It has been a loooooong time since I've blogged so bear with me while I work on getting caught up! Let's start with February and work our way forward!!
So I'm not really in the mood to blog tonight and I didn't remember to take my camera anywhere with me last week so this will be brief but I will try to hit the highlights (it's January so there's not that many!).
1. Erika stayed home from school on Monday to nurse her pounding headache. I had not made arrangements for a sub and couldn't stay home so Grandpa Boston brought Panda Express and a movie over at lunchtime so he could check on her and keep her company - Thanks Grandpa!
2. Got Magnet School applications in for Erika and Hailey. I already mentioned the one Hailey wants to go to but there's a fantastic new high school that we're hoping Erika will get into. It allows the students to pick a medical major and offers an enhanced curriculum with an emphasis on medical classes/training which helps prepare them for a future in the medical field. Erika wants to become an EMT and then a Paramedic so she's hoping to get into this school - very cool!
3. Kelcie swam and swam at swim practice this week. She took last week off because of her cold but she made every day of practice this week. Her first meet will be the last Saturday in February so she's practicing hard and really improving her strokes and her form.
4. Hailey joined an after-school tutoring math club so she can get some extra help with her math. She's never had problems before but this year her GATE (gifted and talented education) class meets twice a week during her regular math time so she has huge gaps in her learning and it is reflecting in her grades. A little extra tutoring will be very useful for her.
5. Eric joined a Race Team with a bunch of people that he works with - they sign up for various road races and fun-runs around town and do them as a group - they're called Team United. They're starting out with a 5K in March and Eric decided he needed the challenge in order to keep himself motivated. I'm really proud of him!
6. My first-graders are starting to grow on me and most of them are very sweet (and enormously talkative!). I think I might be growing fond of them!
7. I was grieved to discover a couple of days ago that one of my dearest friends here, Cristi, has allowed her husband to accept a great job in Texas. Her daughter Kayla is also Kelcie's best friend so there has been a dark cloud over our house since we heard the news. Although this is a great opportunity for them and they are excited about this new adventure, I feel like my right arm and left leg are being amputated! She has been more like a sister to me and a second mother to my children and I can hardly think of her leaving without getting a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. I will have to fake my enthusiasm and excitement about her leaving because I am selfish enough to wish she could stay - at the same time I am sincerely happy for the good fortune that has come their way and I imagine I will learn to adjust!
8. To end on a happy note, sunshine has returned to the valley and my dark mood has lifted. As a direct result, I lost another four pounds at Weight Watchers this week for a total of 10.8 in four weeks and a grand total of 34 since I've been on this journey. It feels so darn good!
(Just had to include the hungry monster from W.W. cause he's just so darn cute!)
This past week was truly the cloudiest and rainiest week we have ever had in 8 1/2 years of living in Las Vegas. All of that rain resulted in two things: 1) the most beautiful snow-capped mountains all around us - it looks like we're living in Utah! and 2) practically giving me seasonal-affectiveness disorder! After a week of no sun and constant rain I was in such a funk - I had no idea I had become so sensitive to the lack of sunshine but apparently I have. I heard a statistic the other day that said that Las Vegas has an average of 348 days of sunshine a year - it's no wonder that I start to go crazy without it!
In addition to our gray, wet, week, Hailey and Kelcie both had colds and were not feeling that well. They weren't quite sick enough to stay home so I gave them Airborne like crazy and doped them up for school and sent them on their way. That's the part I dislike the most about working - not being able to drop everything if the kids aren't feeling well. Fortunately it didn't come to that but I hate feeling like I can't be home if I need to be - I suppose that is the dilema of every working mother.
In other news, Erika sustained her first injury of 2010 and took a trip to the ER last night. She's playing indoor soccer right now and got slammed into the sideboards during the game. They stopped for dinner on the way home and she started getting really nauseated and got sick - a sure sign of a concussion. So Eric took her in to get checked out - the CT scan came back clear but she does have a concussion - no sports or PE for two weeks. She's bummed but I'm just glad it wasn't more serious! Two concussions in less than a year can't be good for your noggin...
Eric started teaching his two night classes this week - but was thwarted in his efforts. There was no class monday because of MLK day, on tuesday night somebody pulled the fire alarm about 20 minutes into class and everyone got sent home and then wednesday night the power went out about 30 minutes into it and had to send everyone home again. So the semester has begun he's already a week behind - he's not too happy about it! I'm sure he'll find a way to get them caught up but it was frustrating.
My first graders are...ummm...well...hmmm....fine. I can think of many adjectives that describe my experience with them but I don't know that they would reflect nicely on my students so I will spare the details. Suffice it to say, first grade will never be my first, second or third choices when it comes to teaching full-time! They're just too little for me - they can't work independently at all and it makes for very long days. I think I much prefer older students who can think and work more independently. I think that when it comes to teaching, you reallly have to find the niche that works best with your own personality - I know several people who are amazing teachers to those younger students but they also couldn't imagine working with middle schoolers - everyone has their own thing. Mine just isn't going to be the little ones!
And speaking of school, Eric and I took Hailey to a magnet school open house yesterday. There is a middle school here that is an academy of performing and visual arts and offers an amazing, enhanced curriculum of drama, dance, art, etc. Hailey has been interested in applying there for next year so we went down to check it out (clear on the other side of town!) and she absolutely fell in love with it! She wants to go there so badly - unfortunately it's very competitive to get into; there's about three kids applying for every one spot available. Qualified applicants get put into a computerized lottery so it's just pure luck if you get in. Hailey is totally qualified so we got her application in and now we just hope and pray that she'll get chosen in the lottery. We won't find out until March - Hailey has decided to petition the Lord every night until then!
Well, I think that sums up things at our house for the moment. We are keeping busy and mostly healthy which is about all I can ask for! I'm going to start putting my camera in my bag with the hope that I will remember to take some pictures while I'm out running around. More later!
Just a quick note to say that we made it though our super-crazy week last week. It was a shock to everyone's systems to return to The Routine again but fortunately it doesn't take long to re-adapt. I'm getting a handle on my first-graders. For the most part, they are a good bunch and pretty cute but really high maintenance! It reinforces my desire to teach middle school when I'm done with this whole process!
Kelcie started her first week of Swim Team at the YMCA. Maybe this week I can remember to take a picture or two while she's there. She swims M-Th, from 4:45-6:00pm - she's pretty tuckered out by bedtime! Cousin Sierra joined too so it's fun for them to see each other during the week and fun for Melissa and I to chat while they swim (plus I get all the hugs and kisses I want from Ella and McKenna - BONUS!!).
Erika has semster finals coming up this week - which means three, half-days for her this week. They're supposed to use that extra time to study - yeah, right! The last time she had half-days she went to a friend's house to "study" and came home with a concussion (a study-break that included a game of tackle football with some guy friends). Maybe we will monitor her activities a little more closely this time? In other noteworthy news, her soccer team won their 8pm game last night - they always win when they have late games...wonder why that is?
Hailey got to spend yesterday afternoon at a birthday party for one of her best friends. Ahhh...ladies, remember what it was like when a bunch of 11 year old girls get together? The gabbing, the giggling, the silliness? She had a wonderful time!
Last night we attended a Farewell Party for our dear friends, the Jolley's, who are moving to Blackfoot, Idaho. They are some of the loveliest people I have ever met, and the funnest and most talented! Their daughter Lauren is one of Erika's best friends and we will miss them terribly ~ I am definitely not a fan of goodbye's so we're just saying "see ya!" for now...
So that's our weekly update. While this crazy schedule continues, I will probably only post on Sundays. This week I'll try to take some pictures to make things more interesting!
PS- Started Weight Watchers last week ~ lost 5.2 pounds for the week!
Can our lovely Christmas vacation really be over?? We have had two, really wonderful weeks together as a family. Eric has only had to work two days out of the last 14 and so we have had a lot of fun enjoying the holidays, watching movies, going to movies, eating out, going shopping, sleeping in late, getting little projects done around the house and playing with the kids. It has been the perfect vacation and now...it's back to reality...and reality looks, well, really, really BUSY!! Can't we just throw a blanket over our heads instead?
Unfortunately, no - reality must be dealt with. Let me tell you exactly what it looks like. On Tuesday I start my long-term substitute teaching job for a friend of mine who is starting her maternity leave early (bedrest). This means that I will have to get up early to exercise, get the girls and I ready for school, teach all day, run home, throw some laundry in, run back out the door, take Kelcie to swim team practice (mon-thurs), do my homework while she's practicing, run back home, get some dinner on the table and either (a) clean-up and collapse into bed or (b) run back out to a Girl's Camp meeting, Young Women's or Book Club. Eric will soon start teaching his night classes on Mon, Tues & Wed nights so he will be crazy busy too. Somewhere in there, I also need to keep my house clean, do the laundry, cook, help the girls with homework, love and nuture their divine spirits, go grocery shopping, finish my last two classes for my Master's Degree, attend my Weight Watchers meetings, go to Erika's soccer games, take Hailey to art class and keep training for that Half-Marathon Relay coming up in March. Now you see why Eric and I have considered throwing a blanket over our heads and not coming out until April! :)
However, please know that I am not complaining - not at all! The scriptures tell us that we should be anxiously engaged in a good cause so I am grateful that I get to be involved with so many things that are good and constructive. I don't regret adding so much to my schedule - Eric and I are very thoughtful about the things we choose to spend our time doing - and the things we choose to have our children spend their time (aka, our time) doing. And some things don't last forever - I'll be done with my long-term sub by April and I'll be finished with my classes by March 15th so the super-craziness will be short-lived. And when you look at the Big Picture - in 10 years, we won't have anyone left at home to run around so we will embrace the "busy-ness" going on right now - because before we know it, it will be way too quiet!
Thank you so much to Grandma and Grandpa Chapin who assisted Santa with the big Christmas surprise! The girls LOVE, LOVE, LOVE our new TV!!
Ooooo....Ahhhh....is it real?
Yep, it sure is!! Merry Christmas!!Blogging takes a lot of time - but here I am finally to finish up with Christmas! Let's start with pictures!
On Christmas Eve we headed over to my sister Rachel's house for our traditional festivities. The girls opened presents from Grandma and Grandpa - cute aprons! 
And then we read from the Book of Mormon about the events surrounding the birth of Christ on the American continent:
Hailey's art and sketching sets - time to start cultivating that talent!
And Kelcie's baby doll set - this is probably our last year for little girl toys under the tree! I was worried Kelcie would think it was too babyish for her but she has LOVED her doll! She named her Isabella and has taken care of her faithfully every day. This is my other favorite thing about Christmas this year - I discovered that I still have a little girl in my house! Kelcie tries so hard to keep up with her big sisters that it's easy to forget that she's really only 8 years old! 
And last but not least, after all the presents were unwrapped we suggested that we take one of their new movies into the family room and watch it as a family - nobody was in the mood to watch a movie but Eric and I kept insisting so finally they came wandering in and saw this:
