This Little Piggy

Grant loves it when Daddy or I are some kind of animal and take him to bed.

This particular night, Grant asked Daddy to be a pig.

So Daddy snorted his way to Grant's room and rolled him onto his bed.

Noah's been studying hard for an upcoming Spelling Bee.

He has me go over words with him daily and then he practices writing down the ones he misses and we go over them again.

He's got some pretty tough words. 

Jaden and Hiram are enjoying reading the blog book from 2013.

It's nice to have a family history book with LOTS of pictures.

We all are having fun reviewing the fun memories.

And James is James!

I asked him to pose for me with his characteristic, cute smile. 

All these kids are such great kids doing great things!

Pajama Boy

This cute little boy LOVES his pajamas.

When he wakes up, he stays in them as long as he can.

Mommy has to coerce him to get dressed by not giving him lunch until he's dressed. ;)

He will run back in his room after lunch and get back in his pj's.

Silly boy!

Grant is learning some great things.

One of the things he recently learned was to button these cute "Mickey Mouse" pajamas.

He was so proud of himself.

I was pretty pleased too.

He's the youngest one to learn to button his own shirts. 

He is also doing well at learning his letters, numbers, shapes and colors.

He REALLY wants to go to Kindergarten with James, and he loves it when I go help out in James' class and takes him with me.

Crazy Girl with Crazy Hair

On Monday, Joyanne went to school with a tie and a vest on.

She looked kinda cute, but we had no idea why she was going that way to school.

She said it was just because.

We still wondered.

Then she asked me if I would do her hair a bit crazy the next day.

After weird looks and much questioning, she finally told us that they were having White Ribbon Week at school this week.

She was trying to keep it a secret.

Silly girl!

"Who's the Man?"

Last week our school had a "Who's the Man?" night.

All the elementary kids were invited to bring their dads, uncles, brothers or neighbor man to a night of friendly competition.

They had 4 stations of competition: golf, eating contest, a dance-off, and a trivia.

Our boys all had fun with their dad.

For their group, Dad and the boys took 1st Place.

They also took 1st on the Trivia. 

They took the winners from the 4 groups and had them compete against each other.

Dad and the boys did so well that Daddy had a dance off with one other dad and he tied for 1st.

It was a fun eventful night and a great way to spend time together.

Friends

We've met some really great friends here in Tremonton.

We invited them for dinner and a family night.

We played games together afterwards.

We enjoyed building great friendships that will last a long time.

We are sure learning many things from our children, and we hope our children our learning from us as parents.

We are struggling with a couple of our kids, but we are learning that our interactions with them are important.

We may teach our kids a few things, but they sure teach us A LOT!!!

Missing Babies

I miss this!

I miss the little baby stage.

The sweetness of their first smile.

Their first sounds they make.

Their constant need for you that make you feel loved, wanted and . . . needed.

Their growth as they learn to use their hands, fingers, toes and eyes.

The true joy they bring into your life.

The lessons of patience they teach you.

The late nights where I get to forget myself and put them first.

 

I love being a mom and am grateful for this greatest of all earthly experiences.

Pinewood Derby

 Noah and Hiram participated in the Pinewood Derby tonight.

Weeks ago, when the boys got their block of wood, Noah and Hiram got started right away getting their cars ready.

Hiram's was a "Lego" car with a "Lego" racecar driver.

Noah's was a silver car with a green strip down the center.

Noah tied for 2nd place.

We all had fun together.

We love the scout program.

               

To the Rescue

James and Grant dressed up as Buzz Lightyear.

They had fun rescuing the world from injustice.

I suffered all day with constant heartburn.

My chest feels like it's on fire.

Hoping it goes away soon.

 

Life continues on at a never-ending pace of school, chores, homework, friends, etc.

Yesterday's break from it all was refreshing.

We stayed home all day in our pajamas and took it easy.

Here's hoping to a good nights sleep so we can awake early and do it all again tomorrow.

Basketball Head

Noah, or should I say, "Basketball Head", came out and gave us a good laugh.
 He says he knows what he wants to be for next Halloween.
He looks pretty spooky! ;)

Basketball practices, games, Scouts and piano have been taking up our time.
Noah and Hiram are really enjoying basketball and learning lots of new skills.

Family Math Night

At our elementary school we had a Family Math Night.

Each of the kids showed us what they were learning in Math and we got to help solve the problems.

 

 

For James, he had us shake and roll 5 colored coins which was red on one side and yellow on the other.
We added the red and yellow to equal 5.
Jaden had a game where you rolled a dice and picked the number card and solved the problems.
Then you would keep the cards you solved.
Jaden had 19 cards while Daddy had 15.
Hiram taught us to cross multiply.
Noah also had a game where we rolled dice and multiplied double numbers.
Overall, we had fun and remembered math skills or learned some new ones.


High Pants

The boys had their shirts tucked in their pants.

When Daddy saw it, he couldn't stand it because he said it reminded him of Steve Urkel.

Anyone remember him from the show "Family Matters"?

Well, Joyanne took a picture of all our silly little Urkels. ;)

Once they knew this annoyed Daddy, these little boys did it all the more.

Real Candyland

One game that is ALWAYS a favorite in our family is "Candyland".

Of course, what makes it a favorite is that we play it with real candy.
Candy cane lane has candy canes on it.
Gingerbread house has cookies.
Lollipop land, of course, has lollipops.
If you get stuck on Lord licorice then you get a licorice.
And assorted candy for the other places.
Chocolate is ALWAYS the grand prize for everyone.

 

It's a yummy delight of fun!

Daddy and Mommy's Goals

Daddy's Goals 2015

1.  Go on a 5-day week long family vacation (not to family's house).

2.  Finish Preach my gospel.

3.  Physical Exercise 8 times a month.

4.  Keep a log of my successes this year.

 

 

Mommy's Goals 2015

1.  Spiritual - 1/2 hour daily scripture study. (Finish Preach my Gospel.)

2.  Physical - Exercise 3 times weekly. 1 serving per meal, 1 treat daily.

3.  Musical - Practice 1 hour or more a week - #101-151 hymns.

4.  Social - Wait for others to finish speaking before I talk.  Value what others say more than what I have to say.

5.  Mental - Weekly positive affirmation, 3 self-help talks weekly.

6.  Occupation (Mother) - Take Sundays off.  Daily Prioritize.

Noah also lost his 7th tooth thanks to his Dad.
They worked at it for about an hour and finally pulled it out with a big crack.

 The root was bigger than the tooth itself.

 



Jaden's Goals

Jaden's Goals 2015

1.  Read total minutes: 100,000

2.  Earn $10.

3.  Study really hard on bats.

4.  Play all easy Hymns.

5.  Read 2 chapter books a month.

6.  Be a really good Lego builder.

7.  Complete all levels on Geometry Dash.

8.  Run 8-10 mph for 10 minutes on treadmill.

9.  Finish Book of Mormon.

10.  Earn my Wolf.

11.  Kick a soccer ball 5 feet in air.

12. Make 10 new friends.

13.  Win 5 soccer games.



Hiram's Goals

Hiram's Goals 2015

1.  Exercise 3 times a week.

2.  Get good grades - 3 and up.

3.  Learn to cook different foods.

4.  Be calm, take deep breaths.

5.  Stay after school 3 times a week for help.

6.  Cook dinner once a week.

7.  Finish big chapter books a month.

8.  Get $100 total by December.

9.  Finish the Book of Mormon.

10.  Earn my Bear in scouts.

11.  Shoot a hoop in a b-ball game.

12.  Practice b-ball 3 times a week.

 

 

Noah and Hiram had basketball games today.

Noah played defense extremely well.

He stole the ball every chance he got and then would pass it to Dominic, who made nearly all the shots.

Noah's team won 21-19.

 

Hiram's team loved to dribble the ball.

They would get the ball and dribble it all the way down the court, and then keep dribbling it.

Soon the crowd would shout, "Shoot the ball!"

They only made 8 points while the other team scored 30.

The other team had a great coach, good team play and great shots.

Hopefully Hiram can learn from the other great players around him.

After the game, Dad asked Hiram, "Did you have fun?"

Hiram said he did, and you know what . . .  that is what is most important.



James' Goals

James' Goals 2015

1.  Read a Chapter book a month.

2.  Read Book of Mormon 5 minutes a day.

3.  Learn to skip well.

4.  Make good Lego Ships.

 

James works hard at whatever he does.

He works hard at school work, reading, his chores and even teasing and playing with his brothers.

He can be very sweet and loveable.

I've received many comments on how cute James' voice is and his expressions.

 

 



Joyanne's Goals

Joyanne's Goals 2015

1.  Have 10 people edit my book one.

2.  Finish writing book two.

3. Finish the Book of Mormon.

4. Do baptisms for the dead in 3 different temples.

5. Play all the songs in the Primary Children's Songbook.

6.  Teach 3 people piano.

7.  Cook Italian meal (not Spaghetti).

8. Participate in a Spelling Bee.

 

Joyanne woke up last night with horrible stomach pains.

She threw up several times from 2:30-3:30a.m.

She was writhing and moaning most of today.

Hopefully she will be back to her happy self tomorrow.

 

Noah's Goals

Noah's Goals 2015

1.  Finish Book of Mormon.

2.  Get mostly grades 3-4.

3.  Play 10 simplified hymns.

4.  Exercise weekly.

5.  Learn to shoot a gun.

6.  Learn to make soup.

7.  Read 4 books a month.

8. Maintain speed for 10 minutes at 8-10mph.

9. Get Webelos and Arrow of Light.

10.  Make 5 out of 10 shots for b-ball.

 

 

Goal Setting

Tonight we set our New Year's Goals.

I will share one of each of our goals each day.

 

Here are 3 year old Grant's goals for this year:

 1. Learn ABC's, Start to Read.

2. Count to 100.

3. Fully potty-trained, no Pull-ups.

4. Do chores by himself.

 

Daddy and I have gotten back into working out.

It's so good for our mental and physical being.

I like the sense of accomplishment it brings.

Joyanne made a gingerbread house for the last fun of our 2-week long Christmas break.

Doesn't it look great?!

Joyanne took these pictures with her new Samsung Galaxy.

She paid $100 and we paid $100 for her to get this for Christmas.

She loves all the wonderful things she can do with it.

Basketball Game

Hiram played his 1st Junior Jazz Basketball game.

For being his first game, he did well.
He was excited to get his Jersey and he is number 8.

He could dribble the ball, but each time he got the ball, a bigger kid would come and steal it.

Hiram was the shortest boy there.

He was a good defender.

He would go up to the opposing team and stay on his guy, blocking him as best as he could. 

There were 3 other boys on his team who were great at stealing the ball, passing it and making baskets.

As a result of those 3 other boys, Hiram's team won!

It was a exciting, fun experience for Hiram.

Happy New Years!

My sister takes the best pictures.

So courtesy of Becca, here are pictures of our wonderful New Years Eve Celebration!

 

We had fun eating a yummy turkey dinner, lots of sweets and treats and playing games.

We played Tenzi, Apples to Apples, Spoons and Bluff.

I never thought my kids could stay up so late, but they made it.

When midnight hit, we hugged and wished each other a "Happy New Year" and then with pots and pans in hand we dashed outside in bare feet and clanged in the new year.

I love being with my family and celebrating all the goodness in life there is.