Cake and Icicles

 SO MUCH EXCITEMENT!! After counting down since Christmas, ANNE FINALLY TURNED 5!!! She picked Trix for her Birthday Cereal, opened presents that morning, and enjoyed her new Polly Pockets and modeling new outfits all day.  She also loved finding out the phone was for her when she answered, and proceeded to walk around the house w/ her hand on her hip telling Grandma about what crazy things Lucy did that morning, and how hilarious her frog singing "Happy Birthday" card was :).

We labored way too long to make a "Dora Cake," and ate Macaroni and Cheese w/ hotdogs before heading to New Beginnings, where Emily was honored as an incoming Beehive!

Emily also had the excitement of the school Spelling Bee this week:

She was disappointed to get out on "disparity" (not dispparity), but studied hard, and aside from not being able to get all of these wordspellings out of her head, had fun with the excitement--there wasn't NEAR the time to study that there was last year, but she did well!

Meanwhile, we have been BURIED in SNOW!!!! We have had dumping, and dumping, and more dumping!

From this picture you can see from the driveway, how deep it got up to the boys--we actually had SCHOOL CANCELLED!!! from so much snow IN UTAH!! Then we got an ice storm ON TOP of all of that snow, and had school delayed 2 hours after kids could barely walk home the afternoon before (we all would've done better to just have ice skates!!--I couldn't even go up our driveway, and we had a few injuries in our neighborhood of people slipping and falling.  Snow never looked so good! Fortunately, we got above freezing the day after, and with an entire bag of ice melt, were able to move again!! It has been QUITE a winter!! I've gotten down comforters for all of the basement beds, and Brian and I are looking seriously at putting in a woodburning stove in the basement, since we would quickly freeze if the power ever went out! I read The Undaunted about the pioneers going through "The Hole in the Rock" to settle 4 Corners area, and LOVED picturing all the desert! I've even started putting together ideas for camping in Moab (or further south!) for Spring Break. 

Though it's left us all with a few colds, we're getting pretty good at slick driving and shoveling, and warming up the cars before we leave :).  What a winter!! We ended the week by celebrating Anne's birthday at the Circus!! (You can look back to last year to see our disappointing attempt to go then) I found some half price tickets online, and minus Brian and Brent home sick, we drove up to Ogden for a great time! Once the lights dimmed and the music and announcements started, Anne was in a trance!--she didn't even notice the popcorn we kept trying to pass to her!--though it was so loud Emily and I stuffed bits of Kleenex in our ears the whole time, it was a FUN show!!--tigers, trapeze, magic tricks, clowns, dogs & ponies, juggling, tightrope walking, daredevils, and dancing elephants! The younger girls had taken naps that afternoon so they could stay out so late, and we did have a blast!

after I took this picture, Spencer told me I missed the announcement about no cell phone pictures--I don't know how ANYone could understand a thing at that volume!

Anne had her first Suzuki Graduation concert on Saturday, playing with all of the other "twinklers" and getting a certificate for learning all of them this year.  She loved wearing one of her new birthday outfits, and LOVED being on stage (I love it how she lolls her tongue out of her mouth when she's excited :).

sweet Emily re-gifted her flower from New Beginnings for her :)

Brian was feeling enough better that night that the 2 of us were able to go see a Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit in Salt Lake, which was quite fun!--I kept getting nervous every time I'd finish reading a sign/display without interruption--I'm so used to having more to keep track of! :) He was such an innovative man, who sure made amazing use of his little-educated life!! Mindboggling to realize all he studied, learned, created, in so many fields from art, music, and anatomy, to mechanics and war machinery! I love how much he mimicked the natural world to create effective tools/ideas.  Amazing how enlightened he was for the time period he lived through!

Little~slow~Moments

 This is Lucy at the Jr High--we were either picking up Brent's clarinet for a repair, or dropping off Maddie's violin that she forgot--just a quick into the office and out.  Only there's no such thing as quick when you put your coat (and sweater today) on and off every time you get in or out of the van, run away when it's time to brush hair or go potty, and take off your shoes every time you're not walking in them, and stop to look at every clump of snow, every pattern in the carpet, and anything else you can see! But I had just heard something that stuck w/ me from a Women's Conference talk.  Wayne Brickey (one of our BYU bishops) was talking about parenting, and said as we wait for toddlers on OUR schedule, maybe they are still a little more used to Heaven's schedule where there ARE NO CLOCKS and learning, exploring, and growing are key.  I loved seeing her little dawdly focusless direction as heavenly, instead of what I was trying not to call it.  This day we waited long enough to take a picture of her, AND these cute ones of nearly-ready-for-Kindergarten-Anne :)

 Also, here are some favorite lines of the week:
Anne:

"I turned the “dingbell light” on Mom since it's dark now!" (she turned on the front porch light--by the door bell)

Spencer:

"We are actually going to be SUSSESSFUL at finishing this puzzle!" (it is so fun to say that while finishing a puzzle!)

Lucy:

"There's Daddy! (in the hall at church)--HE MARRIED YOU :) :)!!!" (this was from an explanation of why I was leaving for our date night--because Daddy and I are married and love each other, and want to go be together for a little bit--to which she then replied, "I don't want you to be married!")

Spencer:

Is Dad still in the bishopric?--Do they switch it around every year like they do our Primary teachers? :)

This was at the trampoline park right before they went back to school (on JAN 2!!!)--can I just say how great they are to have around??--the older girls to convince in sweet and miraculously effective-let's have a party ways--their younger counterparts to brush their hair, clean up a mess, finish their dinner, or whatever else I ask them to do that makes them cry, AND Brent, who DOES DISHES while my back is turned, and asks about 7x/day if I need any help with anything (I usually do look THAT frazzled :) ).  I love being surrounded by them, even if I am NEVER quick :)!

Brian: Worstday? to Birthday!

Brian went to work Monday morning, and
1-he had an email from the mayor re: her blackmail efforts to expose the fact that he had some late utility bills to the paper

2-he went to withdraw his paycheck from the lawfirm account, only to find it was empty

3-(after he said, "Don't tell me, you've got a new job") his dream secretary told him she had a new job!!

He came home pretty stoked for celebrating New Year's Eve.  Because it WAS the eve of a fresh new year, we kept our plans to play games w/ some fun couples and raclette w/ them over some FINE food, while Maddie went to her 80's dance (only the 14 year-olds dressed up, Mom--that's why I took my scrunchie out), and I made 2 different kinds of chex mix, gyoza, and grilled cheese for the remaining children celebrating at home :).  Brian and I ended the night w/ our daily crossword puzzle races (we got the books in our stockings--cool). 

So, that small-business stress has owned our week, but Brian's birthday was Saturday, so we took advantage of a ksldeal (one found in Brian's stocking), and visited Crystal Hot Springs!! He had to admit it was the first time he was outdoor swimming on his birthday!! It was fun, dipping our toes in snow, then feeling that fire-tingling from the 100 degree mineral water.  Steam everywhere, and a cold (70 degrees) pool we kept daring each other to go in.  It was a fun little getaway, and really relaxing.  (Look at that dinner picture---we need relaxing!) We stopped at Smith and Edwards on the way home (a crazy army surplus, but so much more store in the middle of NOWHERE) and the kids all got to pick out 50 cents worth of candy, which they LOVED, since they had a huge 20/$1 section--it was as exciting as "A kid in a candy shop"--:).  We came home and had steak and Black Forest Cherry birthday cake for him too.  He got a heater for the shed, and some new white shirts--I know, the excitement is uncontainable around here :).