Alive and Well!

Yes, we are alive! Life has been very busy as we prepare for the National Scout Jamboree in July. We have 67 days and counting! It is coming quickly, but we are all very excited. We are in the final planning stages and the final sewing stages. All of the council patches still have not arrived as there was an error in the order. As soon as they get here I have 12 shirts to finish! Thank goodness for a mom and grandma to help sew.

The kids are anxious for school to end - Darek and Parker think they are done and are having a hard time finishing (or even starting) term projects. I am also looking forward to summer and no homework - which tends to be a nightmare at our house.

The girls recently participated in the Japanese Festival in S.L. They were models in the fashion show and got to wear some beautiful (and very expensive) family Komono's. They looked stunning and had a great time.

The boys have been busy building a skate ramp that they are welding together as well as working on 4-wheelers and items for National Jamboree. They have also been working on their flyers for their Tractor Mowing Service in hopes of making some good money this summer.

Both are doing good in school, despite their motovation. Darek has adjusted very well to high school. He has become the favorite student of his FFA teacher. He is taking a welding class from this teacher and is so good that the teacher has Darek teach the class on the days he has FFA commitments. He checks Darek out of school, they hire a sub. to supervise and Darek teaches 4 periods a day. This has been an awesome experience for him in that he has learned to have more self-confidence and he realizes how grateful is for his dad teaching him so much. He is also working on getting his learner's permit. He has taken the test twice, but missed passing by one question. Now he is a little worried about taking again and so he keeps putting it off. We just keep encouraging and know he will go for it soon.

Parker is also adjusting to Jr. High. He has some of the same struggles Darek had, but we are learning to cope. He still struggles with reading and writing, but he is making progress. Thanks to Grandma for tutoring him 2 days a week. He doesn't like to go, but it is working and we are confident that he will get to grade level soon. He has been taking an American Sign Language class and has found that he really enjoys it. I, however, am not so sure when he signs to me and won't speak. I worry about what he is calling me because it is usually when he is angry. Oh, well! Maybe that saying of "what you don't know, won't hurt you" is a good thing to keep in mind. He is such a character!!

Becca has made remarkable progress this year and is almost reading at grade level. Ya!!!! She has jumped a whole grade level since last school year. WE are so excited. She has become such a creative writer and loves to write stories. Her imagination is endless. She recently bought some roller blades and is learning to blade. She also has found a love for swimming. She went with the boys to the pool the other night for their scout swim check and she ended up swimming 2 full laps - 2 on her back and 2 with a front stroke. Maybe this will become a new hobby for her.

Rachel is excelling in school - as always! She is our straight A student and thank goodness! I know the Lord understands that I just can't possibly do one more child with disabilities. She is such a jewel in that she does her homework EVERY night without being asked and she LOVES to read. You can always find her wrapped up in a book and most recently chapter books. She also loves to be read to so I have been reading to her and Becca. Since the first of the Feb. we have read The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe, all the Fudge books by Judy Blume and now we are working on Beverly Cleary's Ramona books. We have read 3 and started our fourth one last night. The girls have loved these books. Becca has also got us reading Inkheart, which I'm excited about.

Don and I are just busy being parents - and loving it! As the kids get older it is so fun to spend time with them. They do cause us some grief, but that good times far outway the rough times. We feel so blessed to have happy, healthy and smart kids.

We are headed off to the sand dunes this weekend to have our family time and everyone is excited - even the dogs. They know when the toy hauler comes home their going camping. We hope the weather will cooperate. The last 2 times we have been we have had wind so bad that we have had to come home. We'll keep our fingers crossed.

Welcome 2010!

My goal this year is to keep this blog current! So here is the my first post of 2010.

It's hard to believe the year is gone. So many things have happened and yet the new year brings anticipation of even bigger changes in our lives.

Big mile stones for our boys - Parker will officially be a teenager in March and Darek turns the big 16 and will be driving (not sure if I'm more concerned about the driving or the dating). We have a huge family vacation planned for July. The girls and I along with my parents will be tagging along with the boys as they head off to the National Scout Jamboree in Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia. We plan on sight-seeing with them for about 13 days prior to the Jamboree itself. The kidsare already anticipating certain historical sites. Rachel is dying to climb to the top of the Statue of Liberty and Becca is just anxious to see it all. Parker has his hopes set on seeing Ground Zero and Darek looks forward to visiting Arlington. I just pray that I make it through the plane flight (I HATE flying).

I'm going to post some pictures in the next couple of days of events that have taken place over the last few months. So much has happened & of course, I have tons of pictures.

Eagle Approved!

Darek has gotten his Eagle Project approved by the District. We are now filling out paperwork to send to council & hope to get it completed in the next couple of months. He is building Campsite markers for two of the loops at Little Sahara. He and Zach Bates are working on this together - each doing a loop. He has to weld pipe stands for each site and a face plate and then we will go to the sand dunes and cement them in and stencil the numbers on each one. The plan is to hopefully get them done and ready to install over the Halloween weekend when the kids are out on Thurs. & Fri. We'll see how that goes.

Also, next Tues. the 29th is the boys regular Court of Honor. Awards will be given and they will be recognized for everything done at Steiner (they have already been given their badges).

Good News: Darek has been given a fabulous assignment at school. Every other day he gets out 15 minutes early to help retire the American Flag and the state Flag. The reason he got the assignment? Because he was the only one in class who knew how to properly retire a flag! Way to go, bud!! We are so proud of you!

Next Good News: Don is going to be the new Scout Master until the end of the year. This will give him time to help Darek get through his Eagle & Parker get a little farther. Then he will need to be devoting all of his time to National.

Almost here!!

Yesterday we finished up the school shopping, bought the last few school supplies and had the hair's cut. I think we are as ready as we can be for the first day of school. Hard to believe that Darek will officially be a Freshman tomorrow and Parker will be a big 7th grader. Both the boys start school tomorrow with orientation for students and a short day schedule.

Parker is very excited to be headed to Jr. High. He is pretty maticulous about his appearance and his school supplies. Yesterday at Costco he found the best deal ever (according to him) - a binder that holds ALL his stuff (and he has alot of stuff). He was on cloud 9. He immediately came home and organized the binder with pencils, paper, pens, calculator and schedule. Preparation for school is complete after this great find! He also got the hair cut so he's lookin' pretty cool. I have to brag that he is one good lookin' young man! Watch out girls!

Darek on the other hand is anything but excited. He did buy some new shoes (DC's) and picked out some cool shirts, but other then that Mom has done the rest of the shopping. Unlike Parker, he doesn't care if he has pencils, paper or anything else. He is taking Welding this year so I hope that will be a fun class for him and a good outlet from the book work. We pray he will have an awesome year and keep encouraging him to get involved and enjoy the high school years. We tell him that great memories can be made over the next four years and that you can't go back and do it again, so live in the moment!

Best of luck to the both of you and may you have a WONDERFUL year!

Redneck Riding!

Don has been really sick and needed some R & R. We decided that a trip to Ibapah was just what we needed. So we loaded up the bikes and off we went. Our good friends Bob & Crystal Mitchell we able to come with us which was great because we haven't seen then for quite some time. We pulled in at 10:30 p.m., tried putting what I thought was the key into the door and no go! I couldn't believe it. Luckily Don was able to get a window to open & we pushed Darek thru.

The weather was BEAUTIFUL! Not too hot, not too cold. The kids did lots of riding behind the house with Don sitting in a chair and enjoying the moment.

On Saturday, the boys talked me into driving the truck the dump so they could "Treasure Hunt." Well they found a matress and decided it would be great to tie a rope to it and drag it behind the 4-wheeler. Much to my protesting the mattress was tied down to the bed of the truck. Back to the house we went. Immediately they rigged up the mattress and from the pictures you can see the result. Talk about Redneck riding. Leave it to the boys to be inventive. However, it did provide an hour of entertainment!

While we were there, Rachel got her first taste of shooting. Dad took her out and let her shoot Parker's gun first which just has a site on it. She couldn't quite get the hang of it. So he gave her Darek's gun with the laser site on it and she nailed 20 out of 25 shots! Not to bad for a 7 year old.

All in all it was a great restful weekend spent with great friends in the greatest place on earth!

They Survived Steiner!

Well, the men survived Camp Steiner. They had an awesome time and the weather couldn't have been better - cool, but not too cold.

Two big high five's to both the boys who passed their cold water check in Scout Lake. Ya! Parker went on to earn his Rowing and Canoeing Merit Badge and he participated in the Canoeing races on the last day. Darek didn't earn any water merit badges, but he PASSED the cold water check which is a huge milestone for him. Way to go, boys!

The high point for Darek was earning his climbing merit badge. He learned to repell and climb on the cliffs at Steiner and according to his dad he is really good at it. He also earned his 2nd year round camping award, Indian Lore, Fish and Wildlife & Geology.

Parker was a busy beaver. He earned his rowing, canoeing, geology, cooking, first aid, orienteering, indian lore and his year round camping.

Both boys loved the rifle range where they showed everyone how good of shots they are. Parker could hit the target on the first shot every time. He was the rifle shooter in the leg of the Mountain Man relay.

The girls and I drove up on Friday and spent the day and night with them. We had a fabulous time watching the troop participate in the Battle of Steiner and performing their hilarious skit at the closing camp fire.

Oquirrh Mountain Temple

Last Wednesday the girls and I attended the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House. We had a wonderful time and it was great to see inside this beautiful temple. It is very similar to the Draper Temple. The Celestial room reminds me alot of the San Diego Temple in that it is very open and the sunlight comes in. The girls were fascinated with the chandaliers.

Afterwards we enjoyed a cookie and a drink and a picture in front of the water fountain at the front of the Temple. It was a terrific day!