Brag on Marley!!!

Well this past week was "back to school night" for the girls. I got to meet both girls teachers. I'm happy with their teachers and the girls seem to enjoying them as well :D

At the back to school night, I was given Marley's TCAP Report. For those of you who don't know what TCAP is, it's Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program Achievement Test. (The really big test about 2/3rd of the way into the year)
Anyway...

Marley did AWESOME!!!!
Her scores were pretty high.
Reading/Lang. Arts she scored 512 with a possible high of 640.
Below is how it's broken down.
(her score:score needed for proficient:score needed for advanced)
1.Content (83:36:68)
2.Meaning (92:35:78)
3.Vocab (93:39:82)
4.Writing/Organization (89:37:79)
5.Writing/Process (79:38:70)
6.Grammar/Conventions (81:36:68)
7.Techniques and Skills(88:48:79)

Math she scored 503 the highest possible is 630 lowest possible was 310.
same deal with the numbers (hers:proficient:advanced)
1.Number Sense/Theory (92:53:84)
2.Computation (98:82:96)
3.Algebraic Thinking (89:58:79)
4.Real World Prob. Solving (94:37:76)
5.Data Analysis and Probability (89:31:69)
6.Measurement (86:55:80)
7.Geometry (95:73:90)

In Social Studies she scored 210. The highest possible was 280 the lowest possible was 120.

In Science she scored 206. The highest possible score is 280 and the lowest is 120.

She is easily Proficient/Advanced for each of these as well.

She told me that in school they were divided into rotating math classes based on the scores from the TCAP. She was told she was "in the advanced class because of TCAP scores" She was so ecstatic to think her scores were that high! It really made her feel validated for all her hard work.

*high five* Marley!!!!
You Rock!!!



I do not have Kaleigh's scores to be able to report how she did. I know she did her best, and tried really hard. She gets an awesome *high-five* too!!!

What Disney Princess Are You?

My friend has this on her blog so I thought I'd see What Disney Princess I am...

You Are Snow White!

Pure and trusting. You are a gentle soul who can get along with just about anyone. Everyone you meet instantly falls in love with you. How can they resist? You have a pure, lovable nature that's irresistable. Just don't trust everyone who comes across your path.

Which Disney Princess Are You?

Let's VOTE!!!

Ok, so here's the deal...
Mike gets a rather substantial bonus (between $4400 and $6600) next month. We're really trying hard to figure out what to do with it. We're bouncing some options around.
We've already saved $10K for a down payment on our first house so adding this extra is help there maybe for those little things needed when you get to a new house! :)

Mike has promised me a piano. I found a grand piano that I absolutely love...the feel the sound...aaahhhhh (music to my ears) :D AND it's in our budget!! or the cheaper alternative, get the upright. Either way...a piano is a "need" at this point, and the only question we're working on now is the "when"? I could get the piano now. So many ways to go with this! There will be another good amount of money (12% of his yearly income) in the spring for this if we put all this to the house now. I WILL GET MY PIANO!!! like I said, it's just WHEN?!!!

We could just save it! We currently are about a month ahead of ourselves! (basically this months checks go into savings to be used for next months expenses) I'm thinking Saving it for Christmas money or Vacation Money :D Once again...many ways this could go...Not sure yet what we're thinking as far as "savings" goes.


Another option...Once some "certain" family members decide if they're heading out this way to venture in Ph.D. world...they might need a bit of assistance ;) you know who you are! This only applies if you move to TN :D or at least swing by on your way past!

So, there you have it. Some of our Southern Ponderin's Maybe you can help us out! Leave me a comment with your suggestions...we'd love to hear what you have to say!
Only...don't tell us to give you the money...cuz well...we WON'T!!! ;)

What??? NO TV???

Hi everybody!
I took my Sister-in-Law's challenge to find something we could do without for a month! Yes... I chose the TV!!! It came as quite an easy decision for a few reasons...

1- It was on ALL day and almost ALL night! (some days I think it was on from midnight to midnight...I kid you not!)

2- There was nothing of real value on!

3- When my kids were seated in front of the tv, they would talk through me to the tv.

These were the top 3 reasons...I'm sure there were other factors ;)

Anyway...
We allowed 1 dvd a day...yes there were somedays where that 1 dvd was replayed 3 or 4 times back to back... (4 kids need something to do on mucky days or days over 100 and I was busy cleaning)

I dare say we've hardly noticed the LACK of tv! Our evenings have been spent having quality family time. We've been reading the scriptures every night with the girls...(all their doing) and we haven't had to wait for this show or that show to be over! We don't miss what we don't know about...right???

We've turned most of our evenings into fun family time...aka FHE everynight! Really we just do the formal lesson and activity once a week. We've done fun things like...Name that Rock Star...where mike will play random songs and the girls have to guess who is singing the song...(that's one of Mike's favorite games to play :S not mine!)The girls are REALLY good at it too!

We've had dancing competitions...or dance nights... the girls show off their groovy moves, then it rolls over into "when I your age the worm was popular" or "When I was your age the running man doing the cabbage patch was the dance! So needless to say, that Mike and I had to show off our ages and prove we could still do the dances...him the worm...me...the cabbage patch running man... :$ shudder shudder shudder!

Anyway...MOVING right along!!!! I expect to have many more fun times. I don't know when we'll re-instate the tv. I kinda like it.

Thanks Linda for the inspiration!
What's next? the internet??? j/k!!! I absolutely couldn't follow through with that one!

School Uniforms

Well this year at school the girls are required to wear uniforms. It has been a chore to find what we needed in the right size. I finally found what I thought would work. I had to order it online without the girls getting to try anything on before hand. Kinda not fun!

Anyway...I ordered their clothes on August 1st and all looked well because it said "usually ships in 24 hrs" Looks can be deceiving! The order receipt showed deliver between Sept. 5th and 25th. WAY too late for school! It starts next monday the 11th. I was racked with anxiety because I didn't know whether I should change the order to be 2 day express delivery or just leave it regular. I ended up calling the online number to see what they thought I should do. We decided to leave it regular shipping as it was free and not an extra $45! I've been online checking my email regularly (every hour or so) to check for the delivery notification email. It finally showed up on the 5th. *sigh of relief* Well, then I had to keep watching my email to track the package. It finally showed up tonight at 7:00 pm!!!

Here's what the girls will look like going to school this year!
(sorry in advance for the blurry pictures)





The girls will be wearing navy blue pants or khaki pants with either a red white or blue polo shirt. They have a white sweater for use when it's cool in the class room.
The girls are pretty excited about the dresses! They're actually going to wear them to church on Sunday :D
It was amazing how grown up both the girls looked in the uniforms! Where did the time go?
I have 2 young ladies not kids!

Tag!!!

1. What is your occupation right now?
Arnold Inc., CEO (SAHM)

2. What color are your socks right now?
in sandals

3. What are you listening to right now?
Bom Bom Bom by Living things (Pontiac Commercial)

4. What was the last thing that you ate?
Smacks breakfast cereal

5. Can you drive a stick shift?
yes but haven't for years

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone?
I talk on the phone? I text more than talk!

7. Do you like the person who tagged you?
Love her

8. How old are you today?
still 29 for a couple more weeks!

9. What is your favorite sport to watch?
anything as long as injuries don't occur while I'm watching

10. What is your favorite drink?
Lemon Water

11. Have you ever dyed your hair?
Never

12. Favorite food?
hmmm Hawaiian Haystacks :D

13. What was the last movie you watched?
Princess Diaries 1&2 (with my kids)

14. Favorite day of the year?
Every day I wake up!

15. How do you vent anger?
Silent treatment, distance myself, write in my journal

16. What was your favorite toy as a child?
my raggedy ann doll my grandma made for me

17. What is your favorite season?
Spring and Fall (cool and pretty)

18. Cherries or Blueberries?
Do I really have to decide? Both if they're fresh, if canned neither.

19. Do you want your friends to play along?
If they really have nothing better to do and want to.

20. Who is the most likely to respond?
those who are bored or want to

21. Who is least likely to respond?
those who have something better to do or don't want to

22. Living arrangements?
me and my family together under one roof!

23. When was the last time you cried?
When I watch the Emma Smith movie

24. What is on the floor of your closet?
boxes of things waiting for me to decide what stays and what goes.

25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are Tagging?
hmmm not sure... It might be YOU!!!

26. What did you do last night?
Read scriptures, made peanut butter cookies with the girls, had a dance off listening to different types of music with the girls, watched some skateboarding stunts on Youtube of Rodney Mullen.

27. What inspires you?
Quiet moments, stillness, wilderness, music, my kids, my husband, and reading scriptures

28. What are you most afraid of?
My girls will grow up with a distorted image of themselves being worried about their weight etc.

29. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers?
Cheese but some spice doesn't hurt either

30. Favorite dog breed?
Beagle Hound


31. Favorite day of the week?
Wednesdays or Thursdays because those r my hubby's days off and we get to spend time together while the girls are at school.

32. How many states have you lived in?
2 UT, and TN

Now I TAG....
Debbie, Lee, and Linda...and anybody else who thinks they want to answer it too!

Kaleigh gets Glasses!

It turns out that Kaleigh is FAR sighted. She needs the glasses for classroom work and homework, or anything that requires close up vision. We'll see how it goes. She picked them out all on her own. She likes them and as long as she wears them when she needs then we'll be fine!

(Turns out Marley doesn't need glasses at this point...we'll have to keep an eye on her astigmatism)

Haircuts Galore!

Well, the time has come for school to start, and well, that means getting new everything right???

I thought I'd spoil my school girls rotten this year since they have to wear uniforms to school, and get their haircut fancy!



So, these are the "Back to School" styles my girls are sporting this year :D
These Pictures are not the greatest, I'm going to have to take some better ones later :)

If you click on the title for this post it will take you to the blog/salon website of the stylist who did them for us. Her name is Lila!
Thank You Lila the girls LOVE them!!!

It's a GIRL!!!!

Congratulations Jared and Emily!!!
Jared and Emily are the proud parents of
Baby Jeanie Lynn Reece
Born July 30, 2008 10:02 pm
Weighing 6 lbs. 3 oz.
and measuring 19 inches long!

Mom and baby are doing just fine!!!
No words yet as to how her big brother is handling all this excitement...but I think he's happy too!