2012 Blue Jeans Week 3

Hope you have all had a wonderful week.  Here is what we have been up to. . .

Sunday:  Our family really enjoys playing games.  Sunday evening we were playing Qwirkle--a shape/color matching type game that we all enjoy.

Monday:  No school today, and the weather was nice and warm but very windy.  Miss E and Mr J tried to fly a kite, but the wind was so strong it broke the string off--darn!

Tuesday:  Mr J was home sick today from school--no fun, but luckily it was a short duration stomach flu, and so far no one else has gotten it, which is something to be very grateful for in a house with 4 kids!

Wednesday:  My poor front yard--our water meter sprung a small leak, and they came to replace it and fix it today, but had to dig a huge, huge hole, so we know we will be planting new grass this spring after they level it :)

Thursday:  Once a month during the school year I get together with some dear friends, and we go out to eat and shop to different little towns near where we live --GLO (girls lunch out).  This is so fun and such a life saver for me.  What would we do without friends?  Sure love these ladies!

Friday:  Snapshot of our life--piano bags--all 4 of my kids take piano lessons--Miss A is going on 8 years, Miss O 6 years, Miss E 4 years, and Mr J is just finishing his first year of lessons, so piano bags are a big part of our everyday lives--practice x 4 in our house each day.

Saturday:  I am not and have never been a real "girly-girl," just not my thing, and my 3 girls have never really been into the princess "girly-girl" stuff either, but every once in a while it is fun to do their nails, and Saturday afternoon we had nothing else going on, so we broke out the nail polish and did toes and nails. 

Hope your next week is a good one!

Daily December 20: Blue Jeans Week 48

Busy, busy week.  I am sure yours has been too.  Here is what we have been up to. . .

Sunday:  Mr J and his friend he has known since she was born.  Her older brother and I decided we would blow it up to an 8x10 at their wedding reception in 20 years :)  They are so cute together

Monday:  Miss A, Mr J and Miss E making gingerbread houses at Nana's.  Mr J has his plan all ready for what he wants to do colored next to him.

Tuesday:  One of our favorite Christmas traditions--our Christmas countdown candle that Ben's dad makes for us each year.  Thanks Dad!

Wednesday:  Before bed Jesse will read one of his library books to either Ben or I.  Tonight we read by the Christmas tree.

Thursday:  Went shopping and out to lunch with some dear girlfriends today.  Don't know why the color is funny with this?  Had a great time and so love my girlfriends!

Friday:  Miss A had a Christmas Ball at school tonight.  She looked so pretty in her dress that her Dad picked out for her.  He does have good taste, he married me :)

Saturday:  Christmas treat baking day.  Ben helped me make some batches of an almond joy type candy.  It was nice to have his help.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and hope your next week is a wonderful one!

Blue Jeans Week 37

We are enjoying the cooler fall which, after this horrible, hot summer, we just love!!!  Hope fall is in your neighborhood too!

Sunday:  I haven't taken a recent picture of the chickens lately, so I got one today.  They are laying now, so we are loving the fresh brown eggs.  We have 6 laying hens.  5 sort-of brown ones in this shot, and then one black and white, but she is her own person/hen and doesn't like to be with the group, so I had to get a picture of her later this week.

Monday:  Miss A's last volleyball game was today, so I caught a picture of her with her awesome coach, who also happens to be one of my best friends.  She is the best coach!!  Love you T!  Thanks for all you do!

Tuesday:  Got a picture of Miss Black and White Hen today.  I think she is the prettiest of the flock. 

Wednesday:  I surprised the kids by picking them up from school today and heading to the Dr. office for flu shots.  They didn't figure out what we were doing until we pulled into the Dr. parking lot.  They were not amused, but we were all brave and survived--even me, although our arms were pretty sore the next day.

Thursday:  After the previous day of traumatic flu shots, I needed a Girls Lunch Out.  So we headed out of town to a greenhouse for mums, pumpkins, and pizza for lunch.  Nothing beats great friends.  What a blessing!

Friday:  Miss E got into the 100 point AR reading club at school and got her t-shirt today.  She was very proud.  She has turned into a super-reader this year!!! 

Saturday:  This weekend was our Church's--The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints--semi-annual General Conference.  We don't have local meetings, but we watch our services on TV or the internet Saturday and  Sunday from our church wide General leaders and our Prophet and President.  It is such an amazing experience.  Unlike the unpleasant flu shots earlier in the week, these meetings have been a wonderful spiritual "shot" or boost that I really needed.  I so love my Savior Jesus Christ and all that He does for me.  So grateful for my family, my faith, and my church.  It was a great weekend, and to keep the kids entertained and sort of listening we play conference bingo with Reese's Pieces.  They listen to what the speaker says and find that topic on their bingo card (like faith, Christ, love, etc), and when they get bingo they get to eat their pieces (plus extra too:)

Hope you all have a wonderful week!  God bless!

Blue Jeans Week 17

Last week of school here.  The kids are done Thursday!  How did summer sneak in so quickly?  Hope you have all had a good week! 

Sunday:  Mother's day, and this is one of the awesome cards I got by Miss A.  She knows me well and put all my "likes" on the front--books, cheesecake, music, hot chocolate, taking pictures, and scrapbooking.  Love being a mom!

Monday:  Playing ball is usually not allowed in the house, but Ben got some new soft foam balls for the kids, and they enjoyed tossing them around tonight.

Tuesday:  We love our public library, and they recently remodeled ours, and it is so nice!  In one new section of the children's library they got a new table that Mr. J just loves!  He always asks me, "Mom, can we go to the library, and I can sit on my table!"  So here he is looking at a train book (surprise, surprise) at

"his" new library table :)

Wednesday:  End of the school year.  I always take a picture of the kids with their teacher in August on the first day of school, and then I take one with their teacher at the end of school.  As an end-of-the-year gift we put the August and May pictures in a frame and the kids write on it "Thank you for helping me grow!" and then decorate the frame.  So this is Mr. J and his amazing kindergarten teacher at the end of the school year.

Thursday:  Miss O had to do a technical essay (one of my least favorite things) and she decided to do it on "How to make the best chocolate chip cookies in the World."  Then she was to take pictures of the process of making the cookies to show when she presented her essay to the class.  So she made cookies today, and her little brother was there to lick the extra cookie dough off the bowl and mixer attachment.  I think she ended up putting this picture in her presentation :)

Friday:  My last Girls' Lunch Out until August.  Sure love my friends!

Saturday:  Today was my dad's last college graduation as a professor since he is retiring this week.  They had a special presentation and award for him for his 24 years of teaching.  Way to go dad!  Sure love you and am proud of you!!!

 

Blue Jeans Week 15

A week behind but better late than never :)

Easter Sunday:  Love the new dresses and how they each have their own style--long gone are the days they would all wear the same dress :)

Monday:  Mr J didn't have school today, so he got extra lucky and got to go have lunch with Grandpa!  My dad is retiring this month after many, many years as the art teacher at our local junior college.  It is sad to see his office slowly being emptied, but I am excited for him to start a new phase in life.  Way to go Dad!

Tuesday:  Kind of blurry, but the girl was running fast!  Miss E's last soccer game today!  Yeah!

Wednesday:  Had lunch with some girlfriends today, and we went to this place that had the biggest and best hot chocolate I have ever had--all the whipped cream on top--oh my!

Thursday:  Beautiful day, and the crew went on a bike ride while I had some quiet time :)  so nice

Friday:  Two pictures for today.  Each April our county hosts a Young Author's conference/competition.  The school children write books and the best book winners get to attend a conference with 2 visiting nationally known children's authors or illustrators.  My mom is the co-chairman of this thing, so we get to attend a dinner with the visiting authors the night before.  Above are my kiddos with children's book author Pamela Duncan Edwards.  If you have never read her stuff, please check it out--super fun picture books your kids will love!

This is the other visiting author--Dandi Daley MacKall, and she has written over 400 books for kids--picture books, novels, check her stuff out.  They were both awesome to listen to and meet.  Great people!!

Saturday:  Today was Miss O's 11th birthday!!  We took her friends bowling then back to our house for pizza and then the girls had an impromptu hair salon--cute, cute! 

Blue Jeans Week 11

You know with the time change and "spring forward" I think it put everything on fast forward.  Anyone else feel like that?  Hope your week wasn't too crazy!

Sunday:  Sunday afternoons are usually not too crazy, thank heavens.  Mr. J and I spread out the puzzles on the kitchen table and had some puzzle time together.  Mr. J has always been a big puzzle fan.  His Thomas the Train and the US states puzzles are his favorite.

Monday:  For family night treats Ben helped the kids make "Magic in the middle" chocolate cookies.  You make the chocolate cookie dough and then you make a peanut butter dough that you wrap the chocolate dough around and bake.  When you bit into the chocolate cookie you get a smooth peanut butter center.  Oh yum!  I can't believe I have been married to this amazing man for over 15 years, and he has never made these for me before!  I am requesting them once a week now, they are so good!  Chocolate and peanut butter, is there a better combination?

Tuesday:  One new thing the girls--especially Miss E--got into over spring break is cross-stitching.  Miss E concentrates very hard on her latest cross stitch design--and she jumped to this task before she got dressed or combed her hair or anything :)

Wednesday:  I think Sunday afternoon Mr. J, Miss E and I started the game of Life.  We finally finished it this evening, so it has been out on our coffee table in the family room for the last 4 days.  I don't remember it taking that long to play when I was a kid, but my kids sure enjoyed it.  I always loved being the banker when I played, but Miss E insisted on being banker when we played this time--just something about controlling all the money--even when it is fake and pink, blue and orange.

Thursday:  Girls Lunch Out--went with my girlfriends to an awesome greenhouse about 45 minutes away and got some pretty flowers to plant, now if the weather would just co-operate so I could plant them!  Love my girlfriends! 

Friday:  April Fool's Day.  Miss A was so on the ball for jokes today.  My van and Ben's car were both covered in play food.  Each of the kids woke up with some kind of drawing or stickers on their face--Miss E had whiskers, Mr J had stars and Miss O had stickers.  She hid everyone's toothbrushes, and I couldn't find my toothbrush anywhere and considering calling the school to ask her where she had hid it, when I finally found it.  She made our day really fun.

Saturday:  Soccer--let it begin--games started today.  We had 4 this morning--ugh--Mr J had 2 and Miss E had 2.  So glad soccer is only a one month sport.  Mr J had two games, and after the first he told me he was done for the season.  It was really had to get him to go back for his second game.  How am I going to keep him going for 4 more weeks?  Funny kid.  He is number 10 on the A&W orange team.  Go orange!