And perfect attendance too

Jennah made the Superintendent's list again AND had perfect attendance this quarter...so she got a quarter. She was so obsessed with getting perfect attendance this quarter, that we told her next time...we'll just give her a quarter. It's just not worth all the pre-teen drama. The picture on the right is to show the very strange (and painful looking) way she was standing. Don't try this at home!

Before and After

...'nuff said

Baptism day

Kirstie was lucky that her birthday was just the day before Stake baptism day, so she only had to wait one day. It was a nice day, and we were able to enjoy our time with family. I made her dress, and my amazing mother embroidered the bottom of her dress. Some of the family that was there were my sister Laura, her children Delsy, Randall, Logan and Maura, my sister Lynnette and her husband Mike, with their children Lecia, Matti, Noelle, Owen, and Paisley, Steve's brother Scott and his wife Beth and their son Kevin, Steve's Sister Vicky, her husband Wade, their daughter Camille, and Taylor Brubaker. Thanks to everyone who was able to come celebrate her special day with us!

8 is GREAT!!

Happy Birthday Kirstie!!!

Kirstie celebrated her 8th birthday on the 5th. She has been begging for a Hannah Montana skirt ever since she saw the movie, so I caved and made her one...only pink of course!! For her birthday, she got pink boots, a pink cowgirl shirt, a Pink princess book, a littlest pet, and of course...a PINK birthday cake. Can you guess what her favorite color is? She got to celebrate with some of her friends and cousins after school. Later that evening, we went over to Grandma & Grandpa's house for cake and ice cream.

Here are 8 fun facts about Kirstie:

1. Although most people think she is shy, at home, she is our loudest and most outspoken child (not always a good thing).
2. She LOVES animals. It doesn't matter what it is...she loves them all :)
3. She is a great little helper...as long as I'm working along side her.
4. Next to my dad, she is the worst pack-rat I've ever seen. It's next to impossible to get her to throw anything away.
5. She loves anything pink, sparkly, and girly, but plays like a boy...I'm learning not to buy her light colored clothing because it all eventually turns brown from her continuously playing in the dirt.
6. She is a super reader, and LOVES to read. Especially books about animals!
7. She is very thoughtful and loving, and is always writing love letters with little drawings to Steve and me.
8. Did I mention that she loves, loves, LOVES pink?!?

Snow day!!!

On Saturday, Jan. 23rd, we took a drive down Pinedale Road to look for a good sledding spot. It took us a while to find just the right place...notice the lovely brown "paint" on the Suburban. It was the perfect size for the kids...not to steep so they wouldn't go too fast, and not too long so they didn't get worn out climbing back up the hill. The top left is Kirstie's face plant wipe out. She's such an adrenaline junkie...I think that was the most fun she had the entire time. Poor Stevie's snow boot wouldn't stay on him, so he ended up having to go sit in the Suburban to warm up his little froze toes. Jennah was happy as long as she stayed upright. It doesn't get much better than this!!

Once there was a snowman...

This is what Steve did with the kids (way back in January), while I was at work. I came home just in time to see their finished masterpiece.

Yet another one...

Jennah made the Superintendents list again...you go girl!!! I chose this picture, because the teacher that handed the award to her (even though you can't see her face) was MY 4th grade teacher. How cool is that?

A little Sunday afternoon project

While blog-surfing last week, I saw a cute, fun, and easy idea for storing my girls flower clips. I already had the frame, paint, ribbon, and staple gun, so as soon as I had enough time to complete my little project, I jumped on it.

Here is the "before" picture. I just took the backing and the glass out of an old frame that I wasn't using. The frame I got the idea from was spray-painted turquoise...not one of my favorite colors. I tend to like an antique, or more rustic look, so I spray painted it a shiny silver, let it dry, painted over it with white paint, and then wiped it gently with a paper towel. After it dried (again), I had Steve help me staple the ribbon onto the back of the frame.

Here is the finished product....I just love doing stuff like this...especially when it comes together so quickly!

It's snow fun

Get it?!? Ya, I know, I'm not very good at funny.

On New Years Eve, we desperately wanted to have some family fun time that was free, so we headed up to the ranch in Pinedale. Steve was able to scrounge up some "sleds"...which consisted of two large restaurant serving trays, and a folded tarp that he found in the garage. Like I said...FREE!! They worked great, and the kids had lots of fun :) Stevie's poor hands were so frozen. We couldn't find his good mittens, so he had to use some little knit ones. I was hoping they would have lasted a little longer. Maybe now he learned his lesson, and will take better care of his good gloves.

I just love their expressions!!

WIPE OUT!!!! (Stevie)

After Kirstie's wipe out...she couldn't get up

Sadly, we had to cut our fun short. One of the neighbors that lives just down the road came to talk to Steve and I. She informed us that there was, what she called a "big cat", (aka- mountain lion) that would come down almost every day around 4:30pm to get a drink from the pond. We decided we didn't want to cross his path, so we left promptly at 4. If we would have been thinking, we would have parked the car close by the pond, and been able to see it close up...safari-style. Well, maybe next time!