Principal's Pride

A couple of weeks ago, Zach came home with a very important letter. He said it was very important that I read it. I was a little nervous as sometimes you don't want to read important letters from the teacher. Rest assured it was a good letter. Zach was the first in his class to be recognized for acedemic achievement and is recipient of the Principle's Pride award. In "Zach Fashion" he acted as though it were no big deal and didn't want to have to go up in front of everyone. In his very cool way, he slowly made it to the front and smiled is smile that makes your heart melt. He is such a good student and LOVES to learn. He has a love of reading and rattles off his math facts like the ABC's. He is a great example to his little sister who also has to do her own "homework" along side her brothers.

All for the love of Candy

Sydney is one of those kids who can find candy anywhere. She is always standing on the kitchen counter searching through the cupboards looking for something sweet. I recently emptied the "cupboard" to avoid a potential accident. After searching and not finding any candy in the kitchen, she headed to my room. In our closet on one of the built in shelves sits a little bowl. At the end of each day Cris empties his pocket into this bowl. It is a random collection of change, receipts, mints, gum, jolly ranchers, etc. Well, Miss Syd knows of the treasures one can find in this bowl and decided to help herself. After all she wanted some "crunchy" candy and she was going to find it and partake. What she didn't do was prepare for the climb back down the shelf. She fell, she screamed a very hurt scream and after a trip to the doctor who thankfully let us come immediately my fears were confirmed. Both of her tiny bones in her arm were broken. She HATES going to the doctor but did surprisingly well. She gets her cast on Monday and if I remember right she wears it for six weeks above the elbow and then a couple of weeks with a new cast below the elbow.

Just a little snip

The before and after

I finally decided it was time to end a daily battle. The combing of Syd's hair. I have been wanting to cut it short for a long time, I just needed to convince someone else (Cris) that it would be okay. After a couple of failed attempts of taking Syd to get her hair cut at a very kid friendly salon (she had her famous death grip around my neck) I decided to take matters into my own hands. We made a quick visit to Sally's and got some nice sharp scissors. A little bribery and some extra patience and this is the end result. I quite like it and so does she. The best part was when Cris came home from being out of town he came in and kissed a sleeping Syd who woke up and said, "Mom said your going to kill her." Thank goodness he hasn't and I think he likes the new look.

Wake me up when September Ends

I heard this song "Wake me up when September Ends" the other day, and I couldn't agree more. This September ranks up there with one of the busier months for our family. I packed my suitcase three times and spent a third of the month away from my bed. ( I like my bed) The majority of time that we have been at home have been spent with school work or at football practice and games.

We started off the month with a couple of days of school and since were are such great parents, we immediately took the boys out of school for a week. In reality, they only missed 3 1/2 days. We went to Texas for a week to spend time with my brother Scott and his family and to attend the AWESOME BYU vs OK game. This event will get a separate post later. It was a fun time filled with great memories.

A week later we went to Burley for my Grandpa Johnson's funeral. It was something we had been anticipating as he was 94 years old. He was ready to go and every morning he read the paper to see if he who else he had outlived. He suffered a stroke and passed away 5 days later free of pain or discomfort. It was wonderful to be among family and to reminisce about the memories we had with Grandpa J.

After much planning and preparation, our weekend with the ladies in the Wood Family had arrived. It was a great weekend and I am still smiling and yawning thinking about all the memories we made. (pictures to come later and oh some good pictures!) So for now, I am going to sleep and do as little as possible until September ends. Good thing there is only one day left or my family may wonder where I am and why there are no clean clothes, dishes or food to eat.

Set Set Hike

This past weekend was kick off time for Alex and Zach. They both played in a Jamboree on Saturday and had a lot of fun.

Alex's jamboree was at the BSU football field as evidenced by the smurf turf. The team played 6 min on offense and 6 min on defense. Alex is playing defensive outside linebacker (i think that's what it is called) and Cris is in charge of the defense. Their team did great and scored two touchdowns and had two quarterback sacks. It is a fun group of boys and families to hang out with on a daily (4 practices a week and Sat games) basis.

Zach's team has played soccer together for two seasons and decided to try their hand at flag football. It is fun stuff to watch!! Syd decided to support everyone by wearing her cheer leading outfit and was happy to a few minutes to play with Mason at the park where Zach plays.

Needless to say, the next two months are CRAZY. If we aren't home in the evening or on Sat, you can guess where we are -- FOOTBALL!

A day of firsts

Alex's first day of 4th grade - he said his teacher was better than she thought she would be. She's a cute young first year teacher with lots of energy. I really like her. He came home with a homework planner. He is becoming so mature and tall. He is almost to my chin. Yikes.

Zach's first day of 1st grade - he said it was the longest day of my life. It is an adjustment when you go all day I told him. Favorite part - eating in the cafeteria and buying orange cream flavored milk. I may have to eat at the cafeteria myself. I asked him how recess was and his response was priceless. I was tortured. What? Well, not tortured but chased by three girls the entire recess. I do need to add he had a huge grin on his face when he told his tale.

Sydney - first day of ballet class. I've been waiting for this day for awhile, though it didn't go as I had planned. She gets very nervous and clingy for new experiences, thus the death grip hold on my neck limited her ability to plie and jete. She loosened up at the end and said she would not be so nervous next time.

Remembering Grandma Yamamoto

Today is Grandma Moto's birthday. She passed away earlier this year on May 3. She was a wonderful feisty lady and we dearly miss her. She is the reason Cris spells his name with out the 'H' as her name is Cristine. She told the best stories about her childhood growing up in Kentucky and many adventures in California. During our first few years of marriage we would often go to San Diego and stay with her and Grandpa. There home is packed full of so many memories and wonderful meals. I can still picture her in her brightly colored Mu Mu's making Chinese ham and rice and Kahlua pork. She was a fabulous cook and I try to replicate many of her dishes but they never turn out as good has hers.

Per her request, she didn't have a funeral and so the family gathered as her health was declining. Cris was able to go down and spend a long weekend with his family and many came in from near and far. Not often do you get to have your celebration of life while still alive and I am so happy Cris was able to go spend time with her and bid his farewell. We were entrusted to watch over one of her most prize possessions, Oscar. He has been such a fun addition to the family. He has been a reminder to us of the unconditional love Grandma and Grandpa showed to each of us.