Sunday, November 27, 2016

     I like Thanksgiving because we are blessed to have a healthy and happy family.  We had the opportunity to spend the holiday in Las Vegas with other family members.  I was able to see my sisters Roxanne, Mimi, and Tarra.  We had Thanksgiving at the Suncoast buffet.  I enjoyed a big salad with mashed potatoes and gravy along with a few a bites of many desserts.  We also enjoyed some swimming and watched the movie "Moana."  It was a cute movie.  I really like the music.  It gets stuck into my head....."Shiny" and "You're Welcome."  Every so often our family just starts singing random lines from these songs.  Xadia gets upset for some reason when these songs are sung.  She covers her ears and starts to whine.  

 

      Teagan made a turkey hat and a beaded necklace at pre-school.  He was so excited to show me.  I had to take a picture to capture his enthusiasm and fine art work.

Black Belt Testing

        I am so proud of McCabe.  After 4 years of tae kwon do, he has earned his black belt.  It took about 3.5 hours of exercises; kicking, punching, sit-ups, push-ups, running, forms, sparring, and board breaking.     He also had to complete a 3 page exam.  I am so glad he stayed with it.

Sunday, October 30, 2016

        It is Sunday morning and if you take a snapshot of our household this is what you would find.  Tim, Sasha, and Jacinda blogging (i.e. typing in their journals).  McCabe making brownies.  Xadia and Teagan using fake money to buy fishing lures from each other.  Never a dull  moment in our house.
         Halloween is tomorrow!  The kids dressed up in their costumes and had a parade at school.  Jacinda and McCabe made their costumes.  Jacinda is a candy girl and McCabe a vending machine.  Xadia is queen Elsa from frozen.  Teagan is spiderman.  I have a spiderman costume for Teagan but he does not want to wear it.  Instead, he wears his spiderman jacket because it has a hood that covers part of his face so he looks like spiderman.

Xadia's first grade class, Mrs. Buttars.  Xadia is on the second to last row. 

        I had the opportunity to listen to Teagan's pre-school class sing some halloween songs.  It was so fun to watch and listen to all the kids.  They did a stellar job.  I recorded it as a memory.  I know my kids will enjoy it in the years to come.

        Tim and I enjoyed a weekend get away....all thanks to grandma Margaret for watching the children.  We took a quick trip to Wendover to watch Gabriel "Fluffy" Iglasias.  He is a funny and clean comedian, unfortunately his opening act and friend Martin was just the opposite.  We had a good time.  No we did not gamble.  We are not that type of folk but it was interesting to see those who do gamble.  They did not look like they were having a good time.  In fact I overheard a conversation as I was waiting in line to be seated for breakfast that one gentleman kept falling asleep at the slot machine.  Security had come by 3 times to wake him.  He had a room but chose to sleep by the slot machine.

Sunday, October 23, 2016

                I was able to go to my high school reunion on Oct. 15^th.  It was outstanding.  So many great people.  Everyone was so nice and easy to talk to.  I had the great opportunity to take lots of pictures and make a movie.  I tried really hard to pictures of everyone.  My fellow Vikings have turned out to be amazing people.  I just loved the evening.  I was so busy talking and taking pictures that I did not get to eat dinner and I lost my voice the next day.  In the end, it was all worth it.

                Jacinda is exceling in school.  She got a 100% on her spelling test.  I am so proud of her.  She is going to do great things in life.  At the moment, she likes Studio C, Minecraft, and listening to audio books.  She recently signed up for the school choir and I think she is planning to do the school play.

                McCabe is doing great in school.  He does well in whatever he tries.  He recently earned his black belt in tae kwon do.  He loves fishing, the book series “Diary of a Wimpy Kid,” and treats.  He asks me every day after school if he could get a treat from the freezer.  McCabe is also doing a great job helping on our “project” trailer.  Yesterday he helped with the roof, sanding the cabinets, and vacuuming the inside.  We have a lot of work ahead but we are getting a good start.

                Xadia loves first grade.  She is reading and helping a lot in the classroom.  I like to see her when I take Teagan to school.  It is also fun to eat lunch with her.  Xadia likes Minecraft, Roblox, and coloring.   She is a great helper at home.  When I ask her to do a chore, she is willing to help.  She is also starting piano. 

                Teagan is my buddy.  We spend a lot of time together.  He goes to pre-school twice a week.  He likes to bring the letter of the week to school.  When he does not participate, he gets very angry.  Last week I did not have him take anything for the letter ‘E’ and he gave me an earful of crying.  Teagan likes his kindle, Sheriff Callie’s Wild West, and reading “The Kissing Hand” and “My Little T book.”

                We have a lot of fun together.  I love my kids and enjoy being their momma.

Grandma's Quilt and my Wall Hanging Oct. 2016

My grandma (Meta) Blackham was an avid quilter.  She always made blankets and quilts for family members.  Grandma created the most beautiful quilts and always sewed by hand.  She watched a lot of M*A*S*H and Murder She Wrote as she worked on the individual quilting blocks.  As a little girl, I would ask her to put her quilts on display in the Mormon Handi-craft windows.  But she said her quilts were not good enough and she would rather give them to family.

As I got older, my grandma taught me about sewing.  One day she showed me a pattern of a Sun Bonnet Sue.  I was intrigued and she encouraged me to make one.  So I started with the green Sun Bonnet Sue and then I got an idea to make one for each of the young women’s values to fulfill one of my YW requirements.  Twenty-four years ago there were only 7 values because virtue had not been added yet.

Seven years later, in 1999, my grandma surprised me with a beautiful Sun Bonnet Sue quilt for a wedding gift.  My grandma spent more time on this quilt than on any other.  It is an honor to have this quilt and I cherish it so much.  I lost my grandma in 2004, but a little piece of her still resides in my home with this beautiful quilt. 

Sunday, October 2, 2016

     Teagan is becoming quite a good swimmer.  We went to the rec. center this past week and he jumped of the high and low diving boards for the first time and also did the wibbit obstacle course. I am pleased that he is able to do that by himself but it worries me that he might think that he now does not need mom or dad to watch him swim.  Oh the joys of kids growing.

      We got to go to a Bee's game for Tim's work.  While getting our tickets we saw Ronald McDonald.  We could not pass up getting a picture with him.  When Ronald saw Tim/Waldo he said, "hey we shop at the same shirt store."  Tim was a big hit at the game.  So many people kept saying, "there's Waldo."  It was fun to see how many people smiled as Tim walked by them.  I think I married a pretty great guy.

       School has started and the kids are loving it.  Jacinda is in 6th grade and has Mrs. Wiedman.  McCabe is in 4th grade and has Mrs. Peterson.  Xadia is in 1st grade and has Mrs. Buttars.  Teagan is in Pre-school and has Mrs. Chris and Ms. Amy.  The weather has been beautiful and as a result the kids get to walk to school.  I am pleased at how well they are doing in their classes.  Xadia is reading and Jacinda is doing so well at spelling.  McCabe is also excelling in math.  I get to do 1st grade again for the 4th time.  

      McCabe has been taking an interest in cooking.  In this picture he is making fudge.  He is learning that some treats take time and patience.  We had to use the candy thermometer to make sure it reaches the right temperature before we could add the chocolate and the butter.  The batch turned out fantastic and for the next week he kept begging me for a piece of fudge each day he got home from school. 

      Here we are at the annual Tech Trek to raise money for the kid's school.  They got to run laps.  Xadia ran 27 laps, McCabe 32, and Jacinda 13.  I am so proud at how well they did.  Jacinda also worked at the snow cone station with her friend Brooklyn Thompson.  I also did some laps and got to enter my name into a drawing.  I won one of the prizes, a free massage.  I will be using that gift certificate some time in the very near future.

Sunday, October 2, 2016

     Teagan is becoming quite a good swimmer.  We went to the rec. center this past week and he jumped of the high and low diving boards for the first time and also did the wibbit obstacle course. I am pleased that he is able to do that by himself but it worries me that he might think that he now does not need mom or dad to watch him swim.  Oh the joys of kids growing.

      We got to go to a Bee's game for Tim's work.  While getting our tickets we saw Ronald McDonald.  We could not pass up getting a picture with him.  When Ronald saw Tim/Waldo he said, "hey we shop at the same shirt store."  Tim was a big hit at the game.  So many people kept saying, "there's Waldo."  It was fun to see how many people smiled as Tim walked by them.  I think I married a pretty great guy.

       School has started and the kids are loving it.  Jacinda is in 6th grade and has Mrs. Wiedman.  McCabe is in 4th grade and has Mrs. Peterson.  Xadia is in 1st grade and has Mrs. Buttars.  Teagan is in Pre-school and has Mrs. Chris and Ms. Amy.  The weather has been beautiful and as a result the kids get to walk to school.  I am pleased at how well they are doing in their classes.  Xadia is reading and Jacinda is doing so well at spelling.  McCabe is also excelling in math.  I get to do 1st grade again for the 4th time.  

      McCabe has been taking an interest in cooking.  In this picture he is making fudge.  He is learning that some treats take time and patience.  We had to use the candy thermometer to make sure it reaches the right temperature before we could add the chocolate and the butter.  The batch turned out fantastic and for the next week he kept begging me for a piece of fudge each day he got home from school. 

      Here we are at the annual Tech Trek to raise money for the kid's school.  They got to run laps.  Xadia ran 27 laps, McCabe 32, and Jacinda 13.  I am so proud at how well they did.  Jacinda also worked at the snow cone station with her friend Brooklyn Thompson.  I also did some laps and got to enter my name into a drawing.  I won one of the prizes, a free massage.  I will be using that gift certificate some time in the very near future.

Sunday, August 28, 2016

     We had a blast on our family vacation.  The weather was so hot.  We stopped in Calico Ghost Town and walked through the shops.  It was fun to see the old furniture and clothing from long ago.  On our way to California, there was an accident on the freeway so we stopped in Baker to visit an alien tourist attraction.  It was 118 degrees in Baker.  I thought I was going to melt on the asphalt just walking into the store.  Disneyland was only 92 degrees and we did not complain one bit about it being hot.  Not after being in Baker and practically melting after getting out of the car. It was Teagan's first time to Disneyland and he loved Pirates of the Caribbean and Thunder Mountain.  Below is a video of our fun at Disneyland and California Adventure.

     After Disneyland, we then camped at Doheny State Beach with the cousins.  I was diligent to keep the sunblock on the kids and re-applied it many times, however, Jacinda and McCabe still got burned.  We had a great time boogie boarding and swimming in the surf.  There was so much seaweed in the ocean.  Every time you get out of the water, you look like some sort of seaweed creature. I made a video of our vacation.  It sums up what we did at the beach.

     School has started and it is going great.  McCabe came home the first day with a headache from everything that is expected of a 4th grader.  A few days later, he has adapted well.  Xadia is loving her first grade class.  She thinks it is so cool that her teacher has the same name as her mom.  Jacinda cracks me up.  She complained a few days before school that none of her friends were in her class.  That soon changed after the first day.  She was so happy to see Harry and Aiden and other fellow friends in her class.  Teagan is ready to start school like his older siblings, unfortunately he has to wait until Sept. 7th.  For the time being, he likes to watch Clarence, Steven's Universe, or minecraft videos.  I will miss my babies when they are all in school.  Thank goodness I get to volunteer in the classroom so I can still get my fill.  I love how big my babies are getting.

Sunday, July 10, 2016

              I love being a mom.  My kids say the funniest things.  Xadia lost one of her canine teeth.  The tooth fairy left her a dollar.  When I asked what she got from the tooth fairy she said, “a dollar and that is not very much.”  I laughed and asked her what she thought she should have got for losing a tooth?  She did not respond.  

                Xadia has become quite the little swimmer.  She is taking swimming lessons with kids a whole head taller than her.  She keeps up with them.  Her form is great and sometimes she is first to swim across the pool.  I took a little movie of her swimming.  You can view it below.  This makes me so happy to see Xadia able to swim.  I always think back to July of 2012 when she almost drowned and we had to revive her and then take her to the hospital.  I am so thankful that she can swim now with confidence.

                Teagan is also taking swimming lessons.  He is having a great time.  He so badly wants to swim on his own and he can for about 3 strokes and then he needs help.  He is itching to jump off the diving board at the rec. center.  Unfortunately he has to be able to swim to the side of the pool by himself.  He is not there yet.  The outfit he is wearing in the picture is what he wears everyday for a week straight.  He is so funny.  He loves his swim trunks and shirt.

                Teagan has also discovered scissors and hair.  He decided to cut his hair.  There are patches of hair on the bathroom floor and little patches on Teagan’s head.  He will get a haircut very soon. 

                McCabe loves to do lemonade stands with Caden and Teagan.  They make some good money so he buy fishing gear.  McCabe is big into fishing.  Every chance he gets he wants to go fishing.  Tim took him and Teagan on an overnight camping trip and they had a great time.  They caught fish and ate doritos and top ramen.  On the way home they stopped and slurpees.  Life was so good for these boys.

                Jacinda, myself, and Xadia had a girls night out.  We went to the library, had our nails done, and then ate at Texas Roadhouse.  Xadia found a huge peanut.  I though for sure there were 3 nuts inside.  Turns out there were only 2 fat ones.  It was a fun night.  I love being with my girls.  They are so special to me.

Sunday, June 19, 2016

      Happy Father's day to all those great fathers.  We kicked off the day with Tim's favorite breakfast, biscuits and gravy, sausage, hashbrowns, eggs, and orange juice.  Then we gave him the cards we made and showed him a movie stating reasons why we love him.  We went to church and Tim shared his mindy mint chocolate gift with me.  After church, we came home and had dinner with grandma Margaret Osmond.  We had chicken enchilada casserole, strawberry pretzel jello, cantaloupe, salad, and Spanish rice.  It was really yummy.
       On this special day, we are also celebrating our 17th wedding anniversary. We jumped on the tramp with the kids and then walked around the temple and ate orange cream popsicles.  To end the day, we laid on the tramp listening to scripture stories and spiritual music.  Teagan and Xadia fell asleep.  Tim and I carried them in the house.  Now we get to retire to our bed.  It has been a wonderful day.  Below is the movie dedicated to Tim.

Sunday, June 6, 2016

     The last week of school was very busy filled with award ceremonies, presentations, and field trips.  Xadia, Teagan, and I went on the kindergarten field trip to Rocket Park.  The kids played for an hour or two and then walked back to the school and had a snow cone.  It was the best day ever.

     McCabe had a field trip to Lagoon's Pioneer Village.  I was able to join him and some of his friends.  All I can say is that 9-year-old boys are silly and busy.  They kept calling the peacocks, "super pigeons."  They also wanted to play on every piece of grass.  It was a beautiful day.  I always enjoy going to Pioneer Village because it is so fascinating how technology and inventions have evolved.

      Jacinda presented the decade of 1900-1909 at decade days.  She and her group did a great job.  They had to present about people, inventions, and life during that time.  They also had to dress from that time period.  Jacinda looked awesome.  We had a good time making her hat.

     It is official, school is out.  We celebrated with an outdoor movie night with about 60 children.  We had popcorn, candy, and the Peanut's Movie.  The movie was really cute.  I love how it stayed true to the original antics of the Peanut's characters.  It was very enjoyable.
     Last week we took a get away for Memorial Day.  Of all the places, we went to Wendover.  It was my first time being there and probably my last.  There is not a lot happening there.  We had a great time though.  We stayed at a hotel, went swimming in the murky pool, ate a ton of curly fries, and stood in 2 states at once.  We also enjoyed some fishing and swimming at Blue Lake.  I think the part the kids loved the most was stopping at gas stations and getting a soda and a snack.  It was a jammed pack weekend that was a lot of fun.

Xadia graduating from Kindergarten. 

Sunday, May 15, 2016

      I love Mother's day.  It is a time to celebrate all women.  I was able to have my family support me at the care facility as I lead the music.  I love going to South Davis Hospital.  There are some very special spirits there.  My family helped sing the songs that we dedicated to mothers everywhere.
      I got some fun presents from my family.  Homemade cards, chocolate dipped strawberries, flowers, and a homemade flower were some of the gifts.  I loved all of them.  I especially loved the breakfast the kids made, pancakes, sausage, eggs, and orange juice.  It was nice to have a break from cooking but I was ready to make dinner.

      Over the weekend, we (my family and bear scouts) went to the bird festival.  It was very fun.  We made some bird houses and bird crafts.  I have never seen so many bent nails.  It was good practice for those scouts to learn how to hammer a nail and how to read instructions.  Some boys rushed through and neglected the directions.  As a result, their roof was lopsided.  Oh well at least they had fun.  We also got to see some really cool birds like the screeching owl, horned owl, eagle, raptor, hawk, etc... After the bird festival we went home and put in a sprinkler system for the trees we planted last week.  What was supposed to take 1 hour took 4 hours.  I don't know why Mr. Tim always under estimates projects.  No problem, after 1.5 hours I went in and took a nap.

      Today we painted the bird houses and the kids were doing so good until the very last color.  Teagan spilled the white all over in the craft room.  I had to work fast to clean it from the rug, floor, wall, and easel.  I could not get too mad because, hey, it was the craft room and that is what it is used for.
     Jacinda made a cake today and she did not follow the directions.  It was a bust.  It was definitely a weekend about learning the importance of directions.  I had to throw out the cake, but her icing was great.  I used it for icing on the peanut butter fingers.  That was our treat tonight after walking around the temple.

Sunday, May 1, 2016

     It has been a while since my last post and so much has happened.  Over the weekend we helped Ricky Lane and family move to Lehi.  I am sad to see them go.  Nastya, the daughter moved here a year ago from Russia with her mom.  She has learned so much English and developed a great friendship with Jacinda.  Two weeks ago our family along with the missionaries spent 2 hours picking up trash in the parking lot by the "B."  After wards we took pictures and had a hot dog roast.  I was able to put together a slide show.  It was really great serving with the missionaries.

     The other day Teagan told me he wanted his top bunk bed on the floor.  I asked him why he did not want to sleep on the top anymore and he said because he wants to jump on his bed.  That gave me a good laugh.  I had to remind him that a trampoline is for jumping not a bed.  Teagan likes to play on my ipad but guess on this particular day he had enough.  I went to find him and he was asleep next to my ipad.  The ipad was still playing minecraft videos.

      Tuesday night was the pinewood derby.  McCabe did not place but his car did great.  His car won the "most unique" award.  The boys got crazy with the graphite, after each run they would fill their cars whit graphite.  By the time the race was over, the boys' hands and faces were covered in graphite.  It was great.

      Xadia had her kindergarten program this last week.  She, along with other classmates sang songs and performed some dancing.  I tried to record it but I was too far in the back so I settled for a photo with her teacher, Mrs. Holbrook.  I am very proud of how much she is growing academically and socially.

      McCabe is loving pokemon.  He is constantly trading his cards with his friends.  He also loves finding crystals in the backyard.  At the moment he is trying to earn money to buy fish.  He rubs Tim's feet and Tim pays him after he wakes up the next day.  Tim always falls asleep when you rub his feet.
      Jacinda now has a clean room.  I spent a good hour in a half going through items and throwing out wrappers, old papers, and broken toys.  It was nice to help her get organized.  I usually don't clean her room but it was time for a cleaning while she was at school so that I could get rid of things without her knowing.  I think she will understand when she is a mom.

      I was driving by Taco Time and I saw this funny sign.  I had to pull over and snap a picture.  I found this very humorous and it put a smile on my face.

"Now hiring fish taco, shrimp burrito."

Sunday, April 10, 2016

       We had such a fun weekend.  Saturday we helped Marty Ehman move some furniture and then went to Lake Mantua.  We had a great time fishing and catching crawdads.  We looked at shells on the beach and enjoyed a little walk.  The weather was beautiful.  After the lake, we went to the Logan temple and walked the perimeter.  There were so many tulips getting ready to bloom.  The temple will be so beautiful with tons of colorful blooming flowers within the next few weeks.  After the temple we headed to the USU creamery.  Tim was so nice.  He let everyone get a double scoop waffle cone.  The popular choice of flavor among the kids was Aggie Mint Blue.  I enjoyed a scoop of mint fudge.  Tim enjoyed pralines and cream and maple nut.  The ice cream was so yummy.  It brought back great memories of when I was a student there.
     With our tummies full, we headed a few blocks north to the cemetery.  We found Tim's great great grandfather's grave; Henry Ballard.  We sat at the site and Tim told us the story of how Henry's daughter gave him a newspaper printed only 3 days earlier in England.  His daughter said that 2 people gave her the paper and told her to give it to her dad.  Henry, who was a bishop, went to the temple president and showed him the paper along with telling him about what his daughter said.  The mysterious thing is that it took months for items to travel from England to the U.S. back in the 1800's.  The newspaper contained many names and dates of Henry's ancestors.  The temple president told Henry that there are some people on the other side waiting for their temple work to be done.  We then walked back to our car, but along the way I was looking for the oldest person.  It was actually a Ballard who was born in 1799.
     On our way home we stopped by a sporting good store and bought a 15 foot trampoline.  The kids were ecstatic.  I am surprised it only took us an hour to set it up.  The kids love it.  It is wearing out Teagan.  Today at church, he ended up sleeping during the last few minutes of his class and all through Relief Society.
     I made a video of our weekend.  These are some good memories.

Monday, March 28, 2016

      I love that spring is here.  We are having weird weather.  One day it will be warm and sunny in the fifties and then the next day we get snow.  The snow is gone in 2 days but it is such a tease.  It is common for Utah to receive its last snow fall around April 8th.  Knowing this I won't get my hopes up for beautiful weather.
      The kids are out on spring break.  Saturday and Sunday was beautiful weather and we enjoyed it.  We went to the Johnson's house for the Egg Olympics and Sunday we took a family bike ride.  I am so impressed with Xadia.  She learned how to ride a bike within minutes.  I did not have enough time to put the banana bread in the oven and she came running in and said, "I did it.  Come watch me."  Sure enough she was riding without training wheels.  We took a family bike ride on the Onion Parkway Trail.  It was so much fun.

Movie from the Egg Olympics

Monday, March 21, 2016

Campfire season is here.  This is one of our favorite past times.  We like to sit by the fire and watch the sunset.  The kids also like to roast hot dogs and marshmallows.  I always end up with smokey laundry to wash. Teagan gets super excited about campfires.

McCabe is into a rock finding phase.  He tries to find ones with crystals or fossils.  He likes to search the mountain with Caden to find his rock treasures.  Just the other day he was so into finding rocks that he missed dinner.  We tried calling and searching for him but we did not find him.  Finally he came home thirty minutes late.

Yesterday was a cake baking day for the kids.  McCabe and Jacinda both wanted to make cakes and so they did.  The kitchen barely stayed cleaned.  Thank goodness Tim was keeping up with dish duty.

The weather has turned nice and so we are doing lots of chalk drawings on the driveway.  Xadia and I made pictures of bunny rabbits and Easter eggs.  Teagan was busy drawing super long lines that went from the driveway to the sidewalk.   

Yesterday we got to attend the Provo temple dedication.  Only kids 8 and older could witness the dedication.  Many thanks to the McPheters for watching Teagan and Xadia.  It was a beautiful dedication.  I am very grateful for temples.

            These are our friends that we invited to the campfire because campfires are always better with friends.  By the way, I do not know why McCabe is posing that way.  It must be a 9 year old thing.

Sunday, March 20, 2016

       I got to watch Jacinda perform in Fiddler on the Roof.  She did a great job.  I put together a movie.  I hope you enjoy it.

Sunday, March 6, 2016

Feb. 29th was birthday tables for February's birthday children at school.  McCabe wanted to have some Little Caesar pizza and crazy bread.  So happy birthday McCabe.  I hope you enjoyed your lunch with your family and J.D.  We loved visiting you. 

 The first week of March is when the school celebrates Dr. Seuss.  Teagan made a cat in the hat hat.  He refused to put it on his head.  So I had him pose with the hat.  That white line in his mouth is from a lollipop.  He was most excited for that piece of candy.

This little note makes me giggle in the best way.  Our family likes to watch veggie tales.  There is a song about a belly button that get stuck in our childrens' heads.  As I walked by the counter one evening, I saw that McCabe had written on some paper.  When I read the words I had to take a picture.  The words say, "Baby, I know your eyes see rite thro mine and...." These are part of the words to the belly button song.  He is awesome.  I have included the video of the song below.  Enjoy!

Sunday, February 28, 2016

February has come to an end and it has been a fast month.  Currently Jacinda is sick and my heart breaks seeing her vomit and so miserable.  Tomorrow we go to the doctors.  It has been two days and she is still not getting better.  I am going to do all I can to help her get better.

I am so proud of Jacinda and her spelling.  She did so great on this past test.  We spent about two hours studying during the week and it paid off.  I finally found a way where she can remember the words.  She needs to apply them to a picture.  She is a visual learner just like her momma.  We are also getting ready for Fiddler on the Roof.  Jacinda is in the school play and it has been so fun to watch her excitement fly.  I got the opportunity to make the wedding veil and sew three jackets that look like something Abraham Lincoln would wear.  I am very excited to see the play.

McCabe is hard at play.  He likes to play with his friends J.D. and Caden.  He just had a sleep over with J.D. and he was busted staying up late playing the X-box.  McCabe loves his electronics.  He also learned about the importance of completing a book report before playing with friends.  I love using homework as leverage for fun things.

Xadia is doing so well with her sight words.  She still has some trouble with “want, what, and this,” but she gets the other 20 sight words just fine.  She is doing well at reading and this summer we will continue to work on it.  Xadia loves to play Roblox and Minecraft.  She does tae kwon do and complains every time I tell her to put on her uniform because she wants to stay home and play on her computer.  However, after tae kwon do she is all smiles and so happy she went. 

Teagan is getting to be such a big boy.  At the moment he is sitting next to me watching the news.  He is not sleepy because he had a 2.5 hour nap today at church.  I asked him what I should type in my blog about him and he said, “McDonalds get a shake.  Build a sand castle.  Go camping at the beach with Soli, Lance, and Kade.”  These are things that he wants to do.  Teagan is enjoying pre-school.  Each week the school highlights a letter of the week.  We like to talk about the letter and come up with things to bring to show the class.  This week is the letter ‘R.’  He wants to bring a rainbow or a race car.  I love how cute he is.  He gets very excited over small things and his eyebrow nearly fall off his forehead.

As far as Tim and I go, we are just getting old.  It is 9:30 pm and we are ready to go to sleep.

Sunday, February 14, 2016

My kitchen helpers.  I made cinnamon rolls and Xadia requested blue frosting.  I have to admit it is not the most appetizing color but hey I guess I can bend every once in a while.  Xadia and Teagan were there to help lick the beaters.  Xadia is sticking out her tongue to showcase the bright blue color.

  Happy Valentine's day.  We made pancakes for breakfast.  Xadia and Teagan each got a spatula and helped flipped them.  There were only 3 pancake casualties.  After breakfast, mom and dad gave each child a big chocolate mint heart from Mrs. Cavanaugh's chocolates.  Jacinda kept asking for it all morning.  In the afternoon we went to stake conference.  It was very delightful.  Dinner was sweet pork burritos.  It was super yummy.

     February is McCabe's birthday month and he had a super birthday party.  We played the question answer game and the saran wrap candy bar game.  We also had pizza, cake, and ice cream and watched Hotel Transylvania 2.  He had about 15 friends at his party and it was crazy.  I was so glad when it was over.  It is too hard to entertain a group that big.  We had about 4 kids who wanted to do their own thing.  This means less people next year for his party.