Les graduated!

What a week this has been!  It was Les' final race to the finish line.  He had three finals.  Two of them were tests and one was a presentation.  The best part was that no matter how bad he did on the tests he would still graduate.  On Tuesday evening was the Order of the Engineer ceremony.  See pictures below.

Saying the oath!

 On Thursday morning the college fed the seniors breakfast and then that night they did senior celebration where they played games to give away prizes.  Saturday morning dawned bright and promising.  This is where we ended up.

 Or at least for a little while.  That is Old Main which was the original building that all classes at USU were held in.  It is a beautiful building with a rich history.  This picture of it was taken Saturday morning.  We started our day in front of it for pictures.

 Our family in front of Old Main.  We are so proud of our husband/father for making it to graduation!

Just the two of us! A kiss for good measure (I am pleased with his achievement.)

The girls are proud of their daddy!

 Les on the "A"!

 Joining him on the "A"!

 Quite a few people came to watch us take pictures and then came to the ceremony.  We are grateful for the support of our friends and family.  Les' Aunt and Uncle, their daughter Sydnie, and grandchildren Tavia, Shalae, and Kayden (infant) came from Les' side of the family.  My parents, brother David, brother Daniel, sister-in-law Jana, nephew Tyler, niece Kailey came from my side.  Our friends that came were Jeff and his twin girls, Ben and Ginger with their two boys. Here are some of the people who came with us.

 Here is the ceremony!  What a handsome man my husband is!

Afterward we headed to our house and had a BBQ in the backyard.  All the food was so good.  And the company was even better.  Les wanted me to make a cake for his graduation in the shape of a urinal with the words, "The last 4 years of my life about to be flushed down the toilet!"  I didn't want to do that but I did give a little consession.  I made cupcakes and decorated his with white chocolateto make it look like a toilet.  Tell me what you think!

 It was a great day!

New Preschool for Khloe

Since Khloe came to live with us it has been very apparent that she would need extra help to communicate.  I have worked very hard to get her to comunicate.  For example, she had a volcabulary of 6 words when she came to live with us.  Now she has a volcabulary of 100 words.  Unfortunately, there is something that I just can't get her to do.  To use it.  I have been very frustrated by this fact for quite some time.  But now I see the purpose behind her not using it.  If it weren't for the fact that she doesn't use it much she wouldn't have gotten into Riverside Preschool.  The reason this is important: Riverside is a Preschool through the school district (=free) that focuses on children that are developmentally delayed.  Not just any child that is developmentally delayed.  They need to be under 5% in their abilities.  I got very conficted when all the scores from her tests were above the 5% mark.  I wanted her in Riverside really bad to give her the help I am unable/unqualified to give her.  At the same time I didn't want her to be so behind that she would need such a place. 

The staff at Riverside went on to explain that Khloe's continuing desire to use grunts and hand gestures over words was concerning.  Combine that with her low MLU(??? it has something to do with how many parts of a sentence she uses.  Kids her age should have a score between 1.9 and 2.4.  She had a 1.4) and they were concerned enough to admit her to the program.  I am relieved that she will be getting this extra help.  Starting next week she will be bused to and from school two days a week.  I hope this will help her out.  At our request they will also do a little stranger danger lesson.  I hope that Khloe (who is way to trusting of a friendly face) will learn something from it.

Now I just need to wait and see if Emma gets into the Bear River Head Start Preschool.  In a year Sammi will transfer automatically from Early Head Start into their preschool.  Until then I am their teacher.  Heaven help them.



School time again!

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Yes. . . or No?

Sometimes I wonder if Emma really understands what I am asking her. She likes to shake her head no to everything I ask her. Maybe it is just me. This morning Les was asking Emma some questions. It went like this (remember that Emma is only using head gestures):

Les: Emma do you want applesauce for breakfast?

Emma: No

Les: Do you want breakfast?

Emma: No

Les: Should Daddy stay home from school today?

Emma: Yes

Times like this I know without a doubt she really understands us. She may not know what everything means but she is learning. She is always amazing me with what she knows.

Emma Collage

So things have been quiet chaotic lately. However, it will all be over tomorrow. I have my final test in Art History and a final critique. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Over a month ago I took a picture of a project I did in my 2 D Design class. It was finally uploaded onto my computer this evening. I am very proud of the work that I did. The assignment was to do a self portrait collage. It didn't have to have your face in it but it did have to tell others something about yourself. Oh I almost forgot that it had to be made out of textures. There isn't anything rough on it but there are several rubbing that I did with charcoal. The other stuff came from the internet. I did a ton of searchs on different textures. Anyway, here it is. What is it telling you about me?
I have included the next one as well because it is taken further back. If you look closely you will see a keyboard at the base of the picture. That should give you an idea of how large this picture is.

June and July (so far)

So it has been a month since my last post. My only excuse is . . . a long story. I will try to keep it short by just doing highlights.
First of all I finished my Photography Class, in which I got an A, and then that weekend we rushed out to Salt Lake to pick up Mom, Dad, and David from the airport. From there we followed them to Myton so that we could hear David speak in church. Boy, what an inspirational talk. Let me rethink that a bit. He barely said anything due to jet lag. He looked aweful. Then Les and I had to rush back to Logan. I started another 4 week class called 2-D Design, I got an A in that one as well, and Les started 2 eight week classes. Let me not forget that Emma's daycare didn't reserve a spot for Emma in the afternoons even though I let them know when she started there that I would be switching from morning to afternoon in a months time. So for the first week Emma stayed with Naila Kaufman while I looked at new daycares and went to class. We found Grandma's Place that Friday and Emma started there the next monday. It has been hard to get anything done lately. I believe it has to do with Emma being switched from two naps a day to one. Not by my choice either. While she is at daycare they do nap time from noon to 2. I didn't start class until 1 so I would drop her off around noon. She had slept in that morning and so did not sleep while she was at the daycare. I sure did get chewed out when I picked her up. From thend on hI had to keep her awake until I dropped her off and also when I picked her up. If I let her sleep after I picked her up she wouldn't sleep well that night. It has been quiet the adjustment for all of us. I desperately miss nap time because that is when I get the most done. Hence my lack of posts.
I finished my second class on July 3rd. That night Les, Emma, Daniel, Tyler, and I headed for Myton for the 4th of July festivities. Oh and to make it better our air conditioning has a short so sometimes it works and sometimes it didn't. Six people in a car with sporatic air conditioning is not the most pleasant thing. Add on top of that Emma hardly sleeping which of course leads to her screaming and trying to wiggle out of her car seat. I had a major headache by the time we got there. We had the BBQ on Friday (the 4th) and that evening headed for the mountains. I didn't actually find out that we were going to the mountains until we got to Myton. I had called Mom and Dad a few days before we left to ask if it would be alright if we pitched a tent in their backyard. So we were prepared, sort of. I had sun block and bug spray but I didn't have a jacket for Emma. I used her blanket to wrap her up while we sat around the campfire. Oh here is some dandy news. While Les and I were setting up our tent Emma found some powder fine dirt to sit in. Not only that but she then proceeded to pick up handful after handful and throw it into her hair and down the back of her neck. I was sooo pleased with that.
We roasted marshmallows and had s'mores that night around the campfire. Les was so worn out that he laid down in our tent and never came back out. The only thing that disturbed his slumber was Ben when had to ask if he could sleep in our tent. I wish Emma had fallen asleep as easily as Les and Ben did. The next morning I woke to what sounded like a scuffle. In fact it was. A herd of cows wandered into the campground. At each campsite there were a half dozen or so cows fighting over whatever was in the firepit. I woke up Les to show him. Shortly after that a cow wandered behind out tent and I watched it lick the side of the tent. We headed back to Myton that evening.
We attended Mom and Dad's ward and then we loaded everyone back in the car to head back to Logan. The journey back wasn't nearly as bad as the trip out. The only thing that happened was that we had this car pull up next to us on I-15 and start honking at us. I had noticed what was happening before they honked so I told Daniel (who was driving) not to look. Some girl had pulled down her pants and hung her butt out the window while one of her friends videotaped peoples reactions. It was quiet ugly. Some people are so stupid.
I started my final set of 4 week classes on Monday July 7th. I am taking Art History part 1 and Drawing 1. I have only been in these classes for a week and I already wish I were dead. Every Friday I have a test in art history as well as three quizs a week. Drawing is just plain boring and there is no air conditioning in that part of the building. On top of that I was assigned an at home project that I have to squeeze in somewhere between studying for quizs and tests and my family. To complicate the situation with Emma and her nap problem she has become so clingy. Les nor I can get Emma to walk anywhere on her own. She always wants us to carry her and when she doesn't get her way she throws a temper tantrum. It is quiet impressive. She usually ends up lying on the ground kicking and screaming. I know it is a phase but I am more than ready for it to end. Les told me today that she is acting irrational because she is a girl. As much as I would like to dispute that, she does remind me of an irrational teenage girl. Just tonight as I was putting her to bed a handed her one of her teddy bears and she threw a fit and pushed it away. So I threw it on to her bed next to Les and then she freaked out until Les handed it back to her. Then she snuggled with it for a second and then threw it on the floor.
I better wrap it up now. I can't let Emma get too big of a jump start on me. Otherwise she will be up way before I am ready for her to be.

Great Birthday

My birthday was really fun even though I spent the day looking at daycares, going to class, and four hours in the car to go out to Myton. Everything was a wonderful experience. Well, everything but the last half of our trip because Emma woke up and cried harder the longer we were in the car. I had a headache when we rolled into Myton at about 10 pm last night. Thanks to all the calls I got yesterday (and this morning) wishing me a happy birthday. Sorry Carolyn I didn't have time to get on the internet to see the post you put in your blog. Mom told me about it and I looked at it this morning. It looks great!
I know I haven't posted anything in a while. I have been really busy. I had my final for Photography on Friday June 6th. My grade hasn't been posted yet and I am getting impatient to see what it is. Then on Sat June 7th we met Mom, Dad, and David at the airport and traveled to Myton with them. Then David spoke in sacrament on the 8th. We took pictures outside the church afterward. Thank you Jen for sending me copies of the pictures since I forgot to take my camera to the church.
On June 9th I started my next class (I also celebrated my 2nd anniversary with Les). It is 2-D Design. It involves a lot of drawing. Thankfully I took an art class on drawing. The bad part is that I took the class either my sophmore or junior year of high school. I am trying to remember all that I learned in that class that was about 9 years ago. I am playing catch up on all the terminology. It was so much easier when I was taking science classes. I picked up things a lot easier then. That and "artists" are really freaky. I like being precise. They like precision and also messy things. There is a guy in my class that wares the skinny leg jeans, the layered look on top, and of course the baret. He also does the femmy hand wave thing as he talks. Like I said freaky. I fit in better in the science field. Oh well, I do like learning new things.
We found Emma a new daycare on Friday morning. It is a center called Grandma's Place. It is in Hyde Park which is between 5 to 10 minutes from campus. I hope she will like it there as much as she did the other place. We will see as of Monday morning. That will be her first day. I know I can't take her to class with me but I still don't like dropping her off for hours on end. My hope is that it will be worth it when she learns to be nice to other kids her age. We shall just have to wait and see.
So now we are back in Myton this weekend to help Dad build his shelves for the POD. Before noon they had all the wood cut and started to put them together. Dad didn't buy enough wood to do all the shelves that he wants to do. At least we can say that he put a dent in the work though. Tonight Mom and Dad are taking us to dinner at Hollow Moon for their anniversary. Dad said it will be a joint celebration with their anniversary, my birthday, and our anniversary. That is the only reason I am okay with crashing their anniversary dinner tradition. That and I have yet to eat at Hollow Moon.
That is what has happened to the Mounteer Household over the last little while.

Lots to say

Over the last few weeks I have started to write a few posts. I would save each of them to work on later. Then when I would come back to work on them I would read what I already wrote and immediately delete them. I must have writers block or something because everything I have tried to write lately has been quiet boring. Even when I was writing about something that I thought was exciting. As I sat thinking about that today I began to realize that I need to get those stories out of my system. Writing about them on here is the best way to do that. So boring or not here it goes.
I am officially a student once more. I will start some classes this summer. Over all I will be taking 12 credits but it will be broken up into three different sections that will be four weeks each. For the first four weeks I will be taking Photography I which is 3 credits. Then for the second section I will be taking 3 credits for 2D design. Finally for the last four weeks of the semester I will be taking Survey of Western Art part I and Drawing I. They are each 3 credits. I hope that by the time I get to the last classes that Emma will have adjusted to being away from me for so long. My hope is that it will make it easier on her when I start my fall schedule. I will be taking 15 credits a week. Thankfully Les and I have enough differences in our fall schedule that she won't be with a babysitter the entire time I am in class. The best part is that I won't have any classes on Fridays so I can spend the entire day with her.
My must exciting piece of news (at least I think it is) is that I have found a babysitter for fall semester. I have been so stressed out about this for a couple of months now. After praying for help Heavenly Father was generous enough to plant the idea in my head. One of the girls that I am in the RS Presidency with is graduating this semester. Her husband has at least another year to go. She has watched Emma for us a few times and seems to really enjoy having her around. I believe all mothers know the relief I felt when she enthusiastically agreed to watch Emma while I am in school. I still have stress but it has been greatly decreased by this single event.
Some of my stress come from the fact that I don't have a sitter for summer semester. I know Whitney would be willing to do it if she were going to be here of the summer. I am not as worried about finding a sitter for summer as I was for fall. I still need one because Les will be working at his intership while I am at school. I am not sure yet when I will need Emma to be watched. It really depends on what hours Les need to be at work. I have thought about trying to convince David to move in with us for the summer. He could be a babysitter for a short time and he could also look for a job and an apartment. That would of course be effective only if he decides to come up here to go to school.
Now on to some cute stuff. I think Emma is incredibily smart (as all parents tend to think about their children). I have watched her pick up an object and study it. I can see the wheels in her mind turning as she tries to figure out what it does. Les has often told me that he sees it as well. She is so interested in everything that other people are doing and then she tries to figure out how they did it so she can do it too. It only took me a few hours to get Emma to start doing high fives. Les is now trying to get her to do bones (for those who don't understand that, like me, I always called it fist bumps). When Emma isn't acting shy she will do a two handed wave. She is too enthusiastic to do only one hand. As for clapping all she needs is to hear someone else clapping. She is a bit nervous about walking but just the other day I noticed her standing up all on her own. It took me by surprise because whenever I try to get her to stand she grabs onto me for dear life. Even now that I know she can stand if I get close enough to grab onto she will clutch on. I find it a little funny. I thought she would start slowly like standing next to the couch so that she could grab on in case she started to fall. Not so though. When I first watched her do it she was sitting in the middle of the livingroom floor. She got her feet beneath her and slowly stood up. Les and I tried to get her to walk back and forth between us but that didn't fly with her. As soon as we let go of her she sank to the floor and tried to crawl away.
While still on the cute side yet not so cute I am having problems with Emma. I have been watching the kids for Jana while she is packing. Anytime Kailey crawled within a certain distance to me Emma would crawl as fast as she can to cut her off. Even if she was clear across the room. Then if Kailey even touches me Emma swats her hands or pretty much anything she can reach. Then if I share her cereal, etc with the other two she throws a royal fit. Now I know that this is a stage and that everey kid goes through it, but I don't think I can take it much longer. On Sunday Les took Emma out into the foyer during Sacrament. Jana was out there with Kailey as well. Kailey was off playing with another kid so Emma went to Jana. According to Les she was quiet smug about being with Jana whenever Kailey was watching. Then at some point Kailey crawled back to her mom and using her mother's skirt stood up. That is when Emma reached over and smacked Kailey. So what now, Kailey is banished from her own mom? I don't know how far this will go but I know I won't like it. Tell me it is a short phase.
Last but not least, I am being released from my calling on Sunday. There are no words to express the relief/excitement I feel. While I was the secretary of the Relief Society it seemed to me that everything that could go wrong did. It would be wrong to say that none of the sisters wanted to fulfill their callings because that is not true. There were a few (very few) who accepted any calling they received and magnified it to the best of their ability. For those few very dedicated sisters I want them to know that I love them and I know Heavenly Father will bless them for their obedience. As for those that accepted callings and then refused to actually do them or the sisters that refused any calling they received I want them to know that I do love you as well. Please learn that in order for the church and any auxillary within it to function properly we all must do what we can. If that means that there is no piano player in sight (or even if there is) and I get called to play the piano then I better learn so that I can magnify the calling that God has chosen to bless my life with. Do you want blessings? One of the fastest ways to get some is to accept and then do your calling. I have a testimony of that. I know it is true. I know that if you have problems in your life that the best thing you can do is forget about yourself and start thinking about what you can do for others. Service is an amazing thing. You bless your own life as you bless others. It is a win/win situation. Having this calling has taught me to appreciate the lessons my parents taught me a long time ago. They taught me that I should never turn down a calling and to do it the best I know how. I have also learned that the people in the "bigger" callings have a lot of stress. I will help out where ever I can to help reduce that stress.