Ta da da da da da Drum Roll Please

Jeneseri for President! (Of the Olympus Junior High Eighth Grade) I am proud to announce the inauguration of the new president of the 8th grade. Something tells me, Jeneseri has figured out how to get along in his new country. He decided to sign up for the election, found a friend to help him with posters, (whose father happens to own an Alphagraphics) and went out there and won the election. McCain and Obama -- eat your hearts out.
And, while he was in the mood for signing up for stuff, he decided to try out for the track team. Turns out, he is a pretty good runner. Yesterday at the track meet, he took 11th overall in the district cross country event. Congratulations Jeneseri.

Married to a Workaholic? There are some benefits...

I did a Phoenix flyby this week. Arrived Wednesday, home Saturday. Had lots of fun with the grandkids -- tennis, biking and of course the pancake breakfast. (Danny calls me the pancake grandma.) Also, helped Kate pick out a stroller for Jr. Winsor. And what did Hugh do while I was gone? Well aside from the usual pastime of stamping out pain and suffering at the hospital, he mowed, edged and trimmed the yard, cleaned the garage, delivered Stuff to the DI, bought groceries at Costco AND defrosted and cleaned the freezer AND organized the food storage room. Whew! I bet it wears you all out just thinking about being married to this man. All I can say is, I am darn lucky!

Food Storage Room -- Spotless!!

Picture three inches of Frost on these shelves

And the award goes to...

Tonight, I shared a Family Home Evening (FHE) with Ty and Tiffany's family. Ty played the guitar while the children sang and danced. We learned about how special it is that we are all children of God and how much Heavenly Father loves each one of us. At the end, FHE awards were presented. These awards consisted of especially creative and individualized certificates for each child. Davis received the Bravery award for his courage in getting stitches in his scalp (on top of the kitchen table.) Ella received the Sharing award as she was cited for sharing her chicken nuggets without even being coerced. Jackson received the Intiative award for doing something for someone else without being asked. (He provided Ella with dipping sauce.) I found out later the most prestigious award ever is the HUP award. It isn't given every week, just on very special occasion to a very deserving person. What does HUP stand for you ask? Honesty Under Pressure. Indeed, a high honor. Think about introducing this important award at your FHE.

My Three Sons...Looking Back

Most of the blogs I frequent are written by young moms with small children. I am reminded daily of "back in the day" when I was raising kids with all the fun, effort and joy accompanying each day. Check out my three stair steps. Exactly two years apart. All three born in the same week in September. Now all three practicing their own brand of medicine. Yes, young mothers, eventually they will grow up and move away and raise their own families. Love them now. Teach them now. In no time, you'll be looking back.

Add this exercise to your daily

Chillin' in the Hot Tub

New vocab word today. Hot Tub. As today's high was in the 60s for the first time in three months, it seemed like a good day to open up the hot tub. The Bashire children were quite grateful for a place to warm up after their time in the swimming pool. I reminded them that the hot tub is for soaking and relaxing and they remembered most of the time. I asked them to pose so as to show off their muscles.

All Summer Long

All summer long I have coaxed Jeneseri to jump off the diving board. Usually a pretty outgoing and fearless kid, he absolutely refused to do it. He was really afraid of dying. I always promised to save him if he did, but he still wouldn't do it. But TODAY, he did it! Of course, I had to get Hugh to stand in readiness to rescue him, so that I could take the photo, but he DID it. I am so proud. He has gone from not swimming a stroke, to jumping off the diving board and swimming the length of the pool in less than sixty days, with really nothing more than encouragement and very simple swimming "lessons" from me. After the first jump, he immediately climbed back on the diving board for a "dive" into the pool. It is amazing what kids can learn just by watching TV (see the Olympics post two weeks ago.)