A Room with a View

This is the view from room #822 at Hawthorn Suites in Wichita, KS. It was stormy on this night and I have to admit, I love the humidity.

The VIVINT Guys

Every day at noon, these guys have a meeting. They pile in 1 room and go over daily goals, sales, news, changes, etc. It was hard to miss these guys walking all over in bright orange shirts. It made us feel like part of a team and that synergy has been awesome.

Kansas Kind

I want to remember how kind people are in Kansas and if I were to describe HOW or WHY they are kind, here are some examples:

1) Everyone says "hello" or acknowledges you in some way. They look you straight in the eyes when they greet you and they smile. There is not a barrier to this kindness that would be construed as shy or snobbish. They seem very genuine.

2) When we walked into a restaurant, the staff would greet us and then bend down to greet our children. They would ask how old they were, how they were doing and were very complimentary towards Lucy. This didn't just happen once or at a certain location, it happened every time.

3) Bill is selling door to door here. He said the people are so nice that they will talk to you for 30 minutes before they will tell you they have no interest in what you are selling. There is good and bad to this as Bill felt it was a waste of time, but they were still kind.

4) The teachers at the school (all of the teachers, not just my kid's teachers) would greet you as you walked down the halls.

5) Max got a terrible splinter in his foot so I asked the Manager of the hotel we stayed out where we could find a medical. She offered to take it out for him. I lacked the first aid supplies needed, but she pulled out a kit and proceeded to do "surgery". He kicked and screamed for over an hour in her office. She was in a business suit on the floor with a needle working hard to help him. It took 3 people and over 2 hours to get it, we finally did. Because of her kindness we were able to save money on a medical bill. She was very gracious about helping us. I was so grateful.

6) I was shocked when I realized the ringing phone was in our "hotel" room. It was the Bishop of the ward here. He has a fabulous Australian accent. He just wanted to welcome us and see if there was anything the ward could do for our family. Nice!

7) When I called before we left for Kansas to find out what ward we attend there, the Bishop's wife was darling. She offered a lot of information and included her 2 daughters as babysitters. I sure wish I would have taken her up on that offer!

These are just a small few examples, but the hospitality and kindness of the people in Kansas is not lost on my family.

TO my kids,

LIFE LESSON: Be kind.

Love, Mom

Minneha Core Knowledge Magnet School

Though this school is old and don't you just love the light blue tiles up the walls? But what I really love is that this is the hallway where they have set up these little "centers". It's difficult to determine from my cheap camera (got my camera for free from Visa Rewards = CHEAP) how wide the hallways are that there are centers on each side of the hall and plenty of room for all of the students to walk in the middle. I also love the amount of natural light that comes in from the windows.

Another thing I love about Minneha is that the teachers stand outside their doors every morning and greet each student and say, "Good Morning" to all of the parents. This made it easy for me to talk to the teachers and ask questions.

Zoo Day Cont'd

From the back: Tinneris, Max, Rita, PJ, and Bailey (I think Bailey is Max's crush, though he would never admit it.)

Zoo Day in Wichita, KS for Kindergarten--Max

Lucy was my helper.

Minneha Core Knowledge Magnet School

The first thing I noticed about this school was the grass. It's terrible! The grass here is either really lush and green or really bad like the school's.

However, the teachers are nice and very accommodating to our kids.

The school requires uniforms: plain shirts without any logos or markings on them in red, white, navy or light blue. Tan or navy pants/shorts can be worn.

Minneha is named after a group of Indians known to this area.

Core Knowledge is based on a core curriculum the Kansas School Board approved.

A magnet school is one that gives students from all over Wichita an opportunity to attend Minneha through a lottery. Thus, it's very diverse.

The building itself is enormous! For comparison sake, it would be similar to stretching out 5 LDS church buildings and lining them up in a wide V-shape. (Kind of intimidating for young kids!)

The boys enjoy eating hot lunch and I enjoy not having to pack lunch. I drive the kids and pick them up. I also have to walk them to their classes and it takes me a full 6 1/2 minutes to walk from one end of the school for Jack's class to the other end for Max's class. (When you are always late like me, 6.5 minutes is a LONG time!)
Max attends Kindergarten full days and the schedule is similar to that in Utah: 9am-4pm. His teacher is Mrs. Deutsch (pronounced Die-ch). She seems very kind and was delighted to meet Max. She has told us repeatedly what a sweet boy he is. She has been teaching for 26 years.

Jack's first grade teacher is Mrs. Lamb. She lives on a farm and their class shares a baby chick with the class next door. Jack made it in time to see the egg and then the baby chick hatch. Super cool!

Jack and Max are on opposite sides of the school and do not have the same lunch or recess schedule. By the end of the day, they are so glad to see each other.

I am soooo proud of them for going to a new school and giving it a try. They are very brave boys. Now that they have attended for a week, they say it's OK, but they do not like uniforms! :)

Things we do in Wichita, KS

On a positive note, the staff is friendly and kind, there is a continental breakfast and a cleaning service that comes in a couple of times a week to change out bath towels and empty garbages. There is a swimming pool and a hot tub. The pool is not open yet, but we don't know why because it is a hot 90+ degrees out! The boys sit in the hot tub every day and use it as their little swimming pool. (*Notice Max's fake tattoos on his chest. Thank you to Bill for this "souvenir" gift he got the boys. Arrr!)

There is a sport court and you can check out a basketball, volleyball or tennis rackets at the front desk.

Wichita, KS--Our "home"

We live in the Hawthorne Suites #822, which is an extended stay type of hotel with a kitchenette. We are on the second floor, which is 2 flights of stairs. Lucy is still learning how to climb them, but it is going down that is much more difficult for her.

We also have a steep flight of stairs in our unit. It leads to a loft area where there is a bed that the boys share and another bathroom. We have a small living room area, a small galley kitchen and a separated "master" bedroom with a desk and all our files to run Large Landscape from long distance.

Everything about this place is great, but a few small things: the stairs, the spotty and SLOW internet, the old, smelly couch and chairs, and the stinky carpet.

MOVING!!

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

Because we are the Sullivan's, there just cannot be a road trip without a LOT of crazy things happening. Previous to the move, Bill was working in Wichita Kansas and flew home on April 27th to help drive us out there for the summer. So this is how the story goes:

After 10 days of being a single parent with 2 rowdy boys off track (out of school) and 1 very sick baby girl (fever was 104 and then dropped with antibiotic shots, then started back at 101 degrees and NOT sleeping at night), preparing for our Easter holiday, packing our house up: dividing things that needed to "stay" and things that needed to "go." I was spent--absolutely and completely overcome with stress and exhaustion and it didn't end the way I had hoped. A few days before we were to move I found out we were going to Wichita, Kansas to stay for a month in an extended stay hotel. Oh, joy.

It was important to Bill that we all be IN the airport when he came home. Aiming to please, I dragged 3 tired kids into the airport to wait for his flight that was an hour delayed. Because it was past bedtime, Lucy was very FUSSY. She wanted to walk around the airport all on her own. She gave the "parade wave" to everyone as she passed. And whenever I tried to pick up her, she cried and fussed in my arms. Jack kept complaining that his stomach hurt. He was bent over, clutching his stomach and looked horribly uncomfortable. Max kept begging for the million dollar candy out of the rows of vending machines. I kept saying, "No!" to the point I was tired of hearing myself. The delayed hour felt like an eternity.

After Bill's long awaited arrival and the joys of being together again were over, we get settled into bed. An hour after I fell asleep, Jack came running down the hall into our room to announce he had thrown up. It was a healthy portion of chunky vomit all over the sheets and pillows I had just spent the entire day washing. Poor Jack! In addition, the bathroom that I had scrubbed clean, was infested with vomit germs and the kitchen floor I stayed up late the night before to mop was also dotted with vomit and sticky with the Big Gulp of Sprite that Max accidentally spilled earlier in the day. My To-Do list for leaving the next morning was increasing exponentially.

We stripped the bed, and gathered newly washed blankets for make-shift bedding. It was early in the morning by now and sleep was slow to come as I lay awake reminding myself of all the things that needed to be re-washed and re-cleaned. I was also hoping that Jack's stomach felt better and that he would be OK in the 18-hour car ride we had ahead of us.

Thursday, April 28th, 2011 Day of Departure...maybe

Things to do before we leave: make and clean up breakfast, 6 loads of wash, clean bathrooms, mop kitchen floor, empty fridg and freezer, finish the last minute packing, load the car, run last minute errands, schedule fertilizing company lawns for the rest of the week, etc., etc.

Bill went to the Dr. to pick up a prescription and talked to the nurses about Jack's tummy. They gave him some vomit bags that would be convenient in the car. He filled them before we even got on the road. Poor kid!

Bill went to run a work errand and ran out of gas in the truck. The catch is that it only takes Natural Gas. You cannot just get a gas can and fill it, it HAS to be towed. So he had me pack the 3 kids (sick Jack with vomit bag to boot) and tow his truck to a Natural Gas station--it can't be just any station because it has to have a NG pump and only certain locations have this. Bill tied the metal chain to my car and then to his truck, we started to drive into 4 0'clock traffic when one of the links on the metal chain broke. We were right in the middle of a traffic jam from a car accident on the other side of the road. Now we created a jam on our side of the road--why are we always in such a mess?

While waiting for Bill to figure out a way to fix the chain, it dawned on me that I left a pot of boiling water on the stove. I was boiling eggs for Lucy and forgot! I called my next door neighbor Debbie to go over and shut it off. Fortunately she caught it just in time, but one of the eggs exploded and our house STUNK! We were lucky, it could have started a fire. Thanks for your help Debbie!

We finally got the truck towed and filled, but it put us behind another hour in our travel plans.

We finally just threw (literally) everything in and left just after 5pm. We drove ALL night only stopping for gas. By 8am Friday, April 29th we were in Kansas. We stopped at a diner for breakfast and I could hardly hold my head up. Despite the cokes I drank for the caffeine, I felt like I was fighting a sleeping pill. The toll of the last 2 weeks kicked in high gear and I was flat out EXHAUSTED.

Friday, April 29th, 2011 Wichita, KS

At 10am, we rolled into the extended stay where I could hardly wait to drop onto the bed and fall into a deep, blissful sleep. We walked into a room with 2 guys sleeping on the beds and all of their things strewn about. My excitement waned and I almost started crying. We needed to wait for sheets to be changed, cleaning to be done and the guys to move out before we could unpack our things. No rest for the weary.

Later with blood-shot red eyes and fatigue beyond belief, I took the kids to register at their "new school". I'm not sure the impression the office staff has of me as again, I felt like I was fighting sleep. I managed (with a LOT of crossing out and scribbles) to fill out an endless stack of paperwork. We walked around the school trying to figure out where things were. The boys were very disheartened and little Max said, "I don't want to go to school with all these brown people." He didn't mean it in a prejudiced way, he was just so anxious about the cultural diversity and the poverty of the place. They were also very saddened to learn that they have to wear uniforms.

The rest of Friday is a blur of quick groceries at the local Wal-Mart, cleaning, unpacking and counting the hours until I could finally fall asleep.

Happy Easter 2011

We usually do a fun Eater breakfast and 1 large family Easter basket. To get this basket, we go on a scavenger hunt to find it. This year, the Easter bunny left a trail jelly beans that the kids had to follow in order to discover their hidden basket. They got the "Tangled" DVD, a bubble maker for Lucy, summer PJ's for all 3 kids, Legos and Phineas and Ferb activity books for the boys, and of course candy.


I had 3 matching outfits for the kids, but the weather was still very frigid and snowing so we will save the Spring outfits for another time. To explain our happy photo, things were a bit stressful for us as Bill had been out of town working in Kansas for 10 days, we were packing to move and Lucy was sick, which we later found out she was actually teething...Thus, there was not a "happy" Easter.

We went to church and later ate dinner with Linda at Alison and Roman's house in Lehi. It was a simple, but nice day. There is something to be said about holidays being about togetherness, family and traditions. Since Bill wasn't with us, it didn't feel the same and we all missed him.

Max's Indoor Soccer

After a bout of Karate for the boys, we encouraged them to chose another sport to try. Jack tried break dancing and Max did indoor soccer with his buddy and next door neighbor, Braxton Gregory. His certificate is for the "Biggest Go-Getter"! He really enjoyed it and we loved going to his games each Saturday to cheer him on.

Sullivan Family Sunday Dinner

Ben and Taisha holding Lucy
Eric, Rachel and Lucy's cousin Hanna.
Jessica and Dave (his oldest daughter)

Kathy and cousin Elle

Sunday dinner was at our house with the Sullivan Family so we continued Lucy's Birthday celebration. For some reason, we love FIRST Birthday's and make a big deal out of this milestone. It is a delight to have these little spirits with us and we think that first year is magical and full of changes and growth.

Dinner menu included: marinated BBQ chicken breast, tossed green salads, pasta salad, fresh fruit, and sliced artisan bread. Can you guess what we had for dessert? Yep, cupcakes and homemade ice-cream.

It was a nice evening and again, everyone was generous and thoughtful with gifts for Lucy. It's official, she has dolls! No more having to play with trains, cars and building blocks.

Cupcake Party!

Out of focus, but you get the idea...Grandma Patsy is on the left in the rocking chair. She was here seeing specialists for a wound on her leg. See a future blog post about her experience. Happy Birthday Lucy Goosey Girl!

Happy 1st Birthday Lucy Jane!

On Saturday, March 19th 2011 Lucy turned 1! She is eating scrambled eggs for breakfast, a usual favorite. Today, uncle KC and his family were endowed in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple in preparation for their sealing next week. In addition to the Temple, the boys went to Kid's Camp at Kaitlyn Gardner's (their babysitter) and a neighbor's (Dara Doolkhani's) Birthday Party at Lifetime Fitness and a soccer game for Max. Misty's family came over for cupcakes at 6:30pm.

2011: Happy New Year!

One of our most favorite traditions is attending a neighborhood New Year's Eve Party as a family. We all bring food to share and a bottle of sparkling apple juice. We play games, eat and visit. Then at midnight, we watch the ball drop in New Year on television and yell, "Happy New Year!" We clink our plastic glasses of apple juice to "cheers" and throw poppers of confetti. We love that we can celebrate together as well as with dear friends.

New Year's Resolutions:

"And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man." Luke 2:52

Intellectual Goals:
Read 12 books
Play piano more

Physical Goals:
Run another half marathon
No sugar for at least 3 months
No soda for 1 year

Spiritual Goals:
Read the Book of Mormon again
Increase Temple attendance
Less t.v. watching (get rid of cable)
Update 72 hour kits and add Lucy's
Increase record keeping (journal more, blog more, take more pictures, etc.)

Social Goals:
Plan and execute a girl's trip
Publicize the postives in others, including my family

A Decade to Celebrate

We went to Vegas for a couple of days for our Anniversary. We saw the Cirque Du Soleil show, "Mystere" and indeed it was! But, we were part of the act at the beginning and that was really fun. We just went along with whatever the actor did. He gave us someone's popcorn and sat us in front row seats, kicking out the person that was sitting there. He asked me to give him a kiss on the cheek and then when I did, he hurried and turned his face, which made me catch him on the lips. YUK! It was really fun and something unique for our special day.

We also saw Gordie Brown, an entertainer that I thought was fantastic.

We ate at a restaurant for breakfast called the Grand Lux Cafe at the Venetian and fell in LOVE with their red velvet pancakes. WOW! (I say get them WITHOUT chocolate chips, but Bill says WITH. You decide.)

We went shopping and to art exhibits. It was a fun get away!

Christmas Day

After opening all our gifts, we had grandparents come to visit us through out the morning. Then late in the afternoon, we went to see the movie, "Tangled" which we loved!

Stockings

Stockings are full of little presents all gift wrapped. I try not to include candy, but there is usually 1 favorite treat for them. This year's treat was fruit snacks, which I do not usually buy because of the sugar content. They each got their own box and they were gone by the end of the day! Other gifts include a new toothbrush, fun tooth paste, a yo-yo, snowman crayons, swim suit mesh bags, fun bath drops that color the water, etc.

After stockings are opened, we eat our special holiday breakfast.

First Things First

At the beginning of December, I make a list each year with 3 columns:
"Food to Make": Danish Almond Puff Pastry, Monkey Bread, Wassail, and Party Punch
"Service to Perform": shovel a neighbors walk ways, do Sub for Santa, and donate to a charity
"Fun Things to Do": Thanksgiving Point Light Show, Temple Square on Traxx, deliver neighbor gifts and Karl Bloch Art Exhibit at BYU with dinner at Magleby's and Buttermilk Pie and Chocolate Cake for dessert (which are The Best desserts ever!)

Christmas Eve we went on Traxx to Temple Square to see the lights. We went early and ate dinner at the Nauvoo Cafe first and then as it got dark we walked around. And right as the crowds starting coming, we were done and got on the train to go home.

Once home, we watched the Luke II video (usually we read it, but the kids were so tired we didn't think they would make it through.) Then we open the traditional pajamas and slippers and Christmas book. This year's book was, "God Bless Your Way." We set out cookies and milk for Santa and Max added reindeer food to boot.

Then Bill stays up wrapping gifts he got for me while I set and decorate the table for our special holiday breakfast. This year's menu was simple: Danish Almond Puff Pastry, scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns, Monkey Bread, orange juice, hot chocolate and wassail.

We only get 1 gift from Santa and the rest are from mom and dad. This year's gift was a Wii game for each boy and an umbrella stroller for Lucy.