Random September

Parker got his driver's permit!!! after one try!!!

Camille started an art class (finally got my act together and signed her up) and she is loving it!

I saw this happen after church one day. I love that the kids search out their dad whenever they can at church. And he makes time for them whenever they do. Here he was fixing Bryce's tie. 

April random

April shower bring early bulb flowers. Love my tulips and daffodils.

One last picture of HashBrown's shoes before I threw them away.

Katie came to vacation with her girls in Moab and we had family dinner on Friday (4/6). I sure love my siblings. And I love the subtle differences in these two pictures that show personality!

Parker gave a FHE lesson on feasting on the words of Christ and we each made our own acrostic word play. 

I came out late after church and the kids had all walked on ahead, not wanting to wait for me. But they did leave their bags. I just thought that was cute.

I tried to make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and they turned out really flat and spread out. This is what Sterling called "doilies" when he was growing up.  The inferior (compared to his mom's) cookies that he and his dad would make. The kids got a big kick out of that. Parker had a lot of fun taking the cookies to school and inviting his friends to eat "doilies."

The kids took this picture and then edited it. Cute!

The girls were invited to go to the Bees baseball game with their cousins. They had a great time!

Camille has really enjoyed her art class. This pencil drawing of Taylor Swift was put on display at the middle school. Good job Camille!

The kids had a lot of fun finding their unicorn name using this list on the cereal box. 

On the fifth Sunday at church, the youth teach primary so the adult can have a combined session. Parker was in charge of teaching the CTR6 class. As part of the lesson, Parker needed to prepare a board game. He drew the game in an old pizza box which caused quite a stir at church. :) I was really proud of him for being so prepared and putting a lot of thought and work into the lesson.

Rachel had pioneer-themed stake Activity Days activity. She enjoyed dressing up and playing pioneer games. 

November stuff - a hot spring hike - famous faces

Bryce has been drawing dragons lately, from the movie "How to Train your Dragon."

Here is our Thanksgiving tree, full of leaves of gratitude.

Tanya and I went on a bike ride on the Jordan River Parkway. We went off the beaten path and lo and behold, ran across this natural hot spring. It was awesome!

The annual Farm Bureau Convention came and went with a couple of well-known faces, including Senator Orin Hatch and his lovely wife.

And Governor Gary Herbert and his delightful wife. It was really a pleasure to meet and speak with both couples.

The elementary school did a fund raiser. As a reward to meeting a certain goal amount, the principal spent the night on the roof during a particularly stormy night. The children got a kick out of that!

I love to see these children getting along, even if it involves a bit of dog-piling.

And finally, Parker tried to pull his science project together last minute. It was a great idea. What is the influence of the dominant eye on sports performance? 

He gathered a group of friends and had them shoot 5 baskets with no impairment. Then he had them shoot 5 baskets with their dominant eye blindfolded. I'm not sure how the project ended up, what the numbers were and if he proved his hypothesis. I was just glad he got it done. :)

He wasn't thrilled about doing a science project at all and did the bare minimum to get credit. But it sure was easier to have a good group of friends willing to drop everything to help him out.

Spanish-Arts-Choir

The kids have really had the opportunity to show off some of their talents lately. Rachel had her Spanish Immersion program called La Fiesta. Each grade performed a song and Rachel's grade did a song about the different animals on the farm. She was a cat.

And in the end, is a tractor!

Rachel did a great job. I am so glad she is involved in this program. It introduces a great deal of cultural diversity to our lives, which is sometimes missing in our wasatch front life. 

Parker has been hard at work in his art class at school. This was the cover to his portfolio. I'm not sure what the chicken drumstick is about. I'll have to ask. Maybe he's just hungry all the time?

This is a drawing of his dream room.

And also, he loves drawing dragons!

When he isn't carving or showing off what he made in his wood working lathe club after school.

Sydney had the opportunity to show off the songs her choir, the Hawkapellas, learned and competed with in the Music Festival this year. 

Her favorite song was "Loch Lomond" and for good reason. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a good shot of her face. She is at the end of the top row. Also unfortunately, I missed the first part of the song and missed the last note. Duh. I'm not sure what happened there, darn it.

This was the choir's best performance ever. Seriously, it was.