Halloween- The Girls

Brook- A Princess

Lilly- A Princess

Janna- A Drama Witch

Emma- A Pirate

Abbey- A Chearleader

Can you tell I let them do their own makeup?

Go Abbey!

Now it's Abbey's turn to shine. I went to parent teacher conferences last week (conveniently they schedule parents with multiple students all right in a row so you don't have to keep going back). Anyway, when I met with Abbey's teacher, he said "I'm sure you already know Abbey's a great student, and the office said they already had you sign paperwork for the gifted program." I was confused. No paperwork signed by me. He explained that she had scored very high on 2 tests they use to determine qualification for the school's "Gifted" program, and they would like her to participate. I told him, and later the teacher in charge of the program, that we'll try it for now, and see how she likes it. If it's not something she likes, she'll go back to her regular studies. I'm not sure what the program includes, other that different types of learning activities that vary from the normal classroom setting. We'll see how things go. Only 4 3rd graders qualified, and Abbey is excited to try it out.

Pirates

No, it's not Halloween yet, but Abbey and Emma were in a pirate play at school. They both had small speaking parts and did well. It was the entire 3rd grade, but only lasted about 40 minutes, which was great! They have a 2nd performance on Halloween during school.

James and Bob

This is one of James' favorite places to play. He empites the cupboard, and plays inside with all the tupperware bowls and lids.

Bob thought he was an adult for a minute, and tried to glue his dart gun back together with a hot glue gun. He ended up burning himself. Lovely.

Pictures 3

Jay and Dad at a Nursery in the Oakland area. Jay had to check out some other garden centers before we left.
Us at a beach in Alameda with San Francisco in the background
Us riding BART into San Francisco
The boys playing games at Shauna and Justin's house

Pictures 2

Us in San Francisco
Us in front of the Ghiradelli Chocolate Store
Dad and Patty- Elder and Hermana Curtis- at Ghiradelli
Us in front of the Oakland Temple- it was windy

Pictures

Jay with the rented Mustang- Lake Tahoe in the background
Us at the Oakland Visitor's Center
Us at dinner in San Francisco
Us in San Francisco- Just got off BART (public transportation)

Sonogram Results

IT'S DEFINITELY A GIRL!!!

Shauna's House

These are from Shauna's house from top to bottom:
Jocey (Chad and Cherisse's)
Owen (Shauna and Justin's)
Me and Jay with Owen
Drew (Shauna and Justin's)
Sally (Shauna and Justin's)

Sucker

Notice the sucker on the side of James' head? That's one way to get him to forget about it. He screams when the other kids have candy and he doesn't, so Lilly gave him her sucker. He ate a lot of it, but it ended up here.

Jacuzzi

For "Family Night" last Thursday night we put a rib eye roast on the rotisserie (it was awesome) and the kids swam in our new hot tub. Yep, we now sell spas/hot tubs or whatever you want to call them, along with the chemicals for them. The kids thought it was a little too hot (104 degrees) and treated it more like a pool than a hot tub. They splashed a lot of water out that we had to mop up. Jay got in when they were done and enjoyed a massage from the jets. The night before he used it by himself, and slipped on the concrete when he got out. He was a little sore after that.

Sonogram

No, I haven't had my sonogram yet, but it's scheduled for October 15. Still debating about whether or not I want to find out what it is. Jay and I are going to Reno and Oakland from Oct. 7-13, so we'll be having the sonogram just after we get home. For the first time in years, we're going to miss the Graham County Fair.

Emma's Certificate

This is Emma with her certificate. I guess on the Terra Nova test you can't get 100%, so they consider 99% a perfect score. She was so shy when she went up to get her certificate, but proud.

Go Emma!

Last night I got a call from the school principal, and I immediately thought it was bad. Not the case. He said Emma scored a 99% on their Terra Nova testing at the end of last school year, and they like to publicly recognize the students who do so well. They're having a program tomorrow night, and requested we be there so she could receive a certificate. She was so proud when I told her about it. The sad part is, being a twin stinks sometimes. Abbey kept hoping he would call again, and request her to be there as well. It didn't happen, so she's kind of bummed. She did well on the tests, just not 99%. Darn!

James Turns 1

We had cake at the nursery to celebrate James' 1st birthday. Unlike our other children, he dug right in to his cake. The others had to be coaxed (or forced) to partake. He opened 2 balls, and didn't want anything to do with the rest of the presents. In the picture of his face in the cake, Ashley (a cousin- the one with her tongue out) sitting next to him actually licked his face to get a taste of the frosting. It was hilarious.

Apple Butter

My family- mom, dad, Rachel and Cole- came to Safford for Labor Day. We all spent the day laboring. My dad helped uncle Clel put in some fence posts, and the rest of us made apple butter with the apples we picked at Angle Orchard a few weeks ago. It was a lot of work, and my mom did most of the work, but it's so good! We have shared some with our family and neighbors, who are now enjoying the fruits of our labors.

4-Wheeler

I couldn't find a recent picture of the kids on the 4-wheeler. I'll have to take a new one. Anyway, last week they were out back riding around, and chose to break just about every rule I've set for them. Janna was driving with Lilly and Abbey on the back (rule #1- only one person at a time). None of them had shoes on (rule #2). They didn't have helmets on (rule #3). And, they were driving on our neighbor's driveway. Bob was throwing rocks at the riders, and Emma was chasing them to try to tell them something. Janna was going way too fast to try to get away, and ran into the corner of our neighbor's house, then bounced and hit his car. Luckily, with a small 4-wheeler and governed speeds, there was no visible damage, other than scratches on Abbey and Lilly. Abbey came in to get me, and by the time I got outside, Cliff was consoling Lilly and checking on everything. I asked if his car was okay, and he said he wasn't worried about the car, just wanted to make sure Lilly was okay. Apparently she bumped her head. I felt a little relief, but was ANGRY that when I got out there to see what was going on, Janna had taken off, and was already in the back field riding around. She knew she was in trouble. Until yesterday when my family was here, the keys were taken away. We're still working on following ALL of the rules.

Family Pictures

I realize these are blurry. They're the amateur version of our photos we took on Saturday at Wet Canyon on Mt. Graham. It was a nice day, and we had minimal messes on clothes. I'm excited to see the real ones.

Shoe Tying

Bob is so proud that he can tie his own shoes now, that he keeps distracting the other kids in class to show them how too. His teacher said she had to remind him a few times to stop talking to the other kids. He's just so excited to share his knowledge!

I'm Spoiled!

Yesterday Jay had to make an emergency trip to Mesa to pick up a trailer, and he came home with a surprise for me. I was surprised because he chooses to do these things for no reason at all. I mean, it's the middle of August, no holidays in sight. WOW!

Congratulations!

Congratulations to Karen and Jared on the birth of Gwenyth Jane on Saturday 08/09/08. Can't wait to meet her!

Lilly's Quote of the Day

According to Lilly: Water makes you pee, and broccoli makes you grow taller!

Goin' On A Bear Hunt

It's a song a vaguely remember from my younger years. Bob learned it his first day of school, and couldn't stop singing and telling me all about it. The second day went okay, and Bob told me he got his name on the board. I thought that was a bad thing, but not in his class. He got a treat and his teacher told he is so well behaved. Bob??? We're still working on the name thing. Sometimes she calls him Bob and sometimes she calls him Jay. He usually will answer to either now. Anyway, last night we had a HUGE monsoon storm with amazing thunder and lightning. It lasted for a while, and apparently awoke Bob from his slumber, because I heard screaming coming from the kids room. I toke Jay's phone as a flashlight since the power was out, and found Bob standing on the top bunk fighting with his sheets. He was yelling "I didn't do it! I didn't do it!" I tried to get his attention, but he was so focused on the sheets. He eventually calmed down and laid on the floor in our room until the storm had passed. This morning he told me he doesn't like the bear song anymore because he was dreaming about it and it was scary. Who know what was going on in his little mind last night!

Gone Pickin'

We went to Angle Orchard (on Mt. Graham) Saturday to pick apples and peaches. We got about 3 full buckets of each, and they were delicious. We shared some, and either ate or froze most of the peaches. I haven't done anything with the apples yet. Any suggestions? I'm leaning toward apple butter. It was hotter than we expected, but next time I think pants and MORE bug spray would make the experience better. It was my first time there, and I'm sure we'll go back.

Back to School!

Today is the first day back to school. Everyone was excited, but mostly Bob. He couldn't wait to get out the door. He got a teacher we haven't had before, so we'll see how things go. Abbey and Emma informed me that they're getting older, and no longer can use their lunch boxes from last year (Disney Pricesses). Hannah Montana or High School Musical would be much more appropriate. Janna slept in her school clothes, even though she wasn't supposed to. They had a hard time going to sleep last night with all the excitement. Weird to have only 3 at home.