Day Eight - Jace Adventures

Here's a summary of some of Jace's summer adventures! We took a lot of beach trips! He finally would venture into the ocean but was more than happy to play in the sand all day.

We signed him up for swimming lessons and he did great!! I was so proud of him. He was the only one in his group that would whole heartedly jump in the water and go for it.

Our sweet neighbor invited Jace to march in their 4th of July street parade. He was the hit of the parade with his flute and march. Everyone stopped and said how cute he was! This boy has such a love for life and an amazing passion for music. All I had to say was, you can play your flute, and he was there in a heart beat. He has no fear of being infront of people and def. LOVES the spotlight. :)

Jace loves sports and for the last year, it's all been about baseball! We found an affordable class this summer in T-ball. He loved fielding the balls in the outfield and throwing them to the catcher. His favorite thing was hitting, of course. I'll have to upload the video. He's dang good and has quite an arm.

The last week in Thousand Oaks, we went to the mall's kids club activity. They had Gymboree come and do songs and dances with the kids. Afterwards, a local orchestra brought every instrument you can think of for the kids to touch and play. Of course, Jace was beyond excited. He played a trombone, trumpet, xylophone, drums, harp, celo, violin and flute. What a great activity for kids to be introduced to musical instruments.

Day Seven

What a fun day we had today! We talked about going to Boulder or downtown Denver to celebrate Labor Day but we decided to just hang out around here. Heath wanted to check out if this new burger place had opened up, so we decided to drive down there first. On our way, we spotted this great park, Bellview park. We went around the corner to a Little Ceasars, grabbed a 5$ pizza and drinks and headed to the park. It was totally spur of the moment and we had a blast! Cam and I just chilled on the blanket under the trees and Jace and Heath explored the creek, which runs through the park and kids were playing in it everywhere. We rode the train there for $1 and went through a dark tunnel and over two bridges. JACE was in Seventh Heaven!!! (Yeah, so all you Colorado moms, this would be a great cheap outing during the summer. Today, however, was the last day the train runs.) He can't get enough of trains...still. He got a picture with the conductor and he let him ring the bell. I didn't have the camera bc i didn't know we were doing all this fun stuff. Originally, we were going to do putt putt. Guess we'll do that another day. We had a fun day and spent hardly any money. Having a great day doesn't have to mean spending lots of money, it's just being together.

Day Six - Four Letter Word

Please proceed with caution as the following language contains a four-letter word.........................D-E-B-T. Pres. Hinckley has said to get as much education as you can and he's also said going into debt for education is understandable. Well, that's where we're at right now. Heath...still getting an education and us going into more debt. Gratefully, we've been able to secure some free money but it hardly makes a dent in the loans. Seriously, how does anyone do it and still live and have a family? Living off loans seems worth it so I can be with the kids but it feels like now we'll have to pay for loans for a while. I have faith that this schooling will lead us to a bright future and hopefully a successful career path for Heath. I can't understand why grad students don't get any pell grants. It seems like we are the ones that need it the most. It's actually gone faster than I thought it would and i'm hoping that trend continues bc his schedule this semester is hard. Oh, what a four-letter word!!

Day 5 - Current Vice

Day Four

Heath just asked me what I did today that was interesting. I laughed. Let's see, as a mom, I do a lot of things but are they interesting...changed diapers, fed and bathed the kids, did the dishes, made the bed, did the laundry, folded clothes, organized cubbords, cleaned up toys...all day, took a shower, played catch with Camden, built lego robots with Jace, was made into a pizza, tried to download Skype for an hour, danced around the room to Dan Zane and the Backyardigans, made dinner, cleaned up messes.

It's funny how my days are made up of all these little things but they are all so important. I used to dream of being a busy mom. Is that crazy? I would picture my life married with 4 or 5 kids driving them to and from practice, appts, playdates, taking care of the house in the middle of it all, teaching them about faith and life, and making yummy snacks and scrumptious dinners. Crazy thing is, I still want this. I LOVE being a mom...even if it is crazy and can take every last inch of patience. The last couple weeks, we've juggled the idea of me going back to work to help our financial situation (loans galore). I can tell you that everytime it came to my mind, I would get choked up. I can't even imagine my life any different and without these two sweet boys in my life....even if it were for a couple hours a day. I used to work full time. I did up until Jace was almost 3. Then, it was different and I knew nothing else. Now, I know what it's like to stay home fulltime and I don't want anything else. Sure, there are plenty of days where going to work would be a HUGE relief and a nice break. But, then I think about missing even a moment of Camden changing and learning something new or Jace saying something like, "i like riding elegators." He has a hard time with his "v." For now, I'm not going back but I'm still toying with the idea of doing something from home. I just can't let go of how much I could help pay off our loans. I know we'll know what to do if it's right and most of all I know that the Lord guides and directs us everyday. How grateful I am to know that family is the most important and he'll make it possible to accomplish the thing that he's commanded of us.

Day Three

It's nearly 11 p.m. at night and I want to go to bed but remembered I had yet to post today. I just finished cutting out all the fabric for my next sewing project. I've finally started the Colorado chapter of the Secret Stitch Club. Now that I know when the baby will be asleep, it's much easier to handle anyone coming over. I invited 3 girls but only one was able to make it! I'm so excited though to start sewing again. I'm making the Phoebe bag. Heath is at school until 11 p.m. at night 3 days of the week so I figured what would be better to take up my time than sewing! Certainly more fulfilling than wasting my time watching tv. My bed is looking great right now. Until tomorrow.

Day Two

I sit here with alot on my mind. Today was a hot day but right now it's raining and I LOVE the smell of rain. One thing I loved about Arizona...the smell of the desert rain. So, what I've been thinking about a lot is Pres. Obama and his speech next Tuesday to grade schoolers. I think it would be fine if he went to motivate the children to have a passion for education, but it goes further than that. He wants the children to idolize him. If he's really interested in improving the education system by talking about the importance of education, why isn't he talking to high school students too? Afterall, they are the ones at the forefront of higher education. Oh yeah, that's right, grade school kids are still impressionable. Now, why is he asking the teachers to have the kids write down goals they can set that can help the president further his goals..and then be accountable to the government for them? Now don't you think that's going too far? There is definitely an underlying political agenda attached to this speech. Some parents are talking about not having their kids go to school that day. It's not only about whether or not they hear it, it's that he's trying to control another aspect of our lives. I will be the one to teach my children about what's right and wrong. It starts at home. There are so many versions of the truth these days, It's so important as parents that we are the ones to instill strong values, morals, and beliefs.

You can still respect the president but don't have to agree with his policies, choices or opinions. What if they don't want to do something that helps further the president's agenda? What then? They are probably too young to even question it, so instead, they will do as he says and be seen as the great president who makes all good decisions for this country. What are your thoughts? I'm sure I've ruffled somebody's feathers. But, if you'd like to comment in a respectful manner, I'm sure we could have an enlightened discussion.