Back to the 80's.... I mean School

Ok... so I just thought it was so funny that my girls all looked as though it was an 80's flashback day... but it was the first day of school. Even Jackson was sporting the bright colored polo shirt (No Lacoste Alligator... but), we popped his collar... just to give it even more 80s' edge. They are cute and are so excited to be back in School. (ME TOO!)

Where did the year go?

Crazy! It is the end of another school year.

Hannah is finished with the 7th grade, Whitney is done with the 4th grade, and Mia has completed the 2nd grade. YAY!! It has been a busy year and the summer looks to be just as busy. Jackson is thrilled to have someone at home with him besides mom!

Here is a look back at some fun from the last time I posted!

Longest Winter EVER

I will be so happy for this winter to be over. It has lasted way to long and been way to cold and wet. We all have been sick to often and had entirely too many snow days. Rich and the girls are going skiing/ snowboarding this weekend for the first time this winter and they are pumped! So I guess some good can come of it. I however cannot wait to be able to run outside again without the literal spinning wheels on ice or without coming home with mud flipped all over the back of me. Here are a few photos of some of the things we did while cooped up inside.

In the above photo ... the girls are ice skating on the pond on the front yard. They also enjoy sledding by way of the four wheeler.

Hannah and Whitney are bakers extraordinaire! They bake cakes and cookies of all types. The YM in the ward are always happy when Hannah brings refreshments!

Hannah played on her first basketball team. Her team went undefeated (so did her soccer team earlier in the year). It will be tough when she finally has to feel what it is like to loose.

Ah... this is classic. Richard on his iphone.. and Jackson on his "phone"... the ipod touch. They could sit like that for hours. I thought it was cute!

Lots of Love!

Back from Summer Break

We had a busy summer... I think we were gone more than we were home.  We were able to visit Idaho twice!!  As well as have some other very fun trips to other destinations. 

Here are a few photos...

San Francisco, CA with my mom and sisters, St. George, UT to see Footloose with my girls and dad, Vegas with dad, Branson, MO Silver Dollar City, and Vail, CO.   So that is one month worth of our Summer... I will be back with more!

Whitney's Haircut

Whitney is growing up... she looks so much more mature with her new haircut.  It is very cute and she is super excited about it.  We just thought we would share.

My kids would love to have a dog!

Unfortunately for them I will NOT get them a dog. But fortunately for them we have some good friends that raise cute little dogs.  My kids beg me to take them over to their home so that they can hold the dogs.  After one visit Mia went to school the next day, she came home and said, "mom, I was really good... I almost went to the counselor."

"Why would you go to the counselor?,"I asked her.

"Because of the dogs, mom.  I want one so bad."

So I am apparently causing all sorts of emotional damage because I will not get them a dog.

By far Jackson is the most taken with the dogs... he LOVES them... Here are some of my favorite photos of him with the dogs.

YAY! I get to blog again!

I am so spoiled!  I got a new toy... a new MacBook so that I can go park in random places in town (currently the Public Library) and post photos and just get to use this wonderful wireless connection.  Dial up was killing me... so it is a lifesaver.

Anyway... so much has happened.  So I will try to hit some highlights.

* The new house is wonderful and we love it.

* Hannah had her Twelfth birthday.  I cannot believe it.  She is a Young Woman!  She also took her first temple trip to St. Louis... and lucky me... I got to go with her.  (Love my calling!)

* We took a family trip to Disney World.

* The girls had a wonderful time at the very fancy Daddy- Daughter Ball.

* Uncle Phil was married to Aunt Amanda... so quick fun trip to Idaho.

* We have started all sorts of fun activities this year... soccer, dance, swim team, tech club, piano lessons... we have kept busy.

I am so excited to catch up... love you all!

 

A Quick Photo

Here is a quick photo of the front of our home. We are so glad to be in and (Almost) settled for the New Year.

This one is of the kids spelling out a New Year wish for all of you! HA!

We miss high speed internet.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We love and miss everyone but are adjusting to Clinton, MO. The home is beautiful and wonderful. However... we are currently to far out to enjoy the little perks like a close Target and high speed internet. (If anyone knows me... they know that these two little perks are a huge deal to me.) The internet is becoming a major problem. I am still praying that they powers that be will soon let us into the high speed club... until then I will make do with dial up.

I loved the many Christmas cards that we recieved. It is truly my favorite thing to get a Christmas card with an accompaning photo.

I hope to post more soon.. until then...

We are moved... but not settled

The last time I posted was the day that we moved into our new home... YAY!!! However... I have spent the last 2 weeks trying to convince high speed internet providers that a) our address does exist and b) that we have neighbors that get internet service... therefore we should be able to get it as well. So far it has not worked out. So I am now trying a wireless connection. It is way to slow, so I will continue to search for other options. So excuse the lack of blogging as I try to find better service.
Love and Miss you all!!!!

Happy Birthday Jackson!!

We are so lucky to have won Jackson in the baby lottery. He is an amazing addition to our family. Right now as I type he is dancing to the Backyardigans. He really takes care of himself... he will grab his blankets and walks himself up to bed, he can play with cars for hours, and he is just so delightful in every way!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Jackson!!!

Park Fun

What happens at your local park on weekends? Culture (or lack there of) Shock happens daily here. I should be used to it... but I am not!

We had an end of the season soccer party at the park this weekend. Rich coached Hannah's team and assistant coached Mia and Whitney's team so we had a couple of teams and their parents there. Across the park (yet still within rock throwing distance) was an intense game of geriatric bingo. In the middle of the soccer kids and the bingo players was... this

It was some sort of pseudo "wrestling". Who has a ring set-up like this? Do you see the guy with the bedazzled lacy robe? Some poor grandma is missing her nice bathrobe. What about glitter and gold lame fabric says macho? It was such a surreal thing. You would hear screaming "Boo... get him....B- 9..." Hysterical.

=w=eezer!!!!!

How great was my weekend? So great!! I got to see all but one of my siblings (Miss you Tia!), my mom, my beautiful nieces and even a pretty fun bro. in -law. Jackson and I flew to Utah to go see everyone and attend a fairly awesome Weezer concert.

It was SO MUCH FUN! Phil and I even made wicked cool tees for the concert. The first band was complete crap. It was supposed to be The Tokyo Police Club... it wasn't. Then Angels and Airwaves took the stage to open. The music was good... Tom Delonge, the lead singer, was a total dirtbag. He was cheesy and lame all at the same time. Although the guys in front of us were absurdly into it. A crazy Hippie chic danced WAY to close to Phil. Oh and Weezer was FANTASTIC!!!

Rivers was eccentric (what's new) and they played most of our favorites (No Good Life or Only in Dreams). I sang/ screamed along to it all and am still hoarse. I love my family so much... it says something that they still hung out with me after the concert started and I was crazy. Grandma Nina stayed at Maggie's and watched the babies... she is THE BEST!

Jackson was a champ on the airplane. I just had to sing Popcorn popping constantly and he was just fine.

The Outside is Finished

It is not totally finished... we need to landscape, we need to paint the door... but it is all but finished. The inside is getting there. The trim is going in, and now we wait on the finish paint.

Tour de Missouri

It was a huge event here in Clinton. The Tour de Missouri just came through. Cyclists from 22 countries racing their way through Missouri. There was a big bash the night before... there was a fun little band, baked sale goodies, barbecue, popcorn, sno-cones and lots of bike stuff. They gave away free bike helmets, bike licences (complete with photo), and blinking lights for your bike. It was fun to watch the kids dance to the band and just enjoy the small town festivities.

The next day the cyclists came into town, signed autographs, and raced on out. All of the schools got out to watch and cheer on the racers. The girls all commented that the support cars took all the time and the cyclists went really fast. Maybe Lance Armstrong will be here next year after coming out of retirement.

Here Jackson rings the bell to cheer on the racers. So... some fun things here in small town, MO.

A Little Update

I was determined to get some photos of the house up today. It rained all day yesterday but I got some photos anyway.

As you can see they are finishing the brick and stone work on the front of the house. They are painting and putting in the trim on the inside. The flooring and finish work will be next. All the utilities are in and running... so it is just a matter of weeks before we get to move in. YAY!!!

This is the left side of the house with a little bit of the back. We are pretty excited about getting everything finished. I am a little tired of living out of boxes. Soon......

First Day of School

Yesterday was the first day of school. The girls were ready! They had all the supplies and were set. I think that I was the only one that was nervous.

Hannah has started middle school!!! Ready or not... here it is! She is thrilled. She thinks she is so big. She forgets that she will forever be my little 3 lb. baby. It was a great first day... she made a friend with a girl that is new as well and they have all of thier classes together on the "red" days. Yay!!! I am so glad. She cannot wait to join all of the clubs she can.

Whitney and Mia started the Third and First grades, respectively. They were equally excited and they had really good days too. All third graders and up get lockers... so Whitney felt relaly special. Mia had a good time and said the it was "EASY"!

Now Jackson and I are going to have to get hobbies!!! What will we do without the girls?

Summer fun!

We had so much fun during our trip to Idaho... here are a few more photos to share.

Here we are enjoying the Lava pool with Phil, Alli, and Leigh. Whitney and Hannah both went off the platforms!

Cousin's camp with the Woodland side is always a highlight for the year. They get

to spend time with the many cousins that they rarely see as well as riding horses, camping out and an evening talent show.
After Cousin's Camp we drove to Boise to visit Grandpa Craig and we barbecued, and did a lot of playing around. We already miss everyone like crazy! We cannot wait to see you all again!