Family Hiking

The weather has been beautiful lately. Actually this winter has been so mild (too mild, in fact...we need some snow!). Well, we had nothing going on one Saturday, so we decided to go hiking up off South 14. There are all sorts of great trails for both hiking and bike riding. We did a little 2+ mile hike. We did some geocaching on the trail as well. The kids hiked like champions. They loved the breaks when we were looking for a treasure and they could hike up on the rocks on the side of the trail. The boys found their special walking sticks and wanted to bring them home with us. Afterwards we went down into town for some dinner (despite our sweaty, dirty appearance).

Life as of late...

We got the kids signed up for the 4-H club here in town. They meet at the church once a month. We've been learning all about how 4-H works (tons of stuff I don't get yet), and the kids have enjoyed going to the meetings. This month they learned how to plant corn (tips and tricks) and then they made corn husk dolls. Megan is even a part of the club - she is a Cloverbud (the younger group). She traced her body this week and colored it in.

Sis. Mateski is the new Cubmaster in our ward. She is awesome! She makes the Pack Meetings so fun for the boys. This month they had a little getting-to-know-you activity, "I Mustache You A Question..." Each boy had to go and answer a few questions about themselves and then they chose a mustache to wear for the remainder of the night. Ben also received two arrowpoints at this pack meeting.

We're trying to get the dog and cat used to each other so we don't have to keep such a close eye on them. It's really Ally (the cat) that seems freaked out by the dog. Bruno doesn't seem to mind her very much. Sometimes she gets too close and then Bruno gets a little concerned, but mostly he doesn't seem to care too much about her. We've been bringing them in the room together and just watching how they interact. They get a little closer each time they're together.

Geocaching

The weekend after New Years we had spent one too many days inside with all the sickness going through the house, so we wanted to go out and DO something. Sean though of going geocaching, so off we went. There are hundreds and hundreds of caches out in the East Mountains. We did one in a cave, we looked for one in an old abandoned ship right outside a ditch, we found a few up in trees, we found one under a rock, we found a few with treasures to take where we also left treasures behind (and several others with just a log to put our names in). Some were right off the road and others took a little hiking to get to. I think our total for the afternoon was 10. We had a blast "treasure hunting." We'll definitely have to do that more often.

A Merry Little Chrristmas

Our Christmas was very calm and simple this year. We actually got hit with a nasty stomach flu starting on about the 20th. It swept through our house on a rampage hitting 7 out of 8 of us within 3-4 days (and then there were a couple of flair ups again a few days later). Luckily no one was throwing up Christmas Day, but we still weren't all back to normal. Even with that plus the busyness of December we still managed to get in all our Christmas traditions: baking and delivering goodies to friends, Christmas caroling, 12 Days of Christmas, reading Christmas stories, listening to lots of Christmas music, donating gifts/stocking to kids in need, seeing Christmas lights (we did this while we were on our trip at the end of November). We went to our ward Christmas party. This year the theme was A Night in Bethlehem. We all dressed up for that time period. Sean was one of the Wisemen for the nativity. They sang "We Three Kings", which many people mentioned was the highlight of the program. The whole gym was set up like a city marketplace. There were stations where we got our food (cheese, bread, olives, fruit, vegetables and treats of course), there was a clothing station, there were stations for kids to do games and make crafts. All of the stations required money (we got a bag of coins at the beginning of the night). It was great. We sang in our Sacrament Christmas program. I am the choir director, so I was leading the music. It turned out beautiful. We sang "Sing a Glad Noel," "Stars were Gleaming" (with a children's choir singing the first verse), "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," and "Peace, Peace, Peace" (where the congregation comes in to sing Silent Night at the end). The youth speaker (who was doing a great job) got sick right there at the podium. He actually told his mom earlier that day he wasn't feeling well. She said exactly what I would have said, "It's probably just your nerves".....whoops. But it was wonderful to sing and listen and feel the true meaning of Christmas. We did our regular Christmas Eve things: Ham dinner with fancy dishes, reading the account of the Savior's Birth, reading "Jabeez Dawz," getting in matching pajamas and taking a family picture, watching "The Muppet Christmas Carol" and then heading off to bed. The kids actually forgot to leave anything out for Santa. Luckily he helped himself to peppermint ice cream and left them a note about it :) The next morning we could hear the kids awake at just before 7. No one is allowed in the living room until the music comes on. Sean and I came down and got the music going which was immediately followed by the pounding of feet running down the stairs. Santa left Megan her very own pet kitty ("a dream come true" she said), Ben got his own tablet, Caelan got a desk, Nathan got a sled, Austin got trike. We opened presents (the kids all got gifts for each other throughout the month of December...with their own, earned money). Caelan got some jewelry kits, a gift certificate to get her ears pierced, a journal.... Ben got his Journal book (the book I put together for the Christmas after they turn 8 - a bound copy of their online journal), Legos, books... Nothing could top the kitten for Meg, but she also got a vanity set, a barbie, hair things, Littlest Pet Shop home.....Nathan got cars and a retractable raceway, his own real tools (he asked almost everyone we saw for the next week if they thought they were "real tools or fake." He was quite thrilled with these real tools). Austin got a car track too and a velcro ball game. Sean and I got a VitaMix (actually Sean got me one and his parents got one for both of us). We love it! Sean got a welding blanket for his smoker. We spent the rest of the day hanging around in our jammies playing with our new toys, watching movies, playing games, doing puzzles, etc. A perfect family celebration.

Sunday Best for Christmas

I wanted to get a picture of the whole family before church on the Sunday before Christmas, but I didn't quite have my act together enough to do it. I ended up bringing Ian and Austin home from church early (Ian had had a fever for two days). They both fell asleep on the ride home, so I sat in the car for about 45 minutes listening to Christmas music. Ian woke up first so we took a quick shot together. By the time the kids got home, Austin was in NO MOOD to take a picture, so I got a separate shot of him later when he was in a better mood. Sean had to take the youth around to deliver Christmas baskets immediately after dropping the kids off at home, so I didn't get a picture of him at all. Just know - he was looking sharp too:)

Happy Birthday Miss Magoo

Megan turned 7 years old. My, how the time flies. We had a pretty simple little family birthday party. She chose a Little Mermaid cake, so we did an under-the-sea theme and found an Ariel to put on top. Turned out pretty cute. She was thrilled with her gifts (even the clothes elate this little girl). Megan is such a joy. She is so fun and spunky and social and loving. She can make friends with pretty much anyone (regardless of age, sex, personality, etc). She is a real hugger. This girl loves affection. Once she is your friend, you will know it: she'll hug you, sit on your lap, climb all over you, etc. Megan has really become a good reader this past year. She brings stacks of books to bed with her and reads. Once she's done reading she likes the lights all the way off in her room. She is a good student. She brings home good grades, but also her teacher tells me often what a wonderful classmate she is. She accepts and reaches out to new students, she helps kids that are struggling, she is very compassionate to anyone that is having a hard time. Megan is strong willed at home, but when she harnesses that will she does really great things. She is our cleaner (granted, she also is one of our biggest mess-makers, but at least she is good at cleaning it up). There are times when she'll decide she wants to clean and she'll go from room to room getting things done. She is an animal lover. She loves all types of animals. She's been asking me for a pet kitten since August. We think we might consider something like that for Christmas....we'll see. Megan isn't a picky eater. There are a few things she's not fond of: sweet potatoes in particular, but most things she'll try. She likes to sing, play barbies and ponies, do hair and nails, read, color, help me cook, swim, watch movies, etc. We love Meg to bits - she is such a joy in our home.

Mr. E-Sauce

E-Sauce: that's one of our nicknames for Ian. That as well as "E." He is our little thumb sucking dude. He'll take his binkie, but most of the time he plays with it. In fact, he does this funny trick where he sucks his binkie while he is sticking his tongue out the side of his mouth. It looks so funny. He loves to gnaw on it and chew it. Whenever I am wrapping him up in his blanket at night, he will immediately stick his thumb in his mouth. He'll also do it when he fussy and has dropped his binkie. I have always tried to steer my kids in a direction other than the thumb (which has always worked up until now), but Ian loves it....and I have to admit, it is one of my favorite things that he does, especially when he cuddles up on me while he is sucking his thumb. Precious! He is a good little baby. He likes to be with people, but he is pretty happy in his bouncy seat or sometimes we put him in the Exersaucer (which he sometimes will be content to play in for a while and other times he hates it immediately). He smiles and giggles. He is our little light weight. I couldn't believe he could fit into the little Tigger Halloween costume that Nathan and Austin wore for Halloween (because he was 5 months old wearing a 0-3 month costume). I haven't started solid foods yet, but I do occasionally give his tastes of soft things that I am eating, which so far he has been a big fan of.