What a difference a year makes

Remember last year?

Now look at this boy play basketball!!
(Sorry about the quality of the video. He likes to shoot in the evening because it's cooler, so the video is dark)

He is out there almost everyday working on his shot. A lot of improvement, huh! Watch out Michael Jordan - Here comes Jarod Michael! He even has the tongue thing going if you look close!

He gets DJ out there practicing, too. They are both getting pretty good!

Ladies man

I was out on recess duty today and just had to take this picture. I will never tell Jarod about this blog because he would kill me, but it was too cute not to blog.

This is what my adorable son does every recess - plays jump rope with the girls. They sure like him! I have a hard time supervising 150 kids outside on recess when I only want to watch one!

First Day of School

Ok, so I'm a few days behind posting this one. Going back to work full time has kept me very busy, but I'm loving it. I just wish I didn't come home so completely exhausted every night!

JarodJarod also started school full time this year. He is in Mrs. Bayles' class (which is right next to my class). He has loved his class so far and gets to do lots of fun stuff. The best part about first grade - eating lunch at school and having THREE WHOLE RECESSES!! Jarod is taller than most of the kids in his class. He has grown so much over the summer. I had to buy new church clothes for him THREE times just since June (he just wore shorts the other days of the week).

DJ

DJ is in sixth grade - king of the school. His teacher is Mrs. Graham - same teacher Lindsie had (and loved) in sixth grade. His class will be reading buddies for mom's class this year. He is on safety patrol, student council and cyber corps. The worst thing about 6th grade - AN HOUR of homework every night. This is the year he gets braces. He has already started the process of having his jaw expanded to make room for his teeth. And he would like to grow taller like his little brother. He still fits in all his pants from last year!

Lindsie

Good heavens, here is my "baby" in ninth grade! Soon she drives, dates and goes to high school. She is on the Improv team, academic team, choir and before long will be involved in the school play. This year she gets to go to seminary, which so far she absolutely loves. Her teacher is Brother Zito, whose younger brother teaches at my school. She wants to be a wildlife biologist, so since her classes this year count toward high school, she is taking extra science classes. She is a whiz at anything animal and can spout of facts about just about any creature. And she NEVER stops talking!!

So far everyone is doing well. We have a pretty good after school routine going. We have a dinner rotation going so each night one person cooks, someone else sets the table, someone clears table and the last person does the dishes (one person gets the night off). I was worried they would all complain when I gave out the assignments, but they LOVE it. They love to cook (even Jarod), especially they get to choose what they cook. It's not so bad to do dishes when it's only once a week! The best part - mom doesn't have to do everything and the kids are learning how to cook basic meals.

After dinner we have 1/2 hour of homework/reading time that we all do together. It's a nice quiet time that we just get to spend together and it settles everyone down for bed.

We are off to a great start!

Family Pics

Church was cancelled today due to lack of interest (JK - it was because of the temple dedication) so we decided to take a road trip (again) to relax the day before school.

This time we went with the intent of getting some good pictures.

Ok Grandmas! You get to pick which pictures you want printed and sent to you. Let us know what sizes!

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We had a lot of fun today, but Jarod got tired of pictures and started making weird faces. That's when we knew it was time to quit! (I didn't post the worst faces - they looked like he was constipated or something!!) Tomorrow we are off to the first day of school! YAY! (Maybe. . . )

Look what I can do!!

This video is very shakey because mommy was running to keep up. I ride soooo fast!!

I am very proud of myself for learning to ride my bike without trainer wheels. Now I can ride over to my BFF Nicholas' house when I want! I don't have to wait for mommy to drive me over.

Something's Fishy . . .

Jarod is so excited. He saved up his allowance to buy a fish of his very own. Actually two fish and a snail. Look at the grin on that face!

Camping Again

This time we went to Smith and Morehouse campground.

Someone PLEASE tell me how to keep this boy dry! He is like a magnet to the water. We had to go home to get him more clothes because he just couldn't stay dry.

Here is our new boat. It is quite large - four people can ride with plenty of room. We had a great time on the boat until the wind came up. Actually, it was even fun then because the boat bounced along on the waves and splashed everyone.



When we got our boat, we also got a great deal on a trolling motor. It only goes about 5-10 mph, but it sure beats rowing! For some reason, every time Dean goes out on the boat, Max tries to swim out to him. We have to tie him up so he doesn't make a hole in the boat trying to get on!


Campfire songs anyone? Not sure I've ever seen this kind of campfire song. I think Marcia had something to do with this. (Actually, she did. They were singing songs from her "silly songs" book).


Oh, my daughter. This is her GUTTING A FISH! Yes, you read correctly. And yes, it was gross. When she had the fish all ready to cook, she then proceeded to pop the eyeballs out of the fish and cut them open. She wants to be a wildlife biologist, so I guess this is what she has to be able to do. I just have to close my eyes.



This is our little friend that hung around our camp the whole time. He is a really pretty bird, yellow with a red head. He wasn't very afraid of us (or our dogs!). We saw him the most a mealtimes!

This is the fire that MOM built. ALL BY MYSELF! I even chopped my own wood. Yes I am very proud of myself.

Then everyone had to get in on the chopping action.

Even Jarod! Oh this is scary. He told me "I only hit my foot one time and it didn't even hurt!" YIKES!!!

Of course, the best part of camping!