A Proud Sister

This morning my sister Dianne had a great surprise awaiting her at school. She has been a school teacher for many years now at Cactus View Elementary, in Phoenix. I can't even begin to describe how much time, energy, and thought she puts into her kids and her classroom. Many countless hours she has spent at school, only to go home and continue the work. Typically only on holidays does she take time away from grading papers or improving her lessons.

Needless to say, those of us that have lived by her, and witnessed firsthand her hard work, were ecstatic to hear of the proceedings that took place this morning.
On Friday my sister Dayna received a phone call from the school that Di would be receiving the Rio Salado College "Excellence in Education" award this morning from the local radio station. She was invited to either attend or listen on the air. It was to be kept a surprise from Dianne. Dayna informed each of us, so that we could send cards to Di and listen in on the radio.

Dayna told me that the radio broadcast was very abbreviated from what was taped, but it was nice to hear it, nonetheless.
This is the letter that was sent into KEZ 99.9 fm in Phoenix. It was sent by a parent of a student currently in Dianne's class. This was read on the air, and they spoke briefly to the mother and son.

There are not a enough words that express what a tremendous year this has been for my son Zachary in Ms. Orr's fourth grade class. Not only does Ms. Orr teach the basics, but she also teachs the children about working together and how important the self worth is. Ms. Orr encourages the children in her care to think positive and appreciate what everyone contributes to the team. My son Zach has autism, and is in a typical classroom. Social skills have always been a challenge for him. Ms. Orr took the time to come up with checklists and ideas to help him become more successful with his peers. With her help and encouragment, he has become the child that I always knew he could be! The year is only half over, and if the year keeps going the way it is, I can only dream of what the outcome will be! So, thank you Ms. Orr for your commitment to the children in your classroom, for not only looking at a child's mind, but taking into consideration the whole child and making them be the best kid they can be!

Signed,
Sara Lee

Here's Marty Manning from the radio station presenting the award with Zachary.
Here's my sister Dayna and her cute family who came out so early in the morning to support Dianne.

Way to go Di - we are so proud of you!

Visit from Kansas

We had Grandma & Grandpa Orr and Aunt Debbie come to visit this month. Mom & Dad came up for BYU Education Week, which they loved, and then stayed for a fun visit.We took Aunt Debbie bowling, and went on many fun outings during the time they were here.

It was great having them here - and the kids loved getting to know them better. It's hard when they live so far away and we only see them about once a year.They stayed in Reed's room, and Reed was in our room. After they left, and we put Reed's crib back in his room, he kept saying "sleep in grandpa's room?" It was too cute.

Sofie's Sweet Shoppe

Today was the big party for Little Miss Sofia! If you know Sofie at all, you know that "candy" should be her middle name. She loves anything sweet and sugary (much like her mother), so a "candy" party seemed fitting.

We had 20 little shoppers in the "Shoppe" today. They started out with making their own pizzas for lunch.

Then they moved on to making their very own custom candy bracelets.We played some games, sang some songs - especially the "Happy Birthday" one to Sofie.

The cake turned out fun. I made it very "sweet" just for her! The candles were sent to her by Auntie Di. The flame is the same color as the candle - it was cool to see them glowing their various colors! Thanks Di!

She loved opening her presents, and spent the entire afternoon/evening playing with her fun new toys and crafts. I was, however, happy to hear the answer to one specific question. "Sofie, what was your favorite birthday present?" Her answer - CANDY! I suppose it was quite perfect for her. She had to brush her teeth 3 times tonight, because she kept getting into the candy after she'd been sent to bed.What do you do with all the candy in the jars you ask? Well you send it home with the guests - of course! Each child packed their very own "goodie bag" of treats to take home.

They each received a fabric "candy bag" with candy lip gloss, candy stickers, candy hair clips (girls), candy notebooks and mini pens.As usual, a huge shout out to Jane, for her fabulous photography of the event. What would I ever do without her?

Happy Birthday Sofie!
SWEET DREAMS!

The Blame Game

My kids are now in the habit of blaming everyone else for something that's wrong. "Who dumped the cereal all over the floor?" Response: Anyone but themselves.

So this morning when I asked Sofie "Who stuffed this marker in here?" She responded "Brody did it".
Brody is Sofie's cousin. Now I wouldn't put it past Brody to do something like this, but the fact of the matter is, Brody lives in California. He has never visited us here in Utah.

Hmmmmm . . . I wonder if Sofie is telling the truth?

Happy Birthday Jane!

Happy Birthday to one of my favorite people!

What we love most about Jane:
* She's the nicest person you'll ever meet.
* She's a fabulous host.
* We love her yummy food and delicious treats she makes.
* She's so talented and we love her generosity in always taking our photos. I never have to take a camera with me when Jane's around. And her photos are 100x better than anything I could take!
* She's beautiful, inside and out, and has a darling little family we love so very much!

We love you Jane! Thanks for all you do and for being you! We celebrated yesterday with a fabulous dinner that Susan made, and some yummy chocolate buttercream cupcakes. Can you tell they were good?

Reed Turns 2!

My baby turns into a little boy today!

He kicked off his 2nd year with a bang last night and dislocated his elbow. Otherwise known as "nursemaid elbow", I took him over to the urgent care about 7:00, paid only $15, and we were home by 8:00. Thankfully, it didn't cost much, or take much time. But it was sad to see him coddle his little arm and hear him say "hurt mama" over and over again. He didn't cry though, he is very tough and generally gets a bonk and walks it off. This time he kept wincing and pulling on his fingers, and that's how I knew it really hurt.We had his party this weekend, and had lots of fun with Grandma, Aunt Jane & Uncle Aaron, and lots of cousins. We were happy that Reed's college cousins Katie, Ben and Shelly could join as well!

It was a Curious George theme, and since we tend to have a perpetual wind in our neighborhood, we had everyone bring kites. We had "Curious George flies a kite", and "Curious George goes camping" and had a tent set up. We had bubbles and sidewalk chalk to keep the children entertained as well. There was coloring table where each child had a Curious George coloring book just for them. We had a fun game of "Pin the tail on the donkey", Curious George style involving a butterfly, and feasted on hamburgers, hot dogs, and all the fixings.No party is complete without beating a poor pinata beyond recognition of course. Reed had become quite good friends with "George" during the week, as the pinata sat in my closet. He'd walk in and say "Hi George" periodically throughout the day. I think he was quite confused with the poor thing came crashing down in 2 pieces!

In lieu of a fancy cake, I did something different and more simple. We had frozen chocolate banana pops. I did a small cake for Reed to blow out the candles, but due to the terrific "kite flying" wind, we couldn't get the candles lit! Oh well, we'll light them tonight and sing again!He opened his presents and got a GeoTrax train station, and lots of tracks. He loves it! He has played with it non-stop, and loves the remote control to make the train go.

What I love most about Reed at this age:
He always has a little toy in his hand, typically, a car or a motorcycle.

That anytime he has a ball in his hand, it HAS to be thrown
(this can also be frustrating though when in a grocery store, or the ball is a golf ball at Grandpa's head!)

He still loves to give me hugs and kisses!
I love you Reed! Happy Birthday little boy!

Happy Spring!

Today was the kind of spring day we Utahns dream about! (Did I really just call myself a UTAHN?) Oh dear, I must have brain freeze!

It was 70 degrees and fabulous!Jane, my adorable sister-in-law, is now accepting photography clients! Yeah! She's an absolute STEAL, and you must make your appointment before her prices quadruple (because they will before too long, she's THAT good!). She is only charging $35 for a 1 hour photo session, editing of the photos, and a CD with all the photos on it. Click here to visit her blog, and see more fabulous photos.

She took the kids photos today in their Easter outfits, and they turned out darling! I LOVE them! I'm so excited to have good photos of each of them, and all three of them together. Now THAT is a feat! Reed was being an absolute stinker, and for much of the photo session, he absolutely REFUSED to cooperate, or be anywhere near the camera. Amazingly enough, she got great photos of him. I'm telling you, she's great!

Judge for yourself:

Happy Birthday Dean!

I love your strength, courage, wisdom, faith, and wit. You have an awesome family, I love them so. I love you and think of you often. Miss you tons! You're the best!