Doing it themselves.

A friend shared this article on Facebook and I like it a lot:
http://alameda.patch.com/blog_posts/please-dont-help-my-kids

I see things in this light most of the time. I am a big believer in telling kids "do it yourself" and am more than okay with them encountering struggles and frustration along the way. If they fail a few times and dont seem to be improving, I will assist, but I will not do it for them. Its a growing and learning process.

Check out this burger!!

From Effies in Lewiston, Idaho!

Alex the excavator

Alex found a skull buried in the back yard... he seems to think that its a dinosaur. We told him thats pretty unlikely. Honestly im not too sure WHAT it is... Michelle is going to take it to school and have the science teachers take a look. I showed him how to use a hammer and "chisel" (screwdriver) to break up the dirt and then to brush it away from the bone. It was pretty cute.

Cameo Heights

So Michelle and I got to have a little getaway yesterday that was quite lovely. Last year for Christmas I got her a gift certificate for Cameo Heights Mansion and we were finally able to use it! The place was absolutely lovely. Im iffy about Bed and Breakfasts usually because I dont really sharing bathrooms and living areas, many are tech-free.... Cameo doesnt come anywhere near my generalized view of B&Bs. There are seven suites, and every suite has a king sized bed, two person bathtub and shower, and a flat screen TV. The suites are HUGE. The "shared" living spaces are a game room and huge movie/media room, the summer-only outdoor pool, and year-round outdoor hot tub. There is a sit down breakfast included in the price, as well as an optional "wake up service" where they knock on your door at 8am and leave a tray with fresh pastries and drinks. The attached restaurant, The Vine, is fantastic. Our fondue dinner was fabulous, if a bit overpriced, but still delicious and we were both stuffed. All in all, pretty amazing. I will recommend Cameo to everyone, and am excited to try it out again in the summer.
A quick word of forewarning, we were a bit caught off guard when we arrived at Cameo and found that there were some pretty strong religious (LDS) undertones  Between a huge selection of religious movies in the movie room as well as paintings and newspaper articles on the walls, and the "morning musings" delivered with breakfast being filled with bible verses, it was somewhat predominant. However at no point did I ever feel any discrimination, they were only kids and helpful. Just something to be aware of.

"Parents"

The kids were in the office doing MadLibs on the iPad this morning and were laughing at the final story of one of them. Alex then said "Lets go read it to our parents!" :-)

Job opportunity

I spent the day today job shadowing for a position in the school district where Michelle teaches and the kids go to school. A full time position is opening up for a para for two DD middle schoolers, one who is Deaf. The day went pretty well and I am excited about the possibility of an interview next week. I would be getting more hours, have a higher rate of pay, and be able to carpool to work in the morning with Michelle and the kids. Plus, I would be doing something I love. Signing all day today was pretty awesome.  Anyways, so now its a waiting game!

Preparing for the double digits?

Josie is definitely taking this 9 years old business seriously. I love it :-) Since her birthday on Sunday she has slept in her room alone all night the last three nights, woken up BEFORE us with her own alarm, and gotten showered and dressed without any direction. Its pretty awesome, and im pretty proud of her.
Of course, not to be outdone, Alex has been getting up when he hears her alarm, getting dressed, and then going to start the car and scrape the ice off for us.
These kids are awesome :-)

Motocross

Oh, forgot to mention that on Friday night Everett's mom Laurie took Ev and Alex to Tri Cities to watch Motocross! They had a blast!!

Josie's 9th Birthday

So today is Josies 9th birthday! We had her party yesterday. Her first "big" birthday party with multiple people invited (since she was a toddler). It turned out awesome, and she had a blast. We went to the local roller rink, the kids skated and played games, then Josie and Alex got to go swimming at their grandparents hotel with Everett and have him spend the night. This morn we woke up and had leftover cake and Josie opened her gifts from Michelle and I. She is quite addicted to her Kindle Fire and I doubt we will be seeing her for a while. Awesome birthday weekend :-)

Lorelai

This is my niece Lorelai playing with the front-facing camera on my phone. She ALWAYS makes me smile :-)