ART WEEK

We have had a sick week here at the house so we put the academics aside and did a little art. I don't feel bad putting things aside for fun and creative stuff as I am the type who over works the kids at times and they are always ahead so I can do that. And besides.... I am the teacher! :) The girls recently got magnifying glasses so we did an art project that is MAGNIFIED. It came out pretty cool. We first looked at things thru the lens and saw the detail and how much larger items became. So, we created it with that.

Kayla did this one

Shae is my super creative child.

She created this non-objective piece of art.

And on the computer she used her computer skills and created these pieces of artwork. And she used her typing skills. Love that silly dude she made. Watch out as you may get it in the mail one day as a card.

So, finally the girls felt better today and we studied how school was in the Colonial Days. Here pictured is Shae creating a hornbook. Which is the first book a colonial child learned to read from. It was not actually a book at all. It was a reading lesson placed on a piece of wood with a thin sheet of animal horn which you would see through..

So, I guess I lied! We did wrap things up educationally.

Already thinking about next school year

It is totally my type "A" personality ... but I am already looking at what curriculum I have and what I will need for next school year. How exciting for us to have this wonderful opportunity to school at home. This is most of Kayla's third grade curriculum for next year. I still have a few things to get but that isn't bad. And same goes for Shae's school books. She will be in first grade next year and I am glad to be schooling her as I am seeing all the wonderful progress that she and I have made.

I have to say that watching the news about all the educational budget cuts makes me more and more proud of what we do. I don't have to cut anything! My kids won't be doing without or crammed into a room with 60 kids.

I feel for the state education and their budget but Arizona is already ranked number 49 out of 50. That is a JOKE!! That isn't anything to be proud of. The state should be adding money to their already crappy education system not taking away. I feel sorry for the teachers who will have to face these new challenges but I also commend them for what they do.

I have some people tell me that their school is rated "excelling".... and my thought is ... "excelling is great but with our low state standards that doesn't say much and does not impress me at all!"

For my friends who have kids in school I hope the state changes their mind in what funds are cut.

Excitement!

Well, Kayla had her second basketball game yesterday. It was a tough game and very intense. Some of the kids that we play against are HUGE! Anyway, Kayla got blasted in the face by the ball and I held my breath and to my surprise she kept playing. She toughed it out and finished the quarter and then came to me and cried. She was so sweet and trying to hold in her tears. I told her that it was okay to cry and that it does hurt when the ball hits you square in the nose. We were so proud of her as the coach asked her to come back in after she rested a quarter and she played hard ball. I thought for sure she would either not go in or play very timid and she didn't. Way to stick it out Kayla!

On another note.... we had our first showing this am. Yes, on a Sunday! Here we are chillin out and the girls weren't feeling well and we had stuff out all over the place and the phone rings. It was our Realtor "Kim Tate" telling me that we have a showing at noon. CRAP! It was now 11am. Boy... did I hang up that phone fast and Tom and I and the girls went in "freak out mode." We went from jammies and chillin to Molly Maid tripped out! We got the house spotless and left quickly with 3 minutes to spare. So, now we see what they thought. ha,ha,ha! I hate selling my house!

BEAUTIFUL WEATHER

The weather lately has been just beautiful! We have been spending lots of time out doors enjoying every minute of it. It seems so weird ... "Where is WINTER?" But that is okay by me... but not for S. She is my Winter girl and wished it snowed everyday and K is my Fall girl. Neither of them like it too hot but they do like the sunshine.
We even played a little hoops this afternoon as well.

It's Official!!!

Finally, we took the plunge and hired a agent to "Officially" list our house for sale. It has been a tough decision due to the darn commission issue.

But it is a MUST do right now.

Yes, we love out house but we have realized that you can't just love a house as it is just a house.

Although.... you can LOVE the payment of a house which we DO NOT!

It is time to move on and we have re-evaluated our life and priorities. Not exactly sure of all of them but we do know that we don't want to spend most of our (Tom's) hard earned money on a house payment.

So, cheers as the sign was inserted into the ground this week. Bring on a buyer PLEASE!!

At least within 9 months. I will be happy with that!

Where from there? Do you ask..... we are not sure as of yet but it will be in a cheaper home that we are okay with and have more time and money for fun!

GAME TIME

K had her first game. She was pretty nervous and it showed during the first quarter. But then she got her confidence up and played like a champ.

Of course she had a HUGE kid to guard but did it well!

She really loves this game!!

We have 3 great coaches and we are luckily that if anyone gets hurt .... all 3 of them are doctors.

YAHOO!!!

Nie is back!!! YAHOO!!!! How I have missed her posts about her life and how she survived a plane crash along side her husband. Welcome back Nie Nie!!

Let's try something new today... Knitting!

So, K has been asking about knitting lately. Yes, knitting! So, while we were at our neighbors house selling Girl Scout cookies the other day .....I asked if she knew how to knit and if she could teach K. She said that she is really a quilter but has a knitting loom for a beanie hat and she kindly passed it along to me to read the directions and figure it out myself. And I did just that! The girls were so excited. S started a beanie for one of her babies and K started one for herself.


And they knitted and knitted for hours.



And knitted some more outside on this beautiful day.

Five hours later S finished her baby hat. She was so proud of her self and did a awesome job. Now we are making those cute pom poms that go on top.

And since K's loom was twice the size of the baby one...... she finished her hat the next day.

On another note ... Monday was the girls pinning ceremony at Girl Scouts and they got their earned patches. Now off to selling cookies. AUGH!!!

The Good Ol' Days

I recently hooked up with some old friends (more like 20 years ago friends)... friends from back in high school in the 80's. It got me thinking of the Good Ol' Days. Back in the days of Tuff Tiff and Trish Skwish and the "low rider" gang (you know who you are). What fun that was. And in case you were wondering.... that photo is NOT me!! I wish that were me!! ha,ha,ha!
It just inspired me to think back when I was in awesome shape and raced jet skis and played volleyball for the college and skateboarded around Mesa and of course snowboarded and roller bladed at the "Wedge" in Scottsdale in the bowls. How cool was that when you look back and think about everything.

The cruising CENTRAL PHX and daring ourselves to go to the south side and did and about pooped our pants doing that. My car as HOT as could be back in those days. Literally with HOT seats, hood and entire stereo. Just nuts! I will never forget the time my girls and I got pulled over cruising north central phx and I couldn't find a place to pull over ..... as my car was soooooooooooooooooo lowered back then with NO coils in it........that I would get stuck on anything. By the time I found a spot (note to self!!! pull over immediately and don't drive around picking and choosing a spot) a patty wagon and cops surrounded us. It was all because my license plate had pink paint on it. (You will see in days to come so keep checking the blog)

I can't believe we are around today and with children!

Until next time.................. pictures from the past will be here. So watch out buddies of mine from the past. You may be on my blog!!!

Hurray for Big K!

K has started her first organized sport. She is mostly my dancing queen so this came to a surprise to us. She has mentioned basketball for several months and asked for a ball for her birthday and got it. We then signed her up not mentioning the "co-ed" team. tee,hee,hee!

She had her first practice this week and did AWESOME! She is a great dribbler and has a physician for a coach who is pretty hard core serious (which worried me a bit) but luckily his main focus is not points and for the kids to have fun. I will update as her games start up. I just hope the pictures turn out as inside the gym.... pics are tough with lighting.

On another note: Just yesterday we noticed a burn (must be controlled) and as we were out on our way to the library it was right there behind Home Depot. It was kind of amazing and funny at the same time. People were just parking and going shopping like the hill behind them wasn't in flames. ha,ha,ha!
Anyway, here is a still photo I captured from it.

Girls Togetherness

— to·geth·er·ness noun
Togetherness is the feeling of being close to another person emotionally and physically ~ with each other

~What a nice day the girls and I had together with the other ladies in the family. And what a pleasant surprise to have lil great grams come along with Bam Bam.

We had a wonderful time playing at the park in Anthem then meet up with Aunt Judi for a fabulous italian lunch with candles and white table cloths. The girls thought it was "fancy."

The girls and I have this ritual of going to the local gourmet donut shop every time we are in Anthem. Oh how the donuts melt in your mouth. They are the perfect combination between Krispy Creme and Dunkin Donuts. Yum, Yum!!

Times come and go but these moments are nice to have.

Happy New Year

We celebrated the New Year in Prescott Valley and they had the LARGEST BONFIRE I had ever seen.But it was warm and cozy!



We roasted marshmallows and made SMORES. Accept Shae ate her marshmallows before she could roast them. :)

Their favorite thing to do at one of these events. And they got busted for going down together. "But we are sisters," they said.

The girls wanted a camp out............... so what a perfect night to do so. If anyone knows me.... I am not one for camping and it was a bit cold so we put up the tent inside and camped out with glow sticks.

They have been begging to go ice skating so they got it!
And they loved it!

We discovered that Kayla is VERY flexible and told us that she could touch her nose with her feet. So, I said "show me!"

Our family and we love them all!

We don't get to see them as often as we would like but when we do we love it!

Happy New Year everyone!