Band Concert

Madison had her second band concert tonight. She has been working so hard at the saxaphone and really has come very far. I love to hear her practice. She isn't sure if she is going to take band again next year and it makes me kind of sad.

Madison's basketball season comes to an end

Today was the end of Madison's season. It has gone by so fast. The games today were so intense. They played two of the best teams and they were nervous if they were going to be able to hold their own. They did AWESOME. Mountain view the #1 team was sweating it at half time because we were only behind by one point and they have been undefeated for two seasons. We may not have ended up winning on the score board but in my mind our girls were the winners. They played their hearts and kept it clean. It is sad that some people feel the need to start playing dirty so they can win. Next Saturday is the playoffs so we aren't exactly sure how many we will play because it is single elimination. If the girls play like they did today, they will go far.

What have we been up to?

This time of year is crazy and I feel like there isn't any time for anything. No matter how hard I try to stay on top of things, it really seems to get away from me. I have been working on a new chore system and hoped to have it in place at the beginning of the year but I am just now getting it all pulled together.
The girls really enjoy their bulletin boards. It gives them somewhere to put their important paper and write notes down. It also has a simple reminder of what the expectations are of them. Now that I have the chores set up I need to work on my reward system. I am really excited for what I have worked out in my head. Now I just need to get it created and going too.

Madison and Allison are in the middle of their basketball seasons. Life is crazy getting them to practices and games but I love watching them play.

All the girls are doing amazing in school. Madison has adjusted to middle school and remains on the honor roll. I wish I would have been the type of student that she has become. She has great study skills. She is great example to her sisters. Allison loves the unit that they are working on right now. She loves to write and they are learning how to write a paragraph and a story. She was picked from her class to read at an assembly a sentence that she wrote about fairness. She was honored to be chosen by her peers and excited to read it in front of the whole school.
Ashley is loving "real" preschool and I am just amazed at how much she has learned. She has learned all the sounds of her alphabet so she is starting to sound out words. She is very excited about what she has learned and loves to show it off. She knows a handful of words and loves to help read them while we read stories.

Things might be crazy right now but I would not have it any other way. I know that one day I will miss this.

Valentines day

For Valentines Day and Family Home Evening, I thought it would be fun to to make treats and take it around to a few people. I had found this yummy recipe for cupcakes here. We had a lot of fun making them and decorating them. When we were all done we took them around to a few of our friends. For dinner I wanted to surprise the girls so on the way home I picked up a special pizza. Madison and Allison were able to guess it but it was still fun to have our heart shaped pizza.

A fun trip to the Dentist

Ashley had a field trip today. The field trip just happened to be at our dentist office. Ashley just thought it was silly that she would go on a field trip to her dentist office. Even though it was silly to her she was really excited. She ask me all morning if it was time to go yet. It didn't help that she got up at 6:00.

When we got there we found out that the Idaho Stampede were there to talk to the kids too. The mascot Rumble was there and he was the hit of the show. The kids had so much fun with him. At one point Rumble laid across the lap of the kids on the couch. Ashley thought that was so funny. Everyone that she saw for the rest of the day, she would tell about Rumble laying on her. His feet were on her lap and his head was on Madeline her friends lap. She would sometimes forget his name and call him Humble. She is such a funny kid.

The field trip was very informative and fun for the kids. The staff walked them through what a typical visit would be and let them try out things like sitting in the x-ray chair. And they also got to see the dental tools up close and touch them to see that they are not scary. Ashley told me that she isn't scared to go the dentist anymore. I wasn't quite sure what she was talking about because she has gone to the dentist fine but she reminded me that the spit sucker scared her and she wouldn't let them put it in her mouth. She says that she will be fine the next time that she goes to the dentist.

Ashley really had a fun time at the dentist and wanted to stay awake tonight to see the news. Channel 2 news was at the office to tape the Stampede with the kids. I taped it for her since it would have been after her bedtime. Ashley wants to see if she is a TV star.

Nana's 60th birthday

Today we were in Twin Falls to celebrate Louise's (Kevin's Mom) 60th birthday.
Kevin's sister planned a party for her. All of Kevin's siblings were able to come except for Scott who lives in Ohio. He did get to participate in the festivities though. Kevin called him on Skype and we were all able to talk to him face to face.
Technology is great. It is amazing what things we can do now days.

Louise is such a special part of our lives so it was great to be able celebrate her birthday with her. My girls are blessed to have her in their lives. She is a wonderful grandma and example to them. We are blessed to have her as a mom, mother-in-law, and grandma. Our lives wouldn't be the same with out her.

Busy Saturday

Today we got a little taste of what Saturday's are going to be like for the next few months. We started our day out watching Madison play at her Jamboree. Madison played two short 20 min games. They lost the first one but won the second one. Nana and Grandpa were in town so they got to see Madison play. Unfortunately I didn't get to watch her because I had to run Allison to a birthday party. Allison has been looking forward to this for over a month. Allison's best friend Allysa got horseback riding for her birthday and invited Allison to join her. Allison has never been on a horse so she was really excited. They were taught how to groom a horse. There was a craft. Finally the last part was riding a horse. Allison had a great time and is now asking if she can do that for her birthday. It was fun to see her so happy but we have a year to decide what we are doing for her birthday.

Once the party was over we had hurry on over to the Morrison Center to meet Madison and Nana. We had tickets to Grease. Nana has always loved to take the girls to plays, when she heard about this one she thought they would really enjoy it. We all really enjoyed the play and the girls have a list of a few more that they would like to see.

Once we were done with all the girls stuff then it was time for adult time and we all went to the temple to work on some family names. it was quite a long day but we had fun while doing it all.