Appreciation

It's nice to feel appreciated.  I've been serving in our ward as the Primary Chorister. A calling I never thought I'd have. I don't sing. And I'm not the best in front of a large group of kids. But I was asked to do it, so I did. And I had some fun doing it. And when I was put in I had less than 2 months til the primary program. So it was a bit crazy getting the kids ready, knowing all the songs.  Sometimes I felt like a celebrity. Kids would see me at the park or at a ward activity and excitedly point at me and say, "Hey! You're my teacher!" Or they would tell me they liked what we did for music time that week.  It was so sweet. And definitely made it all worthwhile.

And a couple of weeks ago the CTR 5 class gave me these flowers they made. And sent me a card thanking me for doing the music.  It was so sweet and made my day. Still does. Little things mean so much. I'll miss these Primary kids!

Hey! Hey! We're the Monkees!

Zach finished his first trimester of Kindergarten.  He's had a really good experience.  He is a pretty talkative, confident kid in a lot of ways. But since about the time he started preschool last year, he's developed a fear of being in front of people. He doesn't like to be put on show. He doesn't like others to take his picture.  He will be so excited about something - like his preschool graduation - but he gets there and sees all the people who will be watching and decides he doesn't want to be out there.  This is part of the reason I had him go to the public school for Kindergarten, even though I started homeschooling the older boys.  I hoped it would help him get more comfortable.  And he has been making some great improvements.

And then it was time for the dance performance.  Our school has a dance program where each class at some point in the year has a 6-week dance time where they learn a routine. And then all the classes for that time period have a performance night for the parents to watch.  He started off not really participating in dance at all. But as time went on, he started participating and liked it. But then they started practicing on the actual stage in the multipurpose room, which is where the older kids also have lunch.  He didn't like that. He didn't want to dance anymore with other kids watching. But his teacher talked to him about it. That if he just stood there, he'd be the one everyone watched. But if he participated, they wouldn't really notice him.  He said he was going to do it and we were so hopeful. 

They danced to "Hey, Hey, We're the Monkees!"  And he did it! He did it!  He was up there and he was doing all of the dance moves.  He wasn't loving it and all into it. He was kind of just going through the motions - so he wouldn't be noticed. But he did it.  I was worried he wouldn't even go up there. But he did. It was awesome. We were so proud of him for being up there.  One step at a time. School and soccer have been really good for him getting more comfortable in front of people.  His soccer coach was sitting behind us - his son is also in the class. And he was just about as excited as we were to see Zach up there. How nice to have other people care so much about your kid. It was a great night.

House Hunting in San Diego

We spent a few days in San Diego to check out the area and hopefully to find a house to live in. We looked at a bunch of houses, but weren't able to find one that matched our needs (or that did meet our needs but that we could get to before someone else). So we are still looking.

We did, however, get to check out the area. It was fun to start exploring and getting excited about moving there. Of course the kids are excited about Legoland, Sea World, Disneyland, and all those places we'll be close to.  But there will be plenty of other (less expensive) things to do too!

We visited the San Diego temple. It is gorgeous.   Jesse and I went there once when we were dating. I love it. I can't wait to go there regularly.

We went to La Jolla Cove. So fun. Sea lions, pelicans, seagulls. Lots of people scuba diving. A lot of people who would swim from the shore way out to the buoys and back. It was impressive.  We didn't bring swimsuits thinking it would be a bit chilly. But kids always have other ideas. It didn't take long for them to have their shoes off and their toes in. Then their legs. Then getting their shorts and shirts splashed. And soon enough they were all wet, having a great time.

We also visited Old Town San Diego.  There is a Mormon Battalion Historic Site there that was just done 3 years ago.  If you are in the area, it's a must see.  Really well done. Very interactive and fun for the kids. We had a great time there.

There is so much for us to explore. We can't wait!

Rosicrucian Museum (Ancient Egypt)

We took one last field trip before we move. For school, we've been studying the first book of The Story of the World. We've been learning a lot about Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Babylon, etc.  We heard about the Rosicrucian Museum in San Jose and really wanted to go before we move.  And I'm so glad we did. It was awesome!  All of the things we've been studying come to life.  It was so fun to watch Craig and Jared run from one thing to another saying, "Mom, come look! It's Hannibal's Code!"  "Mom, look it's papyrus! And cuneiform tablets!"  "Mom look it's about Queen Hapshetsut and Nefertiti!"  "Look at the Canopic Jars, Mom!"  So fun. They loved it. I loved it.  History coming alive. So cool.  It would have been a little easier without Zach and Branden who were a little bored by it all, but that's okay. We still got to see it all.

Remains of a mummy

We could go inside this tomb and see what real ones were like

This is inside that tomb

Rosetta Stone

The Birthing Room

Playing a game of Senet

The reeds Papyrus is made from

Walk Like an Egyptian

Meditating :)

Lots of meditating going on :)

Thutmose

Halloween 2011

 I'm trying to catch up on my posts.  Moving is occupying most of my time right now!  We did have a fun Halloween though.  We had a lot of activities to participate in.  Thankfully the 3 younger boys were really excited about wearing costumes I've made over the years. I love that instead of wanting something brand new, they are excited it is *their* turn to be a certain character.  It sure makes my life easier, especially in a crazy Halloween like this one!  Craig was the only one who needed a new costume since he keeps growing!  He chose to be Indiana Jones. We found everything we needed at a Goodwill, including a white hat we could use. We just got some soft fabric paint and made the hat brown.  I made the whip out of brown duct tape. Just folded the tape over vertically, made 3 strips, then braided it.  Taped up a wooden stick to attach it to. Worked pretty well.



The Wednesday before Halloween we had our ward Trunk or Treat. Jesse was out of town and missed it. But my kids have gotten old enough, it's not nearly as difficult as it once was.  We had dinner. Then there were a bunch of carnival-type games for the kids to play. And the trunk-or-treat out in the parking lot to score lots of candy.  They had a good time.

That Friday night there was a Harvest Festival at the school.  Zach's class was going off-track that day, so this activity was our last event at the school we've been apart of for 4 1/2 years. The kids wore their costumes again and had fun playing games and seeing their friends.

We left Sunday afternoon for San Diego to house hunt. Monday was Halloween. We took their costumes with us. We thought trick-or-treating there would be a good way to get to know some areas of San Diego!  If there are hardly any kids out trick-or-treating, probably not the area we want to live, right?  So we picked an area where we were looking at houses and walked the neighborhood. It was great. People were so friendly. A lot of people were sitting out in their driveways with those outdoor fireplaces, just visiting. It was great. It really got us excited about moving there.

Liars Beware

Two weeks ago today I was driving home from a class Craig and Jared take.  It was a Friday afternoon around 3:30 p.m.  I pulled up to a major intersection and the light was red. There were two cars already stopped in front of me. I stopped and was just sitting there at the light when suddenly I heard a loud noise. I looked out my window and saw the mirror broken off, hanging by some wires.  A Nissan Quest had driven waaaay to close to my van and hit the mirror off. I wasn't sure if there was any other damage. But I realized she was in the left turn lane ahead of me, there were other cars passing on my left into that lane, and how was I going to talk to her and make sure I got her information?  The van was brand new and didn't have a license plate on yet.

As soon as I could, I got into the left turn lane behind a couple of other cars, put my van in park, jumped out and raced up to her van to make sure she was going to pull over.  She said, "I know, I know", I'm pulling over into the library parking lot.  Okay, great. I headed back to my car when a guy 2 cars behind me got out and gave me his card saying if I needed a witness to give him a call because what happened was just wrong. Awesome. Thank you, kind man.

We met in the library parking lot and exchanged information, took some pictures. She kind of laughed and said she didn't know how that happened. I didn't laugh. And I said she was driving too close to me, that's how it happened.  I went on home after that, annoyed for the inconvenience of having to deal with this while we are in the middle of getting ready for our move. But grateful it was just the mirror and we were all safe.

I reported the incident to my insurance and figured we'd be hearing back quickly on this and the driver's insurance would be sending us money in to time.  WRONG.  The driver's insurance reported they were not accepting liability because the driver said she was sitting at the light, that *I* was too far over and that when I went forward I hit her car. But there was little damage, so they weren't seeking damages.  WHAT????  What a bold-faced lie. I couldn't believe it.  I know there are dishonest people out there. But I try to assume most people are pretty decent.  Especially a mom who also had her kids in the car, just like me.  What kind of  person is she, and what kind of kids is she raising?

It was an important lesson to teach. Since my kids had been in the car with me and knew exactly what happened, we had a talk about honesty.  And why it is important to be honest. And that sadly even adults haven't always learned to be honest. And look how we are affected. We would have to pay the damages ourselves because the damages were just barely less than our deductible.  Yes, we don't want to get in trouble and have consequences. But it affects others. We need to be honest. I wanted to call this lady up and ask her what she was thinking and why she would do that when she knows it was completely her fault.  Jesse felt like slashing her tires to cost her $400 like she was going to us. I kind of wanted to help him. It was so frustrating. But honest people don't do such things. We felt like that. But we wouldn't really do it.

Today I found out that the witness came through for me.  Both insurance companies have spoken with him and he backed up my story, letting them know that he had his window down and his arm out the window. And that this driver was trying to make the green turn light and so rushed into the left lane, and almost hit his arm, that's how close she was. He saw her hit my mirror.  She is obviously in the wrong.  I am thankful for good people out there who help out another. Without him, I had no way to prove that I was right and she was wrong.  (Lesson learned - ALWAYS call the police, even for a "minor" incident so the details can be told right then and there.) 

The other insurance will be paying for the damages.  That saves us $400. And it showed another valuable lesson I could teach my kids.  She got caught. I wonder how her insurance company will deal with her dishonesty?  Hopefully my kids will learn a little more about doing what is right because it's the right thing to do.  And our actions affect others.  Be Honest. Be True. Be a person of Integrity.

I won! I won!

I never win anything. Well, almost never.  But I try to. If it's easy to sign up, I sign up for things and try to win. So two weeks ago when I received an email from Alfred Publishing (they make piano books I use for my kids) telling me I could enter to win tickets to the Jim Brickman concert, and all I had to do was reply to the email with some basic information, I figured, why not? And what do you know. A few days later, I received an email saying I had won 2 tickets to the concert!

I printed the confirmation, which was just a Word document. And then the skepticism began. A Word document?  Really? That's all we need to take?  Anyone could create a Word document. We showed up fully expecting them to laugh at us and send us away.  But we were pleasantly surprised when we told them my name and they actually had tickets printed with my name on them! I really did win!!

We had a nice time. I love piano music. And it was an entertaining concert with lots of laughs in addition to the beautiful music. For the songs with words, he had two singers with beautiful voices that added a lot to the show. We enjoyed ourselves. It was a nice break from the packing and house hunting and all that we have going on.  And the tickets were free!