The New Year is upon us. 2013 flew by, especially the past 5 months. So much has happened since the end of the summer and I haven't blogged about anything. I have some catching up to do, so here goes, a couple of big posts of what we have been up to the past little bit.
Maile had a birthday.
Here are eight awesome facts about Maile...
1. She loves ice cream. One bowl is never enough.
2. Maile has a laugh that is so silly it almost seems as if she is faking but I am pretty sure she is not.
3. This girl loves to read. She can read a chapter book pretty quickly if it's a good one.
4. Maile likes to play with the boys on the playground. She would rather be playing ball with the boys than hanging with the girls.
5. Zachary and Maile have a special friendship. They are always hanging out.
6. Maile is pretty and cute but she eats like a horse. Oh man, we have to work on those manners!
7. Maile has a heart of gold. She is always concerned for others feelings.
8. Last but not least, although Maile struggles with being shy, she tried out and made the school basketball team. We are so proud of her!
We Moved.
August 15th we got the keys to our new house. A great opportunity came up to rent a nice house from some really nice people in our ward so we jumped at the chance for some extra space and much nicer landlords! We are really enjoying our new place and plan to stay put for a while!
School Started...for all the kids and myself.
-Zachary started High School at Desert Oasis HS and seminary before school. The 5:30 am carpool certainly takes some getting used to, after we realized that Mommy was too tired, Zach took over the early morning carpool so I could get 45 more minutes of sleep!
-Alexis and Maile started at Doral Academy a charter school we decided we wanted the kids to attend that is turning out to be a pretty awesome choice. So many good things about this school.
-Rebecca started school out at Mark Fine since she was still on the wait list for Doral. In November we received an email letting us know that Rebecca was accepted and is loving being back at school with her sisters!
-For the fall semester I was taking three classes. Two at UNLV (one online) and one class plus a lab at CSN . I had class Monday night, Tuesday morning and night, Wednesday night, Thursday and Friday morning. This was the most intense schedule for me especially since we had all the kids going in different directions also. Pretty sure I clocked an average of 4 hours or more driving on some days.
The school schedule was crazy and I had tons of help. I want to say
thank you to all those who helped me out...Mom for taking Natalie pretty much anytime I needed to go to class or study. Chrissy for watching Natalie every Friday. Laura for taking Rebecca in the morning and putting her on the bus with your boys. Emily for getting Rebecca everyday after school. Danielle for doing the carpool with me so that it was possible for my girls to go to Doral. Dad and Anna for switching off watching the kids on Wednesday when I had class and Zach for putting up with the crazy schedule and not complaining about the mess that we lived in for 4 months.
I have so much gratitude for all of the people who helped me out, I am not sure I am deserving of having such wonderful and giving people in my life. I appreciate you all very much!!!
One more thing... am also incredibly thankful for my sweet girls and boy who have done a great job with our new schedule. Had my girls up by 6:30 or earlier every morning to get ready and they have been so good about it. We had some rough mornings but they were troopers! Here they are on their first day of school.
Maile got Baptized. Saturday August 31, 2013 Maile was baptized as a member of the Chruch of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. What an amazing day for my beautiful little girl. I am beyond proud of her. It was such a nice day surrounded by our amazing family and friends.
The evening before her baptism I got to take Maile out to Lake Las Vegas to take pictures of her in her dress. Eight looks great on my beautiful daughter. I am so grateful for where she is at now. When I think back to the day she was born, a tiny 2 pound baby clinging to life I realize what a blessing she has been in our lives and just how lucky we are to have her.
to be continued...
