Summer is here!

We have been have BEAUTIFUL weather lately! It has been sunny and warm the past couple of weeks with a day or two of clouds and rain. When I say warm, I'm talking high 50's to low 60's. That's summer weather for us! :) That's comparable to high 70's to low 80's for Texas weather.....seriously. The moods of people have changed....the sun is out until 10:30 or so, people are out and about running, walking, playing, cleaning yards, etc.

We've been taking advantage of the weather by going on walks, cleaning the yards, and playing at the parks. The was last Saturday at a playground area. Notice the cool shades Preston is sporting!Uncle Craig and Aunt Becca met us at the park. Uncle Craig brought a bat and ball to teach Preston how to hit. He started getting the hang of it after lots of practicing and a small melt down of frustration. I kept telling Preston is was bad pitching from Uncle Craig! :)
My mom mailed a purse to Payton several months ago. I finally got some great pictures of her carrying her purse. She LOVES it! She carries it all over the house! She always loops it on her arm and generally holds her palm up so it won't fall off.

We put things in her purse for her to take out, but I have never seen HER put anything in her purse....until last weekend. I was upstairs changing clothes in my room and Payton crawled up the stairs to find me. My cell phone was laying on one of the steps with my car keys. I few minutes later, I hear my cell phone ringing. I thought, "Hum, that sounds like it's in here, but my phone is on the steps." I listened closer and realized my phone was actually ringing in my room. I looked down to see Payton, with her purse on her arm, walking in my room. Low and behold, there was my phone....in the purse! She was so proud of herself! Thank goodness it rang or I would have been looking forever!

Maggie, see how happy this purse makes her?

Although summer weather has hit (and very early this year), it hasn't stopped our excitement of heading "to the lower 48" in a couple of weeks (yes, people in Alaska actually refer to the other states as the Lower 48)! We will be in Texas for two weeks and then hit Disneyland for a week on the way home. We can't wait to see Maggie and Peepaw and some good friends! It can't come soon enough....

Easter

We had a great Easter this year! We started by going to Good Friday service at church Friday evening. Payton and I were in a little "drama" together and, although it was past her bedtime, she did great (aka. she let me carry her onto the stage without crying)! Preston and I colored eggs on Saturday morning and then the Easter bunny made his visit while the kids were sleeping that night. We had a wonderful church service Sunday morning and appearantly Preston learned that a tow truck moved to stone so Jesus could get out of the cave! :) Hmmmm....I may have to talk with his teacher! :)

After church, we met the rest of Darron's family at Grandma and Grandpa's for some great lunch, playtime with the cousins, and of course, an Easter Egg Hunt. Thankfully, it was "warm" and most of the snow had melted from the driveway! :)

Here is Preston and Max (his cousin/best friend/stand in brother).

Payton got to hunt her own eggs on the porch. After picking up two of them, she was ready to chase the big kids around!

Maggie sent Payton a purse a few weeks ago so she has been practicing carrying things on her arms. When she saw the Easter baskets, she got really excited! I think they reminded her of her purse! She carried them all over! (That's Darron's mom in the background taking a picture)!

Grandma had these plastic eggs out for decoration. They decorated Payton's mouth and hands great all afternoon! :)

And here is a quick picture of my cheezy little girl and her cheezy little grin. She's just started smiling by wrinkling her nose up and showing her teeth! It's hilarious!

We truly had a great weekend full of time with great friends and sweet family. Throughout the week we tried to teach Preston the true meaning of Easter. That night he prayed, "Dear God, thank you for the bad guys that banged Jesus on the cross for my bad choices. Amen." I've found it's REALLY HARD to teach a 3 year old why someone had to die on a cross to forgive us of our "bad choices." Then again, I've realized it's really hard for even ME to understand that! But I'm so grateful Jesus did!

I hope you had a wonderful Easter also....

Virginia, Here I Come!

I am so excited! I just found out that I get to spend a week at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA from July 12-19.....alone, with no children! Don't get me wrong...I LOVE my kids. But I will FLY alone (read, watch a movie, sleep, snack when I want to), not change any diapers, not hear crying (well, hopefully), etc. etc. But, that's not the reason I'm going.

My job-share partner, Valerie, and I have been taking a professional development class this year through the Center for Civics Education. This class is the same reason I was filmed for the news story a month ago (see earlier post). Anyways, we took this class because it was one Saturday a month, little outside of class work (other than teaching this stuff in our classroom), three credits (towards a pay raise), and a $1000 stipend upon completion in May.

So, during the class we were told of an opportunity to apply to the We The People Institute at James Madison Univ. It's a week long class, all expenses paid (airfare, lodging, food, transportation) at the University with intensive study in Civics Education (mainly the Constituion, etc). I am so NOT a politically minded, government type person. But, since taking this class and teaching it to my fifth graders, I have fallen in love with the curriculum. It truly is AWESOME.

So, Val and I applied to this institution. We didn't get our hopes up though because only 84 teachers Nationwide are chosen. BUT, we both received our acceptance letters yesterday! (I know, a picture of the letter would be cool here but that would be WAY too much work to take, upload, etc....I'm lazy)!

So, I'm off to VA in July for a week of study....I'm a nerd, but an excited nerd! While it will be awesome to not be a mom for a week, I will TOTALLY miss my kids. I've never been away from them more than two nights.....

And, I'm feeling a bit guilty that I'm doing this solely for ME and I know it will be a sacrafice on my kids and husband. But....I'm sure a nice, peaceful plane ride will cure me of the guilt....right? Well, I hope so at least because I really am struggling with feeling guilty. I guess that's what happens when we become moms?

Mt. Redoubt Volcano

Many of you have been hearing about Mt. Redoubt Volcano that has been erupting lately. This volcano is about 100 miles South of Anchorage across Cook Inlet. We have been hearing warnings that the volcano has been at a state of "unrest" for several months, and a week ago Sunday, she finally started to blow! In the past week and a half, the volcano has erupted more than 15 times sending large ash plumes into the sky! The last time this volcano erupted was in 1989 and the eruptions were off an on for a four month period! We could be in for a long haul!

This is a picture of the ash cloud from the volcano during an eruption on Saturday. The volcano erupted 3 times Saturday and the mid-afternoon eruption sent an ash cloud over Anchorage. Since it started erupting on March 22, we had been warned that we could get hit with ash if the winds were blowing just right. Well, Saturday they blew just right and it was NASTY! The sky got gray and foggy looking. I was "fortunate" enough to be out and about when the ash came through so I got to experience it first hand. It was hard to breath and you could feel the ash grit on your teeth and it your eyes. When you opened your car door, ash came flying in. People were wearing masks and covering their cars (it can ruin an engine I guess). We all had to cover our fireplaces and put wet towles down by the doors to minimize the ash coming into the house. Did I mention it was NASTY? The airport closed for quite a few hours on Saturday because of the ash. Over 10,000 people have been affected in their flight plans the past week and a half. Planes either can't leave or are late leaving and coming to Anchorage. They are monitoring each hour to see if they can take off and land because the ash will ruin the planes engines. Most people that are trying to get to Anchorage have been a minimum of two to three days late arriving! Crazy stuff!

I took this picture from my front door. This is snow in my driveway covered by ash!

All of the gray you see on the porch is ash. We only got a "light covering." I can't imagine getting dumped on! Praise the Lord that He allowed it to snow about 3 inches on Sunday night to cover all of the ash. Normally, I don't like seeing snow this late in the year, but at least it's white again and not so dirty looking! And to think, we could continue dealing with this for a few more months! My mom offered me a solution to my problem. I believe her exact words were "move home where you belong!" Thanks mom.....I knew I could always count on you! Of course, then I'd be dealing with Tornado warnings and flooding.....

On a happier, much cuter note....this is Preston settling in for nap time one day last week. Lately he has been wanting to take his animals or his tools to sleep with. This day he felt like he needed his safety glasses from his tool set. I guess they keep him safe while he's sleeping.

And here is my sweet little Payton and her blanket. I think she was waiting for her daddy to come out of the bathroom. I wish I had the luxury of closing the door! :) Payton is SO attached to this blanket (I have three now so I can keep them washed) and to her two fingers. When she's tired, hurt, or upset, the blanket and fingers are her biggest comfort. I wish I could say I was her biggest comfort....but they have outdone me!

Payton's 1st Birthday!

I'm a little late on this post, almost a week! Payton celebrated her 1st birthday last Tuesday, March 3rd. We had a birthday party for her the Friday before. Our close friend, Becca, has the same birthday as Payton (but she turned 28!), so we had a joint party. Becca was a good sport for playing Pin-The-Tail-On-The-Donkey and having cupcakes! :) Payton checking out a new dress from Marta and the boys.
"Aunt" Becca and Payton celebrating their birthdays together!
Yummy cake! She loved it!
Oops, was anybody watching her? Notice the flame still going? She couldn't wait to dig in.
The party crew: Xavier, Faith, Diego, Aunt Becca and Preston....I think Payton was too busy trying to walk somewhere!

What a difference a year makes! I had a wonderful, enjoyable pregnancy with Payton. A not so wonderful delivery (it was super fast but I felt EVERYTHING!). A rough beginning with a baby girl who wanted to be constantly held. And then, things started smoothing out. We started understanding each other and settling in to our new lives as a family of four.

What a wonderful year it has been! Payton is a sweet, sweet baby girl. She is very sensitive (not sure where she gets that from) and very oppionated! She has an attitude...she'll throw her head on the floor when she doesn't get her way. She smiles and laughs alot, sleeps great, and LOVES her brother and dog, Maverick!

She has brought so much added joy to our family! We love you so much Payton!

Be sure to check out the other new posts below! I was busy catching up today! :)