We are so excited for Christmas! Just a couple more days. Travis is coming the day after Christmas and we are looking forward to seeing him and his family.



Mitchell got to go to Disneyland with his football team the other day. Matt went with them as a chaperon. It was a really short trip but they had a great time.



Two nights ago we went to the Oakland Temple to see the Christmas lights with some of the families in our ward. We have never done that before and it was a lot of fun and beautiful.
I love this time of year!

We had so much fun on our trip to Utah.
We first went to go see my Grandma in Payson. She is not doing well but it was important for me to see her one last time and to get a photo of her with all my kids. It was so great to see her and spend some time with her.
We then went up and spent a few days with my Sister Hilary and her family. They kids had so much fun playing together. Especially in the snow. It was SOOO cold while we were there but they didn't let that stop them!
My parents flew in and we had a nice time together for Thanksgiving.
We then went to my BFF Susanne's house for a couple of days. We did out power Black Friday shopping and had a blast! It was great to see her and her daughter Joy. The kids had a blast sledding in her front yards.
We then headed out to Matt's brother Mike's house. The kids had a lot of fun together too. We went to go play basketball, stayed up all night playing Settlers, and had lots of good conversation. Matt was especially excited to see his brother Robby!
We are so thankful for all our extended family and the opportunity we had to go spend time with them!

While my kids are younger I know HOW I want to parent. It's being consistent and following through that is challenging for me. But now that I have a pre-teen I find that I am not sure of what to do in many situations. Things aren't as clear cut. Where do I draw the line and how much freedom do I give?

Example of this weeks dilemmas: Do I let her talk on the phone as long as she wants, as long as no one needs the phone, or do I put a 20 minute limit on it? Do I let her go talk in her room or do I encourage her to talk to her friends downstairs where I can hear her? When her friend comes over to rollerblade how far do I let them go off together? Do I let her get her own FB page?

I feel as if these kinds of questions are really important and they weigh heavily on my mind and heart. But the answers don't come as quickly as they did when my kids were 5 and I had to decide what to allow them to do or not do.

I know I need to start giving her freedom and that it is an important part of this stage of her life. I believe when and how much freedom is crucial to making sure she develops into the YW I know she can be.

I guess the only hope I have is that I have the power of prayer to help me. I need to be watchful and prayerful and make the choices based on the spirit. I need to be proactive as a parent and not make choices out of laziness of not wanting to deal with anything or the opposite of wanting to control everything.

SIGH, I guess no one ever said being a parent was easy!

Harry is Student of the Month in his classroom. He was so excited!

We are all running around getting ready to go somewhere and I just walked past the bathroom to check on Paige's progress. She was sitting on the toilet lid letting Grant brush her hair and even spray hair spray on it for her. She is so patient and loving to her younger brothers. I am so thankful for her!

I don't think I will ever forget this last week. A week ago today Carter (Hilary's second son) was diagnosed with Lukeodystrophy. It has been a week of a lot of tears, shock and heartache. I am so amazed at my sister's strength and so proud of her. She is my hero. We are all praying for Carter and know that through Christ we can get through all things. I have been thinking about the YW theme this year a lot this week: Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Joshua 1:9

We had a dance night for FHE tonight. Paige had a lot of fun teaching the boys this dance. Check out Grant's moves.

Mitchell's teacher ask me to write a letter about him. She asked some very specific questions and asked about his strengths and weaknesses so that she could get to know him better and know how to best teach him. So here is a copy of the letter I sent his teacher:

Thanks for being interested in learning more about my son Mitchell. I am happy to write this letter because what parent doesn't love the opportunity to talk about their child, right?

There are so many things that are wonderful about Mitchell! His best attribute is one that he keeps close to himself and doesn't always show people. Mitchell is very sensitive to other people and their feelings. He is very quick to pick up on how others are feeling and what their needs are. Mitchell is very good at reading people's emotions and well being. Most of the time he will keep this to himself, but if he feels comfortable around you he will open up and communicate with you about it. Out of my family Mitch is always the first one to notice when I am not feeling well, when I am frustrated or happy. He is especially very sensitive to when I am disappointed in him or proud of him. Often I only have to give him the "look" and he will bow his head down and say, "I know mom, I'm sorry." Mitchell will often come home from school and will tell me how the other kids in his classroom are doing. He really does pay attention to other people and is a very loving person.

Mitchell is a very efficient person, especially when it come to working. He is always my first kid to get his homework and chores done....always. He wants to get in, get it done and get out out there. He doesn't whine or complain about hard work. He doesn't like it, but when he knows something has to be done, he wants it over and will put his head down and get it done.

Mitchell is a wonderful older brother to his two younger brothers. He loves to come up with games and activities and fun things for them to do. He loves being their leader and their protector. He is very mindful of their safety and will often tell them to be careful or help them when I am not there.

Right now Mitchell's main obsession is mythology. Greek and Roman mythology (but not Norse he says...lol). I think Mitchell has checked out every Greek Mythology book out of the library at least twice. He knows all about them, their relationships to each other, their strengths and weaknesses, etc. He loves to read and study all about them.

Mitchell also plays football, loves to watch Wipeout and America's Funniest Home Videos, play on the Wii with his siblings, play on the computer, and go backpacking with his dad.

One thing that Mitchell does struggle with the most is change. Mitchell is a person of structure. He is a very right brained kind of person. He thrives off of order and routine. So the worst thing you can do to Mitchell is promise him one thing and then go back on that promise or change it. He really struggles with having to change gears and refocus and is not a "go with the flow" kind of kid. So if you promise him you are going to do something that day and something comes up and you can't do it he really gets frustrated. Even if the thing you are going to do instead is better. He is not a spontaneous person and so having him change gears mid stride is something that he needs to work on.

But Mitchell is a very easy going person when it comes to social situations at school. He has been very happy with switching schools (especially because we had lots of warning). He makes friends very easy and has never had a problem with fitting in socially.

Mitchell's academic strengths are definitely in math. Math just comes easily and naturally to him. He is a very logical and methodical person. But he does well in other subjects and is well rounded.

There are no real considerations you need to be aware of. He comes from a very stable and loving home and lives with both parents. We care a lot about Mitchell's education and are really excited about this opportunity to be in the GATE program. My husband has a time demanding job and I am heavily involved in my church and so we don't always have a lot of time to volunteer for everything but we do really care about how Mitchell is doing and would like to help out in the classroom when possible. Mitchell has never had any disciplinary problems at school, has no health problems, and is excited to be in your class.

To be honest Mitchell's past two teachers have not pushed him at all with his education and in fact have been pretty lenient with him and let him get away with more than I think they should. This year has been an adjustment with the level of homework and the amount he has had to pay attention and work. I was a little worried about how he would adjust to the GATE program but I think this is exactly what he needs.

Although Mitchell doesn't have a hard time focusing usually for some reason I have noticed when I am in his classroom that he tends to want to stand at/next to his desk instead of sit in his chair. I'm not sure why he does this? Although this would drive me crazy as a teacher his last two teachers never made it an issue and let him stand up a lot. If this becomes a problem for you let me know and we can work on it.

Mitchell is a pretty obedient child and has never had any issues with discipline at school. I think reminders/warnings would work best for him. As far as teaching he thrives best on routine and order.

My hopes for Mitchell this year are that he will rise up to the challenge of being in this program and excel in it. I do expect that he will obtain good grades on his report cards and his STAR testing.

So today Grant brings me the phone and says, "Call Mimi and tell her I need her to come and pick me up to take me to the store to buy me bubble gum."

So I called Mimi and told her what Grant said 'cause I thought it was funny. She was out running errands and said she would be right over! Grant got his wish and went to Target to get slushies and bubble gum. If we aren't careful Grant is going we think we will grant his every wish!

A couple of weeks ago my sister Hilary came out to visit with her family. My kids love it when their cousins come out to visit! They run around and scream and give us all a headache but it is worth it for all the fun memories.

Tonight Matt gave the kids the their school blessings. Tomorrow is the first day of school and the kids are VERY excited! Grant even climbed up in the seat and closed his eyes and folded his arms. He looked so cute and serious sitting up in the big chair. He did not want to be left out of getting a blessing from dad.
Tonight when Harry was saying his prayers at bedtime he said, "Please bless that I won't miss Grant too much when I am at school." These two boys have never really been apart. Should be interesting!

So, the other Sunday I was asking the younger boys what they wanted to pack in the church bag to play with during Sac meeting. Mitchell chimed in and said, "I'm not going to bring anything today. I think I will just take a nap during sacrament meeting." LOL Like father, like son!

Grant's new thing that he says all the time is: one night. Instead of tomorrow, yesterday, later or any other reference to a time period he just says, one night. So instead of saying can we go swimming tomorrow he says, "One night we go swimming?" Or when he is remember something he will say, "Remember one night we got ice cream?"

Also the WHY, Why, why, WHY, why???? has not slowed down at all! I will be happy when that is over.

So, we have been having a fun summer so far. We have been going to friends house to go swimming, going to the park, saw Toy Story 3, going to the library and just chilling at the house. So far it hasn't been very hot yet so that has been very nice for me!
Paige sang in church the other day. She sang When the Savior Comes Again. I was sad to miss it but Grant had 5th's disease (and we didn't realize that once the rash came on his cheeks he wasn't contagious anymore) so I had to stay home with him. Everyone said she did a great job though. Paige has been having her swim meets. She loves it and has been doing well, but it takes all day Saturday so that is hard sometimes. Just as that will be ending next month football will be starting so it never ends!
Harry is very excited to start Kindergarten and asks often when he gets to go to school. I know he is going to love school and I am excited for him!

Well it's offical! Grant has gone the whole week with out any acciendents! He is offically potty trained! I put it off for a long time but it's finally done and it was easy so it's all good. No more diper changes in this house!

We took off Wednesday night (5.18.10). While we were waiting in the airport we found a little cafe and watched the American Idol finale. You could tell we were flying to Boston simply by seeing how many Red Sox hats were being worn on our flight. To be honest the flight was horrible. Because it was a red eye and I didn't want to exhausted when we got to PR I really wanted to try and sleep on the plane. But I was so uncomfortable and I just can't sleep sitting up. So it was a pretty frustrating experience to be so tired, to want to sleep and just not be able to. That first flight was like 5.5 hours and we got there early morning. Landing in Boston was beautiful. The country is so different there than in CA with the rolling hills and everything so beautiful and green. The plane circled once, low around the city and we were able to see a lot of it and it was really beautiful. At the airport, we were able to stretch our legs and get something to eat and then board our next flight to PR.
Thursday


We were so excited to get our rental car and take off on our adventure! I was the navigator on the trip and Matt the driver. It was so exciting to see how different the island was. I have never seen any place like it. The island is really diverse. Some time you feel like you are in the middle of a jungle, but not always..just depends on where you are! One of the first things I notice was a tree called the Flamboyan tree. They are everywhere on the island. They have these HUGE, bright red flowers on them. I fell in love with them and now whenever I think of PR I think of that tree.

My sweet Grandma! Even though she really needed to pass away it's still hard to know that she is gone. I am so glad I got the opportunity to go and be at her funeral. It was a very quick weekend trip but it was worth it! I flew with Tony, Traci and Landon and stayed at Hilary's house. We had so much fun laughing, visiting, and rocking out with Rock Band. Then Travis and My Dad flew in and we all got to hand out. We had a blast all driving down in Hillary Tahoe to Grandma's viewing playing Bingo and listening to music.
Grandma's funeral was sweet. All her grandkids got up and sand the song Always. There wasn't a dry eye in the room. It brought such a strong feeling of Grandma and Grandpa into the room and was just perfect. It is a memory that I will always treasure. I know Grandma and Grandpa are together and happy and peace. I know this. And yet, I sometimes I can't even believe that they are gone. I love them so much and can't believe that my kids will never get to sit on their lap or get teased by grandpa or eat a yummy meal that grandma made. I can't believe that I wont ever hug them again or just sit in the same room as them watching TV.
I feel so grateful and blessed that I got to live by them for a few years and spend so much time with them. I think of those times often and they bring back so many happy memories. I loved that Matt got to hang out and drink soda and watch Golf with Grandpa so many times. I love that Grandma would get down on the floor and play with Paige and laugh and clap her hands every time Paige would do something funny. I am so grateful that I have those times to keep in my heart forever. I love you Grandma and can't wait to see you again!!!

I have lots of updates I need to do but meanwhile
here is the conversation I had with Mitchell a few seconds ago:
Mitchell: Mom, is that really what you are going to dress Grant in?
me: Yes, why? What's wrong with it?
M: Well his shirt is too big, his shorts are too small and it doesn't match very well.
me: We are just going to the bank, Mitchell. I doubt anyone will care.
M: Well, I care mom. Can't we dress him better?


It's sad when your son cares more about fashion than you do.

Mitchell just threatened Harry and Grant that if they didn't stop letting his skateboard cause so much polarity between them he was going to take it away from both of them. Polarity? Who uses that word?

Tonight Grant said our family prayer all by himself without any help. This is how it went:
Dear Heavenly Father. Thank you for this day. Thank you for our blessings. Thank you for my Daddy. Thank you for McDonald's. Thank you for Monkey George (this is Curious George). Name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

I took Paige the other weekend to go see Little House on the Prairie up in Sacramento. She had gotten tickets for her birthday. I went with a friend and her daughter. Paige loved it and we had such a fun time.

Going to Home Depot with Grant is a nightmare. Not because her runs around screaming (like my other kids) but because Grant is "my doer". Grant has to touch EVERYTHING! He has to touch every button, pull every knob, open every door, climb up on every thing. It drives me crazy sometimes. My Dad noticed it when he went with Matt last weekend on the Father/Sons Camp out. When they got there Mitchell and Harry ran off to play but Grant wanted to stay there and had to help put up the tent, un-roll the sleeping bags, and un-pack the car. Grant always insisted on doing everything for himself and helping you with everything. He is also our child that has shown the most interest so far in "wrenching" with Matt. He is out there often with his own tools mimicking Matt on Saturdays. It is so fun to watch my children grow up and develop their own personalities.

When Matt and I were putting Grant to bed the other night he passed gassed and when I called him on it he said, "Sorry Mom! My bum had to burp!"

Mitch had a great Birthday. I took him some cupcakes and capri-suns to his classroom and Harry and Grant loved that. Later on it was such a lovely day that we decided to head to the park. We had all the family out with us and enjoyed the evening while having dinner. The kids had fun playing at the park, blowing bubble and just running around. Mitchell got a skateboard from Nana, a Star Wars Wii game from Mimi, and Cub Scout knife from papa, a basketball net, a bakugan toy and another Wii game from us. It was a really fun night. Happy Birthday Mitchell we love you!

Grant had such a great Superman Birthday. He had been looking forward to his birthday for a long time. Ever since February when Paige and Harry had their birthday. I sewed him two reversible capes that he absolutely loved. He got an Iron man toy and a really cool Batman balloon. He ran around the whole night with his cape on pretending to be Superman. He was very cute!

Paige has had so much fun playing basketball lately. She has never played it before but wanted to give it a try. She has done great at it and really improved a lot! I love how Paige is willing to jump in and try something new and just have fun doing it!

Harry has lost his first tooth! He has been very excited but chill about it. He pulled it out all by himself.

At Christmas time I BLOGGED about how our family sent letters to some soldiers in Afghanistan.

Mitchell really put a lot of work into writing his letters but on the last one he wrote he slipped the money that he had been saving for himself into the envelope. I had really hoped that the soldier that got that letter realized how much Mitchell cared about him and appreciated the thought behind it.

Well tonight I found out that the letters did make it to Afghanistan. The letters went to a guys troop who's mom is in my ward. We gave her the letters and she sent them to her son and his troop. She wrote to me tonight a thank you letter about how much it meant to all of them to receive the letters at Christmas. She said the guys especially wanted to thank their friend Mitchell Day. She said, "Mitchell really captured his heart!! He is a very sweet boy! It brought tears to the other soldiers too!! They pinned up his letter for everyone to be able to see it every day."
Mitchell has often over the past few months asked how "his" soldiers were doing.
We are very happy to know that the troop all made it home yesterday safe and sound. We are very thankful for them and all the other men and women who put it all out there on the line for us every day.

The other day was Mitchell's first Pinewood Derby. Matt couldn't be there because he was at the hospital with his mother. But Papa and Mimi were there. His car was doing amazing when he first got there and was totally winning every race he was in. But then a few minutes after the offical races started something happened and his car was no longer winning. But Mitchell didn't care too much. He was having too much fun with his friends and watching his car go down the track. Matt and him had a lot of fun making the car together.

So good news: I have an ulcer. After having stomach pain on and off for a couple of weeks and severe pain every night for the last 5 nights I finally talked to my dr about it. Dr said it is probably from taking so much Advil for my headaches. I am hoping the Rx works quickly so I can finally get some sleep at night! The last few nights have been pretty miserable.

On Sunday night the kids and I were in a car accident. Some guy made a left hand turn right in front of me. I braked hard and try to miss him but slammed right into him. He ended up getting in his car and driving away about .5 a mile where he then jumped out of his car and fled on foot through a park. The kids and I were really shook up but no one was injured and we all had our seat belts on. I was driving my mom's car so I feel bad about that. But there was nothing I could had done to avoid hitting the guy.

My fundraiser for the YW/YM was last weekend as well. It was a very stressful thing to organize and pull off but we made a lot of money to help pay for their camps. We had a great turn out (250 people) and our Ward really pitched in to donate items and bid on them at the auction. This was our 4th year doing it and every year it is more successful! I am hoping next year to be a little more prepared with buying the right amount of food (it's always so hard to estimate how much you will need).

Last night was Mitchell's blue and gold cub packmeeting. They had a father/sons cake decorating contest. Matt took the challange to heart and him and Mitchell made this cake yesterday! It turned out great.
Mitchell had a slow start with scouts because for 4 months he had football practice at the same time and so he missed a lot of activities. He has been working hard to get caught up and is doing great.

Matt had his 35th birthday the other day! We did the usually family party. Harry and Grant had fun helping him open his gifts. It was a nice, fun day and Matt humored us by letting us celebrate his birthday.

We spent the day at the beach today with Mimi and Papa. It was a little chilly but the kids had fun. We were going to go camping this weekend but Papa hurt his had really bad this last week so we had to cancel that. We had a lot of fun on the way home playing Slug-bug, Bingo and PoPo.