So, starting with the most current, Chance had his Memorial Day basketball tournament Friday and Saturday. As my friend Mindy said, our vacations have turned into basketball tournaments! Chance's team won on Friday night, won their first game on Saturday, then lost their second game on Saturday. Chance has been playing "okay." I think he's a little burnt out. I might have lost my temper a bit with him after the first game. I tried to explain to him that it is such a sacrifice for our family with time and money to keep him playing competitively. Sometimes I watch him out on the court, and it looks like he isn't even trying. The coach sees it too, and then Chance spends the rest of the time on the bench. I didn't waste my whole weekend to see my kid sit on the bench. UGH. Chance is a talented ball player, but sometimes I just look at him and wonder why he doesn't give it his all. Maybe with football coming up, a break from basketball is just what he needs to regroup and play harder. ANYWAY, the highlight of this Memorial Day tournament was that Big T - Thurl Bailey - walked in to the tournament to watch the games! Holy cow he is tall! The Kings were star struck and just stared at the legend. One of the moms from one of the other teams was brave enough to ask for a picture with Thurl and their team. I should have done the same (and I might have), but of course this was the first game I did not have my cell phone or my camera!!! of course!!! Oh well. It's a good memory!
This year was the first year that I can remember the kids getting out of school BEFORE Memorial Day! It was kind of nice! They finished up school on Friday, May 24. Hannah brought home a fistful of awards from her second grade teachers! "Exceptional Handwriting", "Outstanding Writing Skills", "Great Citizenship", "Friendliest Smile - awarded to the Friendliest Student in our Class", and "Walking 100 miles." Not quite sure when they walked 100 miles ha! Hannah has struggled a little bit with some girls in her grade this year. There has been drama going on that I don't remember dealing with until I was much older! For example, two girls wrote her a note that said they hated her. Hannah had come home from school in a bad mood, and I found the note crumpled up in her locker here at home. Then the same girls continued to say "Oh my G**" in front of her over and over because they knew she did not like it (and continued to say it after she asked them to stop). They also pushed Hannah into a snowbank and told her they didn't want to be her friend. These episodes (plus others) resulted in lots of tears after school. I finally told the teacher(s), Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Miles, about the episodes, and things improved for the last part of the year. Until the last week of school when the "Oh my G**" thing started up again. However, this time, Hannah had her friend Jerzi Dixon with her to have her back and be on her side. I am so thankful for my kids' good friends. It has been rough helping Hannah to find some good friends with the same values. Jerzi is one who I am hoping continues to be a good, positive friend for Hannah. Hannah really misses Esi from North Ogden. Esi and Hannah continue to be friends (they just went boating together yesterday), but it is hard when they do not go to the same school. {Sigh.} Girls.
Chance had an improved report card for 4th Quarter of 4th Grade, but it wasn't the greatest. Which isn't like him, because he has always been a great student. However, he was in a class with a bunch of his goofy friends, and for some reason they all sat together???? Anyway, this resulted in a lot of not paying attention, a lot of not getting school work done, and a lot of poor grades on the report card. I finally made Chance sit down with me and commit to being prepared at school by signing a written contract. I think a lot of his lack of preparation came with the dread of finishing a large project on his own. I tried to make an extra effort to help him, especially with his larger projects, so that he could be prepared on time or ahead of time. I reminded him day to day to bring home everything he did not finish in class so he could finish it at home. [I must've slacked off in my reminders in 3rd grade (or 4th grade was just a lot harder) because I could see an obvious deterioration in his grades as the 4th grade year progressed.] Anyway, our efforts paid off and Chance's report card improved. Chance mentioned to me, "It's so nice to go to school and not have my name on the board for being unprepared!" I felt so bad that he had his name on the board for being unprepared in the first place! I had no idea! I think he kept it to himself, then dreaded showing up for school. I felt really guilty about that. But, I have been congratulating myself for passing 4th grade for the 2nd time! ha!! As a highlight, Chance's teacher told him that he was the first kid in about five or more years to score 100% in the Language Arts portion of his core testing. He got a 95% in his math core testing. I was very proud of him for that. Maybe he is goofy during class, but the kid is super smart and tests well.
West-a-boy (as he refers to himself! I don't even think he knows his real name is West! He calls himself 'uh-boy') is growing and makes us laugh every single day. I don't know if it's because I'm older so I can sort of step back and appreciate him more, but he is hilarious. West always has a smile. He is such a happy, happy boy. He loves his "gee gees" - all of them. He sort of has one or two he prefers, but he typically carries 2 or 3 around at a time. They are all made of the "minky" furry material. He cringes at the feel of fleece - which is what Chance's and Hannah's "gee gees" are made of! ha! He puts them up to his chin and then lowers and raises his chin on them. West-a-boy loves cars and trucks, especially garbage trucks. The other day at the gym, he hid a little garbage truck inside of another truck. When I went to pick him up, he grabbed the garbage truck out of its hiding place and tried to take it home. I made him put it back, which he reluctantly did. I thought it was funny he even thought of hiding it in order to take it home! West is obsessed with Caillou, but much to our relief has really taken a liking to Lightning McQueen and Mater lately. We are considering a Disney trip this year, but Shawn is cringing over it. I think Shawn's Disney tolerance has maxed out. But I just want to see West's face when he sees Lightning live and in person!! He's also taken a liking to the Little Einsteins. Hannah went through a Little Einteins phase too. Really, to sum up West, it's that he just makes me laugh. I find his little brain and actions so amusing!!!
Shawn is continuing to work at Superior Roofing and with the W.A.R. Program with his friend Dustin. He continues to work out and is super strong. Shawn is so funny - when we met, dated, and were first married, probably due to working on the roof, Shawn never worked out or exercised. He was doing hard, physical labor all day so he didn't really need to. He referred to himself as the "natural athlete". Plus, he ate anything and everything he felt like. Now, he's sort of a gym rat and is really nutrition-consious. It is so funny, I tease him and say, "Who are you???" when he makes reference to how something is loaded with sugar or carbs. He really has done a complete 180. But I'm not complaining - he looks amazing and is so helpful with making healthy choices for our family.
I have done a 180 myself and have stopped caring so much about what I eat! Much to my demise!! ha!! But I'm getting back on track. I have been going to a girl's house to work out 3 times per week. She does cross-fit type training, but its in small groups of 8 and all are women. In this atmosphere, I feel a lot less intimidated and can work hard. It's been about 3 months so far and I can tell I'm getting stronger; however, if I continue to make poor food choices, I'm never going to look any different/better. I want to eat healthy, but I choose to eat whatever I feel like!! I will just continue to try to balance it out. I sure feel a lot better about myself and in general when I exercise. I really think it helps clear my head and reduce stress.
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