What's On My Happy List?

Random Family stuff!

my favorite fridge art

Kyleigh
Half the school year is over! can. not. believe. that. Half of Kyleigh's high school career is over! even harder to believe. The end of term equals late nights and early mornings for this girl! 

Scurrying to get all her homework and extra credit finished before the deadline.  Her schedule this year has kinda kicked her in the butt. She's getting her first A-'s this school year and it drives her nuts... I don't know how she does it with her class load on top of her time commitment to drill but she finds a way. Even if its pulling a late nighter or getting up at 3:30 in the morning to finish her homework, or scrambling to finish in the car on the way to school. {like I captured on camera the other morning} She's one dedicated girl! She recently broke her toe or sprained it really, really bad. That on top of a cold and cough during competition season. Ouch! Things have been a little rough for her as of late.  She was asked to speak at the Stake Youth Fireside this past week to kickoff this year's theme. Because of a drill commitment she had to decline. She didn't feel too bad about it though since she JUST talked in our ward's Christmas sacrament meeting program. {enough is enough people.} You add the Prom drama, which has been going on for a month already. {hilarious when the dance is still a month away.} and things on the boy front have been interesting, to say the least.  When the time comes to share I've got a good one for ya.

 Dad, Kyleigh and I spent a considerable amount of time at the High school this weekend, 16 hours straight on Saturday. Yah I wrote that right. and a couple of hours the night before. Murray High hosts the Murray Classic, the biggest drill competition in the state, 30 plus teams from around the state come which includes almost 700 dancers, 80 coaches, 40 judges. Its one major production to pull off and every team member was required to have 2 adults there to help ALL flipp'in livelong day. I worked concessions, directed traffic in the halls, monitored halls, checked for wristbands, cleaned up garbage, etc. Dad was in first aid most of the day checking injured girls, wrapping ankles and other body parts, handing out ice bags, giving oxygen. What a day it was! I'm telling you, this drill stuff is religion to some, a culture all of its own.  I'm not sure if we are cut out for it. {I think we'll just take a backseat and watch!} Our girls didn't compete as they were helping out all day too. But at last weeks competition they took first place in their division in military, kick and dance routine. Hard work paying off.

Emma 
Her extra credit project for Biology that she did over Christmas break... Model of an animal cell. The cutest, creative cell I've ever seen made from half of a Styrofoam ball.

  She is always showing me Instagram pics of her and her girlfriends from school. Their favorite place to take pics.. The seminary bathroom!

Hannah started the second phase of her Orthodontic treatment. Full braces on top and bottom. She's not too excited about that! She's had a sore throat and cold too. Add the mouth pain and not being able to hardly open her mouth let alone eat anything...She's basically miserable! I've had to make several ice cream runs for her which has been kinda crazy in this Arctic blast we've been experiencing. It's been so cold here.. as in 1 degree kinda cold,  we had an unopened pop can explode in the garage. Which left lovely brown splotches on the car, garage wall and ceiling...

Brie
Love this note she wrote to her 2nd grade teacher....owning up to a mistake. Bless her heart!

Family organization!
As we start the new year we are trying a new kid chore chart/allowance system. Dad and I have never really been big on giving out allowance. {Other than once Kyleigh started high school we gave her $60 a month for her expenses. Now she's gonna have to earn it} My overall feeling is that having responsibility around the house is just part of being a family, and you shouldn't get paid for it. But... I'm being opened minded and seeing if this new way will motivate them to embrace personal responsibility more fully and train them to manage their money wisely. AND I want my house clean! haha. {I got the concept from the blog 71toes but of course adapted it to our needs.}

Each child has the opportunity to earn each week the dollar amount for how old they are by doing certain things on school day/nights...3 daily chores, plus keeping room clean, clean laundry put away from their baskets, following electronics/media rule {2 hour limit}, helping grandma out twice a week and getting up and going to bed at a certain time.
                                                        Not overly hard, right?
                                                           You'd be surprised.
Sometimes you'd think I've asked them to plow a freak'in field barefoot in squelching heat!

Not so funny when the 4 older girls will now have to pay for their entertainment expenses and their own clothing {other than special occasion and underclothing etc}.  It's not fool proof and I'm sure we will have to tweak and re-tweak until we get it right, but I like the concept. After a week of trying this I'm amazed at how unmotivated my kids are about money. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing.

My kid emergency stash in my car...{our second bathroom..haha} wipes, diaper, garbage sack, brush, hair rubbies, bobby pin, safety pin, body spray, deo, mascara, lip gloss, gum, extra pair of socks, gloves, Tylenol/Ibuprofen, water, blanket, flashlight and a candy bar. You name it, I most likely have it. I probably make it sound like we are more organized than we really are, but we are trying...