Halloween

April as a witch

  

Jessica as a super hero

  

Andrew as Batman

The Day She Didn't Look Back

My youngest started kindergarten this year and my emotional reaction has been pretty mild so far.  That first day another kid was screaming and clinging to his parents and I was so proud of my little independent Miss Jessica and her can-do attitude.  Then I tried to walk away.  I had to peek back into that classroom twice just to make sure she was still happy.  Then I had to walk home, all by myself, for the first time in something like 15 years.  I kept thinking about how my last child was off to be taught by the world and not by me.  She would come home that day knowing things I didn't offer her myself.  I felt a little bit sad but also proud of myself and my kids for making it through another one of the many challenges and trials of life.  I said a prayer of gratitude and went home to a very quiet house.
Today was the first time I dropped her off and she didn't look back and wave.
I waited for it.
I sat there in the car at the curb as she ran towards the building, down the sidewalk, past the big pine tree, up the short ramp and through the door.
No wave.  Not a single glance for me there in the car at the curb.  Ah, fickle youth.  More excited to head for her next adventure than pulled back towards the steadiness of the mom-comfort.  And a little string somewhere twanged as it broke, it may have been a heart-string but much more likely an apron-string, and I drove home to that very quiet house grateful that I've succeeded in raising an independent child and a little sad about it too.

Life Hack: Lost Camera ID photo

Life Hack: Take a picture of a return address label or card with your contact info so that if your camera gets misplaced it has a better chance of finding its way home.

Recentlysaw something on TV about a camera that had been found on a beach and how this couple was trying to ID the owners and I thought 'wouldn't it be nice if they just had their contact info on there along with their wedding and baby pictures?'

First Day of School 2015

Jessica - Kindergarten - Ms Koer

April - 3rd Grade - Ms Harp

Andrew - 1st Grade Chinese Immersion - Ms Booth and Ms Liang

Kylie - 6th Grade - Ms Wallace

Krista - Sophomore at Weber High

April's baptism

Very proud of my little girl.   

Nothing of significance

Currently, my life is a tale told in memes.

There's this one about my self-image:

and this one about my social life:

and this one about my relationship with my kids:

and this one about my life in general (note; I don't always get a shower but to date the kids are all alive):

So I'm a bit discouraged.  Also, apparently I'm spending too much time on Pinterest.
Okay, thanks, that's all.

Andrew - Kindergarten Graduate

Andrew and Ms Law

With his diploma

I asked him to stand in front of the A Parley Bates School sign, this was the pose he struck.

Mushroom and Spinach Pizza from Freschetta

These frozen pizzas were on sale for a little less than $4 at the grocery store the other day.  Bought three varieties, Hawaiian, pepperoni, and this spinach and mushroom one.  The pepperoni and Hawaiian were fine but the spinach and mushroom one exceeded all my expectations by being really good.  As soon as it started to bake the savory garlic smell was filling the whole kitchen.  We used a pizza pan so the crust came out perfectly (round pan, square pizza but it worked out with just a little of each corner  hanging off).  The garlic flavor was strong but stayed on the tasty side of strong flavor.  The mushrooms and spinach were a nice consistency that I wasn't expecting from frozen food.  It achieved the highest level of meal performance in my home = no complaints and no leftovers.  There were a few slices left of the pepperoni and Hawaiian.

I was so pleasantly surprised by this item that I'm giving them a shout out on my blog.

New Year new posting

So this time of year always gets me thinking about all the things I'm not getting done.  Ugh.  What's up with that?  Why can't the new year be about happy stuff?
Anyway, so I haven't kept up the blog very well.  Might have something to do with the five children, husband, house, church assignments, carpools, reading list, yard, extended family, etc.
I also didn't write a Christmas letter this year.  Same reasons as above.  I'm thinking maybe a nice Valentine's Day letter might be doable.  I'll have to get right on that...

Some of you might actually check on what I've posted lately (although don't worry if you're behind on reading your friend's blogs, so am I) so here are a few pictures and things:

Krista turned 14 on the 22nd of August.
She dances.
This shot is titled Dancing With Dinosaur.

Andrew's first day of Kindergarten was a week later than the other kid's first day of school.
 Yes, this picture is so much awesome.  Those abs with those legs... quite the thing.

Kylie turned 11 in September, those pictures must be on my husband's phone...

Have to run the kids to dance class now so I'll try to post again later.

Andrew turns 6

One of the things Andrew was looking forward to the most was being able to take a treat in to share with his Kindergarten class on his birthday.  He chose Ring Pops.  Love this happy, generous, smart, funny little guy!

Halloween 2014

Jessica - Elsa from Frozen

Andrew - Batman

Andrew - Indian (no masks at school so he wore this for the parade)

 April - BYU cheerleader

 Krista - robber

Kylie dressed up in one of her dance costumes and a red cape as Little Red Riding hood and looked gorgeous but didn't give me a chance to get a picture.

First Day of School

There should be an award for this awesomeness.

So we're driving home after Jessica's birthday dinner and I spot this piece of awesomeness on the car in front of us.

  I of course yell, "Squirrel!"

The reactions of my various children were priceless and thanks goes to Krista for snapping this pic with her phone.

Jessica Is 4!

This year, happiness is a Barbie with an ORANGE dress.

She wanted Mickey and Minnie on her cake.

Ogden Temple Open House Family Picture

Family Picture

We were asked to bring a family picture to church for the bulletin board.

I think we took a dozen or so.

This was one of the best.

You'll notice almost everyone is paying attention and smiling.

The kids are calling the fuzzy guy in the background "Fred".

Cartoonist Sighting

Cartoonist Cal Grondahl at the Hill Aerospace Museum.

He also has coloring pages at the Dinosaur Museum.

Very interesting man to talk to.

The North Ogden House

The Orem House

about moving from Orem, UT to North Ogden, UT

In April of 2014 we started getting serious about selling our house in Orem and buying a house in the Weber County area.  With the way Ogden and surrounding cities are growing we had A LOT of options for housing developments and houses for sale within easy driving distance of Eden, UT.  Eden itself had very few available places, the prices were much higher, and I'm just too much of a city girl to live in a semi-rural area (no matter how gorgeous it is over there).  We drove up a bunch of times, worked with the amazing Shauna Jensen and found a few houses we liked well enough to talk numbers on.  Then we put our house in Orem up for sale through the awesome James Crandall, who we had worked with a few times before and SURPRISE! we had a couple of offers in less than a week.  So, with Jared working crazy hours and pretty much living two hours away I took on the last couple of months of school, packing, cleaning, small repairs, and the other little bits of life required by my five kids, church, and community responsibilities.

Just a tad insane there for a while.

I have to admit I felt like the Orem house was in less than fantastic shape when we sold it.  Other people told me it was fine and it's just that after living there for ten years I was familiar with every carpet stain and chip in the paint.  Factoring in the cosmetic stuff and the new roof we had put on the year before, we arrived at a number that seemed fair for everyone.  It was less than the appraisal value but more than the appreciated value since we bought the place so I think everyone was happy.  I hope the new owners are the kind of people who enjoy redecorating.

The North Ogden house was high on my list and after Jared ran the numbers it was his first choice.  It's in a great school district, is about 15 years newer than the Orem house, is almost the same square footage, has a great view of the valley, and is only a fifteen minute drive from the ski resort.  We moved in June 1st, the day after school ended.  We closed on the North Ogden house, then a couple of weeks later, we signed over the Orem house.  Boy am I grateful the financial end of things all went so smoothly!

We were incredibly blessed to have lots of help from family and friends and to have one of my sisters working in a shipping department so I had access to an endless supply of used cardboard boxes in ideal shapes and sizes.
The new neighbors are just as wonderful as the old neighbors and we'll end up being blessed to know all of them.