedom and time and to show me how to get them back in.

The girls don't mind chasing or picking them up-and I got a good kick out of it.

I couldn't help but record a little of the action.

Eventually there was success

Luckily Tate was in watching a show or this could've have been really fun!

Mommy's Newest Lil' Helper

We all wanted cookies and this lil guy wanted to help. He's a big hands on kind of kid-and well this went surprisingly well. He loved being able to turn the mixer on and off, and eat the dough off the beaters.

He even does dishes!

We love our Goofy lil Tate!

Addictions

When I was in college I worked at a gas station-Conoco. I remember the day I realized I was addicted to caffeine in the form of Dr. Pepper. It actually wasn't a pleasant realization and there were a lot of headaches involved as I took myself off the caffeine.

John and I have been talking and realized there are a lot of addictions in our family.

John is addicted to being busy-which works with his current life style.

Mel-chocolate (sugar & caffeine: the lack of produces headaches)

McKenna-her blanket & TV

Tyler-John says her mother, I think she loves learning, pleasing others and eating.

Tate-Binki (goes without saying) although the blanket & Tv are a close 2nd.

Now it's just a matter of where do we go from here....

The Priesthood is Restored

Tyler gave her 1st talk in Sharing Time on Sunday. Since her Dad was going to be down and out for a week he had willingly signed up to help her. Tyler fought an inner battle between wanting to shine and do her talk and her overwhelming shyness. She practiced her talk and knew it pretty well and when it came time to give the talk...

Well the shyness won the battle. John and I stood at the podium (I was conducting) and with Tyler's head buried in my stomach John gave a wonderful talk on the Restoration of the priesthood.

It's a little scary up there-it's taken me 3 years in the primary to be able to conduct, so I totally understand. Proud of her for preparing and getting up there and trying.

She's such a great little performer that I can't wait til she decides to shine for an audience.

Family Home Evening

I'd like to say Family Home Evening is a special time that is filled with spiritual learning for both parents and children, but honestly our goal currently is to hold it regularly and well it's pretty quick due to the short attention span...or the anxiety of losing control. John usually does the lesson and we all take turns with song, prayer and treat.

We didn't have it Sunday night due to a pleasant surprise visit from Tom & Helga Jackson-who came bearing gifts-tomato plants. Tyler and I decided to do the lesson ourselves-I've read and heard of families having kids do the lessons and was inspired to get my kids more involved.

Monday afternoon Tyler and I sat down with The Friend and read about 4 articles and then she decided which story we'd share. McKenna came home and made caramel corn for our treat and since the story came with a scripture, she was also able to show off her new reading skills.

I have to say it was really a great experience for all of us, a new tradition that we'll do every week.

Petpalooza

In an effort to raise money for "our" (OPT, John and our family) medical dog, John manned a booth at Petpalooza with a friend Erlene who makes and sells cute & fun accessories for dogs, and Lisa who oversees Dogs for Cures and her son Liam with his diabetic dog.

The kids and I went to support John, see all the dogs, and to have a little fun.

Which we did...

A little Face Painting

Yes and even Tate sat surprisingly still to get a lil paw print on his face.

Pony Rides

Tate loves Horses-books, toys, and well real horses from a distance! He was hesitant at first but after he saw all the ponies and sat on a few different ones he found one he wanted to ride on.

The bouncy houses are always a big hit!

Then there were the dogs-which we mostly looked at from a distance. Risso was at the booth next to John's and although I'm actually very scared of Rottweiler's this one was gently, sweet and hard not to love. Her owner Bill assured us she loved women and children and when she rolled over for her belly to be rubbed I fell for her.

We ended with the park-where McKenna practiced her Monkey bar skills and Tyler and Tate happily flew down the slide.

John didn't move much, but he did go for a stroll with us.

And then it was over...We hope we get our dog soon!

McKenna

It was a great McKenna day!

It started out with an IEP meeting with her teacher Mrs Mickelson, speech teacher Mrs Daugherty and the Learning Specialist Ms Billie Jo Bandi. I love all these women for all their patience and hard work with my child as well as sooo many others. I appreciate the love they show her and the confidence they have in her, and I LOVE that they rejoice in how far she's come in the last year and rejoice with every mile mark in her learning she reaches.

A brief overview is that McKenna is doing really well. With her testing she did 39 letters correct per minute with 100% accuracy, which was an improvement from last fall when she did 24 letters with 92.3% accuracy. She knows all her site words, sounds out a lot of her words while reading, and after hearing all this I have to admit that I was surprised when they told me that her strength was in Math and numbers. I've always struggled with her in that area, or else she was just pushing me to bring out the M&M's for adding and subtracting. She is NOT a dumb girl. She plays with lots of kids at school, always helps out and stays on task, and never throws a fit. My jaw dropped when I heard this, but I'm thankful she saves those for our house. One day I hope they stop. :) Everyone loves her, all the teachers know her, and I'm very proud o her for all she's conquered within herself.

Tonight as we were chatting and she was laying in bed she got really excited and told me that she did the Monkey Bars today. From start to finish and how she's spent a lot of time practicing and she did it, all the way. Then she told me she jumped down and waited in line to do them again, "and it wasn't hard to wait." That's a big thing for her because it's always hard to wait, and I agree. Then she talked about some bars that are too big and are only for the 3rd graders. She was so excited and cute and I loved that she was opening up and talking about school and how proud she was for accomplishing something she wanted to be able to do.

Way to go McKenna! Keep up the good work!

We Love you and We're so Proud of you!

John

Another surgery...or two has come and gone for John in a fashion that is soooo John. Meaning when John realized he had a meniscus tear in his right knee that needed to be "cleaned up" before he could run anymore he decided to take full advantage of the situation. He also needed his finger-ring finger on his left hand fixed up a little so that he could have a little more flexibility in it. Well with the cost of healthcare why not have it all done at one. Two Surgeries- and although you have to pay for 2 doctors, he only had to pay for one hospital room, nursing staff, and anesthesiologist. That's right-he's a thinker this one!

Dr. Huang did a great Job on his knee and reported, "a degenerative tear across the back part of the inside knee," and he had to remove 30% of the meniscus and then gave us a few pictures.

Dr. Barthel also did a great job-she was able to release the lateral ligaments and the volar plate to regain about 30 degrees of extension-meaning he'll be able to straighten his finger more. I took my own picture of his finger when he took the dressing off for therapy. I was ok until he was having a hard time with the therapy and his face started to lose color and then my stomach began to churn.

Once again this is not for the weak stomach.

John couldn't have picked a better week to be off work, sun is forcasted to shine all week. Luckily he has Tyler who has spent a lot of quality time with him. She been keeping him company, bringing him ice, and making him beautiful pictures. She loves taking care of him, but made it clear when I mentioned that we needed to be his nurses that she didn't want to play "Nursie".

Mother's day surprise part 2

The day after Mother's Day was not my best Mother's...day. My kids were not acting out anymore than normal-but for some reason my temper and patience was a lot thinner. Funny enough I remember the same thing happening last year.

Well Tuesday morning was a new and determinedly a better day. There was bound to be a hulde or two-and when I came out of the shower I found that Tate had gotten a hold of my Mother's day flower and dumped it on my freshly washed rug. It must have been a test-but I was determined to be a little more patient and so we quickly cleaned it up and replanted it and moved on-leaving the bad memory of Monday behind us.