School Days

Hang on to your hats, here we go!!!!!! (and ignore how dirty my door is, its construction people)

Race will be in 1st grade at American Heritage Academy with Ms. Cooley.  She's a great teacher, just the gal for the job.  She's a special lady; it meant so much to have her at Race's end of the year IEP meeting where Ms. Suzanne could "pass on the torch", as she called it.

 Witt will be with Ms. Janet and Ms. Jyoti again.  We love Montessori!  We're so glad he gets another year with these wonderful ladies!



Lane and I already miss having the guys home with us.

Cowboy Britches (or lack of)

Look what I walked outside and found the other morning. 

"Hey Cowboy, did ya forget something?"

Confused by the question he says, "No.  But I did lose my horse.  He went that way."

"Hmm...did your horse take off with your pants too?"

"No, cowboys don't have to wear pants if they don't want to."

Never heard that rule before.  It must be a secret cowboy thing because it's new to me!

Allergies

Race has allergies.  And because he has allergies, he has asthma.  There is some interesting research finding that many kids with autism have severe allergies and asthma.  Why?  Well, I have my opinion, and it is just my opinion people (based on our experiences in our home; along with my own personal research).  I really feel that Race's body is sensitive to the world around him.  That everything effects him to a larger degree than you or I.  His body lacks many of the vital things that fight off illness.  And because of this, he doesn't just get a good ol' Flinstone Vitamin to start off his day.  He gets his vitamin cocktail  as we call it.  It consists of a multi-vitamin, a vitamin C tablet, a mixture of probiotics, a spoonful of Omega-3's and of course his inhaler.  Wow hu!

It's a relief to watch Race's body get a little stronger year by year.  It was almost as if he had no immune system when he was 3, 4 and 5, despite all the healthy foods and vitamins I was pumping down his body.  He was sick ALL THE TIME.  Last year he had pneumonia TWICE!  The guy is a trooper. 

I always felt Race was extra sensitive to everything.  So, March 2010 we took him to get some allergy testing done in Phoenix.  Turns out he is pretty much allergic to EVERYTHING outside, with super allergies to corn and peanuts and a sensitivity to dairy.  Well, this explained being sick all the time; I was basically feeding him poison every day of his life!  After cutting out most corn and dairy products  and peanuts all together, his health improved dramatically.  AMAZING! 

This summer (after some time convincing the insurance companies he needed this), we started the allergy injections once a week.  They inject him with what he's allergic to so his body can build up immunities. We stop by the the doctor's every Friday:

He's such a pro, he doesn't even flinch any more.

After some time of doing these injections, Race will be inhaler free and allergy free (or at least a huge improvement) and he will someday be able to eat another PB and J!

Summer Highlights

I'm sad that summer break is over.  I love having the boys home with me; it all went by way too quickly. 

We had a super busy and fun summer.  Here's some of the highlights:

Movie Mondays with Nanna:
We love getting to see Nanna and Papa all summer long.  This is our third year of Movie Monday,  The boys really look forward to it.  Thanks Nanna, love you!

Tae Kwon Do: 
I'm so glad we decided to do this.  It has been so good for both boys, and it is so much better for Race than soccer (not so stressful, organized, self discipline, etc.).  The boys love it and we are thrilled to be moving forward in the program.  Thanks Ms. Kathy!

 Race and Witt and the other Little Dragons got to perform at National Night Out.  So, here's a few pics of them out on the grass in front of tons of people.

Swimming: 

 We were in the pool practically 6 days a week this summer.  And I couldn't have done it without the amazing, Grandma Sara.  She really took care of Lane so I could give Race and Witt swimming lessons.  They are great, confident swimmers now.  Love you Grandma Sara!

Fridays with Jo:
We miss Jo now that she's moved over to Cottonwood.  So on Fridays we did our weekly Library trip and then she'd spoil us at "A Scoop Above"  If you've never had Italian Gelato, this place serves THE BEST!  You'll never want DQ again after tasting this stuff!

Bishopric:

John was released from the Bishopric!  He served with Bishop Kleinman for almost five years, it has been a wonderful, hard, learning experience filled with blessings.  We love you Kleinman Family!  Five minutes after he was released, he was called back into the Bishopric!  It was kind of funny and humbling... We are so excited and blessed that he gets to serve with Bishop Hall and Brother Ray.  I must say, I  think the world of both of them ol' cowboys (even if they do get a little crazy together).  Brother Ray reminds me of my Cowboy Papa.  So hearing him talk always makes me get all teary eyed.  Bishop Hall is from RV so we always have a lot to talk about.  But more than that, every time I hear Bishop Hall talk, a familiarness of home hits me.  I am reminded of where I first found my testimony.  It's been good for me.  They are both good for John. 

The Temple:
In Primary, we've been focusing on the Temple.  So after our super fun week with Kissy, we met up with Aunt Shannie for a mini Temple trip.  It was so special, even if Race WAS wearing his skull shirt.

The Creek:

We live about 400 yards from the creek, and I love it.  Some mornings we just walk over to relax and explore.  I love where we live.  It's in lazy moments as I sit watching my boys, that I think of John Greenleaf Whittier's poem, The Barefoot Boy.  Witten asks why I like this poem so much.  I tell him, "because it reminds me of you."

 Race and his BF Jadon.  Jadon and Race have been buddies since before they were walking.

Fishing:

"How sweet I roamed from field to field, and tasted all the summer's pride." - William Blake-

I love Summer, I'm going to miss you.

The Cowboy's Birthday

I can't believe he's 5!  Where has the time gone?  I am sooooo grateful for Witten.  I tell him all the time, "I just don't know what I'd do without you kid."  He's my big helper and loves his family.  He teaches me so much and makes me laugh every day with the funny things he says.  I love this kid, and I'll say it again, I just don't know what I'd do without him.

 2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

This year Witt is a Cowboy.  So we had a quiet little cowboy day for him.  He loved it.

He had his yummy breakfast,

and got the hat he's been wanting.

When Daddy got home we ate homemade pizza and cowboy cake,



then headed off to Bishop Hall's place to ride horses. 

Thank you Bishop for making Witten's day and splitten' the breeze with him.  Witt will remember it forever; you're one cool cowboy!  And as Witt says, "Bishop's a real cowboy like Grandpa Armstrong, not one of those pretend ones."  Hmmm... I seriously have no idea where he comes up with half the stuff he says.

We love you Witt.  I hope you always have an imagination and dreams as big as the sky.  Happy Birthday Cowboy!

Mockingbird

I haven't read a super amazing book in a while.  I needed this.  Read it and love it. 

You will laugh, cry and have your heart filled.  It's amazing! 
Thanks Annell for insisting I read it.

Check out my sista's review. 

Cousins

One of the reasons I LOVE summer is that we get to visit with family.  We love to see the cousins, we just don't get to see them enough...

Lane and Logan (Tyrrell's boy). 

The boys and I soooo look forward to our summer visit down at Kissy's Casa.

Race and Ethan

Jayda and Lane

And no he's not a cousin (he's the uncle!), but we even got to have Tanner stay with us a couple days  this summer and LOVED it.   The boys think he is the STUFF! 

I love my family.  I am so grateful for having a special, close relationships with my brothers and sister.  I love my Mom and Daddy for showing us how important family is, even when we are grown and  scattered all over the place.  We still get together when we can and cherish that time, because it doesn't happen enough.  I love my family!