March 2015

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.

They ate off the fancy china.

Table decorations included

Part of the breakfast treats.

Everyone is ready to eat.

Brother Biang, the Young Men's president, flipping the pancakes. 

It was a fun breakfast.  The kids ate tons and had a fun time talking with each other about everything under the sun.  It is funny to listen to them talk when they don't think anyone is listening.

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.  

February 2015

SUPERBOWL SUNDAY!!!  The best way to start off the month.  We went to the Stewart's house to watch the game with a bunch of friends.  It was a blast.  Shane was hoping the Seahawks would win and I was pulling for the Patriots.  The score was relatively close throughout the entire game and came down to the last few seconds.  Seattle decided to throw the ball on their own three yard line and threw and interception.  It was awesome.  The Patriots ended up winning the game.  

February 2nd I went back to LNC to grade the dance performances.  The kids wanted to perform for Mr. Willits on his first day back.  The 7th grade had chosen to choreograph their own routines and pick their own music.  They completely tanked their performances.  They looked like they had not had three weeks to get ready.  Mr. Willits was not pleased at all.  I had been in communication with him throughout the entire month so he knew what was going on and he knew that I had worked with each group individually but they chose not to take my advice and went their own way and it completely did not work for them.  The highest grade in the class was a C.  Eighth grade did not let me down.  I taught them a hip hop routine and then told them to add their own flavor.  They did a great job.  The lowest grade in that class was a B.  I learned that grading is a lot harder than the teachers make it look.  You want to be fair, but also honest and sometimes the two just don't happen on the same assignment.  

February 6th Naomi came home with three ribbons attached to her shirt.  She had gotten "A Honor Roll", "Perfect Attendance", and "Reading Challenge".  Way to go!

February 7th, Nick played in a church basketball game.  The team played really well but they still lost by 9.  I am proud of Nick because he didn't get discouraged.  He recognized that they had played their best and just happened to play a team that was 9 points better. 

A little "after game therapy".  Yes, that is one of my bras wrapped around his head.  What a nut!

After the basketball game I went back down to the Mathapalooza.  I had dropped Naomi off before heading to Nick's game and wanted to get back in time for the awards ceremony.  I missed it by about 10 minutes.  That is okay because Naomi was just as excited to show me her 3rd place overall trophy.  She had a great day and loves math even more now (if that is even possible).

The Highland Creek Mathapalooza team.

Naomi and her trophy.

Naomi with Mrs. Favaloro, her third grade math and science teacher.

That night Jeremy and I went to the Saturday Knight Live talent show at the high school.  It was really good.  I was impressed with the level of talent in the show and the level of planning that went into making the show so much fun.  

February 10th the washing machine broke.  Normally this would not be a huge deal but this time is worth a blog mention.  I wasn't about to surrender and get a new machine so I went to the internet and googled the problem.  I found a couple of things that seemed like they might be the cause, located the replacement piece and repaired it myself.  It was the agitator coupling.  A $15 part and 30 minutes of my time was all it took to fix it.  BOO YA!

That afternoon Nick's service project group met at Hind's Feet Farm to do the planting of the bulbs. This is part of the 7th grade project.  The kids were divided into groups of 4 and asked to find a service project in the community they thought was needed and help out in any way they could.  Nick's group wanted to beautify the grounds of a nursing home or care facility.  After making a couple of phone calls and getting turned down Nick suggested calling Hind's Feet.  Marty had the perfect project in mind.  He needed flowers planted in the boxes in front of Puddin's Place, their main resident house.  Marty told them that the house was named after his mother (whose nick-name was Puddin') and that her favorite flower was the tulip.  With this in mind got to work planning.  Today was the day we would put their plan into action.  Two hours later they had over 150 bulbs planted.  The mothers stood on the sidelines and cheered them on while they did the majority of the work.  

Nathaniel, Ryan, Matt and Nick laying out the bulbs.  

Done!  (Naomi is photo bombing off to the left)

February 11, 2015, Nick officially became a teenager.  In his own words --"BEST DAY EVER!!!"  We took his bike in for a major overhaul and tune-up and it was ready for pick up on his birthday.  He loves to ride his bike and to have it back after four days in the shop was really exciting.  The girls at school sang "Happy Birthday" to him during physical activity time (think recess with a fancy new name).  I brought homemade-oreos to lunch so he could share them with his friends.  We had Papa Murphy's pizza for dinner with rootbeer floats for dessert.  After dinner we showered him with gifts.  It was a day all about him and he loved it.  

Candles in the pizza are a lot easier than candles in a rootbeer float.

Now he can build his own cars.  Erector sets are the best!

Car clock - to add to his new room decorations.

Friday the 13th Naomi did not have school so we got to hang out for the day.  We didn't do much that was exciting, but it was exactly what we wanted to do that day so it was perfect.  That night, Steve and I decided to get ahead of the crowd and go to dinner for Valentine's Day.  I think we might have to make this a tradition in the future.  There were no crowds and the prices were normal - not the special "holiday" pricing which does not always save you money.

On Valentine's Day we spent most of the day getting Nick's big project done and ready to hand in the following week.  This meant time at Matt's house to get the paper written and the final touches on the visual presentation.  The boys had a great time together and really listened to what the parents had to say.  They were good at taking our advice into consideration and using what they felt would improve their final product.  That night we all just chilled as a family.  

Sunday, February 15th, Steve had a double Eagle Court of Honor for Blake Giler and Ethan Shamanis.  These boys have been inseparable since the day the Shamanis family moved into the ward ten years ago.  They have done everything together and met their scout milestones together along the way.  So, to have them both get their awards the same day was very fitting.  It was a great ceremony and the mothers had prepared an impressive spread for afterwards.   Steve was beaming because he added two more mentor pins to his collection.  He really works hard to support his scouts all the way to Eagle and the boys really appreciate him.  

February 17 and 18 were both snow days for all three kids.  There was a delayed start of the school day on the 19th because of ridiculously cold temperatures in the morning.  We made the most of our time off.  

February 19th JEREMY TURNED 16!  We had a Cafe Rio dinner that night with caramel cheesecake for dessert.  I spent all day preparing the food and it was worth every second.  I cannot believe that my baby is 16.  

This tomatillo had a nose.  I named him Squidward (after the Sponge Bob character).

The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch t-shirt he has been dying to get. 

His own, Japanese mug for warm drinks. (Front view)

Mug back view (because it is so cool we have to show both sides)

No 16th birthday would be complete without a new car.  We bought Jeremy a BMW Z4.  He spent the night driving it around....  the house.  It is remote controlled.  Pretty cool.

CHEESECAKE!!!

Naomi also found out that she made the choir at school.  She had tried out the previous week and was on pins and needles to find out if she made the cut.  Congratulations!

February 21st we drove up to Greensboro to hear Elder Christofferson.  It was part of a series of talks he was giving to the members in the area and this was especially for the youth.  That said, only the youth were allowed in the chapel, overflow and gym area.  The parents sat in the foyers and extra rooms.  Naomi was thrilled because Elder Christofferson walked right by where she was standing and he gave her a hi-5.  Here are some of the highlights from his talk:

1.  Don't believe in the works of fiction the world wants you to believe.  Believe in the truth.
2.  Look out for each other.  Don't take risks.  Be clearly on the Lord's side.  Mutual night should be like an oasis.  Stay strong for each other and stay in the group.
3.  Don't take your beliefs for granted.  Higher standards equal higher levels of happiness.
4.  Sundays should be your favorite day.  It is a day of rest - so rest.  What you do on the Sabbath is a sign of how you feel about God and the kind of person you want to be.
5.  Always be in tune with the spirit so you will be ready to hear His voice and do what is needed.
6.  Don't give up, tire, slack or rest until you receive answers to your prayers.  Answers will come.
7.  Stay on the path, no matter what.  Happiness is your destiny.
8.  God knows you and claims you as his own.  You are never alone.

February 25th was a great day for all.  The boys were told by the orthodontist that they did not have to wear their elastics any more.  They were happy because they hate wearing them and I am thrilled because I will no longer find used elastics all over the house!

February 26th we got 6 inches of snow.   We spent most of the day playing in it!!  Steve and the boys decided to redo the wood pile and put a real roof on it since the other one basically fell apart.  We also got in some good service by shoveling driveways for neighbors.

Nick had the coolest project for science that was due somewhere during all this activity.  He had to create a shirt that showed the major organs, bones and muscles in the torso area.  It was fun to do and the results were great as well.  He got an A.

February 27th Justin Muller slept over (as Jeremy's birthday party.  This is what he wanted).  We played SPOONS and Apples to Apples, watched a movie and had a great time.

Febraury 28th was JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT!!!  And it was AMAZING.  The kids were spellbound the entire time.  I didn't hear a single "when is intermission" or "how much longer."  The background was a simple white curtain upon which they projected brick walls, or Egyptian pyramids, or Pharoh's palace or...  Some of the props and costumes were white and were used to show projected images that enhanced the scene.  It was pretty cool.   My favorite part was still the brothers.  They have the best part.  Pharoh was great as well.  Diana Degarmo did an excellent job as the narrator.  Ace Young was an okay Joseph but it is nearly impossible to out perform Donny Osmond (especially for this girl who grew up having a crush on Donny!!!)  Afterwards we went to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings.  Jeremy was especially excited about his because he has never been to a sit down restaurant before.  It was an amazing day!

The Tooth Fairy visited again that night.  Naomi left her another challenging note with a questionnaire about herself.  She is such a character.  Check it out.