ballet recital

Okay, I know I went a little photo crazy. But, this is Avalyn's first ballet recital and I am a proud mommy! I love ballet and I am soo happy that she loves it too. This is why I have girls, right?!

The first 4 pictures are during the performance. The rest were taken backstage after the performance.

sweet sisters

Just a cute picture of our cute girls.

Preschool, Day 11

This week we are moving on to the letter X. I tried to do a pictorial preschool schedule today.

At 8:30 the kids start arriving at Miss Amie's house. We have free play with toys until all the kids arrive.

8:40 - The kids practice writing their names. We have laminated cards with their names written on them. They each have to trace
their name on the front, then free hand write it on the back.

8:50 - Circle time. We do the Pledge of Allegiance and sing songs.

9:10 - Letter time. The kids practice writing the current letter that we are working on.

9:20 - Math. Today we learned about spacial relationships (next to, on top of, under, in front of and behind.)

9:45 - Recess

10:00 - Snack. The snacks usually go with our letter or the color of the month. Today we had crackers with cheese whiz X's on them.

10:15 - Social Studies/Science Lesson. We discussed what was happening in our plant experiments.

10:30 - Craft time. The kids made colorful, paper xylophones.

10:40 - Story. We usually read stories the go along with what we are learning about that day.

10:55 - The kids straighten-up, get their shoes and backpacks on, and line-up at the door to go home.

Preschool, Day 10

We continued with the letter W today.

Miss Amie brought in real worms for the kids to see and touch. A few of the kids chose just to look at the worms, but surprisingly most of the kids actually picked up the worms.

For snack time we had "worms" (spaghetti noodles) and whale shaped chicken nuggets.

During craft time the kids got to paint with a "worm" (again just a spaghetti noodle). The masterpieces turned out really cool looking and the kids loved doing it.

Preschool, Day 9

So we're going to skip "Preschool, Day 8" because I forgot to take pictures. On to day 9.

This week we are learning the letter W.

Today was a perfect day to learn about wind. Miss Amie had the kids re-purpose plastic grocery bags into kid-friendly kites. Miss Amie tied 1 long piece of string onto both handles of each grocery bag, then the kids decorated their kites with lots of stickers. The kites easily catch the wind as the kids run around outside. The kids had sooo much fun!

game night...

We love playing games at Grammy and Granddad's house. Avalyn, our 4 year old, even likes to get in on the fun by playing some of the less complicated games. Some of our favorites games to play include:









The Train Game (also known as Ticket to Ride),


Wizards (a card game, it's a lot like hearts),


Dragonlords (aka Dragon Master, I didn't really like this game at first, but I won last time so now it's my favorite!),






9 High (a card game played with 3 regular decks of cards shuffled together... if you want to know how to play, leave us a comment asking), and

Hearts (you know... just like the one you can play on your computer, but with real people).

Preschool, Day 7

Preschool is at Miss Amie's house this month. That means that I am the helper mom (phew!)and Miss Amie is the teacher. We will be learning the letters V, W and X, the color purple, and other things that I don't have to plan.

Today we started working on the letter V. Miss Amie came up with this really cute game. The kids take turns driving their imaginary Van and they all make Vroom noises. Then Miss Amie holds up a picture of a V thing (volcano, violin, etc.) and asks one kid "What can you see out the window?", they shout out the name of the V thing and the game continues until everyone has had a turn. Here they are in the Van showing how to make a V with their fingers.

On a side note, isn't this the coolest backyard toy?! It is an airplane and a teeter-tooter. It fits all 8 kids on it at one time! All the kids love it! Miss Amie told me that she got it at COSTCO, I love Costco! I need it (hint, hint mom).




We also started a science experiment. The kids each planted 2 plants in separate pots. One to put in a sunny spot and one to put in a dark spot. Both plants are supposed to be watered the same. At the end of the month the kids are going to report back what happened to each of the plants. Don't worry I promise to post the results at the end of the month.

5 Eagles...

Sean had his Eagle Court of Honor. Now, all 5 Severts' boys are Eagles Scouts!

Greg mentioned that his favorite part was finally being able to sit in the "Eagle's Nest." I have to say that this was my least favorite part; sitting in the audience with all three girls, without Greg's help to pacify and contain them!

Anyways, we are soo proud of Sean and the other brothers for earning their Eagles. Way to go, boys!

Grumps and Nana

After all of our fun in Yakima, Shallon and I got to spend some quality time with Grumps and Nana (my parents). As you can see Shallon bears a strong resemblance to Nana.

Shallon also thought that Grumps' goatee was the greatest thing. Every time he held her it was the first thing she would grab for.

And finally, Shallon discovered her tongue this week, which hopefully explains the goofy face she's making in the picture with Grumps.

We had soo much fun on our little vacation. We were sad to go, but we are happy to be reunited with the rest of our family. And we can't wait to go back this summer with the whole family!

State 2008, continued

Back in the day, it was a tradition to have t-shirts made for State. We would all go to the same store, Shirtz To Go, at Southcenter Mall. Shallon and I decided to keep the tradition alive this year. Here is a picture of Coach Kristin's "Official Fanclub." Check out those cute shirts!

My cousin, Kayla, was also on her high school's drill team. She made her daughter's super cute sweater to match her team's sweaters. Future Drill-Teamers???

State 2008

My best friend, Kristin, is now the coach of her high school's pom and drill team. So, I thought that the state competition would be the perfect opportunity to come support her. And to watch the competition after 9 years, since I was last there performing with my high school's drill team.

So, Shallon and I flew up to my home state, Washington. And my super sweet mom drove us over the pass and through the snow to Yakima, where the competition is held every year.

I arranged it so that we stayed at the same hotel as Kristin. And the first night I snuck up to her room and we talked for hours, just like old times (except that I brought my 6 month old baby and she's 8 1/2 months pregnant, other than that, just like old times)! I miss my best friend. I wish that we lived closer to each other.

Thanks mom, for driving me all the way to Yakima (and for financing the trip)! I miss you and wish that you lived closer, also!

Preschool, Day 6

Today was picture day! We all met at the duck pond and Miss Kathryn took very professional looking, pictures of the kids. And everyone was being extra photogenic today, yea!

Preschool, Day 5

Today we worked on the letter "U". The kids made umbrella hand prints, with a cute "Rain, Rain, Go Away" rhyme attached.

For snack time we had celery with peanut butter (from the side, celery is shaped like a U).

Phew, I made it through the month! Tomorrow is Picture Day and next week is Spring Break, so I'm done teaching for the month.

I am the Helper Mom for next month so stay tuned for more preschool updates!

*ps. I finally got the pictures posted for Preschool, Day 4. Check it out!

Primary Easter Party

We took the girls to our Primary Easter party today. The party was at the park and it was a really nice day, great weather to be outside for the party. They divided all the kids into age groups and they had different Easter-themed stations; a bean-bag toss in the Easter Bunny's mouth, a cookie walk, and an egg shaped pinata. The kids rotated through all the stations. Then there was an egg hunt, each age group searched in a different section of the park. The girls had so much fun! Even Shallon who fell asleep half-way through the party.

Preschool, Day 4

Today we finished up with the letter T and we had our St. Patrick's Day lesson (I know it's early, but this is the last day of preschool before St. Patrick's Day).

For snack time we had green scrambled eggs and bacon. Some of the kids were pretty hesitant to eat green eggs, but with a little coaxing to just try them, all but 1 of the kids ate them all. The 1 insisted that she didn't even like regular colored eggs, I did confirm this fact later with her mom.

We learned about traditions like wearing green on St. Patrick's Day, we read a story about tricky Leprechauns, and we made cute "Leprechaun Kids."

Preschool, Day 3

This week we will be learning about the letter T.

Today, we sang a silly song by changing the words in 'Mary had a little Lamb' to 'Toni had a little Turtle' and other "T" animals.

We had a special visitor; Crush, the turtle. All the kids got to touch his shell. He was a big hit! (of course, I completely spaced the camera and didn't get a picture)

We read a book about sea turtles.

And finally we made these cute paper turtles with shapes on their shells.

Shallon update...

So here's an update on our sweet, baby Shallon:

She is now 5 1/2 months old. Her sisters still adore her, thank goodness. And she definitely has BROWN eyes (like mommy)!!

We have introduced her to the wonderful world of solid foods (if you can call a puree solid). Some of her favorites include butternut squash and sweet potatoes.

And last but not least, her balance has improved greatly and she can sit alone pretty well.

And yes, that is grass Shallon is sitting on. It's hard to come by here in Pahrump, but we did find some over at the church lawn.

Preschool, Day 2

Today's highlights: We continued our Sunflower unit by planting our very own sunflowers. (We did actually plant a sunflower seed in the cups, not just a picture of one.)

We also finished off the letter "S" with a sticker "S" craft.

Preschool, Day 1

Ok, I know that it has been forever since my last post, I have no excuses. So on with the update...

Preschool is at our house this month. That means that I'm the teacher (Yikes!). We will be learning the letters S, T and U, the color green, and about the edible parts of plants.

Today we learned about Sunflowers. I had the kids make these cute paper plate sunflowers, with real sunflower seeds glued in the middle.

We also learned a silly song, "Suzy had a little Snake." (Mary had a little lamb, but with "S" animals)

And for snack time we had salads, for a hands on lesson about edible plant parts.

ps. Since preschool is at our house Briley is getting a preview for next year.

right now...

This is what the girls are doing right now.

Avalyn and Briley are playing together in their room. They have laid out the blankets from their beds and they are having a picnic/tea-party on the floor in their bedroom. They are actually playing nicely together.

And Shallon is sleeping. I love that she still has her thumb in her mouth, and that she is snuggling her super soft blanket (that Grammy made when Briley was born). Our sweet girls (for now)!