Another Year..........

Happy Birthday to me! The day before my sister Amy had tickets to see Maleficent from work so I got to go relax and enjoy a free birthday dinner and a show. It was a nice evening out!

My birthday was great. Layne surprised me with cake and presents. Usually I pick out some type of cake slice or a dessert from a resturant but Layne went all out. He had gone with the kids the night before to pick up some things and make me a card. I was really surprised he got me exactly what I wanted. I kept mentioning I really wanted a bike. I think he was a little annoyed I kept bringing it up all the time. So he said he had one last gift and to close my eyes........and when I opened them it was a brand new bike. It was really nice and I was totally surprised!!

We decided to get out of the house and went over to Trafalga to play some laser tag, go carts and water bumper boats. Always a great time because it's all free! Christian and I got soaked on the bummer boats by some kid who was just relentless with the water gun. After the fun we were all pretty hungry and so we headed out to lunch. Zuppas!! Yummy!!

Came home and took a little birthday nap and tested out the new bike! It was a great day. Thanks to all those birthday gifts and birthday wishes, it really does mean alot and adds to my day! I will have to take a picture of all the plants/trees I will be buying with all the $$$ I was given!

Let Summer Begin..........

Summer for us usually begins after Julia gets done with school. But Memorial Day we did some fun things. So that kicked it off a little early!

As I headed out to work one of the two holidays I was assigned to work, Layne and Christian were out putting up the flag. Christian was very eager to help and had the job of putting the flag up on the pole. Glad I got to capture that moment!

I went off to work from 8:30am to about 3pm and came home and nobody was home. It was nice to come home and relax a little after a long, crazy day at work. Layne brought me home a nice little surprise. He had taken everyone over to the Outlets in Lehi, just to get out of the house, and brought me home a few new things for the kitchen and some much needed chocolate!

He also picked up a slip n slide from the store and the kids were dying to try it out! So we set it up and away they went. Christian was hesitant and found that he just like to play in the big puddle at the end of the slide. Meanwhile, Julia was having a blast slippin and slidin all evening long! It was a great way to kick off summer and to end the day!

 A little push/ help from dad.

Christian enjoyed splashing Julia and standing at the end the best :)

Picture of the Week...............

Usually the kids get this spot but this week is Layne's turn. Layne took the bishop's challenge from his talk on Sunday entitled, "Don't Delay." Layne said he was just delaying the inevitable and that he has been wanting to do this for a long time. Not so sure what I think yet. It will take a little getting use to!

T-Ball.....

It's that time of year again. The sun is shining, school is nearing its end and then the sports begin. Julia was debating this year what to play. We tried to get her to do soccer year round because we see an ability there ,but she wanted to give spring t-ball a try and so soccer in the fall. Her first game was today bright and early. Everybody was a little shaky on what they needed to do but the team got through it. With more games the kinks get ironed out.

 It's "coach pitch" this year so the kids get either 5 times to try and hit a pitch or 3 pitches and 2 tries on the tee. Everybody still gets to bat and run bases. Once they get the ball in the field the goal is to try and get them to throw it to first to get the runner out. But again, no outs are counted. Still learning the basics. Julia did great. Her first time up she hit the first pitch. She did a great job in the field after a little coaxing from dad. Way to go Julia!

Julia's 1st grade program......

   I am behind in my blogging but I am trying to get caught up before summer comes. I think I'm almost done!
   Back at the end of March Julia had her 1st grade singing program for the parents. Julia had been practicing and practicing at school for weeks. All of the first graders were doing a celebration of songs and dances from around the world. Each 1st grade class was assigned a different country. Julia's class got America but focused on the Hawaiian Islands. They were suppose to wear a bright colored shirt. Erika did Julia's hair up in a pretty bun for the night.....she loved that part! Once she walked out with her class she had a grass skirt on, a flower lei and also a blue flower in her hair. She looked so cute.They did the hula while singing the Hukilau. She was right up in front of the stage. The shortest are usually in the front. She did such a great job. Each class did their dance and song and then at the end they all sang a few songs together, 2 of which Julia new really well. It's a Small World, and the Cuckoo song from Sound of Music, where they sing goodbye to their guests. It was a fun night! Way to go Julia!!

Easter......

Everyone woke up to a lovely Easter morning. We did a little egg/candy hunt for everyone. Julia and Christian always love to look for the eggs. Last year Christian would find an egg and just open it before he moved on. This year he collected them all first. They loved all the candy! Easter baskets were filled with art supplies and bubble guns. And of course we had to try them out before we went to church.

Easter outfits as usual. We actually had some from last year that worked out great for this year as well. At I got Christian to actually wear a tie...it usually comes with a lot of bribing! Julia got her first pair of high heels. I was looking for some summer sandals but she insisted she get the high heels. She couldn't or should I say wouldn't take them off at home. She was in love!

At church all the kids in primary were higher than kites but we did have a really great primary lesson. I team teach and she was in charge. She had 12 eggs that had things inside to remind us of Christ's sacrifice and atonement, his death and resurrection. It was such a great lesson and I actually learned a few new things I hadn't before! Christ loves each and everyone of us. He knows us personally and can help us through anything because He has gone through it too! He was resurrected so that we could reunite with our bodies and also live with Him again some day! I am eternally grateful for that sacrifice! HE IS RISEN!!

More Change..........

Well, we had received a call about a week ago asking if we could take on another proctor kid. The family that was going to take her had to bow out at the last minute for health reasons. So we thought about it and just thought we have a lot on our plates right now and adding another girl to the mix would makes things even more crazy. So we got a call about a couple of days ago and it was the director of Redwood Therapy. He said he has only asked 2 favors of any family in the program in its entire history and this was his 2nd attempt to see if we would take on another proctor daughter. It was only for a temporary placement, the longest she would be staying would be a month. She was located in Ogden and he was also trying to expand Redwood Therapy up to that area because they really need help with the troubled kids in the area.

Before we said anything we all sat down and had a family council about it. I think Layne and I were hesitant because we didn't want to infringe on Erika's space and make it inconvenient for her. But to our surprise she was all for it. She was willing to help in any way she could and wanted to have someone her age to hang with. So Layne and I both knew we couldn't say no. Again, it was a big adjustment to our already crazy life but we were up for the challenge.

We were given single beds to accommodate both girls. Redwood Therapy really stepped up and helped us get everything ready to go. Erika was okay with sharing a room and was really great about rearranging a few things in her room. Kameron showed up on Friday, April 18th. She is 17, just like Erika and let me tell you they hit it off great. An instant bond was created!

2 weeks passed and we got a call that a family was ready to take Kameron. So again, we all sat down and had a council. We told Kameron that we were willing to let her stay but it was up to her. We told her to be selfish, with regards to her goals and what she wanted from the program. A new family meant her own room, more one on one with proctor parents, etc. We knew how hard it was for these kids to adjust and Layne and I both knew we just didn't want to have her start all over with someone new. Kameron thought about it for a few minutes, made a few calls, and then let us know that she would be staying. I think everyone was happy and relived.

So we have 2 new proctor daughters living with us. Its been interesting. I'm not in the realm of dealing with or let alone talking to teenagers on a daily basis and its a whole new ball game compared to littler kids. They are really into boys and music! They both love school and they get along great! We do have to remind them to keep the music down and to be quiet because kids are sleeping. Not to many incidents have taken place. Both Kameron and Erika are very respectful and work hard when we ask them to! It's nice to have them here in our home.

It's also interesting to see how different each girl is. Erika is more open and talkative with me and Layne.She is more outgoing and Kameron is a bit more closed off and puts up her defenses. Kameron is a lot like me in that she likes her alone/quiet time. A little bit more introvert compared to Erika's extroverted nature. But not that that is bad, I'm just saying it's different and it all works out really well for our family dynamic. Building trust with both of them is crucial to their success and happiness.

Schedules are crazy. We usually have something scheduled every night of the week. Its hard to balance rides and pick up and drop off times, but we are making it work. I think this is just preparing me for the teenage years with my own kids. Crazy times!!