New Chore System

With the start of a new school year, we have organized ourselves a bit more and have started a new chore system. We have our chore chart that we made a while back pictured below. Every time the kiddos get something marked off, they get 1 point. After 10 points are accumulated, they get a Wii/Video Buck, also pictured below, that they can "spend" on 10 minutes worth of video time. That includes Wii, computer, or DS games. So far it is working great. They have a wonderful incentive to get their chores done and then they get to learn how to budget their spending, because of they want to be able to play video games, they need to make sure they have enough "bucks."

Here is the chore chart...

With the 6 kids, each child has their own color. There is a list of things they need to do each day to include make bed, clean room, "chore" which is blank and I can write in the chore for that day with a dry erase marker, a "help mom" space where I can again write something extra for them to do, homework, read, and brush teeth, family scripture/prayer, and personal scripture/prayer. The more things they do each day on their lists, the more points they earn each day. They can spend their Wii bucks only on Friday nights or Saturdays, so they have all week to save up for video game time.

This is a picture of the page full of Wii/Video Bucks that I designed. I just printed off a few pages worth and cut them up into individuals. We then made little pockets that go next to the Chore chart and when they earn their bucks, they go in the pocket for later use.

As you can see, their are chores written on each of their chore spots. These chores include things like Garbage, dishes, vacuum, puppy chores (feeding, taking for walk, outside to go potty etc), set table for meals, clear table after meals, sweep, mop, bathroom sinks, etc. Each day they get a different one. I rotate the "easy" ones between the little kids and the harder ones between the bigger kids. Also, you can see that each one has a few Wii/Video bucks peaking out of their pockets ready for use.

So far it is working out great. I think this is one that we can keep up with. We tried doing different things, but most of the "rewards" ended up being things we have to spend money on, but this is something that is free for us, we already have all of it, etc. It is also a great way to make them earn time to spend on Video games as well as "limit" their usage of video games.

BASEBALL 2011

Here are just a ton of photos for the start of baseball season 2011. SYSA has been fun to do over the last few years and this year just adds another fun experience for us. Daniel gets to play for the first time this year and he sure is having a great time. Abigail and Daniel are on the same team, T-ball. Noah is on a coach pitch team. Jacob is in the 9-10 year old division. They are having a great time.

Snook Starting Line Up

This is Abi and Daniel's team all together

SUNSHINE, Daniel Snook

what a cutie pie

Getting ready to hit the ball

Doesnt really look like he is having any fun at all does it :0)

Sometimes those accident pictures turn out the best. Not sure how I got this shot above, but I absolutely love it.

He was so excited to make it to base.

Just having a ball!

He made a good play here and stopped the ball. Has some good looking form there throwing it back to the pitcher.

Abi and Daniel were on the same team. Here are a few pics of them working together!

Abi had a lot of fun last year and was so excited to get to play again this year. Her batting form is looking pretty good.

But she still has some work to do in the outfield. Most of the time we find her dancing around to the princess song playing in her head. LOL.

But she can get in there and get to the ball! And she is not afraid to take a beating to make the play! You go ABI!

NOAH has tons of fun and it is such a great outlet for all his pent up energy. This year, he has several classmates on his team, so it is extra fun getting to play with so many friends.

Nice baseball stance Noah!

Hitting it out of the park (or maybe just between 1st and 2nd, but it was a good hit)

Jacob also was very excited to get to play. Here he is showing the kids the proper baseball stance.

Really mom! Why so many pictures :0)

He got to pitch for the first time and did pretty good. He got a strike out, which made him feel pretty great. It is a hard position and he has some work to do, but he really liked it so we will have to keep working with him.

The kids sure enjoy this every year. I am so glad that we have something so affordable for them to enjoy. It allows us all to get out and have fun every Tues/Thurs and keeps them busy for at least a few months of the summer. Here's to a great Baseball Season 2011.

Abigail Kindergarten Graduation

Our little Abigail graduated from Kindergarten! I cannot believe how big these kids are getting and how fast time is just flying by. She is very excited for 1st grade and to have Daniel in school with her next year when he starts Kindergarten.

Here are some pics for your enjoyment.

She got to come over and say hi when we arrived. She was so happy to see us.

Her class did their typical morning schedule to show us what they have done for the last year. Video will follow of the songs they sang.

Here she is after her little program with diploma in hand. We got her some flowers and she was so very happy. She is definitely a girly-girl and enjoys getting flowers, especially from her Daddy! She made lots of friends and had tons of fun in kindergarten. I cant wait to see what the next 12 years of school bring for this little girl!

Here she is with her teacher, Mrs. Landis. She was a great teacher and Abi had lots of fun with her and all the friends she made.

Congratulations Abi! We love you. This year was a great one and I know you will have many more wonderful years of school ahead of you!

Our new addition

We are so excited to announce the arrival of .......

OREO

Everyone is very excited to have such a cute little guy join our family. He is just so precious and we all love him tons already!.

and I think he is getting use to all of us as well

Happy Birthday to ME! I have been telling the kids and James for about 6 months now that I wanted a puppy and "teasing" them when they asked me what I wanted for Christmas, Valentines day, and my birthday. I didnt actually think it would happen. James surprised me last night and I couldnt be happier with his choice of puppies. This is the exact one I have always wanted. Thank you so much. So far, I am sleep deprived from being woken up by cute little puppy squeaks every 2 hours last night and keeping Jameson away from him is proving to be a chore in and of itself, but he is just so CUTE that it is all worth it. So, welcome to the newest member of our family! Oreo, we are glad to have you with us, I hope you can survive the love and affection that will be thrown at you by 6 very excited kids.

Rejection

It is a hard thing. I try to stay upbeat and happy, but it still hurts! Unfortunately, I did not get accepted into the nursing program this time around. I am saddened and my heart hurts a bit, but I will survive this. I can reapply in September/October, which gives me time to retake a few classes and get better grades. This will only bring my GPA up and make me look that much better on paper so maybe next time they will give me a chance. We will see, I will keep you updated. For now, I must concentrate on my current workload and keep on swimming.

Tyler's testimony

Yesterday was Fast Sunday at Church. Tyler always amazes me that he is brave enough to get up in front of the whole congregation to bear his testimony. Yesterday he had such a good testimony that I wanted to write it down so that I do not forget it.

He has been doing a science experiment with Brine Shrimp. they have a few different batches going and are testing the correct environment for the shrimp to grown in. One is not enough salt, one is too much salt, and one is just right. Anyway, he got up and told about the experiment and how it reminded him that he needs to have the best environment to grow his testimony as well.

It was such a sweet, short, and true statement that it struck many people yesterday. I had quite a few people after church tell me how much they enjoyed his testimony. Words of truth from this young man!

I cant believe how big he is getting, how mature he is, and how much of a help he is to all of us. Love you Tyler.

Non-napping 2 year old

So, lately Jameson has been ON-THE-GO. He literally never stops and gets into this, that, and everything else. This afternoon, he was just so tired. You could see it in his eyes. he was also very cranky (as we all know crankiness comes with tiredness)!

James tried to put him down for a nap, to no avail. We have tried everything. He now knows how to climb over the gate, kick out the bottom gate if we double gate his door, gets out of his bed, etc, etc, etc. Getting him to bed at night and down for a nap has been a challenge for a while now.

Today, James decided that he just NEEDED his nap, but since he was refusing to cooperate on his own, a little bit of force was needed. ;0) This is how you "wrangle" a very active 2 year old and get him to fall asleep. It took about 10 minutes. He fought for a bit, but pretty soon we were hearing some pretty load little zzzzzzzz's coming from the lil man.

Notice how his lil feet are poking out from between the backs of Jim's legs and how Jim pretty much has him in a locking bear hug. LOL! Love the boy to peices, but boy has he proven to be a handful. Good thing he is so darn cute, especially in peaceful (finally) slumber.