Field day / Jessie's Preschool Graduation

Jessie and Brandon in their South Mesa Tshirts on field day.

This was the first year that preschool got to participate in field day. I don't know how field days work in other place, or if you even have them, but I am not too impressed with how it's run. All the grades gather together and each grade runs the 50 yard dash to get a ribbon. Then they break away into groups to go to their designated games, every 20 minutes until lunch time. Most of the time by the time you figure out where your game is and figure out how to play, it is time to switch again. Or there will be someone else playing the game and so you can't play and you end up only playing a few games. After lunch the kids, especially the younger ones, have down time until the big kickball game between the fifth grade and staff that lasts an hour and the rest of the kids are supposed to sit and watch patiently. Then they have more down time with a popsicle party until school is out. This year Jessie was done by eleven so we signed her out and Brandon had another hour so we watched him until he was done. Then we found out they were just going to read and play quietly until the kickball game. We decided we weren't going to make Jess sit around because she was getting bored and tired and Brandon decided it wasn't worth it either so we ended up taking them both home. We ate outside at home and the kids played and we made a memorial stone for Shane to put in the garden. I think they had more fun than if they had stayed. The kids seem to enjoy field day even if it is chaos so I guess that is what matters.


Jessie's diploma

Jessie graduated preschool. They are so cute. They do a musical program that includes the zoophonics song. Then they go up to get their diploma and they got punch and a snack after. The kids are all a little confused by what is going on, but they enjoy it. Jess decided she wanted to visit Grandma at work and then we picked up chicken sandwiches and played the rest of the afternoon until Brandon came home.

I thought her kindergarten was all set with her new teacher, who is much better than the one Brandon had, but now they decided to do all day and half day kindergarten. The teacher they have now is doing the all day and we don't know who they are going to get for the half day. We have to put her in the half day because they charge for the all day and we can't afford it. Luckily she is smart enough that if she doesn't get a great teacher it shouldn't affect her skills but it tends to make school not as fun when you don't like the teacher. She is out of school now but Brandon still has one more week so I get broken in to having kids around all day.

Mother's Day

For Mother's day the kids gave me some presents they made. Jessie made me a purple bracelet and gave me some flower seedlings she started growing at school. She also painted a ceramic flower but gave it to GG. She painted it dark purple and brown with a little green. For a girl that loves bright colors for some reason she likes to paint with dark colors. Go figure. Brandon gave me a hats off to mom poem and made me a matching necklace and ring that he made with his rock polishing kit. They also wanted to buy me some flowers to put outside. I also got a drain mat to put under my dish drainer, a new swifter because mine broke, a cake frosting spreader, and GG gave both me and mom some money to buy flowers for our outside. It was a nice day and mom and I went to GG's and had a nice visit and then we had a family dinner. It was a good day with no fighting from the kids so that is always a good present.

Jessie also had her first field trip for preschool. They went to the city park rides and zoo. They got to ride the rides for about an hour and then we had lunch in the park and they played for a short time then we went to the zoo. They were broken up into groups because the kindergarten was also there and no one would be able to see the animals otherwise. My group was just Jessie and a little girl named Emily. Emily used to be her best friend but now they aren't quite as close and now I know why. She is a very nice girl but pushy and likes things her way. We spent about a total of ten seconds at each animal. Jessie wanted to watch some more but we had to stay together and it was easier to go with Emily then try to keep her there. She also kept trying to throw her hat into the water and wanted to go home. I think the parents were more tired than the kids by the end. The kids were more intrigued by the bat that peed on itself, the skeleton in the fake boat, and dandelions and a lady bug, then the actual animals. Oh well they had a good time and the weather was good so that is what matters. Then Jessie and I went back to the school to pick up Brandon and we all went home happy and tired.

Shane

One of the last pictures with Shane. Jessie gave him a stuffed dog to lay with him to keep him company

We lost Shane today. (Shane was the golden retreiver). On Friday, he went to jump up on our bed and fell. We thought he hurt his hip again (not the first time) but he wouldn't get up at all which made us suspect it was worse this time. Jessie sat in our bedroom and "read" stories to him to keep him company. I tried massaging him but it wasn't working so we decided to take him to the vet. Scott took him so I could stay with the kids because we didn't know how long it was going to take. I thought maybe he tore something or dislocated something, but when I moved his leg he would jerk toward me so I knew it hurt but I never suspected his leg was shattered due to bone cancer. The tumor ate away the bone until it was so weak it just shattered. There was nothing they could do. They splinted it and sent us home with pain meds and said to see how the weekend went. Our options were to amputate the leg to buy time or wait it out until it was time. It was decided that amputation would not work for him and we gave him a few days for all of us and made the decision. The vet came to the house so we didn't have to move him and he went peacefully. Jessie didn't really understand, especially since he was still here, but it is starting to sink in now that he is actually gone. Brandon told me yesterday that Shane's soul was not happy and he wanted his body to let him go so he could be free. Every time I try to think of something that drove me crazy about him I realize that is one of the things I will miss the most. Like him stealing things and "happy butting" around with it. Or the fact that he was always in the way because he was so big. He had the biggest heart and those big brown eyes could melt you. I want to share some memories but I will have to do it later because I can't see the screen very well right now. We loved Shane with all of out hearts and he will be greatly missed.

Easter

Brandon had his second grade music concert. This year's theme was Earth day. They did several songs in which they combined sign language and singing and they also did some square dancing. I am not sure where that fits into the Earth theme but it was cute. Brandon was partnered up with a boy twice his size but he didn't seem to mind. They also did recycle projects where they made projects totally out of recycled materials and showed them off that night. Brandon's robot was made from water bottles for the legs, a cardboard box for the body, a juice bottle for the head, TP rolls for the arms, paper mache to hold it all together, pop bottle tops for decoration, and used foil. He was very proud.

I took Jessie to GG's to see the Easter bunny. She was afraid to sit on the bunny's lap so I had to sit with her. GG also sat with Jessie and the bunny but my picture didn't come out very good. If I get a better one I will send it.

The night before we decorated Easter eggs. I think the kids got more on their hands than on the eggs. They had a great time though. Then on Easter morning we had the egg hunt. The kids know we hide the eggs but they think the Easter bunny hides the baskets and magic keeps them invisible until it is time to hunt. We had to do the hunt inside this year because of the weather. Then we had the family lunch with everyone. We do lunch instead of dinner because Chris and Rachel have to go to Rachel's mom's for dinner, but we have a big meal with ham and the works. Brandon got this little balloon pump with balloons in his Easter basket you pump them up and then let them go and they dance on the ceiling and make obnoxious noises. Everyone (big and little kids) played with those for quite a while and it got rather crazy but fun. And that was Easter. It was a good day.

Job

Scott didn't get the Oregon job because of the bankruptcy. I am glad we don't have to move but we are back to square one. The government sure doesn't make it easy to get jobs when everything requires good credit to work. There was a custodian job that wanted five years experience and prefered a bachelor's degree. How can anyone find jobs with these kinds of criteria? Anyway I wanted to thank everyone for their support and prayers, especially Rebecca and Uncle Jim for your responses. I know that everyone has their own problems also and I am grateful that we have a close family that we can share our problems with. There are so many people that have no one to turn to and I am thankful that I am not one of them. Keep the prayers coming, we need all the help we can get, and I will pray for all of you too. Brandon says that we need to get rich so we can help others since we know what it is like, from his lips to God's ears.

Since Jessie's birthday we have had one bad thing after another. Fearless (our dog) has had a mass on his chest for awhile and it finally started causing too much trouble for him and we had no choice but to take him back to the vet. It was cancerous, which is what we suspected even though the other vet we took him to earlier said no. We had the choice to put him down or do surgery to remove the tumor and hope for the best. Because we couldn't face trying to explain to the kids how we couldn't afford to try and save him, especially when I tell the kids that money, or the lack of it, doesn't matter and God will take care of us, we opted for the surgery. Mom got us on a care credit plan that the vet suggested so we can make monthly payments. He got through the surgery and is doing pretty well. The cancer doesn't appear to have spread for now. Shane (our other dog) is eleven going on 12 this year so we could potentially lose both dogs around the same time. We have had to file bancrupty because we can't get jobs, the business is pretty much done for and we are going to lose the fire truck to the bank since the government is so messed up and they aren't hiring contractors for fires. Most all the contractors are in the same boat we are. We got approved for the home modification loan but the finalization has been put on hold and we could potentially lose it because of the bancruptcy. And now the only job Scott has been offered is in Portland, Oregon. It doesn't pay very well considering the cost of living up there and I doubt with the bancruptcy so new we could even sell this house and get a loan for a new one there. We have until Monday to make a decision but the only way we could do it is for Scott to go there for a year and work and then we join him. I am not willing to move there until he is sure the job would work out. I have seen too many people move, the job doesn't work out, and they are stuck. I also just plain don't want to move. I wish I had the adventure gene that some of our family possess but I don't and neither do the kids. We don't take change well. They said they would help with relocation and rental until we could sell here and find a place but that would mean more moving and transition. Oregon isn't even close enough to travel back and forth easily. It is about a two day drive. I can't see how this job is the answer to our prayers but we are also running out of time. His unemployment and our tax refund are running out. I know that God has a plan for us but I can't help wondering if his plan is for us to lose everything. I am trying to stay positive, especially for the kids, but you can only be positive for so long when every time you turn around it is more bad news. About the only thing good that I can think of is Chris had a good birthday and none of us have too bad of health. Jessie got to be babysat by GG while we went to the bancruptcy hearing and she and GG had a good time together. The ladies at the Villa love hearing grandma's stories about the princess and this will give them something to talk about for awhile. GG is doing well and I never thought I would be able to leave my daughter with her almost 96 year old GG to be babysat even for a little while. So there is some good. Sorry to be so negative but I just needed to get things off my chest. Hopefully I'll have a more cheerful blog later.

Jessie's 5th birthday

Jessie's balloons from Applebees

Her new dress up outfit with matching doll

I can't believe she is already five. We had her party on Saturday before because it seemed cruel to make her wait a whole week for her party. She had a great time but Brandon had a little trouble dealing with the fact she is big enough to not need his help opening presents anymore. He kept wanting to be reasured that when it came time for his birthday that he would get all the benefits she did. On her actual birthday she got to go to school which with the weather lately we weren't sure, (more on that in a minute) and she got a crown and was leader of the day. Grandma took the afternoon off and we took her to Wendy's for lunch and played makeup and doll house and watched her new Tinkerbell movie. I think she had a great birthday. We took the kids and mom (Dad had to work late) to Applebee's on Wednesday because it is kid's night and they have a magician and on Brandon's birthday he got a bunch of shaped balloons so she was hoping for the same. She did finally get them but the place was packed and I had to practically drag him over right before we left. I wasn't about to leave without those balloons. Jessie got a flower and a purple poodle and Brandon got a dinosaur. I will send more pictures soon over shutterfly but it takes so long to download with dialup. Some day maybe we can get into the future where we live. Of course then they will have something even better.

As for the weather, this is the craziest winter we have had in years. With all the two hour delays and school cancelling Jessie has only been to school twice in the past two weeks. The temperature has not been over twenty for like two weeks and it was 70 degrees right before all this hit. Last night we had hurricane gust winds and it destroyed our trampoline. We are waiting for warmer weather to see if it is salvagable at all but the frame is completely trashed. Hopefully the weather and our lives will start to even out in the near future. This week is supposed to be nice and dry out everything in time for the next storm. I am so ready for spring.