Celebrating 100 Days at school!

Way back in January... Yes January the kindergarten classes celebrated 100 days at school. All the kids were asked to MAKE a hat and then put 100 things on it. So Hinckley decided to do an action hero hat... He really did stand out among the rest of them!


Walking into the cafeteria...


This is our friend Carlos... He LOVES HINCKLEY! We see him often around town, wal-mart, the park and chilis and he LOVES to hug and talk with Hinckley
Peek a BOO!



They got to eat breakfast at school that day too! The sausage and 2 pancakes made a 100... Pretty smart, huh?!
Side view of hat
Other side view
Chandler even got to eat breakfast too! He loves school and cries almost everyday when we drop Hinckley offAfter both of them ate breakfast they gave each other a hug *RARE MOMENT IN CARTER HISTORY*
Oh and Carlos too!

They were looking at a hat I think...
Then all of a sudden ZERO THE HERO stopped by! Can you see the orange hair?! Every time they hit like 10 days at school or 20, etc zero the hero would leave something cool at their desk like cheerios (get it the O's)
Chandler staring at Zero the Hero.


Then it was off for another school day!

Snow, school delays, New job and an addition to the family

The National Guard had a special 60 day reintegration event in Park City this past weekend. They went all out in renting out these fabulous resorts, babysitters, food and all sorts of goodies.... Well, except fly in out of state soldiers. LAME. WAY LAME. The one I REALLY WANTED TO GO TO they dont fly us in. OH WELL.

Park City seemed to come to us anyway in the form of snow!

We had so much snow, ice and FREEZING COLD temperatures that school was cancelled Monday with a 2 hour delay Tuesday. I LOVED HAVING HINCKLEY HOME. IT was great!

This picture below shows some of our snow and..... OUR NEW ADDITION TO OUR FAMILY!!!!

I am going to call her YODA! Troy wants to call her Rapunzel.... Rapunzel? REALLY TROY... LAME. That little 1985 Toyota Camry is a Yoda. Old and wise she SCREAMS!
Troy had a successful first day of work at the MDC. It is a correctional facility. For family home evening last night and we made our annual Christmas candy trains. I think we made 13 or 14 of them. WHEW! It was fun
Some of our finished products
I have some more fun updates to share in the near future! We've had some change in plans, shift in plans, new plans, unexpected plans and all sorts of fun things going on. Hang in there and come back for more I will update more soon!

Your love locked down

As we pulled up to pick Hinckley up from school today I noticed 2 unmarked police cars right at the front parking lot and 3 police officers standing there. I thought it was a bit odd but didn't think much of it. I pulled up in the kindergarten line (I am usually the 3rd or 4th car there) and this lady (a mom) came up to my window and said the school was on lock down they had just said over the PA system, "Teachers and students we are still on lock down." By this time they were about 25 minutes into the lock down.

My heart sunk. It literally sunk to the bottom of my stomach. I slowly got out of my van and tried to look in the school and keep my ears open for any sounds that were abnormal. My heart was racing, the only person I wanted to talk to was Hinckley and Troy. Is Hinckley okay? Is he safe? Is he crying? Does he want his mommy? Is he scared? Why are they on lock down? What the HECK is going on....

I called my parents who were headed to the temple and asked them to pray. And I began praying mightily that Hinckley was safe and not scared. I paced... Back and forth from the front of my van to the back.

5 minutes went by........

10 minutes went by......

15 minutes went by......

20 minutes went by......

AND FINALLY, FINALLY THE principal came across the PA system and said they were not longer in lock down and that they would be releasing the kids soon.

Each second felt like an hour, each minute felt like a year. It was HORRIBLE. I hope NO MOTHER ever has to feel that way.

As the kids came out they all looked happy and like nothing was wrong. The teachers looked FRAZZLED and DAZED.

When Hinckley got in the van I said, "HEY buddy how was your day?"

NOT GOOD MOM.

Why, whats up?

WE DIDN'T GET TO DO SHOW AND TELL

Why not?

BECAUSE WE WERE ON LOCK DOWN

What is lock down?

WE HAVE TO SIT IN THE LOCKED BATHROOM IN THE DARK AND NOT SAY A WORD OR MOVE FOR A REALLY LONG TIME.

Hinks I am sorry you didn't get to do show and tell. Did you play any games or anything while you waited?

NO, we had to be completely QUIET

Were you scared or nervous about being in the dark?

YES. I WAS SCARED AND I PRAYED BUT I DIDN'T WANT TO GET IN TROUBLE WITH MY TEACHER FOR TALKING.

(I then had a sweet teaching moment of telling him about a silent prayer and how we can still talk to Heavenly Father even if we can't talk out loud)

By the time we got to the base he was over it. Thank goodness...

I really didn't want to dwell on it. I didn't want him to see my panicked. I don't want him to have this FEAR AT SCHOOL. I want him to feel safe. I snuggled with him tonight and I didn't want to let him go. So make sure you hug your kids tight and tell them you love them. You never know what journey they will come across.

BTW, the school left a voicemail on my phone that said the school was on lock down because of a incident in the surrounding neighborhood. Wanting to know more information I went 2 houses down to the Chief of Police of LL and asked him what happened. And he just said that there was a crazy guy in Huning Ranch that was making threats and stuff and so as a precaution they put the school on lock down.

TRUST ME I AM SO THANKFUL THEY TOOK THAT PRECAUTION. I just hope come Tuesday Hinckley doesn't freak out about going to school.

This picture was taken about an hour after the ordeal, SEE HAPPY AS CAN BE!

I took this picture a few days ago after I went to check on him after he fell asleep... It warmed my heart.

Yes he sleeps with his flat daddy

Back to school, Back to school. Back to school to prove to dad I'm not a fool

Hinckleys school had back to school night tonight. I fell in LOVE with his school. It really is up to date and nice and new and beautiful! It has really nice courtyards and I love the layout. The music, art, library, gym, and computer rooms are very impressive. I was even more impressed that all of his teachers (music, art, library, gym and computers) knew his name. When I responded with a "is that I a good thing you know his name or a bad thing?" And they all responded, GOOD. He is a great helper and so kind and with a name like Hinckley you dont forget it. The teacher aide in his classroom pulled me aside today and told me how smart Hinckley was and how impressed he was with his ability to take an assignment and do what he is asked. My momma badge was extra shiny after he told me that!

My only complaint? His teacher. I know its weird and really I shouldn't have such a problem with her but I just wish she was more warm fuzzy. I think about my mother in law who was a FANTASTIC teacher and loved on those kids as if they were her own and I wish so bad she had even an ounce of sweetness to her. But she is standoffish and almost grumpy. She is very well educated and I love the way she runs her class but I am just not impressed with her personal skills. The only thing she has talked to me about was the fact that she relies on Hinckley A LOT for help. And that he helps a lot with the other kids in class especially Carlos T. Carlos T has down syndrome but he is the cutest kid! And majority of the time Hinckley is put with him to play and stuff because he is so kind to him.

Anyway, I am grateful that I don't have to pull him off me kicking and screaming and I dont think his teacher is mean just not super friendly or happy.

*VENT*

And one other vent real fast, sometimes it gets very frustrating that Hinckley is always put with the bad kids to be an example to others. It has happened a lot in karate and I HATE sitting there watching these kids go crazy and there my Hinckley is standing at attention like he is suppose to. His karate instructor is really good about praising Hinks a lot so the other kids see that but it does get frustrating. They do that a lot in church too and I was IRRATE because twice Hinckley came home and told me this certain child hit him in the face and another time tried to strangle him. I told his teachers he is NO longer allowed to sit by this child. I mean how long can a child be good until he is surrounded by so much bad he starts acting like them? PS I totally love that he takes care and watches out for Carlos T. its the other bad kids I worry about

*VENT OVER*

Hinks at his chair. I love that bean name thing! That is his teacher in the white and black behind him.

This is outside his classroom. LOVE IT!
This is in his music room, he was dancing
Outside at his special playground
This was his favorite thing to play with well.... for the day
I talked with the school counselor who I was very impressed with too about Hinckleys daddy coming home and the changes that could bring. She seems to be on board to be aware of the situation which makes me happy!

A moment in time

Okay will I really look back on this time of Troy being gone and think, "That was just a moment in time?"

I had this really long rant about some of my frustrations but I have deleted it. I am having a rough day. I am having a nobody talk to me, nobody try to cheer me up kind of day. Its been a while since I have been this frustrated.

I cried today after lunch realizing that Hinckley was eating lunch at school and not with me. I dropped him off today at school and he said, "Mom I am going to miss you today but I wont cry, but can I have 2 hugs and 2 kisses." AHH!!!! About broke my heart.

He gave me 2 hugs and 2 kisses and outta the van he went. I said, "Have a fantastic day at school Hinckley, I LOVE YOU!"....

"I love you too Mom." GAH. I love this kid. I missed him a lot today.

I know we are just around the corner of Troy coming home but it still seems so far away. We are busy with a lot of things coming up and going on but sometimes it feels like time is standing still. When he gets home we will have so much ground to cover. Am I ready for this? Am I ready for this change?

I dont know. What is this funk? Why did it reappear today?

Anyway, I hope you are all having a fantastic week! I hope you have a fantastic weekend and lets PRAY that 1. the next 3-6 weeks FLY BY 2. Troy finds a job like ASAP

Rip it off like a bandaid

Hinckley woke up this morning at 6:30AM this morning... He was so excited for school. We had his outfit picked out the night before (they are required to wear a uniform) and I didn't think he would sleep at all because he was so excited. He ate chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, we got him all ready with his clothes and shoes, packed things up and headed off. We went to the school, found a parking spot, Hinckley dropped off his back pack in his classroom and off to the play ground he went. Then I gave him a kiss and hug told him I loved him and we were off. No tears! YES! SUCCESS!

Now what am I gonna do for the next 6 hours?!

This is how I found him this morning, SUPER EXCITED!

His book bag, blanket and lunch!

His yummy lunch!

We had this school uniform all picked out

Can you tell how excited he is?!

Mom, I AM THIS TALL NOW!

Ready to go!

Back of his book bag

At school

In his classroom

Hinks found his niche at the fire truck

I had to pry Chandler off the playground because I wanted to get going

Ok its a little bit blurry but here is the list of his classmates. There is only one other name that is on the list that is not from a Hispanic origin.... Could be an interesting year!

7/10 of a mile

We met Hinckleys kindergarten teacher on Monday. I am impressed with the way she runs her classroom and what is important to her. I am not to keen on the fact that she is not a lovey dovey teacher. She is a sit down, shut up and get your work done kind of teacher. It should be interesting to see how the year unfolds. There are 13 kids in his class right now and it is all day. I will be dropping him off at 8:50Am tomorrow. I am going to try and make it not painful kind of like ripping off a bandaid. Hug him, kiss him tell him his daddy and mommy loves him and turn around and walk out.

I love that they have a kindergarten ONLY playground and a kindergarten ONLY pick up/drop off. I am not loving the fact that I believe he will be the ONLY white child in his classroom... WELCOME TO NEW MEXICO! But thank goodness I dont have to take him to RGE the dreaded school he is technically zoned to go to right now.

Here is the update on our house

This is on the kindergarten playground. HE IS STOKED because its a fire truck!

They are preparing for the stucco!

This is the "netting" stuff they put up before stucco

YAHOO! 800 Creekside Ave.

Another view

PS our house is 7/10 of a mile from the school, that makes me happy ; )