Hawaii girls

Here is a cute picture of me and my sisters when we lived in Hawaii- I'm the baby, the blonde is Nicloe and the older one is Michele. Hard to believe we were ever that young- or naturally tan and blonde!

Ian's First Pack Meeting

Ian started Cub Scouts in August and really likes it. Due to the constant comings and goings of people in our ward, we hadn't had a Pack meeting until last Thursday. Ian was very excited because friends and family had told him it was like a big party and they play games and have goodies. He even went in to lay on his bed for awhile all on his own (I think he was a bit nervous- he's like mom that way). He got all ready in his brand new shirt with patches all neatly-and painfully- sewn on and was raring to go hours before it was time.
The meeting was short and sweet since the guy in charge had only just been called to the position and our ward only has 4 Cubs. Ian got his Bobcat patch and Mom got her little pin. Ian is 3/4 done with his Wolf and very excited for the next Pack meeting. On a side note, Ian's Den has a new Assistant Den Leader- Ann-Marie! She is at the meetings anyway, since they are right after school, so it makes sense. She doesn't have a shirt yet because a)they are expensive! and b)her friend has a yellow (yuk!)one that doesn't quite fit and she would rather wait and get the khaki one.
Anyway that's it as far as Cub Scouts for this month!

Just checking in

I didn't have a photo to go with any of this, so I chose Ian's desert habitat. He did a night one because that's when the animals come out- Duh! We have been busy at school, getting ready for SEPs (parent-teacher conference) and attending meetings. I'll try to catch everyone up...
A few weeks ago I had a meeting in Salt Lake. Kevin had to work and it is hard to find someone to take Ian at 3 am, so Ian came with me. He was so good! He got several comments from the other attendees (most of them principals from other charter schools)and now he wants to go to all of my meetings! I have one in Richfield on Dec. 12th that I may let him attend just because it is on a Friday (half-day for us) and we would probably stop in Circleville to play in snow (fingers-crossed) and visit Grandma Trish's grave.
The day before the meeting in Salt Lake, Ian's teacher showed me something when I went into her room for something (she was smiling, so I wasn't too worried). She explained that the class was going to go see "Joseph and the Amazing..." on the following Monday (sort of a last minute thing) and permission slips had been given out that needed to be returned the next day- the day we would be in SLC. Then she handed me a slip, and as I looked at it she said, " Now, Ian knows he shouldn't have done this, but he was worried since he was leaving and said he knew you would let him go."- The kid forged my name! Yep! He did it in his neatest cursive, he even hyphenated!, but he spelled "Marie" M-e-r-r-y! I told him that would be too cute of a spelling since my birthday is 4 days before Christmas! He didn't do the forgery as a bad thing, but I let him know it was wrong. (We still chuckle over it!)
Last Friday, Ian and I attended the funeral of my cousin, Lisa Romine. I won't go into detail, I'll just say that it was unexpected. The speakers were very moving and shared several great things about Lisa. I really feel for her 3 daughters who are 20, 19 and 18 (I think?). I know personally that losing your mom at any age is tough. They have a strong support system in their aunts and Grandma and Grandpa so I hope they will be okay. When we got to the Circleville chapel for the luncheon (they buried Lisa a few feet away from my mom) Ian stated, "We've been here before, huh." We'd been there just last Spring. I said yes, and he then said, "And it's always the same people!" Well, he had me there. It's all been on my mom's side of the family. I think the only time it will be Grandpa Hart's side is when he dies.
We have school until Wednesday next week, then we are off until Dec 1st! The teachers are going to a Core Knowledge Conference in Anaheim. I was going to go, but we just can't afford it, especially this close to Christmas. I would have recieved a per diem, but I also would have had to figure something for Ian since Kevin's work has them working 5 days a week in preparation for the week they take off at Christmas.
Well, that's all for this blog! Hopefully we will have more excitement, of the good kind, and I will have something to blog about!

Snow White 2008

Well, thanks to my good friend Michelle Cowles our staff at George Washington Academy pulled off the best costumes ever! It all began when our principal decided she was going to be the wicked stepmother and asked (told) her assistant to be Snow White- she is perfect. Michelle C. got it into her head that the office staff and some of us who are support staff should be the dwarfs. I was cool with it, especially when she told me I was Doc- I am Doc. Then Michelle got a little too involved in being as close to the real thing and had me switch with the Kindergarten aide, Mr. Wilson, because he already had a short beard and Doc had a short beard. It was easier to make me a long beard for my character, so I became...BASHFUL!! I know, so not me! SO here is our lineup- Michelle Wilson-Snow White, Mr. Wilson-Doc, Bobbie Jo Forsythe- Grumpy, Michelle Cowles- Happy (so her, Linda Giangregorio- Sleepy (another good fit), Mr. Sedgewick- Sneezy, me- Bashful, and Mrs. Gullo- Dopey. In the back you will see the evil stepmother as portrayed by our principal, Amy Trombetti. We all had fun but almost lost it when at the end of the day Michelle Cowles says, "What should we be next year?"!

Halloween 2008

We had a great Halloween! Ian chose all by himself to not just be Elvis, he wanted to be "Jailhouse Rock" Elvis. I think we did a great job- the hair is all his, except for some sideburn help from our friend Martha.

Student of the Week

Ian was chosen as student of the week! At the beginning of the school year, his teacher had all the children make a poster about themselves. Each week is a new student of the week. She displays their poster and their classmates each write on a Post-it a message about what they like about that student. It was really neat to read what the other kids thought about Ian.

Creepy Crawlies- YUK!

A few weeks ago Ian was getting into bed and saw a shirt on the floor move. I nudged it and a long black thing went under the dresser. Long search short, Kevin pulled the corner of the carpet up where the rug had pulled away from the wall and we got a 3 inch long centipede!! It was so gross! The next night Kevin and Ian put in a new subfloor and put the carpet back down and all is well.

We're back

I've been having computer problems, but for now I am back. I will try to keep it short and just use a few lines for each picture. This first one is from when Kevin's 2 nephews from Toppenish, WA showed up in Mesquite for a softball tournament. We only found out they were coming the night before, so hurried down and searched for the tribe's team until we found them. When Kevin went up to the oldest and asked him if he was Terry, the poor guy thought he was in trouble for something! I know you will all appreciate the family resemblance.

The Five- tagged by Sherrie

10 years ago I:
1. Quit the casino and worked at Red Mountain Spa
2. was with Kevin
3. had a kidney stone blasted
4. had knee surgery and wore a "boot" for 3 months
5. Kevin's mom died

5 things on today's "to do" list:
1. Have Ian finish cursive
2. make Ian's lunch
3. connect projector to computer to teach website scavenger hunt to 4th grade- Mrs. Matuauto's class
4. Check Mr. Bruschke's computer- why not showing picture on TV and computer monitor?
5. Take Ian to Karate

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. Mountain trail mix- nuts, raisins, M&Ms
2. popcorn
3. carrot sticks
4. chips and salsa (extra mild- I know, I'm a wimp)
5. chocolate

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1. pay off our debt and take care of Grandpa Hart (my dad)
2. put money away for Ian's education
3. put money away for our retirement
4. build our dream home in our dream location
5. travel

5 places I have lived:
1. Hawaii (born there)
2. Northern California
3. Georgia
4. Northern Utah
5. Southern Utah

5 jobs I have had:
1. Custodian
2. Preschool/Daycare teacher
3. Casino Marketing/Promotions
4. Reservations at Red Mountain Resort and Spa
5. Computer Aide

I tag...everyone who reads this

New Glasses

Ian got glasses today! We went to the eye doctor on Friday and yep!, Ian is nearsighted- like Ann-Marie! His vision is 70/20 in the right eye and 100/20 in the left. He was very excited when he heard he got to get glasses! The lady that helped us choose the frames has children that are part Native American- their Dad is a member of a different tribe in Washington State!!!- and she was very excited about Ian getting the dark blue frames since they look so good with his skin tones. Ian can't wait to get to school tomorrow and show off the glasses. He has already enjoyed "discovering" things this evening.

More Baptism Day Pictures

My sister-in-law, Sherrie, was kind enough to play photographer and took pictures of Ian with all the people who came to share his special day.
Ian and Lauryn Kinzie

Ann-Marie's (and Ian's) Romine cousins and kids

Ann-Marie's sister Michele and her kids

Ann-Marie's brother Wil and his family

Thanks again to all who came and those who were there in spirit!

Ian's Baptism

Well, yesterday was the day. Ian was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He was very nervous to begin with, but soon relaxed and enjoyed having friends and family there for his special day. We want to thank everyone who came- especially Uncle Wil who baptized and confirmed Ian- and shared with us.
Ian also received his own Hymn book-with his name on it- and his own pocket Primary songbook. He loves to sing and will put these to good use.After, Ian got to go home to Mesquite with the Whittaker cousins (Ann-Marie's brother's family). Kevin and Ann-Marie were going to go to Vegas, but it was already one in the afternoon, so they stayed and went to the movies instead- they saw "Hancock".
Ann-Marie picked Ian up at about 5:30 Nevada time and they met Kevin at the casino for dinner. We love to eat at the Eureka because the food is good, cheap and the portions aren't too small. Ann-Marie ordered some of their good onion rings and is still regretting it after a long night of little sleep and Tums! Ann-Marie and Ian then went to the Wal Mart in Mesquite to see if they had any brown loafers that Ian could wear to school (they have a uniform code and can only wear certain kinds of shoes). They have looked all over St. George and couldn't find any under $30. Not only did they find the shoes (YAY!!!) but they found Sing Star microphones and 80s video game for only $24- $20 less than they had seen it at Target! We considered it a bonus trip and it only got better when they stopped at Target on the way home to get Ann-Marie a new coupon organizer- she is lost without hers- and they found out the Isaac Mizrahi bag that Ann-Marie had been coveting was on sale- $20 less than the original price! She snapped it up and now everyone is happy. It was a very good day.

Ian celebrates with Shai

Our friends Amos and Shai didn't make it to McDonalds, so that night they came over and the kids played while we grown-ups visited. Ian and Shai always have fun, even though they're about 3 1/2 years apart. We use to watch Shai while her Dad went to meetings and Ian got the biggest laughs from her by being silly and pretending to run then fall flat on his face. They were playing darts and Ian snuck one into Shai's hair. He had to have a picture of it, of course.

Happy Birthday Ian!

What a fun time we had! Ian invited some friends and we all met at McDonalds and ate then played. After playing, we had hot fudge sundaes instead of cake. We had the cousins from Mesquite -Wil was up helping clean Grandpa's trailer-the Dyes, our friend Lauryn, and Ian's friend from school, Luke. Others were invited but didn't make it. After we dropped everyone off, Jaxon and Tyler came with us to get Ian's cake- german chocolate, of course- at Harmon's. The store was celebrating its birthday and had people dressed-up and handing out candy and such. We got a picture of Ian with the Keebler elf- not our friend Wayne Dye- and a hippo in a pink tutu. They kind of weirded-out the cousins.
Ian got some nice presents and now can't wait until his baptism on Sept. 6th.

Dentist visit

Last week Ian and Ann-Marie went to have a dental check-up before school started. We found out Ian had his molars, so they needed to be sealed, 2 tiny baby teeth cavities, and the doctor decided to pull 2 baby teeth on the bottom front to help the other teeth come in a bit straighter. We scheduled all of this for yesterday (Wed.). Ian was such a trooper! Since I am very nervous at the dentist, I have always striven to make it a good experience for Ian. After about an hour and 1/2 of work (laughing gas and 3 shots of Novocain too) Ian was good to go! He only flinched once at the end when the 1st shots had kind of worn off and Dr. Ivan was pulling one of the teeth out. They just gave him the 3rd shot, waited maybe a minute, and went on about their business. Everyone in the office was very impressed and raved about how well he did. Just wait until next week when they have to give his mom a root canal and do an overlay (rather than a cap) on a back molar! The nervous shaking is a bit worse than the sweating, but if they give her the good stuff directly it works better (and the adrenaline rush takes her mind off the procedure!). The rest of the evening we called Ian "saber tooth Ian" because of the gauze rolls sticking out from the holes on either side of his mouth.

1st Day of 3rd Grade

We started school on Monday, Aug. 11th. Ian was excited to start the third grade and be in Mrs. Raybould's class. This is her second year and we heard how much fun it is to be in her classroom- Ann-Marie heard them singing "Oh Canada" through the walls for a few weeks last year, but Mrs. Raybould moved further down the hall so Ian will have to sing it for her this year (and maybe in French!). We were also excited because our friend Lauryn Kinzie got a phone call Saturday night that there was an opening in the 4th grade and she decided to try it out! We take her with us every morning but Friday. It's too fun!

County Fair Birthday

Friday, the 8th, we headed out on what has become a birthday tradition. Kevin came up with the idea a few years ago that Ian could invite a friend to go with us to the Washington County Fair and we would buy the all-access wristbands for the rides. We took our friend Brandon Dye again this year and the boys had a blast! We were worried when the rain came pouring down about half an hour before the rides opened. The carnival shut the rides down because of lightning and it got a bit sad in our little group. Soon the rain stopped and they fired up the rides and the boys were off.
Ian felt very brave this year and went on all but the really grown-up rides like the Zipper and circle roller coaster. He even braved the ride that made him cry last year and declared it "Awesome!". The guys declared next year they will try more of the scarier rides, but I don't know.

Ian baby pictures

Ian has been having fun seeing pictures we had on our old hard drive and now use as a slide show screen saver. He especially likes it when I narrate the photos. I told him to pick one he liked and he chose the "peaches" one. As I recall, he wasn't too sure about the taste of the diced peaches, but liked playing with them. He is about 13 months old and CUTE!!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today Kevin turned 46! I can't believe it. We sent him birthday messages all day, then made him his favorite cake- yellow with chocolate frosting. We went to Denny's for dinner and were strictly forbidden from mentioning it was his birthday- he does not like the singing. Ian and I went to Kohl's and got him a nice pair of slacks he can wear to church and Ian's baptism. No photos because we forgot-sorry!

We're Baaaaack!

Finally! We had to replace the hard drive on our 71/2 year old computer and it has been torture waiting for the $$$ to get it done. We had to wait a whole payday and it was torture! Word to the wise- back everything up, especially pictures! Luckily, they got all of mine off and it's all good.

The 4th of July Weekend

I know we told people we were going to go to Circleville for the 4th, but that was when we thought Kevin had to work the following day. When he found out he didn't, he offered to go up to Roy and see Grandpa and maybe go to the zoo the next day. We left bright and early the morning of the 4th and headed north, stopping only for gas and breakfast. We made it to the care center in time to visit with Grandpa before Nicole's husband came to get Grandpa in their car (our Tahoe is too tall) and we all headed over to Nicole's to eat and swim. Ian stayed in the pool about 3 hours- even staying in while the rest of us ate ice cream!(Blue Bunny Peanut Butter Panic, of course) When Grandpa decided he was ready to go, he just grabbed his walker and started to get up! Kevin thought he was just changing seats, but nope! He was headed to the door! Leon came quickly and the guys took Grandpa back and settled him in for a nice rest. They then went on a little adventure, helping a lady take her mother from the care center to Hooper. Then Leon showed Kevin around some out of the way spots. That evening, after checking-in at the Ben Lomond (a supposedly haunted hotel in downtown Ogden), we followed Leon, Kevin, and Becky in Nicole's car as we headed up the canyon to Huntsville. We ate at a small cafe and had fun looking at the beautiful scenery! They then followed us to our hotel to check if we had ghosts with Nicole's ghost meter that she has on her phone. I was not happy, as I knew Ian wouldn't sleep well if she "found" ghosts. They didn't, and we all went to Leon's office parking lot to watch the fireworks. We were in a great spot where we were able to view at least 4 different shows (and a distant fire) at one time! After, we set off our own fireworks in the middle of Nicole's cul de sac. I shouldn't have worried about Ian being too scared to sleep. Between the early rising, travel, swimming, and general playing with the cousins and dog-not to mention the late hour- he fell right to sleep! Kevin did too, so I got up and turned off the TV and turned on the bathroom light with the door cracked as a night light. In the middle of the night, I thought I heard wire hangers banging in the (empty!) closet and someone pressing all along the bottom edge of the mattress with their fingertips. At one point Ian woke up, and facing me (like looking right at me) asked, "Who's that lady?" I choose to believe he was tired and looking at me and told him it was me, mama. He fell right back to sleep. In the morning Kevin asked if I turned the TV off and turned on the bathroom light. I said yes, of course. My non-believer of a husband said that when he first woke up and noticed it, he thought "the ghost had done it" and he was "mad". He finally realized it was probably me. So, is the place haunted? I don't know, most things I heard I put down to just the noises of people celebrating the 4th.
The next morning we went and visited Grandpa and said our goodbyes. He is doing much better physically, although his short-term memory is off. We then went to Nicole's and said our goodbyes and hit the road. After 10 minutes of discussion we decided we were too tired, and it would be too hot, to go to the zoo. So Kevin suggested as a compromise we go to Cabella's- the giant hunting, fishing, everything store. They had a good time looking around and I just enjoyed sitting on a bench and resting since I would be doing most of the driving. After Cabella's we stopped for gas and lunch and then headed home. It was a fun trip and we loved seeing Grandpa (we miss him being right next door!). Maybe next year we will make it to the reservation in Toppenish, WA like we had planned before the price of gas went so high.

Busy week

This week was a bit busier than we anticipated, but it was still fun! Ian got to play with Lauryn on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Tuesday, while Lauryn was next door at choir practice, we got to watch her 3 year-old nephew Jack. He loves Ian.
We have Lauryn again today, at our house, and the two of them are outside playing before it gets unbearable. We are going to meet our friends the Dyes at 12:30 for lunch at McDonalds so the kids can play on the playland and we get a break.

Last night Ian advanced to a brown and blue belt.He was very excited about it! After he stayed for Black Belt Club and got to practice with his nunchuks. He begins his 6th year in September. I can't believe he has lasted this long!!
We start school on August 11th and it seems to be closer than I realized! After the 4th it just all seems to go downhill. We will soon be buying Ian's uniforms and school supplies- and clothes and supplies for Mom too!

WHAT?!?!?!

This morning Kevin stated he wanted to go somewhere to get out of the heat. I was bored (and hot), so I said whatever and Ian said he wanted to go to Kmart (?). So what did we do you ask? We went to Mesquite and THEY HIT BALLS IN THE 105 DEGREE WEATHER!!How that is getting out of the heat, I don't know. I stayed in the car with the engine running. When we came out of the Eureka after eating a late lunch, the rearview mirror thermometer read 123 degrees. It did cool down to 109 by the time we reached St. George.

End of Outdoors Class

.

Well, we made it through the Outdoors Adventure class. It was fun, but so hot the kids got very whiney. By the second day, we were prepared for being out in the 90+ heat for two hours and had a good time shooting and playing games like sack races and wheelbarrel racing On Wednesday Ian stayed at Lauryn's and they tried out their new above ground pool. It's not too deep, but it is very wide and lots of fun!

They forgot sunscreen so the next day they were both suffering from sunburns (Ian wasn't sure what was going on, he just knew "it hurts my shoulders when the cloth scratches on it". Even Ann-Marie was red after so many hours in the sun! It looked painful, but only hurt when hot water hit it.

We also went and saw "Kung Fu Panda" and loved it! Ann-Marie came away hungry for Chinese food.

We look forward to some down time next week; the hardest thing will be trying to beat the heat! It is still 102 at 9pm here and our little window unit just doesn't cut it, especially in the back bedroom and bathroom!

Another fun class!!

Today was the first day of Ian and Lauryn's Outdoor Activities class. They got to shoot a compound bow
and make birdfeeders out of pinecones, peanut butter and birdseed. Tomorrow they get to shoot an air gun!




After class we went to Lauryn's and stayed with her until her mom got home from work. While playing they found Martha's wig and Ian tried it on! At first he rocked it like a rock star, then they tied a kerchief around his head and he took on a peasant girl persona- I thought he looked a bit like cousin Megan! I had to put a stop to it when Lauryn started looking for the lipstick and mascara!

Father's Day with Grandpa

Yesterday, Friday the 13th, Ian and Ann-Marie headed up to Roy to see Grandpa in the care center. He has been there since April. Physically Grandpa is getting better and better. He is a bit more forgetful than he used to be, but he remembers us and that's all that matters. We attended the Father's Day Fish Fry and Nicole and her girls (including her dog) came and we visited with Grandpa while Ian and the cousins played. We were really sad to go and can't wait for the time when Grandpa can come back down here and we can spend more time with him- maybe even go fishing!

Last day of Baseball

Today was the last baseball game of the season for Paxman General Contractors. Ian will sure miss it! Good thing Kevin likes to take him out and play catch and hit balls. Ian definitely wants to try Little League next year! I guess we will finally have to break down and buy some camp chairs to sit on at games.

Summer buzz

Last Sunday we gave Ian and Kevin their summer buzz cuts. Ian says they are now twins! The other day when Kevin came home from work Ian yelled, "The other twin is home!" Goofy kid!

Those busy summer days!

Tuesday was a busy day! First we had the second day of Ian's acting workshop- Monkey Business. Our friend Martha pays for her daughter and Ian to attend different classes during the summer, and Ann-Marie is in charge of driving them around and sometimes keeping Lauryn after the class is done. The class is scheduled for 9am-12:30pm but has been going over about 30-45 minutes. They will be performing a very condensed version of Alice in Wonderland. Ian is Humpty Dumpty and The King of Hearts- both parts have many lines. Lauryn is the Cheshire cat and Butterfly (she really wanted a pretty costume).

Later that afternoon, we headed to Hurricane for karate. Ian has been taking Bobby Lawrence Karate since right after he turned 3. He is now a brown and purple belt, and with hard work will most likely have his black belt in about 2 years. We go early so he can help teach the Little Ninjas (4-6yrs. old). He attends class with the kids that are 9 and up because none of the kids his age are at his level.

After a quick dinner and change of clothes, we were off to the ball park for a 7:30 game of coach-pitch baseball. Ian is really good and has earned the title of "showboat" because he knocks the ball out there, runs and runs, and then the last few yards strolls home. He is also good in the field, playing bases, short-stop, or outfield. He really loves it!

I'm still getting the hang of this, so please excuse the editing and such!

Playing with the Whittakers

Ian loves going to visit The Cousins in Mesquite. Yesterday they played on the trampoline with the hippity-hops. While 2 rode, the third would try to kick the hopper out from under one of them or just knock them off. Ian always acted like he was jumping into the middle of a dog fight. He would yell then bounce into the middle of everyone. We all laughed very hard.

In the beginning...

Okay, here it goes. I guess since I am the computer teacher (aide) at my son's school I better be doing some of the computer stuff myself. I'm not up to designing a web page, so I'll start with blogging. There won't be much to begin with, but as the summer wears on and I get more familiar with it, watch out!
We named it Beaver's Family News because many of Kevin's friends and family know him by the nickname "Beaver". We may change it later.