Reach for the Peaks

Violet and Ginger competed in Reach for the Peaks last week and they both did fantastic. Ginger got 1st place in her division and Violet got 2nd in hers. 

They were both so proud of their performances, as they should be. They've worked on them since the beginning of the year. We celebrated with a trip to the creamery.

Spotlight on Jaxon

 Jaxon's had a busy spring! He decided he wanted to join stage crew for the school play. Any opportunity to press buttons and flip switches...let's face it, he was born for this.

He also moved from district STEM fair to region. He won 1st place in the computer science category and $50! He was also eligible to continue to national level.

We are so proud of all the work and late nights he's been pulling. His efforts have clearly paid off.

Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring!

January was slow going as usual, but we found plenty of time to spend at the cabin!

I thought I'd take one last picture of the Provo Temple as is before it's demolished. Lots of memories here. :)

February meant Chinese New Year and Valentines Day! At school each grade presented a song to sing to the school and parents. That evening I made some orange chicken and got some Chinese take out on the side for the kids to try.

We went to Timpview's Chinese Market and met up with some friends. Always good to practice Chinese outside the classroom.

Valentine's Day is always a sweet day. Ivy's preschool sang us a song that made me tear up a tinsy bit. Her English has grown leaps and bounds this school year. Her English will still be a little broken come kindergarten, but definitely doable.

And of course we did our annual chocolate covered strawberries at Mamie's house with cousins.

Here's Jaxon and Britian enjoying their pizza in Papa's truck.

We didn't get much snow, but we did get lots of rain!

In March I had to judge History Day one Saturday morning and the kids surprised me that afternoon with a clean house and a trip to Leatherby's. Oh, the joy!

 

Christmas 2023

There's always a feeling of excitement in the air once school gets out for Christmas break. Jaxon and Violet planned the whole month out. Meaning, they planned something Christmasey for each day leading to Christmas. Sometimes it was putting snowflakes around the house, sometimes dressing in Christmasey clothes, making cookies, etc.

We always look forward to reconnecting with cousins at Mamie's house.

We did our traditional bowling before Christmas. We had an hour to wait for our lanes so the kids preoccupied themselves trying to pull stuck quarters out of machines. I don't know if I should be proud of their ingenuity, or... Travis just said to look the other way.

 

Then at last it was Christmas Eve. We love going to Mamie and Papa's to eat, sing, and open presents.

We got everything ready for Christmas morning, including putting the kids' experiences on the tree. This year, the experiences for the older 3 were climbing classes at the Quarry. Ivy is going fishing at the fishery, and Talmage is taking a tumbling class. 

I don't know why I don't have any pictures of stockings this year, but Santa brought Ivy and Talmage a playhouse, Ginger a reading chair, Violet a wildlife camera (so we can see any animals that pass by while we're gone) and Jaxon got a projector screen.

Of course, the day after we went to the cabin to refresh for a few days. Jaxon and Violet always plan a special show for Travis and I that involves all the kids.

Jaxon also got a BB gun this Christmas.

We came back for church and in the evening enjoyed a nice family walk around Pioneer Park to see the lights.

Violet had a small stomach bug so she brought a bowl just in case.

 We had a fabulous Christmas!

Ginger Turns 7

Can't believe this girl turned 7. She is such a thoughtful, considerate girl. She's always looking for ways to help me and is very sensitive to the needs of others.

She's so excited to start going to activity days with Violet. We love you, Ginger!

 

Pre-Christmas Happenings

We had a fabulous couple weeks leading up to Christmas. I personally didn't mind the lack of snow one bit. ;) The youth were able to visit the Orem temple. We had almost 40 baptisms last year in our ward- convert baptisms. It's been great to see the youth group grow.

Violet and Ginger did wonderful on their Christmas duet. They performed to "Put One Foot in Front of the Other" from Santa Clause is Coming to Town.

This year I got the "Santa Sing Along", which is what I had as a kid. Our kids loved rocking out to Christmas Karaoke all month long. Here Travis takes a turn at the mic.

Ginger did fantastic in her Gingerbread Man school play. She was cast as the old woman who made the gingerbread man. She looked so cute as an old lady. This is always a fun 1st grade tradition.

 

Talmage's Train Ride

For Christmas last year, Talmage was gifted the experience of going on the train. We just now got around to it, but better now that he was a little older and more into this kind of stuff. And it's always fun to go in December.

This was technically Ivy's first time on front runner, too. And Ginger doesn't remember her first ride as she wasn't even a year old.

We stopped at the Lehi Station and took a short walk to Apollo Burger for some brunch. Followed by milkshakes, of course. It was a special treat.

 I'm sure we will be doing this again, we all had such a good time.