Thrive Fitness

We have a family membership to Thrive Fitness. Thrive is open 24hrs a day, I love it! I go all the time, Joel goes once in a while, and the kids hardly ever want to go. A few nights ago, I talked Ry into going over with me...it was so funny! Usually when the kids go with me, they run on the treadmill or ride the stationary bike. This night Ry went straight for the weights. He would do a few reps and then stop turn around and flex his arms in the mirror...LOL! It was the funniest thing ever. He had his ipod turned up and wasn't paying attention so he couldn't hear me laughing, luckily we were the only ones there. Oh my goodness, that kid makes me laugh! I have the giggles again now while I am typing about it ;) I used my phone to take a picture, but it just doesn't do it justice....

F.A.M.E.

Today was the first day back teaching F.A.M.E. at my kids elementary school. F.A.M.E. stands for Fine Arts Mini Experience. The first two weeks we teach a music lesson and the last two weeks of the month we teach an art lesson. This will be my 3rd...maybe 4th year teaching it. Sometimes it's a bit stressful adapting it for students that range from Kindergarten to 6th Grade. Their attention spans and abilities are so completely different. Whatever it is we are doing though, we try to make fun...well, as fun as a lesson about "Dudes that died over 100 years ago" can be. That's what one 4th grader told me F.A.M.E. lesson's were about...it made me giggle :)

This year is the first year that I have both Ry and Ky's classes. I have taught Ry's class before but never Ky's. It was so much fun, I loved it! I love that my kids aren't shy, at all, and will laugh and joke with me in front of their classes...even though most of the time I am making fun of them ;)

At the end of last year I thought about not coming back to teach another year of F.A.M.E. Being the PTA President was a lot more work than I thought it was going to be, plus I am still working part-time, about 10-12 hours a week, for my brother who owns his own plumbing company. However, Ry played the "it's my last year there" guilt card so I didn't entertain the thought for long. After today I am really looking forward to this year with my kids. Being it's the second, and LAST, year of being PTA President I finally feel like I know what I'm doing and it's not so stressful. Now hopefully life will stay at this pace and I will actually be able to slow down long enough to enjoy it :)

~Here is what today's F.A.M.E. lesson was about~

Edward MacDowell

(1860-1908)

Edward MacDowell short biography

A distinguished American pianist and composer, Edward MacDowell enjoyed international fame. MacDowell was a student of the Paris Conservatoire and later studied at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt. There MacDowell played for Liszt and received encouragement from the great pianist and composer. Upon his return to the USA, MacDowell established himself as an important teacher, pianist and composer. MacDowell was appointed the first Professor of Music at Columbia University.

They give you a little bit more information than that, but not much. Now take that and make into a, fun and interesting, hour lesson for all students K-6...it can be challenging!

Morning Annoucements...

One of the responsibilities of a 6th Grade Peer Leader is the morning announcements. They are to arrive at the school 8:20, gather all the information, and then at exactly 8:31 they are to use the intercom to give the daily thought, the school motto and any other information regarding that day. Ry and Mclayne were responsible for the announcements during the last week in September. The first few days were "kinda freaky" but by the end of the week they were pro's at it ;)

Fishing with Bodee

A few weeks ago, Ry went with Susie and her kids down to the local pond. Bodee loved reeling in the fish Ry caught and Ry loved watching Bodee get so excited. Susie and Haylee hung out on the dock in the shade....waiting for me. I kind of got busy and might have forgotten about them, oops! I did make it down in time to take a few pictures though ;)

Caramel Apples...

Ky has been bugging me to make caramel apples since the leaves started to change a few weeks ago. On Friday night, after Ry had left to go fishing, Ky and I broke out what ingredients we had, made a quick dash to the store for what we didn't, and started the fun filled process. Unwrapping each caramel is the worst part...I hate it! After that it's all pretty easy. While we were at the store, Ky decided that she wanted to put mini M&M's on them. It turned out to be a great idea. Her and Ry both loved it and it made them easier for me to walk away from (Down 14 pounds...but still many more to go :)

Fall Pictures

Ry is in Mrs. Tingey's 6th grade class.

Ky is in Mrs. Smith's 4th grade class.

I can't believe how fast they are growing up...I want it to stop!!

Penny Trick'n...

Adam & Carie on Mazatlan beach

So, what happens when you set up your BFF's from high school? Yep, they get married 6 months before you. Adam and Carie celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary a few weeks ago on a cruise to Mexico...but before they flew out of SLC, they made a quick, 2 1/2 hour, visit which all started with the penny trick.

It was a friday night, around 11, and I had just gotten home from a girls night out. Joel and I were upstairs relaxing in our room and the kids were still up...doing who know's what. All of the sudden this pounding started. BANG, BANG, BANG...and continued for several minutes. I saw Ry walk out of his room and asked him to go tell Ky to stop pounding on the kitchen table. Ry came back a few seconds later looking pale white...very quietly he said, "Mom, that's not Ky...it's our front door". Joel immediately flew up out of bed and said..."ADAM'S HERE!!" and ran down stairs. Joel opened the door, grabbed the fish string that was attached to the door and followed it right to their hiding spot. By the time I got out there the group, Adam, Carie, Chelsea & friends, were on the front lawn, laughing and waking up the neighborhood. After a few minutes Chelsea and her friends left and then Adam and Carie came in and stayed until after 2am.

Let me explain the penny trick...for those of you that we haven't hit yet ;)

Back during our dating days we started, and got hooked on, what we call the penny trick. You take a band-aid, a penny, a spool of fishing string, and find your victim. After dark, you attach one end of the band-aid to the door (glass and metal screen doors that open out work the best) or a window close to the door. With the other end of the band-aid you attach one end of the string and the penny. Then while letting out your fishing string you walk across the street, hide, and start pulling the string. It makes the LOUDEST taping sound. People come out look around, close the door, and you start tapping again....it would go on and on until we were laughing so hard that the people found us, which usually isn't too long - Joel and Adam giggle like a bunch of little girls when their together, it's kind of cute...and kind of annoying ;0)

One time we did the penny trick to my brother in law, Judd, and his wife. However, we didn't know that Judd was out of town and his wife, now ex-wife, was home alone. It really freaked her out and we ended up surrendering before she called the cops...still very fun! Another time Carie and I took her niece, Chelsea, and a few of her friends out to teach them. We picked my high school friend, Scottie. Little did we know he lived in a fortress....his old house had an enclosed front porch, and later said they didn't hear a thing :( The six of us spent over 30 minutes pulling on that stupid string, with no results. Finally his mom, who lived across the street, came out because she heard us laughing so hard in her driveway. It still remains our only bust...but, once again, still fun!

There are many more penny trick story's, all of them great memories. So, next time you hear we are going to dinner and movie with Adam and Carie...beware, it could be your turn next :)

I think we have hit most of our friends...it's time to move on to the family! It's kind of childish, but don't knock it until you try it ;)