Fashion Show

Hannah & Alysa after the fashion show. Someday I might learn how to upload photos in order-today is not that day.

Hannah got to be a model in a fashion show at the base exchange today. Last Sunday she got to pick out an outfit from 6 or 7 dress or shirt/pants styles. She chose a Hannah Montana-ish style shirt & jeans.They had a quick rehearsal last night. Then this morning we traded kids with Belinda. She got Joshua & we took Alysa. Alysa was a far better encourager to Hannah than Joshua could have been. Alysa could have run the show & Joshua got to play with Darren & Will so it was win-win.

After we got on base Hannah had makeup & hair style appointments that thankfully were free. She changed into her shirt,jeans, & shoes & had her 30 seconds of fame. She got to keep the rose they gave everyone to carry & a little gift bag that contained a purse. She loved it all. We're very proud of the things she wants to try now.

Science Fair & April Birthdays

Our Science Fair with HEoS was on Monday after P.E. at the park. We chose butterflies since we were going to be getting the caterpillars again this year. Why not tie it in to our Science Fair? Joshua copied Hannah a little bit but it wasn't really his project. He really likes doing whatever she's doing. Above is a picture of Hannah's poster board & them at the park. They also enjoyed making flowers & butterflies out of Crayola model magic and pom pom caterpillars for the display. Kids enjoyed seeing the cocoons & as of today there's no change. I'll take pictures when we release them. The pictures along the bottom of the poster are from last year. Hannah chose to dress for the theme as well with a butterfly shirt,flower skirt, & butterfly flip flops. Good thing we didn't pick worms like the kids right next to us! Hannah even held a worm by the way. Joshua didn't want to. Neither did I.

Hannah started theatre class last night. It was hard at first when she learned Todd couldn't go in with her but she was a trooper & now can't wait to go back. She has a song to learn & got a part as a newspaper reporter. I'm happy she likes it but worry if she likes it too much we won't be able to keep up with it financially. This wouldn't be happening if she had not got the scholarship. Time will tell....

The kids played their 2nd hockey game today. Joshua is doing great so I was concerned about him for no reason. They both try so hard. Hannah even asked to be the goalie for a little bit. She never asked last year & when she was asked if she wanted to try it she always refused. She didn't want it to be her fault when goals were scored while she was in the goal. She did let one goal in but she also got the game winning goal for their team. Yeah!! The score was 4-3. Much better than last week & much better for her self esteem!


APRIL BIRTHDAYS:
Toby-our nephew 6 years old
Cheyenne-our niece 6 years old
Belinda-my friend

I hope to meet my niece & nephew some day.
Belinda-I hope you have an awesome birthday. You deserve it.

Fitness Olympics for P.E.

Saturday was the "Fitness Olympics" for P.E. Remember when you had to do push ups ,sit ups, & run in school to pass (or try to) some Presidential fitness tests. Our kids have to do that too with our P.E. group. Usually the Coach tries to get all the testing done throughout the month during class time but this year held it all in one day for all his homeschool groups from all over the Valley. They each got a certificate & Hannah even earned a National patch. She tried so hard & she's still sore today.

Joshua might have better luck next year. He was fine with the shuttle run & running a quarter mile. He refused to do sit ups & push ups (at first). After he finally decided to do push ups he did 5-just one away from "National" in his age group. You have to meet all National standards in each event to get the patch though. He was a few seconds off in the quarter mile too. Despite the bad attitude with the "ups" he said he had fun. We had lunch there & they each got a snow cone before medals were handed out. They didn't get any medals but they both had more fun doing the events as the "Olympic" event rather than just doing them during P.E. I like that they have more time for sports during P.E. by getting that stuff done in one day.

Our Science Fair with HEoS is tomorrow so I hope to have pictures up of that later this week. We chose butterflies as that is one of Hannah's favorite animals-or insects-you know what I mean!
I tried to time the order of our caterpillars so they'd be butterflies by Monday & we could let them go for everyone to see. Unfortunately the company I get them from does not fill orders properly & temporarily lost my order for a week. They "found" it after I informed them they charged my credit card so they did indeed get my fax. We have them in their cocoons to show tomorrow. Not the great plan I had but it'll have to do.

Hannah starts theater Tuesday night. We are so thankful for that scholarship!

Joshua played floor hockey last week. He's on Hannah's team & he was a great team player. Their team lost but they both did great. I suspect their team mates don't have hockey in their blood like ours do. Hannah takes losing worse than Joshua but they both had fun. She somehow feels the loss is her fault. Coach Rob said Joshua could play a couple games to see if he did well before we paid. Guess we gotta pay now:)

Thunder In The Desert

From Luke Days Thunder in the Desert open house 3/21 - 3/22



Kathy says it's kinda long - to which I say "It's Luke Days!"
You can't get too much of this cool stuff.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

We had our St. Patrick's Day party with HEoS yesterday at the park. That's where the top picture is from. Everyone was supposed to bring something green to share to eat. We brought shamrock shaped sugar cookies with green sugar sprinkles.

The next picture is with cousins who they played with on Sunday.

We're looking forward to Luke Days this Saturday. I need to go get some teaching done before Grandma gets here.

Basketball Gold!

Yep, Hannah got a gold medal in basketball. Yesterday was her last game & she made 2 baskets. Todd took off Wednesday since he has to work Saturday so he was able to videotape it. My camera doesn't take the greatest pictures in lighting like gyms or churches so these are the best ones I've got. We surprised the kids with a trip to Dairy Queen afterward. Then we rented a movie for free from Red Box & went home to watch it. Did you know on Wednesdays in March you can visit their website for a special code to get a free rental? Well, you do now. I guess there was a glitch the 1st week so they will extend it till the 1st week in April.

Hannah has been given a scholarship to the Valley Youth Theater downtown. She had been wanting to do some acting & Todd looked into it. He applied for the scholarship before he got the Luke job & we finally heard back from them. She had to write a letter explaining why she wanted to join them. We got to pick between two sessions-either Tuesday night or Saturday afternoon. We picked Tuesday as we already have a couple booked Saturdays. Todd will be in charge of this one. I take her with me to work on Mondays so she can do dance/gymnastics while Joshua stays home with Daddy. So Tuesday we'll switch. Hannah gets Daddy time while Joshua gets Mommy time. It will be interesting to see how she likes it. I'm very proud of her for wanting to try something like this. Any of you who know our kids will understand why this is huge. I don't watch American Idol but this is where Jordin Sparks started out at & she was a timid girl too. You may want to get your autograph now before our girl hits the big time! Just kidding. We just want her to have fun. It starts March 31st. We'll keep you posted-of course!

Hoedown at the White Tank Mountains

Here's a picture of a beautiful AZ sunset. Oh, and us too.

I don't know why I love these "from behind" shots so much. They really do love each other.

After making smores.

We went to the White Tanks this afternoon with HEoS. We have not been able to attend the last 2 years so I was glad to finally get to do this event. We only live a couple miles from the entrance to the park. The kids had fun & the weather was just right in the afternoon & a little chilly after sunset.
We walked on a trail & had a very friendly man who visits every week show us interesting stuff. He was like our own personal tour guide for free. Todd turned over lots of rocks looking for scorpions & found several. We got a picture of one but it is not one of my favorite pictures like the ones above. The man showed us petroglyphs which you can sort of make out in the last picture with the kids. He also pointed out pieces of broken pottery & rocks indians used to grind food on.
We had a BBQ dinner with the group & Todd took the kids on another walk after dinner before dark. The kids made smores for the first time & possibly the last. They will need a lot of practice if we do it again. The kids did not like burnt marshmallows (me either) but that seems the only way to get them hot enough to melt the chocolate. So their smores were a little "cold". Joshua opted to just eat it all seperate. I was never a fan of them anyway. I just really like the chocolate part. If anyone wants to take pity on my kids and teach them correct smores techniques you are more than welcome to have a go at it.

Hannah's champoinship basketball game is on Wednesday. If her team can stay undefeated she'll win gold. Todd should be able to attend because he has to work on Saturday which means they want him to leave early during the week. He'll see if he can pick Wednesday as the early day. Check back for the results!

March Birthdays

Happy Birthday to our March B-days:
My Mom-we love you!
Kelly-my friend


Blessings to you guys!

If you're reading this...

I'm curious who's keeping up with us. Leave a comment to say "hi". Sometimes I feel guilty for not updating but then I wonder if anyone's really reading it anyway. The only picture I have taken recently was the kids having a picnic in the backyard. I'm not quite sure why they have cones set up around them. We'll have some events in March so be on the lookout for pictures from a hoedown,St. Patricks Day party,Luke Days, & the Fitness Olympics. Probably a picture of Hannah with a basketball medal too. Speaking of....

Hannah's basketball team has won 3 in a row and are undefeated. She got her 1st basket last week. The other team was short players & Coach Rob asked if Joshua wanted to play. He did not want to play for the other team against his sister-so sweet. He just practices baskets at the other end of the court while she plays. I think he would have been a huge help to their team & secretly glad he thought of his sister & declined. Three more games to go.

The kids were super excited to get a package from Grandma & Grandpa Smith. Why? Because there were not one but two Superbowl t-shirts inside as well as shirts from their cruise. They love them. Joshua wore the Steelers championship one to church today & got compliments from our Pastor & a little old lady who is the #1 Pittsburgh fan according to the plate on her car. Official thank yous will be going out to grandparents & Todd's Aunt & Uncle from PA after I get pictures taken & printed.

I spent this afternoon sorting through Joshua's room. Found some stuff to give away,donate,take to Other Mothers, & to sell on Craigslist or ebay. I'll try to hit Hannah's room next Sunday. Hannah sold 2 princess dresses & 7 Barbie dolls on ebay last week & made $66 (after ebay & paypal fees). Yes, we take those expenses out of her proceeds. They sometimes balk at getting rid of unused toys until I remind them they get to keep the cash.

Todd's job at Luke AFB is going well. I got to visit the base exchange store a few days ago. It reminds me of Walmart. He's already being sent away for training. The kids don't like this idea though. It should go by fast since I work the first 2 days he's gone & of course they have to be there the whole shift. Then Grandma Clinton comes to visit. That will cheer them up big time. Then they could care less if either one of us was home!

Some Good News

The good news is Todd got a steady job. The not-so-good part is the pay is no where near enough to support us like his old job. He'll still have to do other stuff to keep us afloat but hopefully this position will lead to better things down the road. It's a position with Luke Air Force Base so it is close to home & possibly good benefits. He just started today so I don't have too much info to give right now. I just wanted to let those who have been praying for this situation know what's going on. A friend from work who's husband is military told us about it. Hopefully this is the "foot in the door" type of position he needs. Also, they finally closed on that real estate deal & we got our check-woo hoo!

Hannah started basketball last week but Todd had to take her to her first game because I was sick again. Her team won. I'll be taking her tomorrow though. I am feeling better.

The pictures above are from my nephew's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. I only took 3 pictures-shocking I know! Hannah was too busy to come near the camera because I was watching Amanda's kids that day. She & Reanne (and Isabel) were off doing something. If I had not held their token cups at the table I may never have seen them at all. If I had gotten a picture of her it would just be a blur. I snapped Joshua because he could not always stand being around 3 girls! He thought we looked cool in those snazzy goodie bag glasses. What do you think? They have another birthday party at another Chuck E. Cheese on Valentine's Day for Scarlett.

Steelers Win!

Joshua, Alysa, & Hannah enjoying football sugar cookies. After adding frosting they looked like Easter eggs though. Oh well.

The happy Steelers fans. I printed off coloring pages for the kids to color & they decided they wanted to glue them onto popsicle sticks. Such a great idea! I printed them to bring to work to be fair to the Steelers fans there,of course. Don't laugh cause there's a good amount. Note to Mom Smith-I'll have a copy of this picture made for you.

Hannah before eating a Cards cupcake.

Joshua & his stick waving things.

I hope the Cardinals never play the Steelers again. Seriously. Our friends let us go to their house even though they knew we would be rooting against them. That's the sign of a real friend dontcha' think? Thanks John & Belinda! Todd made some very impressive logo cupcakes but the coloring bled overnight. He made logos for both teams,helmets,& the Superbowl logo too. Next time we need to remember to do that the day of the Superbowl. The kids had fun playing with their friends instead of watching the game. I feel really bad for Kurt Warner as I truly believe he's a believer-not like some other pro athletes who mention God then head out to party & cheat on their wife or whatever. Perhaps Todd will have something to add later. I just wanted to get the pictures up before I hibernate for a few days-or try too anyway.

Happy February Birthdays

I'd like to say Happy Birthday to the February birthday people.

My nephew-Robert
Hannah's friend-Scarlett
My friend-Amanda
My sister-Cheryl

Hope you guys have a great day!

No pictures today as we're getting ready to watch the Superbowl at a friend's house. I'll try to get a picture of Todd & the kids in their Steelers stuff to post later.

I'm sick again. Yes, again. I blame the job. Parents are more interested in their workout than keeping their sick kids home. They get mad at us when we ask them to take them out & the same parents blame US for their kids getting sick there. Grrrrrr!

Fire Station Field Trip

We went on a field trip to a fire station yesterday. All the pictures are pretty self-explanatory. Our group was so big that the station asked if some of us could come a little earlier so they could try to get us through faster & easier. So, right after P.E. we went up there. Our group was very small as many parents still had kids in the 2nd P.E. group & couldn't get up there early. Yeah for us. Both kids have visited fire stations before -twice each in preschool. The only new thing they experienced was the safety trailer. They learned fire saftey rules & smoke was blown in . They had to escape out the back window & down a ladder.
Only problem with this type of field trip is Hannah is a worrier. She had trouble sleeping last night because she was afraid our house would catch on fire. I'm pretty sure she'll want to get to Home Depot to price escape ladders.

On another note, we are still waiting for that real estate deal to go through. It's an almost agonizing wait (for me anyway).

Hannah will start playing basketball with the homeschool league next Wednesday. After that she'll play hockey-no, not ice hockey.

There's not too much exciting to report.

Happy Birthday Fred

We want to say happy birthday to our brother-in-law. If you are reading this we wish you a great day. I've been thinking how I want to remember everyone's birthday by saying so here on our blog. I'm thinking it may be hard to cover everyone on their actual birthday so I may just list once per month with everyone I want to send best wishes to. I would feel bad if I couldn't post for some reason. I'll start in February. Okay? All right then...

Above is a picture of Boba Fett aka Joshua. I don't have many new pictures. And above that is a picture of my souvenir from Disneyland. Since both sets of parents pitched in and paid for most of it I thought you guys would like to see it now rather than waiting till your next visit. Can you make out our last name in it? I love this kind of lettering. When we were on our honeymoon I got an ocean themed one that says "Todd (heart) Kathy". It's in our bedroom. I thought having a Disney themed one for the whole family would be appropriate. I specifically asked the artist for pirates,Cinderella,Ariel, & Tinkerbell & this is the end result.

Happy Birthday Hubby!

Today is Todd's birthday! He's lucky my mom is coming over otherwise he probably would not get dinner at one of his favorite restaurants this year-Texas Roadhouse. Birthdays will be suffering cutbacks this year. I usually have a problem getting him a present because his "want" list is stuff like a new Mac. Yeah,right. Both the Steelers & Cardinals have given me great birthday ideas just in time! Hard to believe. I think I need to buy division championship shirts for both teams in bulk so I have extra when they wear out. When will both of his teams go to the Superbowl together again? I think the chances are pretty slim. Oh, and the Penguins won on Sunday too so it was a hat trick of sorts even though it was just a regular season game for them. Still, all 3 of his teams won. I guess it was an early birthday present. Just in case any of you are unclear about this-Todd will be cheering for the Steeleres first, Cardinals 2nd. The Cards making it to the Superbowl have me thinking my Blackhawks could overcome their curse someday in my lifetime! Impossible things CAN happen.

No pictures today. Next Monday we have a field trip to a fire station so I hope to get some good pictures from that. We tour the station & the kids get to go in a fire safety trailer that teaches them what to do in case of a fire & how to get out. I think they blow fog in so it's "smokey".

We are thankful for the people who have been praying for Todd's job situation. The one really good prospect unfortunately did not pan out. The city of Phoenix has sent a rejection letter as well as a couple other companies. I know I'm pretty discouraged & am trying really hard not to worry. One of my favorite verses is in Jeremiah 29-For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord....plans to give you hope & a future...
I believe it deep down but it's certainly hard to remember in the midst of trouble. God has a plan. I just don't know what it is & it drives me nuts. I'm a good planner-why wouldn't he share it with me? Apparently He's a better planner. We're approaching 9 months of unemployment so we are still in need of prayer. I'd appreciate prayer for my job as well. I want to keep my blog fun & not bog it down with my complaints/frustrations there so I just ask for prayer for me to be able to "deal with it".