Happy Birthday to my Landon

I can't believe that Landon is turning 14 today.  Time goes fast, that's for sure. Landon loves school, loves to learn, loves music and band, and  loves the computer.  I think that he has created more websites than I've ever seen. He is excited to be going to Highschool, driving, and all the fun adventures that lie ahead for him. He is a good example to his sisters. He loves going to church and being with his friends at Young Mens. He is kind to those around him and is fun to be around.  I am glad that I have the opportunity to be his mom.  We are happy that Landon is part of our family, and we love him tons!  Happy Birthday to you Landon

Easter

All I can say about Easter this year is Beautiful! I don't remember an Easter Sunday that was so warm, sunny, and gorgeous. We had a fun weekend dying eggs, going on an Easter egg hunt, and finding our baskets. Landon came home 1:00 Easter morning, and we were glad to have him home to celebrate with us.

It was a wonderful Easter Sunday.

Yay for Spring!

This past week was our spring break. It was a well anticipated break, and ended up being as fun as we all hoped. This year we didn't have everyone home. Landon had the opportunity to go on the American Heritage tour that their school takes the eighth graders on.  He spent the week in Washington DC, Pennsylvania, and New York City seeing our nation's history.  While he was gone, Jeff and I decided to take the girls to Salt Lake for a few days.  We had fun shopping, eating, going to the zoo, and going to chuck e cheese. It was a great week for us, and a great week for Landon.  Here are a few pics of our spring break.

We went to a beautiful garden up in Sugar House and had fun walking around and taking pictures.

The zoo was so fun. It was cool, and all the animals were out and very active.  Our favorite animal by far was the polar bear.  It kept swimming up to the glass and doing a whole routine for everyone watching.

Landon had so much fun.  I love this picture of him. He looks so happy. I won't lie. I was a nervous wreck all week, but I am so glad he was able to have this experience. All in all, it was a fun and relaxing spring break.  Now only 7 more weeks of school! Not that I'm counting or anything.

Happy new year

It has been forever since I have last posted.  Summertime. Now the weather is cold and snowy, and the school year is half over. We have had a great 2012 and are excited to move on to 2013.  The kids are loving school.  Amity is in the first grade, Danica fifth, and Landon is in eighth.  I can't believe I am old enough to have a highschooler soon.  Too crazy.  I have been working as a kindergarten aid, and it has been keeping me busy.  We just had a wonderful break and Christmas.  The kids got a lot of fun toys, and we were able to get started on my craft room yea! I am excited to get working on and finishing our basement this year, and for the warm weather to come!  Happy New Year!

I just have to say, my cute Landon designed this Christmas card for us.  He is awesome in graphic design!

Fire behind our House

Fire behind our house. That was the title of the e-mail I got from my son while I was away on vacation. Talk about an e-mail title that freaked me out. There was a fire up above our house that came to our backyard fence. Our neighbors were evacuated, and we had great friends who hosed down our fence for us so our backyard didn't burn. We were fortunate that the winds were blowing the direction that kept the fire away from the houses. The firefighters said that if it had been blowing towards the homes, the whole street would have burned. It is very ugly now up on the hill, but we were blessed that nothing worse happened.

Europe in a post

The first couple of weeks of June Jeff and I had the opportunity to travel to Europe for a fun vacation. We flew into Paris and stayed for a couple of days, and just wandered the streets. I love Paris. It was fun going back a second time, it was relaxing and fun to see all the sights.

Things I love about Paris

 The Opera house, and absolutely beautiful architecture everywhere.

The Arc de Triomphe, being with Jeff

The Eiffel Tower

Next we were off to London. We spent a few days there sightseeing. Neither of us had been there before, but both of us loved it. It was clean, pretty, fun, and felt quite safe. I loved the people, they were all so "jolley." We were there the same weekend as the Queen's jubilee, and it was fun seeing London all decorated up ready to celebrate.

Some things I loved about London

  Bright red phone booths

 Double Decker Busses ( I actually rode on top, and it was way fun!)

Fun Pubs everywhere along the street.

 Beautiful Architecture

Visiting Hogwarts

And finally, seeing Charing Cross Road. I grew up on Charing Cross Road. (Different country of course)

Next we were off to Amsterdam. Not my favorite city, but we did do a couple of really neat things there.

Things I loved about Amsterdam

Visiting Anne Frank's house. It was one of the coolest things I got to do on the trip. Well worth my stay in Amsterdam.

Meeting Edward. AHHH!

Beautiful Windmills

Last we were off to Rome. I loved Rome. Very different from all the other places. Rome is old and beautiful. The people are friendly and laid back. It is noisy and crowded, but very beautiful.

Some things I loved about Rome

The Vatican and St. Paul's Cathedral

Beautiful Architecture. It reminded me of a very old California.

Fountains and Piazza's everywhere

The Spanish Steps.

Beautiful Gardens  and delicious food. It was seriously my favorite place to eat. Pasta, pizza, and gilatto.

It was a wonderful trip and I am so grateful for the opportunity to go with Jeff and see and experience different places around the world.

End of School Year fun

It has been so long since I've posted. The end of the school year was one big whirlwind. I was able to teach Amity's class for five weeks at the end of the year. I loved teaching kindergarten.  The time flew by, and it was fun being with Amity every day. One of the days at school was our field trip.  We went to Cal Ranch, the fire department, and the zoo.  I did not lose anyone's child, and everyone had fun, making it a great success.  Amity's favorite part of the field trip was the fire department. They got to dress up and sit in the trucks.  She loved it.

Landon had his band concert. He loves playing trumpet, and music. I never have to tell him to practice, and he is getting so excited for high school band in a year.

Seriously crappy picture, I know. But when you are sitting on top of hot bleachers in a junior high gym, this is as good as it gets.
Landon also got a few end of the year awards. He was awarded a science, math, and literature award. He also got an award for his isat scores.  He works hard, and takes great pride in getting good grades and going the extra mile in all of his classes this year. Good job Landon!

I couldn't resist adding a picture of him hugging his favorite teacher. Again, hot gym, crappy picture.

Danica had a talent show, and played the Entertainer on the piano for it. She did great!

Amity had her end of the year tumbling show. She loves to tumble. She isn't afraid of anything, and will try any flip her teacher teaches her. It was fun watching her do her show.

Did I mention, most of these activities happened on the same day. Isn't that how it always works. Amity also had her kindergarten graduation. It was sad for me this time. She is my last, and last times for things are hard for me. So here is the last kindergarten graduation I will attend for my kids. She sang so good, and was so proud to be graduating from kindergarten. She loved her teacher, her friends, recess, learning how to read, math, and just about everything. After all, what is there not to like about kindergarten.

Whew that was a crazy, but fun end of the school year. Here they are, the last day of school. Amity will be in first, Danica will be going into fifth, her last year at elementary, and Landon will be going into eighth, his last year of junior high. It was a fantastic school year!