I'm a Proud Mommy :)

Here's Allyson's Kindergarten report card and her score from her recent DIBELS test she took at school ...




I'm sure you can all read the DIBELS score, but in case you can't read the report card, here are her grades:

Homeroom: 100%
Reading: 98.57%
Math: 95.51%

She's in an advanced group for her reading and her math and she still got these awesome grades! She tries so hard and does so well in school. She never complains when it's time to do her homework. She frequently brings her homework to me and says she wants to do it. At the beginning of the year she needed me to help her along til she got the hang of it, but now she reads all of the directions on her worksheets by herself and does it all by herself. I just sit next to her and watch most of the time and occasionally help, when needed. Reading is her favorite. She reads at an advanced 1st grade level and will soon be reading at a beginning 2nd grade level (according to the "Reading A-Z correlation chart" that her school uses).

I'm so proud of my little girl! :')

We went out last Saturday to celebrate. We originally wanted to go to Trafalga, but David got home a lot later from working on the house than expected, so we decided we would probably be better off doing something else that night. I really wanted to do something out of the norm from what we usually do, but was having a really hard time thinking of anything. The only thing I could come up with was Chuck e Cheese's and I was NOT happy about it. I remembered that she asked to go to Chuck e Cheese's several times after we went there for her cousins birthday party a while back. So, despite how much I HATE Chuck e Cheese's, I asked her if she wanted to go and she was super excited about it ... so we went.

Now, let me explain why I hate Chuck e Cheese's.

I've been there twice in my life. The first time was for my niece's birthday party a lot of years ago at the Orem location. My first thought when walking in the doors was, "wow, it's REALLY dark in here." Definitely not the fun, bright, happy place I would expect out of a kids party place. There was a small play area for the kids and a fair amount of arcade games, but not a whole lot. And let's not forget the CREEPIEST LOOKING DANCING/SINGING CHARACTERS I'VE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE!!!! And to top it all off, the mouse (I assume his name is Chuck?) was missing his head!!! It was sitting in a bucket on the floor next to his feet. Now, imagine a bunch of creepy looking characters dancing and singing under poor lighting in a dark dungeon-like place with one of it's creepy friends sitting on stage with them, with it's head sitting in a bucket. Seems like something you'd see in a horror film or a really bad nightmare or something, right?!!! I think I'm lucky I left that place alive that night.

I took the liberty of photo shopping this picture, so you could better envision this frightful sight ...



(That picture was taken at the location by the South Towne Mall, so it doesn't look nearly as creepy as it did that night at the Orem location)

The second time I went to Chuck e Cheese's was for my other niece's birthday party (at the Orem location again). Luckily, all of the character's had their heads attached that time - but still a super creepy place. And Katelyn came off of the play place with her pants soaked from her knees on down from crawling through who-knows-what in the tunnel (I'm sure your imaginations can tell you what it likely could have been ... I know mine was).

So that's why I hate Chuck e Cheese's.

I decided that if we were going to go there to celebrate Allyson's grades, that we had to go to the location by the South Towne Mall. I refused to go to the Orem location. I was hopeful that it would be a little better than the one in Orem, but I certainly didn't expect that it really would be.

To my surprise, it was a BILLION times better than the Orem location!!

It was well lit and bright and cheerful and fun looking and had a much bigger play area and more arcade games and had great pizza and was ALMOST completely not creepy (sorry, those dancing characters have really got to go, IMO). We had a lot of fun and I can honestly say I would take my kids there again - and not just when I have to for someone's birthday party.

Now, I have to brag about Allyson again.

She has INCREDIBLE aim. She was playing this game ...



She kept getting the ball in the 6 point bucket (the highest scoring bucket you can get it in) over and over and over again. Unfortunately, the first time she finished up a round of 6 pointers, she discovered the machine she was using was out of tickets. She wasn't too thrilled about that, lol.

Allyson gets this super serious, concentrated look on her face when she tries to aim when playing anything that requires a ball. Here's that face ...



I seriously think basketball or softball (or both) is going to be her "thing". Last summer we bought a little kids plastic t-ball set to play with at the park with the kids. The first time we pulled it out, we tried to show Allyson how to use it and she REFUSED to hit the ball if it was on the "T". She wanted us to pitch it to her. We told her it would be too hard to do that until she gets some practice hitting the ball on the "T". She still refused to use it. So, thinking I would prove to her how impossible it would be to hit the ball, I pitched it to her. And she hit it!! I thought maybe it was a fluke, so I kept pitching it to her and she kept hitting it!!! And they were really good hits, too!

I think she has some pretty impressive skills going on for a girl who doesn't practice throwing balls in baskets, or hitting balls with bats at home. I'm excited for summer to come so we can practice doing more of that kind of stuff with her.

Here are some more pics from our fun night ...









I looked at Chuck e Cheese's website before we left to see their hours and came across a thing that said they give free tokens to kids with good report cards. So, we brought her report card with us. She was SO excited to show it to EVERYBODY. After we were done eating we pulled out her report card so she could go get her free tokens. She stopped EVERY person on our way up to the register to tell them she got good grades and to show them her report card, lol ... it took us a while to actually make it to the register, haha. :)





We had lots of fun! :)

I've decided that the Easter bunny needs to bring me one of these ...




We lost our point and shoot camera on a vacation a couple summers ago. Since then we've been using my D40 dslr as our "point and shoot". It has an automatic setting and it's a lot smaller and lighter than my REALLY nice camera. I've found that I actually really like using it as a point and shoot. If I knew I could get as nice of pictures out of a smaller, pocket sized camera - I would have gotten one by now, but I have yet to find one that can do as well as my D40. The draw back is that it can't really fit inside my purse, so I have to always carry around a separate camera bag everywhere I go if I want to take nicer pictures than what my camera phone can take. Which is why I want this purse. It gives me the best of both worlds - I can carry all of my purse items in it AND put my camera in it AND have it be well protected AND I don't have to carry around two separate bags.

I'd still like to get a smaller, more pocket sized point and shoot for taking pictures at places that I don't want to carry a purse around with me for (like at the Boyce Avenue Concert in March). Maybe The Easter Bunny, Cupid, The Anniversary Fairy, and the Mother's Day Fairy can combine forces and make something work so I can get my camera purse and a pocket sized point and shoot. (hint, hint) ;)

P.S.
Our door came. We're THRILLED with how it turned out! :)

Helmet, Quilt, Party, and a Story

Lots to share today! :)

First off, we now have our very own BYU linebacker in the family! His name is Kyler Kasperson (A.K.A., Ky Ky, Ky Babe, Tubby Bubbers, Chubby Chunkers, Chunky Monkey, Beautiful Boy, etc., etc. ... I'm sure you've heard of him - he's quite famous).



Oh, and he's not just your average player. Check out what he's sporting on the side of his helmet ...



That's right!! I'm sure all you BYU fans out there are feeling pretty jealous right about now! ;)

He'll be joining the team for about 3-4 months. He has a flat spot on the back of his head that he's had since birth. It was caused from the way he sat in the womb. The doctor had us doing special stretches on his neck for months, and although it's helped his flat spot get better, it hasn't completely fixed it like we'd hoped it would. Katelyn had the same problem, but the stretches worked great for her.

The helmet doesn't seem to bother him much and I think he looks rather cute in it ... especially since Grandpa Kasperson took the time to decorate it in BYU stickers. Thanks Grandpa! :) I'm just grateful that there's a way to fix it and that insurance covered it 80% (those things are EXPENSIVE!!).

I FINALLY finished the binding on Kyler's quilt this last week! It's been hanging over a chair in our room haunting me for about 10 months now. It only took me a couple hours to finish it, too, haha. It's done now and that's all that matters, right?



I pulled out the camera on Sunday and took a few shots of Kyler with his new favorite blanket. Isn't he adorable?! I just LOVE his squishy little self! Just looking at these pictures makes me want to go hold him and squeeze him and kiss his chubby wittle cheeks!!!






Katelyn turned 3 last weekend, so we had the family up for dinner and a party on Saturday to celebrate. Lots of fun!








Notice the sad looking balloons in the pictures? David went to Walmart just before the party started because we needed a few things - including balloons. They told him at the store to buy a pack of balloons and then go to where the tanks are and they would fill them up ... so he did. Only to find out that all of their helium tanks were empty. :/ There wasn't time to go to another store and Katelyn was so excited about having balloons ... so we improvised. She didn't miss balloons that actually float AT ALL. I love that 3 year olds are so easy to please! ... well, sometimes anyway. haha :)

Which brings me to the story ...

So, David went to Walmart to pick up some things before the party. When he's at the check out counter and they tell him what it all costs, he goes to grab his wallet and realizes ... oops! Forgot it at home. :/ By this point the party was about to start and if he came home to get his wallet, went back to the store, and then back home again it would make him really late to the party. He asks the checker if he can just give her the credit card number to pay, even though the actual card wasn't there. She said, "no". At that point a man walks up next to him, swipes his card and pays for the whole bill without saying a word.

David. Was. Mortified.

He told the man not to pay for it. He said he would just go home and get his wallet. He explained that we're doing just fine financially, and we really don't NEED him to pay for our groceries. He told him his wife would DIE if she found out that someone else paid for our bill (and yes, I would die if I found that out) ... long story short, they went back and forth about it and the man INSISTED on paying. He simply smiled and said, "I'm a lot bigger than you and I'm paying for it. Just pay it forward to someone else someday."

So, David thanked him and left with our $45 worth of groceries.

Now, when David first told me this story all I could think about was how EMBARRASSING it was that someone else had paid for our groceries. I asked him if anybody we knew was around to witness it - he didn't think that there was ... ("thank goodness", was my thought).

I told David that he needs to start shaving more often and wearing nicer clothes, because he looked pretty homeless that day. I was certain the man had paid for him because he thought that David LOOKED like he needed the money.

It continued to be on my mind the rest of the night ... SO EMBARRASSING!! After everybody had left our house that night, David and I were cleaning up the mess and I silently continued to think about it ... and I started to think about it a little bit differently after a while ...

I thought about the man who had paid the bill ...
Wow ... that was really kind of him.
... I'm sure he probably feels really great about the fact that he paid someone else's grocery bill ... especially since it was someone who really LOOKED like he needed his bill paid ...(my eyes roll)

Then I thought about us again ...
What if someone we know DID see it happen??
... they probably think terrible things about us now, like - "Look, there's David Kasperson ... no wonder they're building a house, he just lets other people pay for his groceries." ...
... We aren't "needy"! It's terrible those 45 dollars were wasted on us ... they should have been used on somebody else ...

Then it hit me ...

What's so wrong with helping some who could use some help? Why does someone, in my mind, have to be "needy" in order to receive help?

I don't know what all went through this man's head when he decided to pay for David's groceries. Yes, it's possible he thought David was "needy" ... but isn't it also possible that he was just being kind??

While I'm grateful to this man for paying so David could be on time to the party and help me finish preparing dinner, I'm even MORE grateful to him for what he has taught me through this experience ...

So often when performing acts of service, I think we (myself included) tend to search out those we classify as "needy". They are (in our minds) the ones "truly worthy" of receiving our help. Which is true - we should help those people ... but that's only PART of the whole picture ... Regardless of what anyone's current situations in life might be - WE ALL ARE IN NEED OF HELP AT TIMES. We should all be ready and willing to give that help without passing judgements of whether or not they look "needy" or whether or not they look like they are "well off" and should be able to take care of themselves.

I honestly no longer feel embarrassed ... only GRATEFUL. Grateful for the lesson this man has taught me.

I'm SO EXCITED for an opportunity to "pay it forward".

2 Momentous Occasions!

We had 2 really big events happen this week! :)

The most exciting event was Katelyn's birthday!! My baby girl turned 3 years old on Saturday. I'm sure every mom feels this way and has said this, but I just can't believe how fast the time has gone! My sweet, cuddly, mischievous little girl is growing up. :'(

She had a GREAT birthday ... and we all had tons of fun celebrating it with her.

To start her special day off, Katelyn and I went out for some mommy/daughter time together. Just me and her. It was awesome! We've never done that before, so I thought it would be a lot of fun for the both of us. For about the first hour away from her siblings she kept asking me, "Mommy, where's Allyson? Is Allyson coming?" Repeated about 50 times. She added in an occasional, "And Kyler?" But for the most part she just asked about Allyson. She eventually caught on that it was just us and I think completely forgot that Allyson wasn't around the second we walked through the doors of Build a Bear.



She had SO MUCH FUN picking out her bear and all of her bear's accessories.





She got to push the foot pedal to fill her bear up.



The lady had her rub the bears heart on her nose, eyes, and heart ... and kiss it. I'm not really sure what that was all about ... Katelyn looked a little confused herself, but she was a good sport and went along with it all, lol.


Then she got to put the bear's heart in.


And give her an air bath.


And dress her.


And hug her.


I kept asking her what she wanted to name her bear and she kept saying, "Umm, I don't know." So I ... I mean "we", eventually decided to name her "Sprinkles".

After we left she would not let her bear out of her sight. If she was sitting in the stroller, she looked like this the whole time ...

If she was walking around, she insisted on dragging the gigantic box along side her. She refused to let me put the bear in the stroller unless she was in the stroller too ... and the bear had to be placed directly in front of her, not behind her. Oh, Katelyn ... you're such a cutie. :)

After we left Build a Bear I took Katelyn shopping for a cute new outfit. She's never gotten a whole lot of new clothes in her life because she's the second girl in the family ... that means she gets LOTS of hand-me-downs. She LOVES to get dressed up and all girly. In fact, I curled her hair before we left the house and she could not stop hugging me and telling me thank you because she loved her curly hair so much. Then she ran down stairs to go and show her curls off to Daddy, Allyson, and Kyler. We definitely need to be pulling that curling iron out more often ... :)
So, I figured a new, cute outfit would be something that she would like - and I was right! She refused to take the outfit off in the dressing room. She threw quite the fit about it. I finally got the clothes off of her and then she sat on the bench with her arms folded and refused to put her own clothes back on. We had to sit there a minute ... and remind her that we needed to hurry if we wanted to get ice cream. With a lot of convincing, we eventually got her clothes on and got out of there, haha. I'll be doing her 3 year old birthday pictures in that outfit, so you'll get to see pictures of her in it soon! I had planned to do her pictures today after church ... I even got balloons filled late last night so they would still be floating today, but it was too windy by the time we could go out and do them. I wasn't too happy about that ... especially since it's supposed to snow this coming week (grrrrr). But hopefully the weather gets better soon so we can get them done.

Next, we went back home to eat dinner and then we all went out for ice cream together. We went to Sub-zero in American Fork. If you haven't been there, you should try it. Great ice cream and they have couches upstairs with arcade games and a constant flow of the Disney Channel on TV. The kids love it.





And the last thing ... Kangaroo Zoo. I told Katelyn all day long that we would be going there and she was so excited about it. By the time we could get there it was pretty late, and they were going to be closing in 30 minutes ... Just FYI, they still charge full price, even when they're about to close. :/ That's ok though, we all had fun.







This picture makes me laugh!!
"Mom, can we go home yet??"











Happy birthday, Katelyn!! I love you so much!!!!

And the 2nd big event that happened this week ...

I traveled outside of Utah County for the first time in my life without another adult with me. Lame ... I know. But true.
Every time I've ever traveled outside of Utah County, I either had someone with me or was meeting someone I knew at my destination. I also have never traveled further North than Salt Lake or further South than Payson without another person physically in the car with me (or flying somewhere with me). I am a true, authentic, Utah County bubble girl.

David surprised me with a trip to California a couple birthdays ago to go to a photography workshop by myself. He thought it would be a good chance for me to "spread my wings". My mom found out about the trip and booked a flight to come with me. Hahaha! My mommy loves me. :)

Someday I want to try flying somewhere by myself - really I do ... and I just took my first small step towards getting to that point. (I could totally see myself getting lost in the airport and bawling my eyes out, though. Haha)