Jessica is not a nothing

When Jessica looked at my last post she said, "I am a nothing. I don't do anything." I want everyone to know, especially Jessica, that she is not a nothing. She has so many great talents. Recently, Jessica accompanied me when I sang at enrichment night. I was so proud of her. She is getting so good at the piano. She practices all the time and loves it. I think she is going to hate this picture, but it was the only one I could find of her at the piano. I love you Jessica. You are quite something!

Playin' Sports

Three of my kiddos recently enjoyed playing some sports. I just about killed myself trying to get them to all of their practices. Thanks to Jessica, I was able to leave Ben at baseball while I picked up Matthew at lacrosse.
Ben played baseball for the first time. He did really well. He was the only "lefty" on his team. Most of the time he hit from the coaches pitch, other times he used the "T." He's pictured here with his team. Ben is the one with the blue hat in the bottom left corner.We all loved going to his games to cheer him on.



Lauren had a great volleyball team this year. Her skills have really improved. She is a great setter. Once Lauren nails her overhand serve, there will be no stopping her on the court. She also had a great time with her friend, Kylen, who was also on her team.

Here are some pics of Matthew at lacrosse. He was a little grumpy when I took these pictures. It's not cool to be photographed in front of your team.

My trip to Utah!

I had such a great time in Utah back in April. My niece, Brittany got married. I wish I had a decent picture of her. She made such a beautiful bride. I was so glad to be there and see my mom, and my four brothers and four sisters. It's not often that we are all together.

Here is my Mom with baby Allison. She is the sweetest little girl. I held her for about 45 minutes one night and she didn't make a peep. Amy and Chris are so lucky to have such a pleasant baby girl. Thanks for sharing her!

This is me and my "great" niece, Rachel. My sister Tammy, made these cute dresses for all of the little girls in the wedding party.

Here I am with two of my best friends who happen to be my little sister, Diana, and my niece Niki. I love you beautiful girls. It was so great to see you on this trip.

Slacker

I admit it, I'm a slacker. I actually blog in my head all of the time. I come up with all kinds of things to talk about. I just don't ever actually sit at the computer and write it down. I just haven't felt like it lately.
But here I sit....subbing for an 8th grade math class. The students are all working on their assignment....and I am bored. Fortunately, none of these kids have asked for my help. If they did, I would just refer them to the smart kids in the class. Most of you know that math is not my strong point. I am here to keep order in the classroom. I should mention that several of the students laughed when I introduced myself today. They just love my name. I always get a reaction. Subbing is kind of fun for me. I prefer middle school. All the students come to the classroom on their own. They can go to the bathroom by themselves. They can work independently. I enjoy teasing and talking with the students.
I actually subbed for one of Lauren's classes not too long ago. She asked me to go by another name so that nobody would know that I was her Mom. I introduced myself as "Mrs. Davis." I really tried to be believable. Lauren's friends just didn't buy it. Lauren needs to realize that I'm not so bad. I try to be a pretty cool Mom.... and sub.

Happy 15th Birthday Jessica!!!!

Jessica's birthday was on April 7th. I cannot believe that I have a daughter who is 15! Ahhh! Where has all of the time gone? She is so excited to get her driving permit. (scream....faint) Seriously, I let her pull into the driveway once and I nearly had a heart attack!

Jessica is such a great gal. She tries so hard to be so good. She is such a loyal, stable friend to many. She excels at the piano and texting. Hmmm...it must have something to do with her fingers. Jess is also a great student. I am very proud of her. She also just finished reading The Book of Mormon all on her own. It took her three months. Not bad for a fifteen-year-old. Here are some pictures of Jessica's birthday party.

Working Together!

Last Saturday our whole family worked in the yard together. It really was a lot of fun, thanks to Brock. He is pretty creative when it comes to motivating our kids to work. Brock and I raked the majority of the yard, creating about 40 small piles of leaves. This may not sound like much, but believe me, it was a lot of work. Try not to pay attention to our poor lawn. It has problems. Mostly, too many trees shading it all year around. We are trying to improve it!

Brock then partnered us all up. I was with Matthew, Brock was with Ben, and Jessica and Lauren worked together. He said ready...set...go.. and we had to bag 10 piles of leaves as fast as we could. It was pretty competitive. Jessica and Lauren were moving faster than I've ever seen them move. The race was on. Matthew wasn't very happy with me when I left him to go get the camera. It's important to me to document our family working together. Many of you know how hard it is to get your own kids to work. This was a memory worth capturing.

After we finished all the raking and bagging, we played badminton. It was so much fun! I nearly beat Brock. I tried so hard to win! We will defintely have a re-match.

Spring Break

We had such a nice Spring Break. The weather was perfect for a hike. One day we took off with the Morgenegg family and explored Ijams Nature Preserve. These are some pictures from our fun day!