Spencer's Teddy Bear Parade

Spencer had his 100th day of school On January 26th. He took some special treats (sweet tarts) to help contribute to a snack with 100 items for each child to count out. They did many activities with the number 100 and he came home with a 100 crown. The next day they were able to bring a Teddy Bear to school. The day began with a Teddy Bear Parade with all the "special friends" that had been brought to school that day.

Spencer in the hallway ready for the parade to begin...


The start of the Teddy Bear parade as they start down the hall...

On the stage...

Opps, a dark shot...


On stage reciting some bear "poems."

Fixing Harry's clothes...


The Bear went over the mountain...

One last shot on his way back to class...

My Daffodils blooming early

I took these photos of the Daffodils in my yard on Tuesday, the 17th of January. It hasn't been that cold of a winter, so the bulb plants get confused and sprout early. But it's extra early this year. The first one poked it's head (flower) out on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Others followed and are getting close. Even the tuplips are starting to poke up out of the ground. We are enjoying them nonetheless.

Awards Assemblies

On January 13th, the elementary school held Award's Assemblies for achievments from the 2nd 9 weeks of school. My kids did great.

Spencer in line...
Video of Spencer getting his awards...

After receiving his award...
Spencer's class...
All done and ready to go...


Zack in line...
Zack getting awards...

Zack with his class...
Up close...

Video of Kam getting her awards...

Kammie...
Kam's class...
All done...

So proud of my smart students and all their hard work and accomplishments!

Cutting down a dead Tree - Take 2

I already posted about our first tree cutting down experience. James was eager to use the chainsaw again, so on January 7th, he put his plan in motion to cut down the second dead tree in our backyard. This tree was somewhat shapped like a Y. His plan was to cut one limb down at a time. He recruited help from our friend and neighbor, Glenn. He tied a rope to one limb at a time and James' plan was to cut a notch in each limb that would encourage it to fall in a certain direction.

At work on the 1st limb...
Adjusting the ladder...
More on the first limb...
Video of the 1st limb coming down...
Almost perfect!

Adjusting the ladder again...
James climbing up...
Video of the 2nd limb coming down...
This one didn't go as well for us. Even with the notch, the limb wanted to fall the opposite direction than we had planned. Glenn tried to pull it to guide it, but, it wasn't quite enough. Down the gaint limb came on our neighbor's fence with Kate (our neighbor) and her two daughter's watching. Oops!

A shot of the damage to our neigbor's fence...
We will pay to get this fixed. So far, our first estimate came in for $295.00. We're going to get more bids. For a 7 foot section of fence and James doing the work, it doesn't seem like it should be $300 unless the fence cost $20,000 to begin with.

The Y tree without it's upper limbs...


James cut down the main trunk as well and then cut all the limbs into firewood. Glenn and his son Caden helped to stack it all. Caden even got into bamboo stick sword fights with my children and got hit in the chin when one of my daughters threw her stick at her brother. She missed her brother and Caden's lip was the lucky recipient. Sorry Caden. Thanks for all your help Glenn. You da man!

The Cat

Here are some of the strange places Peppy has been on lately...

When I was packing up Christmas decorations into their boxes, he perched himself on this box that was sitting on the table. Silly cat.


We are trying to set up a new printer and get it to work. Well, in the process, Peppy thought the printer was a good place to be.

Planet Play

We went to Panet Play (formerly Incredible Pizza) near Sandy, UT on December 27th. The kids love lazer tag, the bumper cars and the go karts. They'll eat the food if we can drang them away from the games briefly. Here are some shots of some of the fun...

Sidnie's BFF (mine too)

One of our biggest plans for our trip was to attend the baptism of our friend Caite (the great) Gardner. The Gardner's used to live in Maumelle, but have moved to Ohio for Aaron's fellowship. They were going to be in Orem with family and have Caite's baptism. One problem, I heard and remembered the date wrong. I thought it was on the 27th, but it was the 22nd. So, we MISSED IT! (I could kick myself.) Thankfully, Halle and Amy were able to stop by the night before they flew back home. We were so excited to see and spend time with them.
Sidnie and Halle were reserved at first, but had a great time in the end. We love that spunky Halle and her Mom. Thank you!

Sid being sad...

being shy...

Third time's the charm...

1,000 piece puzzle

Each year my sisters have a new puzzle they put together. I don't participate much, because I don't have the patience for that sort of thing. They started this one sometime after we arrived and got it done before we left. I contributed a whole 6 pieces of this 1,000 piece thing. It was great to get it done!

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning had most of the family gathered in from their various homes to my parents home by 7 am. Aunts Tara and Kelly with those of our children who had slept over at their homes came to start the Mayhem.

Kate...
Tara, Jordan and Kammie...
Zack and Spencer...
Sidnie with James...
G-ma Vernetta...


And that is actually how we started...with the Marshall's Map of Mass Mayhem. My sister Tara had made a "Harry Potter" Marauder's type map, complete with clues to help them discover where their gifts were hidden. It began: "From youngest to oldest is what you must do. A room on this map contains the first clue. When you find a clue, go to the room with that number. To see what you can discover." There was a picture of some Russian wooden stackable dolls. That is where the first clue was hidden.

Spencer helped find the clue in the wooden dolls because Sidnie was unsure of what was going on at that point.


The first clue read: Number One's gift is ina storage space, With mittens and gloves, it's a warm, fuzzy place." The Hall Seat in the Utility Room was where Sidnie discovered her present.




With Sidnie's present came the next clue. This one was for Spencer. The clue simply had a picture of piano keys. Easy enough.
He got the Young Indiana Jones series...

"For Number Three's gift, it's an easy direction. Just open the drawer where you see your reflection." Zack's gift was in the sofa table drawer right in front of a mirror.
Harry Potter 7.2 and Cars II...

"In normal life, this item is usually read, But if you open it wide, you'll find a gift instead."
My parents have a wooden box that looks like a book...
She was thrilled with her Jimmer Jersey...

Jordan's clue read: Remember National Treasure, the movie can't be beat. Your clue is slyly hidden. You must bring it out with..."
Heat was the answer. She had to place her paper clue in the oven and find the hidden message written with lemon juice on the back. So Fun!
Jordan has wanted knit sheets ever since she slept over at Aunt Tara's house last Christmas. Now she has purple knit sheets of her own...



"Falling down and landing in a pile, Lift up to receive your smile."
This one was found in the utility room in the laundry shoot.
Kate got knit sheets as well...

"Thing 1 and Thing 2's gifts are side by side. Just open each set of doors really wide."
James and my gifts were found in entryway closets that are side by side. We each got a book. Baldacci and Grisham's latest. YEAH! (No pictures.)


Sidnie getting a Rapunzel Polly...
Sid with a new Princess quilted wall hanging made by G-ma Karen with the same fabrics from their new quilts on their beds...
Spencer giving a gift to G-ma Vernetta...
Spencer with some new fireman type legos...
Zack with a wooden tractor set. He was excited that once he put this together it could be used to pass off something for cub scouts.


James made these signs out of Maple and Cherry wood and gave them to my Tara, Cammie and Erich and my Dad (and Mom).


We had church (sacrament meeting) at 11am. But Sidnie could be found getting in some polly play time with G-ma V.


We had prime rib for dinner and my sister Cammie arrived with her husband and children. It was a great day to spend with family. We so enjoy any time we can spend with our loved ones that we don't see often enough.