Movie-Making Kids

In the tradition of my family's tape recorder parodies, our kids have discovered a new outlet for their creativity: the DIGITAL CAMERA. Our new camera also takes videos and saves them on a memory card for copying onto the computer hard drive or burning on CDs. Last night when Hubby came home from work, we enjoyed some of Brennan and Bella's hard work. Here's a typical on-camera exchange:

Brennan: You have disgraced my people! Prepare to die!
Bella: It is not I who have disgraced your people, but you who have disgraced my people!
Brennan: Bring it on, babycakes....

This is followed by Brennan making "punch" noises, Bella flopping around crying "Oh!" and lots of camera jiggling. Eventually Bella is shown on the floor, passed out from the "beating" she just received.

Another movie shows a giant, snarling, Bella-resembling monster wearing a knit ski cap terrorizing a small town, with Brennan reporting at the scene. At one point the monster comes toward Reporter Brennan, who shouts, "Oh no!" followed by a long beep and a crudely-drawn "Please Stand By" sign blocking out the scene.

Brennan also stars in "The Clumsy Spy," which features Bella, the cameraman, singing the James Bond theme while Brennan, brandishing a spoon, tries to stalk an imaginary bad guy but instead trips on the carpet or hits his head on the wall.

We can only hope that this kind of thing might turn into a lucrative business someday. In the meantime, they keep us laughing.

Queen of the Undies

Miss Rosalind is big into underwear lately - not hers, but her siblings'. Along with increasing her vocabulary by leaps and bounds every day - today the new word was "juice" - she's figuring out how to dress herself. Last night she'd pulled Carter's T-shirt over her head and was wearing it like a hood, with her little face poking out of the neckhole. Today she brought me a pair of his new SpongeBob underpants and fussed at me insistently until I put them on her, over her little sweats. She walked off, satisfied, but a few minutes later was heard fussing again as she realized how tight they were making the rest of her clothes. One of the kids took them off for her. A while later she was spotted dragging around a pair of Bella's underwear. This kid is just like the others - SO MUCH FUN!

Harrison's Visit to the Clinic

Every so often for the last few days, poor little Harrison would fall on the floor, writhing in pain and crying about his hurt tummy. Usually the pain would subside and he'd bounce up and go back to what he was doing. The pain was in the wrong place and he didn't have a fever, so we figured it probably wasn't his appendix, but it was still worrisome.

This time it didn't go away, so Dad scooped him up and took him to the walk-in clinic. They left this evening (Monday) about 6:00 PM. After a number of tests, they concluded that he had an old-fashioned stomach virus, but there could be some gas associated to it as well. So some Mylanta might come in handy. Harrison was very tired and the blood draw was a "yucky surprise," but in all he was a very brave boy. They did bloodwork, X-rays and the whole shmear. Dad and Harrison had to wait quite a while to be seen by a doctor, and then wait for the results of the tests, so they made it home after midnight. We're grateful that it's nothing serious (and that we have awesome health insurance).

Brennan's Latest

Brennan has had some exciting stuff happen to him lately. He was called to be the Deacon's quorum president and was set apart Sunday, 2/12/06! He received the news with the usual emotional outburst he's known for - sitting quietly, smiling slightly at the bishop and saying "OK" when asked if he would serve. He is taking it very seriously and doing a great job.

Brennan's other big news is HOME SCHOOL. We ripped him out of the public middle school he attended and he's home with me, Carter and Rosalind during the day. The school district has a wonderful home school program and their office is just down the street from us. They are a tremendous source of support, textbooks, unlimited free copies, cheerleading and ideas. We meet with a consultant almost every week to track Brennan's progress and we keep a notebook of everything he does and all the hours he completes. So far we're lovin' it. The home school office is in the same building as a community center with an indoor swimming pool and a rock wall, which he'll be using when he starts PE there (probably in March). He's all excited!

Little Carter

Carter is such a cute kid. We wonder if he's feeling a little left out of things because he does a lot of "Mommy, watch this!" and "Mommy, look at me!" and "Daddy, watch me do this!" stunts lately. He loves his big brothers and sister and wants to do everything they do, and is a pretty good sport most of the time when he can't go where they're going. On Saturday, he spent some fun time with Daddy and Bella when they went to her soccer game and then (wow!) got to ride the bus home. He does pretty well in Primary now. Last year as a Sunbeam, it was pretty tough for him to behave, but he's improved a lot. After this fun time of basketball AND indoor soccer is over, we plan on signing him up for a little soccer team. We enjoy having his cute smile and sense of humor and shorts bursts of temper (those are often the funniest) in our home.

And the winner is... Bella!

Tonight we attended a stake Faith in God recognition night, where our stake Primary leaders congratulated all the little girls (8-11) for the work they've done in Activity Days for the Faith in God program. We've never had anything like this before and I'm really glad the new stake Primary presidency started it. All the girls were called up by wards and introduced themselves and we clapped for them. Each girl received a charm bracelet with several charms, according to the goals she's achieved. Bella loves hers - it has a praying hands charm, an artist's easel, a "faith" charm, a CTR charm, a Book of Mormon, and an oven mitt/recipe charm. Now I want one. :)

I miss being in Activity Days, my last calling before this one. I was released right after day camp last summer, and at the presentation they played a slide show from day camp. It made me a little sad that I won't be as involved with it this year. Is loves Activity Days and always has a good time there. I'm glad she has a good program and good leaders.

Happy Presidents Day! Book Review

Hope you all enjoyed your day, whatever you did. We're tired and still under the weather, so we didn't do much. We headed to the mall, ate cookies, checked out a ton of library books. Then we went to another shopping center and I spent my Bed, Bath and Beyond birthday gift cards (happy new bathroom to me from Mom and Melanie).

The book I'm currently reading, The Other Eminent Men of Wilford Woodruff, gives a list of all the past U.S. presidents, signers of the Declaration of Independence, and other historical figures, who appeared to Wilford Woodruff in 1877 in the St. George temple and asked him why no one had done their temple work yet. Wilford Woodruff wrote down their names and the names of the women and 50 other eminent men who came with them. He and Lucy Bigelow Young were baptized for all of them.

Along with the list, this book gives a small life sketch about each of the 50 men: Stonewall Jackson, Christopher Columbus, Sir Walter Scott, Amerigo Vespucci, Seward (the guy who bought Alaska), artists, scientists, writers, political figures - very educational and inspiring. Grandma and Pa gave it to me for my birthday.

So, who won the game of Oink?

I'm currently the Relief Society Enrichment leader of my ward and enjoy my calling more than I thought I would. I always felt sorry for the other Enrichment leaders, but most of the time it's actually fun.

My friend and former visiting teacher, Janae, and I used to complain that there was never any time at Enrichment Night to sit and chat and get to know other sisters. So I decided that's what we'd do for this activity - just hang out. We threw in a quilt to tie for Humanitarian Aid, some games, cookies, and there you have it.

I didn't want to expect much turnout, but my ward sisters surprised me! We had a blast. I found a game online called "Oink" where everyone sits in a circle and snorts at the person next to them, in an effort to make them laugh (and therefore lose). We played the Oink game and it was pretty funny to see 75-year-olds snorting at the 20-year-olds, and winning the game to boot. It was a tie between 6 die-hard, poker-faced sisters who were finally sick of trying to come up with new ways of snorting. We ended up with six "Snort Monarchs" and then we moved on.

Too Sick For Church

It's Sunday and church is not looking likely. All five children have hacking coughs. Harrison kept us awake during the night with the same hurt tummy he's had since Friday. It happens every night between 2-4 AM, but then he's fine the rest of the day. If it happens again tonight, off we go to the walk-in clinic tomorrow. Dad worked an event last night - bull-riding, I think - and didn't get home till around 1:00 AM. Everyone's a mess - except me! I'm supposed to teach family history Sunday school today, but I think they'll understand if I call and say "uh-uh."

Sports Stats

For Saturday, February 18: In basketball, Bella played well for the first half, which was a feat considering her snotty nose and cough. Then, to be on time for indoor soccer, we had to leave. So we don't know how that game ended but we're sure it was a barn-burner. Bella's team is called the Blackjacks and they wear, of course, black. They played some team with blue T-shirts.

I dropped Dad, Bella and Carter off at one area indoor soccer club where Bella played with her team, the SuperBlitz (formerly the Magic Girls). They played the Thunder. Bella played a lot of goalie, then moved on to defense. Sadly, the SuperBlitz were not as Super nor as Blitz-like as their name suggested - they lost 6-3.

Meanwhile, Harrison's team, the Strikers, played at another indoor soccer club. Harrison was all over the field and did well, running and kicking hard. Unfortunately, the Strikers struck out and lost 8-2. (I'm enjoying these sports puns.) The other team wore these kind of orangey-red T-shirts and the parents in front of me were obnoxious.

However, we were redeemed at the next basketball game, Harrison's Green Hot Shots vs. ... Um... Dang, I think they wore blue. It was a tight game, with the Greenies winning 14-12. What an exciting game! Harrison, just having finished running around the indoor soccer arena, was dragging, but he did get to throw the ball in a few times and kept up with everyone else. The parents next to me, Hunter's parents, noticed the embroidered badge on my sweatshirt and asked if I worked in law enforcement. I said no, but Dad does. They're state troopers.

AND WHAT A DAY IN SPORTS!

Little Miss Chat

Rozzie has developed a new skill: TALKING. For now it's just a few words, mixed with chatter, but I was impressed with her today because she asked to go to bed! She's not feeling well and was playing in the living room, and laid her head down on a pillow and said, "Nigh-nigh?" (our word for bed). So I took her to bed and she was happy to go. Awwww.

What in the heck! It's freezing!

Call us "cold wimps," but it's FREEZING here right now! It makes me wonder: are we still in the Northwest? Or have we magically transferred to... well, another really cold place? Once upon a time, when we lived in Logan, Utah, we were used to this; but after so many years here, walking outside and feeling that blast of cold air is a huge shock. It WON'T BE TOLERATED!!! (rapping on desk with knuckles) Ow.

The Many Faces of Brennan

Oh, how we loved our new toy, the digital camera we bought for Christmas 2005. And how our boy has changed since these were taken.

Jan 14
Jan 21
Jan 22
Jan 22

Christmas 2005

Harrison (6), Brennan (13), Isabella (9), Carter (3)

Partying it up in the laundry basket

Rosalind, 16 months

Grandpa Bob and Daddy

We took the kids ice skating in their new stripey caps from Grannie and Grandpa Bob.

Oh the excitement

Merry Christmas!

Enchanted Forest

Always a wonderful time to be had at Enchanted Forest. We went with Grannie, who unfortunately didn't make it into any pictures.

In front of the Old Woman who Lived in a Shoe Slide

Coming down the Wicked Witch slide. Roz isn't too sure

Later we went out for lunch.

This may have been the trip where we tried to go to the beach afterward and became very, very lost, since we tried to drive there without a map. Good times. "It's just over those hills!"

Random National Guard Hot Rod Pic

Check me out, man

Hubby was driving around town one day, doing his job, and stopped long enough to pose next to this car for something the National Guard was doing...

Family Portrait 2005

All wedding-ed up

Here we are in Salt Lake City, for Kristy and Steve's wedding. It was Kristy's idea to have Bella wear her baptism dress and Roz wear her blessing dress - it turned out great. Too bad I couldn't fit into my wedding dress... but then, we already had a bride... Kristy also made Roz's little headband (click on the picture to enlarge it). We had a great time at the wedding.

I played the organ at the wedding and some songs on the keyboard at the wedding dinner; Kristy wanted a sing-along so I played some requested favorites - "On the Street Where You Live" and "The Rainbow Connection" among them. It was a lovely dinner, including a chocolate fountain, which the kids especially dug. Carter partied so hard, he ended up falling asleep under the table at the dinner.

We are very happy for Kristy and Steve!

Sweetheart Ball 2005

Cheeeeeese

Hubby, Rosalind and me at our church's yearly Sweetheart Ball. Every February around Valentine's Day, the stake Activities Committee go all out and decorate the gym at the church, hire a band or a DJ, and serve great food. This year the theme was "Paris" and we're standing in front of an Eiffel Tower. We don't normally take our babies, but Roz was the perfect accessory. I'm wearing my matron of honor dress from Mom and Bob's wedding, Valentine's Day 2004. It's very shiny.

Christmas 2004

At Grandma & Pa's apartment

Me (corner), Steve, Kristy, Brennan, Grandma, Harrison, Carter, Pa. That big box was a new TV for us! Yay! This was our first Christmas with Uncle Steve, and the little boys couldn't get enough of him.

2004

Cheesy little Harrison guy

Carter, following in all the big kids' soccer footsteps

Kids on bikes - this was the day Harrison learned how to ride a two-wheel bike.

Bike riding

More bike riding
Carter wasn't much for bike riding at this point, but he sure took to it later.

Baby Rosalind in "her" bed - she slept with us from birth till about six months old, and it was amazing how one tiny girl could force her parents to the sides of their king-size bed.

Our new, necessary huge car

In September, Brennan started 5th grade...

... and Bella started 2nd grade.