Back Early OR The Butt Kicking

Lake Powell had it's fun moments, for sure!

Jackson played on the houseboat,



and in the water,



with Daddy,

and with Hayley.



Hayley played for hours on the beach,
(And collected hundreds of seashells. No joke.)



she and I rode in the boat,



and Hayley watched while I wakeboarded.
(I look too chubby in the pic of me wakeboarding. I'm not posting it.)



However, I also discovered that having 25 people on a houseboat, including eight teenagers, who like to stay up until, oh, sometimes two in the morning, does not make for a good environment for a baby who needs to nap occasionally during the day and sleep at night. It's also no good for the mommy who have to get up in the night with said waking child.

I'm usually a die-hard vacationer.

We came home early.

And I don't regret it.

Jeremy said this trip should go down in history as the vacation that kicked my butt.

I have no shame.

Let it be known, Heather's butt has been kicked.

Take It or Leave It... But Probably Leave It...

On Friday, my mom and I took the kids (okay, mostly for Hayley) to the Princess Festival in Lindon. Starting with a word from experience, if you've never driven to Lindon, you may want to MapQuest it. And print it off. Just sayin'.

Anyway, once we got there, we were able to see quite a few princesses, including Cinderella and Beauty. Hayley wasn't quite sure about them. I think it may be because she's used to a little bit "realer" princesses. Nothing against the ones we saw there, just the Disney Princesses at Disneyland are a little hard to beat! (Yes, my four-year-old may be a princess snob.)



Jackson doesn't really care what we're doing, as long as he's outside...



After the Guided Adventure hosted by Alice (of Wonderland) and Jack (of the Beanstalk), we completed the Treasure Hunt so Hayley could get her Royal Fitting from Sleeping Beauty, and earn her free book.

Cute, but not sure if it was worth the $30.00 registration fee for Hayley. Especially when I prompted her to tell Jeremy what she did that day and she couldn't even remember...

Hopefully she'll remember this next week, since we are spending it in Lake Powell!! Woohoo!

See you in a week!

Guess Where We Went?

But this time, some friends met us there...
Thanks for such a fun day Josh, Jack, Lindsey, and Layla!
Anyone else up for some wild animals?

P.S. Sorry about the immodesty on that gorilla.

The Ramblings of a Teacher

About a year ago, I started taking classes to get my Reading Endorsement. I looked at it not only as something that would help me to be a better teacher, but also it would open up doors for me to possibly be a Literacy Facilitator, and possibly work part time. That door was pretty much all but closed this year, as they started phasing out the Literacy Facilitator job. I'm a little bitter. By the time I am done with my endorsement classes, the job that I had possibly wanted will very likely no longer exist. Oh, and BTW, in order to be endorsed, I also have to be part of the first group to have to take and pass a big ol' long Praxis test. Did I get told about this when I started my endorsement? No. Do I have to pay for the test? Yes. Do I even know what to study? Kind of, because we are the guinea pigs for the test. So, if I don't pass the first time, can I take it again? Yes. Will I have to pay for it again? You betcha.

Now, I'm not really a quitter at anything by nature, but I'm feeling a little screwed. I'm seriously tempted to just drop out of my classes halfway through. The other part of me says just tough it out, and suck it up. But I feel like I've been having to say that to myself a lot lately, especially regarding things about my profession. It doesn't usually get me down, and I can usually roll with the punches pretty well, but enough is enough.

I may just have to do something drastic.

P.S. Got an email as I was working on this post. Tuition per endorsement class is going up $40.00. Think that's an omen?

I need some ice cream.

Hayley, you've been holding out on us!

Hayley's been taking dance lessons for the last year at Jazzle Dazzle. She loves it. Can't get in the door quick enough, and often has to be convinced to leave. She had a kind of "practice performance" at Classic Skating Rink a couple weeks ago where she performed one of her dances. She did fine, and looked cute. I'll post the video here if Jeremy ever downloads it from his phone to the computer.

Then on Friday she had her Dance Concert at Cyprus High School. She was so excited to dance on the big stage. She got up there for her tap number, "Bibbity Bobbity Boo" and seriously started just busting out the moves. Not her own moves, but the actual steps from the dance. I've watched her a few times during class, and she hasn't done nearly that well. I know I may be biased, but she really did do a really good job!

(The first dance is in two parts, since longer videos have a hard time uploading from my camera.)





And a little bit of the jazz number, "Hey Baby!"



Considering how much she seems to love it, I was surprised when I asked her if she wanted to take a break or keep going to dance during the summer, she told me she wanted to take a break. That's okay, more time for swimming lessons!

Thirty and Ten

I turned the big 3-0 this past Tuesday. While that was lots of fun, I think some updates on Jackson are more fun to share. He turned ten months on Thursday. Here's some milestones he's achieving.

Saying "Mama" and cruising from the couch to his toy:



More Mama, two new teeth (that's eight total!), and a little bit of waving:



And about that bruise... Last weekend I called to make the kids an appointment to get pictures taken for the next day. Not five minutes later, Jackson pulled up on one of the barstools, cruised around the side, then realized he had nothing to hold onto, and fell and smacked his head on the corner of the counter on the way down. Poor kid. I called the picture people back and canceled. Within ten minutes of making the appointment. In the week since then, he's also scratched under his eye with the scratchy velcro part of a bib, and gotten a fat lip. I swear we watch him, he's just into everything and thinks he can do so much more than he is actually able to. What a boy!

Some Facts of Life

No parenting class prepared me for questions like this, that's for sure.

We passed by a cemetary on Memorial Day. It was beautiful, with flowers everywhere. Hayley asked me, "Mom, is that the Tulip Festival?"
Me: "No, Hayley, that's a cemetary."
Hayley: "What's a cem-en-tary?"
Me: "It's where they bury people's bodies after they die."
Hayley: "Bury them?"
Me: "Yeah, they put them in the ground."
Hayley: "Why are there so many flowers?"
Me: "Because it's a nice thing to do to tell people that you love them and you miss them."
Hayley: "Oh. That's nice."

A few minutes pass then, "Mom, how did Jesus make me?"
Me: "He kind of made you, and Mommy and Daddy kind of made you. But Jesus and Heavenly Father made Adam and Eve."
Hayley: "How?"
Me: "He made Adam out of mud, and he made Eve from part of Adam."
Hayley: (incredulously) Out of mud?!"
Me: "Yeah, like when you make things out of Play Doh."
Hayley: "But did he make me out of mud?"
Me: "No, Mommy and Daddy made you, and then you grew in Mommy's tummy. (Please don't ask for more details, please don't ask for more details) Then when you were born, Jesus and Heavenly Father sent your spirit to be together with your body, and make a Little Girl Hayley!"
Hayley: "And Jackson?"
Me: "Yep, same thing with Jackson. His spirit got sent down to make a Baby Jackson!"
Hayley: (after a while of quiet again) "Mom?"
Me: (almost afraid to respond) "Yeah?"
Hayley: Can I have a piece of gum?"
Me: (relieved) "Sure!" Finally, an easy question. Geez. Givin' it to her straight, but keeping it in four year old language was kind of exhausting! Hope I had my facts right.

He is a pretty sweet spirit!

May Faves

Favorite Color: Purple

Favorite Food: Oatmeal (This kid can polish off two packets and want more before I even finish a bowl of cereal!)
Favorite Treat: Fluff (Cotton Candy)
Favorite Friend: Sydnee
Favorite Thing to Do Inside: Play with beads (Or, it seems, any other small thing that Jackson could choke on...)
Favorite Thing to Do Outside: Go to the zoo
Favorite Thing About Jackson: Definitely not when he bit her (That's karma, eh?)
Least Favorite Thing to Do: Go to Time Out (and she's there a lot lately...)
Favorite Book: Friends for a Princess
Favorite Movie/Show: Sabrina the Teenage Witch cartoon
Funny Things She Says: "Okay, okay, okay." and "Just calm down Mom!"

Favorite Color: Baby Blue

Favorite Food: Gerber Maple and Cinnamon crunchies
Favorite Treat: Graham Crackers and Nilla Wafers
Favorite Friend: Hayley, since she's been a little gentler lately.
Favorite Thing to do Inside: Crawl!! (Okay, maybe that's Mom's fave to watch him do.)
Favorite Thing to Do Outside: Go on walks in the stroller

Favorite Thing about Hayley: Laying with her and Mom in Hayley's bed
Least Favorite Thing to Do: Being put in the crib to "play" because it probably means that he's going to pull up on the rail, and then fall and bang his head. (Do they make full top-to-bottom crib bumper pads?)
Favorite Book: The Elmo one with sound effects
Favorite Movie/Show: He'll watch Phinneas and Ferb pretty well. We're training him early.
Funny Things He Says: "Dada" AND "Mama!"