Summer Bucks

This summer I came up with a new way for the kids to earn some money. 

After they get their responsibilities done and the tech ticket punched they have the opportunity to earn what we call "Summer Bucks".  These are just random jobs for them to help out with.  I have also given them a summer buck for going the extra mile.  It has worked out great.  They have to write their names on them and put them in their magnetic bucket that is on our board.  We will later exchange each summer buck for real money when we head out on vacation.  This will be the kids spending money for treat, drinks or souvenirs.  I hope it will help them make wise choices and help me not feel so up tight if they decide they want to spend their money on something I would rather not purchase.  It'll be a learning experience for all of us I suppose.  :)    

I cut some fun bright happy paper into rectangles and let {B} use my summer stamps to decorate them. 

 I LOVE that she loves crafting as much as I do. 

The kids have loved this.  We are all SOOO excited to go on vacation.  YAY, for summer!!!! 

Summer Reading Program

As part of our summer routine, the kids have to read every day. 

They get a sticker for every chapter or for {B} one sticker for every three books she reads by herself.

I found this chart at the dollar tree and thought it would be an easy and some what fun way to track their reading. Since my kids are so far apart in age I knew that a sticker would probably be less than thrilling for my boys. 

 I found a hello kitty candy dispenser a few moths ago and thought it could be a future Christmas present, but decided to go ahead and use it as a little motivation for the reading program.  It has been a huge hit.  When they put a sticker on they then get one turn of the dial which ends up being 3-5 skittles at a time. 

There are twelve squares so I wrote each kids name on three different squares. Then said they have to get 25 stickers in each square. Once they have twenty five stickers they can pick something out of the treasure box. 

I've had this bubble gum card board box I bought at dollar tree years ago and decided to have the kids decorate it. 

They did a great job. 

I love how each section represented them so well. 

Next I filled the box with small little prizes for them to pick from.  Each child has a specific color that they get to choose from. 

Yesterday was the first time getting a prize. 

They all seemed pretty happy with their reward. 

 Its been a great summer so far.  If they reach their goal of getting 100 stickers by the end of summer then we will go on some big adventure together.  I have been very impressed with how well they have liked this and even pleasantly surprized that they will go read a couple of times a day on their OWN.  I also noticed the boys constantly counting each others stickers making sure they were in the lead.  haha.  Love a little friendly competition.  :)

Concert

A couple of months ago a friend in my ward asked if anybody would be interested in going to the Taylor Swift concert.  I went back and forth on if I wanted to go, but my cute friend Sandee talked me into it.  Boy am I glad I went.  We went early and had dinner at Saddlebacks. YUM!!! I am on a health kick right now and even there salads were to.die.for. 

After we ate we headed over to the concert. 

We were on the floor, 25th row back. 
It was crazy how close were were. 

That girl sure is talented.  It was so much fun and very entertaining. 

I thought she was alright before the concert but after going, I absolutely LOVE her. 

She shared a lot of personal stories and how songs come to be. 

One thing she said that I love is how she always likes to write down how she feels.  That there are just some times you can't even explain the feelings you are feeling inside so to just get out a piece of paper and write. That is how a song is born for her.  Being 100% real with what is going on inside.  To hold nothing back because no one will ever read it, unless YOU decide. 

I've been thinking about that ever since the concert and thought I'd give it a go.  I've done it for a few nights now and WOW, talk about theraputic, and incredibly random.  I of course am not going to turn it into a song by anymeans but I loved getting thigs out and facing them. 

here are a few of the things I discovered tonight as I went into details of what I am "Feeling"

There are many many things I want to do with my children.  I have this crazy fear that I will not ever be able to teach them or do with them all of the crazy things I have in my head that I would like to do with them.  I even feel like I have missed the boat with the boys because of things I am doing with the girls that I didn't do with them.  I get discourage and feel overwhelmed sometimes trying to find ways to balance out our activities and such so they all feel loved and valued as a member of our family.

I feel heart broken as I got of the phone with the mom of one my my Young Women from years back who is going through  a very hard emotional time in her life right now.  It has caused me to reflect on some of the other choices my other girls have made too.  I have been feeling incredibly guilty for the choices that my girls have made.  Like I somehow failed them because of the choices they are making and the direction there lives are going.  I know they have their agency, but I still can't help feel sad and guilty for the hard roads they are going down.  I especially feel completely helpless for my one girl who is completely heartbroken right now. 

I feel a bit overwhelmed when I think of my goals to get healthy and loose weight.  I am down 33 lbs so far and bought my first size 14 pants.  I was a 20 when I started.  I should be able to let myself find the joy in that.  It's so exciting, yet at the same time I still feel humiliated that I let my self get that big and unhealthy.  I find that I don't like to share my success with very many other people because I am still not where I want to be.  I feel silly/dumb telling people how much weight I have lost, when I still have sooooo far to go.  I constantly feel like I don't measure up, because I am still a work in progress. It's still not good enough.  I keep letting these feelings creep into my head.  Stealing my joy.  Slowing down my goal.  So...in effort to find a little bit of joy in this long journey I am in, here is a before and DURING not after shot because I am not done yet.  There are more great things to come, right?! The first top and bottom pictures are when I started this journey, the very end of March.  The middle two pictures are one month in and the last top and bottom pictures were from May 31st.  Although I would still never wear this dress in public it is exciting that I had to put a different white thing under my dress to cover my chest cuz the built in black one was sagging down cuz of all the weight I lost. 

Lastly I learned that happiness is a choice. There is no way on this earth to please everyone. We hurt people and disappoint them and some times they hurt us, but ultimately it is up to us on how we will let it rule our lives.  Learning to let go, forgive, repent, and change.  The Savior is the only one who can rest our weary head,  He has been through it all and understands us.  He will show us the path and guide us to help us reach our goals.  Can't completely wrap my head around how the Atonement can heal and do so much but it does.  Heavenly Father knows my heart.  And he knows where my priority is right now and that is to my family and being a happier healthier person.  He would never expect more out of me than I can handle and he knows my limits and is pleased with the righteous goals I am aiming for. 


I worry that this post is too negative and maybe a bit too much, but although I do often feel frustrated with myself, I know that I do have good intentions and desires.  I know that at the end of the day my husband and kids know that I love them and that Ry is proud of me and that really is just what I need to make it through all these other tough times, That and the Gosple. 

technology tickets

In efforts to keep my kids off of technology ALL summer and our chores done and out of the way I came up with Technology Tickets. 

I printed up some responsibilites for morning and afternoon. 

am: clean room

 zone

belongings

breakfast

grooming. 

they get a new zone every Monday and it has to be deep cleaned. 

(toilets, sinks, couch cushions, vacuum etc..)

They have to keep that room clean for the rest of the week. 

 

I made belonging buckets that go next to the stairs. 

As the kids do their zone,

if they find something that belongs to someone else

it goes in that persons bucket.  

Each child is responsible for putting their own belongings away

and returning the bucket. 

after lunch they can earn more screen time by:

eating lunch,

dish duty

checking their zone

 belongings bucket

  read

  The boys at least a chapter and Becca has to read at least three books.   

I wrote all of the dates of summer with an am and pm. 

Then I laminated it {so it will last the summer}

Only I can punch their ticket once all of their responsiblities are done.  

That is their pass for screen time/free time.   

 Things have gone so smoothly and so far these have been a big hit. 

Sweet Ry made this magnet board for me and framed it a few months ago. 

I found these cute magnetic bins at the dollar store. 

They were actually locker pockets. 

I added the kids names and stuck them on our board. 

These are perfect for holding the boys scout books,

Duty to God

For the Strength of Youth

Becca's flash cards

or any important school papers/permission slips {when they were in school}

 

I am a firm believer that things go so much smoother for everyone when their is structure. 

So far this has been a great way to monitor our chores, technology and free time. 

Summer Notebooks

 As part of our Summer routine I made the kids each their own notebooks. 
Each day before they go to bed they have to write me at least three paragraphs. 
Their are no rules for them persay, but I have told myself I will not be "preachy" to them. 
I have given advice, but only when it was asked for. 

  

{J}'s is the  Lego Ninjago.  His writings are so random and crack me up.  

We have been asking each other 'Would you rather" questions and its been a lot of fun

{B}'s is Minnie Mouse.  I LOVE the way she sounds out words.  My favorite is excited spelled exactly the way she says it a sid ic pronounced "a {side} ic". 

One of the days I wrote a whole bunch of site words and asked her to circle the ones she could read. 

They next day she had done the same for me, coming up with her own words and they were darling.    {K} and I have had some rather deep, heart to heart type letters.  What a sweet kid he is.  Very observant in what is going on in my life and just such a ray of sunshine.  He gets SOOOO excited for me at each of my weightloss goals met.  He's got a heart of gold.  We were talking about jr. high the other day and he said "Nicco said I'll probably get a lot of girlfriends in jr. high"  haha.  hope not...he makes me giggle.  He followed it up with "but I don't really have time for that with, scouts, school, basketball and my calling".  :)  I LOVE him! 

I really worried that they would grumble and hate having to write everyday, but they actually have loved it and get excited when they see I wrote them back.  These will definately be among my greatest treasures. 

Last Day of School

I can't believe this school year has already come and gone. 

What a great year it has been. 

I LOVE the kids school, friends and neighborhood. 

So glad we found this little gem of a place to live. 

It is crazy to think that she is all done with Kindergarten. 
It seems once the kids start school time jumps to warp speed and I'm not so much a fan.  :)

{B} had a great teacher and I loved going in every Monday to work with the kids. 

{J} LOVED his teacher.   

He was such a great and fun teacher. 

We are really going to miss having him. 

{J} really hopes to get another boy teacher next year.  :)

I think of all the kids, Ky did the most growth this year. 

It was a super hard year. 

 But we some how survived and I am looking forward to

the exciting new changes in store for him.  

He is super excited for jr. high. 

Its so weird to think I have a kid that old. 

The school had a 6th grade "Walk Out" where all of the 6th graders got to walk thru all of the halls and then out the doors for the last time. 

Then they got to sign each others year books and have a little shin dig. 

 It was super cute and I just love watching Ky around his peers. 

Such a good kid. 

Little love was happy to be right in the middle of it all.

  She did a great job holding the year books. 

True to our tradition we hung the "End of Summer" banner for the kids to have to run through. 

This year I added streamers which was awesome because they ALL have something to run through and break.  haha, the things ya learn from trial and error. 

 I also added some smarties to the front door to congratulate them on such a great year and becoming such big "smarties"

 They loved it. 

 I am so excited for Summer Break. 

We had big plans last year and I ended up on bed rest and then having the baby and our plans got all messed up so I am determined to make it up to my kids.  I don't think they even have a clue how much it has bothered me, but it has. 

I have been planning for it for the last 2 1/2 months,

and I'm really really excited for it.

  I sure love my little crew! 

 

Talent show

Our school had the end of the year talent show today. 

Ky and Becca were in it and did a great job.  Ky played guitar and Becca sang

"You Are My Sunshine". 

They did a great job. 

The best part was at the very end they gave each other a hug. 

The whole audience gave a big {Ahhh} it was really sweet. 

Sweet Aubrey loved every second of it.  Dad was pretty proud too! 

Here they are back stage after the performance. 

What a great job they did! 

 This song has always been my song to the kids. 

Oh how I love my little sunshines.