Scott fire

CWFS finally got called out on a fire. After we agreed to go, he got offered an engine boss job with another two companies who were trying to get out also. In some ways it would be easier to not do the business, especially since we are operating in the hole, but anyway we figured that this is what God meant for us, at least right now. Then Scott just called and said the fire was almost out and they will be lucky to get two days out of the deal. Sometimes I think God is messing with us. We are praying that this will open the gates for other things to happen and I am trying to stay positive. If he can get more, longer jobs and I can hold off all the bill collectors for a little longer than maybe we can buy some time for us to figure out a more long term solution. Some contractors in other states have been out for four or five 14 day rotations at at least $1000 a day, if not more. You do the math at how good the money is when you are working. Of course we have to live in a backwards region that doesn't like contractors and will call on every one else in the United States before they will call contractors. I won't get into the politics of firefighting, it is too depressing and I am trying to stay positive. Brandon is fine with him being gone and happy he is on a fire, but Jessie is having trouble, she is too used to him being home all the time. By the time they get used to it, he will be home again, but hopefully not for long, or if everything works out, he will get transferred somewhere else and won't be home at all for awhile. I know that sounds bad but anyone who knows the situation understands what I mean. Keep you posted.

Memorial Day

For memorial day we decided to stay home. We thought about going to the mountains, and forget about we can't afford the gas but it was too soon to go without Shane. It made us sad just thinking about it, he loved the mountains so much. Hopefully later in the summer things will be better financially and it will have been long enough that we will be able to go without it being quite so sad. Chris, Rachel and GG all came out for a picnic. It was too windy to eat dinner outside but we were able to go out after dinner and eat dessert out there. Our new patio table we got last year shattered from the wind so we just huddled around the one in the front. Dad BBQ'd hamburgers and had the usual picnic foods and Mom and I made a jello cake. It's kind of cool because you use white cake mix and mix two kinds of Jello into it and then use whip cream for the frosting. It was pretty good. Chris brought Tiko and Sandy (their new dog) and the kids had a blast playing with them. Sandy is still kind of shy around us but Tiko fits right in. He loves to play with Socks, our cat. He started playing playing ball and the kids loved tossing the ball and chasing him. It was funny because Fearless decided that Tiko needed extra watching while he was wandering around and so Fear followed him everywhere and herded him away from the fence if he got too close. The shepard was coming out in him I guess. We have to be careful with them because they are so small they can slip through our fence and gates easily. I think everyone had a good time and GG always loves being able to sit outdoors and relax.

last day of school

Brandon's last day was actually only a few hours long. They have an end of the year assembly and then can go home if the parents are there to take them home. Brandon got certificates in spelling, science, social studies, music, PE, perfect attendance for the last quarter. He also got a certificate for completing the whole 6 months of a program called bookit which the student had to read at least 400 minutes every month. He also got the most Raz-kids login. Raz kids is an online program to help with reading. Then we went home and took lunch to the park and met Mom for lunch. Then the kids just relaxed while Scott and I prepped the back yard for the pool. Mom splurged and bought us all a new pool. Our pool was on it's last stand last year. Mom decided since we can't afford to go on vacations or anything, this is our only fun we can afford. Brandon is doing a title 1 program at the school for a few hours a day for the month of June and we are working on some online programs to try to get him caught up before 3rd grade. I am worried that he is just going to fall more and more behind otherwise. To make it fair I am also working with Jessie, which she doesn't mind because she wants to read very badly so she is all for it.

Off the subject but I thought this was cute. The other day were getting ready to eat lunch and Mom asked the kids what they wanted to eat. She had leftover spagetti and Jessie said she wanted the Pasgetti. Brandon said " Get it right Jess, it's Basgetti". Well we thought it was pretty funny anyway.

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.