Teacher Gift

First, I just have to say that today there is reason to celebrate!! I never have to make lunches for Clara in grade 1 ever again!! Tomorrow is a pizza lunch for the school and Monday is only a half day, so no more lunches!!! I know there are some people out there who understand...I can't be the only one who hates doing it, can I?

We finished Clara's teachers gift and I am so happy with it. I have to tell you how much I appreciate Clara's teacher. We started the year with a different teacher and while she was a great teacher her teacher as of January has really left a lasting impression on Clara. It was hard not being able to get out and volunteer in the class. So much of me wants to do that and be involved in Clara's school life, but with Donovan and Elliot at home, it's just too hard. The one thing I loved about this teacher was that she always kept in touch with us. Teachers always say to email them, but when you do, you never hear back. Not Mrs.MacKenzie. She always emails back and often within an hour or so. Even on weekends she will answer questions. She has always offered me feedback and always made me comfortable with how Clara is doing in class. I finally had an opportunity to volunteer last week and I got to see her in action. After watching her as a teacher, I can see why Clara adores her. So I wanted to do something special for her and thought this was the perfect idea for her.

We made her a book. It is titled "What will Mrs.MacKenzie Do This Summer?"

"She might...get a coffee"
There is a Tim Horton's gift card
"and read a book."
With a gift card for Chapters
"Maybe she will make crafts" (cont'd below)
There is a gift card for Michaels on this page.
"while eating ice cream."

"I hope she won't forget about me,
I know I won't forget her.
Love, Clara Kearl"
Then Clara glued a wordle to the back. Mrs.MacKenzie taught her class how to do these and now my kids are addicted to them. It definitely made sense to add one to her teacher gift. Now we all know this is not a professionals job, but Clara is in grade 1, so I think her teacher will be thrilled.

I know I have already said this, but I am so very grateful for Clara's teacher. I am so lucky that we have some one so great in our lives. It takes some one special to be a teacher but it's amazing when you get some one like Mrs. MacKenzie! So thank you Mrs.MacKenzie!

News

Well....I have so much to catch up on but I figure I will start with the new stuff and work my way backwards. My mother in law informed me the other day that I don't update my blog enough, so I figured it was a push to do so.

We have lots going on in our lives right now. Our biggest news....in a month and a bit we will officially be a 1 house family!! I can't believe it, we FINALLY sold our Tuscany house!!! I can't even tell you how good it feels. It was a stressful sale, but it worked out in the end. The purchasers low balled us in the beginning but our realtor held strong and got us really close to our asking price. We were very happy. Then they had a home inspector that was a little bit ridiculous. He took 8 hours to complete the home inspection. We already knew this house was a wild card with a home inspection, the last thing we needed was an extremely thorough inspection! (Good for purchasers, bad for us). Well, they emailed us after the home inspection asking for $38,000 off the price because that's how much work the house needed. (Turns out it didn't, they were just trying to scam us). We figured we were back to the drawing board and told them to take a hike. Well, literally, 5 minutes before the offer was supposed to be void, they decided to sign the waiver at the price we originally agreed on. Can you believe it? We had already accepted that we were not going to sell the house and we were going to be stuck with it forever, and then they pulled this! So thankfully, come August 5, the house will no longer be ours!!!

So long Tuscany!! We will miss your 3 car garage and my favorite kitchen we have had so far, but not enough to want you back!!!

So...now that Tuscany is out of our lives, we need to shake it up a bit, right? We decided we wanted a clean slate, and now we have listed our Chaparral house. The hard thing about leaving this house is leaving the yard. Our yard is AMAZING!! It is so big. You just don't get a yard like this in the city very often. So we decided that if we want to trade our house without trading our yard, we would look in Langdon (a small town east of the city). I feel very good about this decision. We have taken a lot of thought and prayer to come to this decision. I do think that Jeff does not feel the same about this move as I do, but he is not great with change, and I hope that's why. So...if we do sell our current house, we will be moving to Langdon. I've heard it all, "why?", "are you crazy?", "do you realize how much driving you will have to do?" . In answer to all of these question and any you might have, YES, I realize it all, we have thought this through. We would not pick up our kids and move them to a small town, away from their favorite cousins, all their friends and our excellent ward if we didn't think it was the right decision for our family. There are lots of kids in Langdon, there is a K-9 school with another school opening next year, the lots are HUGE, every person we have met there is nice, the ward is different, but we think we will like it and it's not that far from the city! We aren't moving to another country, it's only 25 minutes from our current house. Plus, Jeff's sister lives in Chestermere which is the same ward as ours. They live in his parents house while they go on a mission, so if they leave, hopefully his parents come back after their mission. Now, of course this move will only happen if we can sell our current house, so who knows?!

Clara is almost done grade 1! I can't believe it. She is growing so fast. She loves school and has lots of friends there. That's what gives me hope she will have no problems making friends in the new school. She auditioned for her school talent show that is this week and she made it! She's doing a dance routine and I am very excited to see her show the school her talent. She really is a great dancer, very poised and very graceful, plus she can drop down into the full splits (which is what I think separated her from the other kids in her class that auditioned and didn't make it). She is definitely a performer, that's for sure. She does very well in school, she reads well, she listens well, she is very creative. I sure am proud of her and I am excited to watch her grow and learn.
This is her after her dance recital which was last weekend.

Then there is Donovan, he's a ball of fire and he's my sidekick. He is so ready for kindergarten and has been for a while. He is dying for that social interaction. He waits all day for Clara to come home to play with him. Sometimes he tries to get Elliot to play with him until he realizes all Elliot wants to do is eat his toys, not play with him. Donovan is a good big brother though, he takes such good care of his baby brother and he helps me around the house so much. He doesn't always listen and you often have to tell him something 3 times before it actually sinks in, but it could be worse. He's an excellent reader and speller. I think he's almost as good as Clara is, and she is a pretty good reader herself. He's a lot of fun to have around.


Good old Elliot. He is 8 months old now. He is one busy boy. He's been crawling around for at least 2 months now, he's climbing the stairs, he tries to climb the ladder for the kids bunk bed and just yesterday he was trying to walk. He's crazy. He holds onto the couch, lets go and tries to get to the other side of the couch. Of course he just falls, but then he gets back up and tries again. I hope he gives up on this ambition soon, I don't think we are ready for him to start walking because I am pretty sure I won't be able to keep up with him. He's funny though because he will do something naughty and look over with the biggest, cutest smile and it makes it hard to do anything but smile back. He's a lot of fun and I am so glad we have him in our family, he sure adds a lot of excitement and happiness to our lives.

No matter what happens over the next few months for us, we are so blessed. I feel so fortunate and so grateful for what we have.

Elliot

*I wrote this before we left for our trip but must have forgotten to post it...oops





I sometimes wish we could freeze time. Elliot is 5 months old today and it's just crazy to me how fast time has gone by.
We sure love him and can't imagine our family without him.
We got off to a rough start with him. He was a very difficult baby for the first 2 months. He cried a lot and nothing could stop it. I will be forever grateful for the family that helped us out. My sister in law Stacey, who took Clara to the bus every morning for me and picked her up and brought her home. She took Donovan so many times so I could have alone time with Elliot, which was so wonderful. I am also grateful for my mother in law. She came over many times to just hold Elliot. There were times that I had enough of holding him but it broke my heart to hear him crying. I am so grateful for her. One day she even came over just to bake bread for us. We love her bread and my house smelt so good too!

Then one day, Elliot snapped out of it. It was so sudden. He became the best baby ever! I do have to admit that from day 2 Elliot slept 6 hours every night. He has always been a good sleeper, for that I am very grateful.

Now Elliot smiles and laughs all the time. It brings me so much happiness to see that huge wide open mouthed grin of his. His smile is so contagious. I just love it!

He rolls all over the place and I am sure it won't be long until he is crawling everywhere. He loves his tummy and getting up on his knees. I just hope he holds off for 3 more weeks. It will be no fun having a crawler on the cruise.

The kids love him. He loves them. They love to make each other laugh. Seeing them together makes me so happy. What a great family we have!

Then there is Bella. She LOVES Elliot. She is so curious and puts her nose in his face all the time. I will often catch her trying to lick his face (GROSS). When I tell her to stop, she moves to his feet. She loves to kiss his feet! Every time he cries, she runs to him. She lets him grab her face and he has a very tight grip. (I would know because his favorite thing to grab seems to be my hair) It's sweet how much she loves him. Who would have thought that a dog could bring so much joy to a family!

I love watching Elliot grow, but it's sure sad all at the same time. This time is so precious and I am loving every second of it.

Our Flights Are Booked!!

I am so excited, we have finally taken the plunge and booked our flights for our March trip!! It is a trip meant to replace our 10 year anniversary trip since it will be pretty hard to take a trip with a baby next year, so we decided we would bring our whole family along. It is a surprise for the kids, they will find out at Christmas. To make it even more exciting, they ask at least once a day when they can go back to Disney, so I can't wait to tell them we get to do it sooner than expected!! (Jeff has promised Clara she can go to Disneyworld again when she turns 8, so that's what they think they are waiting for).
We will be able to celebrate Donovan's birthday one our trip which is really exciting, as we celebrated Clara's birthday in Disneyworld one year and Clara still talks about it. In fact she brought it up again this morning, so I am happy Donovan will get to experience that as well.

Anyways, we get to start our trip out visiting here again

It's been a long time since we have been here. As you can see, Donovan is quite small in this photo. We will be there with my parents again as well. We have been to Disneyworld 3 times since this trip, I can't wait to see Disneyland again.

We will also be visiting this place

This is new to us. In all our trips to California and Florida, we have never taken the time for Universal Studios, so this is exciting.

Then we get to visit here again

Granted, this photo is Seaworld in Orlando, and we won't be going there, but we will be visiting Seaworld in San Diego. Mostly because Donovan just LOVES Seaworld, he talks about it often and tells us how he loves the dolphins and whales, so I can't wait to take him here again.

Think this is all exciting? Well after all of this, we get to check into here!!!

That's right! We are doing a 7 day Mexican Riviera Disney Cruise!! I can't wait! This is honestly a dream come true for me. I can't wait for it and I am really excited for the kids as there is SO much for them to see and do on this boat.
Including a sweet kids pool area, kids clubs, parties, fireworks and lots of chances to meet characters!! This means shorter line ups to meet them which makes Jeff happy too!!

We get to visit Puerto Vallarta
Seems like a good first stop since this is where we spent our honeymoon. Afterall, it is our 10 year anniversary trip.

Cabo San Lucas
and Mazatlan

Not sure if we will do much in these ports with the kids, but I do hope that we get the chance to visit with some of these.

This is a dream of Jeff's, but it is always too expensive for us to do. We will see if we take the plunge this time, if not we will just hang out on the beaches and enjoy ourselves.


After our cruise we get to spend a couple of days with Jeff's parents here in Newport Beach

Actually both of our parents will be joining us on the cruise, which is really exciting.
I do not plan on weather this beautiful, but I will dream of it and pray for it.

All things must come to an end, and unfortunately this will be the last of our trip, but, I am sure after 2 weeks away from home we will be ready to come back.

I can't wait for this trip! I know it is going to be a lot of fun and a great experience. Even Jeff told me that he is kind of excited for this trip...which says a LOT! I can't wait to see the look on the kids faces when we tell them that this is where we are going, I know they will be SO happy.

The countdown is on...only 97 days until we leave for our 10 year anniversary/family vacation!!!

Grandma's Christmas Party

It was my mom's work Christmas party for the kids this weekend and it was at Heritage Park. Normally, that would be exciting, but when it's -20 outside, it is not something I look forward to. Jeff's work doesn't do a kids Christmas party and we have been going to my mom's ever since the kids were born, so it was important to go this year as well.

I almost turned around when we got there, as it was quite a walk from the gates to the actual party, but a bus came and picked us up. Good thing cause the kids were in tears. We got to the tents where the party was and they had bouncy houses, karaoke and characterture artists there.

After lunch we even got to see Santa. We waited a while in line for him, once we got to the front of the line, of course Elliot wakes up and decides he is hungry, so the picture didn't turn out as planned. After feeding him I got a good picture of him with Santa.
Our second attempt at a Santa picture, which was much nicer.

The kids each got a present. Clara hasn't put "Fluffy" down yet, she even insisted on taking her to school. Donovan got a really cool Playmobil fire fighter helicopter. He also has yet to put that toy down. Even Elliot was spoiled with a toy for him. I am sure one day he will like it...


Despite having freezing fingers and toes, we had a good time. The kids had so much fun and talked about it all the way home, and really that is what it is about.

Even Elliot must have enjoyed himself as today he started smiling!! So it's a very exciting day in our house, although I don't think anyone is quite as excited as I am! It's so hard to capture those smiles on camera, so this is the best I have for now, but I am sure I will have many more smiling pictures to come!!

Elliot's Baby Blessing

November 6 was a very special day for our family. Baby blessings are always really special, but this was even more so as Elliot shared this day with 2 of his cousins. Both Carter and Isaiah were baptized on this day. To have the family all together is always a little bit of chaos, but it is also a lot of fun and something we treasure. Almost all of Jeff's family was able to make it and even my parents and my sister in law Dawn. It means a lot to have so much family and for them all to be so supportive.

It is so hard to accept that Elliot won't stay this small forever. I just love holding him and cuddling with him and I know that won't last forever. It's truly amazing how you can love something so small so much.

Elliot Jeffrey Kearl
May you be blessed with the knowledge that your family cherishes you and an appreciation for the love your family has for you.
May you develop love for your mom and dad and siblings.
May you be blessed with a nice demeanor and an inquisitive mind.
We bless you with the ability to provide for your family.
We bless you that you will seek the truth for yourself.
May you have good health and if desired that you will be able to play and enjoy sports.


Your family loves you so much. Our family feels so whole having you here and we are so excited to spend the rest of our lives with you in it.

Clara turns 6

It seems so hard to believe that Clara is 6. I keep watching her get bigger and older and it's so bittersweet. While I love seeing her grow and learn new things, I can't believe time is going so fast. Sending her to grade 1 this year was really tough. It made me hope that I had taught her everything she needs to know as now she will spend so much time away from me.
The last 6 years have been so much fun with her around. She is the sweetest girl you could ever meet. She is always willing to share and help anyone who needs it. She is so kind and so caring.
This past year she has gotten so good at reading and writing that it absolutely amazes me. She loves her brothers so much. Her and Donovan are best friends (most of the time) and I hope they always love each other as much as they do now. She is such a good example to him.

This year she wanted a Halloween party. I can't say I was looking forward to it. Having a baby just 2 weeks before her birthday did not make planning this party very easy. All of the friends she invited were able to come, and they all came in their costumes. The most important thing to her at this party was a candy scramble. We always do one in Cardston with great grandpa on special occasions, so this is where she got the idea. We played some games, ate some cake and opened presents. She was very spoiled from her friends and I think everyone had a great time.Ready for the candy scramble

It begins!

Playing the mummy game

I have tried to make the kids their birthday cakes a couple of times, and I always failed at it. So I started buying their cakes. Usually I order them at least 1 week in advance. Well poor Clara, I totally forgot this year. Luckily it was easy to find a Halloween themed cake, or she would have been pretty upset at me!


Surrounded by presents!
Making candy apples

On her actual birthday, November 1st, she got her present from us. She has been asking for one for a while now, and I found a SUPER good deal on it, so we took the plunge and bought her one. She was SO excited. For days after she just kept saying, I can't believe I have a DS now. She is a lucky girl, that's for sure. Now her brother wants one (which I was prepared for). Maybe Santa will take pity on him....

I look forward to watching her grow up and I just can't wait to see what she accomplishes in life, as I know she is going to do great things.