Back to School

I can't believe another school year has begun. This year we have kids at three different schools!

Ashley and Madison are both in Primary School.

Ashley is in 2nd grade this year.

Madison is now in 1st grade.

Welsey is in 4th grade at the Elementary School.

Allen is embarking on the adventure known as Middle school, in 6th grade.

They are all so excited to be back at school! We are so happy with the teachers they have and their choice in friends. This is going to be another amazing year:)

As for mom and dad...Chad returns to school the end of the month, and Aubrey will be Substitute teaching again as well as spending time with PTO for all three schools. Nothing slows down around the Pena home.

Merry Christmas!

If you didn't get your card yet, its on its way...if it doesn't come, let me know:)

Happy Halloween

Direct from Alice in Wonderland...I Present to you-

Allen-as the Mad Hatter (yes everyone got this one right)

Wesley-as the Caterpillar "Who are yoooou?"

Ashley-as the Queen of Hearts "Off with their heads!"

and Madison- as Alice!

Hope you had as much fun last night as we did!

(Thank you Grammy for our amazing costumes!)

"Summer Fun"

Allen, Wesley and Ashley with their Summer Fun teachers.

Allen and his Summer Friend-J.J.

This summer we found the most amazing summer school program for the kids. They were separated into groups not by age, or grade, but so that there was an assortment of each in every group. The groups rotated through each of five teachers everyday of the week.
Mrs McGruder taught Computers. Ms Lee taught cooking. Mrs Martinez taught us about our bodies. Ms Morelos directed our Reader's Theater. Mrs Uttergaurd taught us exercise.
They had a blast and are excited to go again next summer. Madison is especially excited since she will be old enough to go next summer!

Last Day of School

Wesley was so blessed to have the same teacher in kinder and first grades. I would say we are going to miss her, but Ashley will have Mrs Feerick for Kindergarten!

Allen also had an awesome teacher this year. Mrs Miller cared so much about the students and their progression throughout the year. We were so sad when she was on the list of teachers let go with the budget cuts.... She will always hold a special place in our hearts!

Happy Happy BIrthday Wesley Dear!

Wesley never asks for anything. We had to force him to write a letter to Santa, and then again to make a birthday wish list. He asks for things like "a ream of paper" and "some glue" (Seriously!!!) He is our budding artist and loves anything he can use to create. We love you Wesley, your birthday is gonna be awesome!

The Christmas Tree Nazi....

( NOTE: Not a personal account, but I didn't want my

children to write a version of this in the future!)

"My mother is The Christmas Tree Nazi. Where most families decorate the Christmas tree as a family, my mom does not like anybody decorating the tree other than herself. As a kid I would decorate the Christmas tree and then my mother would say:
"Oh Baby that looks nice. You did a wonderful job. But you know if you just move this piece here and this piece there...."
And before you know it the whole tree would be rearranged as mom saw fit. It was disheartening. My poor little feelings would be hurt. Now I don't even try to decorate the tree. I have learned that there is no hope that I will ever decorate another Christmas tree as long as I am at home with my mother. It's just not possible.
We (well my mom) just managed to decorate the tree tonight even though the tree has been up for a couple of weeks. And what can I say, she stayed true to form. She put the kids to be, begin to decorate the tree, and didn't ask for my help until she needed me to fill in some holes on the side and the back of the tree. You know the areas where no one is going to look.
Yep. That's my mom. The Christmas Tree Nazi."

I read this and decided that I needed to relinquish my throne. The kids are having a blast, and they definitely have some of my obsessive tendencies. Our tree is looking better than it ever has!

The best boy...

Wesley was sitting at the table last night working on his homework while Chad and I were finishing dinner. Out of nowhere Wesley looked up and told Chad, "I'm so glad mom picked you instead of some other boy, because you're the funniest!"

Halloween

We're off to see the Wizard!

Allen was a perfect Tin Man. Wesley was a great Scarecrow. Madison was made for the Role of the Cowerdly Lion, and Ashley pulled off Dorthy like no one else!

First stop Mrs Feerick's house.

On to the heart of the trick or treating with Deni as Glenda the Good witch, Blair as the Wicked witch of the west, and Chad, Pam, and I as the Lollipop Guild. Madison and Deni really got into the candy collection this year - running from house to house, sampling the goods, it was a blast!

The Kids looked AWESOME. I know I'm going to miss the themed Halloweens but I promised the kids they could pick anything they wanted next year and that they didn't have to have a theme.

The end of the night...one more picture before the sugar feast!

What time is it?...SUMMERTIME!

It wouldn't be summertime at the Pena house without swimming lessons!




The kids look forward to their pool time and it is a great
bargaining chip if their chores aren't getting done!

Sonoran Desert Museum

Wesley's joke last week was..." are all the animals tired since it's the snorin desert museum?" -insert bent over giggles here. So, with that we decided to spend the morning checking on the "sleeping" animals, and make good use of our family pass! Saguaro Cactus blossoms

Ashley with the fish.

(She totally fell off right after we took the picture!)

Wesley got a little tired so Allen

volunteered to push him in the stroller!

The blessed backpack!

Madison just being so stinkin' cute!

The Last Day of School!

Wesley's last day as a Kindergartener...it was one crazy day!

Wesley and our favorite Kinder teacher- Mrs. Feerick!

Allen and Ms. Anderson - Goodbye 2nd grade!What would we have done without Ms Anderson?

Kindergarten Field Day

There is nothing else quite like the Parachute!

Takes me back to elementary every time! We are so blessed to have found amazing

teachers that let all of the kids participate. The girls love it!

Friday...

Usually Friday is a fun day. The end of the school week. All of the homework is done and put away. We plan our Saturday activities. We may even have visitors from out of town! This is not what we had planned for Friday afternoon!

I got a call from the nurses office at school (nothing new so that wasn't the point of concern). She said Wesley had hit his head (again not alarmed). Then she said I may need to take him to the ER. Well I guess the only thing to interject here is "I guess we are due for an Emergency Room visit, as we have mad it four months this year without a trip to TMC!" Wesley was running backwards on the playground and fell and hit his head on a "red pole"

He only ended up with three staples with a bonus opportunity to shoot the staple gun before they threw it away! Hey how often to you get to do that? He is fine and back at school with his attached show and tell story. I'll let you know how the removal goes. (I think we are going to do it ourselves since we own the tool!)

Happy Birthday Wesley!

Happy Birthday Wesley. 6 years old! You are so much fun with a smile on your face and a quiet but quick joke for every situation. We love you!

Christmas Day

Christmas morning always starts at home. After we have gotten through that ciaos, we drive to Grammy and Umpa's house in Gilbert for the rest of the day!

Christmas Eve (I am so far behind!)

We have a couple Christmas Eve traditions that the kids have come to love ! First we read Luke and talk about the Savior. We let the kids tell how they feel about Christ's birth and life. It is fun to watch the symbolism come to life for them. Then we read the book
I Believe in Santa Claus by Diane Adamson and M. Chad Randall. This is a wonderful book if you've never seen it! Then Chad reads the kids The Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore and Christian Birmingham. After all the books are put away, we sing Christmas carols (Chad liked to pick and then let me sing because he didn't know the words in English-mission flashbacks!). Finally the kids are allowed to open the little gifts that they got for eachother. It was a wonderful night!