Life is Good

School is back in session and the kids are having a great time. Molli loves 4th grade and really enjoys being a buddy reader to a kindergartener. She is playing soccer through AYSO on the Slammin' Jammin' Salmon team. They used to be the Pink Panthers until they played another team with the same name. She also just started a sewing class and I think this will be good for her. When soccer ends in a few weeks, she and Hannah will start a dance class.  In her spare time (not much these days, but we'll take what we can get) she is taking violin lessons from me and hopes to play in our recital in December.

Michael is also in soccer - his team is the green Aliens. He loves the second grade, no surprises there. However, his passion is computers. He is his father's son. He is looking forward to turning eight in December and getting baptized in January. Scouts is also nearing and I think he is ready for that new adventure. It will also be a new adventure for me because I have never done anything with boy scouts, thankfully Robert is an Eagle Scout and can help keep Michael on track.

Hannah decided to also play soccer this time around (I will be 6x less busy when soccer ends :)). She is on a team called the Patriots. I haven't been able to make it to a lot of her games due to Bountiful Baskets at the same time, but I do what I can.  She is looking forward to being in dance again. As a side note, I am teaching the dance instructor's daughter violin so my kids can take dance. I will also be teaching Molli's sewing teacher's daughter so Molli can take sewing. Hannah likes first grade and is happy just being herself.

Hyrum and Evan will sometimes do "homework" while here at the house - pages from a workbook I picked up at Walmart. They love to play together and make each other laugh. My favorite is when they go downstairs and try on the clothing from the dress up box. Hyrum can really pick out a winner of an outfit :).

Robert just got put on the Bonneville Sewer District board and I think he will do a great job. He is also in an institute class and enjoys that.  His work is going well and he has even made it to a symposium this month and will go to a conference next month as well as a tech expo.

I am still having a great time teaching violin students and reading a good mystery now and then. I am the secretary of the PTO again this year and I am also in charge of organizing restaurant nights for our school. I will be playing my violin in two church functions over the next two months. I have put my ukulele classes on the back burner and haven't made it there for awhile - but I hope to get back in that soon.

As a family, we went camping in August and had a great time. Robert was a home teacher to a couple in our ward who were serving a mission for the summer at a girl's camp (Young Women), so we went there when no one else was there. It worked out quite well. That is pretty much what we have been up to for the last little while. Life is good :)

I just wanted to get a post in for September because I haven't updated in awhile, but I just noticed I haven't downloaded any pictures on to the computer since our time in Joseph. Once I get them downloaded I will post them.

Have a good day!

Our one and only time this summer at the baseball game

Sam, the horse whisperer

Evan having a great time at the slip and slide in Joseph

A bit blurry, but this is Michael at gymnastics

Molli's 9th birthday. I made a cupcake cake, didn't work too well, but it sure tasted good :)

We were the only ones at the splash park that day

Hyrum enjoying our camp fire at Darby

Michael taking on the big slide at Darby

Molli and Evan on the slide

Molli's first day of 4th (!) grade

Michael's first day of 2nd grade

Hannah's first day of first grade - don't worry, she did have shoes eventually

Our small bounty from our garden - pretty good since we didn't even plant potatoes this year

A short drive from our house

Evan sure loves his cereal - he wouldn't even let me take it away when he fell asleep

Hyrum had fun with my camera

Conference morning

Summer Fun 2011

Now that I have some more pictures to post, I can update my blog. We just got back from a 3.5 day family reunion to Joseph, UT. Affectionately known as "Joseph Smith", Utah by Molli.  She said that was the only way she could remember it :).

The kids were great travelers for the 7 or so hour drive one way and we only stopped once on the way down in Nephi and once on the way back in Filmore. They had a fun Christmas in July provided by Nana and Papa and we had a great time just being together.

There were 24 of us all together in an old renovated church that is now a vacation rental. There were six bedrooms, four bathrooms, a great size kitchen, and a game room that was very large. We were one house away from a park and we even got to go geo-caching and find some treasures.

The cousins waiting to go in the room for Christmas in July

Andrea and Evan

The Old Church

All 24 of us for a family picture

Molli and Jaycen - cousins

We also went to Cove Fort on our way out and enjoyed the tour around. Molli loved taking pictures of the things that reminded her of "Little House on the Prairie."

The day before we headed out on this adventure to Joseph, we all participated in the Iona Days 5k. Michael stayed ahead of the rest of us, then Robert came in with Evan and Hyrum, followed by me, Molli, and Hannah about ten minutes later. I was just glad we finished :).

Just before the 5K

Me, Molli, and Hannah finishing together

Just for fun - we got a message in our mailbox awhile back for the mail carrier who told us to get a new mailbox. Ours had been hit at least two times and was not really functional anymore, so we got a new one. Evan and Hyrum enjoyed playing "Robots" with the box :

It has been a great summer so far and life is good :)

Summer in Full Swing

I finally have a few minutes to catch up on this last day of June. Molli and Hannah have been in summer school for four days a week since school got out and today was their last day. This week the older three kids have been busy with a science camp and they have enjoyed that very much. Today is the last day of that as well. Michael has been taking gymnastics for a few weeks and I think he is having fun.  This weekend we will head down to Salt Lake for the 4th of July festivities down there. July will be less chaotic and slower as swimming lessons and family reunions will take up the majority of the month. 

We took a trip to the zoo at the end of May and it was still

cold enough to wear winter coats (or so the boys thought.)

Hannah had a great time with her dance class.

She is the line leader at their performance.

She was happy to have gotten a trophy.

We had a "girls night out" when Robert took the boys on a father/ son's outing.

The girls wanted matching pajamas. :)

I was in "The Sound of Music" orchestra pit for the past week and a half. I really do look forward to playing my violin for those. Molli and I did a musical number at church the other day. I accompanied Molli on the piano while she sang. She really did do a great job, I , on the other hand, really don't look forward to playing the piano in public.  Life is good :)

Spring Break in Utah

Not too much is going on these days. I was busy with Activity Day Girls for a while, but got released about a month ago. I have been in the Primary Presidency for 4 fabulous months, but got released from that a week later.  I went from having about four callings down to none in four months. Pretty impressive.

Lately, I have been having fun entering contests on facebook and actually won one for a free photo shoot in Salt Lake.  Good thing we went to Salt Lake about a week and a half ago to take advantage of this win, and for Spring Break. We got the pictures taken at Wheeler Farm and here are a few:

I think they turned out pretty cute and a big thanks to Kyra at KC Photography for her skill and patience with my five kids.

For Spring Break Robert got to go to Florida while the rest of us went to Salt Lake and Hyde Park, Utah. Iin Salt Lake, my mom and I went to a play with a friend - A Tale of Two Cities - at the Hale Theater. It was really good. The kids got to spend the night at Aunt Celeste's house with her dog Marty. We also got to take a tour of the Conference Center and Beehive House on Temple Square.

 The roof of the Conference Center

Inside the Conference Center

Another fun outing was to Tracy Aviary with Aunt Andrea, Nana, and "Aunt" Lindsay:

I have another cute picture from Tracy Aviary of Michael behind a peacock, but it is on my phone and I will transfer it some time.  Hyde Park was fun, too. The kids had fun with Grandma and Grandpa for a night while Robert and I headed to a hotel for the one night he was back from Florida and before he headed back to Idaho Falls.

Michael and Molli will start their soccer games next Saturday and Hannah has a dance recital in May. Life is good and Spring is finally almost here.