Savannah Turns 9

Savannah has been looking forward to her birthday for months.  She loves a good party and her birthday gives her the opportunity to have one.  We've been talking about what to do for her party for weeks and decided upon a cupcake party.  This will not come as a surprise to anyone who has seen Savannah's bedroom recently.  When she took over Lindsey's old room, we decorated it with a cupcake theme.  Savannah decided to carry that theme over to her party.  She had a "cupcake war" party.  The girls were separated onto teams where they were given prepared cupcake batter.  They got to add whatever they wanted to the batter and then we baked them. While the cupcakes were baking, the girls got to decorate aprons, open presents, and play games.  When the cupcakes were baked and cooled, the teams got to decorate.  They were very creative and had fun.  Thanks to Duncan Hines who makes various frosting flavor packs you can add to frosting-- it added to the fun and I didn't have to make various flavors.  Savannah had a great birthday.  She got a lot of nice things, including a new pair of high heels!

We are so grateful for Savannah.  She is definitely unique and all girl.  She loves being a mom to her younger siblings and also a teacher.  Her room is full of whiteboards and school books.  She is a joy to watch grow and she is so helpful.  Happy Birthday Savs!!

Ashlyn's Surgery

Ashlyn was born with a small cyst above her right eye.  I took her to a couple of doctors when she was two months old, they both concurred that it would have to be removed.  I was much more comfortable with one doctor and chose him to do the surgery.  He wanted to wait until she was between 9-12 months old, then she would be bigger for the anesthesia.  Meanwhile, the cyst was getting bigger.

In the middle of October, I felt like I should call and make an appointment.  They had an opening for that weekend so I took it.  This meant that Ashlyn had surgery while James and the girls were in Italy.  It was a little nerve racking for me as I worried about the risks of the anesthesia.  Our amazing home teachers came and gave her a blessing the night before.  Ashlyn and I headed down early the next morning.  She couldn't eat for six hours before surgery but she was happy.  When they took her in they told me it would be about 30 minutes.  As the time progressed to over an hour, I started to worry but remembered her blessing and knew she was fine.  They finally came and got me after an hour and twenty minutes.  The doctor asked if I had been worried that it was taking so long.  I admitted I had been.  He explained to me that they had had a problem getting the IV in, it took them 13 tries before they hit a vein.  He then showed me the cyst and talked about the surgery.  The cyst was much bigger than I thought it would be.  He told me she had a small indention in her skull because it was pushing into her head.  Other than the IV problem, everything went smoothly.

I went back to see her after she woke up and they let her cry for a bit to get the blood circulating.  She was not happy but I think it was more because she was starving and she had braces on her arms to prevent her elbows from bending.  The braces kept her from touching her eyes.  She had to wear the braces for a couple of days.  Other than frustration of not being able to get the binky to her mouth, she didn't seem to be bothered at all by the surgery.  She is back to her old self and happy as ever.

I have often thought about parents who go through much more difficult situations-- where the anesthesia is the least risky part of a surgery.  How grateful I am that we are blessed with healthy children.

Trip to Italy

Heather and Savannah were lucky enough to be off track when James had to go to Italy to a dental conference.  It is the same conference he and I attended last year.  When the opportunity came around again, I was unable to go because we have sweet Ashlyn.  James didn't want to go alone so he took Heather and Savannah.  Worried that the girls would be bored or lost during the dental conference, I encouraged him to take his parents along to help watch the girls while James was busy.  The five of them set off for ten days of Italy.

They all had fun together.  From what I've heard, one of their favorite things was the hot chocolate they had in Florence.  They also had fun at the leaning tower of Pizza.  Savannah says her favorite thing was eating and seeing all of the "amazing stuff."   Heather also liked the food and spending time with her dad.

Getting ready for Halloween

Halloween is always a fun time of year.  Because we have three birthdays in the month of October, we especially look forward to this time of year.  It usually takes a couple of days to get all of the Halloween decorations put up inside and outside.  Ashlyn didn't seem to mind the spookiness at all!

Ashlyn and Savannah

Savannah and Ashlyn (or better known around here as Savs and Ash) have a special bond.  Since the day Ashlyn was born, Savannah would race home to see her.  Usually she would wake her up from a nap to hold her.  Their bond has grown stronger and stronger.  Savannah can always bring a smile to Ashlyn's face.

Luke is 15

Luke's birthday came and went with some excitement and fanfare.  Birthdays tend to be a little calmer when they are on Sunday which Luke's was this year.  James came back from early morning church meetings to help serve Luke breakfast and then he opened his presents.  Shopping for Luke's birthday this year was the easiest by far.  Luke went online, picked out what he wanted, ordered it, and it was shipped to our front door.  I merely had to provide the credit card and approve the spending.  I admit there wasn't a lot of thought put into it by me, but at least I knew he liked what he got and he had fun doing it.

I have probably mentioned before that Luke has a friend who shares his birth date and another friend who's birthday is two days before.  Because these young men all live in our same neighborhood and share many of the same friends, they usually have a party together.  This year was no exception.  The weekend before their birthday, everyone showed up at our house for a party.  With teenagers you just have to provide food and supervision so the parties are easy.  They have a good group of friends who have hung out together for years.  The group has gotten bigger as they entered junior high but they still have a great time.  I have enjoyed watching them grow into remarkable teenagers.

How grateful we are for Luke.  He is an example to all of his younger siblings and a big help to us.  It is fun watching him grow into a young man.  He is a bright, out-going, happy teenager.  He definitely keeps us busy trying to keep up with him.  Happy Birthday Bud!

The birthday boys-- Chandler, Tyler, Luke

Savs Shoes

Savannah was ecstatic when her school had crazy shoe and sock day because that meant she got to wear her favorite pair of shoes.

That's right, these are Savannah's shoes.  She saved up and bought them with her own money.  Savannah's favorite thing to do is go to the store and look at high heels.  I no longer have any high heels in my closet because Savannah has confiscated all of them.   She's only allowed to wear them around the house (mostly for her own safety), but when crazy shoe day came up on the schedule she knew her time had arrived.  Donning her four inch high heels, she sashayed off to third grade.  I'm sure she was the envy of all the girls.  Her teacher told me Savannah volunteered for everything that day, this gave her many opportunities to walk around the classroom.  I'm not sure what age I will let her wear her favorite shoes on "normal" days.  I guess we'll just have to wait and see. 

Storm Football

Luke is playing tackle football this fall and, despite the numerous bumps and bruises, he is having a blast!  He was fortunate to get drafted onto an outstanding team with great coaches.  I have decided that coaches make all the difference.  Luke's coaches push them but they never cross the line, and at the end of the game they always have encouraging words and life lessons to teach the young men.  Each week I am impressed by these men who realize they have an opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of their players.   So far, their team has lost only one game.  They were caught by surprise their first game when an opposing player ran the kickoff return back for a touchdown, they weren't able to pull ahead after that.  Since then, they have been prepared and won each match.  I know their goal is to win the championship-- for themselves and also in memory of a teammate who died last year of meningitis.  His number is embroidered on each of their jerseys.  Good luck guys!

Legacy Silverwolves

Luke and Lindsey are back to school.  I know both of them are excited for the year that is ahead of them.  Their first week was incredibly busy as they prepared for the back-to-school assembly.  The program for the assembly included the cheerleaders, madrigals, jazz band, and student body officers, including a speech by the President.  Luke and Lindsey were involved in all of these areas which meant a lot of early morning and after school practices.  The cheerleaders were also began to pass off their twenty one miles of running, which meant getting up at 5:00 am the first week of school.  I watched in amazement as they got up, got themselves organized, and pulled it off.  I thought it was exhausting just watching them.

The assembly was a lot of fun to watch.  Everyone did a great job!  The cheerleaders looked good, the student body officers were funny, the madrigals sounded great, and the jazz band played our favorite "Rocky" song.   I know I shouldn't brag, but I have to mention that after Luke gave his speech, the Principal took over and said that Luke's speech gave him chills and he was very impressed by what he said.  Watching the assembly, I had what I hope is one of President Uchtdorf's approved moments of parental pride.

Back to School (For Some)

Heather, Savannah, and yes, Matthew have started school.  Heather starts her sixth grade year.  She has moved to the oldest class at the school.  I know she was excited and nervous about starting but she has a great teacher and has made some friends in her new class.  Savannah is always happiest when school is in session.  She likes her teacher and has quite a few friends from our ward in her class.  She couldn't be happier.  Matthew has started Kindergarten, finally.  He wondered why he wasn't going to Kindergarten two days after preschool ended.  He has an awesome teacher, Savannah also had her for Kindergarten.  The joy of living this close to the school is I get to catch private moments between siblings as they walk to and from school.  They are all sweet to each other and watch out for one another.  I love watching them out the kitchen window.

Ashlyn 6 Months

Ashlyn is six months old.  I can hardly believe it.  She is growing so fast.  She is a calm baby and generally happy which means the kids all love to hold her and play with her.  They are usually fighting over her, especially during church.  She has been a great blessing in our family.  I can't imagine our family without her.

Independence Day to Pioneer Day

It seems like July is a month long of celebrations, family, camps and fun.  When you have kids on year-round school, July becomes the only month where everyone is home together.  When your husband is the bishop, July becomes the month that he attends every camp imaginable.  And when you have teenage kids, July becomes the month full of activities.  When you are the mother of all of this, July becomes the month you anticipate, plan for, and enjoy-- being careful not to blink because before you know it, it's gone.

We have had a very busy but fun summer.  As I mentioned, James is quite busy during July and ends up taking most of the month of July off.  He attended Youth Conference, Scout Camp, Teacher High Adventure, Priest High Adventure, and Girl's Camp.  He came back from most of these trips sunburned, tired, and happy.  I think Teacher High Adventure was his favorite because he got to spend a few days with Luke down in Southern Utah biking, hiking and four-wheeling.  I've decided four-wheeling is a "guy thing."  They were excited to show me video of the jeeps trying to drive over boulders and I think they were a little disappointed when I didn't show their enthusiasm as I watched, well, jeeps trying to drive over boulders.  I learned a great lesson though as I watched video after video of teenagers and grown men standing around cheering on drivers and jeeps trying to get over the rocks-- these boys truly had learned to enjoy the journey.

Luke had the busiest Summer.  He started off with Youth Conference, then he went to BYU for EFY.  He enjoyed both very much and made a lot of good friends.  He then had football camp and tennis camp, both at BYU-- I think he felt like a regular student minus the books and studying.  He ended his summer with a trip to London with his dad.  All in all, I think he enjoyed himself.

Lindsey had cheer camp which meant they started having practices in July.  They go three mornings a week and condition and practice.  Her squad participated in two parades, Heritage Days and the Fourth of July.  Despite the heat and bleeding ankles, Lindsey loved it.  I have been surprised at how hard the girls work.   They spend hours running, weight lifting and running the bleachers. They have to run 21 miles in September (they get to spread it out over a few days).  I told Lindsey they should just enter a marathon, it's about the same thing.  Lindsey also went to Girls Camp and had a fabulous time.  She always comes back wishing it were longer.  She ended her summer with a trip with her dad to Florida.

Heather, Savannah and Matthew had a quick summer following Luke and Lindsey to parades and hanging out with us.  We went boating a few times which was nice.  On the fourth we spent time with the Andersons at Stadium of Fire where we listened to the Beach Boys and enjoyed the fireworks.  Afterwards, the cousins all worked out sleepover schedules and spent a few days and nights at each others homes.  We enjoyed having the various cousins at our house getting to know them better.  Matthew was finally old enough to have a sleepover at his cousin Gabe's and loved it.  We went to Beaver for the 24th of July and enjoyed the traditional activities there-- gathering candy in the parade, getting sprayed by the fire hose, running in the races.  Of course, seeing Yardley cousins and family is always the highlight.  It was fun to catch up with everyone there. 

All in all, we have had a very busy Summer which seemed to fly by.  We definitely made a lot of good memories and enjoyed spending time with everyone that we saw.  I think that's my favorite part of summer, taking time to see family and friends and enjoying all of the many celebrations.

 

Savannah Says Goodbye to Second Grade

Savannah is the only elementary student who had a final year program this year.  It was a fitting goodbye to second grade.  Savannah has had an awesome second grade year.  She absolutely loved her teacher, Mrs. Fitzgerald, and everything she learned.  She also loved all of her friends.  In fact, Savannah would get very upset if she had to miss a school day for illness.  When they would go off track, she would count down the days until she could go back.  I cannot express enough how much she loved school!

Their end of year program was a medley of music and skits expounding on the greatness of having friends.  At the last minute, one of the students didn't show up, the teachers were scrambling to fill the child's speaking part.  Savannah volunteered saying, "I can do it, I have the whole play memorized."  She did a great job, you would never have known she hadn't been cast in that part.  As soon as second grade ended, she started counting down the days until third grade!

Fun With Cousins

We had a treat in June when our Texas cousins visited.  The kids got to hang out at our house while their parents ran the Ragnar.  Everyone had fun playing tennis and video games, watching movies, and various other games.  In fact, by the end of the visit, they were all exhausted!

Baseball Season 2012

Baseball season came and went before we knew it.  Matthew played T-ball and Heather played Ponytail League (that is where the girls pitch to each other).  Each game was unique and had fun highlights.

Matthew had a great coach who actually pitched to them first before he would bring out the tee.  This made the game longer but totally worth it for the boys.  Matthew had fun playing outfield, talking to his teammates and those of the opposing team.  He would also start his own game of tag.  When the coaches would yell "tag them," Matthew would take off and chase the runners to tag them.  The only problem was, he didn't have the ball.  He was happily playing tag with the kids.  I finally had to explain to him that is not what "tag" means in baseball.

Heather had her first year in player pitch league.  Despite an unfortunate coach assignment, she had a great season.  Heather played third base and got many outs with fly ball catching and tagging runners (she actually understands what "tag" means).  She also hit nearly every time she got up to bat.  I loved watching her play. 

Singing Their Hearts Out

Luke and Lindsey both had their final choir concert in May.  At their junior high, the seventh grade girls are in an all-girls choir and the eighth grade boys are in a mixed choir.  Lindsey's group did a rendition of Footloose.  It is not quite the same feel as the music from the 80's when performed by a choir, but it was still fun.  Lindsey had to choreograph the dancing for the performance and did a great job.  Luke's group did a medly of songs from the late 70's.  You could tell that both Luke and Lindsey had fun performing.

The week after the final choir concert, the music teacher held madrigal tryouts.  The madrigal choir at the junior high is an all-girl choir.  Lindsey tried out for it and made it.  She was one of only two seventh graders that made it.  She was very excited and is now looking forward to next year.

Lego Mindstorms

Heather had the opportunity to participate in Lego Mindstorms this year.  She and her partner meet after school and build a robot, program it, and test it-- all in preparation for the Mindstorms competition.  A couple of days before the competition they had a parent's open house to show us what they had accomplished.  I must admit, I was very impressed.  As Heather and her partner walked me through how they had programmed their robot, I realized I didn't understand the words coming out of their mouths.  I just smiled and told them how smart they were.  I'm not sure if I should be happy that my children are so smart and learning so much, or feel bad that I feel kind of dumb.  I will choose to be happy!

I enjoyed Heather's partner, he was positive they were going to win.  He had a scout campout the day of the contest and had to leave before awards were given.  He gave Heather his mom's cell phone number so Heather could call her with the results then the mother could call him at scout camp and let him know the outcome.  They didn't win, but they did get second place which included a medal.  Good Job!

Matthew Graduates Preschool

As you can tell, I am playing catch up for the end of the school year and into Summer.  It seems like we stepped on a slippery slide in about March and have been speeding through time since then.  Things haven't reallys slowed down but the guilt has gotten greater so I am making a better effort to record events.  Since Matthew starts Kindergarten in two weeks, I thought it was important to record the events of preschool graduation before the next era of education begins.

Matthew had a great preschool experience this year.  He was in a carpool with three other friends in the neighborhood and their discussions were never dull.  I learned that five year olds debate everything!! There were healthy discussions about who's brother was the strongest, where babies come from, which color trash can is better--green or black, if snow skiing is better than surfing, which Disney princess is the best, etc, etc, etc, (and I mean etc).  I had no idea that preschoolers were so knowledgeable about so many different subjects.  I will miss those rides Miss Tonya's house.

The graduation ceremony itself was fun.  Miss Tonya had created a slide show and story that she shared and the children sang songs that went along with it.  I realized Matthew is quite tall for his age when he stands next to all the others.  I think the boys around him were more concerned with the balloons behind them than singing the songs but that's what makes it funny to watch.  I'm grateful for the friends and teachers Matthew had in preschool.  He is very prepared to start Kindergarten and he is quite excited to do so.