Recent Happenings

The other day I looked back to my blog one year ago to see how things were back then. So much has changed! A year ago we were just finishing up with the changes to our house and we had decided to take the loan modification we were offered and stay there. The boys all shared a room, Logan had just transferred from a crib to a toddler bed, Trevor was struggling in school with reading and writing, Colin was in preschool and still throwing fits and tantrums. And now, one year later much has changed. Here are a few things that have been happening around here:

• Trevor's brought his reading and writing grades up to 77%! We're so proud of his hard work and so happy he has a great teacher.
• Colin gets a "green" at school almost everyday. I think there have only been 2 or 3 times he's come home with a yellow. And his dancing skills are very impressive thanks to the dancing they do in class.
• Logan loves nursery, loves when his cousin Gage comes over, he loves being the "baby" of the family, but we're trying to convince him that he's a big boy.
• We are looking at houses and discovering that buying a house that is a short sale is actually a very long and frustrating process. We'll see what happens.
• We're looking forward to a visit from Dave's parents the day after Thanksgiving!
• I recently did a girl's weekend in St. George with my college roommates and we decided to make it an annual event (and next year we're all getting massages).
• Dave registered for an accounting class and has decided to go back to school to get his accounting degree. I told him he has to get straight A's.

Dave and I very often will comment on how very blessed we are and that despite the difficulties we've had in the recent past we know that we are very lucky to have all that we do. We are looking forward to seeing what comes in the near future and we are happy that we have the family we do. As the boys get older I love them more and more. I enjoy listening to them and watching them. I enjoy the things we get to do with them. When we were getting ready to move from our house back in March Dave always said to me that no matter where we were, if we were together that was all we needed. And, like always, he was right.

Halloween

My kids love Halloween. They loved driving around the neighborhood looking for houses that were decorated and they constantly made plans for costumes and trick-or-treating and trading candy. We usually decorate the house with a graveyard, but this year (because everything was packed away) we kept the decorations simple and decided to just take out a couple of things. The week of Halloween was full of parties at school, church and grandma's house. Unfortunately, that week was also full of the stomach flu. But all three boys had it the same day so it wasn't too bad. Trevor and Colin enjoyed their school parties and going to the church trunk-or-treat (I stayed home with Logan who was still a little sick from the flu) and then trick-or-treating to all of the scary house (some a little too scary for Logan). It was a fun holiday but Dave and I both decided that next year, no matter where we're living we are going to go full out for Halloween. After all, it's all about making good memories for our kids.

Star Student

Colin is Star Student of the Week this week at school. He was so excited when he came home and told me it was his turn to be Star Student. Yesterday we made this poster that he presented to his class today. Here are some of the things on his poster:
Favorite things: Legos, Halloween, Spaghetti and meatballs
Things he does not like: throwing up, macaroni and cheese, scary movies
What he wants to be when he grows up: Donut Man or a Toy Maker
If he could have three wishes he would wish for: the Dr. Bones Color Lab toy, Popsicles, and every Lego.
I got to go into his class today while he presented his poster. It was fun seeing him tell the class about himself and Logan loved sitting on the carpet with the rest of the class. I'm so glad for good teachers this year who are making school so enjoyable for my kids. And it's nice when your child gets to feel special. I think those are things they always remember.