Too fast, too furious…can't believe how fast the last few months have gone by- it feels like a few weeks! How is time speeding by this quickly? Depending on the day this can be good or bad. 🙂
Stephen & I – had our 18th wedding anniversary on October 28! So glad we get to be on this roller coaster of life together. Lex and Astrid gave up a dozen roses and our favorite treats. The song I dedicated to him this year is "Home" by Phillip Phillips. I just love it for some reason?
Stephen – is experiencing changes with his job. The IT department at BYU Idaho is changing around who does what and who answers to whom. This has taken up a lot of frustration and worry for many of Stephen's colleagues. Stephen mostly just wants to have the decisions all made so he can get to work-which is what he is all about! He was asked to work a little with the company that bought out AMX– so that keeps him busy at nights when he isn't helping other people build houses, fix their computers, chillin with the YM, and supporting our kids in all of the activities they are involved in.
Jodi – I feel like I've been busy being the mom taxi, chef, counselor, etc.… I love it, but get tired and am ready to go to bed early. I seem to be unmotivated to starting any projects that need to be done around the house. Hoping that kicks in soon. J My sister came up for a surprise visit and that was BIG & exciting! Primary program is over, and now we are planning for the upcoming year. I teach a couple of girls violin lessons after school and enjoy having a chance for a musical outlet. Mostly I'm just trying to stay in tune with everybody's needs and while trying to stay emotionally stable myself – running still seems to fill that need inside of me for now.
Astrid – is almost always smiling and happy. We love having her in our home and she is a valuable asset to our family. We have loved getting to know her better and found that she is a sweetheart and super funny. Her already good English keeps improving. She made the most goals for the Sugar Salem Soccer team this season! She seems to come home with a new boy's phone number every day. 🙂 hahaha Astrid is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the out!
Lexi – got her license. It is great to send her out on errands for herself or the family! She loves having a bit more freedom and has proven we can trust her to do what she says-she is a great girl. She was sad her soccer team didn't make it to state but also accepted it in stride. She is enjoying times with swing choir and has a dinner show next weekend. She takes pride in working hard to get good grades at school.
Mason – still loves bikes. Of course he does. He also loves camping too. He has advanced far enough through the scouting program that he is ready to work on his Eagle project. He is running into a few brick walls with his idea to groom a bike trail up in Kelly Canyon area. It will be on hold until the weather changes – unless he comes up with a different idea. I'm sure he would love any suggestions. Mason is enjoying band this year and told me that Mr. Sears, his band teacher, is his favorite teacher. Mason loves to eat pork burritos from Costa Vida.
Lily – is getting to be quite the social butterfly and has lots of friends. She loves to do things with her friends this year more than she ever used too. She is getting ready for piano festival and hopes to earn enough points to get her statue of Bach. She told me music is her favorite class at school- surprise? No. She also participates in the after school program and loves art and writer's club. She is really good at keeping her room clean and babysitting JT and Olivia. She loves colored jeans and is enjoying the challenge of fixing hair. She also likes going to Activity Days and her teacher Sister Malstrom. Lily is excited to turn 11 in just a few days.
Olivia – turned 7! She can play scales on the piano now. Exciting! She will participate in her first festival in two weeks. I'm proud of how she is self-motivated in practicing the piano and getting her homework done after school. When Olivia has a "hard time" – whining, complaining, tantrum-ing, like little 7 year old girls do, all you have to do Is tickle her smile back on. It works almost every time. She loves going to school for the full day and eating school lunch. We just found out she gets to be baptized the day after her 8th birthday (August 31) and she is very excited about that!
JT- is wild & goofy & cute as ever. He ate so much sugar on Halloween day that he was literally jumping off of the couch and running circles around the dining room table as he yelled loudly. 🙂 He makes the weirdest faces as he does all of this too. JT loves to go to pre-school and wishes every day were a school day. He LOVES to ride his bike more than almost anything else – sounds like the other boys at our house. He also love to hand out with Stephen in the garage and fix things up. He loves to play games on the computer or iPad too. He said his favorite food is shredded colby jack cheese and a "cracked open potato with sour cream". He does not like cheese inside of his food – just on the side or "plain".