Stinkin' Cute!

Today Hallie had Maron Peterson over to play.  I walked into the kitchen to make them some more lunch when Hallie turns to her friend and tells her, "I love my mom Maron, she's so cute!" Then she added, she's so stinkin' cute!  Anytime she really thinks something is REALLY cute she adds stinkin' to it.  Not something I was expecting from my 3 year old.  It definitely made me laugh.  It feels good to be loved!

Blue and Gold Banquet

Taige worked hard and earned his Wolf and Bobcat award!

I got my mother's pin! His poor face is turning bright red!

Way to go Taige!

Dallin Codner and Taige

Knoles Elementary Choir Concert

The music teacher at Knoles has invited any 5th and 6th graders who are interested to give up one lunch period a week to come in and participate in a school choir.  Abi loves to sing and looks forward to this each week.  They just had their first concert! Standing next to her is her friend Jillian Smith.

A Wonderful Surprise!!!

We went to Tucson to Eric and Aubrey's for Isaac's baptism and their new little baby boy Ian's blessing.  We first met at Aubrey's for a luncheon.  Cody and Emily were the last arrive.  They walked in the house holding their brand new little baby boy Jackson! It was a complete surprise! They got him a week and a half ago.  He is now 8 weeks old.  They are hoping to have the adoption finalized the end of April.  This summer will be 12 years since they've been married.  They have waited a long time for this little guy.  He is so sweet - he grins all of the time.  His Aunt Stacie couldn't be more proud!

Ian and Jackson - cute cousins!

Cody, Jackson & Emily

Such a cute family!

Gymnastics!

This morning I was telling Hallie about gymnastics and what you do at the gym, etc. when she asked if it was for both big teenagers AND baby teenagers.  She couldn't have self-described her self better! She really feels just as big as all of the other kids!
I took her to a 2 hour open gym for preschoolers.  The parents are the supervisors and the kids run wild and have the time of their life!

Hallie and her friend Olivia Fox

Eager to learn a new instrument......

We brought Abi's dad's electric guitar and amp home with us from Cheyenne.  Abi's dad Scott, used to play in a band.  Mark had a great time playing on it, then he turned it over to Chase, showed him a few chords and before I knew it, he could play the whole song of Itsy Bitsy Spider.  His 3 year old sister absolutely loved it! In fact, they performed it together for Family Home Evening the next night.  Hallie's brother ROCKS!!  Needless to say, Chase is really excited to learn to play the electric guitar.

Meanwhile I asked Abi if she'd like to learn to play, she just kinda grinned and said she wanted to continue with her viola for now.  Maybe sometime in the future!

Taige's Birthday Party

Taige had his birthday party Saturday night.  The boys came to our house, made their own pizzas and played band hero.  After cake, ice cream and presents, we took them all to the Institute building.  They played air hockey, ping pong, pool, etc. for a little while, then we went into the gym and played a basketball game.  They were able to get out lots of energy while having a lot of fun! 

 

Taige making his pizza crust

  

These are bakugan figures on his cake along with 9 candles!

 

Basketball at the Institute

 

Taige going through the spanking machine!

 

As we were leaving the Institute, the boys couldn't resist a snowball fight.

Kailan made Regionals!

Kailan left for Prescott, AZ first thing this morning to try out for the Regional Orchestra with her cello.  And............(drum roll please)........she made it!!! Way to go Kailan!

Santa Fe, New Mexico

The road seemed so familiar - almost like  deja vu! Even though it did snow on us again, the roads were not bad at all.  We headed back the same direction we had just arrived home from 2 days prior, although this time we only had to travel 5 1/2 hours before reaching our destination in Santa Fe.  There Mark and I had a husband/wife conference for Seminary and Institute teachers.  It was absolutely wonderful.  They have these once a year and most of them have been the first part of February, near our Wedding Anniversary.  I told Mark we are so lucky! We have a paid for get-a-way every year! We stayed Wednesday night and Thursday night and then we arrived home at 11:00 Friday night.  I was able to farm out all of my children to friend's homes and they all had a great time.  I'm sure they wish we'd leave them more often! While we were gone, Chase and Abi went snow skiing with their Elementary school for a class field trip.  Chase caught on quickly and claimed he didn't fall once the entire day! He is a huge fan of snow skiing and is now saving his money in hopes to return to the slopes! Abi said she had a great time, but she said she struggled until the end of the day.  She was finally getting the hang of it when it was time to go! Thank you Jeanna Hansen for the private lessons and time you provided Abi - you made her day! Kailan played in 2 more volleyball games while we were gone and was excited to tell me that she had spiked the ball over the net twice! All of the kids did really well while we were gone.  I have no idea why I ever stressed about it!


The meetings Mark and I attended were so spirit-filled, and so up-lifting.  It really motivated me to come home and be a better person - a better wife and mother.  I loved it all! Friday afternoon after it was finished, we drove to Albuquerque and went to the Temple.  I've never been to the Albuquerque Temple before, so that was really nice to see.  It was very beautiful and I absolutely loved the inside.  

NPA's Valentine's Dance

Kailan's friend took this picture of her at NPA's Valentine's dance.  She looks quite festive in red! Kailan is in 8th grade this year and is involved with the Middle School Student Council.  She serves as Vice President.  For the dances she is always busy decorating, setting-up, selling candy, dancing and socializing of course, and cleaning up.

Kailan's 1st Volleyball Game!

One of my favorite things to do is watch my kids! I love to see them grow and develop and learn new skills while having lots of fun! Last year as a 7th grader, Kailan chose to swim on a swim team here in Flagstaff instead of trying out for Volleyball.  This year she has decided to play volleyball.  She is doing great and is really enjoying it.

This is the side serve.  Completely new to me - I've never seen it before.

She hits it quite hard this way!

And she was able to score a lot of points for her team from her serves.

Happy 20th Anniversary to Mark and Me!

DREAMING...... of walking hand in hand on a beautiful beach in Cancun.
REALITY..... unpacking from our trip to WY for Scott's funeral, doing laundry for me, my husband and 7 children while he is at work teaching, cleaning the Montessori Schools (our part-time job), homework and chauffeuring kids!!! This is 20 years of marriage! It's crazy and chaotic but I'd do it all again in a heartbeat!

A friend of mine brought dinner over for the kids (very thoughtful) and Mark and I did escape for a couple of hours and enjoyed a nice meal and of course great company (one another), before we came home utterly exhausted (from our big WY weekend) and crashed!