Back To School Night-Middle School Style

This doesn't look like any Back To School Night I have ever been to!  But, its true!  Madison Middle School chose to host its Back To School Night at Rexburg Rapids this year.  The kids got to play in the water with each other, getting to know new kids from different areas and the parents got to watch or swim and then listen to a 30 minute presentation by their child's teacher.  It was lots of fun!  I really enjoyed watching the way Annalina interacted with her new friends.  She is growing up. I am very proud of her great attitude.  She has such a wonderful way of looking at things.  Always the optimist.  She has lost her little girl look and gets more beautiful all the time.  I just adore my little Annalina!  I am grateful I got to spend the evening with my little fish!

Adventures Of The Week

First day of school was great for Joseph, a little frustrating for Annalina. I was worried.  The following day she came home ecstatic that she had made three new friends and they did everything together. She tells me one of the girls came up to her, grabbed her arm and said, "I don't know where to go or what to do, can I stay with you?" and they have been buds every since!  She is starting to find her way around and she LOVES her teachers!  Yay!  The weekend came and she was upset to have two whole days off from school.  I am glad both kiddos are getting along so well.  Joseph has informed me that he has made a "golden friend" in his class named Clayton.  All is well on the school front. I just hope I can made friends and find my way around in a couple weeks when I start back!!

Friday night Richard and I headed into Idaho Falls to do the grocery shopping.  We were heading out the back way to miss downtown Rexburg, not that there is much traffic or lights, but we prefer to go by the Temple.  Anyway, Richard said someday he would like to find the back way to Idaho Falls, just for fun. I said, hey, we are kidless, why not now?  It did not take us long to lose pavement and hit gravel and dirt roads, but the van handled it like a pro.  We drove along the beautiful Snake River, passed some great looking hot springs and campgrounds, drove the loooooong way around a reservoir, drove up close to the windmills, turned off the engine and just listened to the whoosh, whoosh.  We had to wait for some cattle to clear off the road for us, we saw a dear up close and personal and a coyote ran full speed across the road in front of us, leaving a trail of dust!  It was an amazing adventure and we did not get to the grocery store until two and a half hours later!  It was a great date night for us!  I am looking forward to exploring some of the campgrounds and hot springs in the near future!

Sunday Jacob spoke in sacrament meeting about preparing to serve a mission.  He did so incredibly good that I cried.  He is not my little boy anymore, he is an amazing, strong young man.  Joseph leaned over to ask if I was ok.  He seemed relieved they were tears of joy.  Jacob continues to amaze me. I am so, so, so proud of that boy, umm, I mean man.  After he spoke he went on to substitute in the 12/13 year old Sunday School class.  He really enjoyed it and wouldn't mind teaching on  a regular basis.  Today we took him to the LDS employment services office and he got some help in his job search.  Tonght he is at an interview with the Sr couple in charge of the Pathways program at BYU-I and will be enrolled by the end of the week in half time classes at the University.  He gets up early every morning to run, then he settles in for Scripture Study. And he is so helpful around the house and great with the little people.  I LOVE having my Jacob here with us!  (Oh, and I don't think I embarrass him as much as I used to, I don't get near as many of THOSE looks as I used to).

Last night the ward had its annual water slide party!  The neighbors across the street live on the side of the hill of this valley we live in.  They set up giant tarps and had a super water slide going.  All three kids had fun slippin and sliding!  They had a huge cooler full of fried chicken and everyone brought sides. It was a super fun evening for us all. We set up our chairs right by the slide and had a lot of fun watching and visiting.  I got to hold a newborn for part of the evening, so it was a great night for all!

Where I was taking this picture was about halfway down the slide!

Back to School 2012 or Rexburg LOVES its kids!!

Back to school is a huge deal around here.  I can't help but feel emotional about just how much the youth are loved by this great little city!  The kids went to school in Madison County for the first time today.  Our morning started with a "bus stop breakfast" hosted by some neighbors who have been doing this for years.  Everyone brings there favorite breakfast item and everyone eats, buffet style!  It was a neat experience, EVERYONE was there, even people from outside the neighborhood came to help celebrate the first day of school!  We then piled the little people into the car and off we went. First to Adams elementary to drop off Joseph and then to the middle school for Annalina.  We got to meet both teachers and neither child was crying when we left, so it was a good morning.  A neat thing the city does is to park ambulances with their lights going at the entrance to each grade school with a police officer reminding people to drive safely! 

The back to school celebration really started yesterday.  The city of Rexburg hosts a big FREE party at Porter Park called "celebrate youth".  They had booths set up with free books and back packs for the kiddos.  Tons of game and prizes, lots of bouncy structures, a rock climbing wall, free ice cream, cotton candy and popcorn and they even served dinner.  The kids had a great time collecting goodies and playing games.  When we needed some down time, we went to the splash park in the back corner of the park and the kids got wet while Jacob and I had our fill of popcorn!  After dinner there was a raffle for tons of cool prizes, even a 3DS and a XBOX Kinnect.  There was a fire truck with its ladder extended all the way spraying water on the big open field. Tons of little people had fun playing in the "rain".  It was a fun but exhausting day!  Maybe they do it so the kids won't have trouble sleeping!  Maybe they do it because our kids are important to them as well!

 

Bedtime for kiddos

Until this summer, my little people have been on a very tight sleep schedule.  As babies and toddlers, they almost always went to bed between 7 and 7:30.  Joseph has kept his 7:30 bedtime and Annalina went to bed around 8 or8:30.   For the most part they would wake up well rested and I wonder if that is part of the reason why they have been such pleasant happy children.  I had a neighbor a few houses back who used to tell me how lucky I was to have kids who got along so well with each other and the other neighborhood kids.  Maybe, just maybe it was not luck at all.  A lack of sleep can have profound affects on children.


Now that we are in Idaho, we tend to do things that keep us out later.  There are always things going on in town or in the neighborhood and we have allowed the little people to stay up later than usual.  They have handled it fairly well, BUT this past weekend we went to another drive-in movie and did not get home until almost 2am.  Joseph was up at 8am and that was just not enough sleep for him. He wasn't being naughty like he used to be when he was short on sleep, but there was something else I noticed.  He got down on himself really quickly when he was struggling with something. He had no patience with himself and would say mean things about himself.  A lowered self esteem!  Just one effect of not getting enough sleep. 

Both kids have started sleeping later than they used to. This is nice, but not something I can count on.  As the parent, it is my job to make sure my kids are healthy and getting enough sleep is just as important as making sure they are eating healthy foods!  I was reminded of an article Richard sent me a few years back that talks about the importance of sleep.  This is geared towards babies and toddlers, but sleep is just as important to older kids! My kids are getting old enough I could let them stay up until they feel ready to go to sleep, but I won't. 

Kids, when you read this later in life, just know that your mother loved you enough to make go to sleep at a decent time so you could be healthy and happy!

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/09/14/bedtime.children/index.html

Rexburg Rapids

Monday nights are buy one entrance to RR and get one free, so we decided to go play in the water for Family Home Evening!  We all got in for just $13.50, what a deal!  We started out in the Lazy River.  Jacob was the first to go try the water slides, then Annalina went for it.  Daddy also went, but Joseph said he was going to wait until it was time to leave, then he would try the slides out.  Then he asked if he was 48 inches, because that is how tall you have to be.  When he found out he was, he decided he would wait until next time.  Then he climbed up to the slide all by himself and down he came!  He took the slower yellow slide and when he swam up to me after, he was so excited!  Here is a video of his first slide...wait for it, wait for it...oh and listen for his screams!

Yes, Daddy has an Angry Birds swimming suit!

You may be wondering, where is Jacob?  Did he not go with you on such a fun adventure??  Well, he may be considered an adult, but he is still an elusive teenager!  We had such a great time. I love my family so much.  I am constantly in awe of what wonderful people I am blessed to share my life with!!

Make a wish!

Last night was a great night to view the Perseid Meteor Shower.  In the past we have drivin out away from town to watch them. The first summer I knew Richard we drove to Hagg Lake and watched shooting stars late into the night.  Last year we took the whole family to Stubb Stewart State Park where OMSI was hosting a star party!  It was fun, but the moon was full and was up in the clear cold sky making it a bit tricky to see many meteors.  But we did manage to see a bunch!

Last night we hauled the love sack out into the back yard and laid blankets on the grass for the kiddos and we watched meteors from the comfort of our own yard!  It was fabulous!  We would all oooh and ahhhh as we saw meteor after meteor streak across the sky!  We went out at about 10pm and by midnight both Annalina and Joseph were sound asleep.  The littles think they want to sleep on the back deck tonight so they can fall asleep watching again tonight. I might have to join them for a while, because I LOVE to watch the spectacular show Mother Nature puts on for us this time of year!

My Date and The Carousel

Yesterday Annalina went off to play with her friend Rebecca and Joseph was feeling a little left out. He came into my room and asked me if I wanted to go bike riding with him.  Well it was 92 degrees out with the bright sun shining down, but how could I turn down such a sweet offer. I said sure and he said "yay, a mommy son date".  We rode out to the paved trail that runs along the river and on our way we saw a beaver on the path. It scurried away when it saw us, but it was still fun to see.  I had a great time with my little guy and am grateful he still thinks its cool to hang out with his mom!

We went to play at the Splash park again today.  While they were still dry, the kiddos wanted to ride the carousel, so they did!  It was fun, though maybe a little tame for a&j.  Afterwards they spent a couple hours playing in the water!  I enjoyed reading my Nook and chatting with a Grandma who was sitting next to me.

SENIOR TRACK SEASON: DISTRICTS AND STATE (Jacob's point of view)

(Yay, my very first guest post, here is Jacob's track season as seen through his own eyes)

     I had a fun senior year of track and I loved every moment of it. From out-running dogs, winning the 4X800 and distance medley at the Hillsboro relays to becoming one of the top runners in the Pacific league. I wasn't planning on doing track because I wanted to get a job and save money for a mission, but after I ran a 16:59 5k at XC districts, I decided to run track.

     I was really excited to run districts; I was ready for some revenge after what happened my junior year of track (didn't place at districts). I ran the 1500 and 3000 at districts. Before the races I was seated third in the 3k and fourth in the 1500. On Thursday May 17th I ran the 3k hoping to qualify for state. Before the race the head coach talked with me about the race and he felt confident that I could get first or second. During the 3000, I was running with the front pack just running my hardest. About two laps to go I was in second being neck in neck with Tyler Shipley from Forest Grove. As soon as the bell rang (meaning one lap to go) I was a little impatient and passed Tyler to take the lead. 100 meters to go Bo McCullough from Hillsboro and Tyler out-sprinted me at the end and I missed a spot at state by two seconds. The bright side was that I got a lifetime PR running 9 minutes and 17.05 seconds. Another awesome thing was that I had a cousin who ran the 3k with me. His name is Seth Berdahl, he was a freshman at Forest Grove High school, and he finished fourth in the 3k. After the race I stumbled to the ground and I felt so weak that I couldn't get up on my own. Bo tried helping me up and that didn't work out well, so Ryan England, a team-mate and a two time State qualifier came over to help out. I also ended up throwing up, that was telling me that I was dehydrated. My distance coach told me to take an ice cold bath and get some sleep. Before I went home, my parents took me to 7-eleven and bought me a bottle of chocolate milk and Gatorade. Shortly after  I got home I felt better, strong again, and was ready for the 1500 the next day.

       Friday May 18th was the day that could have been my last high school race ever. Districts was all about the second place spot because Geremia Lizier-Zmudzinski from Forest Grove was going to get the win because he's one of the best runners in the state.  His PR before state was a 3:56 (he ended up winning state with a time of 3:53). After Coach Rice got out from his coaching meeting, we had a one on one talk. He told me to worry about myself and have fun. Before I knew it the 1500 was about to start and I was very nervous. As soon as the race started I was settled at third while Kyle Rose from Tigard tried to challenge Geremia. My mind was like "You've beaten this guy before, Go get him!" 500 meters to go, I passed Kyle and I was in second, I was worried that someone was going to pass me, but in the end, I finished second in the 1500 with a PR of 4 minutes and 14.66 seconds. I shouted for joy many times saying "I'm going to State!," got many hugs from many people, and got interviewed by someone from the Hillsboro Argus and made it into a newspaper Article. I enjoyed the rest of the meet.  I watched Ryan qualify for State in the 800 for the second consecutive year and watching the men's 4x400 team (Ryan, Trebriel Larry, Alex Barr, and Josh Friend) win by .03 seconds. It was a great day to be a Crimson Tide.

      

     The first day of practice before the state meet felt really weird, because there was barely anyone practicing on the track. Before practice the head coach talked to every state qualifier, he mentioned me first and he told me that he was more proud of me than any other Glencoe athlete. Throughout the week I trained hard and  Thursday afternoon was the day we left for Eugene. It was a fun 2 1/2 days. As soon as we got to the Phoenix Inn and relaxed a little bit, we went to Hayward Field (University of Oregon) and practiced there, I'll admit it was a really nice track, in fact the Olympic time trials were held on that track a couple of months ago. After Thursday's practice, the team and I went to a family's house out in the country in Eugene for dinner. The family that lives there had a really nice place, they had a pond with the island in the middle of it. The funniest thing about state is Ryan brought a clown costume with him and he wore it around the hotel, Trebriel and I wore it as well.

     Friday May 25th was the first day of the State meet. I didn't run because the 1500 was the next day, but I had to get some running done. So as soon as Ryan began to warm up for the 800 prelims, I ran with him. Ryan was so close to getting a spot at the finals, but he took 10th overall, top 8 finishers got to run the finals the next day. I also watched the 3000 so I could support Bo and Tyler. Our 4x400 team did really well, even though they didn't make it to finals the next day. One crazy thing that I found out was that I was one of the two back-up 4X400 runners. Yeah, I was like "what? I'm not running a 400." Saturday May 26th was the day I ran the 1500. About two hours before my race, a couple of coaches took me to subway for lunch. I was the last person to finish the 1500, I was a little disappointed, but I got over it during the day, the bright side was that I went to state and worked extremely hard for it, so I was thankful for the experience.

         About two weeks later there was a track banquet. My family and I went to that and I brought all the ribbons I received throughout the season. I received many awards. I was named most improved on the track team, I got two all conference awards: second team 3000 and first team 1500. I also got a varsity letter for track. Ending my high school career, I am a three time letter in track and four time letter in XC.