Leonard & Tricia's Wedding

Last weekend my little brother, Leonard, was married to his sweetheart Tricia. They were married on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011 in the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. It was such a special and fun day. The temple was beautiful and everything turned out so nice. Mckenna absolutely was in awe of Tricia and her wedding dress and everything else about the wedding. She looked beautiful and my little brother looked so handsome and grown up. It is hard to believe he is actually old enough to be married. :)


The reception was really fun. There was a delicious, never-ending dessert bar. At the end of the reception, there was music and dancing. Mckenna LOVED every minute of it and so did Sydney. Actually...we all LOVED it. It was fun to just be with my family and have tons of fun together. It was a special day filled with lots of great memories. I was so glad that we were able to be there with my little brother for his special day! Congratulations Tricia and Leonard! We are so happy for you and wish you all the luck for the future! Welcome to the crazy Francis family Tricia! ;)

Mckenna's 4th Rainbow Birthday Party!

Mckenna turns 4 tomorrow! I can't believe she is already going to be 4! We had a birthday party for her today. She chose to do Rainbow Birthday Party theme. We had a lot of fun planning this party. It turned out so cute too! My mom helped me make a really cute dress for her to go with our rainbow theme. She loved wearing it. She called it her "rainbow party dress!" :)

We did her party at the park and invited family and some of her neighborhood friends. They had so much fun. We went on a treasure hunt to find all the colors of the rainbow. The girls had a lot of fun finding the colors and helping put them back together to make the rainbow. Then we opened presents and had rainbow cupcakes! It was a pretty fun party. We handed out cute gift baggies that had rainbow twizers and worther's originals at the bottom of the bag. The top had a cute saying that said "You're My POT O' GOLD at the End of the Rainbow! Thank You for coming!" I wish I would have remembered to get a picture of them. They were super cute! Everyone loved them!

Chris and I finally were able to get Mckenna her first big girl bike! She has always had too short of legs. This year, we decided she was big enough to get one. We surprised her with it at the end of her party. She was SO EXCITED! It is a cute princess bike complete with streamers, bell, basket, and a baby carrier seat! It is really cute. She is having so much fun with it already.

Overall it was a great day! Tomorrow we have a few other things planned with just family for her real birthday. It is still hard for me to believe that I will soon have a 4 year old! I don't feel like I'm old enough myself to have a child that old! ;) She is growing up so fast. We love her so much! Happy 4th Birthday Mckenna! =)

Mckenna and her friends at her Rainbow Birthday Party! :)

Mckenna and her new bike and blowing out the candles on her Rainbow Birthday Cake! :)

Summer is over =(... School is here =)

Wow... I can't believe I have been so bad at blogging this summer. And now summer is officially over for me on Monday. =( We start teacher meetings next week and school officially starts the next Monday, August 15th. I can't believe it!! I am getting really excited though for this next school year. I get to teach 2nd grade homeroom. Which at my school, is pretty much the equivalent of a regular school teacher. I get to teach reading and writing. I think it should be fun. Lately, my nerves have kind of gotten the best of me and I've had a few moments, but overall I am really excited.

This week, I went in and pretty much got my classroom in order. Chris, Chris' mom, and my sister, Geneava all helped me get it ready. (Thanks again for all your help guys!) My classroom theme is "Reach for the Stars!" I think everything turned out really cute and I hope that the students like it when they see it for the first time! :)

(p.s. my classroom is a LOT cuter in person!! but here is a gist of what it looks like! ;)

So other than school starting, things are going really well for us. We had a great summer. We got to spend a lot of time together, which was really nice. Chris took one summer school class~ Calculus, and I'm so proud of him. He got an A- in it!! He did so awesome! He is such a great student. He makes this teacher/wife very proud! Chris starts school again on August 22. He will have his Associates Degree this next semester and has already started classes for his major. He is going into Network Engineering. I'm excited for him and his is really motivated in school right now.

Mckenna is going to be starting preschool this fall. We found a preschool in Chris' parents neighborhood that she is going to go to. It is the perfect location and she only goes twice a week, so not too overwhelming all at first. I am super excited for her. She is so bright and I know that she needs this to push her and also help her with her social skills. Hmmm maybe it will make her go to bed easier too??? That would be nice!! haha

Sydney is just a cute little fireball. We love her to death. She is trying to say lots of words. She is just learning so much each day and turning into such a sweet little girl. Her and Mckenna are such great friends and even greater sisters. It is such a joy to watch them play and laugh together.

Now onto the next chapter in our lives... my 2nd year of teaching, Chris' college continuted, and Mckenna starting preschool! We will be very busy at this little house!! :) Life is good!

My Family Get Together

My family has started a new tradition. Every year around the day my Dad passed away (June 18), we get together to celebrate his life and to reunite with everyone. It's hard to believe that it has been 3 years since he passed away. I miss him so much, so getting together with my mom and brothers and sisters was really important. This year we decided to get together up North. It was also Father's Day weekend so it was even more fitting to celebrate Dad's life. On Saturday, June 18, we started the day by going to the Provo Temple to do a session. It was so neat. It was the first time I've ever been to the Provo Temple. What a beautiful temple! One of the best parts about it was that we were able to take some of my dad's ancestor names through. It was such a spiritual experience. I was so glad Chris and I were able to attend. There isn't really anywhere I'd rather be with my family, than in the temple. It was so awesome to be able to go to the temple with my side of the family for a change. It doesn't happen very much so I was so grateful that it worked out. It was hard not to think of my dad while we were in the temple. I think we all felt the same way. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of him. So many things remind me of him and so to be in the temple to reflect about him and our Savior was so spiritually uplifting for me. It was a great start to the day.

Later that afternoon, we went up to the Hogal Zoo in Salt Lake. The kids had so much fun. (as did their parents!!) Mckenna and Sydney loved every minute of it. It was a fun afternoon spent with all the kids and my family. That evening we all went out to dinner....and when I say all I mean ALL. There were 22 of us altogether--- 3 babies in carseats, 2 kiddos in high chairs, 2 or 3 in boosters...I can't even remember exactly how we all sat and all fit, but we did. We went to Texas Roadhouse (one of my Dad's favorite places). It was total chaos but a lot of fun!! I enjoyed spending time with my family. We always have a lot of fun when we are together. I love them all so much and I'm so glad and grateful we all got to spend that time together. My Dad left a great legacy and all 22 of us are doing our part to keep it going! :)

Mckenna and her Tonsils

Mckenna has had trouble sleeping for a long time. She has always had trouble sleeping the whole night through. She usually wakes up at least once or twice. We've always noticed she kind of snored, but never thought there was a real explanation. Since she is our first, I kind of always thought maybe it was normal for kids to snore?? Well, Mckenna is fortunate enough to have some pretty fabulous grandparents, her grandma Debbie in particular. She worked at an ear, nose, and throat doctor for a long time. She watched the girls while Chris was going to school and I worked. She noticed one day that Mckenna's tonsils were abnormally huge. After looking for ourselves, Chris and I were shocked at how big they actually were. They were practically touching. Hmmm...could that possibly be why she can't sleep well and she snores? The poor girl could hardly breathe right. Well, we took her into a specialist and he said that was probably the reason. We decided to schedule her for surgery to get them taken out.

On Tuesday, June 21, Mckenna went in for her appointment. Chris, his dad, and brother Stephen gave Mckenna a blessing the night before. She was really, really, REALLY nervous. I didn't want to scare her for a long time, so I didn't talk about it until it was close to her surgery. I'm glad I did, because she was so anxious and worried about getting them out. Which she had all right to be. I'm pretty sure I would have been freaking out too! After she got the blessing, she felt so much better. It was such a sweet blessing. I was so grateful for Chris and his family members and that they were worthy to give her a priesthood blessing. I know it helped her (and her mommy) so much. On Tuesday morning, she was honestly so brave. Grandma Debbie, Chris, Mckenna and I all headed into the hospital. After playing the waiting game for a good while, she finally went back to get started. We said our goodbyes (tried to hold back the tears...it was kind of hard to say goodbye) and waited anxiously in the waiting room. The surgery lasted about 30-45 minutes. The doctor, Dr. Gardner, came out and talked to us about how she did. He said she did really well and that her tonsils were actually quite bigger than he expected so it was a good thing we decided to get them taken out.

About 45 minutes later we were able to go back in and see Mckenna. She was all wrapped up in her favorite blankey and was squeezing her baby doll (for which she named Taylee the morning of the surgery ;) so tight. She was a little out of it still. I went up to her and stroked her forehead and said, "Mckenna, It's mommy." She opened her eyes and looked at me and just started to cry. I was so proud of her and that moment I don't think I will ever forget. She was so innocent and you could just tell she wanted her mommy. I felt so bad for her too. I hate going to the doctor, let alone getting surgery all by yourself being only 3. It was a sweet moment for me. Chris and I brought her a stuffed giraffe (She said that was her favorite animal we saw at the zoo the previous weekend.) with 5 huge princess balloons attached and we gave her a present for being so brave. It was a Tangled barbie doll that she had been really wanting. Those little gifts cheered her up quite a bit. That and having her grandma right there too!

She has been recovering really well. Other than not wanting to sleep in her own bed and being a little ornery, she has been doing great. (as long as she has her Tylenol too!) We haven't noticed a big change in her sleeping yet and since she has still been swollen, the snoring hasn't exactly stopped yet either. But Chris and I are hopeful that as the weeks go on, she will get better and we will see an improvement in her sleeping. We hope so anyways! We are really grateful that everything went smoothly and that it is over (for the most part). It was quite the ordeal to go through with a 3 year old. :) A very cute 3 year old! We love you Mckenna!!

Summer is HERE!!

Summer is finally here!! We went on our first camping trip of the summer last weekend to Kolob Reservoir. It was fun, but really exhausting. Camping with a 1 year old and a 3 year old is a lot of work. Chris and I were totally exhausted when we came back. We went up on Thursday and were planning on staying until Saturday. Well, by the time we had cooked dinner Friday night, we both looked at each other and said to each other, why are we staying another night?! So we quickly decided to pack up and head home. Sydney really didn't like sleeping at night. She was so fussy the whole night on Thursday. She was restless and cried. Even Mckenna was annoyed by her crying. In her words she would say "Sydney is freaking out!" We just felt that she would probably do better if we just headed home so she could get a good nights sleep in her crib. We were right! After cleaning up camp, we headed home. By the time we got home, it was about 10:00pm. We were so tired. We left unloading everything til the next morning. We had just enough energy to throw the clothes in the washing machine and get everyone showered off, then we all fell asleep. Camping really is a lot of fun, but my goodness!! It wears you out so much, especially when you have to entertain and chase around 2 rambunctious little girls!! =)

My 1st Year of Teaching...

It's been quite a while since I really posted, so I am playing catch up on a few posts. Well I can't believe that the last day of school really arrived. At times, I really thought it might never come. But now that it did, I am almost having a hard time believing that summer is really here....just almost!! ;)

I loved teaching school my first year. It wasn't your typical first year of teaching. My job description changed I think a total of 3 times during the course of the year. I started off by being a simple kindergarten aide and teaching 4 classes of extended homeroom math. I loved my schedule and love, love, loved working with the kindergarten kids and their teacher. She and I became such good friends over the year. I learned so much being in Ashley's class---more than student teaching and practicums combined!!

About mid September/October (I really can't remember anymore!) I was asked to teach two new classes in the mornings. They were getting a few new 1st grade students and needed a teacher to teach them math and science/history. I was so excited when they asked me to teach this! I started off with a class of a whopping 4 students...no joke! It was kind of weird, but they assured me more would come as the year progressed. (I think it was more of an assumption than an assurance....) But we pushed forward with the small class. The kids were so sweet and great. As the year went on, our class grew and by the end of the year we had about 15 kids. I treated these kids like they were my own. I loved that we had such a small class. We all got to be so close and we could really do some fun projects because there were only the few of us. By the end of the year, I was sad to say goodbye to my 1st graders. I really grew to love them and I think these kids and these two small classes really made me begin to love being a teacher! I really saw such progress with each of them individually and that made me feel like I was actually doing something right. I am excited to see most of them next year!!

About the time for Christmas break to begin, my principal called me into his office. I wasn't totally sure what was going on. In fact, I had no idea, especially about what he was going to offer me next. He said that they needed to make some changes to the 3rd grade math class. There were some management problems and the students weren't being taught or learning what they needed to be, especially by the mid year mark. He offered me the position, which meant I would have to leave my job as a kindergarten aide. It was really a hard decision, but after much thought, prayer, and talking with Chris and just about everyone else, I decided it would be a great opportunity for me, so I took it. So I came back from Christmas break and started yet another new job, I was the new 3rd grade math teacher. I had 4 classes of 3rd graders, a total of just about 100 students. As the year went on, I learned just how much of a challenge it was going to be. I had a lot of students who were really low and I worried so much about how I was going to get them ready for their end of level test coming up at the end of the year. I just had this worry that if they failed those tests, that it would be a direct reflection of my teaching abilities. Chris had to constantly remind me that it wouldn't be my fault. I was only there trying to fix the problem, and that it wasn't my problem to begin with. Even my principal said that he knew I would only help these kids do better. I had to keep those words of encouragement in my mind pretty much all the time. It was really hard! I tried my best and I learned to really love a lot of the students. Although their management was still a struggle by the end of the year, I really feel like I took these kids from a low point and brought them to where they needed to be---even a handful of them really pushed themselves and exceeded my expectations. After looking over their end of level scores, I was so proud of them all! They all did better than I could have expected. They weren't all perfect, but I that's not what mattered. I saw even some of my lowest students improve their grades significantly and that means something. Overall, I think that taking over this class taught me a whole lot more that I probably taught the kids. I learned so much about myself as a teacher. I'm glad I had the opportunity.

Now, as far as next year goes. I am going to be teaching a 2nd grade homeroom class. I will only have to worry about language arts--reading and writing. I am excited about that. And even better, I will only have about 50 students max, rather than over 120 with all my classes combined this year. That will be wonderful when it comes time for grading papers!! It will be a new experience and challenge for me, but I guess that's what my whole teaching career has been so far! Just as long as they don't change my job description AT ALL during the year, I think I will do fine! I am excited!!

Ok, there is my whole school year in a nut shell. I loved working at Vista and I loved the people I worked with. I am so excited to continue working with the wonderful people who work there. I have made so many great friendships and have learned so much from working with the other teachers. There are so many amazing teachers and that's really what makes that school great!! So....let the summer begin!!! =)

Best Teacher on the Planet

One of the radio stations in St. George (Planet 94.1) does a contest during the year for teachers. It is called "Best Teacher on the Planet." The way it works is that each week they pick a teacher who has been nominated and surprise them in their classroom with all sorts of awesome prizes. Well Chris was joking with me one day and said he was going to nominate me. Of course I told him no, because I felt like there are a lot more teachers who deserve the nomination and recognition that this little old first year teacher!! Well, despite my request not to nominate me, HE DID and I WON!!! :)

I couldn't believe it!! I haven't won anything for the longest time. Chris said there is this "Summerhays curse" where anyone with the Summerhays last name doesn't win anything. I thought that was probably the case with me. But apparently not that week! I was so embarrassed and excited at the same time. The radio station hosts, Chris and LaRae, and a bunch of other people from different places around town showed up unannounced to my 3rd period 3rd grade math class! It was nuts!! All of my administration were there with them too. We made quite the scene, to say the least!!

I was so honored to receive such a nomination, even if it was by my own husband. Everyone at school was saying how sweet it was to be nominated by my own husband and they were right!! I am one pretty lucky girl! He wrote the sweetest letter to nominate me. They gave me a copy of it. It was just nice to feel appreciated for all that I do for my students. Sometimes I felt like I was putting in all these hours upon hours of unnoticed work. But my sweet husband was noticing and that means the WORLD to this Best Teacher on the Planet!! :)

So....thanks babe for making my first year of teaching the best!! :) I love you!!

Sydney is 1!

I can't believe it but my baby girl turned one this past week!! Sydney Grace celebrated her 1st birthday on Thursday, April 7, 2011. As bittersweet as this is, (because let me tell you, it has been VERY bittersweet for me!) we were so excited to see her turn one. I decided to take the day off work. (best decision I have made in a long time!!) I was able to spend the entire day with my little girls. We spend most of the day getting things ready for Sydney's party. We baked cupcakes and cakes and decorated them. It was a lot of fun. We had a nice party with family that evening. Sydney was spoiled by all her aunts, uncles, and grandparents! She was such a trooper. She was happy almost the entire day! She LOVED eating her cake and opening presents. It was such a special day. :)

It was also Chris' grandma's birthday. We did a surprise birthday party for her that night also. We made her a cake and gave her presents too. She was very surprised and it was to touching to have them spend their birthdays together. I love my little Sydney so much. She adds so much joy to our crazy little family. Mckenna loves her to pieces and Sydney returns the love tenfold. I love being these little girl's mommy and feel so lucky and blessed to have them in my life. It is still hard to believe I have a 3-year old and now a 1-year old!! Where does the time go, seriously?!!

Here are some of the 1-year old pictures I took of Sydney. She is so photogenic, that it was easy to capture some adorable pictures!! I am one lucky mommy!! :)

Catching Up...

So I realize that I have become almost too busy to even blog! But I wanted to spend a spare minute and play catch up. We have been busy, very busy! Chris with going to school, myself with teaching school, and the girls with, well...just being very busy little girls....very busy cute girls!!

Mckenna has been going to Sunbeams and LOVES it! She is always singing primary songs and telling us stories. She also is going to "Princess Preschool." Grandma Debbie watches the girls everyday and they started doing preschool lessons part of the week. Mckenna named her preschool. (as if I needed to say that! :) She loves learning and I come home from school each day and ask her what she learned about that day and sure enough, she can tell me tons of things she learned. I am so happy and lucky to have such a great mother-in-law that will help teach my children!! Thanks Debbie!!

Sydney is going to be 1 in two weeks!! I can NOT believe it! So much has happened in the past year. It really did fly by. Sydney is so adorable. She has been walking for over a month now. She started taking steps at 10 months. Mckenna was walking at 9 so we were just waiting for it to happen. Now that she is really mobile, she is all over the place, and I mean ALL over the place. She tries climbing up onto everything. She loves anything that her big sister is doing. If we can't find her, we know that she will be wherever Mckenna is. (or on Mckenna's bed!) She loves climbing up on her bed and playing on it. It's really funny to go in their room and just find her sitting on Mckenna's bed! She is still the happiest baby around and you can always get a big smile out of her. We love her so much!

We had a great spring break last week. Chris and I both had school off together so it was fun to spend the week together. Spring break really made me anxious for summer break though. I really miss being home with my kids and getting to do whatever I want...like projects or just up and go shopping or to the park! I miss that! :( But, I also enjoy teaching and know that I am doing what I need to be doing right now for our family. Chris is busy with school and I know that he needs to be focusing on school and I am happy that I am able to help out financially so he can go to school.

Life is good, just always busy! We are very blessed. Chris and I got to go to the temple last night with Chris' parents and sister. We had such a wonderful time. I sometimes forget how hectic my life really is. It was nice to just sit and not think about my classes or students or whatever else always is occupying my mind and just be with my husband and think about what really matters.

Here are some pictures that I took of my sweet girls for Valentines Day. Enjoy!! :) I love them so much! Chris and I are very blessed to be their parents!

What a week...and it's only WEDNESDAY!!

This has been a crazy week. To start if off, Sunday night Sydney started getting sick. She was running a little fever and a little runny nose. Well after work on Monday, I came home to a still sick baby with a high fever and Mckenna who was missing her fingernail!! Apparently she was out shopping with Chris' mom during the day and got her finger stuck under the wheel of a shopping cart and it tore her fingernail right off....whole thing!! Can I just say that even thinking of it still, I cringe! I can't imagine how painful that must be. Poor little girl!

Sydney still has a fever, a cough, and a runny nose. We took her to the InstaCare last night and the doctor gave us an antibiotic. He thought she might be getting an ear infection. I hope they start making her feel better. She has not been a very happy baby at all the whole week! She won't sleep for more than like 30 minutes at time, even at night!!! Chris and I have barely gotten any sleep this whole week. It's been so hard.

Then to top off my lovely half of a week, I got back a test from one of my 3rd students today and written completely out on her test was f*** you. Wow!! Thank you students for making me feel great! I was honestly in shock! I mean her name was on her paper and she even did her test. There must be more to the story. I honestly feel bad for this student. She must have some other problems that need attention. I hope this "cry for help" gets her what she needs. Kids these days never cease to amaze me! Everyday teaching reminds me of that!!

So, it's only Wednesday and that much has been going on...what else can happen? I better not jinx myself!! Thank goodness for tomorrow!! I hope you are a better day!! :)

Mckenna's Prayers

Mckenna has gotten really good at saying her own prayers. The other night before bed, she said the cutest prayer. It went something like this...

"Please bless that Heavenly Father will sleep good in his bed too!"

It was seriously the cutest thing ever! Even after a long day of 3-year-old fighting and tantrums, she still knows how to melt her mommy's heart! =)

Feeding the Ducks

We love to feed the ducks! It is one of those times as a family, where everything else doesn't seem to matter and we can just enjoy being together!! Saturday was one of those beautiful "Winter" days in St. George. Perfect weather for visiting the ducks. It was Sydney's first time seeing the ducks. She loved it. Mckenna absolutely loves feeding the ducks. I am so thankful for little moments like these spent with my adorable little family!