Young Women in Excellence

Today Marissa and I attended the Young Women in Excellence program in the Kaw River Ward. The program celebrates young (and old!) women who have completed the Personal Progress requirements necessary to receive the Young Womanhood Recognition Award. There were four recipients:

Cristal Perez, Marissa Miller, Maria Miller, and Aurora Molina. That's Norma Guenther, YW president, in the middle. Each of us took a few moments to talk about our projects and experiences and the things we learned while working on the Personal Progress program. Each of us received a necklace with the Salt Lake temple on the medallion. You can tell Chris and I are having trouble seeing the teeny, tiny clasps!!

Success!!

Irene Chavez baked cakes for the refreshments.

Isn't she so pretty?!?

Here's another yummy cake.

Norma has been a great YW president and friend to Marissa.

Mallorie, too. We love her!

Every mom should be lucky enough to have a woman like

Norma mentoring her daughters!

Aurora has been my friend ever since we came to Kaw River.

I love her!

Here's a blast from the past...Meagan and Mallorie receiving their Young Womanhood Recognition Awards in November of 2004.

Meg was 17 and Mal was 14. My how they've grown up!

Restricted...Temporarily!

Marissa got her restricted driver's license this morning. We were at the DMV twenty minutes before they opened and were the fourth ones in line. Marissa will be able to drive herself to school, work, and seminary (YEAH!!!) from now on. Her restricted license will convert to unrestricted on her birthday in six weeks...easy as pie. Unless, that is, she is convicted of two or more moving violations before then. Marissa is an excellent driver and I have no doubt that her record will remain clean...indefinately!!

Everyone's favorite part of getting a driver's license...

the dreaded photo!!

Now she's off to school and will drop Chase at Meadow Lane on the way. I guess the days of my embarassing them by wearing my PJ's while driving them to school are over!!

Dread-ful!!!

Marissa gave herself a dread...a dread, not many dreads.

Thank goodness!!!

Evidently, there's a tutorial on You-Tube on how to make them if you want to check it out. We've decided to educate the masses on how to care for dreads once you've got them. Who knew there were so many products involved in caring for and feeding your dread? Since Marissa has only one dread, it's necessary to separate it from the rest of her mundane and oh-so-ordinary locks. First, apply some Knotty Boy Dread Wax to help tame the frizzies and help stray hairs grow back into the dread. It's made from hemp, avocado, jojoba, kukui, and shea butter that are "like food for your hair" according to the label, but it doesn't smell too good. Now, work it into the dread real good. Next, apply some dread-butta, a moisturizer that softens and conditions the dread, because "Dreads are Betta with Dread-Butta!" This stuff smells really good, like sugar cookies!

Lastly, be proud of your dread, give it a name, and show the world how cool dreadies can be!

Peace, Love, and Dreads!!!

Go, Kart, Go!!

I took the kids to Sadler's Indoor Racing tonight to celebrate awesome parent-teacher conferences yesterday. Unfortunately, Chris was in Denver on business and couldn't join us. :-( Marissa and I were psyched! Chase was a little hesitant and didn't race with us the first time. We had such a blast that we went and kidnapped him from arcade and made him join us. He was really glad he did!!

Vroom, vroom, vroom!!!

During the first race, my initial lap around the course took a leisurely 2:08 minutes....my last lap, 43 seconds!!! It didn't take me long to get the hang of it! After each race, we recieved a printout of individual lap times and speeds. My top speed and fastest lap time came in the second race...26.9 mph and 40.89 seconds, respectively!!!

We love the head sock look!! (I think the fumes in the racing area were getting to us!)

Ima gonna beat you, brudda!!

Grrrrr....Bring it on!!!

Marissa got the booster seat because her legs were too short!

Ready to roll!

Safety check for race #2 for me and Marissa and race #1 for Chase.

There he goes! Having a fractured foot didn't stop him from putting the pedal to the metal!!

And Marissa comes around the bend...

I'm trying to pass Chase politely, seeing as how it was his first face and all, but the punk is using evasive maneuvers! Time to get aggressive!!

ONW Homecoming

Well, our youngest daughter is old enough to attend a high school dance. Where did the years go? Unfortunately, the ONW Ravens lost their homecoming game last night, but I don't think that will put a damper on this evening's festivities. Happily, Marissa decided to attend with a bunch of her girlfriends rather than any of the three boys that asked her. That removed alot of stress on Mom and Dad's part!

Aawwww...isn't she pretty?

This is so Marissa! I wouldn't advise trying to prosecute..she can definitely hold her own!

A bevy of beauties!!

Sandia and Marissa...friends since elementary school.

Wow...what a stretch!!

Fun times ahead!

Going in style!!!

The girls were chaufuerred to Stix Japanese Steakhouse at the Legends for dinner and then back to ONW for the dance. Marissa said the ride and dinner were more fun than the dance but I think think she had a good time, overall.

Take Defense

Mallorie is going to BYU-Hawaii. You'll read more about that next week. I was talking with Anna Smith awhile back (she's been attending BYU-H for two years) and asking about this and that when out of the blue, she asked if Mal had taken self-defense yet. "What!?!" I asked. Seems that Anna has been accosted on the beach twice and needed to use a few moves she had learned in a self-defense class...not exactly what I wanted to hear, to say the least!! Well, I made a few phone calls and checked the web and found a great organization that presents self-defense training for women and girls for absolutely no cost. It's called Take Defense and is sponsored by the Ali Kemp Foundation. Marissa, Mallorie, and I all participated in a course that taught us a ton....specific moves for certain types of attacks and common sense tips to keep ourselves safe. It was two hours well spent and I believe that EVERY female should find and attend one of their courses. You can check out the organization here: http://www.takedefense.com/. It would be so worth your time!

Learn Wisdom in Thy Youth

Seminary started today. You know what that means...getting up at 5:15 am, rolling out of bed in clothes you put on last night, grabbing your scriptures, heading out the door, and driving to the church for 50 minutes of religious instruction. That's the routine if you don't live in Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, or California where many students enjoy seminary as part of their school day. No wonder those kids are so soft!!! This is Marissa's teacher, Lynda Albrechtsen. She has only three rules for the classroom: Be on time, Be respectful, and BRUSH YOUR TEETH. The caps are hers, not mine! Lynda is very energetic and funny, and the kids love her. She was Marissa's teacher last year, also. The course of study this year is the Book of Mormon. The curriculum rotates each year between Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, and Doctrine and Covenants/Church History so that by the time each student graduates, they have studied all of the scriptures. It is a great blessing to start off the day with prayer, scripture study, and the camaraderie of close friends...even at that early hour!!!

Back to School: Phases One, Two, and Three

School days, school days.

Dear old golden rule days. 'Readin' and 'ritin' and 'rithmetic, Taught to the tune of a hick'ry stick. I was your queen in calico, You were my bashful barefoot beau, And I wrote on your slate, 'I love you so,' When we were a couple of kids.

Am I the only one who remembers this song? We sang it in a musical program at Burke Elementary School when I was in maybe 2nd or 3rd grade. For some reason, it has always stuck with me and I find myself humming it each summer as the new school year approaches. Maybe it's the catchy tune but more likely it's the threat of corporal punishment that seared it into my brain. "Taught to the tune of a hick'ry stick." My, discipline in the schools has come along way...even since I was a kid!

Also new since I was a kid is the way the first official day of school has been drawn out and now takes three days to accomplish. Phase One is Sneak Peek night...even more anxiously anticipated than the actual first day of classes. On Sneak Peek night you wait in a long line to receive your new classroom assignment.

And hopefully you get the teacher you want. Here's Chase with our principal, Mr. Croskey. I think they're both happy that Chase is in Mrs. Dandoy's class. There were only 24 fifth graders last year (two classes of 12) so it was anticipated that there would only be one class of sixth graders this year. Happily, four sixth graders moved into the area over the summer so now we have two classes of 14 students. Yea!

I'll bet you're thinking that this is Mrs. Dandoy. Nope. Mrs. Chapman. Chase's 4th grade teacher. It's fun to check in on your old teachers to see if you're taller than they are yet! Silly me, though! I forgot to take a pic of Chase with Mrs. Dandoy. You'll have to wait until morning for that one!

Now we have arrived at Phase Two of "Back to School"...the first half-day of school. It's required for elementary school students, Sevies, and Sophomores. Guess which child is the most excited!

Marissa is a sophomore this year and was told not to bring books or supplies and be dressed for activities. No classes today, just team building games and a few lectures from the "higher ups."

That's Chase and Joseph being silly up top and here's a group of darling 6th grade girls. Wait!! Who's that uncouth creature in the back spoiling the lovely view?!?

Here's Mrs. Dandoy! This is the first year that Chase has been taller than his teacher. Boy, that kid is growing like a weed!!!

Ever since Meg was in elementary school, we've had a chalkboard cake for an after-school snack on the first day. We eat cake, drink milk, and talk about new classes. (Have you ever wanted to pinch the little head off of one of your children?? I have!!!) We have officially reached Phase Three of "Back to School," the first full day. Marissa will meet all of her teachers today, receive behavior contracts and syllabi, and probably some homework. Doesn't she look ready to conquer the world? Just wait until next week when seminary starts!There she goes!!! She'll be driving herself in just a few months. Oops!! Chase forgot he had a survey to fill out for Mrs. Dandoy. It's the first full day of school and he's already doing his homework in the gym before the bell rings. Hope this isn't an indication of things to come!