Wonderful Wednesday

Yesterday was Wednesday. I had a day off! I was able to spend it doing fun things which was super nice. I didn't clean the house at all! First we had Story Time at the Cedar Hill Public Library. For Story Time they asked us to dress up in costume. We all went and we all dressed up. I thought it was fun even if we were like the only people in costume. Some people just aren't fun that way. I am and my family always has been. I love dressing up! Kaileigh is a ladybug this year. Kinsee Belle is Cinderella. Kamden is a Pirate. Kaitlyn is Pebbles. Kaijsa is a Race Car Driver. My understanding is that Kira is going to be a witch, we will probably not get any pictures of her but that's what she is going to be. I went as a Hawaiian Girl. Larry dressed up as a Hospital Patient. Everyone looked so good! Tonight is our Ward's Trunk-or-Treat so we get to get all dressed up again! Well the kids anyways since the parents aren't able to go. Plus since it's raining it will be Room-to-Room Trick-or-Treat but still fun. The reader at Story Time dressed up as a Witch and had the BEST witch's laugh. The stories were Halloween themed and very cute. I love this holiday!

Later that night the girls got to go out. Larry and Gary watched the little ones for us while Kaijsa, Kaitlyn, Jordan (Gary's daughter and Kaijsa's friend), Jen, Jennifer (Jen's friend from work) and myself all went out! A girl's night out to see So You Think You Can Dance Tour! We LOVED it! I love the dancing and soooo wish I could do it. I miss my super flexible days. Anyways...Jen got us tickets and we went. It's becoming an annual tradition. Thanks Jen for the night out! Thanks Larry and Gary for watching the kids and letting me go. It was so much fun. The dancing was spectacular. Till next year...we'll watch the new season.

Thanks again Jen for the night out! Love you kids! Happy Halloween!

Air Show

Yesterday we got to see the Alliance Air Show. We've been waiting all year for this. Last year Kamden and Larry were the only 2 who got to go and they (Kamden) talked about it all year long. So of course no matter the weather we had to go. It was a beautiful 73 degrees with the sun shining and a cool breeze. It started out cool so we had sweatshirts on but by the end we're in our T-shirts enjoying a fantastic day out. The Air Show is always fantastic with so much to see and do. Plus we love the hot dogs, funnel cakes, soda, and crowds. The crowds actually weren't too bad. We had our chairs and snacks and enjoyed all the planes, helicopters and shows. The planes were awesome! They do a great job by always having something going on. The Blue Angels are always fun to watch. Kamden loved it. We loved watching him. Kinsee couldn't cover her ears hard enough and cried when the jets went over. Kam held his ears too but at least watched them. Kai slept through a lot of it. She did great, didn't even flinch (is that good or bad really). We had fun with Jen and our friend Gary. Kait got some reading time in enjoyed the show but did say it's not really her thing. I'm so glad we got to go. We had a fun time, got sunburned and drank and ate a lot of junk. Kaijsa had to work so we missed her but she plans on making sure she can go next year. Another great Air Show come and gone. Here's to next year and another one to look forward to.

Zoo and Haunted House

This week we had a full week of school, cooler weather, the zoo and the Haunted House. Kaitlyn's school supplies came and they are amazing. She is in a really good program. We are excited about her classes and her teacher seems really nice. She actually has quite a bit of work so she is kept busy. We go on walks and do fun things for her PE time which is fun for the little kids too. Kaijsa will hopefully be taking her entrance exams for the Community College either this week or next. They are handling being home quite well. Kai is talking more and more. She even had her first bowl of cereal this week and loves it. She is growing so fast. I wish she could stay little. The cooler weather has been wonderful. The windows are open and the kids are playing outside. We got them some jackets so they wouldn't get cold. We walked around the zoo which was fantastic. The day was cool so the animals actually played and were fun to watch. We love going to the zoo. Afterwords we have to go to the Zoo McDonalds because it's so much fun. They have it decorated so cute and the animals inside even make noises. On Saturday Larry and I got to have a date night! It was wonderful to go out with him and to have fun. Kaijsa was working and had a church dance so Kait offered to watch the little ones. Thank you Kait! Jen, her date Richard, Larry and I all went to dinner and to a Haunted House. The Haunted House was called the Boneyard and it was awesome. I screamed all the time. They had it decorated very interestingly and the workers were great. It was so much fun! I hadn't been to a Haunted House/Forrest since my Rick's College days. Thanks Jen for the fun night out. For dinner we went to Spring Creek Barbeque, one of my favorite places, and got our dinners for FREE! Yep you read that right. I had some coupons for buy one get one free but when we got there the manager let us know my coupons were only good Sun-Thurs. It was of course Sat. So Jen and I were looking at each other like what should we do now? The manager saw us look at each other and was like please don't leave on my account just a minute. So we waited for him to come back thinking he'd give us a small discount. He comes back with 2 coupons for 2 Free dinners each. So my coupon covered Larry and I while Jen's covered her's and Richards. We had dinner, drinks, bread, and desserts all for FREE. I was so excited. It was a fun night and a good week. My job is going well and Larry is feeling better so that is nice. Now to get ready for the holidays. The Air Show is next weekend so we'll have pictures for that. We missed the State Fair this year which completely bums me out. I love the TX State Fair and we really wanted to take Kait and try the fried butter. Maybe next year. Somehow time just gets away from me and things are over before I know it.

Belated Birthday Wishes to Miranda Kate

I got to thinking while doing Heather's post that I don't think I did a post for Miranda Kate. I'm a horrible Aunt. We didn't forget you! Sorry the birthday post is late but we know you had a great day. Miranda turned 8 this year and was baptized. We unfortunately weren't able to attend but Papa and Jen said it was a wonderful moment and day. We're proud of you for taking that important step of being baptized. We love you Miranda!

Happy Birthday Heather!

Happy Birthday Heather! Heather is the best Sister-in-law ever! She is so much fun and I am so grateful to have her in our family and lives. She is a fun Aunt and a great mom. She is raising 3 terrific kids and is so loving to Drew, my brother. I'm so glad he found her, with my help of course. :)hehe. Hope you have a wonderful day and year ahead Heather. I wish we were closer so we could celebrate with you but know we're thinking of you. I also wish we were closer so we had more pics. Oh well...Have a fun Birthday and make sure Drew and the kids spoil you! Love you!

Love our Missionaries

Here are our Elders. We love them! They provide service for us and we let them spend part of their P-day here. They love the kids and it's fun for the kids to see the missionaries. Kamden loves them! They are having great success here and our ward is growing, finally. Keep up the good work Elders!

Fun times together

The other day we had our friends the Myers family over. The kids played with us and together. The mess was well worth the fun times had by all. Us older folks sang Sing Star of all generations, played Rock Band and sat around and talked. We had fun just being together and letting the kids play. It was a lot of fun. We are so blessed to have them be a part of our lives. They are truly great friends. We ate Pizza, drank soda and laughed a lot. Thank you Camille and Tim for bringing your family here and playing with us! We'll have to do it again real soon!

School and Our Kids...

Let me fill y'all in on our life at the moment. Some of you may know that when Larry and I bought our home in Cedar Hill Texas it was just a starter home and we were only going to be here for a few years. Boy does time change our lives and plans! We bought a home that fit our needs then, we had eachother, the 3 girls and 1 brand new baby boy. Our home has 4 bedrooms, 3 are upstairs and the master is downstairs. Kamden would get a room, Kaijsa a room and then Kait and Kira would share when they visited. A few months later Kaijsa moved in with us. Still we were ok because Kaitlyn and Kira were only here during the summers so plenty of room. We then discover we're pregnant and going to have another baby - girl. Shortly after that Kaitlyn moves in with us. So after some re-arranging - Kaijsa has her own room, Kamden and Kinsee Belle are sharing and Kaitlyn gets her own room. Kira shares with whomever she wants to when she visits. When Kaijsa and Kaitlyn moved in with us we had to find a good school district for them. Cedar Hill schools are horrible and not where we wanted our kids to go. Where once we thought we had time to look around and figure out where we wanted the kids to go we now had no time. My Dad lives in a good school district and with a Clause they have our girls could use his address and go to those schools. Now they are about 20 minutes away but worth the drive since it's their education. They both loved the schools, teachers and their friends. We did too. Part of the deal was that they go to school and then after school every day spend 3 hours at Papa's house. This used to not be a problem. They would take the bus there after school, spend their time and then Papa or Jennie would bring them home. Then they grew up. Kaijsa started working. Still this wasn't a huge issue because Jennie could still bring them home for me after she and Kaijsa got off work. Swing by grab Kait and then home they came. Then they got even older. Kaijsa no longer wanted to ride the bus, Kaitlyn either for that matter. Kaijsa starts driving and working closer to home. Kait gets involved with sports and the school musical...no time spent at Papa's or not very much time. The school told us they would check and make sure the girls were there at times but in the last 3 yrs they never have. Well...the police stop by the other day and no one is there. Kait is at play practice and Kaijsa is either at work or home sick that day, I can't remember. A couple of days later the school calls and they have withdrawn the girls because they aren't at my dad's house for the 3 hours every day. Plus they feel they are too old to participate in this program. So...what do we do? Do we send them to Cedar Hill where they would be the only white kids, or one of the very few white kids, or do we homeschool? Homeschool was what we all decided to do. Tears were shed and plans were started. For those who don't know...homeschooling can be very expensive. We have discovered this. But there are quite a few families around that do this and we talked with some of them. I think we have finally found an online program for Kaitlyn that is also associated with schools in TX so if she wanted to go back she could without too much problem. We will sign her up tomorrow and figure out how to get her started as soon as possible. Kaijsa on the other hand is a bit harder since she was almost done with High School. It turns out that the Dallas Community Colleges are free if you live in Dallas County (we do!). Plus they have a program for dual credits. So while she takes her courses at the college they count for High School and College! We are talking with them tomorrow, hopefully...I left msgs with the director today, and will have her take the test neccessary to get her into some classes. She is pretty excited to go to college and since it's nearby I'm hoping this will help prepare her for when she is off on her own. Maybe then it won't be quite the shock. In the meantime till all of this can be finalized and started we are doing stuff at home. For Music they are learning the piano (they are doing pretty good at this actually), for PE we run around outside with the little ones or visit Flip Fusion (the best gymnastics place ever that has open gym time), for Reading/Writing/Spelling they each have a book they are reading and will write about. I will give them vocab words and essays to write about what they are reading and learning. I think this will turn out better than it sounds. They also have scripture time that they read and journal during. Math and science we are still trying to figure out. I'm looking for a particular book but haven't found it just yet. I will though! Scince isn't required as part of the homeschool program in TX. Actually all TX requires is Reading, Writing, Spelling, Math, and Good Citizenship. For the Good Citizenship I am thinking of having them find someplace to volunteer at. That will get them out of the house for a bit and keep their sanity. Kaijsa has her job which will help her as well. They also have Church activities to keep them busy. So far we've been busy planning and getting it set up but today they did start their reading and writing. We have a few deadlines in place for the music and reading to help keep them moving along. So far we all like it and I hope that continues.

Kamden and Kinsee enjoy having them around and have even actually been pretty good. Kaileigh of course is the best baby and just sits and talks and giggles.

So now are days are busier than before. We will get a schedule in place so that I can get school stuff done, play time done, work done, house cleaning and cooking done. It's crazy at the moment but I know as we do what is right Heavenly Father will help us.

Larry hasn't been feeling well but we also pray for him to get better and for the Dr's to be able to help him. Please continue to keep us all in your prayers and fasts. We need all the help we can get! LOL

Texas has become cooler which I am enjoying. We've been able to open windows and save some electricity! It's finally beginning to feel like Fall. I even have a few decorations out. I so need more since Halloween is one of my most favorite of Holidays.

I'll keep y'all informed on how school is going and what goes on in the Saling lives.

Team Jacob!

Make your own Countdown Clocks

I love Twilight and can't wait for New Moon! I am so Team Jacob although I like Edward too. I love the previews for this movie and can't wait to see it. I have my ticket already. I bought it the other day for $1.50! So excited!