Bastian's kindergarten graduation, Grandparent Day for Abby and Hayden Turns 11

Bastian's Kindergarten Graduation

Bastian was the cutest little kindergartner singing all the songs his class had worked so hard to learn.




Grandparent Day for Abby

Abby was so fortunate to have 3 grandmas come for her grandparents day!  She was the only one. Great Grandma Orrock, Grandma LeBaron and Grandma Bastian all attended her special event. Weston and Bastian were able to come as well.  Abby got to have her grandmas tell her about their lives when they were kids.  It was a wonderful day.



My Mom came and spent the night in preparation for grandparents day and put Abby's hair up in rollers.







Hayden Turns 11

Hayden party was a brawl....a Super Smash Brother's Brawl! We brought the big flat screen TV from upstairs to the main floor and set up the Wii so that Hayden and his friends could have Super Smash Brother's Brawl battles on the same floor as the other party festivities. We did this so it would be more convenient for Hayden's friend, Kent, who is in a wheelchair. Those in attendance were Kent Dominguez, Jacob Olson, Ethan Burnham, Josh Johnson, Sam Hansbrow, and Trenton Teasdale. Everyone of these boys except for Trenton (because he attends a different school) is one of Kent's Kronies. This was a group made up by the boys in 5th grade. Two other kronies were invited but were unable to attend.



Back by popular demand was the game where the boys raced to eat a donut hanging by a string the fastest.




The boys also turned on our electric piano and danced around. Kent threw his head back laughing at some of the ridiculous dance moves performed by the boys.



Kathryn, Rob's sister, and I listened to some of their conversations and giggled in the kitchen. At one point Josh was playing mercy with Kent. Josh said to Kent, "Say mercy! I don't want to hurt you." Kent still wanted to play. Josh waited in vain and finally said, "Fine," then he turned it up and Kent cried, "Mercy!"

Trenton picking out his piece of cake said, "I want the cake that is the farthest away because it's the loneliest." I handed out forks to eat the cake and Sam said, "Thanks, I might not need it."

Chess Winner

Hayden won first place in the 5th grade chess club at Spanish Oaks Elementary and came home with this awesome trophy! Hayden has a natural apptitude for the game of chess. He's always thinking several moves ahead. He is a very smart boy.

Hayden's Choice: Pizza or Hot Dogs

Hayden wanted Dominos pizza for dinner one night and I told him that we could get pizza IF he would call in the order. I thought it was just the right time to introduce something new, exciting and a little terrifying into Hayden's life. He sat with the phone in hand making every excuse as to why he just COULDN'T do it. "I don't know the person I'm talking to," or "I might make a mistake," or "I'm so scared," or "I'm not old enough." I soothed his anxiety the best I could and gave him rational answers to his concerns like, "It's easier to talk to someone you don't know, because they don't know you either," or "if you make a mistake, I'm right here," or "don't think about being scared, think about the delicious pizza," or "you're old enough and you're strong enough to do hard things. YOU CAN DO IT." I added that if he preferred we could have hot dogs. I knew this choice was a no brainer because Hayden isn't in love with hot dogs. To my surprise he almost conceded until he found out that when I said we could have hot dogs, I meant just hot dogs....we were all out of buns. Hayden got a devious look on his face realizing the power he would have as the Pizza Orderer (important titles MUST be capitalized) and said, "I could order 20 pizzas!" I said that he could do that, but that I would be paying for ONE of those pizzas and he could pay for the rest. Hayden got up the gumption and made the call. He did a great job and I am so proud of him for not giving in to fear!

Counterfeit Cash?

I sent Hayden to pay Bastian the money I owed him from finishing his reading chart and the money I owed him from his sticker chore chart. When Hayden went upstairs to give Bastian the money, Bastian, knowing Hayden's personality, thought that Hayden was trying to pay him with counterfeit money. Bastian refused the money and said he didn't want it. Excited, Hayden said, "Can I have it?" Bastian agreed to that and Hayden came downstairs to report the incident to me, laughing all the way. I sent him back up to try again. Bastian refused the money again and Hayden made Bastian promise him that he could have the money "no matter what." By this time Hayden's laughter was uncontainable.

Bastian came downstairs to find out what was so funny about giving away fake money when I told him that it was indeed very REAL money. He started sobbing on the spot and thought that he had squandered his fortune in his promise to let Hayden have the money "no matter what." Bastian is such a good boy. He knows that when you make a promise, you can't take it back. Of course, Hayden is a softy and wouldn't have REALLY taken Bastian's hard earned money from him....and if he wasn't a softy, I outrank Hayden and was there to set things right.

If you look close enough you can see the teary eyes. Bastian read 100 books for $20. He was very diligent in his task and filled up his homemade, computer generated Scooby Do reading chart quicker than I thought. As for the rest of the money, he earned that through weeks of chores. He kept filling his $5 chart and I kept forgetting to pay him. Bastian is a hard working boy with oodles of patience.

Hayden's Treasures

We were going through Hayden's closet and found two of his pinewood derby cars and his pinewood derby rocket. Hayden has made these with the help of his father over the past three years. The blue car with lightning stripes on the sides was the winner of the 2008 pinewood derby in our ward! There were around 45 cars entered in the derby, so that is saying something! We also found two wrestling medals that Hayden got for participating in wrestling tournaments

Jedi in Training or Jedi Turned Sith?

Our backyard became a battle ground in early December when Jacob Olson, one of Hayden's closest friends, came over for a light saber duel. I couldn't resist a chance to capture the Star Wars action in my very own backyard!

Can you see the capivated onlooker? Bastian couldn't take his eyes off the scuffle.

Hayden's Delicious State Map

For a state project at school Hayden made a 3 dimensional map of Washington. Hayden chose this state because it is the state I grew up in and because many people we love live in Washington.
The Cascade Mountain Range is depicted using rectangles of Hershey's candy bar. The Columbia Basin is dusted with Nestles Chocolate Quick powder.

Seattle is near where my sister, Teresa Collette, and her family (Barry, Ryan, Sean, Jill and Chad) live and where my nephew, Nathan Glaus, and his family (Joy and Oliver) lives.

Colville is my hometown. My sweet father is buried there. It is also home to the best sub sandwich shop, Mr. Sub.

The Tri-Cities is where my sister, Krista Salisbury, and her family (John, Kelsey, Lindsey, Justin, Jenna, and Jared) live.

It was great sharing memories of this great state with Hayden. It was a wonderful place to grow up!

Crazy Hair Day

Hayden wanted the trusted Mohawk. Easy AND awesome! It doesn't get much better than that.
Abby opted for Alien hair with pencils. You know, just in case you need to write something.

Bed head. Yeah, Bastian didn't feel like doing anything TOO crazy. Ralph the night hairdresser didn't help me out with anything special for this boy's crazy hair day.  Ralph's always doing crazy dos on me, you'd think he'd take on a good project like "crazy hair day." Nope.

Brownie Baby

We invited Rob's cousin, Jacki, and Rob's brother, Joe, to dinner. After dinner we ate delicious brownies made by Jacki. Joe spit his brownie out onto his plate, and flattened it with a fork. He offered Hayden $10 if he would eat his saliva covered brownie. Hayden denied this challenge to my delight and relief. Then Joe carved a smiley face into the brownie and told Hayden that he would give him $10 if he took care of his pre-chewed brownie baby for the rest of the night. He happily agreed and later collected his compensation. The smiling brownie baby played games......
........sang some songs........
........and played a little video games.........

Wax Museum

Hayden participated in the fourth grade "wax museum." This is where you dress up like a person in history and when people come around and push your button, you give a short speech about who you are. Hayden chose the inventor of the television, Philo T. Farnsworth, his first cousin twice removed. Philo is his Grandpa Bastian's first cousin. Yeah, pretty cool.