Home Improvement

After over a year of having around 12 paint samples painted on my kitchen wall, I finally picked a color. Note that the color I picked was NOT one of the 12 to 13. It was crazy. I just couldn't find a color that sat right with me until I saw this. So we finally have no dirty hand prints or crayon on the wall after 8 years of kids and 12 years of living here. I was very excited.



My fantastic handy hubby put in the new wood floor. We wanted to get it in before my inlaws arrived for Jordan's baptism. Scott stayed up until 4am one night and finished within two days after that. My previous floor was disgustingly ugly and I couldn't get it clean any longer. SO happy about this floor!!!! We still have the counter tops to replace and the butcher block to refinish but it looks SO much better. Can't wait for it to be done!

Double duty for the Tooth Fairy

Kasey has had a loose tooth for awhile now. His first tooth. Jordan lost his first one long before this age, so Kasey was quite anxious to have it fall out. So, while G & G Gooch were visiting, Kasey decided to brave Daddy's efforts to yank out the tooth. I must say, he was quite daring and didn't seem at all nervous. Unfortunately, the mission failed with no visit from the tooth fairy that night.



The very next day; however, Kasey came speeding up the driveway from the bus with a HUGE smile on his face. The tooth came out at school. I missed it! I missed Jordan's first tooth adventure as well due to the fact that he was sleeping over my brothers house the night he lost it. Oh well. He was so proud to show me the tooth in a zip lock bag and VERY anxious to get it under his pillow, and to fall asleep fast so he could collect! BUT, the story doesn't end with a single gap as he's sporting in this picture.....



Monday night, as I was drying Kasey off with a towel after his bath, I accidentally caught the other somewhat wiggly tooth next to the one he lost in the towel and it ripped it out of his mouth....OUCH!!! Dumb mommy, Poor Kasey. Once the bleeding stopped; however, he was sure to take note of the financial opportunity to get another visit from the tooth fairy in less then 7 days.

Here he is sporting the double gap! Kasey still can't pronounce his R's (and it's not the RI accent). So, it's actually quite funny listening to him talk with the lack of R sound AND the lisp he's now acquired. Lol.

Jordan's Baptism Weekend

My little boy got baptized this past weekend. Can I just say that it was a WONDERFUL day.? The spirit was strong and my heart was filled with feelings of gratefulness and wonder for my little boy. He has grown to be a sensitive, handsome, loving, happy boy and we are so blessed to have him in our family.


One thing that made the day wonderful was the presence of family. I am so blessed to have both set of grandparents still on this earth to share this special day with us...and I KNOW that it meant the world to Jordan to have them there. Because my parents health is not the best, Jordan has asked me many times if my mom and dad were going to be around for his baptism. He wanted them to be there more than anything. Thanks for all your support mom and dad.



Scott's parents were able to fly from Arizona to share in Jordan's special weekend. Jordan hasn't seen them in over a year and was waiting on pins and needles for them to get off the plane after the snow storm that hit the day before. Can you see the huge smile on Jordan's face in this picture and the one above? He loves his Nana and Papa, Grandma and Grandpa SO much.



The weeks prior to this weekend were stressful for mom with so much to take care of, but I had the help of so many of you all. A HUGE thank you goes out to all of you who helped in ANY way to ease my mind and help things run smoothly.



I didn't get to catch all of my family in a photo, but there were many family members there to share and support Jordan in his special day. I love all my family and I know Jordan does too. He would rather play with this cousins than anyone. He was so excited to get a sports jacket to wear for the baptism. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of him in it where you could see up close. But he said he "wanted to look like daddy" so we got him a special jacket and tie. He looked SO handsome!!!




After the baptism, we went to go play laser tag for Jordan's birthday party. He had friends from church, school and family there. We had a TON of fun playing laser tag...adults included.


Some of the kids at the laser party.



Scott's parents stayed until Tuesday morning, so I took the kids out of school, daddy took the day off work and we spent the day at Point Judith. I'm not kidding when I tell you it was absolutely freezing!!!! The wind was whipping and the water was raging. Kudos to Gary who braved the rocks, cold and wind while not feeling all that great. I know what it's like to not feel well but to push through it for the sake of others and that's just what he did for my kids.



It was so cold, even Kasey wanted to go back early. This from a boy who wants to play in the snow for hours. I even had wind burn on my face when I got home. BUT, we did find some cool rocks and got to see the lighthouse. Can you see it behind Sharee and Scott?



After we left the beach, we went to eat at a place called the "Coastguard House" in Narragansett, RI. An American tradition since 1945 the Coast Guard House has been synonymous with serving the freshest of seafood with spectacular waterfront atmosphere. The center of the restaurant was originally built as a life saving station for the U.S. Life Saving Service what is presently known as the United States Coast Guard; in 1945 an addition was built to transform it to a very unique seasonal oceanfront restaurant.


Grandpa Gooch had specific requests for lunch.....he wanted the most lobster and shellfish he could get. After speaking to the waitress about this request, we had crab cakes, lobster bisque, clam chowder, fish and chips, a fish sandwich, shrimp linguini and shrimp cocktail. Yummy!!!





The scenery was BEAUTIFUL at this restaurant. We had a table right next to the window, right on the shore.



The night before Sharee and Gary left, my kids didn't want to go to bed. They snuggled with Grandma and Grandpa and even had them laying in their beds with them before they fell asleep. Gary and Sharee said they had a great time and I'm so glad. They even got to see Jordan's award ceremony for basketball and Scott's soccer game.

Once again, I am so thankful to ALL those who helped make this weekend special for Jordan. Thank you to Maline and Alan who traveled from NYC the morning of the baptism to give a talk/prayer and so Jordan could have his NYC cousins there with him. Thank you to G & G for flying out to RI. Thanks to all who participated in the service and party and helped behind the scenes. REALLY it meant SO much to me. Thank you all for making Jordan's day great. When I asked him how his weekend was he said "IT WAS GREAT".

I'm thankful to my father and Gary who gave their testimonies and Scott's beautiful confirmation that kept the spirit strong during the service. After the first song, Jordan was blinking his eyes trying to fight the tears. He told me "mommy, I almost cried during the song." I told him that that was a good thing and that what he was feeling was the Holy Ghost. It gave me butterflies in my stomach to know that he was so close to the spirit.

Jordan, we are so proud of you and your decision to be baptized. You were saved for these latter days because of your valiant spirit. You will always be my little miracle on earth. You have taken the first step to eternal happiness. We love you SO much.

JORDAN turns 8

Today my not so little boy turns 8. Can it be he is 8 already? As the years go by I am having trouble remembering Jordan was ever this small. He was always a happy baby and very curious. ALWAYS into everything and always laughing. When he was born he had the roundest little head, the biggest cheeks and the cutest little button nose. He was perfect.




Jordan loves to explore and ask questions about everything. He loves to play outside and go camping. He likes to play basketball and ride his bike.





He's also a goofball. He loves being silly and making people laugh.




During the summers Jordan's hair gets really light. It's now getting browner at the years go by but his eyes are still a cool green/grey color. Either way, he's one of the cutest boys in the world to me. I love his smile.




Jordan still loves to snuggle and is very concerned about making mommy feel loved. When his brother gets a little snippy with me he's always telling Kasey to "be nice to mommy". When going through breast cancer this year, he was very concerned for my well being. He's a very sensitive boy.




He loves to make friends and try new things.




Jordan loves to swim. He loves the beach. He loves to ride the waves, build in the sand and he usually stays in the water almost the whole time we are ever at a beach or pool.



He's still into , science, space, oceanography, dinosaurs, legos and is still creative. He's a little artist. Basically, Jordan loves to learn how things work in the world. He appreciates the "little" things and that's one of the many things I love about him.




I love this picture because it makes me stop and take a good look at my little boy. The freckles on his nose, his handsome features, the sweetness of his spirit.




This is Jordan this morning after opening his gifts from mommy and daddy. He got his first set of nice scriptures....green of course. He's been waiting for these for a long time and is excited to bring them to church. Jordan gets baptized this Saturday. I'm more nervous then he is. I can't believe he's old enough to be baptized. We're so proud of him and love the boy he's becoming.

There's so many things I could say about Jordan, but then this post would be VERY long. We're SO lucky Heavenly Father let him come to our family.
Happy birthday my little miracle. We love you.!!!

Blue and Gold Dinner

Jordan had his Blue and Gold Dinner for scouts this year this past Friday. Our den was in charge of getting it up and going. Our den leader Jason did a great job. Here is Jordan's troop bringing in the colors and flag. Of course Jordan lost his hat right before this so he's the odd man out. They looked so grown up compared to last year.



Here is Jordan and his Den earning their Wolf Badge.



We then had a laser light show and a dance. All the kids were out there shaking it. Jordan and Kasey were out there the whole time and I have to say that Kasey was really bringing it. He even thinks he can break dance. It was so funny to watch.


Last event of the night was the limbo. It was a real struggle for the taller kids of course. The prize was a marshmellow shooter which Jordan REALLY wanted. He just didn't have a chance against the shorter kids but he lasted pretty long. It was a fun night and the kids loved it.

GO PATS!!!!!

It's Patriots Day at School today..wooo hooooo! GO PATS! LET'S GO STEP ON SOME GIANTS!!!!!!

Pinewood Derby 2012

Once again the pinewood derby was a blast for the kids. We were there bright and early during the middle of snowstorm. Our first of the year. Jordan and Kasey with a close up view of the action.




Some of Jordan's Den



Jordan's friend Jason praying to the Gods of the Pinewood to make his car come in first.


Jordan awaiting his race to start.


Kasey wanted to join the siblings race this year so Scott helped him build a car. He was very excited. Scott worked REALLY hard on the cars with the boys. Unfortunately, Jordan didn't place this year...but he took the disappointment VERY well. Scott however, was the one upset. It's that Gooch competitive drive he has. Plus, he worked so hard. BUT, we have many more derbys coming down the line. We'll be back next year with a vengance! ha.