Month in Review - August 2010

August was like any other. . . summer ends and school begins. Jackie was sick most of the month, but that didn't hold us back to going to a few movies, playing badminton in the backyard, playing/watching baseball, basketball and soccer. Jackie spent a few days in the classroom trying to get it ready but she's still working on it. It seems like it takes about two months before everything is exactly the way she wants it; especially after moving rooms. Jackie was lucky enough to move into the building and is still teaching 3rd grade. The most exciting news is that she got her masters degree. It has been a lot of work and we are all grateful she is finished!

October Family Newsletter

Here we go again. October is over and I’m trying to remember what we did; unfortunately nothing very eventful. The month started off with a great general conference. We were not able to watch on Saturday, but we did enjoy the messages on Sunday. Also church related, I received a new calling. It’s kind-of a funny story. Our ward just split so I have been waiting for a phone call and while Mike was out of town the second counselor wanted to come over for a visit, so I knew that he was going to give me a calling. That’s not the funny part. The funny or maybe I should say the shocking thing was what he asked me to do. He asked me to be the Relief Society pianist. I looked at him and said, “I don’t know how to play the piano.” I could tell he felt a little awkward, as did I. He said the calling was cleared through the bishop. Well, I was put in a very peculiar position. I have never turned down a calling but I honestly knew I would not be able to learn how to play the piano in three days. So I went to talk to our new Relief Society President. She told me my name was on some list that said I was a piano player, when I told her I didn’t know how to play, she felt terrible and told me not to worry about it and she would take care of everything. Hopefully, my name is no longer on the list however; I have been practicing more just in case. A few weeks later I received a second phone call. This time the first counselor (I think the second counselor is scared of me now). He called me to be the assistant to the cub master. I will take care of organizing the awards for the cub scouts and purchasing them at the scout office. So it looks like I’m following in my Dad’s footsteps.

The kids are continuing with their sports. Amberley and Jackson are both doing soccer. Last week while I watching Amberley I could see a big improvement from the first of the year, this is fun to see. We also have everything setup for basketball. Mike will be coaching Amberley’s team and both the boys seem to have good coaches too. Basketball starts the last week of soccer so we will be staying busy.

Everyone in our family is generally very health. However, this year our luck is running out. Of course I had my broken ankle, which has healed nicely, but also this month, while Brenton was playing football at school he was hit in the mouth which caused his braced to break and we had to go in to have them fixed. A few days later while I was at school, the school nurse called me and said Jackson has a fever of 105 degrees. Luckily, we have an in-house sub, so I could leave immediately. We ended up at the doctor and found out Jackson had pneumonia. He has been on two antibiotics and has to do breathing treatments four to six times a day. Then three days later, while Brenton was playing football with Mike and some friends he jammed his finger, which is still black-n-blue and swollen. I hope for the rest of the year we can stay health.

At school, Brenton and Amberley performed in the Fall Showcase. They both did a great job. I’m so great to be at Kitty Ward. It’s given the kids so many more opportunities that most kids don’t have. We also had our annual fall festival. I was in charge of the duck pond. It was fun to see the littler kids in their costumes. Our kids had a great Halloween. We went to our ward’s truck-or-treating party and then Mike took them around the neighborhood. By the time they were done they had five big buckets full of candy. I think I’m going to be sick. Brenton was Harry Potter, Amberley was a witch, and Jackson was Dracula. I even dressed up for school in a Japanese costume.

September Newsletter

Another month is here. September has gone by so quickly. Of course, school has started which meant getting back to schedules and routines.
Brenton’s has a great teacher. He was not happy with us when we enrolled him into her class, but now he is loving school. Goes to show, you should always listen to your mother. He is finishing baseball this week. Mike and I are so proud of him and how much he has improved.
Amberley’s teacher is a really good friend of mine. We have known each other since my previous Elementary. Amberley is really enjoying school and her academics. She is also continuing with dance class and started soccer yesterday.
Jackson likes his teacher and he loves school. He has been waiting a long time to be a part of the “school” world and now he is. Jackson also started soccer yesterday and even scored a goal. Yeah!!!
Mike is keeping busy at work with busy season starting up. But don’t think its all work for him. He is also doing his annual fantasy football league and he is also coaching Amberley’s and Jackson’s soccer teams.
Jackie is staying busy with work as well. She has a great class and is enjoying every minute of it. Earlier this week, we had your open house and I received good reports from all my parents. My foot is getting better. I am down to a brace that I can wear with regular shoes. I’m excited to get if off soon.
We have been waiting for a long time and now they have finally split our ward. We are now in the Shadow Ridge Ward. We have the same bishopric but got a new Relief Society presidency, Young Men presidency and a Sunday School presidency. Mike and I are currently “calless” and we are not complaining. Our primary has also shrunk. It’s now small enough to fit in the primary room. Today we had the ward primary program. The kids did great. Brenton and Amberly had a special singing part and Jackson gave a little talk.
Lastly, Mike and I went to New York this month for a sports weekend and to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. We both had a great time. We flew red-eye Thursday night, so we landed Friday about 6am. I didn’t sleep well that night. As soon as we landed, we went right to the hotel to drop off our luggage. Then we started sightseeing. First, we went to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. After that we walked up to Wall Street and Ground Zero. Ground Zero is just a construction zone. They have no memorial, which surprised me. Following that we went to the NBC studios and Rockefeller center. We tried to get Saturday Night Live tickets but we would have to wait in line all night and we didn’t want to do that. To finish the first day we went to the Yankee baseball game. The first day we did a lot of walking and we were very tried by the end of the day. Saturday, the day started with our second Yankee game and then went to Time Square to watch college football. Sunday we went to New Jersey to watch the Giants. Did you know that the New York Giants actually play in New Jersey at the Meadowlands and share a stadium with the New York Jets? I enjoyed the Giant’s game more than the Yankee’s games. After being to the Giants stadium, I understood way the Yankees were making a new stadium. The Giant’s stadium was a lot nicer, but they are still building a new one. After the game we watched the last Yankee’s game played in the Yankee’s stadium on TV. It was a lot of fun to be in New York watching it. Monday, we down to Central Park and enjoyed an Italian lunch then made our way to the airport. Because of my cast, they had to be wand me down again but they decided I hasn’t a terrorist and let me through LOL.
While we were in New York, the kids had a blast with Grandma Justice and Grandma Gale. They made Peanut Butter Candy and hung out.
Well, that’s all from us. We hope everyone has a great October.

August Newsletter

August was been an interesting month. Of course, we have enjoying the summer but I also had to start getting ready for school. So it seemed a lot busier. Amberley started dance class which she is really enjoying. Brenton started baseball and has played nearly every position. His favorites are pitcher, catcher, and first base. We also got to visit family in St. George when Mom, Dad, Cyndi, and family came down; while Debbie and I went up. We had fun swimming and visiting with everyone.
We also had to do the school things. Everyone went to the dentist to clean their teeth. Brenton will be getting braces in September. We also did school shopping and Jackson had to get his school shots. He was very brave even though he had to get four shots. I got back into my room early, trying to get organized for the new school year. I also had several training in August trying to reinvent some lessons and activities.
I guess the biggest piece of news is that I broke my ankle. Two days before I had to go back to work we were at the baseball park. I was stepping down off the bleachers when on the last step, my foot slipped and I fell right on the ankle, chipped a bone the Dr. said. It was very painful. Tuesday Mike and I spend the whole day at the doctors. Wednesday I went back to school with crutches. It was not a good way to spend my last day of summer vacation. However, my ankle is healing well. I was on crutches for about two weeks. Now I’m using a walking cast for a few weeks. Then I will return to the doctor and I’m hoping I will just have a brace to wear with my regular shoes for a couple of weeks. Because of my ankle this has been the most stressful start to school I have ever had, however, my class, parents, fellow teachers, and principle have been very supportive.
Mike has had a pretty good month. He has been really helpful at home, he took the whole day off at work to take me to the doctor and later that night he moved all the furniture in my classroom so my room would be ready for the Meet-and-Greet the next day. Work is the same, but this last week he’s been in Henderson at Green Valley Ranch Resort for training. That is an hour drive, not fun in the hot, hot sun with no air conditioning. One morning when he was on his way out the door he had a present; a flat tire. He got to work about an hour late. That was not a good day.
Lastly, Mike and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary. Mike took me to a very nice restaurant called The Capital Grille. It has a beautiful view overlooking the Wynn/Encore and with a great view of the Strip. Mike made special arrangements to have rose petals on the table with a card from the restaurant. It was very nice. I even had Calamari. Mike says the best Calamari on the planet. Next month, we will celebrate again with a trip to NYC. Grandma Justice and Great Grandma Gale are coming to Las Vegas to watch the kids so we can stay for a few days. We are getting excited.
Well, that’s about it. I hope everyone is doing ok. We love ya.
The Justice Family

March Family Newsletter

March has been a really fun month. I think it’s probably because we were on spring break so we only had three weeks of school. We were all needing the break and made the most of it. Brenton finished his basketball season the first day of March. Good thing because baseball started the exact same day. Brenton’s baseball coach is a very good coach. He is really patient with Brenton and Brenton is improving. Amberley and Brenton both finished their bowling club in the middle of March. I’m glad that is over. It was fun, but seemed to add too much in our already busy life. Brenton also received his wolf award in scouts. Now he is going right into the Bear den. I have finally updated his scout shirt. It wouldn’t be so bad if it were just his wolf patch I needed to get on, but I procrastinated so much I had to put on his bobcat, wolf and seven arrows. Thank goodness for spring break. Amberley has seemed to slow down a little this month. She finished her swimming lessons and really enjoyed that. However, we decided to take a break from swimming. She said something about basketball but we haven’t done anything about that. She has gone on two dates this month. She went to the Blue Man Group with Mike. During the month, Am and I went to KA. It is a production by Cirque de Soleil. Amberley loved both of them. She said Blue Man Group was really funny and KA was amazing. Jackson also finished swimming earlier this month and then started baseball. Mike is coaching his team which both of them seem to enjoy. Today was their first game. Jackson played first base and right field. They don’t keep score for Jackson’s division but he hit the ball every time he was at bat. He also made it all the way around the bases without getting out. All the parents thought he was pretty cute because every time he would come in to home plate, he would always slide. I asked him what he was doing and he told me “That’s what they do.” Jackson also turned five this month. He didn’t have a party but we did go to the park with the Debbie and kids then everyone enjoyed cake and ice cream at our house. The day ended with Sara and Kaitlyn spending the night. Mike spent two weeks in Colorado this month. He was concerned he wasn’t going to be able to get home. When he got to the airport Friday night in Colorado ready to come home, they told him that the airplane was having mechanical problems and they would not be able to help them, but that they needed their names, so that they could pray for them on Easter Sunday. So he had to drive to Phoenix Arizona, an eight-hour drive through the night. Once he got to Phoenix (about 3 am Saturday morning) he couldn’t get a flight until 11:00 Saturday. So he didn’t get home until Saturday afternoon. Besides work, he is putting a lot of time into coaching and helping around the house. I have been busy with work and family. At school, we had a family spaghetti night, which I helped serve and clean up. The second trimester ended so I had to do report cards. (One of the worst things about my job.) We have also had a lot of high-stakes tests, so it’s not a lot of fun. And of course family always keeps me busy. Sometimes I feel like a taxi driver that’s not getting paid. I have spent a lot of nights at the baseball diamonds, which is a nice change of scenery. Also I’m the team mom for Jackson’s baseball team, so I had to make a banner for their team. It was a lot of fun and it turned out pretty cute. We also had a good Easter. Of course the kids went to the Easter egg hunts, which all of them did well and the weekend ended with a nice family dinner.

February Family Newsletter

Another busy month has come and gone. This month started with Brenton’s birthday and birthday party. We went to the roller skating palace. Brenton had some of his friends from school and church come. His schoolteacher even came and skated with us. It was a lot of fun. A few days later was the super bowl. Brenton is a huge Patriots fan but everyone else wanted the Patriots to lose. When the Patriots lost he took it pretty well. No tears, no yelling, just disappointed. He did say that he is excited for March because then he gets to win in March Madness. Brenton and Amberley are currently doing the bowling club. Brenton is finishing his basketball league this next week and Amberley and Jackson are finishing their last swimming lesson on Saturday. Amberley lost her fifth tooth and again the tooth fairy was late giving her money. The tooth fairy needs to get organized. I have been busy with work and the kids. I have also completed my last provision on my Nevada state license. I had to complete a course on the Nevada law and constitution. I just finished it last week so I’m happy to say I will be a teacher in the state of Nevada for the rest of my life. Nothing special with Mike. Just work, work, and more work. He also has been coaching Brenton’s basketball team that will be ending this week and next week he will start coaching Jackson’s baseball team. One extra bit of fun this month was seeing Debbie and the kids last weekend. I know we live only an hour away from each other but it’s been difficult to find time to get together. On President’s Day weekend, we spent the afternoon together having a picnic and swimming at the Boulder City pool. We had a good time. Well, that’s all for now. We hope everyone is doing OK. We are going to be doing a March Madness Family Pool again, if you want to participate let Mike know.

January Family Newsletter

This month we have been getting back to normal. Back to school, back to 8:00 bedtimes for the kids and back to busy season (Mike's work). We went back to school on the 7th of January and the first week back was parent/teacher conferences. It was hard work. It takes a lot of time to prepare for conferences, so the first week back was pretty long. I recieved good reports from Amberley's and Brenton's teachers. Both of them are working hard and learning a lot. On top of doing parent/teacher conferences, the Saturday before I went back to work, my babysitter called me and told me that she got a new job and wouldn't be able to watch Jackson anymore. So I scrabbled trying to find a new sitter and I lucked out when I found a neighbor in the ward that was looking for kids to watch. She lives on the same street as us and has five kids. One is in kindergarten so they get to play together. It worked out perfectly.
During the third week of January, Mike's parents came down to visit for a few days. It worked out perfectly because Mike and I had a trip planned to Reno for the weekend. So instead of the kids staying with a family friend, they got to stay home with Grandma and Grandpa Justice.
Brenton basketball season is continuing. He is doing great and trying hard. Next month Brenton and Jackson are starting baseball. It looks like we will be spending a lot of time at the baseball parks.
Amberley and Jackson are contiuning with swimming. Both of them are learning a lot, but Amberley is making great strides. The first week of her new class, the teacher came up to me and said Amberley is too advanced and needed to move up other class. She is really enjoying swimming.
Mike is busy with busy season. He is in-charging McGladrey's biggest client. On top of that, the client decided to move up their filing date by about four weeks so Mike has had to put in a lot of hours. It has been a lot of pressure on him but he is doing well. The one good thing about this is that after Febraury 15th Mike will be pretty much done with his busy season.
Along with all the things Mike is doing he somehow found the time to open the Justice Family blog. We invite all of you to visit our new website at http://justicelivin.blogspot.com/
One last bit of good news. After being married for nearly ten years, our family is attending nine o'clock church for the first time. I love it. Being in a huge ward for the past two years, it's caused us to have one o'clock church but someone figured out that if we put primary first and switch the other wards in our building we would be able to attend the earlier time. So our ward is still huge but finally we get the earlier time.
Finally, we were saddness by the lose of President Hinckley this past month. Ever since I can remember President Hinckley has been a member of the first presidence. He will be greatly missed.

Love, The Justices