To be like M&M!

Monday, November 30, 2015

M&M was sitting on the couch studying and MJ was sitting next to her copying down the things that M&M was writing! And Kay was sitting on the other side brushing M&M's hair! It was really cute!

Painted pumpkin

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Kay's school class painted some pumpkins for an art project and then they were used at a local grocery store for some decorations. Kay was told that on Thursday she could go to the store and get the pumpkin and bring it home. She was excited to show it to all of us.

Utah Natural History Museum

Monday, October 5, 2015

When MJ and I went to the Natural History Museum of Utah for her field trip we were given some free passes to come back again. So we decided to go with the other girls while they were off-track. We were able to spend a little more time on some of the exhibits and it wasn't as crowded as when we went for the field trip which was nice.

Dressing up as pigeons

This was an exhibit that simulated different earthquakes across the world. You had to try and build a structure that could withstand the different earthquakes.

Digging for dinosaur bones.

This was a puzzle that we pieced together.

Bean Museum

Friday, October 2, 2015

The Monte L Bean Life Sciences Museum at BYU has been closed for the last year or so for some remodeling. We decided to go and check out the changes. I think a lot of it is still under construction because we couldn't find some of the exhibits that were supposed to be there and it had a couple of sections that were blocked off. It was POURING rain when we got to the museum! Afterwards we went and ate lunch with DH at his work - the girls love doing that. Blondie came with us because she was also off of school - I think Luke came too but I don't have any pictures of him.

Off Track Activities

The three younger girls were off-track for a few weeks in September/October. We made some swirly rocks with crayons and made some sidewalk paint. Here are a few pictures:

Learning to ride a bike!

September 2015

Kay has been dying to learn to ride a bike without training wheels for probably about a year now. We have tried working with her here and there but with all of the other kids and our busy schedules, we haven't been able to spend a lot of time with her. The neighbor has even helped her out some but she has had a fear deep down that I think has been affecting her! Finally in September it looked like she was finally starting to get the hang of it a little bit - but she still wasn't confident enough to do it on her own. Then one day MJ hopped on one of the bikes and DH and I helped her a little and without much effort at all she was almost doing it on her own. MJ only problem has been learning how to steer and being aware of where she is and where she is going. Shortly after that Kay finally picked it up as well so now all of the kids can ride a bike! It is kind of weird how effortless it was for MJ and she is definitely the youngest in our family to have learned to ride a bike! It is interesting watching how everyone learns differently and some things come easy to some and not so easy to others. I think Kay was a little jealous that MJ learned to ride so quickly. She was so happy when she finally learned for herself!

This is MJ riding down the street - it is nice to live on a cul-de-sac! These pictures of MJ were taken on Sept 9.

Look at that determination on her face!

She's got it!

Kay is finally doing it! (Sept 28)

These pictures were taken Sept 29

Look at that smile on her face!

Ovarian Cancer Run

Saturday, September 12, 2015

September is Ovarian Cancer awareness month. Every year there is a 5K fundraiser that is held in Salt Lake during the month. I heard about it the first year after I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer but it has always ended up being on a Saturday that I have had something else going on and I haven't been able to attend. This year I was able to go and I took Kitty, Kay and MJ along with me - DH and the older kids all had something else going on.

The race takes place at Sugar House Park and you basically just walk/run around the loop of the park. It isn't really a 5K unless you do the whole thing twice - which most people don't do. It was pretty chilly when we first got there and the girls all stood around freezing, waiting for the sun to come out. We got these nice free shirts (although you have to pay to register for the run). And unfortunately the smallest size they had was an adult XS - which drowned the girls!

There were quite a few people there and I even ran into my doctor and the psychologist/social worker from the office. They were both there with their kids.

When it was finally time to start the run we went up to the starting line and they sounded the gun to start and MJ and Kay took off running! Kitty and I were trying to call out to them to slow down and we were trying to catch up to them! It was pretty funny. I guess when they heard the starting gun they just wanted to go and race! I was a little concerned of losing track of them with all of the people that were there. At one point MJ finally slowed down and turned around to look for me. I still couldn't get Kay's attention though and at one point we were at the top of a hill and she had already gone around the corner and was at the bottom of the hill when I was finally able to get her attention and then she climbed up the hill to us. And then what I suspected would happen did happen - they both ran out of steam and were moaning and complaining the whole last 1/3 or so of the race. At one point I had to carry MJ for a little bit until I was able to talk her into walking again... The girls did really good on the whole and they were very excited to finally see the finish line! They also had some treats at the end provided by Trader Joe's - bananas, oranges, granola bars and water bottles.

Before the race

If you look closely you can see MJ at the back of that pack in front of me - running her little heart out! Kay at this point is ahead of her somewhere.

MJ finally stopped and waiting for us. If I remember correctly she is eating a lollipop that she got before the race.

We finally got Kay's attention and she is running up the hill to join us.

At the end of the race - it was a little too bright and sunny for these girls!

Girls

Sunday, August 23, 2015

Here are some pictures of MJ and Kay wearing the skirts that I made for Kitty and Blondie when they were that age!

Kay age 7; MJ age 5

Blondie age 7 (almost 8); Kitty age 6

Cleaning in progress

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Signs that Kay put up on her bedroom door when she and MJ are inside supposedly cleaning...

First Day of School!

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Our family ended up taking two cars to the Bear Lake family reunion because we were going to split up after the reunion ended. Kitty and Kay were supposed to start school on Monday (July 27th) but because of the reunion we had them miss the first two days of school and they started on Wednesday instead. They were a little stressed out (at least Kitty was) about missing the first two days of school but we had talked with the teachers ahead of time and I knew they would be fine. I left the family reunion Tuesday evening with Kitty, Kay and MJ and headed home. Unfortunately I forgot to leave the access pass to Ideal Beach and there was no cell service between Bear Lake and Logan... When I finally got the message that I had left with the pass, I was almost an hour into my trip. So I had to turn around and drive through the canyon again and return the pass and then start the trip all over again! We didn't get home until way late! I felt bad for the kids!

We are on A-track this year which means that the kids start the last week of July but then get out the first part of June. Kitty is 5th grade this year and Kay is in 2nd!

Hometown fun

July 16 & 17, 2015

It was a weird week with DH, Blondie and M&M all gone on camps with the ward. I decided to take the other kids out for some fun while the rest were gone. On Thursday evening I took the kids to Copperton Park for some fun and then on Friday we went to a local splash park.

Beautiful skies!

Friday, July 10, 2015

One evening while DH and Luke were gone there was an absolutely beautiful sunset so I grabbed DH's camera and headed over to Oquirrh Lake and the Oquirrh Mountain Temple to take some pictures. I got some absolutely beautiful temple shots! It was hard to pick which ones were the best, but here are a few shots from the night:

My goofy sidekicks for the evening