ALL DONE!!!!

That's right-I'm ALL DONE with my accounting class! We got our third exam back this morning and on the last page he wrote what our test score was on the exam as well as if our final grade is an "A" (he drops the lowest exam grade, so we don't have to take the final if, after the third exam, our overall grade is an "A"). I was one of the five in the class to get an A. I can honestly say I am extremely happy that it is over-not only because it now means I don't have to get up at 5AM in order to get Ethan and myself ready and out the door by 6:15 and then drive for over an hour to get to class, but mostly because now I don't have to try and look semi-interested in accounting. :D Now... what should I do to celebrate... ?

FHE with the Gray Family!

Sunday evening we had the Gray's over for FHE and to visit. It was so much fun! We did a lesson on "Satan's Web" - I think the kids liked it:) Sean very carefully drew the web on a poster, which the kids taped their spiders they drew onto and also their ideas on how Satan tries to "trap" us. The night before we made Spider Crackers (ok, so I only made two and Sean made the rest while I talked his ear off) and they turned out super cute! But, we can't take all of the credit for the lesson and cracker idea-I found it on www.chocolateonmycranium.blogspot.com - it is one of my new favorite websites! Anyway, after the lesson and treat, the kids played in Ethan's room while we were able to catch up with Nathan and Sarah. What a great visit and great people!

The Spider Crackers

The Spider Web

Weekend Update

This Saturday was filled with lots of fun!  Ethan had his second soccer game of the season at 9:45am - he had so much fun running around and being with his friends.  He is showing that he likes playing defense best (he always runs straight to the goal when the other team has the ball).  Sean and Ethan went "shopping" while I went to Target, then we headed to the Fun Fair at Lees Corner, hosted by the PTA.  It was so neat!  The theme was "At the Hop" and so there were pictures that the students made all over the walls of 1960s people, etc.  The gym was filled with the big inflatable moon bounce obstacle course, velcro wall, etc., and each "pod" of the building had different games to play.  Ethan had so much fun playing and seeing even more of his friends:)  We ended the fun-filled day with dinner with my family to celebrate Meg's birthday at the Japanese Steakhouse--yummy!  Pictures to come...

One of My Favorite Quotes on Prayer

Sean surprised me last week with a book by President Uchtdorf-one of my favorites (I even got to meet him last March when he came to my ward!). Anyway, here is one of my favorite quotes on prayer that is in the book:

So Long, Junior...

For those of you who have been around Ethan since Christmas, you know how much he loved Junior-his Webkinz Golden Retriever that Aunt Lora gave him. He took it to school with him most of the time, always slept with him, and carried him around for the majority of the time when we had to run errands. Well on Saturday I set up Ethan's new humidifier (in an attempt to stop his nosebleeds!!) and Ethan took the box that it came in and made it Junior's bed. I didn't realize this, so in the evening, I took the box and put it next to the trash can. On Sunday, my parents stopped by while we were at church and kindly took my trash for me-including the humidifier box. It wasn't until last night at bed time and we couldn't find Junior when we realized what happened. Ethan was so sad! He handled it pretty well, and only cried a little, but I felt really bad. I've learned my lesson to check all boxes before throwing them out in case they have been converted into someone's bed!

Ethan with Junior (and "Shannon") on Easter

Spring 2010 Soccer Season Begins!

Yesterday Ethan had his first soccer game of the season (yes, we are back to playing soccer). He did so good! One of his friends from his kindergarten class is even on his team:) They still don't keep score in his age bracket, but he had so much fun running around, kicking the ball, and cheering his team on!

If Pictures Could Talk

Here is Ethan's Spring picture that was taken at his elementary school about a month and a half ago:

You would never know the adventure of a morning we had that morning-all over his shirt. You see, Ethan HATES buttons. If any article of clothing has a button on it, he refuses to wear it (except for on Sundays-he knows there is no use in putting up a fight over his church outfit). Not even a polo shirt-that has 2-3 buttons, or a pair of pants that have a button closure instead of a snap, or even a pair of pants that have a button in the back pocket (like on khakis). Well, it was picture day and I insisted that he wear a polo shirt for his picture. I warned him the night before, and in the morning, he put it on-complaining the entire time. The complaining escalated to a full-on temper tantrum (I tried taking a video of it because I think in about 10 years he may actually find the humor in it but it didn't come out that great). In the midst of the tantrum, he got tooth paste on it. OH, but I was prepared for a situation like this! So I quickly grabbed another polo shirt (much to his disappointment). We left and when I dropped him off at daycare, he loudly announced that he was going to wear his jacket ALL DAY.

A couple hours later his kindergarten teacher emailed me about his scholastic book order-in my response, I mentioned that he wasn't happy about the buttons on his shirt. Her response:

"The first thing he said when he came in the room was that he was only taking his coat off today for pictures. :) My sons were the same way - only wearing "church shirts" when forced to. We talked and I pointed out the nice shirts that other boys were wearing also. He seems to have gotten over it and has taken off his coat. Mothers!...."

I was so happy yesterday when we got the pictures back and saw that not only was he not wearing his jacket, but that he was smiling and looked so handsome!! I look forward to the day (many years from now!) when I get to tell him and his own children about the story behind this cute picture!!

Spring Break, General Conference, Easter

Last week was Ethan's Spring Break from school-and it was filled with fun things to do!
Monday: spent the day with Poppa. They went to Target and got a new Lego set (and I'm sure more toys that I'm not aware of!) and then hung out.
Tuesday: field trip to Merrifield Garden Center with daycare
Wednesday: to Ticonderoga Farms with daycare
Thursday: spent the day with Aunt Meg. Went to the movies to see "How To Train a Dragon," then to a huge park in McLean (I forget the name of it, but its a really cool place to go), and ice cream
Friday: spent the day with Poppa John-went to Poppa John's friend's farm and went fishing (and much to my surprise) riding ATVs. (quick background: a couple years ago Dad told me he bought Ethan one and I freaked out. Apparently when they got to the farm, the ATVs "just happened to be in the back of the truck"). Then went out to dinner at The Virginian. Here is a video of Ethan riding his ATV...

All in all, Ethan had a fantastic, fun-filled spring break! I'm so grateful that my family was able to spend 1:1 time with him.

This weekend was also General Conference and today is Easter. (Happy Easter!!!) This time for General Conference I tried some new things (setting up a tent in living room, creating a "Conference Wall", printing conference packets I found online, etc) to try and keep Ethan engaged in it... It went better than it has in the past-its so hard for a kid to sit quietly for 4 hours, two days in a row... especially when it is 75+ degrees outside!!!

For Easter, we first went to the stake center to watch the first session of conference - then went to my parents house for an early Easter meal. It was so nice to be surrounded by family and friends to celebrate a wonderful holiday! I have pictures-I will post them once I get around downloading them onto my computer. I hope everyone had a great Easter!!