The LA Temple

Right in the heart of LA there's an enormously large plot of beautifully landscaped land (I wonder if they can only water twice a week?) with a giant building all dedicated to The Lord. How lucky are we that we live so close (about 15 min.--without traffic) to a TEMPLE?!

(Kya has turned into quite the diva--for pictures)

(Look how LONG their legs are--they are getting so big!)

(Pretty good picture for an 8 year old)

(And here's our family shot--one closed eyes, two not looking and one picking their nose:))

Time to Buy a Pony

I took the kids up to Griffith park today....and yes I paid the $3/each for them to ride a pony. They LOVED it!! Kya was the only one brave enough to ride one of the "fast" ponies.

We Made It!

We now have a Kindergarten Graduate

I just about cried when Kya's principal got up and talked about how grown up our little Kindergarteners are now. We got to watch a slide show of the past school year and watch Kya's class sing "What a Wonderful World"--so sweet (although I taped it on my video camera and how no idea how to transfer the file onto the computer). I am so proud of Kya--she has worked so hard and done so well in school this past year!

And we can't forget our little 2nd Grade Graduate

Aparently passing 2nd grade is not as big of a deal as Kindergarten because there were no festivities for us parents to attend--they just had a "kids only" class party. But we are still proud of Jordan and all the hard work she has done in school this year.

Let the SUMMER begin!!

The Shoes Say it All

There are only 3 more days of school left. It's a good thing because I don't think their school shoes could last a minute longer:)

And here's a picture of the jewel jars...they are slowly building up their collections. (These pictures are courtesy of my old camera BTW...3.2 mega pixels baby!!)

Works like a charm...I mean jewel

Today was the start of our new "reward" system. I have been trying to change some behavior as well as reward some positive behavior. It's going to take some time to work out the kinks, but today was fabulous. Here's how it works--so far:

*The kids each have a jar with their name on it.

*I have a big bag full of shiny jewels.

*I catch them being good, they get a jewel.

*I catch them being really bad, I take a jewel away (I really want to focus on the positive so I only take a jewel away after a couple warnings or for hitting or screaming at someone).

*They can also earn jewels from extra chores, finishing their dinner, peeing on the potty (for Tyson) etc.

*They can use their jewels to buy tv time (2 jewels per show), buy stay-up-late time, or save them and trade them in for cash (20 jewels=$5).

We'll see how it goes, but I'm sure I'll have to make some adjustments. This is how it worked today:

*Tyson earned 6 jewels and used 4 of them to watch tv.

*Jordan earned 6 jewels, used 2 to watch tv.

*Kya earned 4 and lost one for hitting Tyson, she saved the rest.

I think it was a successful day:)

(I would post a picture of their jars, but Mike's got the camera in Australia. So, you get a picture of my 3 babies April 2006)

My {almost} Heart Attack

Tyson and I went to pick the girls up from school today as usual. After we got Kya from her class and found Jordan, Kya stopped to play at the tree outside her classroom. I saw Tyson taking off out the front gate of the school and said "I've got to follow Tyson." Well, before I knew it, he was out of sight. It's not unusual for Tyson to run off, he does it almost every day BUT he usually doesn't go very far. I can usually spot him within seconds. Well, as you are probably guessing--that was NOT the case today.

My first thought was "he went to the car"...so we hurried to the car...NO TYSON. So we rushed back and checked in all the bushes he likes to play in...NO TYSON. I swear I walked around that entire school yard at least ten times before I went into the office to ask if anyone had seen him. Now all the parents and teachers were frantically searching for "a little blonde boy named Tyson." Seriously, you can imagine what was going through my mind...all those people swarming around after school, all those cars coming and going, those busy streets...not a good place for your mind to go. Finally after about 15min. (what seemed like hours) I thought, maybe he went to the other side of the school where we sometimes park--this time I started running. Guess what I saw?? Tyson running towards me with a proud look on his face. He thought he was being tricky...running away from Mom. Oh, my gosh I have never been so relieved in my life!!! Any parent who has ever lost a child for any amount of time can completely understand. I can't even explain how happy I am that all of my kids are safe and sound in our little home. Nothing like this better ever happen again...or next time I may just have a real heart attack:(

(Here's Tyson playing "goalie" in the backyard)

When you've got a good book to read...

...the laundry doesn't get put away.
...the husband gets neglected.
...the kids complain nobody is playing with them.
...the kids get picked up late from school.
...the dinner gets left out.
...the boy watches too much tv.

and worst of all

...the blog doesn't get updated.

I am still reading The Memory Keeper's Daughter and I am so engrossed. If only I was a faster reader (and didn't have a million other things to do)! I'm sure now that Mike is gone, I'll get it finished much quicker. I'll let you all know what I think when it's over...what's going to happen (wait...don't tell me)?!

My 4 Favorite People

I just had to post this picture. It's one of those pictures that I can't stop staring at. How did I get so lucky?!

(This was taken on Mike's birthday...notice all the candles...we had to buy 2 packs)