And Baby Number 4 is...

a girl! That's right. If you didn't know, here's announcing, we will be welcoming yet another pink little turkey into our flock on or before January 11.

First Day of School

Yesterday was the first day of school for JoAnna. Hyrum had his Kindergarten Orientation and will officially start next Monday after all the Kindergarten testing. Our school has been building a new additional building for the K-2 classes. The poor teachers only got clearance to move into them on Friday, so guess what they've been doing this past weekend? Before that, they were just planning to have to use the existing portables and move after a few days. So, ready or not, the first day happened. Hyrum's teacher this year seems to be universally known as one of the best teachers. She comes complete with several years' experience, lots of patience, and a "nice sweet voice" (Hyrum's assessment). JoAnna's teacher is continually described as a "really good teacher". This is usually spoken between parents, pointedly turned away from JoAnna with an expression of sympathy and best wishes. She's said to be extremely organized and requires order in her classroom. Some kids do well in her class and get along fine. With kids whose behavior has struggled in other classrooms, she miraculously pulls them in line. But they probably don't like her much for it. So, while I've been careful not to feed any ideas to JoAnna so that she can see for herself, I have also been curious to see how my, somewhat flighty, social butterfly will be affected by such an opportunity. It really could go either way, depending on her attitude about it. I'm determined, at least, to help guide her toward a good attitude about it all and to look for things to learn from this years' experiences. JoAnna's summary at the end of school yesterday was, "I think she's a very nice woman. She's just not a very fun teacher." I fought not to laugh at how well spoken she can be.

The highlight of Jo's day, as it turned out, happened later in the evening when she FINALLY lost her first tooth. (Did I mention it was her first day in SECOND grade? I have been told that losing teeth late usually leads to healthier teeth, but the poor girl's waited through a lot of friends' missing teeth for this one.) She, of course, couldn't get enough looking in the mirror. This excitement was amplified by having added bangs to her haircut the day before. In the life of a 7 year old, who cares about school when you've got a whole new look?

Harvest

Our wonderful new neighbors have taken us under their wing with their many fruit trees. We've been benefitting from different fruit every week, it seems. One particular day, they grabbed some apples that weren't ripe, yet, and JoAnna told me they were just for decoration. After I explained that, decoration or not, they will just rot, she found a way to temporarily decorate herself while they lasted.


Then, of course, Hyrum wanted to try things out.


And then things just got sillier.


And sillier.


We can't leave Lizzie out of the action.


Hmm. Silliness seems to act as a steroid for Hyrum. Check out those muscles!!


All my silly harvest kids.


JoAnna's attempt at the camera.


Hyrum's turn.

8 Years

Stangely enough, as I posted yesterday while, at the same time, coordinated date plans with Jason, I didn't think to write about it being our Anniversary! That's just not the subject I was writing about. So, it's now been eight years. Eight full, wonderful, trying, growing, striving, learning, moving, rewarding, fulfilling, defining and refining years. And I couldn't have picked better who to share them with. I love you, Jason.

Weekend with Lizzie

So last weekend, JoAnna and Hyrum were invited by Grandma and Grandpa to take a trip to St. George with them. They swam, they hiked, they got to go see "Annie" at Tuacahn. Fun times for them! At home, that left Lizzie an only child. Can I just say how QUIET the house was? So, Lizzie and I discovered that the two of us could eat out for the same price as I would feed all four of us at home. So, the choice was tough.... We exlpored and found a great Chinese Buffet close by. We hit McDonald's inside the Walmart after shopping one evening. We finally went to Sonic for the first time. (Honestly, I've been meaning to go there forever and I just never have.) It was just so easy to go out and get things done with one and without having to fret about cooking much. But alas, three days were enough. For both of us. Lizzie's used to having lots to see and hear and constantly changing entertainment. And I'm used to having someone else provide that. So, it was lots of fun. And now it's done. And now there are only two weeks until school starts and we'll have a balance of alone and together time.

HELP!!

Hey, everyone! I need your help!! I was fiddling with my blog template and ended up erasing the list of all my friends with their url addresses. Could I get as many comments as I can on this post so I can start to add you all back on? Thanks!!

What was that I said about changes?

Sorry it's been awhile. We've had a lot keeping me from the computer. Okay, mostly just things up in the air and not worth reporting half done, you know? So we've moved again. But we won't be moving again for a good long time. We've bought a house! Through moving the computer and several glitches in how it actually has been working for us, I have not got pictures yet. Don't worry, they'll be coming (I know you're anxiously waiting, Linz).

So, we moved at the beginning of July. Since then, we've been exploring our new surroundings plenty. We've also gotten JoAnna and Hyrum registered to start school at the end of August. (Yay for moving away from year round school to traditional schedule!!) And I've been asked to sing a solo in Sacrament Meeting already. (Gee, welcome to the ward. Be careful who you sit behind in a new ward!!)

Mostly we're just loving it, though. We're loving the 'oursness' of it. We're letting the kids explore the rest of the summer away and anticipate the coming of the school year will bring more involvement for us parents, too. Jason is helping me learn the ropes of life in a small town. Meanwhile I'm glad there's plenty of city life within 10 minutes in more than one direction to keep me feeling connected. Then, my favorite part about coming home is the sign that say's "S... W... 1 mile NO SERVICES".