First Day of School

The kids are back in school, my baby is in Kindergarten......

though he hates it when I call him 'my baby', he tells me "Call me Xanny, or Xan , or Xander, but not baby!"

So, Xander, is in all day kindergarten, He helped me pack up his lunch and he couldn't wait to get out the door.

It cooled down this morning so we walked to school, Xander was a little disapponted that he didn't get to ride the bus any more (since his pack pack was so heavy).
When we got to the school, the big kids (I can't believe I'm calling them that) ran off to their class and Xander shooed me away so he could play with his new friends. I'm sure the kids are much more at ease than I am!

So with Kaylee off to her all-girls 4th grade class, Warner to his all-boys 2nd grade class and Xan to his all-day kindergarten class.....I had to walk home all-alone!

Awards

I can't believe that the school year is over! We had a great year, and that's not just because we didn't have to change schools.

Warner Loved being in Ms. Kalicki's all boys class, and he will 'loop' with his classmates and teacher, staying together with the group for 2nd grade. Warner has become a social butterfly (but don't tell him I called him a butterfly) he is very thoughtful and the boys in his class really enjoy being his friend. He received the coveted Citizenship Award; which wasn't to difficult for him, since following the rules and ensuring others do too, comes naturally to him. Way to go Warner for getting the one award your big sister hasn't gotten yet!

Kaylee was in Mrs. Giarmo's, all girls class and she really seemed to blossom. She made plenty of friends and enjoyed science and reading. She received an award for earning all A's or B's through the whole year. I'm so proud of her ability to stay focused and motivated to the end. I know she'll do great in 4th grade.

Yeeeee-Haaaa

This weekend we had such a blast. David and Cindy (Tom's parents) took us horseback riding in Red Rock Canyon. The kids and I had ever been before s it was a real treat.


Our guide, Ernie, started off by assigning horses for everyone.


"Do you want to ride a big horse?" he asked Warner enthusiastically, tyring to get him pumped up for the ride.
"No way!" Warner corrected him, "I want to be safe!"

So Warner rode on Honey, the Half-ling...(I'm not kidding, it was like half the size of the other horses, it was like a hobbit, and truly called a Half-ling). He loved that horse, heard him talking to it, saying things like, "I know you're tired, we're almost there," or "are you hungry girl?" He even asked me if we could take her home and keep her as a pet...when I reminded him that the bigger the pet, the bigger the poop.... he said that Kaylee could take care of the poop job! When the ride was over he stayed by Honey for a little while, talking to her and petting her. Mean while everyone else wet to roast marshmallows by the campfire.


(By the way, we made s'mores by roasting mellows and putting them between two chocolate chip cookies, have you ever heard of this? it was delicious!)



When I first got on my horse, Dollar, I found myself thinking...
...'this is not too bad,I could be a real cowgirl, we could sell our house, get a couple horses, I could braid my hair and wear boots, Tom doesn't look to bed in plaid.'.....


But by the time the ride was over, was happy to be on the ground, even though my legs were in a different shape then a few hours before.

Ernie the cowboy taught the boys how the swing a rope, Xander was a natural, almost caught Grandma.

We ended the day with a nice lunch while Ernie played cowboy songs on his guitar and sang.

The Best of Both Worlds

One Friday a month Xander's class has a "family day," there's no school for him, instead we do a fun activity. This month we drove for just a 1/2 hour to Mt. Charleston.
I had no idea that while I sent the other kids to school in shorts,... Xander and I could be playing in a winter wonderland! We had so much fun in the thigh deep snow.

We went down the mountain a few times together, but after Xan discovered a snow cave, that was it, he stayed in there for the rest of the trip.

Which was fine because I had a major blast on the tube. I'm going like a million miles an hour by the way!

After we were officially popsicles, we drove a couple more miles up the mountain to the ski resort (that's right, I said that Las Vegas had a ski resort!) where we enjoyed a mediocre, very expensive lunch and watched the skiers and boarders come down the slopes.

I am still in awe, that we were able to play in the snow then go home an play in the park. We really do have the best of both worlds here.

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebs

An Act of Mercy

This morning I was watching the news and one story in particular really caught my eye.

It began by showing a convince store robbery, which occurred last winter. The robber held a gun to the cashier/ store owner, then surprisingly the cashier comes around the counter with a big shot gun, and points it right at the robber. Instead of running, the thief falls to his knees and puts his hands together as if he were praying. There was no sound on the video but the convenience store owner starts to narrate, saying that the man began to cry and begged him not to shoot, saying that his family was desperate and hungry. Slowly the owner lowers the gun, pulls $40 out of his pocket, and hands it to the would-be robber along with a loaf of bread; making him promise that he will never steal again.

I didn’t think this would end well, I expected to hear the thief was arrested. In fact when I tried to search online for the news report, all my searches brought up stories about either the robber or the victims being shot and killed.

However, this winter the convince store owner received an anonymous letter. The letter was from someone who simply thanked the owner, saying that he had a steady job and was able to provide for his family. “Thank you for saving my life.” Folded in side was a 50 dollar bill.

The more I thought about this story the more touched I was.

If the store owner had scared him away, he probably would have tried to rob someone else.

If had shot him the news would have reported on it, and viewers would have thought ‘well, he shouldn't have been trying to steal.’

If the store owner had pressed charges, the robber would have gone to jail. How could he take care of his family from inside prison?

My heart is so full when I think of how merciful that man was. The store owner was truly a type of Christ.