2013 in Review

January
Stephanie drove to Utah alone- nightmare!
Randy & Stephanie went to Michigan for New World Company Party @ Ford Museum
Shelby turned 6
February
Moved into our first WA home
Brennon turned 5
March
Went to IKEA for the first time with Jamie
Cousin Brennon, Leah, & Isa visited
Grandpa & Grandpa Burrell visited; Grandpa left with pneumonia
April
Randy turned 36
May
Caden turned 12, got the Priesthood
We went to Canada, Forks, and Rainier National Forest
Stephanie flew to Dallas to see WICKED with Ashlee
Yukon repairs almost $8,000- blah!
Stephanie turned 32
June
Family Vacation to Utah for Danielle's wedding
Met up with Kimberly & Kids
Aunt Danielle & Uncle Taylor visited for their Honeymoon
July
Shelby got her hair cut and donated it to Locks of Love
Caden went to Scout Camp
Aunt Sherry & Uncle Ryan visited; went to boat races
August
Caden 7th, Keilie 5th, Shelby 1st, Brennon K
Grandma Burrell & Great-Grandpa Kimber visited
Caden got his braces off
We painted our kitchen countertops
Keilie turned 10
September
We did a bead-board backsplash
October
Grandpa & Grandma Dirks visited
Tyson turned 4
Caden set apart as Deacon's Quorum Secretary
Stephanie went with Jamie to Tacoma for TOFW
Beth & James Worthen family visited
Almost started a Craft Store/Manufacturing business
December
Keilie tested at a 132 IQ!  Her IEP was finalized- finally!!
Caden has been pulled from school.  Homeschool will begin January 6th, 2014
Randy set apart as Varsity Leader in the Scouting/YM program
Visited Spruce Goose Museum in McMinnville, OR

All-In-All it was an excellent year for the Dirks'

Memorable

When we finally get our computer I'll be able to post pictures of our recent family vacation to Salem, OR. Randy was talking to his mom tonight, telling her all that we've done the last three days, when Tyson added his two cents, "I went potty..."

~Staying in a family suite

~Swimming two days in a row

~Going to an Air and Space Museum

~Riding an amusement park ride in the Space museum- Twice!

~Eating out for every meal

~Going to the Outlet Malls two days pre-Christmas

~Eating a ton of sweets and getting Krispy Kreme

~Tyson went potty

Most memorable vacation ever!!

Keys

I needed to grab a few things out of the Relief Society closet early Tuesday morning. I pulled into the usual place I park in the back and had the boys stay in the car. As I tried one of the two keys that look identical, I realized that the key didn't have a chance of fitting into the lock. It was just too fat. I tried the other key and came to the same conclusion. I looked at the lock itself and realized that it had recently been changed. You could see the old lock was larger than the new, smaller lock. I really needed the papers from the closet, so I decided to try the side door just in case. It opened, I was in! As I was walking down the DARK hallway, wishing I had taken the time to find the light switch, I realized that I kind of resented these papers:). Finally, I'm in the Relief Society room. I pull out my keys and push it in. And it doesn't budge. I try it both ways, I try to fit it in slowly, quick, and even try to jiggle it open with only a sliver of the key. It's not working!! I don't want to be late for my appointment, so I give up on those stinkin' papers and head out, cursing that dark hallway all the way back. 

I picked Randy up from the airport yesterday while the kids are still in school. We had a few minutes more, so I ran to the church to see if he could help me open the closet. While he's fiddling with the keys, I see him start putting he "mail" key in the slot. My first thought was, "Why would he use that key?" My next immediate thought was, "OH MY GOSH! I was using the "mail" key!!" I quickly found the TINY closet key, easily hidden by the larger keys, and opened the closet in a single second. I'm telling you, I'm loosing my mind!! Things just don't process fast enough in this noggin! I truly am a cotton-headed ninny-Muggins!!

None

Our kids have said some pretty cute things. We think so, at least! They still use "next" all the time, which just makes us smile. The other phrase they've been using for a while is "none." I LOVE it. Today I was moving cars around in the driveway and had Tyson get in the blue car. He was so confused, "Do I get in this car with none boosters?" Earlier, I'd asked him what he wanted for lunch. "Nutella with none bread." Brennon is always asking for "cereal with milk." Tyson always asks for "Cereal with none milk." I'm just in love with these boys and their cute words!

IEP Testing

To make sure that Keilie qualified for an IEP throughout her current and coming school years, she needed to go through some intense testing.  Afterwards, I met with the school Psychologist, Special Education instructor, Mrs. Wingert, and the Principal to go over the results.  As the Psychologist was talking to me about the findings, I was totally blown away to see so many Above Average scores.  Keilie has been struggling in school from about 2nd grade on.  Some days she's showing me advanced understanding, while the next day she can barely remember the most basic steps.  It has had me in tears for every single Parent-Teacher conference I've ever been to.  Why does she seem so smart in some things, and struggle with other things so much?  I was commenting on the findings, when the Psychologist said, "I don't think you truly understand what these tests are saying.  Her IQ is college level.  She is far advanced!"  I was stunned, to say the least!!  She has a block in her brain that makes it hard for her to get things out that she knows in her head.  Whether it's the ADHD that she was diagnosed with in 2010 or a learning disability that has her stumped, we're not entirely sure, but the fact of the matter is that Keilie is a very smart little girl.  For her testing in the Woodcock-Johnson test, her overall score of 132 puts her in the Very Superior range.  This has me thinking...You hear of people with high IQ being extremely gifted in an area, right?  So, what's Keilie's?  And how do I find it?  Cause with a mind like this, I don't want to stunt her potential simply because I have no idea what I'm doing!  It almost feels like with this knowledge comes great responsibility.  Deep thought, isn't it!

Snowman?

 These are actually from the first snowstorm of 2013.  It only lasted about 5 hours (rain and warm wind tend to kill a snowman) but we sure had a great time building him!

We are still so obsessed with Frozen! We listen to the songs on repeat each and every day. We ALL have the words memorized, and you can guarantee we break out into song every once in a while singing our best impressions of either Elsa or Ana. We are just in love with that movie. The other day Randy left our room before I woke (we all know this is the best feeling!) to find Shelby sitting on the floor, back to the bathroom door with Keikie inside, singing "Do you wanna build a snowman?"  And just like that, Shelby's hold on her daddy's heart constricted just a little more!

Howdy

Even though Tyson changed his mind about being Woody for Halloween, he still loves to wear the hat all the time. Yesterday he was walking around the house, looking so adorable, that I just had to say, "Howdy, pardner!"

"Howdy, old lady!"

So much for "Southern Charm!"

Old lady?! Nice!

Mini-me

I had a meeting yesterday for Keilie which made it so I entered the school as the crossing guards were leaving to set up. I was almost to the door when I heard a small gasp and then a boy said, "You're Keilie's Mom!"  I love that kids in her class know me because of her. I'll claim that beautiful little girl any day!

What a Waste

After making the decision to go ahead with homeschool, I got on K12 and registered Caden.  I used them back in 2010 with Keilie and LOVED everything about it.  They are great to work with, have GREAT curriculum, and made it just so darn easy to get assignments ready.  It's the rest of it that made it so hard for me.  I got all of the paper work printed, filled out, and faxed in and started waiting.  On Friday, just at closing time, I got an email that stated that one of my papers was denied for lack of signature, and that I needed to call and have a mandatory conference.  I called on Monday and got a message that due to Weather Conditions they were understaffed and would have longer wait times.  I had a few meetings at different times during the day, so I'd hold for as long as I could and then have to hang up.  Tuesday I called and got the message, "We are temporarily closed.  Call back later."  I shot the girl and email asking her to just call me back, cause by this time, I'm getting a bit bothered by the whole scenario.  Wednesday morning she emails me back that they are open from 9-6 and that I should just call.  9:00AM sees me on the phone.  I'm number 4 on the que, so I wait.  While waiting, I feel as if I want to shoot myself after listening to the SAME SONG over, and over, and over, and OVER!  30 minutes of agony finally turns to ringing.  I'm in!!!  And then dead silence.  They had HUNG UP ON ME!!!!  I pretty much had fantasies of punching holes in my walls!  I redialed- now number 5 on the que- and pounded out an email to the same girl that they had hung up on me after 30 minutes and that I was MORE than bothered.  Another 30 minutes of the SAME SONG, and I was in.  My elation at them not hanging up on me instantly turned to stunned anger to find out that the mandatory conference was to verify the information they had gathered from my previous fax.  They needed to make sure they had spelled my name right!  That did it for me.  I usually am a very nice person on the phone, I remember their name to thank them at the end of a call, use a syrupy sweet voice, thank them profusely for their help, the whole shebang.  This time, I pretty much clipped every single "YES!" I had to use.  Then it comes to the part where he has to ask me if Caden is in Special Education.  I cut him off, told him that he could answer no to all of the questions, and could we please move on.  Nope!  He had to ask every single one of them and listen to my annoyed "NO!" answers.  Not to mention that he asked me THREE times if Caden had ever been suspended or expelled from school.  The answer was no the first time you asked, and also on the fax.  MOVE ON!!  After hearing him gush that I had already filled out all of the paperwork- it's called doing your homework, people- I asked him if there was anything else he needed from me.  "You mean other than having a fabulous rest of your day?"  And I was done!  No, "Have a good day!" from me, I just said bye and hung up.  An hour and ten minutes for them to verify that the information I had filled out 5 days earlier was still correct and valid.  I am a nice person, it's one of those things I aspire to be, but man, come on!  An hour and 10 minutes wasted- and for what?  Sometimes I wish I had a secretary to do this sort of thing for me!

Plot Change

I read a quote the other day that has sort of stuck with me.  "At any point in your life, you have the option to say 'Plot Change' and rewrite your story."  Caden has recently taken us on a Plot Change.  Way back in 2010, Caden came to us saying he wanted to be homeschooled.  We just thought it was because he had a good friend that was homeschooled and he thought it would be a fun idea. Imagine his envy when we said Keilie was going to be homeschooled.  Double that envy the day that we got four boxes of materials and a brand new computer just for her!  Over the past few years, he's hinted at the idea, but nothing substantial enough to really consider it.  Last week, however, it became a cliff hanger in our story.  He came to us, in tears I might add, asking if we would let him be homeschooled.  The overprotective mom in me screamed that something had happened at school.  He assured us many times that it wasn't one specific thing, but many.  No one was bullying him, he didn't have a run-in with a teacher, he hadn't been abused in any way.  He just didn't like the learning environment. 

A few weeks back, he and Keilie were playing a rhyming game.  Keilie said, "There is only one other word that I can think of that rhymes with 'Yuck.'"  Caden was out of his seat, approaching her quickly, telling her NOT to say it.  It saddened me to realize that the first word he thought of to rhyme with 'Yuck' was the worst offender of all.  Keilie, in all innocence, said, "Chuck?"  I started to realize that Caden was hearing words in MIDDLE SCHOOL that I hardly heard myself in high school.  He was adamant, through blinding tears, that he wanted out. 

Remembering that Caden loves to clean, loves to organize, and has the most immaculate room in the house, his second reason was Language Arts class.  He hates that his teacher bounces around with different themes.  One day they are reading, the next they are working on a different project, then another, then on day four it is back to finishing day one's assignment.  He said he wants to just work on one idea, finish the idea, and then move on.  I understand this reason!

He had other reasons that aren't important enough to remember, although he did have good argumentative points as to why they were important.  With much deliberation, much prayer, and faith, I have decided that I will in fact homeschool my oldest.  I realize that life is a bit different this time.  Instead of having a 3 year old, a 2 year old, and a newborn baby while trying to work with a 8 year old ADD child, I will now have a 5 year old half day, a 4 year old (that has now started to take naps again) and my most dedicated child working on school at home.  I'm still seriously nervous that I will fail as a teacher, again, but I know I will have a great support system, as always.  Again, I love that we made the decision before we got married that I would stay home.  Because none of this would even be possible without that one decision!

4:00AM

This morning Tyson came into my room at 4:00AM on the dot.  He couldn't find Brennon.  I've long known that we may eventually have a problem with the boys sharing a room and a queen size bed.  Not only do they wake each other up at all hours of the night, they depend on each other to go to sleep.  It's pretty much known that they have to go to sleep together or not at all.  So, I took Tyson back to bed.  It was pretty alarming to find Brennon gone.  I instantly started a barrage of thoughts that had my heart racing, 'What was he wearing, When was the last time I checked on my kids, Did I lock the doors, Did I lock the car so the garage door opener couldn't be used?' I was starting to get pretty panicked.  I raced downstairs after checking to make sure he didn't go in with Keilie- this happens sometimes with both boys.  I had thrown a large blanket on the couch as I was headed to bed, so I didn't check the couch immediately.  When I noticed that all looked the same as how I left it, my breathing started to really accelerate- Where was my son?  And then it happened, a little foot lazily came out from under the blanket on the couch.  My breath hitched as I ran to the couch and lifted that blanket- I found him!  He happened to be burning with fever, so I left him to put Tyson to bed.  Tyson would have none of it, he was sobbing for Brennon.  Afraid that he would wake the other kids and start the morning off at 4:15, I ended up telling Ty I would sleep in his bed with him.  I, however, got no sleep after that!  Although I knew my son was safe here in my home sleeping fitfully on my couch, I couldn't shake the pit in my stomach.  I can NOT imagine the fear that doesn't release it's hold on a mother who truly can't find her child.  I have smothered all of my kids today with love.  Because, as of this moment, my "Mommy World" is as it should be.

Keys?

It's no secret that sometimes I misplace my keys.  I made this cute little key holder that works great, if you put your keys on it.  I also keep them in my purse, so that's another place I always look.  Well- Randy always looks.  If I can't find the set that is mine, I can always count on the key holder to have the other set.  I'm not choosy when it comes to keys.  If it fits in, turns the car on, then it's as good as the ones that I've lost somewhere.  So, Randy went out of town this last week.  I took him to the airport to save on parking fees.  This leaves me with both cars to drive.  If I don't have to take all of the kids somewhere, I usually drive Randy's Outback.  I dropped him off early on Monday and picked him up late on Thursday.  He asked where his keys to my vehicle were.  I had no clue, I had been driving the Subaru around town all week.  He remembered that he'd used them when we went to the airport, that I drove home, so they must be in one of my two usual spots- hanger or purse.  Nope, neither.  I could not remember for the life of me where they were.  So, begrudgingly, he grabbed my set and we went out to the car.  As he went to put the keys into the ignition, he was a little confused.  There were his keys!  I had forgotten to take them out when I got out Monday morning.  Not to worry, the car was locked that first night.  Man, I swear I'm getting worse as I get older.  Unlike a good wine, I do NOT get better with age!  I guess I now have a third place to put my keys!  Handy.

Bread

Tyson has become quite a grump since turning four. And I mean grump. He's spent numerous hours in his room for throwing things and hitting. It's insane! He's also perfected the art of sass. Yesterday while taking the Sacrament, Tyson was all sorts of tired. He took the bread and then said in a seriously annoyed voice, "Argh! Why do I have to eat this bread? I'm not even hungry!!" I was so blown away by his vehement sass, that I did the only natural thing I could think of...I laughed in his face. Man, did this tick him off! He wouldn't even calm down to listen to why we take the Sacrament. He actually fell asleep before the water came. Tired Tyson is an angry Tyson! Maybe I should start implementing naps again!!