Blue and Gold Banquet

Curtis had his first Blue and Gold Banquet last night. He was very excited about it. The theme was "The 50 States". The boys chose hamburgers and hot dogs for the main dish. Each boy brought an ingredient (pickles, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, etc.) and the moms supplied side dishes like pasta salad, green salad, and potato salad. For dessert there was apple pie and ice cream.

Each boy was also assigned to bring an item from a state of his choosing and do a report on that state. Curtis was given a buffalo hat from Wyoming when his Uncle Gary, Aunt Marguerite, and cousins: Ricky and Gabby went to Yellowstone Park a couple of years ago. We printed off some information from Wikipedia and took it home. He worked for an hour or so Tuesday night on his report. He did a great job. I was so proud of him. He was one of only three boys that remembered to do a report. Maybe it is just the proud Mom in me, but I think he did the very best out of all of them.

He also earned a bead for his bead thingie (I don't know what it is called). It was a very big, important night for him.

It's Not Working!

Last Friday we went to The Living Desert and Alyssa was running and then all of a sudden she grabbed her behind and told me that she had to go potty. We hurried and found the closest bathroom. She climbed up and grunted and groaned and then informed me "It's not working!" So we left and continued on our way. About ten minutes later she again grabbed her behind and informed us that she needed to use the restroom. She again had difficulties and informed me that, "It's not working!" Again we went on our way, again she needed to use the bathroom. This time however. Success! Yea!!

More Living Desert Pics

Curtis is petting a desert tortoise. Alyssa did too, I just didn't get a picture of that!

They have a really great set up of model trains. It is one of Alyssa's favorite things to see everytime we come here. They have it set up like the United States. Now that we've been to The Grand Canyon, the kids love to see that part of it. Alyssa can't get enough of watching the trains go round and round.

Once again, just an all around great day!

Lincoln's Birthday

Every year we get Lincoln's Birthday and President's Day off. Most of the time (like this weekend) we get a four day weekend. Now that Mike also works for the school district, he gets these days off too. We decided to take the kids to In-N-Out Burger for lunch and then to The Living Desert.

Mike helped his brother this morning, so we didn't end of leaving until 10:30ish. We went to In-N-Out Burger first. I love that place sooooo much. I wish we had one closer, but then maybe I don't. I love those hamburgers so much. No other hamburger tastes as good and their french fries... mmmmmm perfection.

Then we went to The Living Desert. It is this great little zoo in Palm Desert, CA. They have African and North American desert animals. We love it. We have been there dozens and dozens of times. It never gets old. The kids love it.

The first thing we did was go to the Butterfly and Hummingbird pavilion. When we got there, there was a sign out front that said the butterfly viewing was poor. That was not the case at all. We saw more butterflies than we ever have before. One even landed on my arm, of course we didn't get a picture, because I was the one holding the camera. Here are some pictures I took of some of the butterflies I saw:

But the most beautiful butterfly and humming bird I saw were these two:

We saw so many beautiful animals today. It made me feel grateful for the wonderful world I live in. There is so much beauty and diversity. It makes me respect and love the Lord so much for his creations. Here are a few more animals we saw:

I'll post some more pictures of the kids tomorrow!

Grandma

This is my Grandma Cox. She is one of the most amazing women I know. She is part of the reason my mother is also an amazing woman. She turned a century old on Saturday and what a century it has been. She has had a lot of sorrow in her life. Her father was murdered when she was 15 years old. She was a young widow with six children to raise. She lost three other children to death. All of her experiences have contributed to what kind of woman she became.

I think of all she gave to each of her children and grandchildren. Most of all she gave us her time. She spent countless hours with each of us. I think all of us thought we were her favorite.

She taught school for many years. She retired at the end of my first grade year. I still remember going to her classroom after school. I loved being in her classroom. I remember how it felt. It was warm and beautiful. I try to create that atmosphere in my own classroom.

I think of all the things she has taught her children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren. She has taught us to be fearless, and to do things with our lives that maybe we didn't think were possible. She has taught us to love the gospel and to be faithful. She has taught us about selfless service. I hope to live my life so that she can be proud that I am her granddaughter.

Airplane Museum

Since my mom was hear we decided to do something fun with the kids. Christy, Mom, the kids, and I went to Palm Springs to the Air Museum. It is such a great place. If you ever visit Palm Springs, you really should go. It is mainly in honor of World War II. There are all sorts of planes from that era, other vehicles, as well as other memorabilia.

Curtis loves this sort of stuff. He will watch the History Channel forever. In fact when we saw one plane he started explaining to us that something on the plane were called a "dumb bomb". It is a bomb that just drops, it isn't like a missile. There were times I had to drag him away from something, because we had been standing there forever! It was a good day!

More Ballet Pictures

Here are some more ballet pictures! Enjoy!