We came home and opened up the gifts.
Then we headed off to the kitchen where they made their own personal pizzas.
Instead of one big birthday cake I bought them each a small puppy cake.
After a night of NO sleep they woke up and had cold cereal.
Jayden said she wants more friends at her next birthday. Heaven help us!!!
2. Her teacher said that Jayden is a wonderful friend and a great example!
3. Jayden loves Heavenly Father and has a strong testimony that she shared for the first time in Sacrament this year.
4. She loves cracking jokes and making everyone laugh. She is such a happy go lucky kind of gal!
5. She is such the performer. She is an awesome singer and violin player. Here she is singing a solo in the school talent show.
They each had a belt around their waist. Hanging from the belt they had their different gadgets. Jillian had a toothbrush, walkie-talkie, black camera and colored sticks!
Jenna said, "And I am a side-kick!"
Ready to take on the day!!! Notice the American flag in Jaydens hair!!
My parents have a picture of me, when I was about Jaxon's age, pinching my sisters arm. I was such a bully! Jaxon -Claire likes to pull hair, scratch arms, hit and pinch! When she is finished hurting us she leans over to kiss us better and gives us a small loving hug. It is hard to stay mad for long! The sisters get a big kick out of her!
We hopped in the car and zoomed to the soccer fields where Jeremy was playing soccer. On the way there Jayden was crying. I asked her why and she said, " I remember when I fell on my face. I know how bad it is going to hurt when she gets her stitches!" When we arrived at the soccer fields I jumped out of the car with Jenna in my arms. I had blood on my shirt and Jenna was holding a paper towel drenched with blood (lips bleed alot!) Jeremy stopped playing and came to check her out. We decided that there was no need for stitches........YEAH!!!
This is the next morning. Poor puffy lip!
Her sisters were very concerned for her. Jaxon-Claire could not stop kissing her better! I could just eat that baby up!!!
Here is me taking a picture of me in my hotel room. Actually it was a motel room and kind of scarry. Thats what you get when you choose the cheapest on Expedia. Germ-A-Phobic me will NEVER do that again! I was so excited to be away from my children for the first time EVER. After the first nights classes I went and ordered take out and brought it back to the motel to eat it in bed while watching T.V. How fun does that sound? I was so excited to sleep a whole night without a baby crawling into bed and kicking me all night long. The sad thing is.........I only got 3 hours of sleep. Looser me was so homesick for my family. I could NOT sleep at all!!! What the heck???
I was mostly looking forward to my manuscript being read by an editor. This is a picture of the editor that read my story. Her name is Lisa Graff. She is an editor for Farrar, Straus & Giroux. She is also an author as well. Her new book is called The Life and Crimes of Bernetta Wallflower. I saw it at a book fair and wanted to get it for Jaycee. I did get it at the conference and had Lisa sign it. To get published it almost impossible! They explained that in each publishing house each editor gets around 150-200 manuscripts a day! They put them all in a "slush" pile and mabe they will read a few. Lisa's publishing house only puts out 20-50 books a year. There is a 1 in 10,000 chance of getting published! Most publishing houses are closed to writers who are not being represented by an agent. the awesome thing is that being a member of the SCBWI you get to meet the editors in person and in my case make some friends. Lisa wants me to fix a couple of things with my story and send it back to her! So I will not be put into the dreaded "slush pile." I also met a big-wig for National Geographic Kids, Jennifer Emmett, and told her of my idea for a biography, she wants me to send it in to her as soon as I get it done. National Geographics doors are closed to authors who do not have agents. And she wants me to send something to her! So the contacts were awesome!
I also met Melanie Hope Greenberg. She is an Author and an Illustrator. She has some beautiful picture books out. She and I hit it off right away! She is from the "Bronks" I noticed that she would just stare at me on and off during the day. I was a little weirded out until she came up to me and said that she likes to paint her friends in her books and to look for myself in one of them someday. How nice!
The thunder is VERY loud! It can shake our home. Jenna was very scared.
We thought it would make for some funny pictures to have Jayden look like she was being blown away!
She is a great actress. She looks scared to death!
It was all fun and games until Jayden could not hold on any longer and slid down the tree trunk! Have you ever heard of Tree Burn? Well she has a VERY bad case of it on her chest and arms! Poor girl.
The weather was not the kind of weather that the kids could miss school for, but oh well we had fun hanging out! Jeremy told me not to listen to the local news. "They always get it wrong."
The first day was learning how to strech properly. Oh my goodness did we strech! My old rickedy body was VERY sore the next day!
We had such a fun class. Very diverse! We even had a couple of men dancing with us. I never knew what all went into ballet. So much thinking. Getting your body to do what you are thinking.........not so easy!
I had so much fun spending time with Jaycee, just her and I. We experienced something that not alot of mothers and daughters get to do together. I loved watching her learn and watching her confidence grow. We had a blast! Even when we had to stop class early and rush home to safety because of tornado weather!
Tendo, Port De Bra, Piques, Sousou, Coupe, Degage, Eshappe Releve, Glissade, Pas Debourees, Assemble, Tombe Pas De Bouree. These are some of the ballet steps we learned! Here is my report card. Not too shabby!
My most favorite memory from this whole experience is when Jaycee would hold my hand while we walked to the studio from the car. And the kisses and hugs she would give me during class. These things are fading the older she gets, so I cherish them like crazy!
Jayden was VERY nervous when we arrived. She was shaking when we entered the room where the 2nd graders would compete. She would compete against 15 others. Here she is looking at the clock waiting for the fun to begin.
They had to sit in chairs facing away from the screen. When it was their turn they would stand and face the screen and have 6 seconds to solve the problem. If they got it wrong they were out. During the final 3 they were all too smart. It went on forever, so they decided to make it harder. I was nervous because we did not practice 3 digit subtractions. No need to be nervous though because Jayden pulled it out and won!!!
Her teacher was so excited that she ran up and gave her a big hug! She said,"Jayden this means that you are the smartest 2nd grader in the whole school district!" Then her teacher had to parade her around and show off her #1 student to all of her teacher friends.
We were there for several hours. Jaydens compitition was the first one. They had a bunch of fun activities the kids could do after their compitition. There was a room with lots of jars full of different items. Each jar had a math problem you had to solve or guess, and if you did you would win the jar! Here she is figuring out how many calories would be in this jar full of Reeses Peanut Butter Cups.
Relaxing the brain.
Jayden and Mom waiting for the awards ceremony to begin.
Receiving her ribbon and trophy.
To top off the whole day, she even won the jar full of beaded necklaces. She guessed how many meters it would be if you connected all of them together! The sisters at home were so excited!
Jayden is such a smart girl! We are so proud of her. She LOVES to learn and LOVES to do her work! Everyone of her teachers that she has had, have told us she is a favorite! What a compliment! Keep up the good work Jaydo, we love you!!
