Good Bye, 2010!!!

New Year's Eve turned out to be whole day of partying! We started the party in the morning at the Lamb's house. We played games, ate great food, and enjoyed great company. We hadn't seen them since school started, so it was a visit much over due. Our 5 hours spent there just weren't enough!

Rory and I were invited to a "couple's party" in the late afternoon. We have amazing neighbors. It never fails that our cheeks ache from all the laughing that goes on at those parties. It was a nice reprieve from the craziness of the day.

In the early evening we headed home to be with the kids. We made Dream Board place mats. The kids have wonderful goals and it was fun to see what matters to them. Kali's included a buffalo (go figure) and there were lots of pictures of Christ. Thanks to the wonders of satellite TV we were able to watch the ball drop in New York. Kali and Sabrina rang in the new year with the East coast at 10 pm. We ate our 12 grapes ( a tradition I picked up in Spain), made lots of noise, and shared kisses. Kali and Sabrina were tucked in their beds (with the clock changed, of course) by 10:20. The older three spent the next hour and a half watching the Lighting Thief and ringing in the New Year for the second time in a much more quiet fashion.

We are excited to see the events that 2011 will bring!

Temple Square

Miranda, Rory and I had the opportunity to go with the Young Men and Young Women to Temple Square the week after Christmas. We enjoyed a yummy meal at Chuck A Rama, then raced to see the Joseph Smith movie showing in the Joseph Smith memorial building. It was the first time the three of us had had the opportunity to see it. We were touched. After the movie we all headed over to the Brigham Young house for a tour. Then we had free time to visit the Christus, see the "Our Eternal Family" film, explore the new temple diorama, and tour the top of the Conference Center. We finished off the day by walking around and enjoying the lights. We LOVE our ward YM and YW. What a blessing it was to spend the day with such amazing spirits.

Christmas 2010

Just like years past, our number of Christmas morning pictures is VERY limited. But, just like always, the kids were VERY well taken care of by Santa. Christmas festivities started the night before with our traditional ham dinner, a special Family Home Evening by Grandma Carol, and the opening of PJs. Christmas morning Grandpa Joe and Grandma Carol joined us while we opened presents. Here are everyone's favorite gifts:

Kali: White Bear

Sabrina: White Bear

Jacob: DS

Ari: Forgotten Carol's Bracelet

Miranda: Cell Phone

We loved just staying in our pajamas, gorging on chocolate and peanuts, playing with toys, and
being together. We loved that Grandma and Grandpa Farr were able to come visit us too! We feel beyond blessed this year.

Santa brought suckers as big as Kali's head!

Good thing he also brought spinning toothbrushes!

This makes me laugh. You can tell you have older children, when most of the Christmas budget goes straight to Nintendo.

Other Christmas Festivities

December was filled with memory making activities. We were able to take Miranda, Ari, and Jake to the Forgotten Carols. It's an amazing experience as a parent to watch your child not only feel the Spirit, but also be able to recognize it. This was one of those nights.

Blaine, Necha, and Grandma Mann invited us to their house for dinner and games. The meal was amazing! They shared a beautiful Christmas story with us and we played some fun games. It was great being together, they are amazing hosts.

We also had a Christmas party with the Farr family. Unfortunately, TaVaci always plans their concert on the same night as the party, but we were in time for the sleep over, breakfast and present opening in the morning. Grandma and Grandpa Farr always spoil us, and this year was no exception.

(We didn't take our camera to any of these events, but we had a blast none the less!)

TaVaci Christmas Concert 2010

Arianna did an amazing job at her Christmas TaVaci Concert this year. She is such a beautiful performer. Here is a clip from one of her comedy routines:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-aTprw2BB4

Thirteen Never Looked So Good

Miranda turned the lucky number thirteen this year. What a beauty she is! She had several days of celebration. On Saturday her friends, Sage, Adrie, Ariel and Abby thew her a surprise party at Sage's house. They are great friends! She celebrated with her grandparents. Then on Monday, her actual birthday, she started the morning by opening her presents at 6:15am. She decided that for her activity she, Arianna, and I would go to Beadles to make necklaces. Fun! Then we met the rest of the family for dinner at Angie's Restaurant. They ended the meal with a Happy Birthday song and a cinnamon roll the size of a large plate!

Miranda is such an amazing young lady. She is so helpful, loving and spiritual. She is very patient with her siblings and a peace maker in our home. She is continuing with her love for all things artistic. She's already made some amazing pieces with the resin set she got for her birthday. She loves her art lessons and has made some beautiful pictures this year. Miranda is excelling in her piano - even if she just tolerates it. She's enjoyed playing volleyball and basketball with the young women. We are so grateful for the thirteen years she has shared with us. We love you, Miranda!

Mele Kalikimaka

Sabrina had the opportunity to perform at an Christmas open house sponsered by Macey's. It had been a while since she was able to perform, so we were all excited to see her. She did a wonderful job! It's not hard to pick her out of the crowd, as she's the only blonde hair, blue eyed girl. Here is a link to her performance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTmvzpfMsf4

 Sabrina is on the far left in the purple outfit.

This is her teacher, Aunty Sheba

Jake's an All Star!

Jake took a break from Soccer during November and December and was able to play rec. basketball. It didn't take a whole lot of begging to talk his dad into being his coach. They both did a great job and really had a great time. Here is a fun clip of Jake playing in his last game. He's #20. We're so proud of his determination and skill!

Grandma Mann tells a story...

Grandma Mann came to stay with us for a weekend in November. One of our favorite things about Grandma is her stories. She loves to tell the same ones over and over. We finally got smart and grabbed the video camera. Here is one of our favorites she tells of the night her baby sister was born. We love you, Grandma!

Hold It High

Miranda and I both had the opportunity to go to Young Women's camp this year. It was put on by the Stake and they did a wonderful job! Our theme was "Hold It High" Brighter, Deeper, Stronger. It was held at Cinnamon Creek near Porcupine Dam. It was especially fun for me to be able to share it with Miranda.

Tug a War - Leaders against the girls

Here are the girls kicking our trash!!!

Fun "Minute to Win It" Contests

Miranda was amazing at getting the pasta on her spaghetti straw!

Here's a picture of our whole group.

Hyrum Dam 2010

We made our annual journey (5 blocks) to Hyrum Dam to camp for the weekend. It was a tricky one because Jacob had Scout Camp so he and Rory weren't able to be around much the day we swam. The water was so high we didn't even have a beach to play in. I have to admit, we've had more fun other years but both the good and bad have to be part of our Family History! It wasn't all bad, we still just had fun hanging out with the Lamb family and playing in the water.

Dream On!

I'd never have pegged us to be the kind of parents that would have kids that had the lyrics to an Aerosmith song memorized, but here we are. It's a long story about how it came to be, but let me just say that I'm neither a Aerosmith nor a Glee supporter, but listening to Sabrina and Kali sing Dream On over and over again is just hilarious!

Finding happiness in simple things...

I've found it funny, as I get older, the things that make me happy. A clean house, shiny faucets, sleeping children, a full underwear drawer, just to name a few things. Well, we fell in love with our yard when we first bought this home. However, we were in completely in over our heads with yard work! In the five years that we've lived in this home, I've never been able to get on top of the yard. I always felt like it was still the previous owners yard, and that I was the poorest excuse for a gardener that she could have asked for.

When the neighborhood ladies were over for the end of the school year party I pointed to my already weed infested, overgrown fruit tree area and asked their advice. One thing I've learned in the almost 15 years we've been married is that Rory and I aren't good gardeners. Sure, we've eaten a few homegrown tomatoes or cucumbers, but they quickly became overgrown by weeds or eaten by bugs. The ladies simply suggested that we take out the garden spot and fruit trees (GASP!!!) and put in a playground area. OH MY GOODNESS!!! Why had we never thought of that. Perhaps it was the stigma of cutting down a fruit tree (even though two of them were pie apples and the other was a plum - none of which we used to their full potential), or the Prophet's admonition to plant a garden. But when I passed the suggestion on to Rory, he also thought it was a brilliant plan.

To make a long story even longer, my dear friend Julie enlisted the help of husband and sons and her neighbor's chain saw, and in one evening our corner was bare! I worried for about 24 hours that we'd made a mistake, but as soon as the dump truck delivered our fibar I knew I had once again found happiness in an odd place. We no longer have to pull weeds, pick up rotten fruit, worry about how things are growing, or drag the trampoline from place to place. I'm thrilled! We hope to eventually add a swing set, but for now we're happy. Along with spearheading the removal of my trees, Julie has also spent hours teaching me about pruning, weeding, and growing all kinds of things. While I still have lots to learn, I've finally taken control over my own yard and it feels great! I'll post pictures towards the end of the summer when everything has bloomed. Perhaps my thumb has gone from being black to just a dull gray!

Memorial Day Weekend

We've made it a tradition to spend Memorial Day weekend at Willard Bay. We were so excited to be camping with the Lamb family again, the kids counted down the days until we could go. It seems like all of our camping pictures are the same, but they are still memories for us.

Due to the weather being a little cool still, we didn't really get into the water. The kids did have a great time searching for tadpoles in a little inlet. Thank goodness, Grandma and Grandpa Farr stopped by for a visit and offered to take the tadpoles home with them to their ditch!

Jacob had just finished up his Rec. soccer season, and was headed for tryouts the Tuesday after getting back. The Lamb's, with all of their soccer knowledge, coached Jake through some drills. I think Jake's favorite thing during this camping trip was the butt whopping Jake and Kolton gave their dad's in a two on two soccer game.

Kali colored and colored this camping trip.

So many girls, so many friends.

SCHOOL'S OUT!!!!!!

We've kind of turned the last day of school into a holiday around here. We started at 6:30 in the morning, by taking doughnuts to the Middle School bus stop. Those kids aren't there very early, so we had kids running down the street, grabbing doughnuts, as they jumped onto the bus.

Then the elementary kids, who DO hang out at the bus stop for unnecessary amounts of time, shared in the doughnut munching.

Good Friends: Arianna, Lindsey, and Alyssa

Crazy Friends: Thatcher and Jake

THERE'S A REASON THESE TWO ARE SUCH GREAT FRIENDS...IT'S ALL ABOUT THE CRAZY FACTOR!

GOOD NEIGHBORS: ZANE AND ETHAN

WAYYYYY TOO MUCH SUGAR

After the kids left, we had a few hours to get ready for the after school festivities. Of course I was busy, so I didn't remember to take pictures until I uncovered the camera late that night. When the elementary school kids got home we had hot dogs, chips, and lots of treats. The kids played (too cold this year for water) and the moms visited. It was lots of fun.

That party ended and we prepared for a middle school party. Miranda invited her friends over to roast hot dogs, make s'mores, and burn their old homework books. We kind of stayed out of the way and let the girls do their own thing, but there was definitely a lot of giggling going on! The girls had a late night, and by 11:00 pm we all collapsed.

It was all worth it! The kids did such a wonderful job in school this year. They all worked hard, listened well, and had good reports from their teachers. Miranda had a 4.0 for the year, Jake and Arianna both earned a rare "Golden Cougar" award, Sabrina learned SO much during Kindergarten and was a top student.

Daddy and I are amazed at the wonderful students you guys are! WAY TO GO!!!!

Sabrina's Kindergarten Graduation

Our sweet Sabrina graduated from Kindergarten today. They did a wonderful program with fun songs they've learned all year. They also included many patriotic songs. It was so much fun to watch. She has adored having Mrs. Allgood as a teacher. Arianna and Jake both had her and assured Sabrina, before school started, that she indeed was ALL GOOD! It was a perfect fit for Sabrina and she thrived in her class. You'll notice her eyes are pink in all the pictures. As soon as the program was over she began to cry. Sabrina couldn't fathom not seeing Mrs. Allgood every day. I had to talk her into taking the pictures that we have. I think she was emotionally drained, so after a cookie and cup of punch we went home.

While I'm remembering, I want to add the sweetest story about Sabrina. I was doing something in her class one day. The kids were all having free time when I noticed that one of her classmate's had wet her pants. The other kids kind of backed up, got out of the way, and started to point. Sabrina, being the little mother that she is, immediately ran to the paper towels, tore some off, ran back and was about to start wiping up the chair. Mrs. Allgood stopped her in time and took care of the mess on her own. Mrs. A came up to me, shaking her head in amazement, and said, "In all my years of teaching I've never had a student do that." I said, "This is your first accident?" "No," she replied. "I've never seen anyone jump to help clean up and aid another student going through that."

Sabrina has an amazing heart!

RECEIVING HER DIPLOMA

SABRINA WITH HER FRIEND CHARLY AND ANOTHER LITTLE GIRL WHOSE NAME I'VE FORGOTTEN :)

SABRINA AND MAYA

SABRINA AND HER BEST BUDDY, CHARLY

SAYING GOODBYE JUST HURTS TOO MUCH

THEY WERE BOTH IN TEARS (OKAY, I WAS TOO)

SABRINA AND HER DEAR MRS. ALLGOOD

SABRINA WITH HER PRINCIPAL, MRS. NIELSEN