Literacy Day

Just so you all know, I'll be presenting (about illustrating children's books) at the Spanish Fork City Library's Literacy Day on Saturday, February 28th from 2-4pm. It's on Spanish Fork Main Street and Center. Come on by!

Valentine's Day Adventure

At dinner last night, I asked the kids if they wanted to go climbing. They were a little apprehensive at first, but all finally relented. I got Julie and A to come along as well and we made it a family adventure. The boys didn't quite trust the equipment at first, but by the time we left J was able to get to the top with no fear. S did well; I look forward to taking him more in the future. His light frame will be great for climbing. Julie climbed a few walls and even A did a little bouldering. And yes, even fatty got in on the action thanks to an auto belay device. I've included a few pictures. If you want to see them all go here and use the password "OlsonFamily".

Belt Graduation

Our oldest son graduated up another level in his Martial Arts training (Kyukido- combination of Taekwondo, Judo, and JiuJitsu). Here he is receiving the new belt. Next up, Green belt, in just a few months.

A LIttle Press for my first book

If iyou already read this on my professional blog, sorry. But read on if you didn't see this there.

So, after nearly 8 years on the market, the first picture book I illustrated got some major TV publicity just last week. Our local morning TV talkshow featured it for a few seconds. If you skip ahead to the 3 minute 11 second mark, you can see the little blurb. I didn't see the show that day, but plenty of friend have told me about it. So I had to share! (too bad they don't mention the illustrator...oh well, this will sell books anyway). You have to wait through the short commercial first though.

Or you can go here to see and read about it...

VIDEO PRESS

Science Fair and Temple Open House

We've been busy this past month. But we've enjoyed the adventure. Our oldest son participated in his second science fair and won an honorable mention (which he was proud of). He tested whether or not the color of water would have an effect on the evaporation rate. Conclusion...In a controlled heat environment (microwave) NO. In sunlight, YES, the darker colors evaporated faster due to their absorption of the sun's light rays.

We also were able to attend the Draper Temple Open house. It was absolutely beautiful and it was so special to have the kids in the temple with us. Someday we hope to all be there together again. What a great opportunity for us to share. I hope it inspired them all to live worthy to enter it again one day.

Temperature Inversion...Yuck

For the last 3 days (and probably the next 3) we've been in an infamous Utah temperature inversion. The warmer air traps the colder air down in the valleys and along with it...smog. It's been pretty unhealthy for anyone to be outside. This is what it looked like this morning. Now, this isn't all pollution of course but during the day, the haze barely lifts and you see a brownish fog blanketing the valley (especially if you drive up above it and look down). Our oldest I think is suffering the effects of the air quality. He has asthma and a lot of allergies to outdoor things. I allowed him to go sledding yesterday and he was out for about 2 hours. I think that was a bad idea. Today he's coughing and not doing so well. So even though I'm sick of snow, I'm praying for a storm to come through to clear the air.

Happy 5th Birthday

Our youngest asked for a "High School Musical" Birthday party. It turned out great. And she loved it! We made pom-pons and pennants, played memory game with the HSM characters, and High School Musical Chairs. I can't believe our baby is 5.