Week #6: Cupcakes from Yokes!

This Week...

...the Mustang PTO bought cupcakes for the school staff. My board just felt that we wanted to let the staff know how much we appreciate them. What a better way to do that than with a surprise of gourmet cupcakes. One of my board members had tried cupcakes from the Yoke's bakery and she recommended them. They turned out looking so yummy and tasting it too! I was in at the school later that day, and so many teachers were asking where the cupcakes came from. They couldn't believe it when I said, "Yoke's!" The cupcakes were a big hit. 

...I met my sister-in-law, Julie Marie, for lunch. We went to Frost Me Sweet. She had never been there and I really didn't mind going again. I like there Margarita Panini - tomato, basil, and mozzarella baby! I got there a little early and enjoyed some time reading in the sun. We had good food and a great time catching up. I've learned that it's so easy for people to grow apart. If you want to stay close, you have to make an effort. 

...the kids helped with copying of flyers and putting them in teacher boxes. Naya Wahler, PTO board member, and I were making copies, but didn't get done before the end of school. So we just had our kids meet us in the lounge. They helped us count out the flyers for the classes. They were diligent in watching the flyers spit out of the copier. They thought they were so cool to be in the teacher's lounge. Ooooh!

...we surprised Paul with McDonald's at school . He recieved an award for Respect. The award was voted on by his peers.

...Emma had her winter orchestra concert at school. She sat by her good friend Zoey Orton. I'm glad that Emma has this chance to learn and develop her talent on the violin.

...time in the temple is never wasted. Here's a quote from President Hinckley about temple attendance. I believe it whole-heartedly.

...Jason and I went out to lunch at Hacienda del Sol. We splurged and got fried ice cream for dessert. It's so good and not many places offer it on their dessert menu. 

...Paul and Claire got giant gumballs from the Dollar store. Oh the joys of the Dollar Store.

...the kids made boxes for Valentine's cards at school. Lainey made a really cute owl, but didn't get to use it this year. The other three came up with their own ideas.

...the PTO sold bubble grams at school for Valentine's Day. The kids could purchase the bubbles and send a message to a friend or teacher. These two grams from Hector were so sweet. You can never have too much love, even if it comes from yourself.

...Lainey's class did a Valentine's celebration. Jason and I stopped in to see Lainey and help a little with activities. Mrs. Santo and Mrs. Hendrix were more than happy to model the wacky face Valentine's they received from a student. I walked by the fourth grade classes on an errand and saw evidence of their Valentine party already ended. They left their empty Capri Sun boxes and cookie containers in the hall.

...I worked at the Mustang Market Friday morning. There were so many kids wanting to check things out. Naya, Kayla, Christie, and I manned the table.

...we planted a ton-o-bulbs out front. We bought some tulip and daffodil bulbs from Costco in the fall. The kids had a blast planting them around the trees. We can't wait for them to come up in the spring.

...we played a little guessing game after our PTO meeting. Naya had put out all of these water bottles in preparation. We knew we wouldn't necessarily use them all, but we joked about our extreme optimism at the number of attendees. After our few numbers came, I decided to see if anyone could guess how many were actually there. We had five board members, two principals, one parent and one fifth grader.

Week #5: The Building Begins

This Week...

...a little inspiration goes a long way. I stole this from a Facebook post by Leslie, our realtor. She finds such great quotes.

...the building begins. We are working on a work bench for the garage. We? Really? Ok, I mean he is working on the work bench. I'm just support. He had to start with the work bench and organize all his tools, so that he can actually work on building things for the house. Our list is as follows: a little board and batten wall in the kids' bathroom with five hooks for towels (right now we have one towel bar and that is just not enough), built-ins in the family room around the TV, built-ins in the office, built-in bench/cubby organizer for mudroom. I'm sure there's more...garden boxes for outside...I'll come up with more. ;) Don't worry!

...the Three Musketeers helped me count out fliers for PTO. I happened to be copying late in the day when school got out. They were thrilled to be in the teacher's lounge. Ooooohh!

...Lainey's friend Mallory Hull came over to play. They had a breakfast picnic for lunch. They were the cutest little picnic-ers who ever ate in our kitchen. Lainey was in heaven and we were pretty excited too! We love having Mallory come over.

...Emma walks to her bus stop. Since Emma goes to a different school than the other kids, she gets to ride the bus. We live closer to McGee now and so I have to drop off and pick up the four younger kids. Luckily Emma's bus stop is just down at the corner.

...we came back from a date and found the kids all cuddled up together watching a show. It was so cute to me that I had to get a picture.

...Lainey made a K'nex star. K'nex forever!

Week #4: Goodbye Providence Lane

This Week...

...we had a visiting teaching get together. When we found out that the friend that my companion and I go to actually visits my companion, we decided to have a little gathering. It was super fun! We don't always get to take the time to visit with such a small group, or visit at all. The Bishop's wife came because she overheard us talking about what a great party it would be. I love that Visiting Teaching pairs us with sisters that we wouldn't otherwise get a chance to meet. Oft times, that's when the greatest of bonds are formed.

...the old house is empty and clean, ready for a new owner. I'm so sad to leave behind all of Jason's built ins. 

...we used our old garage, that is now empty, to paint the bunk bed sets before we put them up in the new house. Jason had the great idea hit him at 2:00 am when he rolled over to check the night stand for his retainers. We couldn't find them after the move and it was driving us both crazy! Him because his back up pair were hurting his mouth and me because I felt bad that I hadn't kept track of them. So really he had two great ideas, one about the retainers because we found them and two about the beds because it was a great way to paint them. The next day we hauled the bed frame parts with the paint sprayer back up to the old house and set up a gigantic paint booth. He also sprayed the kids' book boxes. Great idea! You don't always control when great ideas hit you. Haha!

...I took the kids to math night at the school. I let them run around to all the stations by themselves and I stood at the PTO table with my PTO board. I tell you, talking to people about PTO is like being a salesman. You have to be willing to start up the conversation and sell your product. In our case, it's volunteering!

...our neighbor Francis brought us a blueberry coffee bundt cake. It was so delicious! How sweet of her to welcome us to our new house and the neighborhood.

...I did a little Winco shopping. This is seriously one of my favorite aisles at the store. Look at all those cookie options! This is where dreams are made.

...we had the Pinewood Derby! Three cheers for the Pinewood Derby! Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray! Brother Empey took care of the track and started the races. Peyton Greenhalgh, Jackson Mackay, and Paul were the first, second, and third place winners.

...Emma went with the young women on an overnight winter retreat. She was really nervous at first. She ended up having the best time ever. They played games and went sledding. She has great leaders so I knew she was in good hands.

Week #3: Move It On Out!

This Week...

...our kids had their last trip to school on the bus. I'm glad that Lainey got that experience for the first half of the year. She was looking forward to that so much. We had great times at the bus stop before and after school. It was great to socialize with the other parents and grandparents.

...we moved! Our new house got done a week early and our realtor surprised us on Thursday with an early move date. "Can you be out of your house by Monday?" she asked. We were floored, but ready to take the challenge. After all, that is how we roll! My mom had come at the beginning of the week to help me pack. Once she got here, we both got sick with terrible head colds. Our packing had been intermittent at best. Wednesday night, we got some energy and started packing the kitchen. I kept feeling like we should just pack all the dishes and food storage and make do for the last week and a half. When the call came to move, I wasn't too worried because we had listened to that nagging feeling I had to just pack up the kitchen and be done. This is our house when we found out we'd be moving early...

Friday morning we had our walk through with Brett. He had a binder put together of contact information for all of the subs in case we needed to have any work done, along with all the manuals for our appliances and systems in the new house. Leslie met us there and brought us a beautiful flower arrangement. She didn't stay long, but long enough to request the name of the paint color in the office. Jason really does know how to pick paint. :) Brett handed us the keys to the house, shook our hands, and it was ours!

After the walk through, we started moving all of the loose stuff down in the van. We took three or four loads - clothes, food, kitchen items, vinyl, office boxes, picture frames and decorations, kid's boxes, toys, dvds, and whatever else we could cram in there. It was nice to have that time before everyone showed up to move the major stuff. We got the moving van set up for the next morning.

Saturday morning we had men from the ward show up to help us move. There were two groups of guys that helped. Some came early and helped for a little and some showed up a little later and helped finish off the job. It was so nice that so many could come on such short notice. We started at 9:30 am and got done by 2:00 pm. It went so nicely. Now we just have to put everything away. Hahahaha!

Aaron and Spencer Greenhalgh, Mike Votaw, Ken Luke, Chad King, Royce Barney, Tyson Chapman, Jason!, Derick Chapman, John Hamilton

Elder Cordon, Elder Whiting, Ken Luke, Tyson Chapman, Derick Chapman, Royce Barney, Mike Votaw, Jason!, Jared Gilbert, Darryl Levy, Chad King

And of course, who cares about all the boxes and mess. The most important thing to do in the new house is to play the piano. Emma has her priorities straight.

...we had our duct tape assembly at the school. We ran a fundraiser where the kids brought in loose change to duct tape a staff member to the wall. Their choices were the Principal, Mrs. Lechelt-Polster, the Counselor, Mrs. Amaya, or the Music Teacher, Mr. Kruse. I was so grateful that all three staff members were willing to participate. They did this in Mattawa at my sister Cherice's school with great results. So I knew we definitely wanted to do it at our school. Everyone loves the music teacher. Mr. Kruse is so great with the kids. He's willing to get goofy, but also gets the kids to participate. We knew he was the favorite to win from the get go, and win he did! The noise level in that gymnasium throughout the whole process was intense. It was a little too much for quite a few kids.

...the Wolf Cubs made arm pit fudge. And it's pretty safe to say that none of them ate any of it.

...Emma and I went to her school for the Layers of Love mother/daughter event. We hurried in, chose a Seahawk print fleece blanket, and got to work. We weren't there long, but had a good time making a blanket together.