Wax Museum-Lord Charles Cornwallis

Every year at Navigator Pointe Academy, the fourth grade students do an annual "Wax Museum" Cayden has been looking forward to do thing event for YEARS and this year he finally got his chance. Each student is assigned a historic figure and they have to write a report and give the oral report in front of the class complete with pictures.

However, the "Wax Museum" part is what Cayden has really looked forward to. Each student has to write a few sentences about their historic person which acts as their "script". They also have to come up with a costume to look like their historic figure.

Cayden was assigned Lord Charles Corwallis. He was a central figure in the British Army and was labeled as the man who lost the Revolutionary War for the British. He was also a revered military figure and it was very interesting to get to work on this project with Cayden, It was quite a challenge to come up with a cool costume for Cayden, But once again, my mom saved the day with a great red suit coat and 3 cornered hat.

Each student dresses up and then sits on their desk around the outside of the classroom. The parents are invited to come and as they go to each student, the "wax" student "comes alive" and says their part.

Cayden not only looked great, but he did an amazing job on his part. Overall, it was a great experience and one that Cayden will always remember.
Cayden aka Lord Charles Cornwallis, reciting his lines.
He looked so good and did a great job!

What a total goofball! I love working on these projects together

"I ride him on my bum?"

I love listening to Sadie and all of her fun phrases. She has an amazing vocabulary and amazes me all the time with the things she says.

Today, the twins had a field trip at Wheeler Farm. They really wanted me to come, so I loaded Sadie and Jaxson up in the car and met them at the farm.

On the way there, Sadie asked me where we were going. I told her we were going to the farm to see the animals. That immediately peaked her interest. The following was the dialogue...

Sadie: Mommy, we go to the farm?
Me: Yes Sadie. We're going to see lots of animals!
Sadie: We see a horse!?
Me: Yes
Sadie: I ride the horse on my bum!?
Me (cracking up): No, you can't ride the horse.
Sadie: I ride the cow on my bum?
Me (cracking up more): No, you can't ride the cow.
We continue this same thing with pretty much every farm animal she can think of. Sadie thinks for a long time....
Sadie: I know!
Me: What?
Sadie: I ride the elephant on my bum!
She was so proud of herself, I didn't have the heart to tell her that there were no elephants at the farm and even if there were, she wouldn't be riding them on her "bum".

Homework is EXHAUSTING!

It must be the end of the school year because I came downstairs this afternoon when the girls were supposed to be doing homework and instead, I found this. Ashlee and McKell were sound asleep and Sadie, who does everything her older sisters do, was pretending to be asleep as well. I didn't have the heart to wake them up, so I just let them sleep until they woke up on their own and finished their homework.Shhh....Sadie is asleep....or is she?
Nope! She is just a really good actress!

McKell-The beautiful Japanese Sparrow

At the kids' school, they do "Culminating Events". At the end of a unit of study, they do some sort of special presentation for the parents showing them what they have learned. Sometimes it is a display in the classroom, sometimes a play, etc.

McKell's class studied different countries this year, including Japan. McKell was really excited because she knew that I had lived in Japan so I came to her class, and Ashlee's as well, and did a presentation on Japan. It was so much fun. For McKell's class' Culminating Event, they did a series of short plays about different countries that they had studied. McKell was thrilled when she was chosen to be a beautiful sparrow in the Japanese play. She wore my authentic Japanese Kimono and my chopsticks in her hair. She looked beautiful and did a great job on her part.

Mother's Day 2010

When I was a little girl, when anyone would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would always say that I wanted to be a mom. I spent hours playing with my dolls in the basement - feeding them, changing them, taking them on walks in the baby stroller, etc.

I feel that it is an amazing blessing that my dream to be a mom has come true. I was over the moon ecstatic on a beautiful fall day in November of 1999 when the doctor placed a beautiful baby boy in my arms. And I felt twice blessed on a warm spring afternoon in May of 2002 when I became the mother of not just one beautiful baby girl, but two. Five years later, on a gorgeous summer evening in August of 2007, I was again blessed with a special little baby girl. And just this past year, in July 2009, I had a beautiful little blue-eyed boy placed in my arms and became a mom for the 5th time.

To me, being a mother isn't something that I do, it is something that I am. I am not the best mom in the world and there are days that I feel like the worst mom in the world! But I try every day to be the best mom that I can to my kids. I know with no doubt that they were entrusted to me by God and that there was no mistake that they were sent to me.

I am eternally grateful for the gift of being a mother. I love watching my children grown and learn, whether that is learning to take a first step, or learning how to do long division. I love watching their unique personalities form and to see them interact with one another and those around them. I love the gummy smiles, sticky hugs, countless drawings and paintings, and the priceless hand written notes that they give me. I love that no matter how old they get, they still need mommy to tuck them in, give them a kiss and hug, and love to snuggle with me.

So when Mother's Day comes around each year, I look at it a little differently. Rather than celebrating me on that day, I celebrate and give thanks for the gift that I have been given. The gift of motherhood.
Every year, Rob and the kids usually spoil me with a delicious breakfast, a yummy dinner, and I get the day off to rest, nap, etc. And then we go to my mom and dad's house to have strawberry shortcake. This year, we had 2 extra reasons to celebrate on that day - it was also McKell and Ashlee's 8th birthday.
It was a very special day and as I tucked each of my 5 precious treasures into bed, I again gave thanks to God that I am a mom.Me and my 5 beautiful kids - Cayden Robert age 10, Ashlee Jo & McKell Elizabeth age 8,
Sadie Jayne age 2, and Jaxson William age 10 months.

Mother's Day at my parents'. Jordan, practicing his golf swing.
Kyle helping Cayden on his golfing skills.
Sadie LOVES to dress up and she LOVES to dance. So when my mom bought her this fluffy purple and pink tu-tu, she was in heaven!! She would not take it off for days! Gotta love a little girl in a tu-tu!!

This is a priceless photo of me and my beautiful mom. She is an amazing mother and a great example. She raised 9 children and spent many of those difficult years as a young mother on her own while my dad was working full time, going to college, and was in the US Air Force. I don't know how she did it. I am so grateful that we have a great relationship and she is truly one of my best friends.

What a very special Mother's Day for my sweet niece, Jewels.
This is her first official Mother's Day since becoming a mom to this adorable baby boy, Miles.

This is a pretty normal look for Shawn on a Sunday. The life of a bishop is pretty exhausting...especially on Sundays!
Jakob enjoying his strawberry shortcake.
Kaijsa
Ben, Jordan (love the attitude), and Olivia.
Being a mom to Sadie is one of the greatest joys of my life!
Sadie on the run!
Cousins and great friends! McKell and Mary
My beautiful and very silly girls. They truly love each other so much and love
laughing, giggling, and being silly!

Mother's Day was twice as special this year because it was the same day
as Ashlee and McKell's 8th birthday.

Happy 8th Birthday to my beautiful girls!
Rob and the kids made me delicious Belgium Waffles with
strawberries and whipped cream. YUM!

One of my favorite things on Mother's Day is getting little notes and cards from my kids. They are honestly more priceless to me than any gift.
Above: Ashlee made this paper flower and note at school
The kids made these fun lists in primary where they answered questions about their mom.
Ashlee's read: My mom is "happy and sad", My mom "Loves me", She likes "Me", She looks like "A happy mom", She sounds like "A happy mom", She smells like "Make up", She always "Hurts her back", My mom is "Fun".
McKell Wrote: My mom is "sweet, nice, kind, helpful", She "loves me", She likes "having McKell and Mommy days", She looks like "a queen", She sounds like "a beautiful bird", She smells like "a rose", She always "says I love you", My mom is "so nice and beautiful."
This is Cayden's. Keep in mind, he apparently was trying to make it rhyme. And in typical Cayden fashion, it had to be in BYU blue and says "BYU ROX" at the bottom. LOL!
Cayden wrote: My mom is "cool", She is "the best", She likes "going to the pool", She looks like "she is good with her tests", She sounds like "she's not a fool", She smells like "a clean desk", She always "cleans her room", My mom is "the best mom in the world."
In school, Cayden's class had to take the name of their mothers and then start each sentence with the letters of their mothers name. Cayden wrote:
M-Moms are the best, A-Always taking care, R-Rubbing my head if I am sick, C-Cayden, I love you, I- I love you too.
A beautiful painting by McKell

Civil Right and Castles

Each year, the kids' school does a school-wide Culminating Event. They have an evening at the school where every class gets to display something they have done during the year. This year Cayden's class chose to highlight their unit on castles. Cayden decided to add a few more guys to his castle for this event.
Ashlee and McKell's classes were both studying Civil Rights and the many amazing Civil Rights leaders. The girls are in separate class, but as luck would have it, they both were assigned to do their reports on Susan B Anthony. They had to research, write a report with pictures, and then dress up as their character and give an oral report. Thank goodness Grandma Neilson has lots of things we can use for costumes!
Ashlee dressed as Susan B Anthony showing her poster that she made.
McKell as Susan B Anthony. Their class sat at their desks and the told the parents about the Civil Rights leader they were portraying. She did a gre

Like Father,,,Like Son

Looks like we have a future engineer on our hands. The above picture is very typical of our little Jaxson. He can be surrounded by a pile of toys, balls, etc. but if he spots anything in the electronics department, he beelines for it! It is very normal to see him pulling himself up to play with the computer mouse or keyboard, pushing the buttons on any remote, or studying the cords to the Xbox. But he is definitely the cutest darn techy that we've ever seen!