Elise's First Field Trip!

March 26th--The Kindergartner's at Pony Express Elementary went to Discovery Gateway in downtown Salt Lake. This is a fun place to go, for children. Lots to do and see. The main exhibit was Sesame Street explores the body. The kids got to play with all sorts of things as they learned about their bodies. I went along as a chaperone. It was chaos central with all these little 5 and 6 year olds. I was quite exhausted by the time we got back to school. But the most important thing is that they all had fun. Elise loved the exhibit but especially, loved being able to ride the yellow school bus she never gets to ride.

Brady's One Year Anniversary of Type 1 Diabetes

March 26th--It's so hard to believe Brady has been diagnosed with Juvenile Type 1 Diabetes for a whole year now. What a journey this has been for our family. There were a lot of tears in the beginning and if Nate and I could have taken this disease on ourselves, so Brady wouldn't have it, we would have done so in a heartbeat. He's such a brave little boy. We know he's watched over closely. We hope to see a cure someday soon but in the meantime we'll do whatever is necessary to make his life as normal as possible. The day before his anniversary I enrolled him in preschool, to begin in August. The preschool we chose (Learning Dynamics Preschool) is willing to work with us and with Brady. Please keep us in your prayers and pray for a cure. This disease in on the rise in small children. It is such an unfair disease to have to deal with but we see the blessings and unity that comes with a challenge like this. We're so proud of Brady and what he's able to endure.

Happy (Official) Birthday Elise!

March 24th--Yes, today is the official day! Elise is 6 years old. We decided to invite some of Elise's friends over and have a Birthday Tea Party. We asked all the girls to come over in their pretty dresses. We had them decorate some hats with silk flowers and they got jewelry. I got out some tea cups and the girls drank apple juice and Sprite. My Aunt Maureen came and taught all the girls how to drink, wipe their faces with napkins, and eat like ladies. It was cute and the girls giggled quite a bit. My sister-in-law, Jenny, came with her daughter, Kayla. Jenny was a big help with all that needed to get done. I really appreciated the help by both Maureen and Jenny, I couldn't have done it without them! Elise got some cute presents from her friends. I think they all had fun!

Later on that day we ordered some pizza, at Elise's request, and welcomed over Nate's parents and his sister, Wendy. The pizza was yummy and company was nice to have over. I think Elise really enjoyed her special day!

Elise,

You are 6 years old now. I am amazed at how much you've grown and accomplished so far. You are a beautiful young lady, full of talent and intellect. Your dad and I are constantly amazed at your understanding of so much. You seem to figure out quite a bit on your own. We look forward to seeing you continue to grow and see all that Heavenly Father has in store for you. May this year be one of lots of happiness and laughter mixed with plenty of new discoveries and new joys. We love you so much! Forever and always, mom

Happy Easter!

March 23rd--Easter morning was crazy! We have church at 9:00 am so there wasn't any time to enjoy Easter baskets. The kids found their baskets took a quick peek and then we headed to church. Once we got home the kids got the chance to look in their baskets and found a bunch of fun things from the Easter bunny. They also found a basket full of candy for the whole family left by the Easter Bunny. Yummy! We were very glad it was another beautiful day and one we could just enjoy as a family. We loved the peace and quiet. After we all took a nap Nate took the kids out to play in the front yard. While they were playing I went in the back and hid some eggs that had some coins in them and two big eggs that contained Disney gift cards for our Disneyland trip in 3 weeks. Brady and Elise LOVED getting the eggs and the gift cards were the major highlight. Later on we had a nice dinner and then settled down to focus on the true reason for Easter. We read scriptures and talked about the Atonement. The kids understood most of what we talked about, it was a very nice day.

Easter Dinner and #2 Birthday Celebration for Elise

Late Afternoon, March 22nd--After we got home from the Easter Egg Hunt we fed the kids some lunch and set out to get Elise's birthday present. She's been wanting a bike for quite some time so we took her out and let her pick a bike. Of course, she picked a Disney Princess bike and we decided to get training wheels. We hope to get her use to a two-wheeler soon. Once she got on the bike she rode it like a pro!

Easter dinner was very nice. We went to my sister, Alishia's, house. She made a yummy turkey dinner and we brought some cupcakes and celebrated Elise's b-day as well. It was a great night and fun to visit with family.

Eagle Mountain Easter Egg Hunt

March 22nd--We set out to Nolan Park, in Eagle Mountain, for the town Easter Egg Hunt. There were 15,000 eggs and plenty of kids to find them all. Nate took Brady over to the 1-3 year old area and Elise and I found the 4-6 year old section. When the horn of the fire truck blasted out Elise bolted and started filling her basket. She was quite happy to find eggs stuffed with treats, money and prize tickets. She ended up filling her basket about half full. Her friend, Kamber Sasser, was there and got her own haul of eggs. The hunt was over, literally, in 30 seconds. It was time to find Nate and Brady. Deep into the crowd we found them and I couldn't believe it, Brady's basket was overflowing! Nate said a lot of the one year olds couldn't really figure it all out by themselves (parents weren't allowed to help) so Brady went to town picking up all that he could find. The kids got some fun prizes and coupons for free drinks at a local business. We were so happy it was a beautiful, sunny day too!

Happy Birthday Elise and Cameron!

March 16th--Elise's birthday isn't for another week but her birthday is close to her cousin, Cameron's, birthday so we decided it would be best to combine the two. This party was for all the Armstrong family and we had a great time. Cameron turns 14 on March 18th and Elise turns 6 on March 24th. Nate was more than happy to set-up the BBQ, for the first time this year, and cook hot dogs and chicken breasts. They were yummy! We had lots of great food and finished up with a delicious cake (courtesy of that wonderful place called Costco!). I bought "trick" candles, just for laughs. Cameron and Elise had a good chuckle trying to blow them out. The room got pretty smokey too! We're so blessed to have family close by and to be able to celebrate birthdays together. Perhaps I cherish it a little more since I grew up without any family around us. All of our extended family lived 1000 miles away. Mom and dad still did the best they could to make it special for us kids though, and I'm thankful for that.

As for Elise's actual birth date, she's having a small "friends" party. And she might just be getting a little something called a bike. Look out, all you kids on the sidewalks!

Disney Princess on Ice

March 15th--Today was a day Elise and I have been waiting for since early January! We got an ad in the mail for Disney Princess on Ice and she desperately wanted to go. It looked rather cute and so I told her we could go and it would be part of her birthday present. She was fine with that and I called my sister to see if she and my niece wanted to go. They sure did and wanted rink-side seats. Well, rink-side was kind of pricey but we got them and it was well worth the price we paid. It was an amazing show--all the Disney princesses and the ultimate bonus for Elise, Tinkerbell. She was in awe the whole time and even decided to hold in her full bladder so she wouldn't miss a second of it (to be young again, right? ha ha). We've gone to a couple of Disney on Ice themes and have enjoyed them all but I think this show was, by far, the best. I think we've been spoiled by the rink-side seats so it might be hard to go back to the nose-bleed seats that are far less money. Here's a few pics from the show:

Mom, the annoying amateur photographer......

March 8th--With Elise's birthday coming up soon, I took photos to send with her birthday letter and invites. For both children, I always type up a little yearly summary of how the year has been and send it with a photo. For the most part, the kids cooperate as I dress them up and pose them in various spots inside and outside our home. I can never get over how many pictures I take just to get that "perfect" one. Hooray for digital cameras! Otherwise, rolls of film would be a luxury we could no longer afford. I love ordering through Wal-Mart, on-line, it allows me to edit photos and add all sorts of fun things. Below are a few cute shots I got. Brady is in his Easter outfit and Elise is in a gorgeous, frilly dress she got for her birthday last year. Yep, the dress came from Costco! Ahhh, I love that place........

Happy 8th Anniversary!

March 10, 2008--WOW! It's been 8 years since we were married in the Salt Lake Temple. Much of the day was a typical Monday but in the evening we dropped the kids off at grandpa & grandma's house and then headed out to dinner. The restaurant wasn't the best of "romantic settings" (Applebee's) but the food was great and the company fantastic. It was fun reflecting back on when we dated and became engaged, then our special wedding day. We both had a hard time trying to figure out what the other would like as a present so we skipped that part and exchanged cards. Nate, as usual, picked out a romantic card and then wrote down some very touching comments to me. I did the same for him. It was a great evening and the kids had a lot of fun at their grandparents house--two of their cousins came over to play with them, a bonus!
Nathan, you are my bestest friend--ever--and I'm so glad we found each other and decided to spend our lives together. You have given me the kind of love I never felt I deserved. I've never known another man that treated his wife and children any better than you treat us. You are an amazing father! Our children are blessed beyond words to have you in their lives and I feel the same as your wife. Thank you for just being you! I love you!

The family that is sick together stays.......sick together!

The week of February 23rd to March 2nd (and so on, I'm sure) has been HORRIBLE! Seen here, in this picture, is Brady in my and Nate's bed. Why is he here? Well, it's because he's taking a nap there due to his bedding being washed after vomitting all over it. (Yep, you guessed it, I'm gonna go into details. For those of you faint of heart, skip over this blog!) He was sick with vomitting for a day and then we had the fun of dealing with his glucose levels being all over the place, as what happens when he gets sick.

The next day it was Elise's turn to become the vomit machine. First, on the carpet (yours truly, got the "privilege" of cleaning that up!). Then during the night she vomitted all over her bed: sheets, blankets and all. Instead of coming to tell us so we could clean her and the bed up, she threw a blanket over it all and slept there the rest of the night. GROSS!!!! And again, I got to clean that up--this time, the joy of cleaning up dry, curdled chocolate milk.

Shortly thereafter, Nate got sick. His was mostly aches, pains, and weakness.

Then the whopper of all..........ME! My turn, and the worst of us all. Wednesday the 27th, it hit me with full force. The flu to the extreme. I had to cancel my massage appointments and became a zombie, laying on the couch most of the day. Nate, bless his devoted heart, worked while helping to take care of the kids. Mine was not the 24 hour dealio, like the rest. It's now turned into a full blown cold. I'm five days into this mess and ready to lose my sanity. Nate has been such an amazing help to me. He's become dad, mom and caretaker. I'm so lucky to have him and that he's willing to take on my responsibilities when I'm not feeling well. Tomorrow, is Monday, March 3rd, and I'm really hoping I will start to feel better. I haven't been this sick in many years! Whoever passed this illness onto my family......may you rot........okay, I won't say it but I AM thinking it!

Our little bush man!

February 25th/27th--Brady is well over due for another hair cut! His hair grows into a big, thick, curly mess within 2 months! Although we have a terrific hair-dresser in the family (Marissa), and only twelve minutes away, Brady wants to go to Great Clips, just up the road. The reason for that? Once he's done there he can go to the gas station across the street for a treat. His treat of preference? Corn nuts......mmmmmm!

Snow, would you melt already?!?!?!

February 16th--The snow, the snow, the terrible snow! Believe me, the first few months of snow I love. It's beautiful, fun to play in, etc. Now? I am getting tired of it. Our back yard is 3 feet high in snow and it's not going anywhere. The sun doesn't get back there long enough to melt it. And if it did, we would be worried about flooding. We've never experienced anything like this. Crazy!

Kids will sleep anywhere!

February 18th--Elise must of had one exhausting day! We spent the day at RC Willey, getting a new dining room set. After we got home, she was playing in the front living room and dozed off under her umbrella--which, might I add, shouldn't have been opened in the house. But, there's moments when you can scold or take a picture!

February 16th--Our second Primary activity. This is the other half of the children that showed up to help clean our building. A much bigger turn out, so happy about that! The kids did a fabulous job and got it all done in about 40 minutes. And they too, got a yummy cookie from Granny B's. I took the opportunity to vacuum the chapel. For about 20 minutes, I was in there by myself. It was quiet and so peaceful. I loved it. Elise loved cleaning so much the week before that she came with me again.......AND, went right back to the girls bathroom to clean! Such a wonderful experience for all of us! I think the children will remember this experience with fondness and pride.

Our little smarty-pants!

At the beginning of February, I went to our first SEP (parent-teacher conference) for Elise. All was well and I learned of some amazing news. At this point, for all Kindergartner's, their expected level of reading and comprehension, etc. should be at a "1" out of "10". By the time they graduate from Kindergarten they should be at a "3". Well, our little smarty-pants is at a "10"+! Her teacher, Miss Anstead, believes her ability is beyond what they even test for at this age. WOOHOO! Elise loves to read and we're amazed at how quickly she's caught on. We're so proud of her and her abilities. Keep up the great work, Elise!