Jackman Update!

Ben

•  He is working at LaVerkin Elem. in the mornings M-F.
• He is working at DRA 3-11pm, M-F.
• He delivers for Dominos on Saturday nights.
• We still get to see him on Saturday mornings and Sundays...most of the time.
• We just did 10 days of Valentine's for him, (adapted from Kayla's idea), and it was awesome!  Since we didn't get to go out on V-Day, I spent the time with the kids and we planned the great things for Ben, from long-stem noses to movie night, kiss jar to a red filled basket.  We had so much fun!

Tylia

•  I get to teach a lesson in HeadStart tomorrow for my practicum (pre-student teaching).  I am so excited!   
• I just finished my Faith song for my faith project in personal progress!  If you get a minute please listen to it. :)  http://www.noteflight.com/scores/view/7f4e0353df94a7beab09ed7a8232f6bad39ffd13
• I am helping Carter's soccer team warm-up when the coach is running late.
• I am trying to get a double semester done this time.

Morgan

• The 1st soccer game is this Saturday!
• Morgan completed her Faith project, she transposed We Thank Thee, O God, for a Prophet, and learned how to play it on the cello.
• She goes to Southern Utah Performing Arts Festival with her orchestra tomorrow.
• She and her friends now have a pair of red skinny jeans that are their 'traveling pants'
• She turned 13, so she now has an email and a facebook.
• She is also on the YW basketball team.  It is a new experience for her, and she mostly likes it.

Carter

• Carter's first soccer game is this Saturday as well...of course they are both in town, 10.5 hrs. apart.
• He also has a scout camping trip this Fri./Sat., so he will miss it, and we will have to hike as a family using a compass and map...for five miles.  He almost has his 2nd and 1st class. :)
• He just had his piano recital, and grandpa came.  He is in percussion at school, so he rocked a LOT while he counted and played.  It was great.
• He is spending some time with his Papa after school a couple days a week and helping prune and get the farm ready for spring.

Logan

• She is taking ballet and is learning very quickly.  She bounces in everything she does, so maybe she should go with Jazz next time. lol
• She is working on her last 2 Articles of Faith, and doing great in Activity Days.
• She is a great helper and loves to cook with me.
• She is starting to hold her ground and develop her pre-pre-teen emotions...yay! lol
• Still singing in the choir! 

Benjamin

• Has been getting headaches everyday at school around the same time.  We narrowed it down to his eyesight and he got checked today.  His super tough, flexible titanium glasses get here sometime in the next two weeks.
• Spring wrestling started and he is loving every minute of it.
• I spend a lot of time in Ben's class getting my hours for school, and working on the class' fluency.
• Making a lot of progress on his speech.  His R's are coming along great!

Balian

• He also started wrestling and seems to have a lot of intuition and natural movement that only appears while he's on the mat.
• I get to teach his class tomorrow and he is so excited!
• He got a haircut, by me...it's sad.  I dropped him off for school and he came right back out and said, "See mom, my teachers said it's not awful!" haha

Love you all and miss you!

Halloween 2011

Okay, so my creative kiddos had some funny costumes. I took a lot of Halloween pictures, but all of the ones when they were holding still turned out bright yellow. I did my best to adjust it so you could stand to look at them. So you don't have to guess, Morgan is Justin Beiber, Carter is a chicken, Logan is Rapunzel, Ben was the grim reaper/skeleton, and Balian was a barbarian.

We got to go up to Diamond Ranch Academy for a staff family party. They had bounce houses, a rock wall, and a gladiator course set up. It was a lot of fun. Then of course we took off into the night to fill our bags with candy. Morgan, 12yrs old, didn't get to go this year, so she had a party on Saturday with about 18 screechy girls. I was exhausted. lol She also got to go to a friend's party on Halloween. Carter is 11 so he went out with his cousins Kellie & Ashlee this year. They went fast and filled right up. I'm sure they had fun. Little Ben started wrestling, but it's almost over, so he will go to the next 3 practices and the last 2 tournaments. He loves it! Balian turned 5 yesterday!!! My baby is bossy...and spoiled. It's fun though. I don't want him to grow up, so I am going to have to deal with that quick, otherwise his teachers an not going to be able to stand him. lol Ben hopefully got the Saturday shifts at Diamond Ranch now. Most of our sports are done now until about Feb, so that should work out okay. I made poodle skirts for the elementary dance festival. It was stressful, but the dances were darling! Logan will be quite the dancer. Ben...oh Ben. lol He was hilarious! He had so much fun and "owned" the music! I didn't even know he liked dancing! I was laughing so hard I had tears. It was fun. I wish I was less stressed, then i could have remembered to invite people. Logan and Ben also earned the "Cubs of Learning" awards at school on Friday for the month of October. Anyway, we are just plugging along. Today is the 1st of Morgan's 2 playoff games in soccer, so next weekend it will be done until Feb. Looking forward to my first partial Saturday home in the last 3 months!

Sports

So as the end of both soccer and football are approaching, we have had quite an exciting week. Last Friday Carter went to his 2hr, 3xs a week, football practice. Lucky for us it was UEA weekend, so there wasn't a game scheduled. I picked him up from practice to find that he had jammed his finger tackling someone. We went home and iced it. The next day, the center of his hand was just as bruised as his pinky knuckle, and just as swollen. We took him into Instacare and confirmed he had broken his hand. Most breaks require a cast, which can then be padded so the child can continue to play football...yes, apparently this happens a lot. Anyway, we prepared and went in to get a cast. We left in a 1/2 cast, splint type thingy. The doctor said that if he plays with a break in his hand, especially for the last two games of the season, he may have to go in and grind down the bones and put a metal plate in it. We both left with watery eyes, but knowing it was for the best. (He decided to go with a splint so that he couldn't change his mind, pad the cast, and play his last two games.) So now Carter has a broken hand, no cool blue cast for everyone to sign, and he still has to go to practices and games. His team did win their first game of the season yesterday though, with him on the sidelines cheering them on. Earlier in the day, Morgan's soccer team also won their first game for the season! She is the back defender, and is awesome. She very rarely comes off the field during the games, and was last season's most improved player. I am so thankful for a coordinated husband. I am amazed at the athletic ability my family has. Logan is saving up for her first dance classes in January, so she passed on the Fall sports, but was brave enough to try out for a choir solo, and got it!!! She won't let me hear her sing, so I have little ears all over the school listening for me. Little Ben is playing flag football, is very determined, and has a few games left. (I love the city sports here. 3 week seasons!) Wrestling started 2 weeks ago, and it's killing me that I couldn't sign him up. This is going to be "his sport". He loves nothing better than wrestling! Balian is playing soccer for his 3rd season, and I am coaching again. Funny, I know, but I only have to know more than the kids. lol
I am making the kids' Halloween costumes again this year and they are looking great!...or they were, until my timing flipped on one machine, and the tension spring broke on the other...within the same 3 minutes that the foot pedal started sparking. *sigh* I don't dare borrow anyone else's machine. I can't afford to fix it when I'm done.
So this week is Ben's 90 hr week, so I need to be organized and on top of things so we can thrive. Just surviving is a last resort, but I usually get to that point by the end of the week. lol
I will try to post each week, so that it's not a novel next time. I love you all!