Halloween

Around here Halloween seems to last forever as we have lots of events going on. We started the weekend before Halloween at the ward trunk or treat. It was a good test to see how the kid's costumes would work out.

Since Gracie wanted to be a witch and Benny wanted to be lion we decided why not go for the Wizard of Oz theme with everyone else? I was able to find a brand new witch costume for Gracie and a cute little Dorothy costume for Ruby at the consignment sale. It fit Ruby perfectly and had all of the accessories including the bows, basket, and ruby red slippers. I bought Benny's lion costume on a classifieds page for $5. 

I had to make Jack a tin man costume which I thought would be an easy task as I looked at tutorials online. It ended up being more of a labor of love than I thought. I was glad that I didn't have to make any other costumes because his took enough time for 4 costumes. I think he really liked it though.

Haken, being the preteen that he is, refused to be the scarecrow. The day of the trunk or treat he came up with his own costume. Of course, he was his favorite Cubs player, Jake Arrietta. He doesn't play for the cubs anymore, but he still loves him. This is the night of the trunk or treat. Shad helped draw on his beard. I think I see a resemblance here:

I had to get a picture of his beard after he came home from trick or treating/ party with his friends. He did the beard on his own and he said "the more I started drawing it on the worse it got." We were laughing pretty hard about the way it looked.

The ward trunk or treat was a lot of fun. I didn't get many pictures as we were just trying to enjoy the time together...and I'm just too tired lately. 

The funniest thing about the night was Ruby's reaction to all of the face painting. She was absolutely terrified of all of the kids because they all had their faces painted. She kept saying "Haken scawee." In the car, we couldn't get her to remove her basket from her face.

She was also a little apprehensive to even stand by any of her siblings. We had to catch this picture really quick before she ran off. The kids got LOADS of candy at the trunk or treat. We had lots of chili at the cookoff and I didn't eat a single piece of candy or treats. I am trying to be really good. My blood sugar was still high that night, probably from the chili and cornbread.

The FHE before Halloween we carved pumpkins. I learned the hard way that I really should have bought Benny his own pumpkin too. Next year I will make sure we have one just for him. I just didn't want to be carving that many pumpkins! I think he still had fun though. Ruby just liked hanging out with everyone.

The pumpkin he got from the pumpkin patch a week earlier just didn't cut it.

Halloween wouldn't be complete with a lot of parties at school. 

Gracie's class. She is on the back row on the end of the left side.

Jack's class on Halloween. He is in the back row in the middle. The most adorable tin man.

I went to Jack's class Halloween party and helped. In one game he wrapped his friend as a mummy.

Jack was the cutest little tin man in the storybook parade

Gracie walked so fast I didn't get a picture of her on the storybook parade but I got a quick video. 

Halloween night was a success. The kids went around our neighborhood. Finn and Monica came with us. Haken was with his friends getting all of the big houses and hanging out. I love that the village of Mahomet limits trick or treating to the hours of 6-9pm. So much nicer as a parent, especially on a school night.

 It was a little bit chilly so we opted to put Ruby in the chicken costume that we had. She was the cutest little chicken I have ever seen. Benny decided to be a superhero and wear the new mask that grandma sent in the mail.

Ruby really got the hang of saying "trick or treat" at every house. She was always so polite and said "dant you." I think it was my favorite part of the night.

Haken is student of the month!

Pretty proud of this kid. He is such a great student and he deserved every bit of this recognition as student of the month (October) for the 6th grade. 

His teacher emailed me and told me about the assembly but told me not to tell Haken. Shad was out of town but I went with Benny and Ruby. I think when Haken saw me he knew that something was up. It was really fun to surprise him. 

He is not only a good student but he is a good friend and nice to everyone. 

We are really super proud of him. 

Back to School...

We had a good start this school year. I actually have felt pretty on top of things. I think a lot of this is due to the fact that we are making our lunches the night before, getting up and doing scriptures first, and laying out clothes for the next day. I also think that the kids are just overall more independent than they were last year. 

However, we didn't get first day of school pictures until the 3rd week of school. They actually started on August 17th. We had a few sicknesses which delayed the pictures and Shad has been observing classes in the morning like crazy trying to get ready for the twins to come. 

When I look at these pictures I can't believe how old they all look!

 Benny is loving preschool. His teachers are Mrs. Buckius and Mrs. Claus. He had no reservations about going again this year. He jumped right in no problem. He qualified for the early intervention preschool at Middletown so he is in the same building as Jack and Gracie. He rides the bus everyday and loves it. They pick him up right in front of our house and drop him off again. It really has been a huge blessing for me, especially looking forward to having the babies in a few months.

Gracie's teacher this year is Mrs. Wade. She decided she didn't want the same teacher so she could start all over, although she did like Mrs. Krumwiede who she had for a week. Boy am I glad that I listened to the spirit and pulled Gracie out of Kindergarten last year! I can't believe the difference from one year to the next! Last year I felt like I was dragging her out of bed half asleep. I had to physically dress her to have her ready on time. It was a struggle every morning. This year she is up, gets dressed on her own, and is ready 10 minutes before the bus even comes. She has been a little bit grouchy when she comes home, especially towards the end of the week, but I think that is to be expected from any kindergartener.

Jack is in 2nd grade this year and has Mrs. Benedict. He gets to be the first class of 2nd graders at the new Middletown Elementary. He feels like a pretty big kid as he is now the oldest in the school. I think he really likes seeing Gracie and Benny there occasionally too. The biggest adjustment this year has been trying to stay on top of homework which he hasn't had much of before. I think we will eventually get into a new habit. He has been doing great in math and spelling and really likes the kids in his class.

Haken is in 6th grade and starting Jr. High! I can't believe that we are starting that era already! I think he has really liked his new found freedoms. He rides his bike to school twice a week. Of course he can only do it on the days that he doesn't have band and has to take his French horn with him. He is super independent and is getting into some extra curricular activities like the journalism club and science olympiad. I never have to remind him of homework as he stays on top of it on his own. He has established a pretty close group of friends that love to hang out and text each other. As of now the texts just go to my phone but we are realizing that he may need a phone in the next few years although he isn't pushing for that yet.

Couldn't forget miss Ruby. She is our little sunshine and has loved hanging out with mom all day. I think she really enjoys the time that she gets to spend alone in the mornings with me. I also really enjoy only having one for a few hours. She loves getting out of the house and running errands with me. I'm trying to live it up as I know that this will be the last time that I will only have one in the house with me. She really has been a perfect little toddler and entertains herself without a problem. However, when Benny gets home from school she is pretty moody. Their relationship is such an interesting one as they either love each other or can't stand each other. They both still take great afternoon naps though, so that really has been my sanity throughout this pregnancy.

Redo

It's 4:00 in the morning and I can't sleep. I think it's because I have a million things running through my head. I'm writing this so I can organize my thoughts and remember the feelings that I am having. Let me go back to Tuesday.

It was the 3rd day of school. Really the 2nd day for Gracie because we took her out Monday for the eclipse. She came home from school and talked about how fun it was and she really liked her teacher etc etc. That night after she went to bed I looked in her take home folder. Inside was a little paper with a stoplight on it. These are used in her classroom to let the parent know how your child did that day. Gracie had 2 green lights colored in and one yellow with the words "listening and following directions". I wasn't too surprised by her getting a yellow light for this at school because I feel like it is something she has also been struggling with at home. However, looking at that paper made me stop and think "is she really ready for kindergarten? Is she really ready to start 12+ years of continuous education?"

I never had these thoughts with my boys starting school. They were R E A D Y to go in every aspect. Reading already, making friends, just in general mature enough to tackle the game of school.

Just a day earlier I had made the comment to Shad that I had never really played make believe with Gracie. He said "really? Her make believe stories are the best. She is hilarious." I had heard her play all the time but I didn't actively play with her. I'm sure it was mommy guilt but I just couldn't shake feeling like I had really missed out on something that I would never have an opportunity to redeem. I mean she was at school or on the bus for 8 hours a day. When were we ever going to be able to fit some make believe time in again? The start of kindergarten is a new era. Everything changes. She is now expected to be a big kid. She has less time for play. When she gets home she has an hour to run around and do what she wants and then it is dinner and bedtime only so we can start all over again the next morning.

Wednesday morning I pulled her out of bed. In a dead sleep. Again. She has to catch the bus at 7:45am so we are up by 6:45am to get her out on time. Every morning she would be clinging to her blankie as I carried her tiredly downstairs after getting her dressed in a dazed stuper (which was actually kind of nice because I could dress her in whatever I wanted. That never happens). I wondered if we would actually have to do this every. Single. Morning. For the next 100+ days of kindergarten. It seemed daunting to me. That morning I sent her out to the kindergarten bus and she got on. Alone. It made my heart hurt a little knowing that all of her neighborhood friends were a year behind her and there wasn't anything I could do about it.

I came back in the house and started wondering if there really was something I could do about it. Why couldn't I delay her kindergarten year? Why am I pushing her onto the bus every morning, packing her a lunch she struggles to eat because there isn't enough time, and dealing with her emotional tired blow ups everyday after school? I played around in my mind with the thought of her having one more year with me. I felt sick about it. I didn't know if I could handle it. The thought had never crossed me before. I had gotten so used to the idea of her starting kindergarten in 2017. She is 5 and although she has a June birthday, and is a small little peanut, her preschool teachers assured me that she was ready for kindergarten. So I sent her. That is what you do at 5 yrs old. She would be one of the youngest in her class making her the last to date and drive. With all of these thoughts I just kept feeling like I was making a terrible mistake. I wondered if it was too late to fix it.

I started sending out some emails; to her old preschool to see if there were spots left and to her kindergarten teacher to see what she thought. Of course her preschool was full which was a little sad because that is where all of her friends would be. She only has one friend who started kindergarten with her his year, all of the rest of her friends would be starting next year. For some reason she really gravitates to those that are younger than her (probably due to the fact that they are her size and they don't mind her bossing them around).  I talked to Shad about it and he supported me 100% and agreed that it would be worth exploring. I talked to my mom and got her take on it, and talked to some of my best friends. Everything made sense to pull her out when I talked it through with others. She just wasn't ready.

As I was talking to my mom I got the thought to look into gymnastics for Gracie. She has always wanted to do gymnastics but it has always been too expensive and time consuming to do in addition to preschool. But. If I did it in place of preschool... I looked online and found a class three days a week in the mornings. Perfect. Expensive, but doable. That was my alternative preschool. She just needed a time to play. She needed one more year to be a kid.

 I talked to her teacher Friday afternoon who said she could go either way. She could succeed in kindergarten but she could also benefit from being held back. I talked to her principal last night,who actually agreed that there are benefits to holding kids back that don't seem ready. She commended me in listening to my gut and going with it because this is a big decision that has to be made now. Once she finishes kindergarten she can not go back, at least not for this reason alone.

We had put off doing father's blessings for school for lots of reasons. Life just didn't slow down for a while. After church we decided Shad would give all of the kids blessings. I fasted all day to help me feel at peace with this decision. To make sure it really was the right one and to help the spirit confirm it to Gracie as well. Before Gracie had her blessing we pulled her aside and talked about what we wanted to do. Her reply was "oh good, then I can stay home with my blankie". Yes little girl, you can stay home with your blankie, and play dollys, and play dough, and read books, AND play make believe with mommy. She was not mad, or sad, she was relieved. She was not ready for kindergarten. When we told her about the possibility of gymnastics she squealed with joy. I had a sigh of relief.

So here I am Monday morning. This school year will be different than I had anticipated. I will have three at home again instead of the two I was planning on. Even though that makes my life harder, I am so grateful that is the way it will be. I feel like the Lord has given me a little gift, a chance to redo a year with a new perspective. How often do we get those chances? The spirit spoke to me last week and I am being rewarded for listening to it.

I have recently been relistening to the April 2017 LDS General Conference talks in preparation for the next conference in October. This quote from Elder Rasband's talk entitled "Let the Holy Spirit Guide" stuck out to me and made me realize how crucial it is that we listen to the promptings of the spirit when they do come:

"We must be confident in our first promptings. Sometimes we rationalize; we wonder if we are feeling a spiritual impression or if it's just our own thoughts. When we began to second-guess, even third-guess, our feelings- and we all have- we are dismissing the spirit; we are questioning divine counsel. The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that if you will listen to the first promptings, you will get it right nine times out of ten."

I have more confidence than ever that the spirit will help me if I listen to the promptings that come and not dismiss them. I second guess myself in so many things but I am working on not second guessing the Holy Ghost.

I am looking at this year with all new eyes. I get to do the things with my daughter I feel like I had missed out on. I don't have to live in regret that I didn't play princesses with my daughter or read more books, or bake cookies together. I have a chance to really make it count and I am determined to make this our best year yet even if it means that my bathrooms are never clean or the laundry sits unfolded. My little peanut and I are going to enjoy her last year of freedom.

This was taken on Gracie's first-first day of Kindergarten

First Day of School 2016

August 22nd was the first day of school for these boys. As you can tell from these pictures Jack was way more excited for this day than Haken. I think once you get to 4th grade you know how long the school year will be and you know you are in it for the long haul. Haken has Mrs. Schroeder this year with two of his friends from church, Laney and Seth. She is a really cute young teacher that is very organized and meticulous. I think she will be a great fit for him.

The first day of kindergarten for Jack was everything that he hoped it would be. His most favorite part of going to school so far has been riding the bus everyday. He is in Mrs. Raver's class. He really likes her. She also has been great with his diabetes so far. Let's hope this enthusiasm lasts all year!

School spelling bee

On one of the last days of school Haken participated in the school spelling bee. They held a class spelling bee for each class and then took the top two from each for the school wide spelling bee. Haken was one of the top two from his class. I'm actually not surprised though, because he has always been a great speller. He must get that from his dad.

Shad went and watched. Haken did really great. He got out on a word that a lot of other kids got out out: "piece" Very easy to switch up those "i's" and "e's" right? He wasn't too disappointed. Although he would have liked to have gone farther, he was really proud that he got to the school wide bee.

Walk-a-thon

Haken's school does a walk-a-thon every year for their main fundraiser. I like this because all of the proceeds go to the school instead of paying for wrapping paper, chocolate, or books. No one really wants to buy that stuff anyway and I think it is totally overpriced. 

The way it works is that the kids pledge to walk a certain number of laps around the track and then people pay money to "sponsor" them and it all goes to school for computers, field trips, and other stuff that they need. Haken pledged to walk 4 laps around the track (1 mile). We pledged some money as well as my mom for Haken to walk. We also bought a pizza that night for our family and some of that money also went to the school. 

We went to the high school track as a family and watched Haken walk....well actually, run. He ran the entire 4 laps. If I would have known that he was going to be that into running I would have put some shorts on him or something, he was pretty hot even though it was a cool night. I think that is the farthest he has ever run. We were super proud of him and loved cheering him on (and eating our not-at-all fatty pizza) as he came around the track. He ran most of the way with his buddy Bodee. I'm glad that he had a jogging partner.

Kindergarten!

My little boy started kindergarten today. Am I really old enough to have a child in school?! He was so ready to go. I don't think I could have held him back another second. This year he has Carolyn Michaelis, who is a fabulous teacher. She has been teaching kindergarten for a LONG time. He is in the afternoon class with most of his friends in the neighborhood. Everyday he walks to school with his best friend Chloe and then home (I love living 1/4 mile from the school!) He is so smart and I know that he will do great! Here's to the next 13 years in public education!...

Isn't he talented?
How many people can seriously do this?

Day of many Celebrations

The 24th of May was an eventful day for our family. It was my 27th birthday and Haken's preschool graduation. I was glad that I could share my day with my BIG soon-to-be kindergartener. After you get past 25 it's nice to have something to distract you from remembering how old you are getting...although having a kindergartener doesn't make me feel any younger!

Grandma and Grandpa Evans came early before the graduation and brought Haken an early birthday present....A NEW BIKE!!! He was pretty excited about it...especially the fact that it still had training wheels like his last one. We will be working on getting them off soon...

One happy little boy!

On his maiden voyage in front of the house

Jack had to test it out for himself.

Before the graduation we enjoyed a yummy Mexican dinner at "El Parral" here in town (everyone should come to visit Tremonton just to try out that place). Thanks to Grandpa for treating all of us!

The preschool program was so cute. Mrs. Francom has done such a fabulous job with Haken this year. I heard that she was good, but I didn't really realize how much Haken would learn in only a few months with her help. He also made lots of new friends with the other 9 kids in his class. I'm so glad that he was able to get into her preschool. Here are a few pictures from the graduation. I wasn't able to get a full picture of his class but we have the whole program on tape, which I am sure he will want to watch over and over again in the months to come.

Haken's class in silhouettes. They all drew their own picture too.
 Haken's is the blue one. Not too bad for a preschooler, I think!

Loved being the star of the show!

Such a grown up boy! 

With Mrs. Francom and his friend Kason who we carpooled with everyday

Proud parents

Proud Grandparents

Mr. cheeseball himself...

Silly brothers enjoying the refreshments afterwards

With friends Karen and Kason

After the graduation we headed home for some cake and presents for mommy. Shad insisted on putting 27 candles on the cake. They took quite a while to light and 3 or 4 blows to get them all out with my lack of breath-support. 

It was such a great day! I am so proud of my sweet "Haken-Bacon." He loves to learn and I'm proud to be his mommy. I'm a little scared to send him off to kindergarten in 3 months, but at least I know that he is totally ready for it!

I thought I would also throw in pictures from the first day of preschool and the day of his graduation. I didn't think the boys had changed that much until I looked at these pictures next to each other. I think they are both some of my favorite pictures. They really show just how much these boys love each other 

First day of preschool

Preschool graduation