Category: Stephen and Jodi

Mason would clear it as I pushed it outIt was another snow day today for the kids so we decided that this afternoon we would dig a snow cave and sleep in it tonight. It was a blast digging it just like old times in scouts. Mason and I were inside digging and pushing the snow out the door, when we realized that we had pushed the door full of snow. We were trapped, Mason started digging his way out. He made it about halfway out the door and got stuck, I gave him the boot…I pushed him out with my foot on his bunda. It was pretty funny how he popped on out. Alexis and Lily helped to dig the cave too so we are all planning on sleeping out there tonight. We will report on how it goes tomorrow.

Rexburg holds an event “Snow Fest” the last saturday of January. There are random fun snow events – for our family the Polar Bear Swim is a favorite. This entails putting on a swimming suit, standing out in 15 degree weather to wait for your turn, jumping into a large pool of 36 degree water, then immediately sitting in a 106 degree hot tub, getting out and hurriedly putting on your snow pants, hat, and gloves. There must be some sort of rush involved that some of us just can’t understand. Anyway, after much anticipation it finally arrived. Alexis has been talking about it for awhile. Lily wanted to be on T.V. (the news) again. Mason, just like always, is up for a thrill. Stephen woke up after a long, restless night from a cold – obviously this did not deter him. When going to sign up they found out that children under 8 would not be permitted to jump. (A girl in South Dakota last year did this and her heart went into cardiac arrest – not comforting thoughts for an overprotective mother!) Needless to say, Lily had to watch – she was mostly disappointed about not getting on T.V. Alexis was over joyed when Stacie called and said she would be joining in and bringing Kate with her. They also informed us that Jana and Hannah were taking the plunge as well. Crazy Cold Fun! Another year, another hat, and membership to the prestigious Polar Bear Club. We missed Lance, Kassie and Sami (from last year).

It is now official. Mom and Dad are now Full Time Missionaries. They fly out at 7:00 AM tomorrow. We had one last little shin dig tonight with two rounds of desserts. Mom’s homemade cheesecake and then a round on ice cream and hot fudge. We are sure going to miss all the fun get togethers. As you can see they have their bags packed and are ready to go. Good luck Mom and Dad…

Comments:

Anne said…

We wish we could have been there. We will miss all the fun get togethers too!
Tuesday, January 15, 2008 3:24:36 PM

MZB said…

Best Wishes to the Parker’s. I know they will be missed.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 3:53:08 PM

It has been an eventful holiday. One filled with lots of action and many memories. Here are a few of the highlights:
Grandpa and Grandma Baldwin came to our house the Thursday before Christmas. They were greeted with very excited grandchildren. We all had a great time with them here, and we are glad they decided to come and celebrate Christmas with us.
For Christmas this year, Stephen was really anxious for me to put presents under the tree. I usually avoid this because it seems I spend all of my time re wrapping gifts. I ended up giving each person in our family a name of a reindeer – and only I knew who was who. The man handling of presents was eliminated because they didn’t know which gift was for who! Because the older kids left them alone, Olivia did a pretty good job too. Plus, she had 5 police protecting the presents.
On Sunday, I pulled out a present (which contained a new outfit for church) for each “reindeer” from under the tree. We started with Olivia. She got to pick out which gift she thought was for her. We were all excited that she chose her own “Comet”. Lily chose to unwrap “Dancer”, who we found out was Alexis. She then tried “Prancer” and that was for her! Mason decided to go with “Cupid”, because I told him I tried to be tricky. And we all discovered, with one gift left, that Stephen would be “Rudolph.” I was “Blitzen”.
Monday, Christmas Eve, we went to the annual Burton Christmas Dance. There is a live band playing Christmas tunes, and people and children dance or walk around a decorated Christmas tree that they put in the center of the cultural hall. I have been going to this dance off and on since I was a little girl. It was very nostalgic for me once again. Santa Claus comes toward the end of the dance and the children wait in line to tell him what they would like. He gives them a brown paper bag with an orange, peanuts, and misc. candy. This has also never changed since I was little.
That evening my dad was in charge of a special Christmas Family Home Evening – also a family tradition for me. This year we watched the “Joy to the World” DVD and read our favorite scripture that testifies of Jesus Christ. Lex and Mason even came up with their own scripture! My dad talked about the stripling warriors and about their valiance. He then passed out a gift for each person to help us remember the real reason we celebrate Christmas. Lily and Olivia received a choose the right bracelet, Stephen and Mason received a Stripling Warrior tie, and Alexis and I received a necklace. I appreciate so very much the testimony of my dad – this was a special night for me.
Christmas morning was typical – see individual kid blogs. We enjoyed a lazy day – I didn’t get out of my p.j.s until 4:00 pm. We had a Christmas dinner and then invited Bruce and Sharon and Paul over to play games. We had fun playing Apples to Apples, Cadoo, Speed Scrabble, and Grunt Piggy Grunt. Stephen got a fancy camera from Santa and hasn’t stopped taking pictures! He is up to 1740 photos since Christmas day!
My parents gave us all money for Christmas. Because of this, I was anxious to take the kids out in the madness and find a good deal the day after Christmas. We ended up in Idaho Falls at Kohls. My parents came too. Each child found a treasure and because Grandma was there – we got an extra 15% off! Senior Citizen discount.
Many various happenings occurred in the following days – all including relaxation and fun. We celebrated my mom’s birthday because they were planning on leaving on the actual day. Stephen was also excited about plowing the driveway because of all the snow! This can take up to an hour in a half per time, but he loves every minute.
Stephen’s family started trailing in last Friday. Our kids have had loads of fun sledding down Grandpa and Grandma Parkers Luge. Stephen tried snowboarding out for the first time on a trip to Kelly Canyon with the boys, and found out he might have found a new hobby – he had lots of fun despite a few crashes.
Saturday Evening we were able to go to the Open House for the Rexburg Temple. It is so beautiful and was wonderful to be there with family. We are so lucky to have a temple so close by!
The Parker Parents spoke in church yesterday before departing on their mission to Lisbon, Portugal. They did an excellent job and will be wonderful missionaries. Of course we have been partying all weekend and plan to do so again tonight for New Year’s Eve. Last night the kids got to open up their presents from Grandpa and Grandma – a pair of new cute pajamas! Unborn J.T. even received a pair! He will get to match Mason, pretty cool.
As you can tell we have had a very fun filled holiday vacation!

Comments:

Mom Baldwin said…

We had such a great time at your house for Christmas! Thanks for the invitation. We enjoyed all our time spent there and specially the magic the kids brought to the forefront.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008 8:56:23 AM

Mom Baldwin said…

Stephen, you sure know how to use that new camera. Great pictures! Great memories!
Tuesday, January 08, 2008 9:06:44 AM

Amy Baldwin said…

I think I have some pics of Brad on Santa’s lap at the Burton Christmas party when he was younger.

Jodi, you’re a pretty awesome mom with all of the fun traditions that you come up with.
Saturday, January 12, 2008 12:32:38 AM

Some songs to start off your exercise plans….

We got a nice new blanket of snow last night so we took to the sleds at Grandma and Grandpa’s. Grandpa purchased some tub like sleds that are a real treat to ride in cause they are rugged and they are fast. Mason hit the hill before we even finished getting out of the car. We all had a great time and had a nice lunch of custom made sandwiches from Grandma and Hot Chocolate from Jodi (She made it in her handy dandy Cocoa maker) of course the kids did some rock climbing. Good Times.

It was time again for the annual Christmas Program for the Elementary School. We had been hearing excerpts from a few of the songs preparing us for the grand event. Our recollections went back a year to when Mason was in this performance by himself. Oh, the dread that he felt. He had to wear pajamas in front of everyone – everyone in the bleachers that he knew would be looking at HIM! After much coaxing and prodding he prevailed and with as little effort as possible went through the actions and tried moving his lips.

This year on the other hand, was another story. He still wasn’t trilled about performing, but there was such improvement. The morning of the program Lily was expressing concern about being nervous and that she hoped she could do a good enough job in front of all those people. I casually mentioned that she should ask Mason what to do. I listened and heard Mason give her some pointers and she felt better. It was cute. They both did a wonderful job. Lily really got into her Spanish dancing and Mason loved dressing up in a ninja costume. Mostly he enjoyed getting to be part of the Chinese dragon’s body, in the Chinese New Year Parade – he even poked his head out when he was all through and gave a hearty wave.

“I think to myself, what a Wonderful World!”

It was touching to see how children interpret the depiction of the Good Samaritan as they viewed a life size example. I was touched as Lily was so reverenced by these images. We can learn a lot about listening to our hearts from our children.

We had to make a tough decision for our FHE activity, watch an episode of “Kid Nation” (we are a few behind) or build a ginger bread house. You can see what was chosen, it was a great time for all of us. Lily was a little under the weather so she quietly watched. It was a challenge to keep from eating all the icing and candies before we finished the house. But we managed to have just enough. We also read as a family the “Ginger Bread Baby”, by Jan Brett. It was a fun night for all. A few days later Lily was telling visitors that we built it with Tooth Paste – she must have really been under the weather!

Loading up the goods!So it has officially ended – THANKSGIVING. Here are some of the photos from our “thanksgiving thrills”. It would be wonderful if we could all hold on to the attitude of gratitude every day of our lives. There is always something to be thankful for! Here is something I am really grateful for in a very superficial way. We have decorated our home for the Christmas holiday, yes I’m thankful for that – but there is more! I took out the Christmas stockings that I bought 2 years ago – I bought 7 for some reason. I remember how much I really like them. I also took out the stocking holders – we have the letters P-E-A-C-E and then I happen to purchase two snowflake holders after Christmas last year. To my delight I realized that next year when our family has increased by one, I will have enough stockings and holders for each member of my family. AND not only do I have enough, the sequence of colors is perfect…Stephen – GREEN, Jodi – RED, Lex – WHITE, Mason – GREEN, Lily – RED, Olivia – WHITE, and one for baby next year – GREEN! If I ever run out of things to be grateful for…remind me of this little joy.

Good Eats!	Dad where is my food?	One of the kid tables.
Talent show participants, playing and singing Silent Night.	Carson’s impressive talent – he can even walk a distance with the spoon still attached!	Lily charms the audience in her Spanish get up.
Uncle John with disco dance and followers.	That looks nice!	Everyone got some energy out playing gym soccer.
The whole fam damily running under a giant jump rope.	Ryon, Jana, and Paul trying to unthaw from the harsh Idaho chill.