Kelcie's Party

After the Eagle Project, my new project was Kelcie's Birthday party. The day that was good for it was also the day of Fathers and Sons, so initially we decided to do it at night and do a movie night. But, I got to thinking how I didn't want to plan for party all day, and that I have 3 older daughters that are a HUGE help, so we decided to do it in the morning with a craft. So, the craft I came up with was to make sticker books! I got 94 cent memo books and the girls helped me modge-podge scrapbook paper on the front and back. My sister-in-law cut their names in vinyl for the front. Then, I put out flowers, ribbons, jewels, stickers, etc. for the girls to decorate them. They were WAY-CUTE!!!!!!
Then, we had asked each girl to bring some stickers to share - and they did! We've done sticker books at parties before, and nobody "got it" - I'm so glad they did this time. They brought some really cute ones. The girls put all the stickers in the middles and they all had fun filling their new sticker books!

Time to open presents!

And, have cake and popsicles!

It was a great party! I'm not a party person, so I usually do the planning, but let Lafe run the party. This was so fun - the girls were so easy and fun! And, my bigger girls were REALLY HUGE help - can I tell you how much I LOVE having older kids!!!

Ethan...

Here is a picture of Ethan being recognized by his Scout Leader ( one his uncle ) for getting his Eagle Project done at 13! They gave him a whole box of candy-bars!!! Yes, sisters were jealous.....
Ethan also had his last concert of Junior High - it was GREAT!!! It's so fun to listen to them. They play fun songs and have really grown in how they play.

Ethan with his Band Teacher, Mrs. Just. GREAT JOB, ETHAN!!!

One more project - Science

As many of you know that this time of year is FULL of projects - and I think this was the last big one! Jamie had her first science fair this year. She experimented on what material would filter motor oil out of water the best. It ended up being a little more difficult than we expected, some of the materials didn't let anything through and we had to re-think/re-do it. She did great, though!

Peaches

We planted a peach tree a year ago, and we were not expecting it to produce for several years - I had heard somewhere 10 years, but who knows? Well, this year our little tree not only survived the two HARD FREEZES, but it produced!!! And, they are beautiful!!! I think they're yummy - the peel is slightly bitter, but I figure it's the first crop!

EAGLE PROJECT!!!

Ethan did his Eagle Project yesterday!!!!!!! He had a goal of trying to get his Eagle on his 14th birthday in June, and he was doing great towards the merit badges. So, we were looking for a project. Well, our neighbors came over to talk about putting in a block wall, and she just happened to mention this idea she's been working on to put flags on the street lights. She was just getting it through city council and we loved the idea! We also loved the idea that it might be a great thing to support through an eagle project. So, Ethan's project was to earn money to buy flags for this non-profit organization to place the flags on streetlights. To do this, he held a Fun Run! We wanted to do a Fun Run because running is something he really enjoys, so we wanted to incorporate that in. He advertised it and went to different businesses to get sponsors, who then got a sign on the Fun Run to advertise their business. SAturday was the Fun Run - and it was RELLY FUN!!!

Ethan setting up before
The flags at the starting point (our house)

Placing the sponsor's signs along the route

This was the food tent - after the race we had bananas, oranges, and Krispy Kremes - mmmm! We also posted all the sponsors her, too.

Ethan giving a speech (soooo worth it to the mom to see my son do this!!!)

Sign so people knew they were in the right place

And, they're off!!!

It was a 2-mile Fun Run, be we had a turning point if you only wanted to do a mile.

This was the half-way mark - scouts were handing out cups of water to the runners.

Our Bishop and one of his daughters crossing the finish line.

OUr cheering section - the girls gave them a flag as they finished

Ethan with the founder of the organization (aka, our neighbor) and the Councilman that came to represent the Mayor (who incidently, was on a scout thing with his son)

How we all felt afterwards.......

HE DID IT!!! Proud Mom and Dad

Congratulation, Ethan!!! Now, just get it written up before you're 18.........PLEASE!!!!!!

Mother's Day

I had a GREAT Mother's Day!!! Here are some of the highlights:

Ethan had something very specific in mind to give me this year, and it's funny because this is how he wrapped it.....

I guessed it was a HUGE Hershey kiss.....I wasn't too far off!!!
I mentioned this cool picnic table to Lafe, and he remembered and got it for me!!! I just thought it would be so cool and handy to have around! It folds up really nice, too, so we could store it or even take it camping! AND, it fits all of us - we tried it the night before - they couldn't wait :)

I also mentioned that I wanted to try this because my mom has had such great luck with it, and he remembered that too!

And, I've wanted one of these for a while, too! He did good, eh?

There were several little thing, too - they had a blast at Bed, Bath, and Beyond! Fun day - and they pampered me, too!!!

The best kitties!

These kittens are going to be the best kitties for someone!!! They are played with NON-STOP!!!!! Here they are as Prince Percy and Princess Splatter! (the words "poor kitties" did come out as I took the picture!)

VIOLA!

Jamie has finished 3 years of Orchestra playing the Viola. Last night they had a Quad-Campus Performance that was so much fun and so good - they sound so good with so many of them up there! She's really enjoyed it and is continuing in JH. This was just such a cute picture, I had to share!

New Do!!!

Kelcie needed a trim (really bad) and she decided to go short!!! She's thought about it before, but we all thought it would be really fun this time! I love it!

Talin was on the couch this morning watching "Dora" with his cousin. I'm working on the computer nearby and I hear Dora ask, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Without any hesitation, Talin answered "A Missionary!" Yes, the mommy was tearing up a little......
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Carroll, Jason, Stephen, Kyler, Nathan, Leighton, Mikeum, Grandma and Grandpa Starr, Devin, and Cami for being examples to my little boy!

Happy Easter!!!!!

Yesterday we colored eggs.......LOTS of eggs!

Laura
Jamie

Talin coloring before the dye-ing

Kelcie

Easter Morning!

Talin came in early and told me he thought the Easter Bunny had come. So, I said, "yeah, how come?" "Cause there's eggs everywhere, Mom!" (Easter Egg Hunt) Poor kid, we made him lay in bed with us for 45 minutes before we let him wake up the others! (Hey, the Easter Bunny was up late last night!) Fun Easter!!!

Kittens!

Our cat Zoe had kittens! It's really hard to capture a cute picture, so we'll have to get some more as they get older. She had one calico girl, and a tiger striped boy.

Percy
Splatters

Snuggles

Lesson learned from a Bicycle

Sooooooo............I've been wanted to ride my new bike forever. I finally got the chance a few weeks ago and yesterday and wanted to share some lessons I learned: 1. The big hills you can see are often easier than the little ones you can't - hmmmmm, life lesson here? 2. The nice thing about cycling is that you have to make it back home - so you can't stop = good exercise! 3. It's REALLY hard to ride INTO the wind! Surprisingly hard!!! 4. It's nice to give yourself permission to slow down, in a sense, for an hour because your can't multi-task on a bike. 5. When listening to an audio book, it's definitely o.k. to laugh out loud :) 6. I need a better seat, padded bike shorts, or BOTH! The nerve between my compressed disks has been SCREAMING all day!!! 7. Sometimes it hurts more to stop and get off the bike than just continuing to ride - ouch!

Poetry and Essay Contest

Every year our school has a big Poetry and Essay contest with all the grades at all the campuses. This year we had 2 winners!!! Jamie won 2nd place for her essay on America, and Kelcie wond 2nd place for her poem! And, just because I want to, here they are: Kelcie's poem:

Visit to Utah

Looks like snowy hills around me.

Feels like my heart is freezing inside.

Tastes like hot chocolate burning in my mouth.

Smells like people roasting hotdogs behind the hills.

Sounds like people playing outside in the snow.

Jamie's essay:

"And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free. And I won't forget the men who died and gave that right to me" - Lee Greenwood. As Americans we are happy to know that we are free. Some of the things that remind me of that freedom are the flag, our choices, and even the laws from which we are governed.

Every time I look at the flag my heart swells as I think of all the people who risk their lives for our freedom. Most people in other countries cannot say, "I love being free!" But, we can! We can do many things in America because of our freedom. The American flag is a great reminder of American's freedom.

Another thing that reminds me of freedom is the choices we have. Americans can choose to have an education so they can get a good job, work hard and become wealthy. Another important thing that we can do is choose our leader. Does it have to be someone with royal blood? No. We have the right to vote for who we believe is a great leader. Choices are one of the many things that remind us of freedom.

Even though we are free we still have laws. Laws are very imoratnt in America because they are what keep us safe. Some Americans feel infringed upon because we have laws. I believe having laws is a very important thing because if we did not, chaos would ensue. People would be too scared to leave their houses. We do not get to do everything we want because we all have laws but things need to be kept balanced.

The flag, our choices, and our laws are only three of the many things that remind us of freedom inAmerica. I think that our choices are the most significant because we have the ability to control our destinies. We are all proud to be Americans where at least we know we are free forever!

Laura was also entered into the contest by her teacher - she did a great job, too!

Utah!!!

We have a tradition that when our kids turn 12 they get to go up to Utah for General Conference - it just so happens that Jamie's birthday was actually ON Conference this year - Lucky! So, we flew up Friday morning and enjoyed the sites in Salt Lake:

View from the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building

South side of the Temple

Standing by the handcart that Grandpa Allan made and donated to the Church History Museum (we think, it doesn't have a sign anymore, but it looked like his)

By the Christus in the North Visitor Center

Inside the Conference Center!

Outside the Conference Center waiting for my brother to bring us lunch :)

This was where we stopped to finish our lunch before the second session on Saturday. It was so pretty, and Jamie thought we should get a picture. Sorry, the pictures aren't the greatest - all I took was my cell-phone. We had SO much fun and it was fun to visit with my brother and his family. Really fun tradition!!!

Happy Birthday, Jamie!

Happy Birthday, Jamie!!!

She's 12!!!!!!!!!!!! She actually got to open her presents a day early because one of them was a gift card to Deseret Book that she could use in Utah........more to come. I think her only request was the Just Dance 2 Wii game.

This is what the kids made for her when we got back - on her actual birthday.

We're so excited for you to be in Young Women's!!! Although, your parents are having a hard time believing we have 3 in mutual now!