A Dozen Years Ago!

12 years ago I married my J!

This year he got me these:

They arrive in a couple of days and I'm beyond excited! I sure love that J, being married is pretty fantastic!

Triathlon!

Saturday we participated in a triathlon!
J and I were in groups, we were the 5k runners. R and L got to do the kids triathlon after we were all done.
We all had a bunch of fun...although I've discovered that I definitely need to use my running shoes more!
I'm so glad that our friends invited us to participate. I plan on training for a triathlon that is this September; this time I'll do all three events: swimming, biking, and running. I'm totally excited!

Grades!

I received my grades today...

~Research & Presentation: (91.30%) A-
~Conflict Resolution & Team Dynamics: (89%) B+
Now my cumulative GPA is 3.72

I've also been invited to, and joined, a sorority!

I wish my grades were a bit higher,but I can't feel too bad. We've had some crazy busy schedules this term resulting in me turning in a few late assignments (a big point reducer!).

My new classes that start next week are:

~Stress--Critical Issues in Management & Prevention
~Human Resource Management

May & June!

Ball @ the playground
J's b-day cake, Happy # 31!
R's b-day card to J had a math quiz in it :0)
Those boys can rock it!
Fun zoo times for L's #7 b-day
Fish watching @ the zoo
Seal watching @ the zoo
Fun camel rides @ the zoo!

It was a full couple of months...

Movies!

We've started the summer by seeing 2 great movies:
Toy Story 3 and The Karate Kid
R said that The Karate Kid is his new favorite movie and L had some great giggles during Toy Story 3. Both were pretty good and were fun to go see!

April and May!

For my birthday (the big 30!) J brought one of my best friends up from UT and I had a party with my other best friends daughter who turned 14, fun weekend!

J and I took our 1st cruise! The cruise was from LA to Mexico, 7 nights of awesomeness! We loved it all, the food, the shows, visiting Cabo, Mazatlan, and Puerto Vallarta. We did some shopping, went on a zip line through the forest, and spent the day at an all exclusive hotel resort.



The end of April and the beginning of May we planted our garden: Peas, beans, blackberries, broccoli, onion, lettuce, carrot, radish, cabbage, corn, tomatoes and squash.

Our little L turned 7, crazy! For his birthday we went to Lost in the 50's. It was fun seeing all th hot rods, and seeing friends & family.

Know Your Rights!

I have always known that bullies exist and that sooner or later my kids would have to deal with them. I didn't anticipate big problems with this though.
I have come to realize that bullies are very real and they are not always other students.

I strongly encourage all who read this to know their school districts policies on harassment and bullying. Know exactly what your teacher, principal and superintendent are in charge of. Know who works on the school board. Know what they are legally responsible for.
Also note that your state will have a state superintendent who is in charge of your states schools. There also exists an education ombudsman who can help you if you have problems that your school is not addressing.

If there are any problems record everything. Make a note about it. You may need to remember all the things your child told you, any conversations you had with the teacher or any other school staff.

Parent's and students have rights, know them, don't be afraid to fight for them.

March Pics!

R's team made the championships and placed 2nd, way to go!

No one was injured during this accident...we are still waiting for the insurance to figure out whats going to happen. This happened a few days after we paid it off, luckily we still had it under full-coverage!
The blanket that I made J from his older brothers Levi's and flannel shirts. I gave it to him for Christmas and he took it underway with him. I've never quilted before and I'm so glad it turned out! The backing is a micro-fleece blanket, so soft!

We are still getting eggs daily from our chickens. Our neighbors dog had a 3 chicken feast a few months back and a few weeks ago he brought these babies over, so cute! Not pictured are 2 baby turkeys that J brought home last week, the boys have named them Turkey Sandwich and Fred.

Awesome J rented an excavator and pulled out some stumps, trees, and bushes from the back woods. One stump was ridiculously huge and took forever to get out of the woods!

Cake!

So I made him a get well/gag cake! Its a giant nose, a 'bloody tissue' made from fondant, with 'Cus Your Nose Blows' written on the board.

It is a white cake, butter cream frosting, and vanilla flavored fondant. I really like the butter cream recipe I found. The fondant recipe is easy to make and tasty, but difficult to manage. So I'm on the search for a different one.

This was a fun cake to make. L wished I made a cake finder to go in the nose cake, and J said the bloody tissue was too realistic for him, totally made me laugh!

A Whole New World!

It feels like all of a sudden its a whole new world...
It's not really, but there are some changes, the biggest being that J is home from deployment! We love, love, love having him home!

~L no longer tries to get out of going to school in the morning
~The daily email writing and checking is no more
~Some pesky little things in the house like the broken deadbolt lock is fixed
~The potholes in the road are filled
~The boys are back to riding their dirt bikes
~I can call J on his way home from work to have him pick something up like milk
~BBQ time is back
~Movie night is back
~Boys have a real wrestling contender
~Complete family prayer
~Home project planning has begun
~Sitting in the passenger side of the car
~I get a lot more texts and calls on my cell phone
~Family dinner is more than just what the boys want
~Outnumbered no longer... # of adults = # of children
~Just knowing that I don't have to do everything on my own is a big stress relief!

I am very thankful for J and all he does for me and our family. Life is very different when he is away. Home is so complete when he is back and I feel truly blessed!