The KLEC Brown family visit!

We were priveleged to have the KLEC Brown family come into town!  I am so glad we got some time with them before they move to Italy.  We set up a night at a local pizza joint and invited everyone--Gerlachs, Browns, Newmans, and friends.  It was wonderful to spend time with them and see family members.  (At one point, a man who looked like he could be a Brown stepped toward me and put his arm out--to let me pass, but I thought he was going in for a hug--I thought maybe he was a relative that I just couldn't remember!  Fortunately, I didn't hug him--I realized he was just a friendly man letting me go by.  Boy, what a surprise that could have been for him!)

Matt and Barb kind of forgot to come... so we had them over for dinner when Ky came over with Charlotte.  We had a great time just talking and chatting!  That Charlotte is a beautiful baby!  I can't wait to get over to Italy to visit... :)

Christmas

I don't know why, but blogger is a stinker about posting photos anymore...  so that is why I never post them.  It gives me problems!

This month we really focused on trying to make Christmas memorable and fun.  We listed all the things we wante to do, and then we sort of went down that checklist and did them all!  Craft nights--the kids made "angry birds" out of puffy balls, tree decorations with wire and beads, coloring and more.  We went out--we saw the lights at Temple Square (it was cold, but the kids did great), we went caroling to a Nursing Home (and took some ornaments for them, the kids sang beautifully and the elderly folks looooved it), we had the Daw family party (Santa came!), and we went to the Brown family party (another Santa came--it was cousin Nate dressed up, and I must say he is a great sport.  What a fun guy!).  We did activities to keep us focused on "the reason for the season"--We did a 12 days of Christmas, where every day we choose an activity from a box that had to do with being nice to others (making their bed, writing a note, etc), we learned the second verse to "Could I Hold the Baby" (and they learned a song in Primary, "Baby in a Manger"), we started a new tradition of putting on the production of the Nativity--each child was in charge of a different part (costumes, directing, music, etc) and we recorded it, and we read new Christmas stories/books. 

I kept busy with my own projects--for friend gifts I made a bunch of cute rice babies, and I made some curtains for a neighbor, and I made Elise some dress up skirts.  My sewing machine has had a workout!

Because Christmas was on Sunday this year, and we have church at 9 am, we chose to open presents after church.  We opened our stockings first and then got ready for church.  Because the kids got ready so fast, we had time to open one present each, and they opened the presents we received from the KVEST Brown's (thank you!).  Church was beautiful--it was all music.  The choir sang 5 songs, a few groups sang songs, and the congregation sang songs.  It was nice to have a joyful filled Christmas program.  After church we got back into pjs and opened our presents.  Weston got a lot of big boy things (a watch), Aidan freaked out about some of his (in a good way--one fun present was a Candy Claw machine!), Brennan had fun with it all (the magnetic toys have kept him very busy), and Elise loved every minute of it (her pink riding toy is her favorite).  Scott and I each gave each other nice thoughtful gifts--I got a little carpet cleaner and he got a small hand mixer, cheese slicer, and wooden spoons.  Wow, just what a guy wants...  I am very happy with my presents!  We had a delicious Brunch (orange rolls, bacon, and special drink).  In the afternoon we went to the Daws and had a nice time just visiting and exchanging gifts. 

The week following Christmas was nice and lazy!  The kids played with all their new toys, we took down decorations and rearranged the living room (sometimes it just feels nice to change things up), we visited family and had game nights with friends, and loved having so much time with Scott home.  Elise was sick one day and Scott held her (literally) the whole day.  The next day he had to go to work and she was still sick, and I wasn't what she wanted.  She asked for Dad the whole day!  She is definitely a Daddy's girl.  The weather has been nice, which is nice, but there has been no snow!  We were hoping for a white Christmas--or at least something we could go snowshoeing in.  It was, however trite it may sound, the best Christmas ever.

Scott's story

Here is Scott's story:

So I’m getting off the freeway at 600 South this morning, following a black Chevy Tahoe.  As we get off, the guy driving starts to swerve back and forth a little bit, so I’m thinking to myself, “This guy is on the phone texting somebody, not watching where he is going.”  All the sudden, he takes a major shift to the right, goes up over the curb and sideswipes a light post.  It knocks the light off the top, and it falls and shatters on the sidewalk.  At which point, he comes back into the lane.  But, I could tell that he was no longer pressing the gas pedal, because he was slowly coasting in the intersection and stopped in the middle of the intersection ---green light, luckily.  I pull up next to him and immediately could tell that he was having some sort of a seizure.  As I’m about to get out of my car, his foot pushes on the gas pedal briefly and he begins to travel veering off right through the intersection.  Somehow the car goes right in between a telephone pole and a traffic light post, with about a foot of clearance on each side.  His car stops about a foot from a gas station marquee.  I pull my car over and jump out and he is still seizing.  I run over and pull on the handle of the door, but it is locked.  However, his window is lowered just enough that I can reach my arm in.  I climb up on the running board and reach my arm in to unlock it and just as I do, his foot presses the gas pedal without letting up.  He, I, and the Tahoe travel a foot and hit the marquee which luckily was a big metal post securely concreted into the ground.  Because it was just a foot, the impact wasn’t really anything…  I unlocked the door, get in, the wheels are spinning, smoke is pouring off the back wheels—the rubber is burning.  I quickly reach over, grab the shifter, and pull it to park and then turn off the ignition.  The guy is starting to calm down at this point and a police officer was not too far behind and he pulled up within 20 seconds, as well as other people.  As the cop is seeing if the guy is okay, he starts to seize again.  The paramedics came, the cop got my statement and then told me I was free to go. 

November

While off track during November, Scott's sister Lauren was in town, so we hooked up and went to the Children's Museum downtown.  The kids always love it, though Weston is getting too old for it!  Elise was in heaven in the little toy store.  It was fun to be with Lau and her little darling Olivia.  We also went with them and Grandma Tracey, and our backdoor neighbors to Gardner Village to see the witches (so that was actually in October, not November...) and the kids had a ball running around looking for all of the different witches.  We took a trip to the Library and did a lot of reading together.  Aidan and I read "The Magician's Nephew" and Weston finished the fourth Harry Potter!  We did lose some books back in June that I finally had to just buy-- a $45 fine!!!  Just doing my part to help out the County Library...

Then the kids returned to school and Aidan had his "First Grade Program".  What a kid!  It was so fun to see him up in the corner singing his heart out.  He actually looked a lot like Scott as a child--Scott's family videos show a lot of him singing commercial jingles...  And just like Aidan, Scott sang with gusto.  His music class is doing well, too.  He is learning Jingle Bells and Silent Night on the piano in preparation for Christmas.

Weston was chosen to "Eat lunch with the Principal" because he is such a dedicated and hard working student!  He is just breezing by in reading and math, and his teacher talks to highly of him.  Although he is not taking piano lessons right now, I am still having him practice and he is playing Silent Night as well as some others.  We hope to go to a retirement home and play some songs for Christmas.

Brennan had his birthday--finally!  It has been quite a build up.  He has been talking about his party for the past 6 months.  And several times I have been disinvited--"You're not invited to my superman birthday party"--because he was mad at me.  But somehow I was invited in the end, good thing since I was the one throwing the party...  For the kids party I made a spiderman half red/half black head pinata.  We played some games, and then some bad guys (AKA Weston and Aidan) stole and hid all of his presents and they had to go on a treasure hunt to find them all.  They found the bad guys, too and tied them up with spider web, and then turned them into good guys.  Instead of cake, they each got a package of donuts.  It was a good party, and then we had a little family party the day before his birthday (since his bday is on Thanksgiving and he wanted Pizza for dinner, and on Tday, we usually have Turkey...), so we went out to a Pizza place with Grandma and Grandpa and opened a few presents.  Then on Thanksgiving, with the rest of Scott's family, we sang songs, opened a few more presents, and ate a spiderman ice cream cake.  He got some extra Thomas the Train track sets (a Christmas train, too), a spiderman t-shirt, and a spiderman sleeping bag!  Happy Birthday big guy, we are glad you are now four!  And daily since then, he has been planning his next birthday--It is going to be a long year for him...

Elise thinks she is a big boy, just like her brothers!  Although she isn't, she really is turning into a GIRL.  She loves her shoes, stuffed animals, and the other day, a neighbor let her play with a dollhouse and she played with it for hours!  I really think Christmas will be a blast this year for her--and I am so excited to give her girl gifts!  I have been busy getting dresses and skirts made for her and it is fun!  She loves helping me as I do things around the house.  And lately in order to go down for a nap, I have to show her a short princess video.  She is being introduced to all the disney princesses.  She is still not saying any intelligible words except --ma, dad, baby, jui (juice), and no (which she says for both yes and no...  it is rather confusing).  Though I swear the other day she said, "open the door"--she had gone into her room and closed the door and couldn't get out. She kept knocking on the door to get out, and finally (I swear!) she said, "open the door!"  Scott doesn't believe me.  I think she is just toying with us about not talking... But who knows. 

We didn't get photos of Thanksgiving, but it was a nice day.  We played games in the morning together, Scott and Weston threw around the football, and I made a huge pot of mashed potatoes.  We headed over to the Daws and ate a delicious dinner and then sat around talking and digesting.  That evening, Heidi and her clan came to stay the night, but it was a short visit because we all woke up the next morning and headed to Idaho.  My companion from my mission got married in the Idaho Falls temple, so we drove up to Sugar and the Barkers watched our kids while we went to the temple and then to the luncheon.  It was a lovely ceremony and she is marrying into a great family.  Then we spent the evening with the Barkers, which was much fun--and it included Phineas and Ferb... The next morning we played some more and checked out the new barn/shop--it is so neat.  We went to IF to go to .......  and then drove back to Utah.  Now we are on to the Christmas season--and we have tons that we are planning on doing!  It will be a great holiday!

October 2011

October is supposed to mean the end of summer and the sight of winter coming, but instead we have had such great weather.  We have kept getting more produce from the garden and have made tons more spaghetti sauce (and passed on the recipe to 3 more people who have bottled their own--Val it is all because of you!).  My neighbor also gave me three more buckets of apples and we made 5 more apple pie fillings and some fresh apple juice (thanks to Hilary's juicer!).  Just the other night we had the most amazing fresh apple sorbet that we want to make next year.  Amazing!  I found this recipe for some:  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Apple-and-Honey-Sorbet/Detail.aspx

October also brought us to the end of soccer.  The boys did so well this year.  Weston has a great coach and team, and many of them are at school with him so he gets to practice every recess.  He is one of the high scorers on the team.  He really understands the game.  He also loves football right now and loves to watch the games with his dad and grandpa.

He is enjoying third grade.  He has really high scores and completes all his work at school so he never has homework.  I am the room mother this year so I put on the "Fall Party" (not a Halloween party because the teacher doesn't like Halloween...)--and we made it a "Minute to Win It" party and the kids LOVED it!  It was a huge success.  I had ten or so different games available and each kid chose one--they loved to watch each other and cheer each other on.  We also got the teacher to play one, too! 

Aidan did wonderful in soccer--he even made two goals this year!  His music class is great this year as well.  He is starting on the keyboard.  They are learning intervals and chords.  He is really going to have a great understanding of the HOW of music.  He is also doing well in school.  He has already improved in reading a level or two.  Math is a breeze for him and he is striving weekly to do better in his spelling.  The past three weeks he has gotten 100% and even spelled correctly most of the challenge words.  He is such a sensitive boy.  He heard that his teacher from last year was in the hospital with the flu and he immediately drew her a picture for her!  He loves candy, but he is so good about making it last.  He brought a cookie home from a party three weeks ago and last night he decided to finally eat it...  It didn't taste good. 

Brennan is busy with preschool.  I have enjoyed teaching.  One week we talked about farm animals and made pig masks.  We made leaf wreaths, monster trick-or-treat bags, and q-tip skeletons. 

Scott had a terribly busy month with one of his clients.  They upgraded their server which means a lot of stress and time working, but after much prayer by many, things went absolutely perfectly!  He was able to get some help from a guy in India who works for Microsoft who was especially helpful and kind.  We will ever be indebted to him.  He really made it so much better for Scott!

I have devoted a lot of time helping out a neighbor with her kids while she did some PTA stuff at the school.  I am even more sure that I am happy with four children....  I am behind on Christmas preparation--usually I am already at least half way done with my shopping, but I have barely made my lists!  But, I am learning to be more organized and use my time more wisely.  I have been preparing for a Relief Society lesson for the past three weeks:  "A Time to Prepare" by Elder Ian Ardern from this past General Conference.  It was a real uplifting and inspiring lesson to prepare.  I gave the lesson today and I think it went well.  I hope to fully internalize what I have studied and make sure I put the Lord first!

Just a little shout out to mom and dad--I miss you.  I keep having these feelings of sadness that you are not near.  I miss you staying here!  But, I am glad you are on the mission and know that you are prayed for daily by our little family--the boys never forget to remember you in their prayers.  Hopefully we'll be able to go out next July!

Almost two

Elise is almost two... which means she is turning crazy!!! She is becoming so demanding and yet she can't express herself yet!  Today, she wouldn't eat her breakfast but then five minutes later she came in crying and pointing and freaking out.  After pointing to five things trying to guess what she wanted, I realized she wanted some cereal...  Finally!

She is really fun and funny, though.  She loves shoes and we bought her the cutest pair of heels--I know, heels for a one year old... But they were only five dollars and are darling on her.  She loves them.  I would guess that she changes her shoes five times a day, at least.  A lot of the time she wears my shoes--or random shoes sitting around the house.  She loves to put on clothes--she is kind of like Pyuppy, if you leave it out, she will steal it and try and put it on!  I am loving that she also wants to go sit on the potty every time I take off her diaper--yippee!  No action yet, but at least she doesn't mind sitting on the pot!

She is in a great age for doing what I ask and helping out.  She loves to help clear the table and run get things when I ask.  She likes to help out in the kitchen and be a part of what the boys are doing.  They love her even though she tries to get a little too involved--she has learned to push her way around. 

With the holidays coming up I am a bit worried about her health--she has become aquainted with candy and LOVES it.  Aidan is always hiding his candy (he eats it slowly) and somehow she always finds it!

I took her to a store to try and get some ideas of toys she might want for Christmas.  She thought everything was fun, but really the only things she stopped and freaked out over were stuffed animals!  We'll still look for more--I did find a bunch of dress up princess shoes I think she'll love!

Fall

We went on a drive up Rose Canyon to see the fall leaves. It took awhile before we really could see anything much. We had to be patient, but then rounding a corner all the sudden we saw a spectacular sight. I love the colors of fall!

We all got out and looked for leaves. Now my car is really dirty. Kids seem to always want to bring home dirt, leaves, rocks, acorns, dead worms, etc. But we got some good photos.

Even Aidan with his crazy eye...

Kids say the darndest things!

Brennan has been so funny lately.  We must have talked about our bodies telling us if we are hungry, etc, but now he thinks his body tells him everything!  He told us "My body tells me I need candy", "My body tells me I need to stay up late", "My body tells me I need to pee two times", etc.  It never seems to tell him to eat his vegetables.  We have had lots of problems with kids eating their dinners, and Sunday dinner is always a fight because if we ever visit Grandma and Grandpa they couldn't ever have treats!  We started a new program where each Sunday I have a special helper who chooses dinner and dessert and then helps me make it.  Brennan was my first helper and he chose to make "Chicken Fingers" (Breaded Chicken on skewers), Jello salad, and peas.  And guess what????  He ate dinner.  The whole thing.  The first time he has eaten his whole dinner in years (besides hot dogs, pizza, or german pancakes).  Hopefully his body will start telling him to eat more healthy meals!

Another funny thing he said was one night he was getting tired and was crying the whole way home.  He was frustrated about nothing and everything and just didn't know how to express himself.  He cried, "Mom, I feel like I am going to turn into a monster!"  Poor boy!  We talked about it of course and hopefully he won't turn into a monster any time soon...

He is getting rather dramatic.  The other day he was crying and crying that he wanted some chocolate chips.  Finally he yelled out, "I am going to die if I don't get chocolate!"  I don't know where he has heard that before...

The other day he bonked his ear and came in crying.  After a minute he said, "I hope Heavenly Father makes it feel better."  He said a little prayer and a few minutes later said, "Mom, it feels better!"  Such faith!

Are Mormons Christian? Elder Holland gives the best response I've ever heard.

Link: The Only True God and Jesus Christ Who He Hath Sent

The New Testament Project

Almost a year ago, I saw an advertisement from the church asking for people to try out for the new New Testament films they were going to make.  If you looked like you could be from Israel, they you could be the next big star...  sort of.  I actually sent it on to my friend who is an actor, then started thinking about it and said to myself, "Well, I am not an actress, but I am dramatic.  And I look the part!"  So, stardom or bust!  I sent in my information and a photo of myself looking very israelitish--I used Barbara Brown's red scarf she bought in Israel, threw it over my head, and my husband snapped shots.  Easy peasy.  They confirmed they got my information and then they even chose me to be in a commercial to advertise about the call for actors/extras.  They said it would show between conferences... it never did.  Somewhere online it can be found, but you can't blink or you may miss me!  It was my first taste of Hollywood (LDS style) and it was fine.  Short.  Nothing to write home about, yet there is some kind of a buzz about being seen on screen.  I can see why people want to do it for a career. 
They were supposed to start filming in the spring, but it got pushed to June, then July, then August...  The waiting game is not fun!  Finally I got an email that said, "Keep waiting..."  Nice.  Then one Thursday evening, I got a call asking if I could do a night shoot the next day.  Finally!  We set up for Scott to come home early, I got all the stuff together (there was quite a lot of info regarding how to be prepared to be an extra), and then I arrived on time for my "call time" of 4:30.  No one really told me what to do once I got there, except wait...  Which I did until 5:00 when the casting girl arrived.  There were only a few of us extras there--three girls, plus two roman soldiers and two angels.  The group of "righteous women"--Mary, Martha, and some other "main character" ladies were there, too.  But, the main people were kept separate from us--they had their own little rooms, special snack food, etc.  I found it slightly disturbing.  They didn't really want to associate with us.  Hmm...
We got our wardrobe, then got dressed and got hair and makeup done.  I had been asked to grow my hair out long.  Then they covered it all up.  But it was a fun process.  They dirtied my clothes with "fullers dirt" and made my hands and feet look dirty.  We then sat around and guess what?  Waited.  One of the extras was rather talkative and fun, so it was an enjoyable time. Then we ate--divine food.  They really fed us well each time (steak!).  Finally they had us go in a van down to the scene--the tomb.  We moved into place, then moved out of place, back to place, rehearsed, etc.  We were given lamps and we carried them to the tomb.  I was toward the back of the group of ladies (we were doing the scene where the righteous women were going to annoint the body of Christ, but found angels there instead).  When they finally shot it, the group of ladies didn't go forward like before and I am not even seen by the camera.  At all.  They took another angle and perhaps I am in that.  Who knows.  Then we sat around from 11 til 2ish and we were all sleepy.  They sent us back to the camp and while the main ladies got to sleep in their little beds, they told us we could have the hairdresser chairs.  I "slept" for an hour or so, kind of.  Then they came back--we thought we would be going back for another shot, instead they said we were through.  So, I guess technically I would have been done and home by midnight.  Instead I didn't get home til 5:00 am.  Unfortunately it didn't make a great impression on me.  I didn't feel like it was really worth it... 
But, they had set me up to be in a shot the next week, so I went again.  This time for the scene of the funeral procession.  This time I am in the shot and it was pretty cool to shoot.  It was a small group as well, but bigger than before, so I got to meet lots of fun people and of course we had plenty of time to talk and get to know one another.  In this scene, we just walked toward the tomb in a procession with some of the apostles as they carried Jesus.  Pretty amazing that that short scene took 12 hours...
I was sent more emails requesting me (really what it was is them emailing to see if I am available, but then they decide if they want me or not, so I am not really requested...  I am not that special), but I was busy at times, or I was too tired.  But then there were times when I would reply that I could, and supposedly they would then tell me yes or no, call time, etc.  But, three times THEY DIDN'T!  It was sooo frustrating.  I had to get someone to watch the kids, but then had to call them and say, ... I don't know when or if I am going in... can you just wait...?  I feel like they were very inconsiderate of my time and what an imposition it was!  It made me feel very bleh about the whole thing.  Fortunately, I did go back two more times, and those were good experiences.  I met some great people and it was so neat to be a part of some of these scenes.  You will be able to see me, or just parts of me (one shot is just of me walking by and it is just my waist down): when the baby Jesus is being presented to Simeon, the boy Jesus is at the temple (so cool!), and the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem (so cool!).  So, because of the good experiences, the bad is outweighed and over all I loved it. 
One of the highlights was meeting such great people, especially Olive Janet Hutchinson Michaelis!  I started talking with her and asked where she lived.  She said she lived in Holladay/Olympus area and I mentioned that my mother grew up there.  She acted interested so I said she was Viriginia Newman--her father was Albert Newman.  Her eyes grew wide and she said, "Are you Ginger's daughter?"  I yelled yes, and we both kind of jumped around excitedly--she explained that her mother (Elizabeth) was Albert's sister--She is Omi's cousin!  What a small world. It was fun to hear her talk about family and she asked about Mary Lou and Jean.  I am so glad I took a moment to talk with her.  I hope to get together with her and find out what family history she has.
I also met a family who knows my companion Cari Smith, and a few other people who had friends in common.  I love making connections!
Hopefully you will be able to see me in portions of the film around Easter time and I'll let you know when the rest of it is available!

September!

Not much but fundraising goes on September--we gave money to our elementary school (two different kids), Friends of Scouting, the local high school football team, the Food Bank, and various other places...  We are out of donations! 
I guess other things go on as well: Football season begins, harvesting time is in full swing, soccer games, and Brennan starts preschool.  It has been great weather, so we have really been able to enjoy all of our September activities.
At the beginning of the month, we went up to Wasatch Mountain State Park and picked apples at Huber Grove.  We are making this a yearly activity, we have so much fun!  There are long poles with apple grabbing things on them and Scott and Weston go to town with them while Brennan, Aidan and I pick up the apples on the ground.  Elise loved it this year, and ate her year supply of apples (core and all).  She loved picking up EVERY SINGLE apple off the ground, regardless of its state of being...
Once we had all the apples we began the process of storing them all--we made applesauce, dried apples, and (frozen) pie filling.  A few hours later, and one messy kitchen later, we decided to keep going and move on to our tomatoes.  We made several batches of spaghetti sauce, dried some basil, and later made raspberry jam!  Just last week, I decided to keep giving the kitchen a work out again and I canned 9 quarts of pears and made pear (and pear/raspberry) jam.  Are we done yet? Yes! (please...)
Soccer games are in full swing--both boys are really improving.  They have been practicing for the school Jog-A-Thon, which they just ran--Weston 2 miles and Aidan 1 mile.  Both did marvelous!
Brennan has started in a little neighborhood preschool--very small, it just consists of three children, and we moms are the teachers!  He loves that "mom" is his teacher.  We had a fun lesson on apples (of course, what else could I do with all those extra apples?) and the letter A.  He has also learned about N and O, oceans and animals.  He is having lots of fun and seems like such a big boy.  We bought him big boy school shoes (Lego shoes, they are so cute) and big boy jeans. 
Scott is normal and so I am.  We really are.  Normal.  Elise is funny and strange though.  But we love her to bits and pieces, along with all our boys.  We are a happy family!

Elise and Brennan

These two are such joys to me!  Now that we are together all day with the big boys gone we get to spend lots of playing time together.  Brennan always wants to put together puzzles and play games.  He is getting to know the computer a little better and enjoys pbskids.org.  He starts pre-school in a few weeks and we bought him new school shoes which look adorable on him!  He has a backpack with supplies and his "book Max gave" him (his friend who he is doing preschool with--Just three of us ladies switching around our three kids; a little home preschool thing).  He is very good about playing with Elise, even when she gets crazy and bites (poor boy--he has some nasty bruises).  He is a good brother all together because he always makes treats for the brothers for when they come home from school.

Elise is silly.  She is starting to become wary of strangers, so is rather clingy lately.  Plus she has moved from two naps a day to one.  She is much more interactive though and loves to sing and dance and point to various things (nose, toes, eyes, hair, and "bee-bo" --bellybutton).  She loves putting on my shoes, but her favorite is to try and put them on me!  She likes to put one on me and one on her and then she grabs my hand and we go for a walk.  It is a great mother-daughter moment.  We've been trying new and various things to improve her hair style... poor girl.  (We did cut some bangs) But she is darling anyway!

School begins 2011

I was so excited for school to begin because I thought I'd have more time... I was mistaken. Just because two kids go to school all day, does not mean I have less to do! From after school til I go to bed there is NO resting--we are doing homework, music, soccer, scouts, dinner, reading, and chores! And while they are at school I am doing laundry, cleaning, playing with E and B, puzzles, games, we run errands, shopping, and so much more!

Weston is now in third grade! He has a male teacher --I am happy about that. I had Mr. Bowen and he was so much fun, I really hope Weston enjoys his teacher just as much as I did. I have just voluteered to be the room parent for the class and I am glad I'll be in there seeing what is happening. Weston doesn't share lots of info of what goes on at school, and this teacher (so far) does not have homework! But I know they are doing a lot--he is learning how to use Excel! By the end of the year he will be doing Power Point. I can't believe what they learn at such a young age. He is also doing multiplication and lots of reading and writing.

Aidan is in school all day for first grade and so far it isn't too hard for him. At first he was too scared to use the bathroom and he would come home in dire need... But, he is feeling more confident about things. He has made a lot of new friends, but feels discouraged that he can't play more--he is really busy with homework! He has spelling words, math activity and a page of homework each day, plus 20 minutes of reading. It is so much work for him--and ME!

Aidan has also started his music class back up--Green Turtle Shells is the name of this semester. He is learning about intervals, notes, and they start playing on the keyboard this year. He goes to class weekly and practices daily. I go with him to class monthly, so it keeps us busy, but I really love this program. During the summer Aidan would just sit at the piano playing for an hour a day. He has music bursting out of him!

Both boys have started soccer. They have practice once a week (at the same time which is really helpful to me!) and games once a week on the weekend. Weston is really talented. He is getting better and better. At the last game he played the goalie and did a marvelous job (and they were playing a really good team!). Aidan is loving it this year as well. He has a new team and coach, but he has jumped right in.

Weston earned his Bobcat and received it at the last pack meeting. We are proud of all the work he is doing. He is very responsible. He has been reading his scriptures nightly--working on the Doctrine and Covenants. Aidan is also VERY good at wanting to read scriptures. He got a little calendar thing to mark off every day he has read the scriptures and he has done almost every day! He is now marking off a Book of Mormon booklet trying to read the entire book.

Other summer things

I don't know why, but I hardly took any photos of the millions of things we did this summer.

In the month of August, Thanksgiving Point has two dollar Tuesdays, so we take a yearly visit to the gardens.  I love it.  It is beautiful, easy, not crowded, and the kids enjoy it.  We went with a few friends and walked for a few hours.  There are other things to do  as well (Dinosaur Museum, Farm Country, etc), but those usually are a lot more crowded.  The last week of August, tradition school had begun, so I took the kids to the Dino Museum, hoping it wouldn't be as crowded.  It wasn't, but it was still more crowded than I like.  At least it was only two dollars!  I only took Brennan and Elise (since W and A are already in shool) and we went with some friends and then after got some ice cream, too. 

We decided to take a trip up to Idaho to visit the Barkers during the International Dance Festival.  I have such fun memories of that as a child, and I wanted my kids to know what it was like for me.  They had some fun little classes for the kids--learning about different countries and learning some of the dances as well.  Then there was a performance and the kids got to be a part of it!  We got to meet Heidi's dancers from Belgium--they were so nice!  I wish we could do something like that here!  What a great experience to have people from another country stay in your home!  Then we went to Rexburg Rapids and floated around the lazy river 300 times...  Although it was short, it was fun!

We have a little resevoir here that wasn't open at the beginning of the summer, so didn't get a lot of visits, but we did go once and play in the sand and water for a few hours.  It is fun, but a lot of work to get stuff put together.  The kids did take private swim lessons and that was a huge success.  Weston is now knee diving off the side and Aidan (with little arm floaters) is all over the pool!  We'll do it again next year for sure!

I think we did more lemonade stands than ever before.  Once they even made cookies and sold them.  We live on a great street with lots of fun friends--in fact, in Weston class at school there are three friends from up the street!  The kids play almost daily on their bikes, playing soccer, or pokemon, etc. 

During the summer the kids get to bowl free at the local bowling places, so we took an afternoon to throw down the ball.  We also took part in the summer reading program at our local library.  Weston finished the first Harry Potter books!   Now he has started the 39 Clues series.  We love visiting the library (especially because once we get home the kids sit and read for well over an hour!). 

At the Cabin!

Some friends of ours have a family cabin up in the mountains (on 1,600 acres of land!) and they invited us up for a weekend.  Our dream is to have our own cabin, so it was very fun, but also very tempting!  The cabin was huge with lots of rooms--it could easily fit 50 people (mostly kids...).  They had a big shed with several four wheelers which we rode for HOURS.  Literally.  Elaine took us out to see the mountainside--we had views of several different little valleys and tons of just green.  Amazing how much land there is in the world.  And how beautiful it all is.  The boys were a little hesitant at first, but quickly realized how much fun it could be.  Brennan and Aidan especially loved it.  They wanted to go faster and faster.  While Weston liked it, but he wanted to drive himself! 

Elaine (above) is special friends with Elise.  She is the nursery "singing lady" and is the only reason Elise will go to nursery.  This is Norma (below).  We love these ladies.  They are wonderful!  They sit near us at church and are always willing to help out, plus they give the kids treats and toys! 

Here we are near Heber.

Elise took a few trips around the house with daddy.

This just made us more excited for the time we have a cabin, but we also had a great time (and very relaxing).  The kids played in the dirt and rocks for hours--we found lots of different types of rocks and made huge piles of "junk".  There was a big hole from where they are digging up some stuff and they thought it was heaven--getting dirty and not caring.  We played card games and ate good, good food. 

Not at the cabin, but still on summer fun:  We have tried to have a fun filled summer and I think we did a good job!  We took an afternoon to make our own ice cream in zip lock bags.  If you haven't done this before, you really should.  It is easy and fun to do for kids. 

Elise Speaks

Elise is behind a bit on speaking...  Which is fine, she still communicates in her own way.  She does say "da" and "ma" (more like "muh") and today she said "bear" (more like "buh").  She is parroting and yesterday she was parroting "bear", but today she actually picked up her bear and said it on her own!  She is parroting other words: hello, shoe, etc.  Her most used word is "muh", she uses it for Mom, Milk, and More.  So when she says "muh, muh, muh" she is saying "More Milk Mom!"

Peter Pan

Aidan was asking why I was up so early and I explained what I do early in the morning.  His reply: "I'd much rather be a kid than a parent."

Door stops

For years we have had a few doors that slowly swing closed, or just won't stay open.  So we have been creative keeping them open.  I had a old rice baby that we used for one door, a footstool for the other and the last door, we used our "Tickle Me Elmo"...  Finally we broke down and bought a magnetic door stop--it is great!  What a wonderful invention!

July

Because summer is short, we really try to cram things in! For the Fourth of July weekend we decided to enjoy the sun in the mountains and went hiking to Lake Mary with Scott's parents and brother-in-law. Then we had a wonderful BBQ with Matt and Barbara Brown family--with Adam and Janet, too. I am so glad we have family nearby to do things with!

I tried to get in lots of crafts, and one that I thought would be fun this year is fingerpainting with pudding.  There is a new pink strawberry pudding, so we used that and a chocolate (and they taste good together...) and invited a friend over and they had fun (and got full)!  The boys have endlessly played with stuff from the recycling bin, and we have a nice drawer in the pantry with lots of craft supplies (thanks Ali for organizing it for me!).  I have realized that I really need to just let the boys do what they want when they "craft" rather than trying to get them to do things "my way".  Then they get so creative!  They are also really into paper airplanes and we have thousands of them littering the house.

Something else we did but didn't get photos of is a neighborhood "Backyard Battle".  We invited over all the neighbor kids with any "battle" toys--Beyblades, Kung Zhu, Pokemon, etc, and everybody battled!  It was great til it started raining...  I would have made them just tough it out... but it was a downpour.  So instead I had 21 kids run through my house and down to the basement!  We didn't fit well, so it didn't last long, but fortunately, neither did the storm and they quickly went back out.  But it was fun!

Elise is so fun to dress in the summer with cute flowery and bright clothes.  I got some fun photos of her with some daisies--she is so happy.  She is so much fun.  She loves her brothers and especially looks to Weston for love and comfort.  He is very caring of her. 

We had the "Summer of Sisters" this month--Ali and Heidi came to visit.  Heidi and I took some of the kids to a swim park and it was a blast.  Then we did some shopping at one point (too much).  We went to the aquarium and a splash park and did some crafts (fun hats!).  Another day we picked up Hilary (we all got to meet her cute cats), but unfortunately life got crazy with the kids and we didn't get to do much, but we still had a good time talking.  Then, all my kids got sick with the flu and life REALLY got crazy...  So we stayed at home for awhile.... and threw up.  :(  It was still nice to be together, and I apologize to all you girls for the sick house.  I am sure the sisters will do a much better job telling the details of it all.

Weston went to cub scout camp for the first time--so much fun!  He went swimming and fishing and made some fun things.  I was a scout leader for awhile, and although it was hard, I wish I could do it now with my boy! 
He just couldn't get enough of the outdoors, so we went camping!  Our annual trip to Wasatch Mountain State Park over the 24th weekend.  We went hiking, roasted marshmallows, rode bikes, fished (Weston caught two!) and got reallly dirty!  It is a lot of work to prepare to go camping, but it is so much fun!  We get so many scrapes and cuts, but we have such great family time.  Elise loved it--she felt so free and loved getting dirty.  Brennan loved the treats and bugs.  Aidan practiced riding his bike over and over and loved the marshmallows.  And Weston was so big and responsible and raced around on his bike!  Plus it was so fun for him to catch fish! 

We ended July with Scott doing a triathlon--what an amazing althete!  He has just been training for a few months, but he is a natural.  He got 15th in his age group (out of 60+) and blew past everyone we knew that raced, too.  Way to go honey!

I have just been keeping the kids busy with activities:  lemonade stands, walks, crafts (wait til I post photos next month of our current project!), library trips (Weston just finished the 2nd Harry Potter!!!! He is an amazing reader!), riding bikes, playing at parks, making banana bread, swimming with friends...  it goes on and on.  We only have 2 weeks left so I am going to do as much as I can to get more in there before they are back to school!

End of school!

Finally, school is over! Because we are on track system (year round school) we didn't get out of school til July 1st! The kids are so ready to be done!

I don't have room to keep all of their art projects, so we gathered everything together and took a photo... That way they will always remember them, but I can throw them away! (We did keep a few special ones...)
Aidan had a Kindergarten program where he dressed up in what he wants to be when he grows up (a soccer player), and they sang songs. He did a marvelous job, just very quietly.
He also did an animal report. He chose the Grey Wolf. He told interesting facts about the wolf and made a prop--it could have been a poster, etc, but I wanted to try something different so we made a die/block with pictures on each side. It turned out really cute. He would then roll the die and tell the class about the picture (baby wolves are called pups, wolves howl to communicate, etc). I told him about the book "Call of the Wild" and now it is his favorite book... even though we haven't read it (we started, but it is pretty heavy reading for a six year old and we didn't get very far--about four pages in, he asked, "Who is Buck?"--that is the dog, the main character...)

The kids loved their teachers this past year--each teacher was perfect for the boys. I could not have picked a more perfect teacher for Aidan--always giving treats and making school a FUN place. And Weston's teacher is perfect in every way! We tried to convince her to move on and teach third grade... I just hope they get good teachers this next year.

Now we'll begin on our big list of fun Summer Activities. I have a lot of things planned to keep the kids occupied and happy. We'll see if I am successful!

June's Random Things

Elise is getting cuter and cuter (if that can happen). Her hair is getting longer and I am able to put it up and try to maker her all cute-sy. (I love photos of the back of kids... I know it doesn't show her face, but what a cute little body!)

She loves playing outside with the boys, and now that it is FINALLY summer, they are playing in the water quite a bit. (oh my darling child!!!)
Other fun summer activities are playing with chalk, playing socccer and catching bugs. We found this damaged butterfly in our yard and cared for it for an afternoon (This happened two years ago, too!).We have also gone on a few bike rides, now that Weston got a new bike for his birthday, and Aidan got his first bike!!!
We took a trip to the dentist (not necessarily a fun summer activity...) and Weston and Aidan are cavity free, but Brennan has two or three! He had to get them filled, but he did a marvelous job and was very brave (he just did the gas, we didn't have to give him any meds or anything!). He's got some lovely teeth! Weston keeps losing his (I think he has lost 8 now!) and Aidan keeps wiggling his hoping they will be loose.I had my birthday this month--I got a wonderful present: I went shopping with my girlfriends! It was so nice and so needed (thanks girls!). And thanks husband for letting me! For Father's day, Scott got Paragliding Lessons!!!! What do you think of that present? I am excited for him. I got them for his dad, too, so they can go together. The kids are going throught his phase of making thousands of paper airplanes, and they love to do it at Grandma and Grandpa's and fly them off the second floor into the living room. So I bought a paper airplane kit and gave it to all the boys for Father's Day. When Scott and his dad opened the present, I don't think they understood--I had attached a piece of paper with the paragliding info on it... It was a fun idea that didn't "take off" very well. Oh well.

Aidan's Birthday!

What a boy! This crazy wonderful child turned SIX! What a kid! He chose Sonic X as his theme, so I made a chaos emerald pinata (not perfectly made, but still pretty cool!).Aidan planned his entire birthday party: looking for hidden chaos emeralds (ring pops) around the yard, throwing balls through Sonic Rings, walking with an egg on a spoon and dropping it into Dr. Eggman's mouth (why didn't I get a photo?), and racing around the house. I was proud of him for his little games he made up. He loves to plan his parties and write lists of birthday wishes. He even made himself a poster (months before his birthday--it is a good thing I found it and remembered to put it up!).
Grandma and Grandpa came over on his birthday and he got some wonderful presents--mostly Cars toys. He also got a tie that matches his daddy (like Weston) and a Kit Kat from Weston. I think he was pretty happy with what he got! Happy Birthday very funny boy!

Weston's Baptism

My sweet, wonderful, lovely, handsome, sensitive, loving, special, smart, oldest boy has turned eight. He has been waiting and waiting for this day. Instead of asking how many days til his birthday he would ask how many days til his baptism. We did some fun things to prepare for his baptism--for the past 5 months our family night lessons have been from the missionary manual "Preach My Gospel", we took some advice and wrote letters to each other, and he has a little book about his baptism with notes from people.

Many family members were present--luckily Uncle Kyle and Aunt Linzi with their kids were in town, and so they were able to come. Kyle was able to be a witness (along with Scott's dad). Weston's teacher, Mrs. Craven, even came!

We had family come over after for a luncheon and it was so nice to have fun family time together. Weston was very spoiled and loved (who wouldn't love him!).

Isnt' this the sweetest photo of a daddy and his son?

Weston's Birthday

My baby is Eight! We have been planning this day for a long time. Weston chose a soccer birthday party and invited a trillion friends. For invitations, we bought dollar store little soccer balls and wrote their name on them and put the info on a sticker on it. It was crazy with all those boys (and neighbor girl Maddie). They had a good time playing little soccer games, then for the pinata, I made a soccer ball, filled it with candy and Weston kicked it to the kids! It broke open and the kids dove for the candy. We had fat boys for a treat and sent them home with a soccer ball toy. I hope he had a good time, and I think they all had fun.
For the family party, we had a butterfinger pie--delicious. We aren't really cake eaters, so the pie was just perfect. Grandma and Grandpa came, and Uncle Kyle and Aunt Linzi were in town, so they got to come, too. He got lots of fun presents, and big boy things--a shirt and tie, plus a tie that matches his daddys, of course his scout stuff (he is loving scouts, and has already finished everything for his Bobcat!), the first Harry Potter (which he has already finished) and some fun toys--mostly legos. Happy Birthday sweet boy!

Food storage

This post is really for Kim and Val. We've been talking about food storage, so I thought I'd post photos of my (messy) storage room. I have a rolling storage thing for my cans (from shelfreliance)--I LOVE IT! It is so nice. The bottom row is full of No. 10 cans from the cannery--full of beans, dry drinks, etc. The rest of it is filled with the cans of food that we eat normally (soups, olives, corn, fruit, etc)

This corner has my freezer, stocked full of meat, juice, pizza, spaghetti/tomato sauce, peas, spinach, blueberries, butter and cheese. Also, my Chistmas decor is stored in the red bins, but under all that (really, that is way too much Christmas stuff!) are 12 boxes of No. 10 cans (6 cans in each box) which has all my long term wheat storage! Plus, there are more boxes of No. 10 cans full of stuff... not sure what. I had better go through it.

These are my buckets of stuff I use: Sugar, Flour, Wheat (x2), and brown rice.
These are my 3 month supply food--stuff I use already, hopefully it would last me three months. As I run low, or really as things are on sale, I stock up (notice the brown boxes? that is spaghetti. I have about 20 boxes... should last me awhile. I got them for 50cents each.) The little white shelf to the right has all our cereal. We are running low.
I didn't post photos of our water, but some of it is hidden back there (8 five gallon containers, plus normal bottled water), then I have some in the garage (any old pastic container--old juice bottles, etc) filled with water, and two big 55 gallon things in the garage. I know it isn't EVERYTHING, but I feel good about my start to things.

Learning to Pray

Every once in awhile, Elise will do this funny thing with her arms... Then we realized she did it when we were praying--she was trying to fold her arms! It is a cute little way for a sweet girl to fold her arms, right?

Omi and Opa leave on a Mission!

My mom and dad have been talking about serving a mission ALL our lives. Finally they are able to go! They go their call to San Diego, California (perfect weather!) and they went into the MTC on the 16th. They loved it (as I knew they would--who wouldn't love sitting in classes being taught about the gospel and how to share it!? and eating all the food they wanted!!). They were able to come back over the weekend, and then once again when their MTC experience was over. It was fun to be able to spend some time with them before they had to leave for two years. My basement will be lonely without them!

We did have a fun party for them before they left and invited lots of family and friends from the years. It was great! So fun to be able to see everyone and visit.

We'll miss you Omi and Opa!