So happy!

Peyton looking at a Legoland brochure, "Mom they look so happy, maybe their mom and dad surprised them too!"

Such fun memories we have!

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

We had a wonderful time in Southern California. It was beautiful weather!! ( I think we even brought back some sun to Seattle with us :)

We had a lovely birthday trip for all of us!

Here is what we all picked as our "birthday present" for the trip and year.

Addison picked the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and dressed up like Belle and then had lunch with the princesses. She was in heaven!

Peyton loves LEGO right now, so we went down to Legoland for a day. None of us had ever been there. It was a nice park, much more low key than Disney!

And Peyton wanted Breakfast with Minnie and Friends and Disneyland.

I picked the World of Color show at California Adventure. It's a big water show with images projected on the water sprays. And if you are to close you get pretty wet as we found out :)

Joe picked Fantasmic, the night time show in Disneyland. It's been there since 1992 (I went that year with my family when I was in High School). It always brings back memories and it has changed a bit over the years.

Until the next time Mickey. . .

Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Happy Birthday today to my wonderful mother!

How lucky I was to get such a great person to be my mom. What an example she is to me.

We miss you!! See you in a few weeks.

Have a wonderful day!

SURPRISE!!!

So, many of you know that as a family we decided to go to Disneyland and Legoland this year for our birthdays in lieu of presents and parties (mom and dad included).

But the catch was the kids did not know when we were going. . .

We had them convinced it was October.

Last Wednesday we left for school as usual (only we were not carpooling, the boys we carpool with were "going to school early"). So we all left (mom, dad, Addison and even J.D.) to drop Peyton off and then "go run some errands" (take J. D. to some friends and go to the airport).

We took Peyton up to the park behind school so that Joe could walk him down to his class since he didn't have Nathan and Camden.

And then. . .

As you can see Addison was very accepting and just excited to go!

Peyton took a lot more convincing. Really? Really?

Yes Peyton really!!

When he got up that morning he was missing his mini pillow pet (which he loves) and couldn't figure out where he went (he was in his backpack for the airplane).

So when he looked into the backpack and saw that "Frankie"-the pillow pet dog was there he was on board with the whole thing. LOL!

Shhhhh!

Don't tell our kids!

We are headed to Disneyland Wednesday morning and the kids have no idea. :)

Mother's Day lunch

Mother's Day lunch

Peyton had a lunch at his class today for all the Mothers. We got gifts of necklaces that the kids had made and a jar full of peanut M&M's, yum, my favorite!

Then we had lunch. Peyton asked if I would bring in McDonald's so we had a Happy Meal and a salad for Mommy.

Then they did a cute slide show where they said something they liked about their mom.

Peyton said he liked me because I help him with his piano.

Then the sang a song about the BESTEST MOM.

And we got a portrait that they had painted of us with the following poem that Peyton had written.

My Mom

My mom is special

My mom likes are computer

My mom know that I am sweet

My mom says, "I love you."

My mom can make kookees

My mom wishes that I am home

My mom loves me

Peyton

The glass necklace that Peyton made for the Mother's Day lunch.

"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."

-Martin Luther King, Jr

Mrs. Peyton

I volunteer in Peyton's class every Monday morning. . .

Peyton at the first of the year was new to the school, but made friends quickly. He became fast friends with a darling girl named Hallie. She is tall like he is and they get along great. Her mom said to me one day that some of Hallie's friends were teasing her because she was friends with Peyton, A BOY, and her mom told her it was just fine.

During the first part of the year I ran into Peyton's teacher Mrs. Baughman after school one day and she told me that multiple times that day she found Peyton with his hand on Hallie's shoulder or somehow touching her. Yikes!! Mrs. Baughman said that is was adorable and if she would have had a camera. . .but she had told him no more hands on the shoulder, etc.

We had a small talk that evening about personal space and how some people don't like to be touched and they might get mad. He was fine with it and we have not had a problem since then. He is still good friends with Hallie. They sit by each other on the rug often.

. . .they have two rounds of "stations" each morning where they do different things, computers, listening, reading groups, writing time, etc. So this morning I was cutting out some things for Mrs. Escamilla (his other team teacher) and I hear Hallie calling Peyton over and over again. To help with her log in on her netbook, I think, but there is a whole lot of laughing and playing, pretty much messing around.

I get Peyton focused back on his work and he's off doing something and out of the corner of my eye I see Hallie, standing up real straight and proper and announcing that she is "Mrs. Peyton". She sees me looking and stops immediately, as I try to quickly look the other way as if nothing happened.

Peyton told Joe that they play "house" at recess. I didn't get many of the details but I know they have moms, dads, kids, cats, dogs, etc.

Oh to be in 1st grade again and be friends with everyone! And have everything so innocent. Wish life could stay that way!

Playdough up who's nose?!?!

My friend Marcey came to visit last Wednesday evening, from Utah, for the weekend.

On Thursday we dropped Addison off at her school, Sammamish Learning Center in the afternoon and then headed off to go to lunch and get pedicures. We had a nice lunch at Panera and then headed to swing by the Seattle temple before our pedicure appointment.

And I checked my voicemail on the way there.

This is the voicemail I got (verbatim):

Hi Heather, this is Miss Jill calling from Sammamish Learning Center, it's about 10 of 2 and I just wanted to let you know that Addison so sweetly admitted that she put a piece of PLAYDOUGH up her nose at circle time and went out to recess.

And I think realized that it had lodged up in her, (pause) probably nasal cavity and shared that with Ms. Elvira and so she brought her in and I had her blow and SHE ACTUALLY BLEW the playdough out of her nose.

So she was very concerned about telling you. I just wanted to let you know and you can handle it however you want on your end.

It sounds like she may be putting things up her nose periodically (chuckle). So she admitted to that and she so clearly was VERY HONEST about what she had done so I wanted you to know that and I have tried the house. I did not leave a message so if you want to call that would be great. . . Bye.

I called the school back, after I stopped laughing. Miss Jill was very quick to say that she had had many a child in the office before with things up their nose but she was not certain that anyone had ever actually "blown" it out before. And she was very impressed that Addison also "admitted" to putting it up there, because getting the children to say what they did is not always easy either.

I wondered why Addison would be concerned about telling me, but in thinking about she is in a big "pick your nose" phase and I am constantly telling her to "get your finger out of your nose". So I am sure that she was a bit concerned with having something up there that shouldn't be :)

All is well, no trip to the doctor!!