January was kind of a blur around here. We started off the year by getting the kitchen put back together after our Chinese cooking fun. We got all the Christmas stuff put away as well. The high light of the cleaning process is that the bishop asked if we would move all the scout stuff to his extra garage so he can see what we have. Our garage is looking better already. Steve has some extra room out there for the first time in 10 years!!!! I am liking 2019 already.
January 2nd Sara Muller and I got together for some firsts. She had never seen Frozen and I had never tried Ben and Jerry's ice cream. We spent the afternoon eating delicious Reuben sandwiches, watching the movie (complete with commentary and laughter) and eating Ben and Jerry's ice cream. I tell ya, 2019 is going to be a great year if the first two days are any indication of greatness.
January 5th, the young men were asked to help a family in the ward clean up the leaves in their yard. It took 13 young men an hour and a half to get the job done. WHEW! There were 40 bags of leaves at the end of this service project. The boys love doing service together. They have such a good time.
January 6th was the first day of the two hour church schedule. It was weird and amazing at the same time. I found myself really concentrating on every word since I knew there was going to be less of it. We also really loved studying "Come Follow Me" as a family. This new Sunday schedule is going to be a good thing.
January 8th was the high school band concert. Naomi played with the Knight Riders and so we got to stay for the whole concert. Mr. Scaringelli is making such a huge difference. The kids really like playing for him and it shows.
January 10th I subbed as Mr. McSwain. He is the music teacher at both the middle and high school. This subbing day is of note because the high school kids were working on music theory and I was actually able to help them with their lessons. It was so cool.
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| We have been here for 17 years now and the bright red cardinals still make me stop and stare. |
January 11th the stake had a personal progress day for all the Young Women. There is a huge push for personal progress since the program will be ending in December of 2019. It was worth going because Naomi is more motivated now to get her medallion before December.
After the personal progress event I took Naomi and Lucy to the mall to look around and spend time together. Nick and Steve had gone to a wood shop in Hickory to have some "man" time while the "girls" played in Charlotte. That night we watched Monti Python and the Holy Grail since Lucy hadn't seen it yet. It was a fun day.
January 14th I found another hair whisperer. Ashley Cambra cut my hair and made it look like the cuts my niece, Amanda, used to give me when I lived in Salt Lake. I am so excited!!!
January 15th I got called in to sub for the morning. Normally this wouldn't be such a big deal, but a teacher got sick and they needed someone ASAP. I had just dropped the kids off at school and turned around and went back. They had the second half of the day covered, but ... I worked until 11:15 and then finished with the post office and grocery store errands before picking everyone up that afternoon.
Seminary is providing a lot of cleaning opportunities lately. This last one was a doozy!! I have ignored the chocolate chips that got ground into my carpet during the last seminary breakfast. I have ignored the muddy footprints because of all the rain. Today I could not ignore the dog poop that got tracked across the wood floor and onto the carpet. The carpets really needed cleaning anyway. It was a win win.
January 17th I subbed in the library for Mrs. Rogowski and got to teach her Digital Citizenship class. This is an amazing class that helps the kids be more aware of the impact the digital world can have on their lives. They learn about internet safety and how to leave a positive digital footprint. Today was a review of all the things they have learned so far. Mrs. Rogowski had set up a Goosechase for them. Think of a digital scavenger hunt. There were tasks they needed to complete in order to demonstrate their understanding of all the things they had been taught so far. Each task had a point value attached to it. These kids are amazing with their level of creativity . I had a great day learning and laughing with them. I love my kids school!!!!
January 18th, the first semester of seminary is over. We are halfway there!!!!!
January 19th we went to see "Spiderman; Into the Spiderverse". Naomi had been begging for weeks to go see it. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. A pleasant surprise.
January 20th I got to sub in primary as the chorister. It was a blast. They are learning a new song that made me cry it was so beautiful. We also sang "Do As I'm Doing" like a rock star. It was a blast. I miss those kids.
January 21st Nick went to a friend's house to play Dungeons and Dragons. Naomi and I cleaned out both of our closets. Dad played with power tools. He ended up sort of cleaning/organizing his tools when he couldn't find what he needed. It was a very productive day.
January 24th was the first combined activity since the new age advancement requirements for the youth program. I stayed in the truck to finish up my Duo Lingo for the day and then went into the church to see what they were doing. I was not prepared for the huge growth in the size of our youth group. It was amazing. There were upwards of 40 youth in the gym having a great time playing mat ball!!!! We have an incredible youth group.
January 25th Jill Licastri and I went shopping for our outfits for the mini-con. We wanted to do something fun that would slightly embarrass the girls while letting everyone know that Mom was watching. We came up with the perfect solution and had a grand time doing it. Pictures to follow.
Jauuary 26th was the mini-con. We all drove down together to the CPCC campus uptown. The girls were so excited to go their first con. Both had carefully picked their characters and costumes and were ready to get the full experience.
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| Naomi as Winry and Bell as Nana |
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| They are both still in shock that they are actually at a mini-con. |
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| Jill modeling our bright pink sweatshirts! The message is for: 1) our girls, 2) boys who might want to talk to our girls and 3) a warning to the kids at the con that Mom will always find out what you have been up to. We thought it was kind of genius. |
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| We got to have our picture taken with Thanos! |
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Bella with "Keith" and Naomi with "Pigeon"
They were so excited to have their picture taken with their favorite characters from Voltron. |
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| A picture of the main floor from the second level. |
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| The rhinestone eyes on the front of the sweatshirt.... |
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| ...go perfectly with the message on the back. Several parents stopped us and told us they loved our sweatshirts. |
It was a really fun day. Molly and Josh came with us and we all took turns making sure the girls were safe. At one point a boy came and asked if he could take a picture with Naomi. I didn't worry too much until he stayed and kept talking to her. Josh, who just graduated from the police academy, came up shortly after the conversation started and told me the guy talking to Naomi had been following the girls and kept talking to them. He was 17. Josh had his eye on the guy.
Below is a sampling of the artwork Naomi bought at the event. She was so excited to meet other artists and my try to put her own stuff in a con one day.
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| The artist of these pictures goes to LNC with Naomi and Bella. |
By the end of the day we were all exhausted, but we had the best time. The girls already have plans to go to the big comic-con in June. It is a three-day event and Naomi's favorite artist is going to be there. We will see!
January 29th - We started the morning with a meeting at the school with Nick and his counselor to go over what to expect his senior year and to help plan out what classes to take. Nick is on course to graduate with only 5 more classes which means he can take an automotive class at CPCC next year. Less time at the high school and he gets to play with cars - WIN WIN!!! He is excited about his senior year now. His grades are great and he has a plan in place for after high school. Mrs. Bravener was very impressed. She told him to keep up the good work. He needed to hear that. This year has been a tough one.
Both Nick and Naomi made the Honor Roll for the first semester!!
Steve sent me a text in the middle of the day telling me that he got the raise AND he was going to be able to hire additional people to take the load off his overworked team. Such good news!! Steve needed to hear that. This last year has been a tough one!!
January 30th I woke up with a really sore back! I taught seminary in my pajamas because it hurt to change clothes. I was able to get my hair in a pony tail, but that was about it. The Tylenol started kicking in about the time seminary ended. I made it though.
Later that morning I went back to Ashley and she did my hair color. She used a technique called balayage to add highlights. I love the result. My color has depth now.
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| My new hair color and balayage highlights. I love it. |
That night Steve helped me lug all the extra stuff we had been collecting down to the church for the Relief Society's Sip and Swap activity the next night. The idea was we would all bring stuff we didn't use anymore and everyone could "shop" for things while sipping hot cocoa and chatting. They even invited the other wards. I didn't get to go back down the next night because I was still planning my seminary lesson, but I heard it was a great success. I was happy to have more space in the house!!!
Steve and Nick were finally able to use the punching bag they had been setting up for weeks in the garage. They just needed to find a way to weigh it down so it wouldn't swing so much. When that task was completed the punching lessons began. They were both excited to have the punching bag where it was usable - and I was excited that it wasn't on the floor in the bonus room anymore. WIN WIN!!
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| Pre-punching pose |
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A sampling of Naomi's artwork from school. This is a scratch board project they have been working on.
She is so talented. |
And now an addition to the blog I like to call...
WHAT HAS JEREMY BEEN UP TO??
