Bo's Christmas List

I always ask my kids to make their Christmas Lists early so I can start looking for deals.   A couple of weeks ago I asked them to work on it, so they all pulled out the big toy ad that came in the paper and started writing. I hate these lists.  They only write whatever cool thing they see, not what they have been actually wanting.  So a week or so later, I ask them to write one without an ad.  Yesterday Bo did his.  I think it might be the cutest list I can remember.  Let me preface by saying I decided to implement a new gift giving policy this year. I tend to go overboard for Christmas so I wanted to try to fix that.  I told the kids they were getting 3 gifts from me: something they wanted, something they needed and something I think they needed/wanted.  Then of course whatever Santa chooses to bring.  I knew this would stress me a little since I impulse buy a lot of their gifts.  You know, something that was a really good deal I may not have gotten otherwise.  With that in mind, notice what Bo wants/needs.


Bo's Christmas List
need=any sonic game
want=skylanders
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1.more giants for skylanders giants.
2.cards of any kind    
3.My Brothers To Be Nice
4.pillow pet
5.lego harbor
6.nano speed
7.furbie
8.any skylander
9.new blanket
10.dancing elmo                  

I guess at age 7 a sonic game must feel like a need, lol.  And how about "my brothers to be nice".  How sweet and yet sad at the same time.  I just love this kid.  You can be sure his brothers will get to have a peek at his list before we mail it off to the North Pole. ♥            

State Cross Country Meet

The State Cross Country Meet was this past Saturday in Goodyear.  That's an hour's drive from where we live.  Mom and I headed out early in the morning to get there before Rhett raced at 8:30.  I was a little worried about him because the first thing he said was that he knew he wouldn't do that well since there were so many more school here this time.  I encouraged him to leave nothing left.  This was his last race and he needed to run harder than he has ever run.  He did just that.  I couldn't have been more proud.  He finished 25th out of over 80 kids and had a PR of 20:20.  He is not typically a strong finisher, but this day... he was amazing.  I couldn't believe it when I saw him coming down the homestretch.  I don't think I've ever seen him run that hard before.  What an awesome ending.  Our team finished 3rd as a team.

Brooklyn also ran the same day.  She had a PR as well at 17:34 for a mile and a half.  I know that's slow, but for her, she finished 3 minutes faster than she had been.  A whole minute just from last week.  She was actually sweating and flushed.  I was so proud of her as well!  The JR High girls took 2nd losing first by only one point.  Super great day at the races!!

Presidential Election

We had a Presidential election last week and Whitley was able to vote for the first time.  I know it looks like a picture of me, but it's only because I'm not skilled at taking self portraits so Whitley held the phone and was worried about getting the 'vote' sign in and almost cut herself out.   It was fun to all go vote together.

This is the first time ever that one of the candidates was LDS, or Mormon.  It was really an exciting time to have someone who actually shares your beliefs and values be in a position to actually make a difference.  It also brought a lot of attention to the church, which I think turned out to be a good thing.  People don't always know what we are about and this gave an opportunity to share our beliefs publicly.  Unfortunately our country is in a serious state of disillusion in thinking that it's a good thing for our government to control us.  It's very scary to think what our future holds here in America.  Fortunately there have been plenty of prophecies that tell us what we can expect and where to look for guidance.  I don't like the outcome of the election but I also know there's a plan and that my only real responsibility is to take care of my family and teach them the best I know how.

Mitt Romney and his wife

Honor Roll

Bo and Katy were both on the honor roll at school this quarter.  Katy was actually on the Principal's List and Bo on the honor roll.  Bo will make Principal's List next time though!  Terrible phone pics, but at least it's something. Ü

Taxi Please

I wish I had time to blog all my activities every day.  But let me just give you a summation of my last two weeks.

Run
work
drive
drive
drive
drive
drive
sleep
repeat

This week was tech week for my kids doing Little Mermaid,which means every night of the week rehearsals.  Add to that the fact that Brooklyn has decided to try out for basketball and their practices are from 5 -7 in the evenings and that Nick worked almost every night last week and you can basically deduct that I spent all my evenings driving people around.  It made me REALLY grouchy.  I haven't even mentioned the church activities and home duties that were also intermingled.

My running is frustrating.  I ran 5 miles, 3x this week and I just can't seem to get faster.  And it's not easier.  I have one more week of training before the turkey trot.  I'm definitely not beating my last year's time.

The play was cute, costumes like nothing I've ever seen. Whitley got thrown in at the last minute and she was so happy to get to participate.  She's awesome.

So proud of Brooklyn for trying out for basketball.  She gets up and runs cross country every morning and then does basketball tryouts for two hours in the evening.  I really hope they let her be on the team.  It's so good for her.

Hoping for a less busy week ahead but not looking promising.  Already have three things on Tuesday that I'm supposed to do but can't.  Glee is only 3 weeks away so we are about to hit our every night of the week rehearsals as well.  Can't believe Thanksgiving is next week!!

Kid Stuff

Katy has a problem eating dinner the first time.  She likes nothing and lets us know about it while she whines as she sits at the table. Eventually she will agree to eat it and ask for a "warm up".  You only get one of those.  As we were driving somewhere after dinner and talking about how she does that, I commented to her that she should just eat it the first time because she always ends up eating it and usually even liking it.  She sighed and in a very bored voice she says "Yah... that's how I roll."

As I was saying prayers with Bo and Katy, Katy went first and when she was done, Bo says "Katy, I really like the way you added those adjectives!"  I asked him which ones, wondering if he even knew what he was talking about.  He replies "kind and gracious".  Little smarty pants.  Maybe HE will be my English kid!

Love

This past week I have gotten to witness very true and unashamed love from my sweet little Bo.  He's always been a lovey kid, gives lots of hug, no surprises there.  But this week it occurred to me that he is 7 and his innocence will probably soon be thwarted by not so sweet other 7 year olds.

Bo was playing a game online that he and his friend like to connect to so they can play together.  They had a little chat window open with things like "we rock" and "wee wee", it was very sweet.  Then I told him he had to get off and come eat dinner.  He wrote to his friend and told him the news, even including that we were having pizza for dinner.  Then Bo typed "I love you Wyatt".  To which Wyatt replied "ok".  How sweet is that.  I know it probably sounds weird to people who aren't used to it, but he was completely genuine and wanted his friend to know it.  He's already been told by one friend that boys don't hug.  Sad.

While at his Halloween party in his class, he came right over and jumped up on my lap.  He didn't give a single thought to what his friends might think.  Nope, just sat there and played with my hair.  Even when I just poked my head in to give him his lunch the other day, I didn't leave without a big hug and kiss from him.  I'm just coming to the heartbreaking reality that my time is limited in this capacity.  However, my big boys are still very affectionate with me.  Stephen never leaves me without a hug or kiss on the cheek.  Rhett has no problem coming over to me after a meet where all his friends are and putting his head on my shoulder or hugging me.  Dalin too.  I'm so blessed to have boys who still love their mommy.  I'll even include Nick, who used to walk on the opposite side of the campus if I was any where in sight, is much better and might walk within talking distance.

I'm just sad to realize how quickly they get big and how these sweet moments are about to be my past.  I have to admit though, that having a big boy, one that is now taller than you, give you a hug and say " love you momma" is pretty sweet too. ♥