February Happenings

It is hard to believe it is already the third month of the year. Here are some of the happenings from the second month, February.

One Saturday I went to the temple with some other women in our ward. Greg stayed home with the kids. When I got home they had all finished their chores and Greg and the kids had orchestrated a game of "The Amazing Race". In this task they had to look through our paper basket (full of recycled paper to use for writing and drawing) to find a paper with their name on it (Greg had put each one of their names in small letters on one page).

In this task each team had to run around the outside of the house 4 times. Other tasks including eating unusual food combinations (like pickles and whipped cream, or spearmint gum and ranch dressing), an obstacle course and standing outside on the snowy deck in barefeet, shorts and a shirt. Greg is so creative and fun. The kids had a great time, even though not everyone could win.

Jake is always willing to pose; it doesn't really matter what month it is.

Adam has been playing basketball with a different league this year. Most of his games and practices are downtown so we have been going down there a lot more. One Saturday after an early game we decided to go to the Science Center. They had an Egypt exhibit we enjoyed looking through. If Liz didn't have her coat on she could be in the desert, don't cha' think?

Jacob

Anna

Ben

Silly mummy Anna.

Mad mummy Lizzy.

Siamese twin mummy Adam/Jacob.

Confused Mummy Adam.

I know this is a terrible picture, but this is the only picture we have of Lizzy's 3rd grade concert. She is in the front in the middle. She was so proud to share the songs they worked on. She did a great job.

We also celebrated Adam's 13th birthday in February, so look for that post soon! I am almost caught up!

High Octane - Adam on Stage (again!)

Adam has enjoyed performing arts this year. He's part of the Waukee South Middle School show choir, "High Octane". Here are some photos and videos from one of his performances in January. It was their very first performance of the season ... they got even better throughout the season.





Adam is hard to see in this one (he's in the back), but we thought it was a fun song!

Show choir is over now, but Adam will be back on stage soon. He auditioned for the school musical, "Oklahoma" and will be playing the part of Will Parker.

Anna through the years

In celebration of Anna's birthday I wanted to share some photos of Anna as she has grown over the years. Life is really so amazing. How did my tiny little baby get to be so grown up?!

Here is Anna on her blessing day. She is about 5 weeks old in this picture.

Here is Anna at about 18 months.

This picture is the day after Lizzy was born. Anna has just turned two. Adam is there too.

Here is Anna when she is 4 years old. She finally has hair! And a broken arm (thanks to her mother who moved a chair while she was standing on it).

Here is Anna at 5 years old with her cousin Alia.

Another picture of Anna at 5. This is the day of preschool graduation.

Anna at 7. I love that you can see her freckles in this one.

Our beautiful Anna at 7 again. I love the toothless grin.

Here is Anna on her baptism day, 8 years old. She picked the dress out herself.

Here is Anna when she is 9 years old. This was taken on our summer vacation.

Here is Anna still having fun at 10 years old.

This was taken this past Christmas, just one month before her 11th birthday.

Anna's birthday

Our beautiful Anna turned 11 years old on January 25th. She is growing up too fast! Anna is such a wonderful daughter. She is easy to talk to, kind, and a lot of fun. Anna was a fiery toddler and preschooler who got into things and had a little temper. She has definitely mellowed over the years. She still has a stubborn streak, but sometimes I think that is to her advantage. She doesn't let people tell her what to do. She trusts herself and her judgement. She is OK if her choices are different than those around her. She knows what's best for her. She doesn't like being the center of attention or being asked to speak or perform in front of others. She continues to enjoy playing the flute and we were so proud of her for earning a superior rating when playing in front of a judge by herself (big, scary deal for her). She likes to play with her friends one on one. It's easier to keep everyone happy that way. She can be quiet and reserved, but at home she has a very quirky sense of humor. Anna likes who she is and we do too.

Anna had a party last year so this year we didn't have a friend party. We went to dinner at Village Inn (it had to be on her birthday because it was free pie day). A different day we had cake and ice cream and presents.

Adam giving Anna a card he made

Anna is queen of pillows. This was what she really wanted for her birthday. She has quite the set up on her bed. I am not sure how there is room for her to sleep!

Two giant pillows for her birthday. This one is a Tabby Cat Pillow Pet.

All the siblings loving on Anna (OK and Anna's pillow)

Anna doesn't like normal cake so she usually requests a cookie cake. Mmmm!

Anna we love you. You are such a blessing in our lives.

Random January Happenings

This is a post about random things that happened in January for our family (yes, we're still two months behind!). Every four years in Iowa there are several months of presidential politics that seem to consume everything. In years past, we've been fairly active, going to meet a lot of the candidates, participating in polls, and other things (Tammy was even a delegate to the county convention one year).

This year, we felt kind of disenchanted with it all, so we didn't do much. Greg did take the kids to one event (he blogged about it earlier ... with the kids showing up all over the national media). Other than that we didn't do anything, except that we did go to the caucuses.

The caucus here was a lot different than the caucus in Bettendorf. The first time we went there, there were only about 20 people in the room. Here in Waukee, there were hundreds.

Not only that, but a lot of the national media was there as well as some big names. Rick Perry, who hadn't yet dropped out, was there to speak to us.

So was Ann Romney.

And so was Charlie Chaplin.

And even the Krispy Kreme donut makers. It was quite a night!

Actually, I don't think those last two were from the caucus ... just random fun shots during the month. After the caucus, things got much quieter in Iowa and we had a pretty normal month. It was warmer than usual with not a lot of snow, but still winter, still dark all the time. The end of January always brings a bright spot as we celebrate Anna's birthday. We'll write more about that later, but here she is out on a date with Greg wishing for certain birthday presents at the store. She ended up getting the big blue pillow for her birthday and Lizzy got the big green one for her birthday. How was your January?

Christmas number 2

We arrived home very late (or very early, depending on how you look at it) only to awaken the next morning for our second Christmas. Since we flew to Las Vegas we had to pack and travel light. That meant only one present for everyone. The kids were great about it. I actually think we all enjoyed having two smaller Christmases over the whopper doozy big one. Here are a few highlights.

Here are the stockings all hung by the fire.

Our Christmas tree. I love having this hodge podge of ornaments collected over the years, from my childhood and the many new ornaments the kids have made. I really liked our tree this year too. I don't know if we will ever switch over to an artificial tree. I just love the real ones too much. I like that they are unique and different each year.

One of Ben's favorite presents was the doughnut maker he received from his great grandparents. That boy really loves to help in the kitchen.

Lizzy's big gift this year was a guitar. I read a lot about it before I bought it. If it looks small, that's because it is. A half size guitar for a girl who is half the size of a grown up. We went with nylon strings instead of steel because I read it was easier on beginner's fingers (kind of pain to tune all the time though).

As many birthdays and Christmases go, Adam must have some BYU items. Train them up when they are young and they will not depart from it. Go Cougs!

Greg opted for a hand shot of his new scriptures. His others, which he used on his mission, were pretty beat up.

Anna got an awesome alarm clock with several noises, like crickets, rain, and waterfalls. It also has lights and an ipod dock. It wasn't something that see asked for, but I knew she would love it, and she did!

Here is Jacob with his brand new John Deere boots. Sadly these boots have not been as popular as the Buzz and Woody boots he wore out. These awesome boots have only been worn a few times. I guess he doesn't like the stiffness of them. I thought he would love them.

Here are the girls later enjoying practicing together. I wish I could get them to do that everyday! I love having our home filled with music.

We hope you all had as wonderful a Christmas as we did. It was so fun to get away and do something different. It was also great to come home and spend even more time together. We are just in such a great time of our lives. Merry Christmas!