Grannie's annual Gingerbread House Building Night

Grannie and Papa invited all the grandkids from around here to their apartment to build gingerbread houses. We did this every year growing up, so she's keeping the tradition alive for our kids. We all love it.
Building houses.
Grannie and Papa making the icing.


Grannie reading stories to the girl grandkids (needed a little entertaining).

Christmas 2009

Here are some pictures from Christmas. It was a wonderful and enjoyable time.
Our little "Angel" for the Nativity Play on Christmas Eve at Nana's house.
Half Angel, with Uncles and Great Gma.
The kids writing their note to Santa.
The note says, "Dear Santa, Thank you for coming to our house. The cookies are for you unless you're on a diet. In that case, feed them to the reindeer." (The carrot was supposed to be for the reindeer)
The kids on Christmas Eve and the traditional "Stocking Photo."
The kids opening the book that I made them to announce the arrival of their newest sibling. Yes, we are expecting and are due in July.
Our oldest was the most excited!
Christmas morning, the kids waiting to come see what Santa brought.
What Santa Brought... Legos for the Boys...

And "Pets in my pocket" for our girl (who LOVES animals).
Santa even brought dad a few things...
And mom a few things.
Ooooh, and an ipod!
A fun game.
Gifts from Nana and Papa...

The rest of the day was spent playing and having fun with family.

Trip to Overton

We went for a fun trip to Overton after Thanksgiving and had a great time. Thanks to one of our favorite Aunts and Uncles. It's always a fun time with them. Our little girl LOVES Auntie's animals (a little too much sometimes). And my husband and I had a great time going for a bike ride there too.

Halloween 2009

We had a fun Halloween. It wasn't too cold which was nice. And we had fun dressing up. I was the wicked witch of course, then we had a Dorothy, a mad scientist, and an Ewok. Thanks to dad for taking fun pictures in the field. What a good little actress Dorothy is. She's so darn cute.

Martial Arts (Kyukido) Belt Graduations

The boys both moved up a belt in Kyukido in the Fall. It's been a wonderful sport/hobby for them. We love how it develops the mind, the body, and their spirits.

Disneyland September 2009

We were able to go to Disneyland for a whole week at the end of September 2009 (it was the kids' first time there). It was a wonderful family vacation and a wonderful time of year to go. We wore everyone out, but all had a great time.

First Day of School...At a NEW School

Our kid's first day of school was more traumatic than it was anticipated to be. Here's why....

Last Spring we checked into the charter schools in the area because we felt our kids were missing out on some vital parts to their education in the traditional public school here. We preferred that our kids didn't miss out on instruction in the arts (art class & music classes) which have been stripped from public schools here. We also desired the opportunity for them to have leveled reading, spelling and math classes (where they are taught according to what level they are on and not according to what grade they are in). And finally, we are a fan of school uniforms (especially for those middle school years). We found a charter school (K-8) in the neighboring town (10-15 min drive) which had great scores on testing and all the things we felt our kids were missing out on. We talked to the kids and they agreed that they'd like to go there. We tried to get in, but ended up being put on a waiting list. Well, the Monday night before school started (on Wednesday), we got an email saying that all 3 of our kids had gotten into the charter school off the waiting list. We prayed about whether or not to go ahead and make the change because we knew this would be quite the upheaval...because it was not what we were expecting to do and it was such short notice. We felt it was the right thing even though it'd be hard for a bit. So we broke the news to our kids over pancakes the day before school began. There were quite a few tears and fits from our oldest, who's going into 6th grade, and our middle child was slightly worried about it. Our youngest didn't really care because she was only beginning school in kindergarten. We had to rush out and find school uniforms that day and go to the new school and meet teachers etc. Many prayers and a lot of tears later, the first day of school arrived and the kids were sent off. They each had an alright first day, but our oldest broke down in tears again that night. We kept praying and our prayers were answered...the kids are now adjusting and even enjoying the new school. Our oldest is still having a hard time with certain things, but he loves his band class (he chose to play the baritone after many tears and fits about having to be in a music class). We see improvements each day and just pray that they can adjust and thrive quickly.

We haven't downloaded the good individual pictures we took at the house that morning yet. But here's one in front of the school sign. Mr. Frown had a smile on his face until we got to the school. Poor kid. He's moved schools 4 times in 6 grades.

Taking our kindergartner out to her favorite restaurant after her first day at school. It was nice to have one happy child in all of this.