Heather and her backhand spring.

Heather has been working hard at gymnastics this season. I put her into an advanced class because I felt like she wasn't progressing. She was having a lot of fun in her other classes but they weren't really pushing her. After going to her new class a few times, she asked me if I would move her back to her other teacher because it was too hard. I told her the only way to get better at anything is to work at it, if it isn't hard we don't push ourselves and then we just stay the same. She finally agreed to try her best and not give up. Last week she did her backhand spring by herself! She was quite excited that she was able to do it. This week when she went back she was nervous but she was able to do it again. The second run through gave her the confidence to know that she could do it and it wasn't just luck the first time. I amd proud of her for sticking with it and pushing herself to do better.

A Valentine Dinner

Because James and I were out of town over Valentine's Day, our family tradition of a special Valentine dinner was delayed until President's Day. Although we weren't around, the kids had a great Valentine's Day with their grandma Marcia and grandpa Dan. They took them to 'Color Me Mine', which is a pottery store, and the kids got to pick out various potted products and paint them then left them there to be fired. After painting, they went to lunch at Cowboy Grub and the reports were favorable that it was a fun place to eat.

Despite their eventful Valentine's Day, they were unwilling to let us off the hook for our traditional Valentine's Day dinner. We started this tradition a few years back when we realized it was too hectic to go to a restaurant on Valentine's and too hard to find a babysitter. We decided to create a restaurant atmosphere at home. The kids each get to pick what they want for dinner and I prepare many different meals. We use our best dishes and usually have candles. This year Luke wanted ribs, Lindsey picked homemade chicken dumplings, Heather went for homemade pizza pockets, and Savannah wanted Chinese food. James doesn't get a choice, he gets to choose from the various choices already made. I get to choose the dessert which has actually become fun for me to find something that seems exotic and surprise the kids. While we enjoy our meal together we share why we love each member of the family. When it was all cleaned up and the dishes put away, I was glad the kids hadn't let us skip out on the tradition this year or we would have missed out on some fun memories.

A "Wicked" Valentine's

For Christmas this year, James gave me a very interesting present. He handed me a medium-sized, square gift and was very excited for me to open it. After tearing off the wrapping I was surprised to find a book about Ronnie and Nancy Reagan and another about the Chinese in America. I put on what I hoped was a grateful face, then racked my brain trying to think of a time that I had expressed an interest in either of these topics. James told me to open the cover so I did. Inside the book was a secret compartment and inside there were two tickets to "Wicked" in San Francisco for Valentine's Day. It was a great gift!

Valentine's finally arrived and we headed to the airport amidst a terrible snowstorm. The snow caused our plane to be delayed two hours but we enjoyed the time in the airport chatting with our friends that were going to San Francisco with us. The Markers and the Browns were joining us on the trip. We talked about how a week before Christmas we had all gone out to dinner and the women were talking about how we'd love to get tickets to Wicked in Utah but the prices were so high that it would be cheaper to fly to New York and see it. Unknown to us, the men had already purchased the tickets to see the play. They were very proud of themselves and we were proud of them for being so creative.


We landed in San Francisco that afternoon and spent some time downtown shopping before we had to get ready for dinner and the show. The men had planned to eat at a fancy restaurant not far from our hotel so we were able to walk there. We had a lot of fun dining together and enjoying the good food. It was a place where they actually bring out the food and show it to you instead of giving you menus. Once we were thoroughly full, we headed to the theater downtown.

Wicked was a lot of fun to see. As with most broadway shows, the sets and special effects were amazing and the cast was great. Some of the cast members had been in movies and on television so it was fun to recognize some familiar faces.

Once the show was over we headed to Ghirardelli Square for some chocolate treats. We had a hard time getting a cab. Our first try landed us in a cab with a driver who spoke little English and didn't know the way to Ghirardelli Square, even after we gave him the address. James wished him luck on his career as a cabdriver and we hopped out of his car. We finally flagged down a cab driver who knew his way around the city and headed to the chocolate corner of the city. Once again, feeling bloated on chocolate sundaes made with melted chocolate, we headed out to find a cab. Because it was after midnight, we weren't having much luck. We were just about to head in and call a cab company when a limousine came around the corner and asked if we were looking for a cab. He offered to drive us in his limo. It was the perfect way to end a perfect Valentine's Day.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Lucky Charms

I remember growing up that getting "sugar" cereal was a real treat. We only got to have it on rare occasions like when our parents were going to the temple for the day and we would have a babysitter. I also remember that Rich and Ron's (my twin cousins that were like brothers growing up) favorite "sugar" cereal was Lucky Charms. I actually remember them taking me aside and showing me the box of Lucky Charms they were going to get to eat while their parents were away and being so excited about it. Well, Matthew has the same fondness for Lucky Charms, however, it's not the cereal he enjoys but the marshmallows. I came downstairs today to find this scene. The love for Lucky Charms must run in the family.

Wow!

Wow! was the theme of this year's PTA Reflections. Luke decided to do a 3-d art project. He came up with and idea all on his own--a jeweled tree. I thought the idea was very clever and apparently the judges did as well because he won. It was a real boost for Luke because he had been feeling like he didn't have any talent in the art area. Last term he got his lowest grade in art (it was an A-). He felt real bad about it. I explained to him that art is subjective and you just have to do your best. That didn't seem to help so I finally had to admit to him that my lowest grade in high school was in art. That seemed to make it all right. I guess those experiences you have in high school that don't seem to make sense, come back later to help you out as teaching opportunities.

Draper Temple

It has been a while since we've posted anything. Our computer has been down but now we're back on track. These past few weeks my kids have been off track. We took advantage of this time to go down to the Draper Temple open house. James had already been with the youth of the ward so we convinced him that it would be O.K. if we went without him. We picked a time in the middle of the day in hopes to avoid the crowds and we were rewarded. We were lucky to have Grandma Marcia come with us and spend the day.

Visiting the temple was a great experience. It is a "medium-sized" temple built on the hillside in Draper, Utah. Guests are directed to various churches in the area where a quick video is shown about temples, then we were loaded onto buses and taken to the temple. Because of the time we picked, we were able to walk right in and get to the temple without any waiting. The temple is beautiful. It is done mostly in blues with some accenting colors and a lot of dark wood. The endowment rooms are painted with murals depicting the area around Draper before it was settled. They were amazing, probably my favorite part. It was nice to see murals in the temple again. The celestial room is small compared to some temples but magnificent nonetheless. The kids were impressed with the beauty of the room and the peacefulness they felt there. The tour ends in a sealing room where guides share personal experiences and explain the importance of the room. They held the kids up so they could look in the mirrors and explained eternity to them.

After the tour we headed out to the church building, which is built on the temple grounds, and had refreshments of cookies and water. I was amazed that they were feeding everyone that came to visit the temple. I called Nicole and told her about it and she informed me that at the Lubbock Temple open house they actually had a buffet. It is a time when the missionaries can visit with guests and answer questions. The kids had a good time looking at the many pictures of temples that were displayed in the church and I enjoyed the artwork that they had set up. All in all, it was a great way to spend an off-track day.