DragonFire

Another pinewood derby complete! Chase took 3rd place again this year with his new car and once again (thanks Dad) the best paint job! He was excited. I think his speed was just under 62. Way to go Chase!

Aquatic Biome

Aquatic what? This was the question I had to ask on Audrey's latest project. " A BIOME"!, she replied. I know I would never make it past the first round of "Are you smarter than a fifth grader" on television. Sunday evening (with it being due on Monday morning) this was Audrey's unfinished project. So we all put our thinking caps on and this is what we came up with. Ryan made the whale spout out of straws while I helped glue the seaweed and coral down. Audrey had started her sea creature earlier in the week and this was our end result. Ryan has a REALLY hard time letting the kids do their projects on their own without making too many "suggestions"!

Crazy Hair

This has become a daily challenge. Grace has beautiful curls but when she wakes up in the morning this is what she looks like. We call it her "crazy hair". We can tame it but it is not long before she has rolled, jumped, and run it back into a big frizz ball. Any suggestions? I'm thinking about having it trimmed but the top is just barely long enough in places to pull it all back. We may look like this for another year...

We'll Miss Him So.....

Tread didn't come home from the neighbors when I called him so he was grounded from his video games that evening. He was DEVASTATED! He tried to use a little reverse psychology on me and gave me the option of letting him play video games or having him run away! "Choose, Mom, Choose"! Tread is so dramatic! He really should be an actor. He threw this little fit and so I decided to capture these images so that we would remember what he looked like the last time we saw him.....

Spiderwick

Fun movie! We took the kids for Valentine's Day to this show and it was pretty good. A little intense for Tread but Grace didn't seem to mind! One part of the movie the kids set a trap to "blow-up" the goblins and when it exploded Grace decided to yell out loud in the theater..."TAKE THAT YOU EVIL"! It was so funny. Tread said, "Mom, don't buy that movie"! Grace is here posing in her new swimming suit. Yes, a little early but wearing last year's at the rec center revealed more than we wanted!

Daddy-Daughter Date Night

The recreation center puts on a Daddy-daughter date night every year around Valentine's Day. Ryan has been to it with Audrey and decided to take both girls this year. Face painting, cookie decorating, DJ and dancing, and jewelry making made this an evening of fun for all!

Mother-Son Date Night

So much fun! 800 feet of SLICK! The Bogus tubing hill was a blast and the best part of it is they pull you back up to the top! This is what the boys and I did for our date night. We drove up with Tim, Kathy, Sarah & Kaitlin and did the night tubing. Then up to the lodge for dinner and some hot chocolate! The guys at the top of the hill would spin you as you went down the hill if you were in for a little more thrill. It felt like a carnival ride! I definately would like to take everyone back up and do it again before the season is over.

All Tuckered Out

When you're tired, you can get comfortable just about anywhere!

T.G.I.F.

The end of the week. Yaaaay! Everyone had something to look forward to this morning which got them all out of bed in a timely manner. Audrey has a sleepover birthday party, Grace has speech therapy at her preschool, Chase was invited to a sleepover with a friend who has a huge house with everything a 9-yr-old could ever wish for and Tread made this beautiful Valentine for the bulletin board at school. He woke up and said "Well mom, today's the day!" "The day for what Tread"?, I asked. "For showing my heart"! He was so proud of it. They get cutouts in school and they have to use their imagination to decorate it. This time we cut up crepe paper and twisted it around a pencil and glued it onto the heart. I remember doing this in elementary school for many projects. Audrey is in 5th grade and had NEVER done it. I couldn't believe it! It was one of my favorite arts & crafts!

Superbowl Snowday

Saturday evening Ryan and I went to the church to set up the chairs in the Primary room. The bishop happened to be there at the same time when he got the call...church had been cancelled. Wha-Huh? Does that happen? We had gotten a lot of snow that evening and it was supposed to be coming down all night not to mention the winds. So bishop put a sign on the door and started the phone tree. Ryan and I went around to a few of the neighbors and let them know that church had been canceled for the superbowl. (No, they didn't buy it either). We ended up at the grocery store at 10:00 p.m. to stock up on some goodies and saw about half the ward there. They were all doing the "happy dance". Snowed in, food and football. I was just thankful for being able to sleep in (I had a scheduled 7:30 a.m. appointment). Sunday morning, Ryan shoveled our driveway and a couple of neighbors as well (counts as service, right?) which turned into building this 12-foot (alien)snowman with the kids, which led to spraying him with food coloring so he could be seen. It was still snowing that morning but it was so warm it made perfect packing snow. Jeffery came over to take a look (his stake was canceled as well) and ended up 4-wheelin' the kids' motorcycle.

Princess

Gracie and her dress ups. She is always calling herself the "pink princess". And every princess needs a handsome prince!