Watch out, Ladybugs!

I just signed Sydney up for the Spring season with the Honeybees again. She is pumped to say the least. Maybe now she can satisfy her vendetta against those Ladybugs. Taylor is not looking forward to being dragged to all of the games again and I'm sure I will be chasing Avery off the playing field more than not. Maybe if I buy Taylor a cheerleading outfit and pom poms, she will enjoy soccer season more. Personally, I think I need to upgrade my old folding chairs to something a little more deluxe like the seasoned soccer moms' crazy setups I encountered last season. Any suggestions?

P.S. Yes, I will pay attention to the game schedule this upcoming season a little bit better and not show up to 11 am games at 1 pm anymore! :)

Family Vacation Jitters

So... for our family vacation this year, we were offered the use of our friend's RV which will be parked down in California on the beach. They are using it this week and then we will go and trade them out and use it the following week. I am excited for the trip/adventure, but I can't help but picture a certain movie when I think of the Orme family vacationing in an RV....a friend's RV not a rental. Wish us luck!

This should be the best part for Sheldon...

M.I.A.

I have been debating on whether or not to keep blogging lately. I have a cop friend who repeatedly tells me how dangerous the blogging world is and what sick predators are viewing pics of my family. I'll be honest, it creeps me out. BUT...I miss my blogging friends so I think I'm over it. I won't go private because that is way too boring. Plus, when I blog, I try to do more fun things with my kids so I can blog about it. ;)

Happy 6th Birthday Sydney!

Sydney turned 6 on Friday!! She woke up that morning and told me that she didn't feel six. I asked her what we could do that would make her feel six and she said, "i don't know, get the measuring stick in the garage or something." I love how kids think that they magically grow the night before their birthday. It was Sydney's turn to have a family party this year (yay!!) so we had my family over and then celebrated with Sheldon's family on Saturday.

Sydney got a monkey mask similar to the one that Taylor bought herself back in July and has been walking around the house with it on because she knows they creep me out. My grandma bought her a gumball machine (gotta love grandma) so my kids have never ending blue tongues and HUGE wads of gum in their mouths at all times. She also got a toy computer from Sheldon's mom with all sorts of games on it and she yells, "BOO YAH!" every time she wins.

I think it's safe to say Sydney really enjoyed her birthday this year. Happy Birthday, Syd!!

Oh, now I see why Vegas schools had a snow day...

My niece who lives on the other side of town near Seven Hills sent me these pics from yesterday. We were all scratching our heads and laughing when the schools were closed today due to snow. We didn't get enough out here to warrant schools closing, but it looks like other parts of town did. I guess when there aren't any snow plows to be found in town, it can cause some havoc. Last post about the snow...I promise. Well, maybe.

Second chance!

Mother nature has been kind to me and brought more snow so that I can take pics of my own kids and not have to borrow some from the internet. :)

The Perfect "Snowstorm"

Yesterday my kids squealed with delight as Sheldon announced that it was snowing outside. I have lived in Vegas for over 20 years and I can only count on one hand the amount of times I have seen it snow here. My kids have seen snow, played in snow, but I didn't realize until yesterday that they had never seem snow fall from the sky. The fact that they could catch snowflakes in their hands was so magical to them. Yes, they were catching them in their hands because their gloves have been buried in storage due to the 70 degree weather we had up until week or so ago.

Having grown up in Idaho where the snow came up to your eyeballs and the school bus driver would often have to come rescue me because my moon boots were stuck in a snow bank, snow is not so magical to me. However, this "snowstorm" was beautiful because we all knew that it was just going to stay long enough for a couple of snowmen, some good pictures, some giggles, and then it would melt away before anyone could complain. That to me is the perfect snowstorm.

I AM SO BUMMED THAT MY CAMERA WAS NOT CHARGED!! TYPICAL JEN. I borrowed pics from the Internet.

You did WHAT this weekend?

Many of you already know that Sheldon and I were invited to attend the firearms training institute, Front Sight, this past weekend by our good friends, Megan and Dennis Rhodes. The looks I received from people when I told them where we were going have been entertaining. Some just looked at me strangely and I could see the words, "backwoods rednecks" going through their minds. Others who know my coordination skills looked really worried for me and for anyone going to be near me with a gun in my hands.

Sheldon and I along with about 30 other of the Rhodes' family and friends enrolled in a 4 day defensive handgun course at Front Sight just outside of Pahrump, Nevada. Those who know me, know that I have been terrified of guns my whole life and have never touched a real gun. The idea of attending this class was quite intimidating for me. Without making this blog entry several pages long, I will just sum it up by saying that it was an AMAZING experience for me. Sheldon has handled guns most of his life and was blown away by the things that they taught in this class. The range masters were beyond patient with me which was a huge relief because I had originally pictured myself being yelled at by some arrogant,crazed militant range master or being forced to do some absurd amount of push ups for all of my screw ups. :) The range masters were just the opposite and I gained a level of confidence with guns that I never thought I could have EVER in my life.

During one drill, the range mater yelled to you and asked you for a name of a loved one that you would like to protect. Sheldon yelled, "Jen" in his native Idahoan tongue and the range master wrote "J-I-M" on the hostage target. Everyone laughed because Sheldon said that he was going to have a lot of explaining to do with his wife when I saw that he was saving his beloved Jim. The good news is that Sheldon rescued Jim (a.k.a. Jen) without any problem. I has never been out shooting with Sheldon and I was so impressed to see him accurately hit his targets in each drill. It's good to know my man can protect his family and Jim. ;)




Don't worry, I won't be "packing heat" just yet, but I do have a lot more confidence in loading and firing a handgun in order to protect my family, if ever needed.

Thanks, Dennis and Megan, for a life changing experience this weekend. I want to get back out there again soon. Watch out! ;)

Cocomotion

I just made some hot cocoa for my kids in my new Mr. Coffee Cocomotion given to my kids by their Aunt Susie. I love it so much that I thought I would recommend it to my friends reading this blog. It is a pitcher that you just add milk or water and hot chocolate powder into and then plug it in. It has a magnetic spinner inside that spins the hot chocolate mixing it together and heats it to the perfect temperature. Once the hot chocolate completely mixes and heats up, the cocomotion automatically shuts itself off. I am in love with it! It only takes a few minutes, it's fun for the kids to watch, and the hot chocolate is frothy and not too hot. Get yours today!! :) Thanks, Aunt Susie!

Springs Preserve

Last week, the girls and I went to the Springs Preserve in Vegas with my sister, Susie, and her husband, Niels. We had a great time riding the little train and checking out all of the lights. It was no Temple Square, but it was really cool to see their saguaro cactuses (cacti...whatever) completely covered in lights. They had Rudolph and Frosty the snowman walking around and of course, Santa Claus. I tried to tell Taylor that the real Santa was there, but we all know the real Santa is "only at the Meadow Mall" according to her. They wouldn't go sit on his lap because they had already seen the "fake Santa" at the Galleria Mall. Taylor told me that she knows all of the Santa Clauses are not real because he has to have helpers, but the Meadows Mall only has the real Santa. My mom was working there that night so we were able to perfectly end the night with a visit to her booth for some hot chocolate. Sydney let me know that she didn't want any unless they had "warm chocolate", she doesn't like "hot" chocolate.

Avery's New Toy

Avery is quite fond of her new toy. Good Times!

The long awaited trophy

Sydney had her last soccer game on Saturday along with a party where they received trophies. Sydney had been anxiously awaiting this trophy for weeks. After the party, Sheldon was driving Sydney and her trophy to the last game and from the back seat he hears her say ....."Hey! This trophy has boobs!!" Poor Sheldon, he is so outnumbered by his girls.

Cleaning 101

My girls are always asking if they can help me clean and usually I give them the simple and quick chores like picking up shoes, Avery's toys, etc. I recently had a friend clue me in that my kids were capable of much more and that I should enlist their help while they were still eager to do it.

So today my girls learned the art of cleaning toilets, mopping floors, folding laundry, etc. To my surprise, they loved it! Yes, Taylor was angry when we walked on her freshly vacuumed carpet lines (she takes after her mother on that one) and yes, Sydney lost focus about every 5 minutes, but we actually had a lot of fun. Next, I sang out my bedroom window and all of the nearby wildlife came and finished the housework. :) Whatever, I wish. My girls were definitely capable of more than I have been giving them to do and I wish that I could bottle their desire to clean and spray it on them in their teenage years.

It took longer to get the rubber gloves on Sydney than it did for her to clean the bathroom.

Thief for Hire

I keep reading about my friends having to hide the candy bags from their kids, but can I hire someone to come and hide the candy from me? I think I have eaten more Milky Ways and Whoppers in the last 2 days than I have all year long. Please help!!

Halloween Happenings

Every year Halloween sneaks up on me and I never do the things that I want to do with my kids. I always vow that the following year I will make their costumes, make Gingerbread Haunted Houses, pick our pumpkins at the orchard and not at the grocery store, etc. None of that happened this year, but there is always next year!

This year Sydney wanted to be Captain Hook to my chagrin, but she changed her mind after a boy in her class decided that is what he wanted to be too. She quickly changed her mind and said that she didn't want it to look like they "were married." She finally decided to be a leopard somewhere out of the blue. Taylor has wanted to be an Indian princess since she saw an $80 costume in a magazine. Avery had no choice in the matter, but it was very obvious what her costume should be.

I am too cheap to spend $30-$40 for each kid's costume at the stores and so we ventured to the Deseret Industries this year. Some may say "gross", but there is something totally exciting about only spending $7 total for my kids costumes!! They were nothing great, but my kids loved them. Here are some pics from school parties and Halloween night.



She Devil Avery


Avery tried to make an escape every time the doorbell rang with Trick or Treaters.


Sydney really thought she was a jungle cat.

>

Taylor and her friend Zoe


Not an $80 costume, but an Indian none the less. I am still trying to convince her to wear her costume and serve our Thanksgiving dinner. ;)


Great Grandma and her girls

My absolute favorite costume in Syd's class. She kept posing for me!!