Art & Poetry Fair

The kids with their art & poetry & certificates.

The kids eating their ice cream after the Fair.

Joshua & his pottery

Hannah & her pottery.


Yesterday was the Art & Poetry Fair (& ice cream social) with HEoS. Hannah traced some pictures & colored some in & they each made a piece of pottery with clay. Each one also wrote a poem. I was surprised Joshua wanted to try but I think he only did it because Hannah did. Here is Joshua's short & sweet/to-the-point poem:

Movies are something I like to see.
I like friends to go with me.

He refused to read it of course. He would not even get up to accept his 2 certificates. Hannah did read her poem in front of everyone. We were very proud. There's still hope for her brother!

Here is Hannah's poem:

Spring

Spring is not a time for snow
but the grass is green & flowers grow.
Look at all the colors here.
Spring comes every year.
Spring is a very, very good thing.
I can just hear the birds sing.
Sometimes I like to go outside for an hour.
Spring has some kind of good power.

The hockey game did not go well on Wednesday-big loss (10-0). Hannah was not feeling well so she sat out but Joshua did play. He got to play goalie again. I think he's very good. It could have easily been 25-0 had he NOT been in goal. He stopped so many shots. He never feels bad & just has fun.

We went to Build-a-Bear today. They sent ME a gift card for my birthday for $14. I guess they did not check my age:) I told the kids they could get one of the less expensive bears & split my card so they each had $7 off a bear. Then they used some Easter money from Grandma to pay the rest. They each paid $6. Hannah got a dog (Sparkles) & Joshua got a bunny (Fuzzy). They still had money left over.

We are eagerly awaiting Grandma Judy's visit next week.

He is Risen-Happy Easter!

This was the last picture of the day after our kids had to change into spare or original clothes because the other stuff got soaked in a water balloon/hose fight. This is with Alysa & Carolyn.

The horny toad Todd found. See, I'm more willing to put this picture on over the scorpion one from the White Tanks visit.

The kids with Alysa sneaking in. Belinda, she's in several more of my pictures just in case you didn't get any. I got some Simpson & Ellison kids too.


We hope everyone had a blessed Easter today remembering the reason for this season. We went to church & to Easter celebration #3 afterward. Notice there are no pictures for Easter celebration #2 because Todd took them to the one at church while I worked. I am the camera fanatic-without me there are no pictures! They had fun of course with bounce houses,face painting,egg hunting,baby chicks & bunnies, & hearing the Easter story.

Today the kids got worn out egg hunting,egg tossing,3 legged racing (Hannah),& water balloon fighting. They fell asleep on the hour long ride home. Tired but happy.

Joshua cracked me up in church today. He was obviously paying attention & doing "school" at the same time. There was scripture up on the screen with the word "tomb". He whispers to me "the B is silent". I said yes & later he tells me without the B it just says Tom-like in a name. Smart little boy. Wait, there's more. After we get home he tells me to ask him what 13 + 14 is. I ask him & he says 27. Right again. I ask how he knows this in his head. He says "well, 3 +4 is 7 and 1+1 is 2. So that's 27". I find out later he has done this before. I remember him telling me Daddy bought 48 cans of Coke the other day but I thought nothing of it till tonight. We asked how he knew there were 48 cans in the 4 twelve packs. He answered it said 12 on the box & 2+2+2+2 =8 and 1+1+1+1=4. That's 48. Is this normal? Anyone? I just don't remember Hannah doing stuff like that at 5 (almost 6).

We've got normal routine stuff this week until Friday. Friday evening is our Art & poetry Fair and Ice Cream Social. I got my shift covered & since it's at night that means Todd can go. We'll be working with clay this week.

Easter Party #1 & our butterflies

Before the hunt.

After the hunt.

Before letting the butterflies go.

4 of the 5 butterflies.


Our 1st Easter party was Monday after P.E. with HEoS. The kids had fun decorating their egg carton & collecting the eggs. Hannah got a gold egg so she got a chocolate bunny prize which she plans on sharing with her brother. How sweet she is. I won a bag of candy with my raffle ticket which I will donate to one of the next Easter parties. Tonight we help stuff eggs for the Easter egg hunt at church on Saturday. Todd will have to take them to that one since I work all day Saturday.

We have done our resurrection eggs & made resurrection rolls already. Hopefully we'll get around to coloring eggs Saturday night. I bought an egg spinner last year on clearance so we'll see how that works out. We hope this Sunday everyone stops a moment (or more) to remember what Easter is really all about. We are so thankful for what Jesus was willing to do for us & hope anyone who reads this is too.

We let our butterflies go on Tuesday. All 5 survived again. I couldn't get a really good shot of them with their wings open so it's hard to tell how pretty they really are. These ones flew away a whole lot faster than last year. This will probably be an annual tradtion. Reminds me I've got to check out Home Depot for ladybugs. We love them too but if it's too warm out here they don't sell them very much past April. It's been somewhat cool lately & windy so maybe I'm not too late. I'll keep you posted on that, of course.

The hockey game yesterday was a loss of 2-1. Joshua got to be goalie & he did great even though one of those goals was on him. It doesn't help when your own teammate scores on you! The next goalie could take some lessons from him. He really kept his eye on the puck. It made me nervous when he came out too far but then I never like "my" goalie to come out too far. He was never once in la-la-land.The kids were happy that Grandma got to watch them play.

Theatre went great for Hannah again on Tuesday. She brought home her lines. Her showcase will be on May 22nd.

There's talk of a back-to-school- fashion show at the base. Todd asked Hannah if she was interested. Naturally the answer was yes. We'll keep you posted on that one too.

This information is mainly for Grandma Judy-a former dental assistant:
The kids both had dental appointments today. It was Joshua's first so he was very nervous. He did very well but I was able to go with them so that helped. He only had a little tartar which I think is pretty darn good for a near 6 year old who has never been to the dentist. Hannah had a lot more tartar build up so more time was spent on her. No cavities for either. They do recommend a sealant for her molars to prevent cavities. As long as it's completely covered she'll get it done in the next 3-4 weeks. It does require laughing gas & I can't help but wonder what that will do to her. I remember liking that stuff once. They each got a regular toothbrush,floss,toothpaste,an electric toothbrush (they both picked Wall-E), & a token for a prize from a bank of machines. No complaints about their mouths hurting (yet).

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!