First First Day of School

It's official, A.J. is in Kindergarten. Whoa! I've been looking forward to this day as a chance for some mommy time and a chance for A.J. to learn and grow, but I don't think I was really prepared for this day.

It started yesterday when we went shoe shopping. In late June, I bought him some sandals and dressier casual shoes and I bought size 2 and they were plenty big. I figured it had only been two months and 2s would probably be about right. Wrong! He needed a size 3! I got a little emotional thinking that I was sending my baby to kindergarten in size 3 shoes! He is just getting so big!

I definitely wasn't prepared for the terror I felt sending him off through the kindergarten doors. When he started preschool, I was a little sad about the milestone. But preschool was a small, safe environment. Miss Kathy loved A.J. and it was easy for me to leave him at her home for a few hours a couple of days a week.

Kindergarten is huge! So many kids, so many outside influences on A.J. that I have no control over. (Uh oh! I sound like a control freak!) I've heard A.J.'s teacher is wonderful and just what he needs, but will she love A.J.? A.J. said he was going to tie me to his backpack so I had to go with him. I almost agreed, but didn't want to make a bad impression on the teacher the first day.

Hopefully, I am just a first time mom going through normal first day jitters. A.J. survived the day and even made three friends. When I picked him up from school, he was with a little boy who is about half his size. I asked A.J. later what his name was and he told me he didn't know but that he called him Buddy.

His teacher did say that he had a little trouble today and three time outs for goofing off and being silly when it was time for an activity. Hopefully he will settle down and get into the classroom routine quickly. Otherwise we'll be spending a lot of time with the principal I'm afraid over the next 13 years!

Summer Wrap Up

Yikes! Can't believe it has been six months since I last posted an update! So much for new year's resolutions.

But today is August 31. Pretty much the end of summer. So here are just a few snippets of what our summer has been like:

• Failed camping attempt: At the beginning of June, we tried to go camping at Crystal Hot Springs. We loaded up the car Friday midday and headed up. Pitched our tent, and hit the mineral pools. Then we roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. The only problem, we didn't plan for my allergies and A.J.'s cold. Saturday morning I woke up miserable, sneezing non stop and with itchy eyes and nose. And A.J. woke up with pink eye. We packed it up and headed home to find a doctor. So much for camping this summer!
  
  
• Work, work work: June was just a crazy month over all. James was working or traveling all the time. We were all glad when July rolled around and he was home more often.
  
  
• Just keep swimming: A.J. took three sessions of swim lessons this summer. He started out strong and passed level 1 with flying colors. Then his urge to goof off in the water took over and he still didn't pass level 2 after the second go around. But I feel strongly that he will keep taking lessons. I don't want to tell him he can't go to swim parties when he is 9 because he doesn't know how to swim.
  
  
• Raise those eyebrows: A.J. started physical therapy for his face. We've heard lots of good things about retraining the muscles to compensate for the nerve damage. We were blessed to find a great physical therapist who specialize in facial therapy right here in Salt Lake. (Even if A.J. is the youngest patient she has ever worked with). The next closest one is in Orange County, CA. So now we spend 10 minutes every day practicing smiling without closing his eye and sticking his tongue straight out.
  
  
• Cache Valley or Bust: At the end of June, A.J. and I got to go to Logan for the weekend for my cousin David's mission farewell. I love Cache Valley and it was great to spend time with my Aunt LeAnne and her family. I spent so much time with them when I was in college that I am closer to them than any of my other cousins. We took the Wii with us and introduced her family to the joys of Wii bowling, tennis, etc.
  
  
• Cubs is a bust: I finally had a total break down over the whole cub scout thing and ended up getting released. Still not entirely sure what I had to learn from the whole experience other than I am not cut out for cub scouts. But I did get to fill in a lot for the Primary Chorister this summer (which I love to do!) and I got called to teach Relief Society! I almost gave out a big "Woo Hoo" right in the bishop's office. It's one of my favorite callings and after the whole cubs fiasco, I feel like it really is a celestial vacation.
  
  
• B-W Adventure 2008 edition: It took a couple of tries and a whole lot of flexible planning, but we did manage to have a fun staycation with the Butlers this summer. They were suppose to come at the beginning of July but Darren hurt is back in a car accident so it turned into the end of July. We had big plans to go to Lagoon and Park City, but Darren's back was still giving him trouble, so we scaled back, but still managed to entertain the kids and the adults. Tera and I got to stamp and go shopping, the boys got to go to the movies and we took the kids to the Children's Museum and Liberty Park. We are lucky to have them for our friends and adventure buddies!
  
  
• July=swapping, convention style: Since Stampin' Up is located right here in Riverton, UT, they held their 20th Anniversary Convention in Salt Lake City the end of July/beginning of August. That means that I got to go! (I never would have gone if I had to pay for airfare and a hotel room). But I got a little carried away signing up for organized swaps through Split Coast Stampers and spent most of July (and June for that matter) making over 300 swap items. But convention was awesome! I got to meet some of my "virtual" friends and I learned that I am not the craziest person when it comes to stamping either. There were 7000 others just like me (dare I say some are even crazier?) all crammed into the Salt Palace! And I came away with lots of good ideas and things I wanted to buy. But it also inspired me to keep my business going. I am looking forward to next year, but I won't sign up for soooooo many swaps this time either. Here's a picture of my friends Amy and Amanda from Boise and Angie from North Carolina and me at convention:
  
  
• Watch for him in 2028: We watched the Olympics religiously. It brought back so many memories of our own Salt Lake Olympics. We cheered when Michael Phelps won the gold by a fingernail and when the Redeem team lived up to their hype. A.J. can't wait until 2028 when he is going to win a gold medal in Volleyball, Basketball, Swimming, Diving, and Running. I told him he better start eating his vegetables.
  
  
• August is a blur: I just asked James what we've been doing for the past month and neither of us can remember. So must be a whole lot of nothing. Actually, James spent a week working a special enforcement and then spent two weeks in Virginia. A.J. entertained himself by playing with matches and dialing 9-1-1 (not on the same day, and not related.) The new Stampin' Up Catalog came out and I signed up for a few more swaps through the mail. (Don't worry, I am a card carrying member of SA (Swappers Anonymous)).
  

Too bad I didn't take more pictures this summer. Not sure what that was all about. And now things we are looking forward to in the next few months:

• 51 weeks and counting til first grade: A.J. starts Kindergarten on Tuesday! I know I will be sad for a few minutes but then I will enjoy it and start counting down til he's in school all day!
  
  
• They are really letting him represent the USA?: James is off to El Salvador in a few weeks to do some training. He said to me yesterday, "Can you believe they are really sending me to El Salvador to represent the United States?" I said, "Why not, the LDS Church sent you to Canada as a representative when you were 19!" First he is going to a golf resort in Scottsdale for a "conference." (Did I really type that. Sorry that is just what I was thinking.)
  
  
• Cousins: My brother Hyrum and his family are coming to visit in just a few weeks. A.J. doesn't get to see his cousins too much so we are looking forward to seeing them while they are here.
  
  
• A Date with Mickey: we started out planning a trip to San Diego for October, but we just couldn't get the flights right into San Diego. But we could get perfect flights into Orange County, and they were offering amazing deals at the Disneyland Hotel so we took that as a sign. We will still be going to San Diego, but making a little stop at the happiest place on earth first. Can't wait!
  
  
• PJ's Cozy Creations is back: That's right, my neighbor Jen and I are going to start gearing up for our holiday boutique.

Once again I will try to update a little more often. That is if anyone is still reading this.

Shiver Me Timbers!

Tomorrow is A.J.'s fifth birthday. To celebrate, we had six of his closest friends over for a Pirate Party yesterday. It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun! I found the directions for a great pirate cake at familyfun.com and had to make some modifications so that I could make it work. But I think it turned out really cute. Not professional for sure, but fun nonetheless.I fashioned A.J. a DI pirate costume and our neighbor Jen made some balloon swords. A few extra pirate accessories from the party store rounded out the costumes. We played Parrot, Parrot, Pirate (think Duck, Duck, Goose) and Musical Islands (musical chairs with hoola hoops instead of chairs) and we had a treasure hunt. And of course, in A.J.'s opinion it's not a birthday party if there is no pinata involved. Here's our little swashbucklers ready for battle:I wish I had a picture of the invitation. I still have to get one of those. It was a message in a bottle. Really A.J. had no choice but to have a pirate party. Once I bought the Ahoy Matey set from Stampin' Up last fall, I knew he had to have this party so I could use the set. I'm just glad I was able to convince him it was his idea!

Legacy

I just returned from St. George, Utah. The good news is I got to see all my mom's extended family, some I haven't seen in years. The bad news is we were all there to pay our final respects to Grandpa Mac. He passed away on February 2 at 90 years of age. We've been expecting it for weeks, if not months so it was no huge surprise, but it is still hard to go through it. The hardest part has been watching my mom and aunts and uncles go through it all.

During the funeral, my mom and her siblings each talk about their father and all that he accomplished in his life. In addition to his role as father and grandfather and great-grandfather, he was a professor of agronomy, a scout master, a bishop, a stake president, a mission president and a master gardener. He set the bar high and he expected a lot from his students, his scouts, his missionaries, his ward and stake members and his family. But he was very proud of everyone's accomplishments too. You could tell by how far he would travel to see one of his grandchildren receive an award or get baptized or even just perform in a play or a recital. That also showed his deep love for each of us. He loved the outdoors and wanted to share that love with all of us. And you never had to wonder if Grandpa had a testimony because he lived it every day of his life.

Some of the things I remember about grandpa include the anticipation of a visit from him and grandma and how he would play the "banjo" on us as kids and rubbing his whiskers on our faces. I have fond memories of visiting Yellowstone, Zions, Snow Canyon and many other beautiful places with him as our guide always pointing out the vegetation during the day and the stars at night. I remember how emotional he became when he talked about his family and his testimony, especially in the past several years.

I call all these things Grandpa's Legacy. I watched my own brother lead us on a hike in Snow Canyon this weekend and point out things to my son that I had over looked. I see my parents travel to be there for all of their grandkids important events. I find myself emotional when I talk about my family and my love of the Savior too. All of us following his legacy.

And it has made me wonder what legacy I am building for my family. What will A.J. remember about me? Today he thinks I am mean because he's been in trouble most of the day. But will he know of my testimony and my convictions?

I guess the point of all of this is to live today as you will want to be remembered when you are no longer around. That is our legacy.

In Tribute: President Gordon B. Hinckley 1910-2008

It's a sad day for members and friends of the LDS faith. Our beloved prophet, President Hinckley passed away last evening.

I don't know what I can add to the tributes that have been and will be paid to him in the next few days and weeks. He was an amazing man who led the LDS church through unprecedented growth and helped it shine bright in the spotlight. Whether he was touring the world dedicating one of the numerous temples he oversaw the construction of, or on Larry King Live or 60 Minutes, you could feel his love for the Savior, for the Gospel and for all it's members, as well as his love and concern for all humankind. He will be greatly missed.

I guess I shouldn't have been surprised by his passing. After all, he was 97 years old. But in some ways I thought he would live for several years to come. His strength seemed to continue into his final days and weeks. Just three weeks ago, he offered the dedicatory prayer for the newly remodeled State Capitol building. While he carried a cane, he was also known to wave it to crowds instead of actually using it to walk.

He will be greatly missed, but it is comforting to know he is with his wife and other family members who passed before him. And it is comforting to know that the great work of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will continue under a new prophet as it always does.