Student Council

Darby decided that she was going to run for student council her 5th grade year. The way it worked was you had to be in the top 3 in your class and if you won that then you would go on to compete with the other winners of the other 5th grade classes. I was a little nervous for her because this is only her second year at this school. I know that if she was running and the whole school got to vote she would have a fighting chance because all the underclassmen LOVE her. She is kind to everyone no matter what grade you are in and they all know and love her because of her brothers! When she told me she was going to run I thought that everyone HAD to run or it was an assignment because this is really out of her comfort zone. Nope. It was all her decision. So the day came that they had to give their speeches. She and Brandon worked on a poem for her speech and the night before decided what her campaign would be about. She wore a "cat in the hat" hat when she stood up to read her poem. She had a great time and her favorite part of the campaign was when someone would promise something ridiculous (field trips to Las Vegas) and everyone would flip around to see the teacher's response and she would just nod her head "no". She said it was really funny. Darby DID win her class election. I was really excited for her! She did not win the next step though. One of her good friends did and she was really happy for her. After you win the 5th grade election they take the top 4 and you campaign with the whole school. These four kids all get to serve on student council regardless of the vote though. Voting just decided who would be Pres, vice, sec, and treasurer. (popularity wins out here) I am really proud of her for stepping out and trying something. She says it was a great experience and will for sure fun again next year!

Here is her poem!!! I would have voted for her!

Instead of giving you a speech that's long and boring

and talking up here til one in the morning

I thought you'd enjoy it if I recited a poem

I wrote last night while sitting at home

for those of you that only know me as "that girl over there"

My name is Darby Jeffords, and I'm in the back chair

Though Tarzana California is the place I'd like to stay

It wasn't long ago that I lived far away

I came here from Florida and Texas too

But I don't say "Y'all" or "Howdy doo"

And of all the kids in schools all over the world

I'm proud to be at Wilbur and a California girl

you may not know it, cuz you've been here since birth

But the students at Wilbur are something of worth

If you vote for me you'll find that I'm very outgoing

Creative, responsible and my skills are still growing.

I'll bring to this counsel a boat load of fun

Ideas for activities to play in the sun

I'll help to get rid of the stuff that offends, cuz

Nothing makes me happier than helping my friends

So when it gets closer to voting time

Just remember the girl that brought you the rhyme.

Vote for me, Darby Jeffords, for Vice President!

Quote of the day!

Max came to me the other day and said "Mom, I used to stink at hand-ball and I hated it but now I'm really good. Now I'm a legend!"

I love that in 3rd grade you can be a legend at anything!

Original song recorded by Emily Jacobs!

http://youtu.be/y8EtsyCPuXs

This is a song from one of my young women in Florida! She has an amazing story and even more amazing talents! SO good! Way to go Em!

missionary Dash

This weekend I got a text from a friend (Amanda) that has a son that is a friend of Dash's from school. It made my heart melt so I needed to blog about it!

Here is her text to me!

"ok.....this is adorable.....garret just randomly started talking about heaven.....which he has never really talked about. I asked him about it and he said it was wonderful...a place that you are happy. I asked him where he learned that and he said dash taught him everything! Gosh...I love u guys!"

I love that Dash has no qualms about sharing what he believes. What a sweet sweet boy!

Working out BIGGEST LOSER style!

Today my friend Robyn took me to a gym in Hollywood. We took Bob Harper's class! Yea, I said it! BOB HARPER!!! "Biggest Loser" Trainer extraordinaire! Don't worry because Jillian Michaels was only about 6 bikes down from me! It really was an AMAZING experience and one I can mark off my bucket list now! He was motivating and inspiring and pretty much just cool! I have never been one to sweat "buckets" but I sure did today. I actually had a little puddle under my bike. I was pretty proud. I didn't cry. (I cried out a few times) I didn't throw up. (wanted to!) I didn't pass out. (almost did!) I didn't freak out and hug him or say anything too stupid! (Still hugged him and told him I might cry....semi stupid but I REALLY needed oxygen so I will blame it on that!

I did realize that I want to be a better group fitness instructor and it is time to really start pushing myself again and stop "phoning it in"! (Robyn's phrase and I love it!) SO, I AM going to do better! Better instructor, better mom, better wife, better friend! Thank you Robyn for helping me get there and driving me and giving me peppermint gum in the middle of class to help me keep my food down, for giving me pants ;), and for just being a good friend! Thank you Bob Harper (I'm sure he reads my blog now because we are sort of BFF's....we work out together) for not killing me, for not touching the dial on my bike, for yelling at me to get out of my seat, for touching my hand in the middle of class, (sigh) for pulling up your sleeves and having delicious biceps to look at, and for motivating me to be better! (thank you Jillian for being there!) Seriously SO much fun and I feel super blessed to have been able to do this! It was a good day in L.A.! Now I will go take some Advil and pray that lactic acid doesn't take me in my sleep!

Bob and Suzy.... best friends forever? We'll see if I can fit him into my busy schedule! ;)

What happens when leave the kids in the car and go into piano!

I ran into the piano lesson to grab Darby and was there for maybe 3 minutes discussing next weeks lesson and the things Darby needed to do. My purse was in the car with the kids and the camera. THIS is what happens when kids are left for THREE minutes with a camera in the car. (The car was in the driveway of the house I was at, the windows were down, no kids or animals were harmed in the filming of this blog post!)

I love to see the REAL attitudes and action shots when I am not around.
Some really important shots were taken.
No idea? Why are they in the front? How did she get out of her carseat? OH they are admiring themselves in the tiny rear view mirror that they turned to look at themselves in. Mom will NEVER know we touched it!
The all important Yoda shot! I love that Juliet has moved on to another mirror in the front seat.
Thinking what I should do next. Do it quick cause here comes Darby.
You guys are gonna be in SO much trouble..... I can hear her now!
Not happy with the music that WASN'T playing on the turned off car she thought she would CRAM a cd into the cd player.

Mom will LOVE these shots! Get a few of me!

They were right! With out the random shots of arms and noses I would have missed these 2 cute ones of Dash! I love them! He is a ham and I love it! They didn't get in trouble. We laughed a lot. I don't leave my purse in the car with them. I don't go to get Darby at the door any more either. I send a sibling and the piano teacher comes to me. ;)

Endless Glow convention

We had an Endless Glow Convention in Las Vegas where we were learning some extra tanning techniques and growing as a team. We had a TON of fun together. Madison and I made the 4 hour drive on Friday night and drove home on Saturday night. Again having a TON of fun!

Saturday night we all got to dress up and go see some special speakers and go to a meet and great. It was a great night! Madi and I started the night out at Firehouse Subs. Not super fancy but it happens to be on of my favorite places and her brother owns it!

Free Firehouse Subs are THE BEST!
Ronnie Price of the Utah Jazz was one of the speakers that night. He was a great speaker and really motivational. A great guy in general.
Chris and Tiff were there! More of my favorite people. I may have forced Chris to take a picture with me! He was still a good sport and I think it turned out pretty cute....except we sort of look married!
Best friend! Tiff was honored a few times in the company! I was super proud of her!
The real married couple! I love this picture of them! I love that Chris looks really happy and not like someone is pinching him on the back to make him stay and take a picture!
Miss Nevada was also a speaker. She had a great story of failing and trying and never giving up. I liked that her story wasn't one of ease. She worked really hard to get where she is! She is an Endless Glow Representative! In all her pagenting she will always have an Endless Glow tan! Very cool!

End of SUmmer Party!

We had an end of Summer Party at our house to celebrate the end of summer and to honor Miss Loretta for teaching us a cooking class all summer long. Here is one of the water games we played. You had to put on a wet t shirt then run to the other end of the yard and take it off and ring it out into a bowl to fill the bowl up. It was a relay and it was really fun! Pretty soon the kids just started putting them over their heads and running to get to the end. The need to win became to great!
Here they are ringing them out.
Brother Au just happens to be a professional DJ and he came and dj'ed our party. I say I need a DJ at ALL my parties. That was just FUN! He had a bubble machine that the kids loved too! Call me if you live in the L.A. area and you want a GREAT DJ! I know he does tons of parties and dances!
We played a lot of water games but I think this was one of the kids favorites. It was "dry dry, wet" Like "duck, duck goose". With a cup of water you walk around tapping heads saying DRY DRY DRY DRY til you get to the person you want to soak and then you drench them and scream wet and RUN as fast as you can! The kids played it FOREVER and it didn't matter if you were 3 or 13 it was FUN! Something about not knowing if you are going to get the soaking that makes it so exciting!
SO summer is officially over as I blog about it in October. WE had a great summer and it breaks my heart a little to think it is one more summer down before my kids are all grown up and won't want to play these crazy games we have for them. I still have a few more summers before they get all drivers licences and water parky on me! :)

quote of the day.....not mine!

I found this great quote and wanted to share it and have it to keep!

"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost more than 300 games. 26 times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot, and missed. I've failed over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed"-- Michael Jordan

I also found this and LOVED it! Just a few words to remember when my kids are in sports!

"Saturday game day! Parents, remember kids never try to perform poorly. Your negative reaction to performance (even an eye roll or body language) only adds to their pressure and diminishes the confidence they need to succeed. Supportive parents realize that even a kid who "chokes" is trying to succeed. In fact, part of the problem with many athletes is that they are trying too had to succeed for someone other than themselves."--- Chalene Johnson

Let's Make A Deal!

For my Birthday one of my friend's, Amy, took me to be on Let's Make A Deal! We had THE BEST TIME!!! It was like an all day comedy club dance party! I highly reccommend going to a taping. I did not get on the show. Boo. (I later found out that I was not eligible because I know someone in the sound booth.....so they gave me a nice Let's Make a Deal sweat shirt.....not a car) very sad) BUT that being said I STILL had a great time and would go back ANY day of the week with ANYONE so that they could play! WE seriously had SOOOOO much fun! It should be on the air any time from now til Jan! So I will be dvr'ing every episode! SO MUCH FUN! Thanks AMY!

Happy Birthday To ME!

For my Birthday Brandon and the kids made me Garden beds. We planted some pumpkins and even though the pumpkins aren't growing because the critters keep getting into them. I have garden beds to plant in the spring and I am REALLY excited. It is what I REALLY wanted! Darby also gave me a feather in my hair! She paid for it with her own money! Super cool! I felt like a teenager for a few weeks!
Brandon made me a "better than anything" cake! YUMMY!
It was a wonderful birthday celebrated with my hubby and my kids! (and a couple of my friends via phone and lunches!)
Thanks Brandon for helping all my wishes come true!

Christmas in July!

My mom had a super fun idea to do Christmas in July while we were on vacation! We all drew names and got each other a gift that was under 5$! It was a TON of fun and everyone was SOOOO excited to do it! We played holiday music and ordered pizza and just had a great time!

Darby had Papa! She have him a t shirt and hat! Worlds greatest Papa!
Dash had Curtis and he gave him a carved sling shot that look like a deer. Curt loved it!
I had Ryeley. I gave him a gift card (some of it used) but he was excited and a Flash Gordon t shirt that he gave to my dad because it was too small!
Max had my mom and he made her a first aide kit that he made at scout camp! She LOVED it!
Juliet had Gracie and she gave her a water bottle! (Grace loves a good water bottle!)
Nana and papa gave Juliet an Mp3 player that they found on clearance! She obviously loved it because she is always wanting to use Darby's ipod!
Nana gave Dash an art kit! He loved it and was able to use it on the trip home!
Grace gave Darby an art book and colored pencils! She loved it too!
Curtis gave Max a paper airplane making kit that he couldn't wait to do with Brandon!
Ryeley gave me a picnic basket thing. I look really surprised because I was with him when he bought it! We had a GREAT time and I am sure we will do it again! What a fun idea Nana!

Dance party U.S.A.

The kids decided to put together a Dance party. It was taking up a lot of time and a lot of imagination so we were just letting them roll with it. The only time it stresses me out is when a menu gets involved. (They had a pretty extensive one that I had to nip in the butt!) They had a great time putting it all together and decorating for it! Even Juliet got to get in on the fun!
Max was a ticket taker. I really loved his uniform. No shirt and a tie!
I got a great action shot of Juliet dancing! Very cool!
Dash was part of the entertainment. I'm not sure what was happening but I know that he was a jumper or something. There was definitely jumping and leaping on a couch. Lots of fun!

quilting anyone?

Again, while we were in Utah, one of the fun things we did to pass the time of our vacation was tie a WHOLE BUNCH of quilts. My mom set up her quilting frames and we scavenged through her fabric and yarn and batting and came out with some fun things for everyone! The funny thing is that it was all Ryeley's idea! He was the one that wanted to pull out the frames and tie a quilt for his bed! Good idea little brother! Here is one of the quilts we finished for my house. It is a little bigger than queen size quilt.

Each one of my kids got a new quilt for their beds. They are the perfect length but are on the skinny side. A little trial and error on my part. They still all love them and sleep with them. They will make for great lounging/snuggling blankets!
Darby chose cats and Dash has a cowboy fabric.
Juliet has frogs (because of the speckled frog song we sing) and Max has the other cowboy print in another color!
Here I am NOT posing while I quilt away!
I told Ryeley late one night that I would love some quilting frames of my own one day. The next morning when I got up he was gone. That was kind of weird because when I am in Utah we usually go everywhere together! He was out buying the supplies to make me quilting frames for my birthday! Here he is looking oober creepy while building my very own frames!
more of my blanket!
Ryeley working on my frames! (I secretly love the cigarette hanging out of his mouth.....he has quit now and I am super proud of him but I think it adds to the "white trash" -ness of this picture! Take it all in..... his shirt, the cooler in the back, his make shift working station, the cigarette, the trash can off to the side, even the tattoo adds some "flavor"! :)
Here are some of MY quilting frames. Call me if you want to borrow them! They are hand made by my brother and they are AWESOME!!!