Family Update

Well it is the start of a crazy month for our family!  Of course the end of school always is. I am sorry I have slacked on keeping everyone updated, I will start with events for this week on Tues. May 5, Kjirsten and Brielle are in their school talent show. Sorry about the late notice they had a lottery about what day you got… the girls just remembered to give me theirs  So if you are available it is tomorrow at 6 at Mesquite Elementary. Brie is doing a gymnastic routine and Kjirsten is singing. I have my epidural shot on Wed. hopefully that fixes the back thing…. Thursday Ariana has a concert 7 at the high school. Shaylin has a concert at the elementary school one is at 9 am, and then again at 7 pm.

We are going to have Brielle’s birthday on the 15th, yes it is early but when school gets out there is no one here.

Now family stuff, Jeremy is plugging along in the masters program, he is the service manager at Inswift. I was watching him teach our girls self defense the other day, and laughed with him afterward because we still feel like raising girls are like raising aliens. Even though I am one  I grew up with brothers so some of this stuff is weird. Hair stuff…. Make up… none of them are really into sports… they do like working out with Jer on the punching bag and using him as the punching bag  when he is teaching.

Ariana is almost done with her freshman year of high school, it feels like an eternity more to go… and that is just with her. LOL…. Unfortunately she has adjusted well to high school. I say unfortunately because I was hoping she would hate it and want to be homeschooled, where there are NO BOYS! She made it into advanced women’s vocals for next year, I say this with glee because she could have tried out for a class with boys, but decided not too….. yes you are seeing a theme  She is serving the mia-maid secretary in church. She just gave her 4th talk in church. I only mention it because I don’t think that I have spoken that many times in sacrament. Jer keeps telling her it is because she does a good job. I second that…. I also mentioned she may need the practice for when she is a mission president’s wife, stake relief society, or general primary president. She doesn’t like that much 

Shaylin is playing the flute this year. She has decided she may want to go for strings next year… I am just glad that they are musical. She is anxious about sixth grade being the last year at elementary school. She hasn’t started it yet…. But I guess she is a planner  She is nervous about going into musical junior high things, singing or playing. She is too modest. She does both great. Shaylin doesn’t like to do anything unless she knows she will be good at it, I am very proud of her, she ran for a position in her school presidency… even though she wasn’t sure she would win. I am sad to tell you she didn’t. But we learned a good lesson that we can’t always win. She has also pointed out that she will be the only one left in her primary class, all the other girls birthdays are this month, she has decided that is unfair 

Kjirsten is Kjirsten  She of all the girls seems the most sure of herself, has her very own style. We butt heads a lot. I think that we maybe very much a like. She gets something in her mind, and it is NOT easy to dissuade it. For her birthday she got money, I don’t know who she knows that went or was going to go to Sea World, but she came home from school talking about it. I thought it was a passing thing, she researched how much it would be, and the things you can do there. She worked it out how much it would cost for me to take her. She said if the rest of the girls wanted to go they would have to earn their own money! So far she is still working on that goal… amazing for a 9.

Brielle is very easy going. Although she did tell me the other day she didn’t get any attention. I guess she must feel like that sometimes. But if we are out as a family they usually notice the blonde blued beauty with her bright smile. Brielle will be turning 7 this month. She wants it to be 8  She already has a baptism dress in mind  Her teacher this year said she wanted to move up to teach Brielle again.  Brielle is still very much a girly girly. She told me the other day she wasn’t that she was a tomboy. Even climbed a tree to prove it, got down promptly and changed because her clothes were dirty 

Kaedria is as feisty as ever. I see so many traits of the other girls in her, but she is a mommy’s girl, more so then any of the others. She is to grown up for being just 3, nearly four. She is constantly frustrated as most kids are at this age, that she isn’t old enough to go to school. Kaedria is very comical to watch. All of the older kids get a kick out of it. (Because she is the youngest and Ari gets home an hour earlier then the other kids, Kaed hangs out with the teenagers) Maybe that is why the youngest is so feisty, they get drug around with Mom, while Mom is hauling the older ones around ) One of the things she said to me the other day was, “Wha, what?!!?” (don’t forget the attitude hip swing and hand movement!) Do you know how weird that is coming out a tiny of your babies mouth?! LOL…. Very strange. She has picked up on a little bit of all of the older girls, she can sing, she can use a computer, she can scale the pool fence in no time flat, it is all very scary  She is just too little. But my favorite thing since she has become a sunbeam is she sings, “I am a child of God” a lot 

I am going for my epidural shots to help with my back on Wed. Hopefully that will clear up all this trouble with my back  I am enjoying seeing the girls change and grow, it is a little strange, but they bring me great joy. The older two girls get to stay up an hour later then the other girls. Watching them interact is nice. I see Ari teaching Shay things, they share secrets (hopefully I already know the secret) but something I haven’t seen in a long time is them play. Ari feels like she is too old. But Shay isn’t that much smaller now so they play fight. Something I am also seeing is they are learning family is forever, friends can be temporary. They sometimes turn to each other instead of a friend. I feel like that is a really important lesson. Something I think that we are all realizing more then ever is we don’t have to do things alone…. Brielle’s answer for everything “did you pray about it?”

I hope this email finds everyone well. I hope that the things in your life make you happy! I miss you and don’t keep in touch enough. I would love to hear from you.

All my love- Leanne