President's Day

For President's Day, Lindon Elementary had a "Patriotic Sing". Korben's class sang "This Land Is Your Land". He did such a great job - unfortunately the teacher stood right between him and I so the video didn't turn out. However, Korben was very obliging to give me a solo performance when we got home so that I could share it with the family. :)

Valentine's Day

This year for V-Day I was going to make a cute crafty gift for Korben's teachers and just have him write his name on it. The more I thought about it though, I realized that something I made wouldn't be nearly as special as something from Korben. This was an opportunity for Korben to thank his teachers by implementing the skills they have worked so hard to teach him. So I simply drew some hearts on colored paper, wrote down his teachers names so he would know the spelling, and let Korben do the rest. He cut the hearts, wrote all the names and drew the pictures all by himself. He even made sure that each teacher had exactly 3 stickers so that it was fair.

Seeing how pleased he was with himself was a wonderful Valentine gift for me. Considering that Korben used to cry over nearly every single letter he had to write, he has come a LONG way.

100 Days

Korben had his 100 days of school party this week. I had never heard of this, but apparently it is a big deal here, as you can see...

I think it's fun that they recognize that they are 100 days smarter. For Korben, the past 100 school days have brought improvements in his speech, his reading, and most of all great strides in his writing ability.Korben is still excited to go to school every single day. We are so grateful for the small classroom kindergarten he is a part of and for all the wonderful teachers, para-educators, and therapists that are working so hard to help kids with struggles like his. 100 days has made a huge difference for Korben and that is definitely something to celebrate.

7 Years!

When we were deciding what to do for our anniversary trip, we considered 3 things:

1) It had to be within driving distance (we didn't want to pay for flights).

2) It had to be warm (I am SO ready for winter to be over).

3) We wanted some sort of entertainment (a.k.a. this is an anniversary, not a honeymoon and we want more than just a hotel room)

So where did we go?

VEGAS!

We took off Friday afternoon in Mike's new mini. We averaged between 35 and 40 miles to the gallon even with driving in the new 80mph zone (which is fantastic btw). Mike was pleased with the gas mileage, but mostly just excited that we could drive with the top down since the weather was so great - something he hasn't really been able to do in Utah.

Friday night we went to a wonderful prime rib establishment in our hotel and then we headed to the strip just to wander. I have to say that we were a little out of place with the nightlife crowd, but I was just happy we could walk around outside at midnight in short sleeves and not be cold. :)

Saturday we decided to check out the M&M factory - a perfect place to get our kiddos souvenirs. Korben was so excited to see the pictures of us with the M&M's, but for some reason he has latched on to the car picture and keeps telling us "we need to got to Vegas so he can drive the M&M car".

After the factory we checked out more of the strip until it was time for The Tournament of Kings. I have always heard that it is a super fun show, and although we made it fun, it was really cheesy and not quite worth the money. Great for kids, but not something I would do again. The highlight of our trip and the entertainment we were looking forward to most was Mystere. I can't even begin to describe how fantastic this show was. The costumes, dancing, acrobatics, stage, singing...you name it, it was exceptional. 100% worth the money we spent. We are already planning on seeing some of the other Cirque du Soleil shows even it means we just take a day trip. Seriously...you want to see something amazing in Vegas...go to a Cirque show. On Sunday we decided to check out Hoover Dam before heading home. We took the tour and got to see and learn some really great things about the dam. At one point we got to see a rotor that was taken apart for maintenance- something that only happens every 20 years or so. (fyi- each of the black rectangles on the sides of this thing weigh 4tons. Isn't that crazy?!). It was a great reminder of how easy we have things these days and what amazing things we were able to accomplish without all of the modern technologies we have today. We were sad to say goodbye to the fabulous Nevada weather. I could have stayed at the Dam all day just to enjoy the warmth. Vegas was a much needed vacation and completely stress free thanks to Kara and Jared who watched the kiddos for us. It was great to spend one on one time with my best friend and play like we didn't have a care in the world. After spending 3 straight days together - 10hrs of which were in a car...I can safely say there is no "seven year itch" for us baby.

Pearly Whites

From January 2011 That's right Logan...even Superheroes need to practice personal hygiene.

Book Fair 2011

Korben came home the other day and told me we "need to buy the Star Wars book in the library". I knew the book fair was happening and told him maybe we could buy a book after his parent teacher conference.

The next morning he said we "need to buy the xray Darth Vader book in the library". Again I told him we would look after his pt conference.

That same morning Korben's breakfast prayer went like this;

"Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the food. Thank You for my Darth Vader Star Wars book. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

So apparently "we might" means "we will" in Korben's mind. He was right of course. How could we resist the excitement he had when he could finally touch the book he had been looking at all week? (His teacher said they would let the kids look but not touch. So he would hover his hands over the book trying to get as close as possible without actually touching it.) Of course, the book wasn't actually a book, but 5 double sided picture/blueprint (aka "xray") posters. And we did try to convince him that the much cheaper Star Wars books would be better. But alas...we caved.

From January 2011

He was so happy and immediately wanted all 5 posters hung up in his room- "xray" side out of course.

His bedtime prayer went like this; "Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for C3-PO and R2-D2 (pause, standing up and pointing), and for this one, and this one, and this one, and this one. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

I love my Star Wars obsessed little man.

Why Thank You

A few days ago:

Korben: Mommy will you sign my paper? I need a new book.

(school take home program)

Me: Sure Buddy, I will as soon as I'm done tying your shoes.

Korben: Thank you Mommy! You are the greatest ever!!

Seriously?

Best. Day. Ever.