Last Day of School

Today is Laurel and Lindsay's last day of school. I am happy to announce that they both passed and will be promoted to the next grade. They work really hard at school and we are proud of them. Laurel brought home a folder/portfolio of her work since the beginning of second grade. I was reading some of her assignments and was amazed to find one about me as a medical transcriptionist. It was done in the first, second, third, etc., format. She started with, "First, she had worked for a company for a long time and then she got fired." (Not true, I left because they did away with independent contractors and wanted a lot more hours than I could do)

Her next point was, "Second, she got a new job but she quit because she could not understand." (I actually resigned because I had to work a set schedule of at least 4 hours straight and this did not work well with my 4 kids. However, I had often complained about how hard it was to understand the dictators who had thick accents.)

Her next two sentences are, "Third she has gotten a better job. Fourth, now she is happy with her job because she can understand better." (Of course she meant that I can understand the dictators I have now better because they all speak English without an accent).

I have to wonder now if her teacher thinks I am not very bright and do a crummy job as a transcriptionist. Oh well, the school year is over today and I cannot do any explaining to redeem myself! I can't complain because Laurel does a really good job with writing and she told the truth as she understood it.

More Clogging Videos

Here's the mamma with the two dancing girls. They worked super hard to get ready for this competition. Their teacher told me on Thursday that they are doing really well. I am just glad they enjoy it and are getting some good exercise. I love my little girls. They are the bestest (as Jonathan says).
Here are the boys doing their favorite activity, waiting. Really, they hate the waiting, but they are pretty good sports, and we try to bring enough snacks to keep them happy.

The day of the girls clogging competition was also our 11 year wedding anniversary. Don't we look like the happiest married couple you have ever met? Sorry about the sarcasm it is just that kind of morning. I thought our anniversary would be just a regular day of attending a competition and then coming home to all be together. Michael made reservations at a nice restaurant where I really wanted to go. The food was delicious and we had a great time talking without any interruptions from little ones.

Finally, just two more videos from the clogging competition. The second video is a little shaky, but Evan was on Michael's lap and trying to grab the camera.

Clogging Competition Freestyling

The girls had another competition last weekend at Taylorsville High School near Salt Lake. This time they tried something new. The did freestyling. This requires the dancer to put together clogging steps and perform them for a few minutes alone. They stand in a line and are called up one by one to perform their dance. Until now we had avoided this one because it was terrifying to the girls. When they first started clogging a year ago, they could maybe do one step or two and run back. As you can see from the videos they did very well. Some kids just froze, but they both dance the whole time. They each earned a first placed for their freestyle dance. I will do another post later with some of their solo dances. I am amazed at their coordination. I am not sure my coordination has even been this good.

Easter Sunday

Alright, I admit it, I am trying to catch up. I realized last night while looking at our blog that I have not posted in over a month. After two colds for me and most of the kids, I am hoping the warm weather is here to stay and we can keep away from colds. However, the prospect of a pandemic and staying in the house for an extended period of time does not excite me at all. I guess time will tell what happens and what lengths we will have to go to in order to protect our loved ones. I find it difficult to send Michael to work and the kids to school even at this stage.


On a happier note, Easter Sunday actually cleared up enough to be a beautiful day. The kids looked great in their Easter clothes and were so excited by their gifts from the Easter bunny and getting to hunt for the treats inside the house this year. For me Easter was a great time to remember the Savior and be grateful for His life and great sacrifice that makes it possible for me to be with my family forever. There is nothing more important to me than my loved ones. My greatest blessings in life are my husband, children, and extended family. We are so grateful for each of the wonderful family members that bless our lives.

Who would have thought that these kids would just keep growing. This morning we were amazed by Jonathan getting himself completely dressed including his socks. I am busier running here and there in the car, but the kids can do an amazing number of things for themselves. I remember when I would spend a long time getting out the door. I would put on at least 3 pairs of shoes, not to mention diapers, getting several kids dressed, etc. There were definitely days I thought I would never survive; however, I would not have traded it for the world. I guess anything really worthwhile comes at a price, and that usually means it is HARD! So I guess I better stop all this philosophy and get back to work, I am sure there are more tough days to come.

Anway, Happy Belated Easter to everyone! We wish we could have been with more of you.

Is there anything better than these chessy grins? Not for me anyway.

What a haul of Easter eggs. The Easter bunny was very generous to the kids this year.

Disney On Ice

Michael's parents gave us Disney on Ice tickets for Christmas. It was really fun to spend the day with the kids. They loved the show, especially the Peter Pan performance. I really liked the skating for The Lion King.

There were also Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, and Daisy in the show.

Here is everyone's favorite pirate Captain Hook, Smee, and the other pirates.

Laurel and Evan eat a snack while waiting for the second half of the show to start.

The performance was in the Energy Solutions Center where the Jazz play. We had really good seats in the center facing the front of the ice.

Clogging Competition

The girls had a clogging competition up at Thanksgiving Point the first weekend in March. They did a really good job. They compete individually to receive a score of first, second, or third for each solo they do. The girls last competed in November and they both improved getting really great scores. I thought I should get these pictures up and two videos to give you an idea of what the solos are like. They perform four at a time and the are all lined up into rows, which is what you are seeing in the pictures and video.
I love Laurel's huge grin while she dances.

Here is Lindsay dancing and Laurel is waiting to dance next in the row behind her.

The video above is the show solo. They learned 5 solos in all and they are at the youngest level of novice. These are not full dances, just small solos to show basic clogging skills.

This is my favorite. It is a traditional solo and styled after more traditional clogging technique.

Jonathan's Third Birthday

It was so fun to have Grams and Grampa with us for Jonathan and Michael's birthday. Jonathan gives Grampa a big hug. He loved his Jedi costume.

The birthday dad with all of his kids. Michael got some new church shoes that are sitting on his lap. He wore the same pair of shoes for 10 years and it was time for some new one.

Jonathan loved opening up his presents. He kept asking me how many more days until he could open his presents. When I told him how many he would say, "That takes too long."

Here is the great Jedi knight Jonathan. This is his happy Jedi face, but down below is his very serious, dont' mess with me face.

Jonathan also had a really fun date with his grandmommy for his birthday. He got to go out to breakfast and out to find a present. He chose a Spider-Man scooter. He loved getting to spend time with grandmommy!