...Summer Nights

Have I mentioned that I LOVE summer! :) My last post was all about the days, well, the nights are just as fun as well. Presently I am sitting on my porch in my Cabela's zero gravity chair watching the kids play "bus stop' with all of the neighbor kids. It is actually a small group tonight...only 8 kids. It is so fun seeing them play the same games that I used to play as a child. With this one, the main difference was we all rode a pedal bike, and these kids are using their electric motorcycles! My how times change. It is strange the dynamics of our neighborhood. on our circle and up the street there are about 15 boys between the ages of 4-6. the other night they were all riding their bikes up and down the trails and it looked and sounded like a gang of "wild things!" My friend who lives 2 streets over has over 20 girls in her circle alone! One thing that is not lacking around here is kids! As if playing hard all day and evening isn't enough, the kids always beg to play a game or two before bed. This week Go-Fish and Clue have been the favorites. Oh how I LOVE SUMMER!!!

Mark Your Calendars!!

Next week the girls will be performing in An African Tale. Herriman City is sponsoring a children's musical. It is going to be GREAT! Madison is the elusive fairy Moatia and Meg is a sky dancer. I watched their practice tonight and it looks GREAT! The play will be at the Rosecrest Pavilion in Herriman. It is playing for three nights, June 19, 20, and 21st (Tuesday-Thursday). It begins at 7:00 PM. The girls would LOVE for you to attend one night. You are sure to be entertained. They have worked so hard and are so excited! Mommy is pretty proud of them too! Mason has learned every song and can recite many lines in the play, so he too is excited! If you need directions on how to find it give me a call. We hope to see you there.

Freedom Writers

Okay, It is time for another movie review. It took me 3 days to actually get through Freedom Writers, but WOW. Another good flick. Being in education, I am always looking for ways to motivate my staff. This movie has so many things that would be so appropriate to share. Some of the highlights of the movie for me was the evidence provided that expectations and relationship with students play such an important role in helping at-risk children to succeed. I also love the example Ms. Gruwell set in making a goal and working hard to achieve that goal. She saw each student as the person they could become, not who they necessarily were at the moment. I also love that she was willing to fight for what she truly knew what was best for her students. There were many times throughout the movie where I got a bit teary eyed. The one part that really bothered me was the break-up of her marriage. As a school leader and a mom, these types of movie really inspire me. I want to set the same example for my own students and children.

My Brand New VAN!

I have a brand new van. Well, it is not actually new. I have owned it for a few years, in fact, it is almost paid off (YipEE), but, for the past few months it was in bad shape. With 3 kids and the schedule we keep, we practically live in the van. At any particular time you are able to find just about anything hidden within--candy, papers, clothes, backpacks, Madison's rock collection, DS games, french fries, old happy meal boxes, crumbs, crumbs, and more crumbs. Many of you moms know EXACTLY what I am talking about! When you drive a kid car, it can get really gross. Well, I had HAD it! I spent last weekend trying to get it clean, but I didn't have all of the proper tools to really give it the treatment it needed. I took it to a detail shop on Monday, and WOW!!!!! I got a brand spankin new van back! I found a coupon online for $25.00 off, so I felt like I got a great deal! I heard about this place, Pioneer Car Wash and detail from an ad at the movie theater. I was extremely satisfied with their work. You will have to check out my CLEAN Van! Pictures to come, as I am still having camera issues!

Ohh the Energy of Children!

I have never been one who has struggled with energy. Sure I get tired here and there, but I basically feel well enough to make it through each day. Well, today, after I snuck out of school early to take the girls shopping in Park City, I came home exhausted! Thinking the kids would feel the same way, I was looking forward to a quiet evening at home. We stopped at Smiths for Kid's Choice dinner. This means we go to the T.V. Dinner aisle and everyone picks their favorite! (Yes, I am SUPER mom! :) After dinner the girls and I decided to take the dogs for a walk since they were locked up all day. We headed down the path to the park. We passed the retention pond and the girls wanted to run and roll down the hill. How fun, or so I thought! After one trip up and down the hill I was done. I found a nice spot in the grass and watched the girls and the dogs run all the way down the hill then back up the other side. They did this 3 times. They said they were training to run the mile. WOW. Perhaps I should let them train me for my next marathon that is sneaking up on me! It was so fun to watch them having so much fun, and I must say we got home, sent them to the shower, and they are fast asleep. Re-charging for another day! Ohhh the energy of Children!

Oh Where O Where Have I Been?

I am sure many of you are wondering if we have dropped off the face of the earth. Well, we are still here but have lots and lots of catching up to do. The past three weeks have been soooo busy. With the school year coming to an end, and the kids involvement in a myriad of activities, and a husband who works nights, I have had little time to myself, thus the lack of posts! I have spent the weekend trying to reclaim my HOUSE! So far today I have found the floor of the van, my kitchen table, the living room that had become a toy room, and I am now working on my bedroom. That is my goal before I go to bed tonight! I have created quite a mess as I began cleaning out my closet.....oh what a fun job! I have too many shoes! My closet would be the perfect size if I didn't have to share it with Chris! I also have a bunch of laundry to catch up on, but that can be done throughout the week. The kids have actually helped a lot today, since they are mainly responsible for much of the mess! I have decided that I will write a post here and there in between jobs today! I'll be BACK!!

7 Random Things about ME!!!

Robyn has tagged me with the random things about me meme's. Here it goes:

1. I love TULIPS! I have had them in my desk for the past 3 weeks. They only last about a week, but just as they are starting to look so bad, I seem to get another vase of them!

2. I often have the same recurrent dream. I am in college and forget to attend a math class for the whole semester and then show up for the final and FAIL!!! This is supposed to mean I feel unprepared for something. How about every day at work! It seems a Principal can NEVER be prepared for what happens each day!

3. I love laying in my bed with my kids reading stories or playing with them on their favorite computer sites like Club Penguin and Millsbury

4. I ran my first marathon in 4 hours, 40 minutes and 22 seconds. WHOOOPEEE! I will run my second marathon on October 6th.

5. I became a lifetime member of Weight Watchers last March, and have since gained all of the weight back :( Thanks to my new job and STRESS! I plan on getting back on track soon!

6. I will be celebrating my 10th wedding anniversary this June. I hope Chris will decide where he wants to go. My passport has arrived and I am READY!

7. I really hate my commute to work everyday. I drive 21 miles and it takes 45-55 minutes. I usually sit on the main road out of my neighborhood for at least 20 minutes. Thank goodness I have the girls with me because I can drive in the carpool lane!

Well there you have it. I guess I am supposed to tag others to complete this task. I will tag Mimi and Dave and Mandy. They need to get some new things on their blog! I will also tag Chris who says he doesn't know how to post on the blog...hmm Mr. Techno says he can't post!

Teacher and Staff Appreciation Breakfast!

I have the BEST husband, and now all of my staff knows it! He spent 3 hours Thursday morning cooking breakfast for over 85 teachers and staff members at my school. He set up the camping griddle and cooked hash browns, bacon and eggs for everyone. We also made cinnamon rolls and Belgian waffles. It was FABULOUS! Chris is the BEST breakfast cook! Everyone loved it! Mason even helped turn the hash browns. My school is truly like my family. I love everyone there! I purchased little key chains that say, I make a difference. I wrapped them up and attached the following poem that I wrote.

I chose this little present because
I wanted you to know,
I am grateful for your dedication
in helping our students grow.
For your constant understanding
and for always being there,
You truly make a difference
when you show kids that you care!
Love,
Sally

I can't believe that there are only 17 more days of school! WOW!! I can't believe I have almost survived my first year as a Principal. I must admit, it was a lot easier being an Assistant Principal, but I wouldn't trade a thing!

How About Them J A Z Z !!!!!!!!!

Chris surprised me with tickets to game 2 of the Jazz/Warriors playoff series. I was soooo excited. I don't think we have been to a game together since we had the kids. Before kids, we were avid Jazz fans. We made it to most of the playoff games in the 97/98 years! It was so fun to go downtown and be a fan again! Arranging childcare for the evening was a bit tricky, but things did work out. We ended up asking Maddy to tend the girls after dance. She is just 12, so we didn't want to be too late. The end of the game was nearing and the Jazz were down by 5. Chris turned to me and said, "should we go?" Now, I must say, WE HAVE NEVER LEFT A GAME EARLY. We simply are not that type! Knowing that we had a babysitter who needed to get up early for school, and we needed to stop at my Mom's to pick up Mason, I answered Yes. Well, we walked down to the entryway and the Jazz seemed to be catching up. We stopped and watched it until there were 2 seconds left. The Jazz were now down by one and the Golden State had the ball. We headed to the car. As we were almost there this lady said, "Are you coming from the Jazz game?" We said "yes" and she said. "They just went into overtime!" We were SHOCKED! We hurried to the car and listened to the overtime on the radio! I must say, WE LEARNED OUR LESSON!!! You should NEVER NEVER NEVER leave a game early! We had tickets to the best game of the playoffs, and we missed the most exciting moments! I can surely tell you there will never be a NEXT TIME for leaving early!! Aside from missing the overtime, it was a fabulous evening out!

The Pursuit of Happyness (That is the way the movie spells it)

I just watched this movie this evening, and let me tell you, I cried my eyes out! I have been wanting to see this movie for a long time, but ohhh my goodness, I had no idea it would have such an effect on me. After it was over, I called Chris at work and continued to cry! He told me that someone had brought that into his work one night, and he had a hard time watching it. I can see why. It really makes me thankful for all of the many things that we have. We are truly blessed. I really admire the determination that he had to improve his life and live his dream, despite his horrible circumstances. As I watched the movie, I couldn't help but think about all of the children at my school who may be living in such circumstances. I really feel fortunate to have the opportunity to hopefully make a difference in their lives. You never really know the impact you may have on somebody. Although seeing all that they went through in the movie, one can see that despite all of the obstacles we face in our lives, we can overcome them if we have the determination and faith to see things through. I highly recommend this movie! Leave me a comment on your thoughts if you have seen the movie.

Thanks Robyn

I see my talented sister in law is at it again! As you have read, she hijacked my blog. I absolutely LOVE it!!! It is totally ME! She has learned how to tweak templates. Check out her other blogs on my link list! I am so lucky that she has picked my blog to hijack~

What Ever Happened to Bedtime?

My kids think they have the meanest MOM! Perhaps they do! I would honestly like to know why I seem to be the only parent around my circle that still believes in BEDTIME! I begin getting my kids ready for bed at 8:00, even earlier if they need to shower. Each night when I call them in, all of the other kids are shocked that they have to go to bed so early. Most nights, all the other kids are out riding bikes till 8:30 or 9:00 PM. This is all well and good of your kids did not need to get up for school in the morning. Research has shown that elementary school age children need at least 10 hours of sleep every night. So, since I get my girls up at 6:30 AM, they need to be asleep by 8:30PM. It is really hard for kids to stay focused at school when they are so tired. They also misbehave more often if they are not getting enough sleep. So........GET YOUR KIDS TO BED! Especially this time of the year. Yes, it is lighter outside, and the weather is nice, BUT, your kids need their rest. End of Level testing is coming up, and you want them to do their BEST!!! So come on parents, bring back BEDTIME!!!

Salt Lake Marathon Weekend

Last weekend was the Salt Lake Marathon. We decided to run the 5K this year. Emily and I met Dave at his house and we walked over to Liberty Park. It was a beautiful morning, a bit cool, but nice. We stared the race about 7:30 and ended around 8:00 at the Gateway. It brought back memories of running across the finish line last year after running 26.2 miles. I must say 3 was a lot easier, although I am totally out of shape. I signed the kids up for the Kids K. They were so excited because they got to run through the "real" finish line. Mason was so cute. He was totally running as fast as he could. When we were done, all of the kids received medals. Mason told everyone that he was the fastest because he has rocket shoes. Mom and I took the kids to the Park Cafe for breakfast. It was a GREAT day! I will run the half marathon May 19th in Ogden. We decided to try to get picked for the St. George Marathon lottery. We will find out if we are chosen on May 3rd. Wish us luck! I really need to get into the training mode again. I suddenly have 25 extra pounds lying around! STRESS!!

Big Girls DOOOO Cry~

There is only one month of school left....let me repeat, there is only one month of school left! WHOOOPEEE. I must say, although I am excited, I am also overwhelmed! This being my first year, there are a lot of new things that must be learned. I got my principal year end closing packet last week, and I was shocked at the number of things that must be completed. I went to a meeting the other day and was told that we had the funding to offer full day kindergarten. I am haooy, BUT, that creates a tremendous amount of work for me, which leads me to the title of this post. Last week, besides having PMS, I was sooooo stressed. We had our outside audit on all of our financial and student records, I had an LRE screening, Principal's Literacy Day, the Science Fair, PTA meeting, teacher evaluations to complete, secretaries week, and all of the other things that make their way across my desk. Needless to say, I had a good cry, and am now ready to face another week! Bring on the month of MAY~

Crazy Days at Preschool

The next two weeks at Mason's preschool are CRAZY days. On Tuesday it was backwards day. He wore everything backwards--shirt, pants, and shoes. He loved it! Tomorrow is crazy hair day. He told me that "teacher said we can wear our hair in different colors". unfortunately, I am clean out of Halloween hairspray! He has already requested his hair done in a spiky mohawk! WOW! I will snap a picture and post it later. Next week he gets to have crazy hat day and pajama day. The girls will be so jealous. The girls have been begging me to have a pajama day at school! It has been fun seeing Mason get so excited about school! I can't decide if I will put him in the summer program at his preschool, or enroll him in the pre-kindergarten class at my school. He really wants to come to the school with the GIRLS!

Talented Girls!!!

Tonight was parents observation night at the girls dance class. It was so fun to be able to watch them practice and perform. They are so cute, and learning a lot. I am amazed at the way they are able to do the splits. They are on a mini dance team this year and will have their first competition on May 5th. They are dancing to the Witch Doctor song. Oooh Eeee Ohhh A A Ting Tang Walla Walla Bing Bang--I love it! They look like they are having so much fun while they are dancing. May is a busy month for the girls. They have dance competitions on the 5th and 19th of May, and also on the 19th is their play, High School Musical. It starts at 10:00 am. They are playing cheerleaders!

Procrastination!!!

I have a HUGE problem with procrastination. I begin things with all good intentions. I usually have a plan and an outline in my head...it's the executing part that I have the problem with. I have read that procrastination is tied to perfectionism. I TOTALLY agree with that. I must say I obsess so badly over making sure things are "just right", so I usually avoid getting started. I also think that the fact that I over-commit myself adds to this problem. I am learning how to say NO, but I don't say it nearly enough. Sigh........I guess I will keep working in it!

The Best "SICK" Day Ever

Today the girls and I stayed home from school. I was still recovering from my crazy weekend. The girls really wanted to go, but I talked them into staying home. (Bad mommy, bad principal).
The kids and I had a fabulous day. It started out with breakfast cooked to order. Scrambled eggs for Mason and Madison and "dunk" eggs for me and Meggy. We also had maple bacon and milk. The girls played dollhouse and Mason went over to his friends house. I went to the grocery store and then started on the laundry. I got so much done. 7 loads to be exact, plus all of the clothes Chris had washed and piled up on the folding table folded and put away. I watched the Lake House while i folded. I only have 2 loads of towels left, and a load of my clothes. I need to drop off Chris' shirts and my suits at the dry cleaners, and then start all over with the clothes the kids will wear this week. I must say, this time of the year is rough on the closet. With the weather being so unpredictable, it is too soon to put all the winter stuff out, but some days you need the short sleeve shirts. I guess we will be a bit crowded for a few more weeks.
Meg baked and frosted a cake for dessert. It is my favorite--German Chocolate with coconut pecan frosting. We made tuna sandwiches for lunch, Madison requested pickles in it and Meg insisted on adding balsamic vinegar-- the way Daddy makes it.
I cooked one of my favorite dinners. Shake and Bake pork chops cooked to 160*, green beans, and Madison's favorite, Rice a Roni. And of course Meggy Moo's fabulous cake! YUM YUM. The kids had about an hour before dinner to play outside, and Meg fell off her bike and hit the pavement HARD! She was in quite a bit of pain. I gave her Tylenol, borrowed some ice from the neighbors (we have never re-hooked up the ice maker), read her a story and held her until she fell asleep. I am now relaxing in my bed, gearing myself up for work tomorrow. I think I need "sick" days like this more often. I miss just being a MOM!

It All Hit Me Like a Brick!

Today I was completely exhausted! I slept from 4:00pm-8:30pm. I think everything from the past week finally hit me. Last week seemed to go on forever. It was a week of LONG meetings. Tuesday ended with a 3 hour meeting for stake yw, and then Wednesday morning I had faculty meeting with my staff, so I was up late getting everything ready for that. Thursday I had to finish my School Land Trust report and get it posted online. I finally finished that late at night because I kept getting interrupted during the day. Friday I had my faculty CRT testing ethics meeting for 2 and a half hours. This went until 4:00 then I had an ANGRY parent to deal with. I finally met Chris at 7:00pm for our Sushi night. It was so yummy. Emily, Dave, Mom and the kids all came along. It was a nice evening together, although I was exhausted! I made it home about 10:50pm and was ready to begin finishing my temple tags for the temple activity on Saturday when I realized I left my laptop at Mom's house. I was NOT up for the 25 minute drive back to get it, and our other computer at home is all in pieces and inoperable, so I had no way to get it done. I called Chris and asked him to stop and pick it up on his way home in the morning (he gets home around 4:00 AM). I got up at 5:00am and made all of the tags, printed them off, and decorated them with my stamps. They turned out darling. I finished everything in time to make it to the church at 8:00am. The stake Laurel temple activity turned out wonderful. I think all of the girls had a great time. We went to the American Fork Temple, Provo Temple, MTC, and finished up in a room at the BYU Conference center. I returned home at 5:20. I went to my moms to hang out with the kids before I had to run to the multi-stake dance at 7:45. I was in charge of all the refreshments and prizes. We hired one of my teacher friends as the DJ so it was fun to see him and catch up. Lene, our president came up to me about 10:00 and said she wanted me to go home. She could see how tired I was, and said there were plenty of adults there. I made it home just as Mimi was bringing the kids home. We spent some time together and then all hit the sack! I decided to skip church today. I just couldn't face getting the kids ready not to mention myself. We did however head to Chuck a Rama for dinner. YUM! Well, I had better get to bed. I am still mulling over the idea of staying home tomorrow. We'll see!

Thank You Robyn

Do you like my new template? I Love it! I want to give a great big thank you to ROBYN!! She is so talented and creative. I love the m&m's. I will be getting pictures of the kids up soon. You should check out her 4 blogs. They are soooo cute too. The links are on my link list! Thanks again Robyn. You are the BEST!