Blue & White Game

 Connor had his first blue and white game for Mont Harmon Middle School last Wednesday.  It was so fun to watch him play and I am so proud of him for all the hard work he's been putting in.  Yesterday they had their first away game in Vernal.  They ended up losing but Connor made a 3 pointer and his free throw shot.  He is really enjoying the early morning practices and the friendships he's making. Sunday he was made the Deacon's Quorum President, so between that, scouts, homework, and sports he is one busy boy (and still manages to make the high honor roll!).

Our annual Cookies and Caroling with friends was a success!  Once again we went to Brittnee's house and decorated cookies and then headed out and sang carols to lots of different people in the community.  It was fun visiting and singing with the Miller's, Schauugard's, Barlow's and Hobb's.  

The elementary school didn't do PTA reflections last year, so both my girls decided they wanted to participate this year.  Kinlee used water colors to paint a picture of her dancing on a dance floor and Kadence took a picture of all our dance shoes in the shape of a heart.  I'm very proud of them for getting out there and trying new things.  

Kinlee's school pictures did not turn out this year, despite having retakes done, so I had Jean Campbell take some pictures for me. She wanted to practice, so she took some of Kadence in one of her dance costumes also.  She did a great job and I absolutely love Kadence's ballet costume this year and Kinlee's adorable smile and feet.  

The Nutcracker

For the past 4 months Kadee and Kinlee have rehearsed every Saturday for the local production of The Nutcracker.  This past weekend was finally show time and they were so excited to strut their stuff on stage.  I decided to be crazy and plan the Curtis family Christmas party for the same day as the matinee showing so my grandma could come and watch the girls dance.  So, we had a performance on Thursday night, we also had Rory's company Christmas party on Thursday night.  His white elephant gift was this hilarious puzzle, and we also won 2 tickets to Lagoon! Friday night we had another performance, Christmas party Saturday morning, Saturday Matinee performance, and Saturday night performance.  By the time the weekend was over we were exhausted.  Then, to add to the excitement, Kinlee lost her first tooth on Sunday night!  She was so excited to call nana and grandma and tell them, and then to put her tooth under her pillow for the tooth fairy.  The tooth fairy left her $2 and our elf on the shelf, Max Powers, left her a message on the bathroom mirror, he was just as excited as she was that she lost a tooth!

Here Comes Santa Claus

Our visit with Santa was fast but fun!  We went to Wellington City hall and there was no line, so we got to sit on Santa's lap right away.  Kinlee went first and asked for a Karaoke player, then Matthew who asked for a motorcycle (but he's getting an electric scooter), Connor who asked for a gun, and finally Kadee who asked for a phone.  After our fun visit with Santa we went to Single Stop for hot cocoa.  It was a fun little outing that got the kids even more excited for Christmas (if that's even possible).    

Happy thanksgiving

As always we had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family.  We went with Rory's family this year and had a delicious, perfect meal at Debbie's house.  We then played a game called Telestrations and had so much pie I thought I would burst.  Grandma and grandpa Curtis came down for the weekend, but they had their dinner with my mom and Gary at Patty's house.  It was still really nice having them at the house and the kids enjoyed teasing grandpa.  He doesn't really know who they are or what's going on, but he's always a good sport about playing with them.  Grandma is still doing well but can't walk very well and is slowly losing her hearing.  It's hard to see the people we love age.  I pray that I can age gracefully so my kids don't have to take care of me too much haha.    

Chuck E Cheese please!

Our little Matthew turned the big 5 on Monday. To celebrate we had family over for pizza and cake.  He loved all the attention and absolutely loved the cake! Then Saturday we took the kids to Chuck E Cheese with his best friend Myles.  The kids had a blast and I really enjoyed our family time together.  Matthew was so happy to have Myles there and they had the time of their life playing together.  Matthew's favorite things right now are:  playing dad's phone, riding his bike, playing outside in the dirt, and playing with his remote control car and 4-wheeler.  His favorite food is cereal and his favorite drink is chocolate milk.  His favorite movie is Jurassic World, TV show is Team Umizoomi, and book is "I stink."  He gives the best hugs and is totally independent when it comes to what he wants to wear to school.  His best friend at school is Nathan and his best friend at home is Myles.  We sure do love that crazy kid that keeps us on our toes! 

Tea Parties and such

Halloween night Rory had to work, so the kids, Connor's friend Chet, and I went trick or treating around Wellington and up to "Snob Hill."  The kids made a killing on the candy and we were home and ready for bed by 9:00 since it was a school night.  Kadee was Wonder Woman, Kinlee was a pop star, Matthew was a Halo guy, and Connor was a guy riding an ostrich.  

Last week I had a training in SLC, so I didn't get to do my weekly blog post.  Friday Rory and Connor headed to Colorado to go hunting, so of course the kids and I decided to have some fun of our own.  Friday Kadence got to go with the Student Council to BYU for a conference.  She really enjoyed it and was so excited to hear Hank Smith (one of our favorite motivational speakers) speak.  She said she learned a lot about being an example and being kind to everyone she meets.  She has matured so much this year it's crazy.  

Saturday we went to see the new Trolls movie and then had a tea party complete with cookies, apple juice, and grandma Reed's china.  This week has been hard without Rory being around to help me with the kids.  I am so far behind on laundry it's crazy, but we have made it to all our activities and even managed to make it to my choir practice, get homework done, and do a service project.  Last night we got together with some other police wives in the area and tied ribbons for the WVC officer who was killed this past week.  They want ribbons for everyone to wear at his funeral, so we felt it was the least we could do for his sacrifice.  It's a scary world we live in.  I pray everyday I can teach my kids to be good people and to be contributing members of society.  I'm grateful for the wonderful people in our lives who are examples to them and so far I'm pretty proud of how they are turning out.         

Trunk or Treat

We've had a busy few days.  Saturday Landon was baptized so we spent the day with family.  It was a really nice way to spend our Saturday.

Kadee made Kudos club AGAIN. That girl is rocking 5th grade.

 I was sick with a nasty head cold, so Rory, Derk, and Deb took the kids to Ward's Corn maze in Wellington.  The kids had so much fun.  They loved going through the haunted maze and even loved the chainsaw guy (Matthew was so excited to come home and tell me his name was Shaun).  The painted pumpkins, had caramel apples and hot chocolate and came home exhausted.

Sunday I wanted to get out of the house for a bit, and Rory and Connor were gone hunting, so the kids, Debbie, and I went to the park to play the kids favorite fall game, monster in the graveyard.  We had so much fun chasing each other, burying each other in the leaves, and laughing and playing in the leaves.  I even managed to get some really good pictures.

 

Our ward Trunk or treat was Wednesday night.  We had soup and rolls and the kids dressed up and went trunk or treating around the parking lot.  Kadee and her friend Kloe decorated my trunk so cute, and loved helping me pass out candy.  They all got SO much candy I was sure they wouldn't need to go on Halloween, but they all assured me that we are definitely trick or treating on Halloween.

 This week has been Red Ribbon Week at the elementary school.  The kids didn't participate much, but they did do hat day and crazy hair day.  They said the themes aren't nearly as fun now that I'm not on the PTA anymore, it made me laugh.  Kadee wanted a giant spider in her hair and Kinlee wanted just plain old crazy hair, I think they both turned out really cute.   

Broken arm and French fries

Last week Wellington Elementary hosted their annual McTeacher Night.  Kadee was so excited to be on Student Council and get to make a fun sign to hold up to try and get people to come inside to buy food.  She had a blast hanging outside with her friends while Kinlee and I ate dinner inside.  

Connor was playing football at school on Friday and landed hard on his left arm.  He said it was bothering him a little bit, but just figured it was sprained.  When he woke up Sunday it was swollen and he could hardly move it, so I took him to the ER to have it checked.  Turns out he fractured his wrist and needs to wear a cast for the next 3 to 4 weeks.  They did a temporary splint on it, he has to go into the orthopedic doctor on Wednesday to have the cast put on. 

 

Saturday we went to a really amazing conference When Life Gets Hard.  The speakers were amazing and so inspirational.  We just took the older 2 kids and met Mike and Britt's family there so it was a great time and fun bonding experience with our older 2 kids.  I hope they gained some insight from it and it helps them through their tough times.  After the conference we got to meet the speakers and have our picture taken with them and we also got to do a small video on why we liked the conference that will be posted on Facebook and other social media sites.    

Today Matthew's preschool had a fun activity in which they invited dads to come and decorate pumpkins with the kids.  Matthew loved having dad at school and made an adorable pumpkin for our front porch.  I'm so glad he has such a great daddy that will make time to make these fun memories with the kids.  

Fun Weekend Getaway

Rory and Connor were hunting again last weekend, so my mom and I took a trip with the kids to see grandma and grandpa and to stay at the hotel with the water slide.  we left Saturday morning as soon as Nutcracker rehearsals were over and went to visit with grandma and grandpa and uncle DR for a few hours.  After that we headed to the pool to swim, swim, swim!  Kinlee was SO excited because she was finally tall enough to go down the water slide, so I bet she went down that thing a dozen times.  My mom really spoiled us and took us to dinner at the Olive Garden.  It was so yummy and I really enjoyed being with my mom and the kids.  After that we spent the rest of the weekend swimming, shopping, and visiting with family.  Kinlee practiced swimming back and forth in the deep end and I was very impressed with her back stroke and breast stroke.  Sunday we went to DR's for a delicious family dinner and got to see all his kids, his girls and I even sang some songs as Kelsi played the piano.  It was a wonderful weekend spent with some of the people I love the most.      

Centennial Week

Third, fourth, and fifth grade students from Wellington Elementary were able to tour the Utah State Capitol Building during the Centennial Celebration Week.  Kadee said it was really fun and loved the tour of the Capitol building.  She was very impressed with the beauty of it and all the details in the paintings.  She also got a Kudos Club award this week for having a positive attitude and got invited to go to an elite STEM camp in Denver, CO this summer.  The camp is very pricey so I'm not sure she will get to go, but I was so proud of her and love that her science teacher, Mrs. Anderson, referred her for the opportunity. 

I had parent teacher conferences for the girls last night.  Both of them are doing amazingly well in school and are well loved by their teachers.  It always feels so good to go to pt conference and have the teachers tell you what great kids you have.  Kinlee's teacher said her only complaint was that Kinlee loves to talk, which is no surprise since she is my daughter ha ha.  Tonight is Connor's pt conference, I'm excited to meet his middle school teachers and see how he is doing. 

Dance pictures...finally

I finally got the girls dance pictures back from last May.  They are super cute, but I don't think I will ever buy them again.  I think I could have taken just as cute of pictures for a fraction of the price.  Kinlee chose to have her pictures taken in her Princess Sophia costume and refused to change or have her picture taken in any other costume. Kadence picked her 3 favorite outfits to have her pictures done, but didn't pick my favorite, which was her tap costume.  I sure love my cute dancers.

Kids day and flooding... Again

Connor and Rory have been elk hunting the last couple of weekends so I've been trying to keep myself and the other kids from going stir crazy. Last weekend the kids and I went to Kiwanis kids day at the park.  Everything was free and we had a lot of fun.  Matthew loved the bounce houses and couldn't get enough of them while Kinlee loved the fishing booth.  She fished almost the entire time and could have cared less about anything else.  Kadee and her friend Kloe were all over the place, it's nice that they are a little older and I don't have to watch them every second of the day.

This weekend we had plans to go to Nutcracker rehearsals and were going to go to SLC with Nana to see grandpa Earl and grandma Bet, but instead spent hours cleaning up another flood.  The Price River by our old house flooded over again leaving a mess of mud and debris.  The only bright side is that we knew the flood was coming, so we were able to get most of the furniture and other things out of the basements before they flooded.  We didn't get it all though.  Most people lost couches, freezers, washers, dryers, water heaters, and furnaces again.  It has been such a mess and it is so sad to watch these people go through all of this again.  I truly pray the county can get the permits they've been waiting on to clean up and fix the river so this doesn't happen again.  

First Day of Preschool

Today was my first day teaching preschool at the Head Start in Price and Matthew's first day of preschool at the Head Start in Wellington.  He was so excited for school and couldn't wait for me to drop him off, then when it was time for me to go he wasn't so sure he wanted me to leave.  He clung to me for a minute and then was off playing with friends.  My first day was a little more chaotic.  I'm not used to being with a bunch of 3 and 4 year olds all day long and quite frankly they wore me out.  I think it will go really good once I get into the routine and the kids get used to being there.  The best part is the homemade breakfast and lunch.  It's super yummy and healthy too.  Here's hoping Matthew and I have the best preschool year ever.  So far so good for Matthew,  I asked him how school was today and he said, "It was Awesome!"