Winners!

The silver, gold and bronze cup
The anticipation at the finish line

Gold cup and gold medal

Our weekends have been pretty packed with basketball, dance and meetings lately. About a month ago, Christian had a basketball game, Alyssa had a dance competition, we had the pinewood derby and I was in charge of our ward chili cookoff that night. Christian has actually been making some shots at his games and is really starting to like basketball. Alyssa works hard at her dance and it shows. We are so impressed when we get to watch her. And the culmination of the day's efforts--first place for both kids!

Scott hadn't had a lot of time to work on Christian's pinewood derby car with him, and we were surprised when he won first out of about 12 boys. But it was exciting! The chili cookoff went really well. We got some family pictures taken but haven't gotten them back yet. We did a western theme and everyone dressed up. I am just really glad that's over! We went to bed tired but feeling pretty good.

Daddy's old!

35!

We were up in the nosebleeds. The stage at Kingsbury Hall pictured below. It was a really old building and a lot of famous people had been there. The older I get the more I appreciate history.

I cannot believe that Scott and I are turning 35 this year. Well, Scott already has. Entering the 30s was not that big a deal, but how did we get halfway through?
Scott usually has a list of things he wants, but he's pretty good at figuring out how to get that stuff without spending a lot of money and without my help. So this year I didn't buy anything but decided we would do something I wanted (kind of like we did something he wanted on my birthday--we're weird). So we went out to dinner at our favorite restaurant and then to a play at Kingsbury Hall. It was fun. It's been a long time since we've been to the theatre. It was an adaptation of C.S. Lewis's "The Screwtape Letters." Scott has been listening to a lot of books, and he really loves C.S. Lewis. I always forget how insightful he was until I hear his stuff again. He was an amazing man.
What made the night even more interesting--as I was looking at the lady sitting next to us I asked Scott if it wasn't our high school Spanish teacher. It was. We met in her class, and that's where he first asked me out. So it was sentimental. We chatted with her for a few minutes and remembered how crazy she was. But it was good remembering our roots.
Happy birthday to my wonderful husband! He has become such a helpmeet to me this last year, and I wouldn't be able to do everything without him. He is such a great dad. When the kids cry, they ask for him (mostly because he gives them "special treat" aka candy, but still) and whenever we are doing something fun they want dad to be there. He takes more time with them for one on one than I am able to, and they love it. And I love him for it! He had a good birthday, with 4 birthday dinners and some gift cards and a new ping pong paddle (whatever!). And one to grow on!

Perks

Lyssa's valentine crocodile and fistful of candy

Amber's turtle
I love my job. It has made my life very busy, but I am grateful for the things it's taught me, too. I get to go to assemblies, reptile shows, music time, class parties and get lots of hugs. I got a HAUL this Valentines day, which was so fun! Scott thinks he's off the hook because I got so much stuff, but he has a couple more days to figure out he still owes me.
I forgot how exciting holidays are. I also forgot how satisfying a simple coloring sheet can be. I FINALLY learned how to tell the difference between a crocodile and an alligator, and between a turtle and a tortiose. I remember wanting to please the teacher. I feel such pride in our country as I watch the kids sing all the verses to My Country 'Tis of Thee and recite the pledge of allegiance every morning. I'm reminded how resilient kids are. The school I work at has the poorest kids in the city, and they have some sad stories. But they are mostly happy and learn quickly. It has been so rewarding and fun. I wish I had more time to spend in my own kids' classrooms, but I know they're doing well.
Anyway, our Valentine's day was great! I was feeling proud of myself getting everyone dressed in pink and red and having their valentines all ready for their classes and teachers (myself included). And then came home to find out Livi's class actually DID have party, even though I never saw a note. I was so embarrassed. But she thought it was awesome to just sit there and watch people give her candy. I sent her candy with her the next day with a note apologizing for being a bad parent. Just when you start thinking you're good...

Girls just wanna have fun!

Drawing a baby on your head game
The cute mama-to-be

Hot chocolate bar

I did this one to show Cami's cute decor

GNO (we have a lot of these lately)

We have a lot of girls in my family. I have 4 sisters and 4 daughters. So we have a lot of giggling, fingernail painting, makeup doing nights. Scott and Christian have been gone a lot lately between basketball and getting ready for the Pinewood Derby. So we did mud masks last week. The girls loved it.

My sister is having her second baby so Cami and I threw her a shower. It was a success--she got a lot of stuff. And of course there was more time for giggling!

Christmas

Princess Soran got dressup clothes, a skirt and leggings, a stroller and a baby doll and a tea set.
Princess Alivia got a lot of puzzles this year (she is really good at them) and dressup clothes.

Princess Amber with her laptop. She also got a makeup kit, an umbrella, a skirt and leggings, a sew-a-bear kit, and walkie talkies.

Lyssa's favorite gift was an Ipod from her aunt. She also got a notebook, smelly bath stuff, boots, a dress and lots of jewelry.

Christian's favorite gift was a remote control jeep. He also got a new pillow, a soccer ball, a tube for sledding, and the game Sorry.

The carnage after.

The calm before.

Cracker hats 2012. Scott got the "office edition" this year so we all had useful gifts.

Holding up the walls before it falls.

We had a good Christmas this year. Highlights: Nursing home and Alyssa playing the flute while Amber sang a solo, started a new tradition of reading a story a day for the 12 days of Christmas, 12 days of Christmas for Scott, Scott's company party at La Caille, being at my work and remembering how exciting Christmas is, Christmas Eve baby blessing and party with Reeces, Christmas day at church and finally experiencing enough calm to remember the real reason for the season, surprise gifts for the kids from an anonymous donor and the most relaxing Christmas break we've ever had. Good thing, too. We needed it.

Lost

We do not have great legs.
Where did all those kids come from?

I love golden aspens.

I've been waiting to post until I found our Halloween pictures, but I'm starting to think they're not going to show up. I'm sad, but it's time to move on. This year we had a devil (Alyssa), a grim reaper (Christian--he's been begging me for years to be this one and I finally gave in now that he's a little older, but seriously, what is it with kids and wanting to be creepy?), a princess (Amber), a fairy (Alivia) and a ballerina (Soran). They were very cute, of course. We had awesome fall weather again and it was nice to be outside. Trunk or treat at our house and then on to Grandma's.

We went on our fall drive a little too early this year. There's more gold than reds and pinks, but it's still beautiful. We also took the kids to the circus this fall. It wasn't impressive. But our kids are very spoiled and think that a lot of things are boring these days. Too much Trafalga and rock climbing and laser tag. The fall was pretty busy with ballroom dance, soccer, piano lessons, scouts, and science club. Alyssa played a flute solo for the primary program and again at the school Christmas concert. Alyssa and Amber were students of the month (I told Christian the pressure is on!). Livi learned "Beautiful Savior" and sings a lot of solos because I make her and it's so cute. Soran is getting cuter and more spoiled with every passing day. Scott organized a golf tournament at work and tied for first with the CEO. He also has a couple foosball and pingpong trophies. I've just been trying to keep up!

New

I was flipping through the camera and came across this picture of Soran (you know, like the 20 million pictures you come across that your kids took and now you have to scroll through and delete one at a time because you're not sure how long they had it and don't want to delete anything you might actually want) in the car and realized I needed to remember the passing on of a good friend. Our old minivan. Scott and my car both broke down the same month and we realized that the repair fees were more than the cars were worth. So it was time to move on. But it was hard to say good-bye to our van. It's been in the family longer than 3 of our children. And has been such a reliable member, too. It took us to Utah, Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico and lots of other places I can't think of. I had the kids come and tell it good-bye as we took it to trade in.

But on with the new! We love our new van. It's older but has a lot of nice amenities. Like a TV (with a VCR--it's older, like I said), power doors, and a really smooth ride.

Along with all our changes came more bills, so when my mom sent me an email about a part-time job as a teacher's aide at the school she works at, I applied. And with her glowing recommendation, I got it. I love the job. I love to be with the kindergarten kids and watch them learn. I love the benefit of being at work when my kids are at school and having the same days off. But it has definitely kept me busy. Thus the 3 month gap in posts. Between the new job and new calling as Young Womens president my spare time has disappeared. But most of the time it's a good busy. I feel very blessed with all we have.