Lott's to Talk About

April 2009

2009-06-28T15:18:00.001-06:00

April 10, 2009
Crazy Hair Day!!

Brinlee went all out for crazy hair day at school!!

April 11, 2009
Easter Eggs!!

We of course had to color easter eggs, everyone got in to the fun, even the big girls. We had Rachel's friend Brianna over to help as well.

April 12, 2009
Easter

Brinlee's Butterfly

Brinlee's class at school hatched butterflies and each got to bring one home to release. Brinlee picked the temple grounds to release hers, it is so peaceful there.

April 16, 2009
Winter is back!

We thought spring was just around the corner, but we got a surprise today!! And it is supposed to be spring break for the kids.

April 17, 2009
Spring Break Bowling

We have gone bowling two years in a row for spring break, I guess it's kind of a tradition now. This year we brought Rachel's friend Brianna with us.

April 18, 2009
Cabin Cabinet!!

They are ready for us to stain. Todd has done a great job with them. And saved us a ton of money.

March 2009

2009-06-22T14:08:00.001-06:00

March 14 - 16, 2009

Warm Weather!!

After being inside for months of winter, the kids were so excited to get outside. Austin and Katelyn hadn't ridden their bikes much at the old house (to much of a hill), but after riding the bikes for a few days they had it down. Both of them got the training wheels off within days. We were so proud of them!!

Cabin Cabinets!

Todd is making progress on the cabinets. What a mess!!!

March 17, 2009
St. Patrick's Day

We had a fairly uneventful St. Patrick's Day. I was getting ready for a Scrapbook Expo (more info next entry) so I had been designing scrapbook layouts all day. But we had to do something to celebrate. So we decorated cookies before bed, the green frosting made everyone's tongue turn green. The kids thought that was the best part!! Then the kids got a fun surprise when they went to bed, under their pillows a leprechaun had left a pot of gold. So much fun.

March 22-23, 2009
Scrapbook USA Expo

At the first of the month I decided to start my own business, crazy I know. But I had missed designed scrapbook page kits, and had several people asking me for them. I spent all month getting ready (several all nighters), with the help of friends and family I was able to pull it off. It was a huge success, I decided to open a website and it will be ready in a month or so.

March 26-28, 2009
Spotlight Dance Competition

The girls had another dance competition. Rachel took first in her solo, Kelsie took first in hers as well as a special judges award for the love of dance. Brinlee competed in the novice division (for those who have competed or 2-3 years) and she took the overall first place trophy, there were girls ages 4 - 14 in this division. It was a huge win for her, the trophy was huge!! All three girls were just amazing. They all had great success at the team competition as well. I love watching them dance.

Three days before this dance competition Kelsie (who had been sick for several weeks with pnemonia) was diagnosed with mono. She didn't want to let her team down, so she competed anyway, but she was exhausted. With her being so sick it made her judges award even more special, the judge said that she had picked her because her smile lit up the stage, and she could tell there wasn't anywhere that she would rather be. If only the judge knew just how true this was.

February 2009

2009-05-24T11:51:00.013-06:00

February 1, 2009
Super Bowl Sunday

We hosted our annual Super Bowl Party!! We got our new big screen tv installed at the new house just in time. Lots of food, family, friends and fun!!

February 3, 2009
Kelsie's Room

Kelsie is becoming quite the photographer. She uses unique angles and has such a good eye. This is her taking pics of her and her new room. I love how they turned out.

February 6 & 7, 2009
Solo Competition

Kelsie, Rachel and Brinlee competed in their first solo competition of the year!! They did awesome.

February 14, 2009
Valentine's Day

Since Valentine's Day was on a Saturday this year we got to celebrate all day long!! Aunt Lara had us over to decorate cookies, which was the highlight of the day!! Then later that night we gave the kids our Valentine's.

February 20, 2009

Ward Dinner and Cabinet Shop

Me and Jason hosted the dinner part for our ward progressive dinner, this was the first time I got to set up the table. I love the round table.

Todd needed somewhere out of the cold to build the cabinets for the family cabin. Our garage got nominated as the cabinet shop. Look at all that sawdust.

February 21, 2009

Trip to Evanston for Stacia's B-day

Stacia had a princess party (prince's could come too), so we all went to spend the day in Evanston. Brittany was there and the kids loved holding baby Tyler.

February 26 - 28, 2009
Thanksgiving Point Dance Competition

The girls had a dance competition this weekend, they did wonderful. Kelsie, Rachel and Brinlee competed there solos. Brinlee took Queen in her division. And Kelsie and Rachel took third place in the advanced division, there was a lot of competition so we were really happy with how it turned out. All the girls teams competed on Saturday and did so well. We love Jazz n Place!!

January 2009

2009-04-01T10:35:00.016-06:00

January 3, 2009

Dallin's B-day Party

While the Hansen's were here to visit over Christmas break, we celebrated Dallin's B-day. We met at Chuck E Cheese and the kids had a blast.

January 10, 2009

Brinlee Ears Pierced

When you turn 8 at our house you get to have your ears pierced, Brinlee has been waiting for years. She was so excited. Me and her had a date to the mall two whole days before her birthday. She got a little nervous right before it happened but she didn't move at all while they were doing it. She was so brave. She just beamed teh rest of the day.

January 12, 2009

Brinlee turns 8

I can't believe eight years ago Brinlee came into our family. She is a delight to be around and is so talented. She is the definite Drama Queen at our house. Her birthday was kind of crazy because so many of the girls had dance, but we got together for dinner at One Man Band (amazing breakfast food). And then home for presents.

January 17, 2009

Dancing with Thayne

Thayne Jasperson taught a master class at the dance studio and Kelsie and Rachel got to take the class. He is one of their favorite contestants from "So You Think You Can Dance". He is from Utah and has taught the girls before he was on the show. So it was fun to be in his class again. Brinlee wasn't old enough to take the class, but the director asked me to come take photos so she came to watch. So of course we had to get her picture with him too.

January 18, 2008

Brinlee's Family B-day Party

One of the things Brinlee wanted for her birthday was to have her b-day party at the new house. We were almost ready to move in, but not quite. But the day before our couches had been delivered, so Dad gave the go ahead to have it there. We ate dinner at Grandma's then came to the new house for the party. She was so excited. Before dinner we hung out at the new house for awhile and we got these awesome pictures of the kids in our fake trees in the playroom. They had so much fun climbing in the trees (they now have leaves in them and we can't climb them like this anymore). Climbing the trees wore Kyle out and he fell asleep on the couch. So cute.

January 23, 2009

First Night at New House

This is the first night the whole family slept at the new house. We used our girl power to get the mattresses in the truck (with a little help from Jason he hurt his back earlier so it was mostly just us girls). Then my dad, brother and some friends helped us load them in the new house. We were all really excited to be in the new house finally!!

(Kelsie got home later and I forgot to get a pic of her in her room, oops)

January 24, 2009

Breakfast at the New House

Bubble Wrap!!

The new tv came wrapped in tons of bubble wrap. Kelsie put it down in the entry way and started dancing. Soon everybody was dancing on it. They had a blast. Kyle wasn't sure about the loud noise at first. But we gave him time to dance by himself and then he was having so much fun and he let everyone join in again. Who knew you can get such cheap entertainment.

January 30, 2009

Rachel's Science Fair

Rachel participated in the Deerfield Elementary Science Fair, she did her project about testing pool water. Her dad found her a sample of yucky pool water and she used different combinations of chemicals and a paper towel filter to see what would clean it the best. She got an award for the most creative project at school, and moved on to the next level. She won an award at the district fair as well and moved on to the state competition. When Jason went to set up her project at the state competition she got disqualified because we had not bought the algae sample. Weird huh? Where do you buy algae anyway? Oh well, she did a great job and had fun doing it with her daddy.

January 31, 2009

Brinlee's Baptism

Brinlee made the choice to officially become a member of our church. We are so proud of her for making this decision. Her daddy baptised her. She looked so beautiful in her white dress. Our new stake center shares the parking lot with the Temple and she had been planning for weeks to have her picture taken at the temple. It was a great day. Everyone came back to the house afterwards for pizza and we visited for a long time. That night Brinlee got to go on a date with Jason and I, she picked Olive Garden to eat. Then we went and did a little shopping for the Super Bowl Party the next day.

December 2008

2009-03-09T09:32:00.000-06:00

December 4th

Austin & Katelyn's B-day

We had a great day, I can't believe they are 6. We waited until Saturday the 6th and had a big party at Chuck E Cheese. They had a great time.

This was a big year for them, Grandma took them to Build a Bear all by themselves. They had so much fun and came back with bears that are very much them. Thanks Grandma.

December 14, 2008

Gingerbread Houses

We got together with the whole family at Grandma Washington's House to make Gingerbread Houses.

December 19, 2008

Christmas Dance Concert

Since all four girls dance, this was a big event at our house. My niece Cassie danced as well. It was a great show.

Meeting Santa

After the big show a special visitor comes to see the kids. The two big girls decided that they were to old to visit with Santa, I don't think you are ever to old. But I didn't argue with them.

December 21, 2008

Richins Family Christmas Party

Great food and good company, what more could you ask for. We have the kids reenact the nativity. This year Kyle and my niece Sara were Mary and Joseph (they are 3) and it was so precious.

December 24, 2008

Christmas Eve Party

Party at Grandma Washington's. It was only us and the Thompson's this year, since it is to hard to travel at Christmas with six kids we stayed home, but it was everyone else's year to be with in-laws. So it was a little more quiet than usual, it was really nice. We had a yummy prime rib dinner and then the kids opened their usual Christmas Eve jammies. They all got cute slippers this year. Then when I said it was time for bed, they didn't even argue. I wish that would happen more than once a year.

December 25, 2008

Gotta love Christmas.

November

2008-11-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

November 8-9, 2008

Pulse

November started with a trip to Las Vegas for Jen, Kelsie and Rachel. After a nearly two hour wait at the airport for a cab, next time I will look into alternative transportation, we got to our hotel. Once at the hotel we found that all the rooms with double beds were gone, even though I booked a bed with two beds. They put us in a room with a king bed, and promised us a roll away bed for Rachel. Well at 1 a.m. we gave up on the extra bed, so Rachel slept on the couch. Not so comfortable. Even with the hotel problems we had a great time.

Pulse is a dance convention where several big name choregraphers come to teach the girls. The girls love learning different styles and moves from them. I love to watch the classes (I tried to read my new Eragon book, Bringsinger, but I didn't get very far), the choreographers are so cute with the girls. This year they had a class from Tyce Dioror, he is a popular choreographer on the girls favorite show So You Think You Can Dance, he taught them a way fun routine. The other favorites were Mia Micheals, of course, and Dave Scott (Step Up Choreographer).

November 14, 2008

A tour of the House

We took some friends on a tour of the house, and we wanted to check out the trees that were just getting done and the cabinets that they had started to install.

My new cabinets in the family craft room

Kelsie and her friend Melia (this is the hood that goes over the cooktop)

The artificial tree and cottage in the play room

November 20, 2008

Twilight

Today was the day we had been waiting for, Kelsie put the date in her calendar on the phone months in advance. Twilight the movie came out. We were able to get tickets to the midnight showing, at the new theater in Orem. After Rachel's performance (she and her friend won an award for reflections at school for a dance they choreographed), Kelsie, Melia and Nell went to the theater to save our spot in line. Rachel and I went after Jason got home from his sales appointment. They let us in the theater at 10 a.m., luckily we weren't waiting in line outside until midnight.

I ended up liking the movie, Kelsie and Rachel loved it. We can't wait for the next one.

Waiting in line outside before it started

Kelsie & Melia sleeping in there seats before it started

Jamie was such a good sport, she wasn't going to come because she was so busy that week. But she couldn't resist when we were all planning to go, so she slept for a while before it started.

November 27, 2008

Thanksgiving

We spent the last Thanksgiving at our old house. We had about 40 relatives over, from the Richins side of the family. We only had to cook the potatoes and cheesy cauliflower, so that part wasn't so bad. And since we had to clean, we really cleaned and started getting some packing done. We made huge progress!!

Thanksgiving dinner was so yummy!! You can't go wrong with turkey and mashed potatoes. After dinner we played games for a long time. The favorite game was Curses, I don't think we have laughed that hard for a long time. My favorite was Kelsie having to talk like a vampire, with her nose plugged the whole time, and Jamie who had to hit herself in the head every time she talked. It was hilarious.

October at the Lott's

2008-11-25T22:10:00.002-07:00

October was a busy month at our household.

Here is a summary of what we did:

October 4, 2008

Playing in the Rain

As soon as the kids saw that it was raining, they ran outside to play. I quickly followed with the camera. At first Kyle was a little unsure of the raindrops, but he soon joined the kids jumping on the tramp in the rain. Of course they started posing and doing tricks for the camera, but I guess I would be worried about them if they didn't.

October 6, 2008

Curly, Curly, Curly

Aunt Jamie found these fun new curlers for us to try. You can see what they look like here:

http://curlformers.com/englishcurlformer.htm

It took me about an hour, but I got curls in all four girls. They said they were a little uncomfortable to sleep in, but they all loved how they look. Here is a picture of Katie with her cute curls that Kelsie took. You can see pictures of Rachel and Brinlee in their curly hair for Halloween (later in post.)

October 7, 2008

Kindergarten Field Trip

I got to go on the twins first field trip this year. We went to Hee Haw Farms, they have a corn maze, slides, pumpkin patch, hay ride, etc. They even have a 1000 pound pig named Larry!! Katelyn and Austin had their first bus ride ever, they loved it a lot more than mom did. Overall we had a great time, and even though we got a little lost in the maze at least I didn't have any of the kids take off and get lost (that is what happened last year when I went with Brinlee's class).

October 12, 2008

First Snow!

We were shocked to wake up to nearly 3 inches of snow. Before church Rachel wanted to get some pictures, so she went out on the deck in her jammies. Since it was still snowing when we got home from church, she took the camera out on her own and here are some of the pictures she took. The snow didn't last long, but it was a pretty good storm for the first one of the year. I hope we don't get to many more of these before winter, we need to get the house done first!!

October 14, 2008

Kelsie, Rachel and Brinlee take trip to North Carolina

The girls went to visit my sister Melissa and her family with my parents. They had a great time and my nephew Dallin loved having them around. I was sad that we all couldn't go, but things were to busy with the house and Jason and I couldn't leave.

October 17, 2008

Witch Festival

While the girls were in North Carolina, we went to the Witch Festival at Gardner's Village. We went with Aunt Angi, Kennadi, Lexi, Aunt Lara, Sara and Blake. The only drawback was that nearly the entire state of Utah was at the Witch Festival that day as well. But even with the crowds we had a great time. The kids loved seeing the different witch displays, and doing the game to find all of them. There favorite witch was the one stuck to the side of the building who apparently needs some flying lessons.

October 20, 2008

We've got Drywall!!

This construction process has been long, and the kids (OK, Jason and I as well) have been anxious to see the house really take shape. Once the drywall was up we could really see what it was going to look and feel like. The kids love running from room to room and especially in the tunnels in the youngest kid rooms. Everyone had to get a picture in their new room, and of course I had to get one of the kids in front of the fire place. Most of the brick on the back side of the house is done as well, so we are making progress.

The living room area looking into Kitchen

The upstairs loft area, with Jason's catwalk.
(Also the waterfall over the fireplace)

Brinlee and Katelyn in their bedroom

Rachel in her bedroom, with her sewing nook

Austin and Kyle in the tunnel in their bedroom.

Kelsie in her bedroom (it has a huge closet)

October 31, 2008

Halloween

We started out the day with the parade at school. This is the first year at this elementary school and it is a lot larger school then the one they went to before. The parade took forever, but Kyle wasn't bored. It was weird not recognizing anyone but my own kids. After school we were the first ones in our neighborhood to go out trick or treating, they left the house right before it turned dark. The kids had a great time. Kyle loved knocking on the doors and trying to say Trick or Treat, it came out more like rick reat, but everyone seemed to get the idea because he came home with a lot of candy. Kelsie thought she was to old to dress up, but I made her take pictures anyway. Her friends mom hosted a party (we all donated candy, so the kids still got their fix, but they stayed home and off the street, SO SMART!!!) Rachel had a friend over to go around our neighborhood, then they went to her neighborhood, twice the candy. Everyone else went to grandma's for yummy chili and scones. Overall it was a great day.

Not so far behind!!

2008-11-15T22:30:00.001-07:00

I'm a little (ok maybe more than a little) behind on posts, but don't want anyone to miss out so keep checking back!

See I got a little more caught up, keep checking back and I will work on October next!

So You Think You Can Dance

2008-09-23T22:10:00.001-06:00

This is the girls favorite reality show, and they can't wait for it be on every year. This year they were thrilled when we learned that they were stopping in Salt Lake on the tour. We invited our friends Brina and Brianna (Rachel's dance partner), and Kelsie's friend Melia to come with us. We had a blast. One of the dancers has taught at the studio where the girls dance and taught Kelsie and Rachel about a year ago. It was fun to see Thayne dance. There were three dancers from Utah so it was a fun crowd. About half way through the concert Katelyn leaned over and said to me, "But Mom, we saw this dance on TV at our home." It was so cute to see her recognize some of the dances and dance along with them.

This is Twitch, he was the household favorite!

This is Thayne, it was fun to see him dance!

Congrats Tiffany!!

2008-09-19T22:02:00.000-06:00

Jason's sister Tiffany was inducted into the BYU Sports Hall of Fame. We are so proud of her, it is a huge honor. I was surprised when I arrived and saw the number of past inductees, it helped me realize just how big of an honor it was. We were able to take Kelsie and Brinlee with us to the dinner and ceremony (Rachel had a special dance thing and couldn't come). Tiffany lived with us for awhile when she was going to BYU and even after she moved out, still managed to come back to do laundry and eat. So the girls remember going to lots of track meets and watching her on TV.

Crazy Acrobats!!

2008-09-18T21:53:00.001-06:00

Look at these kids!! I think they liked the Olympics a little to much, they all think they are gymnasts. Luckily I only saw the pictures and wasn't outside when they were doing it.

Soccer Mania!!

2008-09-17T21:50:00.000-06:00

August and September are full of soccer, soccer and more soccer at our house!!

We had four kids playing this year. Rachel took 2nd in the city wide tournament (she had to go straight to dance after the game so no pictures of her with the trophy). Brinlee, Austin and Katelyn are on learning leagues for their ages, they all love to play.

Grandpa and Grandma Washington, Aunt Jamie and Christine took them to the first few games while we were on our trip. After that it was soccer every Saturday and Tuesdays, we only had one Saturday that all three games ended up being at the same time. Although everyone loved playing, mom was really ready for the season to be over!!

Kelsie learned to drive!!

2008-09-02T21:50:00.002-06:00

It was a scary glimpse into the future!! It was only a four-wheeler but by the time she got comfortable with driving she was bookin' it. That was the highlight of the Labor Day weekend at Grandpa Lott's for Kelsie. Rachel started learning as well, but Kelsie didn't give her much time to practice. The rest of the kids enjoyed driving the small battery operated jeeps, they know that Grandpa will have them charged and ready as soon as they get there. We had a great weekend, even taking pictures of the whole Lott clan wasn't so bad. The kids are already asking when we are going again.

As we were waiting for our turn for pictures the girls started playing with the camera and learned a great lesson on depth perception. This one had everyone laughing.

Kelsie had a great idea to have the kids peek out from the trees, I loved how it turned out. The photographer liked the idea so much, she had all the other families do it as well.

Katelyn lost her first tooth!

2008-08-28T08:33:00.000-06:00

Katelyn was so excited and nervous when she realized her tooth was loose. She didn't want anyone to touch it and it got really, really loose. While she was eating her dinner she realized something was missing, she had swallowed her tooth. She was thrilled!! We wrote a note to the tooth fairy and luckily she didn't hold it against Katelyn. She carried her dollar around with her for days and put it in her backpack so she could take it to school. Austin was a little jealous and is anxiously waiting for his first loose tooth.

Preschool Boy!

2008-08-27T08:21:00.000-06:00

Kyle's first day of preschool went so good! I was a little nervous, but his teacher, Miss Jen, said he did great. He liked PE the best, but that didn't surprise me. He did great for the first two weeks, then the school had a fire alarm and it scared him. He goes to preschool at the elementary school with his brother and sisters and it was a little chaotic and he got scared. They called me to pick him up and it hasn't gone well since. We have some ideas to help in the next few weeks and we'll see if it gets better. He loved it the first two weeks and I want him to be comfortable to go back and have fun again.

Kindergarten Here We Come!

2008-08-25T08:10:00.000-06:00

The twins didn't think it was fair that they started school a week later than everybody and were so ready to start today! They loved kindergarten!! There teacher is Mrs. Richey and they thought she was great. Both of them said that recess was there favorite part, at no surprise to me. I am so glad they are in the same class and get to tackle this new adventure together.

First Day of School!

2008-08-18T19:18:00.001-06:00

It started earlier than normal, and nobody was very excited for school to start. Kelsie was just bummed cause she couldn't sleep in anymore. Rachel and Brinlee were both nervous to move to a new school. We started them in the school close to our new house, it is about a 15 minute drive. But all turned out well, they met lots of new friends and both liked their teachers. Kelsie had about as much excitement that you can expect from a 13 year old talking about school. Katelyn, Austin & Kyle were the only ones disappointed today, the twins don't start kindergarten for another week and Kyle doesn't start pre-school until the next Wednesday.

Look what we came home too?

2008-08-13T18:57:00.000-06:00

We have windows and the roof was framed in. Now we are just waiting for the timbers for the front and back porch. It is coming along, we are still expecting to move in the end of November. I don't think it will come fast enough.

The French Riveria

2008-08-09T11:03:00.000-06:00

This was our last stop on the cruise, the view as we came into port was amazing. The huge mansions, large hotels and beautiful mountains (or hills) were beautiful. We got off the boat in Villefranche, which is in between Nice, France and Monaco. We decided to take the train to Monaco with two other couples that we had met from Oregon. We almost didn't get off at the right stop, the signage wasn't the greatest. We walked down one of the most famous shopping streets in Monaco to get to the docks and were amazed at the large yahts in the marina. Jason almost drove a Lamborghini, but we decided we needed to get back so we wouldn't miss the train so he passed it up.

The view from our port, Villefranche

In Monaco

When we got back to Villefranche we stopped at a sidewalk cafe for lunch, I had a yummy lobster salad. This is the two couples we did a lot of stuff with, they are from Oregon. Chris, middle on the right, is our regional sales rep and we have been friends for over 10 years.

This is our cruise ship, it was huge!!!!

Florence and Pisa

2008-08-08T09:24:00.000-06:00

It took us about 1 1/2 hours to drive to Florence, but it was so worth it. There was such a variety of buildings in Florence. My favorite were the beautiful churches, the facade of several churches were done in marble. They had such intricate artwork and carvings, it was truly amazing.

The architecture was amazing, I loved this flower border on the eaves of one of the buildings we stopped to look at. It was a house when it was built, now it is a museum.

This is called the Ponte Vecchio, which means old bridge. They built buildings down each side of the bridge, with stilts to hold them up. This is the only bridge in Florence that survived World War II, it is now used as a market.

This is the church, Santa Croce, that we went inside on our tour, another church with a beautiful marble facade. It is the burial place for several famous Italians. Galileo and Michelangelo as well as many others.

This is Michelangelo's tomb.

This is Miracle Square in Pisa. Most known for the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but it also has a cathedral and dome. I can't believe how much it leans, it has recently undergone renovation and now considered stable. Even so we didn't have time to wait in the line to go to the top.

Rome

2008-08-07T08:04:00.001-06:00

The best news is that our luggage finally caught up with us!!! When we got to the boat last night it was waiting for us. It is so nice to have more than two things to choose between to wear.

Rome was my favorite city. The most important thing for Jason to see was the Colosseum, so we picked a tour that took us inside. First we went to a church near the Colosseum that had three levels. We learned interesting things about how they built Rome, when they were done with something, they just filled it in with dirt and built something new on top of it. This church has been excavated underneath it and shows three levels of churches. It was really interesting to go underneath and see the remains of the the two churches, each new church was more elaborate than the one it was replacing.

Next was the Colosseum, it was cool. They were able to seat so many people (60,000) and the way they numbered the portals and seats is something that we could relate to. The floor has been removed so you could see the maze of holding rooms and elevators that were used to hold and move the animals used in the arena. I tried not to think of all the killing that took place in this awesome building. It is hard to believe that a nation that was so forward thinking in its architecture was so gruesome in its leisure activities.

Next was lunch were we met a family from Chicago that had a twelve year old daughter. The daughter had caught my eye earlier in the day because her hair was similar to Kelsie's and she was wearing a tank top that Kelsie has from Hollister. After talking to her for awhile we found that they both loved dance, texting and had lots of things in common. Her only wish was that we would have brought Kelsie with us, it was fun to talk to her. It made me miss the kids even more, though.

Our last stop of the day was at the Vatican and St. Peter's Basilica. All I can say is WOW!!! It was really interesting to see the largest church in the world. They artwork is beautiful. Everything is huge, even the letters on a ribbon at the top of the building are over 12 feet high.

We had about 10 minutes to shop and that isn't near long enough. But we managed to find a pretty nativity set that was hand carved out of wood from the Vatican and Jason found a marble statue of a chariot rider. So we managed to delay the bus for 15 minutes while we waited for them to package it all.

Capri, Sorrento and Pompeii

2008-08-06T11:16:00.001-06:00

Wow what an incredible day. Still no luggage (but it is supposed to be here when we get back from our excursion.) We started out by taking a boat to the island of Capri, this is a gorgeous island. The views are amazing. We walked up the hill to see the views, and visit Ceasers Garden. He had a palace on the top of the island, some things do not change because this island is full of 5 star resorts and villas used by the celebrities.

In Caesars Garden

Next we took the boat to Sorrento, Italy. This village was built on the cliffs over looking the Mediterranean Sea. We had lunch and then learned one of the trades that this part of Italy is famous for. They do beautiful wood inlay artwork they use it for paintings, furniture and music boxes. We got a beautiful table for the entry way in the new house.

From Sorrento we drove to Naples and visited Pompeii. This was Jason's favorite part of the day. He loves seeing the ruins and learning about the people that lived there. I was impressed with this city that was buried by a volcano ash. They had no warning and thousands of people were killed. The city that they had built was amazing. The way they did the plumbing (yup they had toilets), the water fountains, the merchant areas, the tile work, and the amazing paintings.

It was really hot!!! So that is why my hair is plastered to my face.

Day at Sea and Malta

2008-08-05T09:55:00.000-06:00

The first full day on the cruise ship was spent at sea. So we didn't stop anywhere. Jason and I relaxed and explored the ship. We both got massages at the spa and then took a nap!! We had a yummy dinner at the Italian resteraunt well Jason had two, he asked the waiter which was better of the two things he wanted to try and the waiter brought him both. He liked both though and couldn't pick a favorite.

These pictures give you a little perspective of how big the ship was. All I know is we got our excercise going anywhere on the ship.

This is our state room. We were lucky enough to have a room with a balcony, it was cool to sit out and watch the ocean and see what we were passing. I was worried about motion sickness, but we only one night (the last night) that it got a little rocky (20 ft waves can do that) the rest of the trip was smooth sailing. (The towel monkey was left from the guy taking care of our room, he left us a new animal each night)

Our first port was Malta (It is an island below Sicily). It is known for it's ancient ruins, the oldest in the entire world. The tour guide we had this day was very boring and monotone, but he was knowledgable. We learned a lot, just not very exciting. He did take us to a little seaside village that was cool, they had an outside shopping area and we got some cool tablecloths for our new house and gifts for the kids.

Barcelona - Day 2

2008-08-04T09:39:00.000-06:00

We spent our second day in Barcelona (with no luggage, still) walking the area surrounding the Cathedral. It was a great walk. Even though the cathedral is being renovated, it was still a beautiful building. We ate at an outside cafe on the, and were able to watch several street performers. They dress up in lots of costumes and pretend to be statues until you get close to them and then they perform for you. They let people take pictures, for a dollar or two anyway.

I loved the Christopher Columbus Monument. A little (did I say little I meant tiny, 4 people is all it fit) elevator took you to the top. There you had a perfect view of the city and the water.

From the monument we took a taxi that delivered us right to the front ramp of our boat. It's huge!!!!! We take off in a few hours.

Barcelona is a great city, even though we only spend a day and a half here we felt we got a good sense of the city. Now I want to come back.

Barcelona - Day 1

2008-08-03T14:33:00.000-06:00

We spent the first afternoon of our trip (well after spending 3 hours at the airport to report the lost luggage) on a walk through one of the historic parts of Barcelona. It was fairly quiet and clean, I was surprised. We visited the Sagrada Familia, a gothic temple that the artist Goudi started. He was killed in the 1920's and his vision is still being completed today. They do not expect the temple to be completed for another 20 - 30 years. The craftsmanship was amazing. The only portion of the temple that was complete while Goudi was alive is the nativity facade, it was amazing, so detailed and ornate. A different artist completed the Crucifixion side, it was very geometric and contemporary. It was interesting to see the different interpretations.

They had some amazing stained glass windows and pillars on the inside of the temple. A lot of it was under construction and the biggest part of the temple the dome and largest spire that will be a tribute to Jesus Christ, is yet to be finished, causing a good portion of the temple to be under scaffolding. Even with the scaffolding it was a gorgeous building.

During our walk, we also saw an apartment building (Casa Mila) that Goudi designed, the rails at each balcony were so interesting. The overall building looked like a marshmallow, definitely stood out from everything around it.

We are in Barcelona!!

2008-08-02T13:56:00.000-06:00

Jason and I made it to Barcelona, unfortunately our bags did not. We leave for the cruise tomorrow and I hope that they make it on the ship. We are getting ready to do some site seeing, so keep checking the blog and I'll post pictures.

We got a roof!

2008-07-24T13:52:00.000-06:00

As a family we all got a birthday present for Kyle's birthday. We got a roof on our new house. They started setting the trusses. It will be a week or so until it is all done, but we are finally seeing progress.

Me Fwee!! (pictures coming shortly)

2008-07-23T21:00:00.000-06:00

That is what I woke up to this morning!! It took this tired momma a few minutes to realize what was going on but I quickly recovered and started singing Happy Birthday to Kyle. He turned fwee (3) and he knew it. We had been talking to him about it for over a month and he has been looking forward to it. He had a great day!! We had a big party, Spiderman Cake, he got a knew Spiderman Scooter, Wall-E sheets and blanket, and toys for our new sandbox. Then we ended the day with our annual birthday firework display. Having a birthday near the 24th of July in Utah has it's advantage, we can do fireworks legally!!

Overall he had a great day, and was so cute!!

Locks of Love!

2008-07-07T11:19:00.002-06:00

Brinlee has such a great heart and this week she got to show that. When she was five years old she saw a special on the Today Show when Ann Curry got her hair cut for Locks of Love and they interviewed one of the patients that was getting a wig. Brinlee has wanted to cut her hair ever since, she has waited and waited for it to be long enough to donate. I am so proud of her for making this goal and sticking to it. Someone is going to be very grateful that she made this decision. She was so proud when Aunt Jamie made the cuts, she was grinning from ear to ear. And look at her cute new do!! She is so adorable.

Stadium of Fire

2008-07-05T09:07:00.001-06:00

Kelsie and Rachel got to dance at the Stadium of Fire (huge 4th of July production at BYU). It was telecast to service men all over the world and Miley Cyrus performed. The girls did such a great job, and we were lucky to be able to get tickets so Brinlee got to see it (the dancers families got tickets through a pre-sale) they were sold out in 20 minutes. The girls worked really hard along with 1350 other dancers. I went along to the rehearsals to help the studio director, we worked hard keeping the girls from getting heat stroke and dehydrated, we were constantly giving them water, grapes, sun screen and snacks. Our efforts payed off because none of our 30 girls got sick. We were at the stadium for about 30 hours Wed night thru Fri morning for rehearsals and then back later that day for the performance.

My mom kept the three youngest for the performance and they got to have fun at the family party. All in all it was a great way to celebrate our nations birthday.

Strawberry Days!!

2008-06-20T09:15:00.001-06:00

Strawberry Days is the annual city celebration for Pleasant Grove City. We have fun activities, the rodeo (although we couldn't go this year), the carnival and a big parade. We all love Strawberry Days. The carnival is always a big hit. We invited Summer, Caleb and Cassie to come with us. We had a blast. Austin and Katelyn were tall enough to do some of the big rides this year, and Kyle cried and cried when he wasn't tall enough. But he quickly got over it and had fun riding the rides he could ride. Austin was a little gun shy at first but when he saw Katelyn having fun he didn't want to miss out.

This year all four girls were in the parade this year. Kelsie and Rachel danced, Brinlee passed out flyers for the dance studio and Katelyn rode the float and just looked cute.

Happy Father's Day!!

2008-06-16T08:38:00.001-06:00

We had a good Father's Day, well after we got our talks out of the way. Kelsie, Jason and I all had to talk in our sacrament meeting in church. We were told we did a great job, but we were just glad to get it over with. Kelsie did an excellent job, and wrote most of her talk all by herself. We helped when she got stuck but she did a great job on her own.

After church we drove to the cabin to see what progress has been made. It was a fun outing. They are making slow progress on the cabin, but they haven't been able to get machines up before now because there has been so much snow. Then we had a big dinner at my mom's for all the dads.

The Summer Buzz

2008-06-14T07:54:00.000-06:00

We are ready for summer!! The boys have their annual buzz. They love getting their head buzzed. And they look so handsome. Katelyn didn't want to be left out, but a buzz wouldn't look so good on her. So Aunt Jamie gave her a cute new haircut.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!!

2008-06-07T10:37:00.000-06:00

We are having crazy birthday week at our house!! The big celebration ends with Jason on the 7th. Thirteen years ago he got to bring his first daughter home for his greatest birthday present and he has been a wonderful father ever since. To celebrate his birthday we both got to work. I think it says a lot about the wonderful man I married who even on his birthday didn't want any of his employees to have to work on a Saturday so he got up at 5 a.m. and went and filled a swimming pool up with water. He then helped me in the office for a while and then went to the new house to fix a footing that had been done wrong.

We were able to really surprise him that evening with a Ronnie Lott jersey that he had been wanting. He didn't suspect it at all. Which made it so much fun for me and the kids. Then we went to the Parade of Homes for a few hours. Overall I think he had a great day.

Happy Birthday, Honey!!

Happy Birthday, Kelsie!!

2008-06-06T10:20:00.001-06:00

On June 6, 1995 we had our first child, a daughter and we were so happy. What were we thinking, just kidding!! We love being parents and Kelsie is such a wonderful daughter, I am surprised I can say that after dealing with tween hormones and now having a teenager, I hope I survive. We have a great relationship with Kelsie, sure she gets on our nerves and sometimes does stupid things, but that is what being a teenager is all about. I was taking her to girls camp and her friend told us that we were fighting like sisters, after thinking about it for a while I think it really was a compliment. I hope we can continue to work at our relationship and that we can continue to communicate. I know the teenager years can be hard, but I am going to look at it as an adventure.

For her birthday she did the four things she loves the very most!! Getting her hair cut, shopping, eating out (Los Hermanos, one of her very favorite restaurants) and hanging out with friends. We had 15 teenagers here for the evening and we survived so I think that is a good sign for what is yet to come.

Happy Birthday, Kelsie!! You are a beautiful daughter of God.

Happy Birthday, Rachel!!

2008-06-02T21:31:00.000-06:00

11 years ago, June 2, 1997 our family was blessed with a very special spirit. Rachel was our little bald baby (since all five of her siblings were born with tons of black hair, she has stood out from the beginning.) Now she is growing into a beautiful young women. She is a wonderful student and loves school (all A's on her report card). She absolutely loves dance and dances 24/7 in class and all over the house. We were wondering why it took her so long to do her chores, but doing a dance move in between everything kind of slows you down. She is a great friend and had lots of good friends. She is a hard worker and loves to come to the office to do the filing.

We celebrated her birthday with her friends at Jump On It (a place with lots of trampolines, some on the wall). We had 21 kids in all, 14 of her girl friends from school. They had a blast and she got spoiled from all of her friends.

Happy Birthday, Rachel!! We love you.

School is Out!!

2008-06-01T21:05:00.003-06:00

School is out for the summer!! I love getting to sleep in, well a little bit, not having homework, and having the kids home. (I won't be saying that in a few weeks, but for now I'm loving them at home.) Although the first morning of summer Kyle and Austin woke up at 6:45 a.m., I was not a happy camper. We are starting dance this week and will soon be starting a summer reading program.

Brinlee loved her teacher Mrs. Everett!

Mrs. Scoville is the best 5th grade teacher, ever!! Kelsie and Rachel have both had her and have both loved her. Rachel and all her friends dressed up in 80's outfits for the last day of school, they had so much fun.

Kelsie didn't want me coming to the junior high to take pictures, imagine that!! But she did take the camera to the party they had in the park afterwards, at least I got some pictures.

Preschool Graduation

2008-05-31T21:09:00.000-06:00

How cute are these guys. I'm so proud of them, they have truly loved preschool and are looking forward to starting kindergarten in the fall. Now if only I survive the entire summer of hearing "Do I start kindergarten, tomorrow?". At least they are excited right?

Memorial Day

2008-05-30T18:34:00.000-06:00

We didn't think we would be able to decorate graves on Memorial Day, unless we were willing to do it in the rain. But luckily we decided to wait it out and go in the afternoon instead. It worked out great, we had about a two hour window of decent weather. Going to the cemetary is something that I have done since I can remember. I loved hearing the stories of all of my ancestors that my grandma told. Now my mother is telling those stories to my kids, it is a great family tradition.

Kelsie, Rachel and Maddie (my cousins daughter) thought they were to old to help, but they couldn't say no to grandma.

Katelyn at my cousin Geri's grave, she loved the Mickey Mouse on the headstone.

Rachel & Brinlee saying they were bored.

Katelyn always the big helper.

Austin playing with the bee balloon on my cousin Cassie's grave.

Sara, Brinlee and Kyle hanging out.

This is my favorite picture of the day, my nephew Blake was so cute!!

The girls (Lexi, Kennadi & Katelyn) hanging out.

Kyle loves his Aunt Jamie.

Student Council

2008-05-28T08:59:00.004-06:00

Rachel has had a great 5th grade year, she ran for student council last fall and won. One of the things they were in charge of was Quarters for Christmas Drive in December, and had to collect, count and deliver the money to the bank. They are also in charge of doing the announcements each day. They rotate weeks with the other kids in student council, and every three weeks they are in charge. A few weeks ago the principal took the student council to Chuck E Cheese for lunch as an award for doing such a great job. She has had a blast on the student council. She has learned a lot. She is really going to miss this school next year, but she'll see all these kids in junior high in two years so I think that is helping.

A Beautiful Disaster!

2008-05-27T19:26:00.002-06:00

Kelsie had a cake auction fundraiser for girls camp tonight!! I had to work late and wasn't home to help with the cake. Her and Angi said they had it covered. Well the cake baking went fine, it was the putting it on the board that ended up being the problem. They dropped it. They made the best of what they had at that point, and ended up naming the cake the beautiful disaster. When we arrived at the cake auction, someone had already bid on the cake, so they must have had a good sense of humor. We purchased the cake for $50, hey it was a fundraiser.

Choir Concert - "You Raise Me Up"

2008-05-15T10:21:00.004-06:00

This year Kelsie was in the 7th grade girls choir. For a little background I've been begging Kelsie to be in choir for years, but she was afraid it wasn't "cool" enough. But she had to pick band or choir in the 7th grade. Guess what? She loved choir!! She has always had a good voice and a great stage presence, so I knew it would be a great fit. Her choir teacher was a lot of fun, so I'm sure that helped. The choir concert was a lot of fun, the kids all looked like they were having fun. The last song of the program was combined with all the choirs, they sang "You Raise Me Up" by Josh Grobin. They did an excellent job. I cried of course. This song has a lot of meaning for me, and it was wonderful to hear Kelsie sing it. Four years ago this week we learned the devastating news that Jason's brother Damon was killed in an airplane crash. One of the first songs I heard on the radio that day was "You Raise Me Up" and since then it has helped me get through that tough time and I always think about Damon when I hear it. So of course I cried when Kelsie sang it. Damon, We miss you everyday!

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T10:18:00.002-06:00

Happy Mother's Day to everyone! I had a great Mother's Day, it started out with breakfast in bed, then church, then presents. Jason and the kids out did themselves this year. They got me a few shirts, some new jammies and a Thomas Kinkade painting for the new house. I love it!! Then a few days later we got to have it highlighted by a Master Painter at the gallery. I thought it beautiful before the highlighting, but wow it made a huge difference. Jason asked that some of the water be highlighted, the painter had not ever had anyone ask about the water. Leave it to Jason to be the first, it was no surprise to me. She loved how it turned out, and so did I. Jason blew me away again when I learned why he and the kids picked that particular painting. I loved it when I saw it, and the kids loved it and thought that was all. The biggest reason was that it reminded Jason of Grandma Thompson who passed away in January and my mom, Disneyland is both of their favorite place on earth.

JUMP

2008-05-10T10:17:00.002-06:00

We spent the weekend at the Salt Palace Convention Center for the JUMP dance convention. The girls worked so hard. Brinlee got to come this time. She was enrolled in a jump start program which is three hours long with the intention of being a great way to expose them to a convention atmosphere. Brinlee did so good with several of the choreographers picking her out to show the class how to do things or just with a good job. She loved everything about it, especially meeting the choreographers. After the three hours were up she decided she wanted more. So we upgraded her to a mini and she joined Rachel's class. She did awesome. Rachel did great in her class, and worked so hard. At the end of the two days she was picked by Kim Swain as a runner up when she picked two girls that had worked the hardest for her. Kelsie also did great, the mother who was sitting in her room (I couldn't be in all three places at the same time) was so impressed with how much she has grown as a dancer this year. She said she was beautiful, I wish I could have seen that dance. I did watch a few of her classes, but not that one. At the end of the two days they had 80's hour and then a big extravaganza show, they had so much fun dressing up and I was blown away at the reminder of what I wore so long ago. Nick Lazzarini (the winner of the first So You Think You Can Dance) was the favorite choreographer by all three girls.

Mommy Muffin Day!

2008-05-09T10:10:00.000-06:00

I got to go to Mommy Muffin Day with the twins at preschool today. I always love this special time with the twins, and the muffins are so yummy! The kids sang a cute song for all the moms and each child read one page out of a book to us. Katelyn read the first page and Austin read the last page, they did such a great job. They made me cute key rings to give me and just beamed when they presented them to me. I felt so special!! I love being their mommy!

Spring Dance Recital!

2008-05-07T09:43:00.000-06:00

The last two nights were spent at the girls spring dance recital. It is a crazy time for mom, doing makeup, hair and trying to get everyone changed and in the right spot at the right time. The first night the three older girls did all of their competition routines and Kelsie and Brinlee performed their solos. Cassie Thompson danced with her group, as well. The second night they did their competition routines again and Rachel did her duo. Katelyn danced to a song from Mulan, she so excited to perform. I love watching my girls perform. I wasn't big into dance until I was much older and then I did ballroom. I would have never guessed what this has become when I put Kelsie in her first dance class when she was 3 years old. They absolutely love dance. Somedays making four to six trips to the dance studio seems daunting, but when I see their faces light up on the stage it makes it all worth it.

Rachel Loves School!

2008-05-03T09:36:00.001-06:00

Rachel loves school and it shows!! Last year she tied with her friend Rachel with the highest grades in her class, and she is doing really well again. She doesn't procrastinate her school work and always goes the extra mile. Her state report was due Tuesday and she had it all done the Friday before. She was asked to highlight 5 things from her state and needed to have 8 or so things on her poster. As you can see she did many more. She learned so much about Florida and now she wants to visit again. I am very proud of her and all of her accomplishments

Brinlee's Bug Program

2008-05-02T08:58:00.000-06:00

The first grade does a cute bug program each year and Brinlee was a ladybug this year. The program talks about all kinds of bugs and the kids are in cute costumes. The story is about a stink bug that no one wants to be around and in the end we learn that every body has a purpose and we should be friends with everyone. Brinlee was on the first row, front and center. She is very comfortable being the center of attention and gives 100%. She had cute facials and knew all the songs really well. She had a speaking part as well. It was a cute program, I love seeing my kids perform. Brinlee is going to miss her friends at this school next year, but I'm sure she will find lots of new friends.

Rachel's Cake Auction

2008-04-30T18:00:00.001-06:00

Rachel and her friend Chloe made a cake for the school fair auction. They decided to make a Wii remote. It turned out really cute. Daddy was a bit of a perfectionist with the first layer of white frosting, it took him forever. Then the girls decorated it, they did a great job.

Our Crazy Life!!

2008-04-25T17:50:00.002-06:00

It's been awhile since I last posted, things are going a mile a minute at our house.

Things are progressing with the new house. The foundations were started. The kids love to go see the new house. Austin keeps asking me if he is standing in his room, he doesn't quite understand that we are working on the basement and his room is upstairs. Of course the dirt piles are the kids favorite.

Spring Break!!

2008-04-23T19:35:00.012-06:00

Last week was spring break for the kids, and since we were the only family in the whole wide world that didn't take a vacation, we decided to have some fun of our own. We did many family activities:

* Monday we went to Jump On It, they have wall to wall trampolines, some on the walls. They also have a few blow up slides. Rachel went to my sisters house because she had been sick all day. Kyle was the only one that was a little apprehensive on the tramps, but he made up for it on the slides. Kelsie and Brinlee wanted to see how high they could get their jumps. Austin and Katelyn were doing flips and playing basketball. We had a great time.

* Tuesday we were supposed to go bowling, but they had leagues come in and we didn't want to fight the crowd. So Jason took Austin and Katelyn to Walmart to pick out a new movie for us to have Family Movie Night. They picked out Alvin and the Chipmunks, we were all singing along. How can you not love the Chipmunks!!

* Wednesday morning we went to the Indoor Pool in Lehi. They have a great kids pool that is huge and not very deep. One area has a great water slide and a climbing toy with water coming out everywhere, and another area has a smaller slide for the little kids. We went with all the cousins and had a great time. Kyle was nervous about going under the water at first, but Aunt Lara got him playing fishy and he was crawling around and blowing bubbles in no time. Kelsie took Austin and Katelyn down on the big, big slide it started in the building went outside and back inside the building. Rachel went on the slide the very most, Brinlee was really nervous and at first refused to go down, we finally talked her into it (OK I bribed her)and then she wouldn't stop. We went to Aunt Angi's house for pizza after and to get warm, the high for that day was 30 something. Good thing the pool was inside.

* Wednesday they started digging our house. I stopped and talked with Devon the excavator and froze my fanny off. It probably didn't help that I had a wet swimming suit on underneath my clothes. So I didn't stay for long, just approved where they had placed the house and left the camera for Jason to take pictures.

* Kelsie & Rachel both got cute new hair cuts and their hair colored. Kelsie cut several inches off and highlights, while Rachel just got a trim and went a little more blonde.

* Wednesday night we went bowling as a family. Grandma and Grandpa Washington, Todd, and the Hall's came with us. Bryan and Lara couldn't come so we picked up Sara to come with us. We had dinner at the bowling alley and had a great time bowling. The twins and Kyle were so cute!! Austin was such a good helper and would carry the ball for Kyle and get it ready for him. Katelyn was a social butterfly but she loved taking her turn. Kelsie actually learned how to hold the ball for the first time (she didn't worry about her nails), and did a great job. Rachel has always been a great bowler and she was a great helper to everyone as well. Jason didn't like the fact that I beat him on the first game, but he did better the second time.

* Thursday we went out to dinner at a new Italian restaurant LaVigna and went to see Nim's Island. The food was great, there was so much of it. We enjoyed the movie quite a bit, I loved Jodi Foster in it. She did a great job playing a neurotic writer who was afraid of everything. My favorite part of the evening was the trip to the ice cream/cookie store after the movie, yummm!

* Friday and Saturday I had to work at the Scrapbook Expo, it was great fun. Although I didn't sit much, especially on Friday. The store sold a ton of kits and I got some much needed (hmmm yeah) shopping done. Kelsie did a great job babysitting on Friday and she was way excited to get paid.

Overall we had a great Spring Break even though it was cold outside. We managed to have a good time even staying home.

Big News!!

2008-04-13T13:56:00.003-06:00

We put earnest money down on a lot in July of last year. After nine months of delay after delay with the plans, the bank and the developer we didn't know if it would ever come about. But on Thursday afternoon Jason and I signed the papers for the construction loan. We are so excited to be building our dream house!! We will be digging on Tuesday so yesterday we started laying out the house to get ready. Everyone got to pound a stake, and help with the process.

Dance Pictures!

2008-04-13T13:23:00.002-06:00

Here is a link to the professional pictures taken at Spotlight Dance Cup, they got some awesome pictures of the girls.

http://propix.propixonline.com/index.php?act=events&base=\Dance\2008\Spotlight\Salt%20Lake%20City\

They dance with Jazz N Place

The girls are in the following dances:

074 - I can Cook Too (Rachel's Duo)

099 - Strongest Suit (Kelsie's Solo)

140 - Show Off (Brinlee's Solo)

323 - Living Room (Kelsie & Rachel Team Dance)

330 - Party (Kelsie & Rachel Team Dance)

352 - Peter Pan (Rachel plays Micheal and an Indian and Kelsie is an Indian)

There a lot of pictures, but they have some way cute ones. My favorite is one of Rachel at the first of Peter Pan when she is Micheal. So Cute!!!

Here are a few pictures from Brinlee's team dance - Bugle Boy

Happy Birthday Lexie!

2008-04-12T13:01:00.001-06:00

I wanted to say Happy Birthday to my niece Lexie!! She turned 4 today. She makes me laugh everytime I'm with her. She is fiesty and knows what she wants. We love her a lot! She had Uncle B bring his horse storm to her birthday party, all those who rode had a blast. Brinlee and Kelsie didn't want a ride, but had fun anyway.

Last Weekends, Dance Competition!

2008-04-07T16:26:00.006-06:00

Luckily that was the last one. The girls did excellent, and they had some tough competition. They all got Queen in their solo/duos, and they got first in all the team dances that they do. You can't get any better than that. They also got a specialty award for the most entertaining dance for their production number Peter Pan (Brinlee isn't in this one).

One of the reasons I enjoy having my girls dance is the fun girl weekends we get to go on. I think it has brought us closer. Sometimes it may bug them that I am so involved, but most of the time they let me know that they appreciate me being there for them. I have grown closer to several girls on the teams as well, and I have really enjoyed that.

Last weekend we stayed at the Radisson hotel downtown SLC. I was checking in and turned around and the girls had all used the chairs (one of the props) we had and made themselves comfortable in the lobby.

We had some spare time in between dances and headed to the Gateway Mall in SLC. We had a blast with the girls and they had a blast doing what girls do best, shopping!!

Where did spring go?

2008-04-07T07:48:00.003-06:00

We had such nice weather for several weeks. The kids were going outside without jackets on. The kids started getting capris and bermuda shorts out. Now I should no better, I do live in Utah, but I had such high hopes. And then last sunday we woke up to a snow storm, we got about 4" of snow.

(check out Austin's socks, he is such a boy!)

And then we had a whole week of cold weather. The kids had to get their coats out again. This morning we woke up to another storm. Right now it is just hail, but we are expecting snow today. YUCK!!!! I want spring back.

Hanging out at the Hotel

2008-03-31T16:37:00.003-06:00

The kids do enjoy watching the girls dance competition. They especially loved Peter Pan, it is ten minutes long and I don't think the three youngest moved an inch the entire performance. But overall it gets to be a little long for them. They had the most fun hanging out in the hotel room. Austin and Katelyn thought they were so clever when they climbed into the closet to watch a movie. Kyle was so tired he fell asleep while I was getting Brinlee ready. That night Jason took them swimming while the rest of us waited for Brinlee's award ceremony. All in all it was a good weekend.

Videos, finally!!

2008-03-30T14:33:00.000-06:00

Here is Brinlee's Solo, this was the perfomance from a few weeks ago.

Here is Kelsie's Solo, also from a few weeks ago

Here is Rachel & Brianna

Brinlee's Hair

2008-03-30T14:20:00.000-06:00

For Brinlee's Solo we put her up in a pretty "up do", like someone going to prom. Her Aunt Jamie did it the first time, but was out of town this last weekend. Jamie showed me what to do, but Brinlee wasn't so sure I could pull it off. But I did it, and I think I did it rather well. Brinlee even admitted that I did good. I sent pictures to Jamie in California, just to make sure.

Another Dance Competition

2008-03-30T14:11:00.002-06:00

This last weekend was spent at another Dance Competition, this one was in Bountiful. Kelsie and Rachel started off on Thursday, they did excellent. Kelsie got a Ruby award, which is 1st place and Rachel and Brianna got Emerald, which is 2nd place. We stayed the night in a hotel because Brinlee competed on Friday. Brinlee got a Diamond which is a High 1st place award. Then on Saturday Kelsie and Rachel competed with their teams. They got a Diamond, Category Winner, Best Costume and 7th overall for Living Room. They got a Ruby and 10th overall for Party. Then they competed their production number Peter Pan for the first time (which was only finished a week before they competed) got a Diamond and 1st Overall. Rachel is Micheal in Peter Pan, she looked so cute in pj's, and Kelsie is an indian. They did such a good job. No cameras were allowed in the auditorium, but pictures will be up on the professional website later this week. I'll post the link when it is available.

Poor Kyle, he didn't stand a chance!! He loved every second of it, though, what can I say.

Happy Birthday Cassie!

2008-03-24T22:38:00.003-06:00

We just wanted to wish Cassie a Happy Birthday!! We are so glad to have you living so close to us and it has been fun to get to know you better. You make me laugh everytime we talk, and I love that. The girls are so exited for your party!! Hope you had a great day.

Happy Easter!

2008-03-24T17:14:00.004-06:00

We hope everyone had a good Easter! We are grateful for the sacrifice our Savior made for us, the true reason we celebrate this holiday.

Easter Picnic & Coloring Eggs

2008-03-23T16:19:00.004-06:00

We had a great Easter. Saturday was the family Easter Egg Hunt and Picnic. Then that evening we colored eggs for the Easter Bunny to hide.

Highlights from the picnic:

* We had yummy KFC for lunch.

* Kelsie thought she was too old to hunt eggs, so this year she hid them. She had so much fun, maybe a little too much fun, some of the eggs didn't stay closed when they were placed.

* Grandma got everyone cute buckets. They loved them.

* We had 484 eggs to hide and everyone was able to hunt for 25 eggs each.

* There were two rabbits at the park, I'm sure they are going to be on a sugar high by now. The kids had fun chasing them and getting them to come out of the bushes.

* There was not enough wind to fly our new kites, but Austin and Kyle had fun trying anyway.

* We learned a new lawn bowling game, the guys and Rachel had fun playing it.

* The biggest hit of the afternoon was the bubble machine. They ran and ran through the bubbles and didn't want to stop.

Coloring Eggs is always a highlight at our house. Notice all the work shirts on the kids, that is probably their favorite part, well maybe not Kelsie. We colored about three dozen eggs and only a few got broken in the process.

Week in review - 3/22

2008-03-22T10:38:00.006-06:00

This week wasn't quite so crazy, but still really busy.

* We had a rental truck (that is the biggest thing they had) all week, but we finally got our Expedition back on Friday. It has a new battery, alternator, gear mechanism, locking mechanism and driver seat motor. They had it all week and still forget to fix the air conditioner, so it will go back in a few weeks.

* Austin had to have a root canal, he was a trooper and didn't complain at all.

* Jason went on a field trip with Brinlee to the art museum at BYU. This was their favorite piece, do you remember the stamp that looked like this from a few years back.

* Austin, Katelyn and Kyle (mommy went too) got to meet the Easter Bunny at Kidstop on Thursday. The teacher asked Katelyn to go first but she got a little shy, so we were all surprised when Austin said he would go first. After Katelyn saw Austin being brave she was next in line. Kyle was a little nervous when it was his turn, but sat right on his lap. They sang him Easter songs and laughed at the funny way the Easter Bunny danced. It was a lot of fun.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2008-03-17T23:24:00.005-06:00

I have always loved St. Patrick's Day!! I love the color green and that may have something to do with it. Our tradition has been to have a green dinner and/or sugar cookies with green frosting of course. This year because of a crazy dance schedule we opted just to decorate cookies, we weren't all together to do it until 8:30 p.m., but we did it. Kyle loved the frosting and the sprinkles and didn't want to actually eat his masterpiece, however licking was OK (it is still sitting on the counter). How cute is that. Katelyn and Austin came home from pre-school with green hats, of course we had to take a picture. I hope your day was lucky.

Week in review - updated

2008-03-16T15:09:00.006-06:00

Last week was a crazy week. Here is everything in a nutshell.

* My Activity Days girls finished up their service project. We have made 20+ newborn and preemie hats that we are donating to a local hospital. Brinlee even joined in on the fun

* We spent $500 on Austin's baby teeth, he seems to no enamel on his teeth and his baby teeth were in really bad shape. He goes back in two weeks for more work. On the positive side, he was a champ. Didn't move in the chair while the dentist was working, and he had to have one tooth pulled. His cheek was swollen for a few days, but he is doing much better.

* Austin had his first visit from the tooth fairy. He walked around with his $1 for two days, it was so cute.

* Brinlee and Rachel both got 100% on their spelling tests.

* Kelsie got her braces off, she is really happy with her smile.

* We are having non-stop dance practices for Kelsie and Rachel to learn their new dances for the Peter Pan production. Rachel even has more practices, since she is a main character.

* Jason and I have been using any extra free moment to get all the paper work and questions filled out for our new software, (we are hoping it will make my job a lot easier). It was a huge relief to get it out by Fed Ex on Friday.

* The other free minutes were spent getting 11 layouts done for the scrapbook store. They should be available for sale in the next few weeks.

* The most exciting news is that everything seems to falling into place for starting construction on our new house. We met with the bank and we will know for sure this week. The permit is ready. Now we just have to figure out when the power will be extended to our lot. Once that happens then we can get our permit and the funding.

* We started trying low fat/calorie meals from My Girlfriends Kitchen this week. They do all the preparation work for you, all you do is pick it up. We have tried three meals so far and have loved all of them.

* Jason, Kelsie and I all got new cell phones. Jason needs a new one to work with the new software and got a Blackberry (he hates it). I'm giving him two weeks, and I hope the two have a better relationship then they do today. I needed one that had better sound and was easier to text message. Kelsie got one because the one I picked had a buy 1 get 1 free offer. She was elated. We got the new Rumor and I love it almost as much as Kelsie does. I got green and Kelsie got white.

* The Expedition started making funny noises Saturday night when Jason and I were on our way home from Easter shopping. We went to PF Chang's for dinner, as well, yummm! Sunday morning it wouldn't start so we all piled into the truck to go to church. After dinner we jumped it, then it wouldn't start again. So it went to the doctors this morning. We know it needs a new battery, that has to be done before they can test anything else.

This next week looks like it will be crazy as well, and I can't believe Easter is next weekend.

No Videos

2008-03-10T09:15:00.002-06:00

Ok, after trying all day yesterday to upload the videos from the competition, I finally figured out why I was getting an error. I guess Blogger had a blackout on Saturday and their servers are still recovering. So all those who are waiting patiently, and not so patiently, for the video will have to wait a little longer. I got the photos on the blog, but had to do it a different way, so that will have to to be enough for now. I'll keep trying.

Kelsie Solo

2008-03-09T21:27:00.004-06:00

Kelsie's Solo was beautiful! She did such a great job. I was a little nervous because of her knee injury in December we just got it finished. But I didn't need to worry at all, she did wonderful. She looked amazing and I still can't believe how fast she is growing up. I am so proud of her and most importantly, she was happy with her performance.

She took first place as well and both of her team dances took first. It was a great competition for her.

Rachel Duo

2008-03-09T20:34:00.002-06:00

Rachel and her friend Brianna did wonderful on their duo. It was so cute and they took first place as well. Both of their team dances took first and the studio took a the high point total in the advance division which they competed in. It was a great competition and they represented the studio well.

Brinlee Solo

2008-03-09T16:30:00.010-06:00

Brinlee did awesome on her solo yesterday. She kept telling me and her teacher that whe wasn't nervous and to stop asking her about it. Although now she admits she got a little nervous when she got out on stage. She rushed the first few counts of her routine (I think because the nervousness hit), but she added a spin and caught right up. She was amazing. She took first place and got a trophy, ribbon and a tiara. She is truly our little queen.

I loved this photo of her, she is such the performer.

Grandma's Quilt

2008-03-07T15:50:00.001-07:00

Grandma Washington made this quilt for Kyle (she finished it a long time ago, we just finally took the time to take pictures). He loves it. I'm just to afraid to ruin it, so it is in his closet for now. Maybe I'll get over that soon. He loves the trucks, cars, airplanes etc that are on it. He points them out and is so cute.

I was sitting on the couch after dinner and Kyle brought me his quilt and sat next to me, he made sure I was covered as well. Then we played peek - a -boo with everyone. He is so much fun and I don't know what I'm going to do, he is growing up way to fast.

Our Little Helper

2008-03-06T15:30:00.002-07:00

Last week for Sunday Dinner Grandma Washington had the best helper around. She was putting the food on the table and Kyle decided he would help. He started dishing out the grape salad to everyone (Grandma finally stopped him after two plates). He was sure that since grape salad is his favorite everyone else would want it too. He was proud as punch with himself.

Rachel loves sewing

2008-03-02T13:05:00.002-07:00

Rachel got a sewing machine for Christmas. She has been so excited to make her first project. She made a sleeping bag, quilt and pillow for her friends baby paper clip. She did a pretty good job with no pattern, etc. I think she is going to take after her Grandma Washington and Grandma Richins.

Brinlee Storytelling

2008-03-01T17:48:00.003-07:00

Brinlee did awesome at her storytelling festival for her school. Two weeks ago she came home and told me she won her class storytelling contest. Which was a total surprise for me because we hadn't worked on a story. She did it all on her own. She then won the grade level contest and was picked in the top nine in the younger grades (Kindgergarten - Third Grade). The top two from that went on to the district festival. Although she didn't make the top two, she did great, and had a lot of fun.

Go Jazz!

2008-02-24T14:30:00.003-07:00

Austin couldn't wait to take Grandpa Lott, Uncle Roy and Jamin to the Jazz game. He loves going so much and was thrilled to take them. They had a great time, and were glad to see the Jazz win. Austin can't wait for the next game.

Happy Birthday Stacia!!

2008-02-24T14:25:00.003-07:00

We are so excited that we got to celebrate April Stacia's (my niece, 1st on the left) 4th birthday with her. She had a great time going to see Cinderella on her birthday. She got to dress up in a pretty dress, which of course is her favorite thing to do. She was thrilled to spend two days with her favorite cousins, they all had a blast. Even getting sick last night, didn't spoil her fun, she had a great day.

Cinderella

2008-02-24T14:08:00.005-07:00

Yesterday, we went to Ballet West's Cinderella in Salt Lake. Me, Rachel, Brinlee, Katelyn, Grandma & Grandpa Lott, Danielle, Amber and Stacia all went. We all had a great time. Katelyn didn't take her eyes off the dancers and kept telling me she wants to do that when she grows up. She loved all the pretty costumes and wants to be a Fairy Godmother for Halloween. She thought she had the prettiest costume in the ballet.

Bubba Gump's

2008-02-18T22:09:00.004-07:00

We managed to squeeze a little more fun into our trip, as well. Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. (Uncle B's favorite restaurant) was right across the street from our hotel. We had a great dinner (making Dad and Uncle B jealous). Kelsie got shrimp, I got Mahi Mahi and Rachel got mac and cheese (we couldn't convince her to try the seafood).

One funny story from our trip: The last night we were there Kelsie was hanging out with some of her dance friends. I was in our room reading and enjoying the quiet (two days of loud music was enough) and had given her our room key. Well, she lost it and we didn't have another. So we head down to the front desk to get another (did I mention it was 11:00 at night and we had to get up at 5:00 to get to the airport), only I hadn't thought to get my wallet from the room. They wouldn't give me another key without ID, so we were locked out of our room. It took 20 minutes for security to come get me and take me back to the room to check my ID and get me a new key. By that time I was so tired!! Moral of the story, don't lose your room key in the first place.

The Pulse

2008-02-18T21:14:00.000-07:00

This is an awesome dance convention!! You can learn more about it here http://www.thepulseontour.com/. The girls worked so hard for two days. They have lots of sore muscles and are very tired, but it was worth it. They got to learn from five of the most famous choreographers in the dance world. They learned from Dave Scott (he gave out posters from his latest project Step Up 2), Chris Judd (he does a lot of music videos), Brian Friedman and Mia Micheals (from the show So You Think You Can Dance, which the girls love) and Rhapsody (who also does a lot of music videos). I really enjoyed watching these classes and how the choreographers interacted with the girls. Mia had a wonderful heart to heart talk with the dancers talking about learning who you were and what kind of dancer you are, and how as a dancer you need to not only learn the choreography but The girls favorite teachers were Dave Scott and Rhapsody.

This is Rhapsody, she was an awesome teacher!

This is the girls from Jazz 'N Place Studio with Dave Scott, Chris Judd, Mia Michaels and Brian Friedman

These are girls from the studio who were in the Intermediate Age Group (11-15, Rachel was included in this group)

Happy Birthday Cooper!

2008-02-16T23:49:00.002-07:00

Just wanted to give a birthday shout out to my nephew Cooper. We love you. We love that you are so good at being you. We love that you always make us laugh. Hope you had a great day!!

Colorado Trip - Day 1

2008-02-15T23:05:00.002-07:00

Kelsie, Rachel and Jen are in Denver for a dance convention this weekend. We got here at around 5 p.m. and had a quick dinner. We are staying at the Hyatt, it is a nice hotel and right across the street from the convention center. We walked the 16th Street Mall (Kelsie was in heaven) and found a great diner for dinner. It was a 50's diner and the girls had a great time. The waiter was a blast, he made drawing of animals with the ketchup and even danced. When we got back to the hotel the girls had a great time running around from room to room in their jammies. Now it's time for bed, they have two full days of work ahead.

Happy Valentine's Day

2008-02-14T21:45:00.004-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone from the Lott's. Today was full of celebration. Jason and I had a nice Valentine lunch at Los Hermanos, yummmm!! (The food was almost was nice but so was not having any kids with us, LOL.) The twins and Kyle had big parties at Kid Stop (preschool/daycare). Kelsie decorated the lockers of several friends, and received her first roses from two friends at school. Rachel exchanged valentines in her class, we had her Valentine Breakfast on Tuesday because her teacher was out of town today. Brinlee and I went to her school Valentine party, we decorated cookies, played games and made crafts. After school and dance we delivered valentines to family and friends and family. What a great day, we hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day!!

Valentines Galore

2008-02-13T21:38:00.000-07:00

We were up to our ears in valentines this year. Katelyn and Austin had to do 90 valentines between their two school parties and friends and family. It was a little crazy. It was worth it just to see how much they enjoyed making the valentines for everyone. Although I cheated a little bit and made labels for the twins and Kyle, it was so much easier. Kyle wouldn't let anyone help him at all.

Go Jazz!

2008-02-10T17:49:00.000-07:00

Last night Jason, me, Rachel and Kyle went to the Jazz game. Kyle was totally mesmerized and didn't take his eyes off the court. He loved it!! Kyle has walked around all day saying "Go Jazz". The rest of us had a good time, too. We love the Jazz!!

More pictures from the Jonas Brothers Concert

2008-02-10T16:28:00.000-07:00

The Jonas Brothers Rock!

2008-02-09T16:34:00.000-07:00

I took the three oldest girls to the Jonas Brothers concert last night, Kelsie and Rachel have been huge fans since they saw them open for Hannah Montana. Angela and Kennadi came with us, Kennadi was excited to go to her first concert. A couple of friends (Angi and Chloe) also went with us. We had a great time. These boys have so much talent, I was totally amazed. Even Angela and I enjoyed the music. I don't think the girls sat down at all, they all lost their voice. Brinlee and Kennadi had a great time dancing in the isle, they stood in the isle so they could see, and even the security guards didn't bother them. I would go again, and I think that says it all.

Toothless Brinlee

2008-02-09T13:12:00.000-07:00

Brinlee lost her first front tooth right before Christmas, and we kept teasing her that she needed to lose her other one so she could sing "All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth" but it wasn't meant to be. She finally lost it this week. She was eating her pancakes (with peanut butter and syrup) for breakfast and the peanut butter must have been extra sticky. Next thing I knew she was holding her tooth in her hand and she was bleeding. We got the bleeding under control and she was all smiles the rest of the day. She already had a great smile and this just makes it even cuter.

Snow Much Fun

2008-02-07T20:41:00.000-07:00

With all this snow, what else can you do but play in it. We were excited that Caleb and Cassie could come and play with us. Everyone played outside except Brinlee, she was inside with a fever. The kids had so much fun, the snow ball makers were a hit. Even Kyle could make snow balls with it. Austin was the first to come inside, with Kyle coming in right behind him. Katelyn, Cassie and Rachel stayed out for a long time, and Caleb could have stayed outside forever. At least someone is enjoying all this snow. I'm ready for spring!!

Kyle loved making snowballs, but especially throwing them at mom.

Austin & Katelyn

Kelsie & Rachel

Caleb & Cassie

We did it!!

2008-02-04T22:47:00.000-07:00

When we told the girls (Kelsie and Rachel) that we were going to read the Book of Mormon in 97 days in honor of President Hinckley, they decided to join us. It took us 45 minutes, but we got to page seven tonight. This will not be easy, and a lot more time consuming, but I know having the girls join us in this challenge will be worth it. We were the 10,473 person to sign up for this challenge, and there are many, many more after us. It is such a wonderful thing to be apart of.

The Hinckley Challenge

2008-02-04T17:35:00.000-07:00

I came across this website today. http://www.hinckleychallenge.com/ It has challenged us to read the Book of Mormon in 97 days. Jason and I have decided to accept the challenge. What a wonderful way to honor our beloved prophets memory. I hope you will join me.

Welcome to Utah!!

2008-02-04T09:55:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to have the Thompson's (Caleb, Cassie, Marvin & Summer) move to Utah. Marvin is the son of our dear friend Verita (see January post "Saying Goodbye"). They have been living in Florida and picked a great day to move to Utah, right in the middle of the biggest storm we've had in ten years. Luckily, they came into town Saturday night, right before the snow started falling. The kids were excited to see them again. We wish them luck in their new adventure and are so excited for them to be so close to us.

Superbowl Sunday!!

2008-02-04T09:41:00.000-07:00

I think I'm pretty lucky, Jason loves football, but he isn't obsessed with watching every game all year long. However he loves the Superbowl and hosts a big party every year. This year we got HDTV installed in time for the game and even I could see the difference. The party was a huge success, the guys downstairs watching the game, the kids running around and playing together and the rest of us upstairs playing games and watching the commercials. Everyone had a great time and we all ate way to much food.

Snow, Snow and more Snow!

2008-02-03T11:45:00.000-07:00

We had such great weather yesterday we didn't expect to wake up this morning to a huge snow storm. We got dumped on!!! It has finally stopped for now, but we have had nearly 15 inches of snow from the last few days. Today we had 10 inches. The small kids had fevers this morning so we didn't go to the first part of church, Jason went out and removed the snow from our drive way and the sidewalks and part of the street (to allow for parking for the Superbowl party later). Me and big girls went to Sacrament meeting we got there in time to hear them cancel the meeting. The other wards in our building were cancelled and didn't have to go at all. They asked everyone to dig themselves out and then help the neighbors. Jason had already done so much that we didn't have much left to do.

Prophetic Passing

2008-02-03T11:42:00.001-07:00

My friend Heather sent me this beautiful poem about the passing of President Hinckley. It captures all the feelings that I've had all week. It is perfect.

Prophetic Passing

I imagine he's running to Marjorie now,
Yes, running, not waving his cane.
I see him embracing his father and mother
While they keep repeating his name.

I see him now meeting his forebears,
Brother Brigham and Joseph are there.
Sweet reunion of prophets, united by service
That only such noble men share.

I see him embraced by the Savior
While Father says, "Good and well done.
So faithful in stalwart endurance, I welcome
My noble, most excellent son."

I then hear the ripples of laughter
As he says the reception's just fine,
But he hopes that he'll get an assignment or two
Since there's no need to waste any time.

I can hear his clear voice in the stillness
At the close of this sweet Sabbath day,
Have faith and move forward there's work to be done.
President Hinckley would want it that way.

Anna M. Molgard
January 27, 2008

Hannah Montana is Awesome!!

2008-02-02T21:37:00.000-07:00

Well that is what my kids are telling me. We went to the Hannah Montana 3-D Concert Movie tonight. It was a lot of fun. Kelsie and Rachel had the opportunity a few months ago to be extras when it was filmed in Salt Lake City. So of course we had to go to the movie, 25 of us went. The kids loved it, and I even thought it was pretty good. The 3-D effects were cool, it made you feel like you were on the stage with Miley/Hannah. We even saw Kelsie for a split second and the back of Rachel's head (it helped that we knew where they were standing during the concert and what they were wearing.) Kyle was so cute at the concert, he loved the 3-D glasses and would start dancing periodically, it was fun to watch him. Kelsie and Rachel say that the real show was better, but this was a close second. I guess you can't have a better review than that.

Happy Birthday Ang!

2008-01-30T14:47:00.001-07:00

Today is my sister Angela's birthday! (I won't post her age, because you'll have a better idea just how old I am) We had a great birthday lunch, (Bajio, yummm!) just the girls. Lexie and Sara were so cute playing together. We missed you Liss, wish you could have been there. I hope this is a tradition we continue, it was fun. Happy Birthday, Ang!!

Our Wonderful Prophet

2008-01-28T08:58:00.000-07:00

When I heard the news of our beloved prophets passing, I was a filled with a sense of love and respect. He was such a wonderful man and was such an example to everyone. I will not forget him and impact he has had on my life and for our church. The growth the church has experienced with him as our prophet is so inspiring. Although I was sad to hear of his passing, I also rejoiced. He is with his wonderful wife. I remember his first conference talk after her passing and how much he loved and missed her. I'm so grateful for this wonderful church and the principles that it teaches us. Family is truly forever, and I can't imagine how I would have gotten through this month without that knowledge.

Oh, to be a tween again!

2008-01-27T11:47:00.000-07:00

Kelsie is taking this whole tween, almost teen, thing very seriously. She is a champion texter (I'm sure that word is going to be added to the old Webster soon), an expert at IM, can stay up all hours of the night, she is attached at the hip with Angie her best friend, has lots of crazy giggle moments, thinks boys are gross (that's code for hot, shhh don't tell her Dad), and can go shopping 24/7. I think I'm in big trouble, when she is actually a teen. This picture was taken at the sleep over that happened this weekend, they locked themselves in the bathroom for hours doing crazy makeovers. They also assured me that they would be in bed at 12:30, I think it was more like 3, but who's keeping track. I'm so grateful she's found some good friends that have fun together. I want her to make good choices, and have fun during these crazy teenage years.

Our Little Chefs

2008-01-27T10:24:00.000-07:00

The kids go to a daycare/preschool twice a week and I go to work at Jason's office. On Thursday they came home all excited because it was Chef day at school. They made brownies and muffins and hats, of course. They were so excited to show me their hats. Well then Rachel made everyone hats, and guess what happened next. If you all have chef hats on you need to cook something right? Well they made brownies all by themselves. Austin had learned to break the eggs open at school and was so proud when he got to show us how he did it. They loved licking the spatula the best, I think I'm doomed now. They were pretty good brownies, if I do say so myself.

Spaghetti Boy

2008-01-24T19:33:00.000-07:00

We learned tonight, just how much Kyle loves spaghetti! He had three helpings. He really tried to use his fork and spoon, but his hands were so much easier. And it ended up all over his hands and face.