Halloween

Ok, so I was a bad mom and did not take any Halloween pictures. We did have lots of fun over the 3 day celebration of Halloween. The elementary kids had their parties at school. Lots of cute things came home with them - crafts and different stuff. Poor Camryn started throwing up Friday night (McDonalds just loves us:) She chose to be sick to her stomach right after eating her happy meal. We made as far as the front of the bathroom door before it all came out. We are talking walls, floor and bathroom door (although the cashier kept getting our order wrong and then he had to clean up the mess - felt sorry for him but also a little vindictive - not a good thing!) Saturday night was our Ward trunk or treat and carnival and the kids had a great time. They were overloaded with candy.
We decided to take the kids out trick or treating on Sunday just around the block. We went as a family and called it Family Home Evening. It counts - right?? We were all together and having fun.
November is going to be a busy month. I get to go to Utah as a birthday present (short 3 day trip). The week after that I volunteered to be the camp nurse for my 5th graders Outdoor Science School in Payson, AZ. It is a very fun experience for the kids and I get a whole cabin to myself to relax in when no one is sick or injured. I love taking a book up there to read, sit out on the front porch of the cabin and escape into the reading. I also can follow my son's group around and see all the fun things he is doing, like cave studies, animal tracks, fossil dig, hot shot firefighters, team building exercises and so many other fun things.
Then the next week is Thanksgiving. This November will be busy but lots of fun:)

School

I have been volunteering at school and working every Thursday as a vounteer at a Title 1 A + school( Ishikawa elementary school mean) I get the joy of working in the copy room, making copies and not blowing up the copy machined. If teachers had to make their own copies it would take away time from the classroom and spending time making copies. I have learned so many techniques of making copies. Thankfully there have been those other volunteers helping out or teachers showing me in their spare time! I love being able to volunteer at the school. Prior to this I always just sent in treats or candy as that was the thing I could do. I am having fun at this is and praying every thursday that I will not blow up the machine. Tammy Taylor is in change of it all so having a great friend help me is wonderful!! I have had so much fun meeting teachers whose names I have only known before and now I get to know them. They are such fun loving teachers and you can tell they put their all into it. Volunteering makes me feel as if I am making a difference and hopefully the teachers have had a tad of compassion as I try to figure this complicated machine out - give me a patient or a sick person and I can try to figure it out. Give me a copy machine and I panick!!! But it is getting better every week :)

What Does a Mom do When All of Her Kids are at School

Now that I have all this free time during the day you might ask yourself "What does Stephanie do now that no kids are at home?" Besides the basics of laundry, vacuuming and the hated bathrooms, I have come up with a list of strange things I am finding myself doing in an empty house.

1. Randomly breaking into any song that pops into my mind. Best part, it does not even matter whether I know the entire lyrics or not cause no one is home to tell me!
2. Randomly breaking into dance when I have music on. My little ones love to dance with me but the older boys always laugh. Now I can bust a move whenever I want :)
3. Staying in my jammies until noon. Ok, sometimes I did that when the kids were home but now I don't feel guilty!!!
4. Read a book in peace and quiet and eat ice cream without anyone wanting a bite. Bad for the butt but great for the soul.
5. Taking a bubble bath by myself in our jacuzzi tub. It has been 15 years since I have bathed or showered by myself. Love it!
6. Not sharing my drink if I indulge in a Sonic run - best thing ever!
7. Last but not least, take a nice nap and actually feel rested (who knew working nights as a nurse could take so much energy??)

I do miss my kids and have those moments that I really miss having one at home that almost brings me to tears. Today I worked at the copy room at the school for a few hours in the morning and the best part was getting to see each of my kids as they walked to lunch. I got 2 high fives and one sweet little kiss from my girl:)

First Day of School

Camryn and her Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Kolodny. Colton had her and I just love her!!
Colton in front of his 2nd grade classroom. I love the fact it he is in classroom #2 for the 2nd grade. He is in heaven as 2 of his best friends are in his class:)
The kids right before they took off for school. I am not sure what Dylan was doing during this picture. It makes me laugh everytime I look at it!
Camryn posing for the camera. I cannot believe she is 5 and in kindergarten already.
Best buddies and super excited to start school.
Brandon on his new bike ready to start his new adventure at Mountain View High School!

I cannot believe I have a sophomore, 7th grader, 5th grader, 2nd grader and kindergartner. I have had a child home for the past 15 years so it was sad for me to send my little buddy to kindergarten. She is loving it!! Brandon was in shock from watching and hearing things from the Seniors. Needless to say, we had a long talk about our expectations of behavior, grades and being careful with who you hang out with. Darin started Jr High and is loving it. The 3 younger are still in elementary school. I love how they can all walk or ride their bike to school. Much easier on Mom! It has been strange to have the house so quiet during the day. I did sign up to work in the copy room at the elementary school for 1 day a week. It is fun to see my kids and to get to know all the teachers. I must say, I am not made out to be a copy machine person! I just hope I do not blow it up. Now if the heat would start to go down but that is just wishful thinking until October:)

Sedona 2010

I figured I better get some pictures up of our Sedona family vacation before I forgot! We had a great time meeting my mom and dad, brother Mike and family and our family. Wish my baby brother could have been there but airfare is expensive from VA to AZ. We had fun hiking the West rim of Oak Creak Canyon, swimming, playing cards, game room and eating at the Cowboy Club. There we were treated to rattlesnake, buffalo burgers and cactus fries. They actually were quite tasty! Next year maybe Grand Canyon?