Do you see the correlation?

*Lilo & Stitch has been Kali's show of choice this week. Is it any surprise that she relates mainly to Stitch?

Crazy Hair Day

The kids celebrated School Pride week this last week. It included crazy hat day, crazy sock day, school pride day, and of course, crazy hair day. We only got pictures of the hair day. I guess if it doesn't work out for us here in Hyrum we can always move to Whoville!

We're Valiant

Rory and I were put in as Valiant 10 primary teachers last fall. We loved our class, and were lucky enough to keep them for another year. So, now we are Valiant 11s! With only one girl and 5 boys the class gets pretty intense, but they are so much fun. The kids were excited when we told them we were going to have a class party at our house. We were going to go sledding, but after playing out in our minds the possibility of law suits connected to these crazy kids flying down the mountain, we decided feeding them would be a safer alternative. We prepared a mystery meal where you don't know what you're ordering (the words are all disguised) and served in four courses. I'm not sure that I'm explaining it right. Some of our favorite combinations were: an apple, napkin, water, & fork; also spaghetti, salad, breadstick, pudding but no silverware. I think our family enjoyed doing this as much as the kids in our class. Thanks to Ben, Noah, Ethan, Sam, Justin, and Tanaya for putting up with us!

Well, at least it's not her birthday suit!

Kali has spent the last couple of weeks au natural -preferring to wear nothing at all or at the very most, a pair of panties. While it's just Sabrina, Kali and myself home during the days I haven't made too big of an issue. After all, there is a very small window in anyone's life that you're birthday suit is not only acceptable, but kinda cute! Well, the last two days Kali has stepped it up a notch to the wearing of her bathing suit. It's a bit trickier when it comes to the mad rush we make to the potty, but at least all the vital parts are covered. Well, this morning the outfit was perfected. "Mom! I'm going to school!" (Thank goodness we have 3 more years for the outfit to evolve.)

Basketball Jake

Jacob just finished his basket ball season. This was his first year and he LOVED it. His team was called the Warriors. He didn't know anyone on his team, but made quick friends. He's not the tallest, but he is fast and a good defender. Way to go, Jake! We're proud of you!!!He's #20
Here's a little video. We never quite caught him in action with the camera on.

New Year's Eve - Well...kinda

Two days before the 31st of December we realized we didn't have plans for New Year's Eve. After a few phone calls we were up to a party of 19. The Fridal & Bailey families joined us for our traditional breakfast-for-dinner meal. The kids were bouncing off the walls, but having a great time. We watched a little comedy, played games and watched the ball drop. In talking to the mom's beforehand we discovered that between traveling the next day, and little ones (and old ones) who just couldn't make it to midnight, it might be better to end earlier. So, thanks to satelite, we watched the New York ball drop at New York time. All the kids were in bed by 10:30 - you can't beat that!

Here are a few pictures at "midnight". What the pictures don't capture is all the noise, mayhem, friendship and laughter - truly the best parts of New Year's Eve.

Mann Family Christmas Card 2008

When everything before Christmas started piling up, our Christmas card was the first thing to get bumped. We finally got it ordered 2 days before Christmas and then decided that we just weren't going to get the chance to write our letter. So, here is our letter to you. We're sorry about the informal nature of our card, but figured this might be a way to share pictures too. Thanks to all of you who have shared your Christmas greetings with us. We love all the family pictures and letters sent. It's just nice to know you're thought of (and it makes going to check the mail a whole lot brighter!).

So, here we go. While 2008 hasn't been a very eventful year, it has been busy. We've enjoyed letting our roots grow deeper into the Hyrum soil and feel blessed to be living here. Most of our summer was spent camping. We picked up a camper trailer, so taking the seven of us camping wasn't as daunting as tent camping used to be. We stayed entirely in Northern Utah (thanks to those awful gas prices!), but had a blast making memories with our family and good friends that went with us!

Rory is still enjoying working at Qwest. It's a mix of a lot of work and a lot of play. He took some time this year to improve his golf game. He joined the Men's association at a golf course in Smithfield and quickly become obsessed with lowering his weekly score. It was great for him to find a past time he enjoyed so much, now if we could just move to Hawaii so it would last longer than a few months in the summer! Rory is also enjoying his new calling as a primary teacher. He and Angie were called together (Rory teaches - Angie's the bouncer). The kids love him.

Angie finds her schedule filling faster and faster with each year. Stay-at-home mom is a misnomer for the title she holds - she's seldom home! Angie enjoys blogging, occasionally reading and sewing, and plays taxi for the kids. She is starting to fill like a lifer in the scouting program as she's starting her fourth year with the Bears. Angie was looking for something to get her out of her comfort zone this spring so she decided to sell Scentsy (wickless candles). It's been a great experience to meet wonderful new people, and give her a little something that wasn't on a four- year old's level.

Miranda is growing faster than we'd like. She just turned 11 (though she wishes it were the magic number 12). Miranda loves the fifth grade and is a great student. She still loves reptiles and art. Her art lessons are her favorite hour of the week. She even had her visual arts reflections project go on to region! She's trying to be patient as she awaits those results. She's doing a great job in piano lessons. We appreciate the peacemaker she is in our family.

Arianna has had a couple of exciting things. First, she got glasses in the spring! She was really quite excited to have them. She also got her ears pierced this fall. She's still not convinced that she'd make the decision to do it again! Ari turned 9 in October and loves her 3rd grade class. This year she decided she wants to be a singer, an actress, or a comedian. She loves her singing group, TaVaci, and will be starting piano again next week. She is constantly quoting movie lines, so we guess she's on her way to fulfilling her dream!

Jacob keeps us on our toes. He started 1st grade this year, and while at first he was apprehensive to go to school all day and eat school lunch, he's changed his mind and thinks it's great. His love for sports has blossomed this year. He likes to turn on the TV to whatever kind of ball game there is. He just asks his dad what team "we" like and he's content. He started playing basketball this winter and loves it! He's not the tallest on the team, but he's fast and his defense is great! Jacob's fast thinking and wit never cease to amaze us.

Sabrina continues to be our family princess. She loves all things feminine and all things pink. She is the first to let you know that she's been offended (usually with a high pitched scream), but she is also the first to quickly forgive and is always there to offer love to someone who's been hurt. She is an amazing little nurturer. We recently visited a few different rest homes. Sabrina was never frightened nor intimidated by what she encountered. She was the first in the rooms, the first to hold their hands, and the first to give them her winning smile.

Kalista is two (need we say more?). The combination of being the baby of the family and being age two makes life a constant adventure for her. There isn't a surface too high that can't be climbed, and candy that can't be found, nor a sibling that can't be bugged. Of course, she gets away with most of it due to her sweet smile and primitive grasp of the English language. The other day she was gone longer than should have been allowed. She finally came up to Angie with a blue magic marker and said, "We don't draw on the walls, do we Mama?" After quick inspection we found that the walls on both sides of the hall, down the stairwell, and into the basement had Kali's signature artwork on them. We couldn't love her more!

Well, that's it! If you want to see more you're welcome to explore our blog a little. We hope you've enjoyed your Christmas and New Years! Thanks again for keeping in touch with our family, your friendship means everything to us.

Love,

The Mann Family