Whew! Could April have been any busier? Not sure it's possible... :)
JASON: Jason continues to enjoy his new job & is learning a lot! He even got certified with CPR & they gave him a work cell phone. He was really close to going on furlough the day we left for Disneyland, but Congress approved a budget at the last minute. . Jason enjoyed his first vacation to Disneyland – he loved to go on rides with McKinley & loved to see how the girls lit up when they saw the characters. He also had fun on the big Screamin’ roller coaster ride he could go on with Heidi. And he liked the Bug’s Life 4D movie. Jason got called to be the Elder’s Quorum Secretary at the end of the month & is looking forward to that calling.
HEIDI: It was a lot of work with all the packing, unpacking, laundry and cleaning to basically be gone for 2 weeks, but it was all worth it. So many wonderful memories. So great to be near family that we hadn’t seen in a month. She had a fun time shopping with Trisha at Kohl’s & Target while they were in SL (thanks mom for watching the girls!) Heidi’s also really enjoyed being closer to the St. George Hamiltons. Keeley & Jeff are so great to have us over – seems like we’re there every week! Heidi enjoyed the ½ marathon and is looking at doing a triathlon and maybe another race this year. Heidi also has enjoyed meeting the activity day girls & McKinley, Ireland & Kezia have enjoyed coming to the activities as well! Heidi still goes to the ward playgroup 1-2x a week and enjoys visiting with the other moms J
McKINLEY:
- When we went to Salt Lake for Cindy’s ring ceremony, McKinley snuck into the back of Cindy’s van. Cindy didn’t know till she was at the turning light that McKinley was back there. We had quite a talk that night with McKinley about trust.
-McKinley earned her Leapster from doing her chores on Handipoints – just in time for us to leave to Disneyland! She has enjoyed learning games on it.
-McKinley wanted to go swimming the SECOND we got to San Diego & didn’t stop asking about it for 2 days until we could go to the beach & pool.
-McKinley says her favorite ride at Disneyland was the Dumbo ride. She really loved the beach, too – and loved to be near her cousins. And, of course, she loved meeting all the princesses & dressing up. When she was Belle, she got so many comments about how beautiful she was.
-One day McKinley was throwing her purse in the air & catching it. She said “I’m a genius!”
-McKinley said that when she gets to be a mom that she would get 2 dogs and she would name one Tundra and one Sydney to remember her dogs growing up. And then she said that they would have puppies, but they would have to get married first.
-One afternoon, mom was watching a documentary on God in nature and it was quoting scripture & talking about the power of a storm. McKinley said “Wow, Mom – Satan should read the scriptures.”
-Just before bed on the 19th, daddy pulled McKinley’s top front right tooth out! It was pretty wiggly. It bled a little, but a new little tooth was already popping through. She got a dollar from the tooth fairy! And she’s still waiting for that other wiggly front tooth to fall out!
-McKinley is pretty good at sounding out words when she writes things, but she also likes to spell them right, so she asks mom sometimes how to spell something. One time she said “Mom – how do you spell OK?”
-McKinley got quite a collection of quarters from the Easter Bunny eggs this year. She was counting her stack & said “Mom – does the Easter Bunny know about tithing?”
-Then, later, she was counting all her money in her room. She came out while mom was reading to Ireland & Kezi. She said “Mom – I’ll entertain these girls. Will you please go in my room and see if I’m rich?”
-McKinley’s homeschool was a little lacking this month with all the traveling, but she still managed to memorize Alma 26:1 – and we learned about Aphids for our character quality. She continues to do really well with reading. She knows a lot of sight words. Her challenge is that she is tired of sounding things out, so she tries to just sight-word-read & ends up looking at the word “grill” and saying “girl.” Mom has to constantly remind her to slow down & look carefully at words.
-McKinley continues to make friends & enjoys playing with Addison & loves playing with Parker at play group.
-On Friday fun day at the end of the month mom asked what McKinley wanted to do. She thought for a minute & then said “Drive to Disneyland!!”
IRELAND:
-Ireland was almost as excited to see her friend Sienna Benson as to see her cousins and grandma & grandpa. She sure loves playing with Sienna. She was happy to see Joshua, too, and it took almost 30 minutes before they fought over something!! J
-Ireland wasn’t sharing too well at Grandma’s & mom told her she needed to share. She said “NO! Everybody just has to share with ME!!”
-On our way to Disneyland, Ireland saw the Excalibur castle & got excited. She said “LOOK Mom! It’s the temple!”
-Ireland really had a good time at Disneyland. She really loved all the Characters and would hardly eat because she’d be looking for them coming. She loved the rides, too, but was a bit scared on the Pirates of the Carribbean and the Bugs Life 4D show.
-Ireland LOVED swimming at the San Diego hotel, but the pool was just too chilly. She kept getting in, teeth chattering, hopping out, getting her coat on, getting warmed up, and hopping back in. this happened about 4 times before she finally stayed out!
-One night, Ireland put her head on the pillow and with a sigh said “Mom – Jesus loves me.” It’s moments like those that are truly treasures in a mother’s heart.
-One night, Ireland was having a really hard time & was crying & Mom blew her nose & went to throw away the tissue & Ireland launched into another fit, screaming “You took my germs!”
-Ireland was not doing what we asked & mom said “I’m the mom!” and Ireland said “But I’m the Ireland!!”
-We were talking about the country that Ireland is named after. She likes to look at pictures online of “her country” and when we drive through new places she will say “Mom – is this my country?”
-One night driving home from a long day of looking at lots, Ireland was cranky. She was just crying & wailing & screaming that she wanted this or that. Out of nowhere she starts screaming “I want to go to the dentist!!”
-The previous entries make it sound like she’s always difficult, but really her worst moments are when she is tired. She’s really usually a good little girl. She recognizes most of the letters of the alphabet & now mom is teaching her what sounds they make & how to identify numbers. Ireland is a helper & is always the FIRST one ready for bed – the FIRST one ready to get out the door – the FIRST one to pop out of bed. She has so much life & energy in that tiny body. We sure love our Ireland!!
-Often when we ask what Ireland dreamt about, she’ll say “Sienna!”
KEZIA:
-Kezia is so expressive right now. She’s really learned a lot of words and can tell you now if she hurts or if she wants an apple or if she’s stinky. If you read her a book, she will point to almost everything on the page & say its name. She loves to try to sing A,B,Cs and when mommy is threatening time out & counting to 3, Kezia likes to join in.
-Kezia is able to start repeating after the prayer words. So cute!
-Mom was in the living room & couldn’t see Kezi, but heard her making noise in the kitchen. Mom said “Kezi – are you making a mess?” Kezi said “Yeah!” Seriously!
-Kezi loved to see her grandma & grandpa. It took her a minute to take it all in, but once she did, she was so excited & wanted to just cuddle with them.
-Kezia had fun at Disneyland. She wasn’t so sure about the Characters at the beginning. Her match, Sleeping Beauty, was a little frightening to her for some reason, but by the end, she was running up to them saying “hugs! Hugs!”
-She enjoyed the slow boat rides, but really didn’t like the rides or shows that puffed air or water at you. She also was a bit scared on Pirates of the Caribbean.
-Kezi did really well at Disneyland for being stuck in the stroller so much. She fought it, but by the second day she was pretty good about zonking out in the stroller. She would NOT wear her cute mouse ears, though L
-Kezi still has some disgusting infatuations. She still loves the toilet and we have to constantly watch her so she’s not into the toilet water or putting various things in the toilet.
-One day Kezi was playing outside with her sisters. Mom opened the door & she walked right in, holding a piece of dog poo in her hand. YUCK!!
-When we pick her up & hold her, she likes to put her head on our shoulder and put her arms down the front of her between us. It’s so cute.
-When we sign I love you to each other, she tries so hard to make the sign, but ends up just kind of scrunching her fingers together.
-She knows a lot of animals & the sounds they make. She loves to say “Cow! Mooooooo!”
-Kezi is having a hard time learning how to share. Her version of sharing is coming up to a child, taking the object from them and saying “SHARE!” And if anyone tries to take ANYthing from her, she says “MINE!!” Sigh… we’re working on it!
-Kezi sure loves the dog. She has even learned to take control when Sydney jumps up on her – she says “NO! and pushes her away.” One day the dogs were fighting/playing & Kezi was shouting to them “SHARE! SHARE!”
-Kezi went to the nursery for the first time this month. Her first time went pretty well, but we were just a couple minutes late picking her up & when she saw the other parents leaving with their kids, she started screaming. The next week was a bit more difficult, but after 3 times of going out & coming in, she stayed & was fine.
-Kezi also loves looking at pictures from the family. One of her favorite things to do is sit and watch mom’s screensaver & name all the people in the family. It’s so cute. She also loves to call family, but she has to see their picture on mom’s phone to talk to them.
-Her hair is getting so long we have to pull it back everyday just so she can see.
