Here's what we've been up to over the last several months: we celebrated fall break from school with a trip to Trafalga (local fun center); we took the kids to a fun community orchestra Halloween concert which ended with trick or treating; we shared a yummy dinner & a nasty stomach bug as we visited with family in Utah County for Thanksgiving; we enjoyed having our Keeler Grandparents & Jeannie stay with us after Christmas and for a fun little New Year's celebration; Derek and I celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary and my 29th birthday (wink, wink); we managed to shovel and pick our way out from under some record-breaking snow and ice storms which brought on the first snow day in our school district in 20 years; we loved having Derek's siblings, Mike, Sharen and her daughter Savannah, and Jana, come visit; and we started off Valentine's Day with Derek making breakfast cake and surprising me with flowers and a "heart attack" on my craft room door, and ended it by eating heart shaped burgers for dinner and frosting heart shaped cookies for dessert.
Derek:
1) Has been super busy preparing some grants (turned in a big one in early Feb)
2) Took the boys to Cali for the annual AHA conference (an early b-day present) where they visited Knott's Berry Farm, the beach, and the battleship Iowa
3) Hired a vet at work so he is able to focus more on science, experiments, and grants
4) Is struggling with a shrinking deacon's quorum due to lack of activity and sheer numbers
Aly:
1) Is the official Scrapbook Mom for Lexie's 4th grade class--it's been fun and I've kept it simple
2) Has been working on a new online Big Picture Classes workshop called Organizing FUNdamentals w/ a local scrappy friend, Wendy, and has been crazy busy w/ crafty assigments
3) Has been beefing up our emergency preparedness by buying a generator, food storage, and electric wheat grinder for holiday and birthday presents
4) Has been involved in lots of Relief Society events lately--luncheons, parties, additional meetings, a funeral, and some marathon presidency meetings (we need to work on streamlining those...)
Faith:
1) Loved to ride her new bike that Santa brought her indoors until mommy banished the bike outside because she scraped off a big chunk of the wall
2) Has had a hard time adjusting to being in Sunbeams in Primary at church--she misses the toys, snacks, and games in nursery
3) Her latest favorite activities include: computer games, coloring, painting, videos, preschool, and sometimes books or puzzles
4) Loved attending a practice preschool at the junior high with one of her favorite neighborhood babysitters (and Ashley's best friend)
Lexie:
1) Had a blast and did a great job playing the orphan July in her school's production of Annie
2) Loved working on her science fair project with Derek--studying the affects of force on speed with a homemade balloon rocket
3) She and two other friends created their own small business for a class project selling used stuffed animals, magazines, and homemade bookmarks and keychains
4) Has gone on some really fun field trips with her class this year, including skiing at the Canyons, a trip to Antelope Island, the State Capitol, the Leonardi Da Vinci traveling exhibit, and the Natural History Museum
Ashley:
1) Is playing the part of the Bard (a comedy troup leader) in the local community theater performance of The Sword in the Stone
2) Got her top braces off and now wears a retainer
3) Had a movie party with all of her favorite friends--they're a good group of girls
4) Babysits almost every weekend and puts most of her earnings in her college/mission savings account
5) Was invited to join the Centerville Junior High chapter of the National Honor Society
Jeffrey:
2) Has played at several basketball games with the school Jazz Band, and is playing in the Peaks Jazz Festival next weekend
3) Took a field trip with his physics class (& Derek) to the nuclear reactor at the University of Utah
4) Has been less grumpy & more appreciative; he is also eating so much more now so we feel comfortable taking him off his dietary supplements
5) Loved eating at Tucano's and watching The Hobbit with me, Derek, and James for their birthday
James:
1) Enjoyed a winter camping trip with the teachers in the stake--their favorite part was the giant bon fire
2) Received his patriarchal blessing and has grown so much spiritually in recent months
3) He and Jeffrey both played at the Solo and Ensemble Festival at the junior high and did very well
4) Has had such a positive attitude about lots of snow shoveling this winter
That's all for now. Enjoy some photos from the last few months below:
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| New Year's Eve party, and a storm that dropped over 2 feet of snow |
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| Faith's new bike, a farewell luncheon for our neighbor, Lexie as "July" in Annie, making ginger bread houses for Christmas |
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