March started out in the best way. Jeremy blessed the sacrament for the first time. He was really nervous, but did a great job. It was amazing and weird at the same time. I am still in denial that by baby boy is 16 years old. He was such a cute little kid and is such a handsome young man. I am just proud to be his mom.
March 2nd was Dr. Seuss Day at school for Naomi. She and her friend, Emily, dressed up as Thing 1 and Thing 2. They had a great time. I was substituting in Mrs. Rosales's class (both Emily and Naomi had Mrs. Rosales for 2nd grade) and they came to visit. The second graders loved seeing the third graders all dressed up.
Naomi took this picture. She thought the sunset was really cool.
March 7th was the annual HCE Daddy Daughter Dance. The theme was "To the Moon and Back" and they were supposed to dress in neon and white. The dance was lit up with black lights and Naomi said it was really cool. They went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner and then danced the night away.
Grocery shopping with Naomi is always an adventure. We get one of the big carts with the seats on the front and take turns riding. Naomi thinks it is funny to push her mommy around in the cart and I like the rest. Let people give us funny looks. They are just jealous we are having so much fun and they aren't.
Naomi has been bitten by the math bug. She came home from school on a Friday and disappeared into her room. I was busy fixing dinner so I didn't investigate what she was doing. After I finished putting dinner in the oven she asked me to come up and see what she had done to her door. She had taken down all the My Little Pony pictures and replaced them with a "Math Door" complete with math problems that needed to be completed. Her teacher, Mrs. Favaloro, is amazing and really gets the kids excited about math, obviously.
One day, while visiting Sister Ford with the sister missionaries, she mentioned how much she likes Chinese food. That got us all craving Chinese food and we planned a lunch date for the following week. I would get my visiting teaching companion to come with me and we would all have a Chinese lunch. The next week we carried out our plan and everyone enjoyed the time spent together. I asked Sister Ford if she was craving anything else and she just laughed. I love spending time with her.
I am becoming quite a fix-it queen. This time I fixed the leaky faucet in my bathroom. I couldn't take the dripping anymore and while Steve was at a weekend scout training session I went to Lowes and got the correct cartridge and fixed it myself. First the washing machine, then a leaky faucet - NEXT? Stay tuned.
PROM 2015
Jeremy went to his first church prom on March 14, 2015. The day started out with breakfast at the bishop's house. Usually they do a dinner, but since the dance was in Winston Salem and they had an hour drive to get there they decided to do a breakfast instead. It was still just as fancy. The bishop's wife went all out with the decorations and the food. I got to help out a little bit and see all the kids.
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| They ate off the fancy china. |
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| Table decorations included |
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| Part of the breakfast treats. |
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| Everyone is ready to eat. |
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| Brother Biang, the Young Men's president, flipping the pancakes. |
Jeremy chilled the middle part of the day while Nick and I fixed the bird feeder we accidentally broke while planting the flowers at Hind's Feet Farm. We took that back and then ran a few errands. Meanwhile, back at home, Jeremy was getting ready for the big night. He showered and got himself all ready to go to his first official dance. He was so excited (but I think I might have been more excited - it is hard to tell). Check out the handsome results below.
I drove him to the Todd's house where several other youth were meeting and they all caravaned down to church from there. At the church they took a group picture (below) and then boarded the party bus (picture below) headed for Winston Salem. Jeremy got home about midnight with a huge smile on his face. He had a great time and is already excited for prom next year.
March 16th the boys had to turn in their class choices for next year (already!!!) Nick chose the high school level French class and Jeremy signed on for AP and Honors classes. I am really proud of how they are stretching themselves academically and trying new things.
March 18th I subbed for Mrs. Rosales again. Her class is always interesting and you never know what kind of day you are going to have. This time they were having a hard day and I had to take them back to the room in the middle of the International Fair tour because they wouldn't behave and follow the rules. Each class had been given a country to represent and they did posters and displays to tell about their country. All these displays and posters were placed down the halls in the school and each class took turns going "around the world". I was sad that we missed half of the displays, but... Naomi took me on the tour after school and showed me what her class had done. We then headed downtown for the district art show. Naomi had a clay turtle she had done in art class on display. She really loves having Mr. Maranchello as an art teacher. He is so much fun and gives them challenging projects. He also is very involved in getting his students' art displayed at the district art shows.
Naomi's class represented the Philippines.
March 19th and 20th I subbed for a new teacher, Ms. Starr, while she was at a two-day training. I have to say that this was the most challenging sub assignment I have ever had. There were several "discipline problems" in the class and I admire that a teacher would willingly come back to that situation day after day and keep a smile on their face and help the rest of the kids in the class learn. It is so sad to me that kids in the third grade would have the issues going on in their lives that these kids have. The attitudes, language and mannerisms have all been learned at home. It takes a special kind of person to teach these kids every day. Ms. Starr is one of those people. I admire what she does. I also had it confirmed to me that I really prefer working with the middle school and high school kids.
Bradden and Sunny and the kids came for a weekend visit on the 20th. It was so much fun to see them. On Saturday, Steve and Bradden took the kids to Delk's. They had a blast. Sunny and I headed to the mall with Maddie in tow. We found all sorts of fun stuff for Sunny and got new shoes for the kids. When everyone was back home again we went to the park and played. Jeremy went to a stake dating activity and wasn't with us for that bit of fun. Later that night, Steve, Sunny and Hyrum went back to the mall to exchange the shoes she bought for Hyrum, while Bradden and I took the rest of the crew to Walmart to get snacks for the trip home the next morning. We loved having them visit for the weekend.
The breakfast chair for Maddie. Naomi loved it.
Shoe shopping at the mall.
Dance party.
At the park. They all held still long enough for a picture.
Making popcorn chicken for dinner. Olivia was my helper.
March 26th was the annual Highland Creek Elementary Art Show. Mr. Maranchello and Ms. Starnes spend days setting up all the art projects the kids have done throughout the year. For two nights the parents are able to come and walk through all the art. The recorder club and both the 3rd and 4th/5th choir perform. It is the event of the year and we always look forward to it. Naomi made the 3rd grade choir and we got to hear her perform that night. The art was fabulous as well.
March 28th we finally got a replacement for the tree out front. Naomi picked a Coral Maple and it is going to be very pretty. The bark at the ends of the branches is a beautiful coral color and the leaves are bright green in the spring and summer and turn a stunning red in the fall. Nick helped at his friends (Ryan) neighborhood Easter egg hunt and had a blast with all his friends from school. Naomi and I went to the Women's Conference that night and she wore the dress she made. It wasn't the easiest pattern to do, but she stuck it out and really did a great job. The smile on her face was worth it.
March 29th the primary kids sang in sacrament meeting for the first time since I became chorister and they sounded AMAZING!!!! They sang "ToThink About Jesus" and "Beautiful Savior". I am so proud of the hard work they are putting into singing time. They make being the chorister the best calling in the church. I now call them my choir and they love it.
