Temple Square Lights

We hit the races early this year and went downtown to see the lights before the crowds got too big and the holiday season got too crazy. It was a great night to go too. The weather wasn't too cold and it was fun to see everything that temple square has to offer. The only thing missing was lights on my favorite tree to twirl under but we found a few others that were good enough for the girls to enjoy.

Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving, we tried something new that I want to keep as a tradition in our family. I always feel like Thanksgiving comes and goes and because I'm so worried about food or about getting from one place to the next, I forget to count my blessing and really ponder on the things I'm thankful for. So we set a timer and every hour that it went off, everyone had to say something they were thankful for. The girls really got into it. Sadie didn't want anyone to say the same thing that someone else had said, and for the most part we didn't. We are truly blessed.

For our Thanksgiving meal, I was over the potatoes. I now have a greater appreciation for all those moms out there that practically put on the entire meal themselves. It took me two hours just to do the potatoes and that was with Josh's help. Thankfully, I didn't have to do the entire meal myself. Cindy hosted it and the food was just as yummy as I had been anticipating. This year was also a little different because Josh's family decided to do their Thanksgiving meal in the evening. So we ended up eating two full Thanksgiving dinners in one day. It was nice because all his grandparents were able to be there too so we got to visit with almost all our family on one day. 

School

I just have to say that I love Kali's and Sadie's school. They do such a fabulous job at making learning exciting. Right now Kali's class is doing what they call "an expedition" on birds. Basically they're focusing all their studies on birds. And not only do they read about them and do projects on them, but they have been to the Tracy Aviary and a nature preserve twice. Then to top it off, they had a bird expert come in and bring his hawk and owl. He let the hawk fly around the room and then taught the kids about pellets.

Then they gave the kids pellets to dissect. Yes, a pellet is the nasty thing that the birds throw up with all the fir and bones in it that they can't digest. I know it sounds totally disgusting but you should have seen how excited the kids were and how much they learned from it. It was so interesting to look for specific bones from the rodents. I hadn't ever seen any of those bones in real life and found it quite fascinating too. Anyway, my point is that her school does such a fantastic job at allowing the kids opportunities to learn in many different ways. Not only do they use audio and visual techniques, but they do so many hands-on activities as well for all those kinesthetic learners out there. I feel like Kali comes home an expert on so many different subjects. She knows more about trees, rocks, butterflies, and birds than I could ever hope to know. The earliest I can remember going in depth on a subject was in the 3rd grade. We learned about Indians but never did anything that would help the information stick with me long term.

Dinner Time

This is the scene we see almost every day after dinner--no one at the table but Sadie. And sometimes it's what we see after breakfast and lunch too. Not only is she a slow eater, but she's picky also. Thankfully when we tell her that she has to eat four more bites of her vegetables, she eats them, even if it takes her an extra 30 minutes to an hour. She's like a turtle, slow and steady.

Dress Up

Kali has been such a big helper with Emma lately. Emma hasn't been a very easy baby, especially at home. She cries most of the time unless she's being held. Thankfully when things get crazy and Kali is home, Kali picks her up and carries her around. Sometimes she sings to her or reads to her, but today she decided to dress her up. Emma actually seemed to enjoy it until she put the hair on her. I thought it made a fun picture though.

Baby Teeth

I know this is a scary picture, so let me explain. I somehow ended up with two baby teeth that never had permanent teeth underneath to replace them. They both happen to be my first molars on the bottom. Well, when I was in junior high or high school, I was eating an M&M and shattered all but a tiny portion of one of my baby teeth and it's roots. My dentist was able to do that awesome silver filling you can see in my mouth and it has held up for another fifteen to twenty years. I've been warned by multiple dentists over the years that the tooth was on the verge of giving out and that I'd have to consider a bridge or a metal implant. Well, it finally gave out. I ended up with an abscess. Twelve hundred dollars later I have an implant and only one baby tooth in my mouth. The process is only half way complete and will cost another several hundred dollars. Who knew such a misfortune would cost so much money.

Primary Program

Today was the primary program. Sadie was the first person to go up to the pulpit and did such a great job. We practiced a lot at home so she had her part memorized, but still it can be very scary to be the first one up and to have enough courage to say your part. She did great. Her class also got to do the actions for The Wise Man and the Foolish Man song.

Kali also did an amazing job with her part and her class got to sing the first verse of When I am Baptized. But this year was very special because she was asked to sing If the Savior Stood Beside Me as a solo in the program. When she was first asked, she immediately said yes and later I realized that she didn't know what the word "solo" meant. She thought her class would be singing with her. When I told her she would be singing all by herself, she was pretty nervous about it but decided she'd go ahead and do it. We practiced the song a lot at home, and when I listened to her perform it during the program practice it brought me to tears. Then during the program she did an amazing job again even though she was very very nervous. The chorister told Kali afterward that it was so beautiful and that she felt the Spirit because she's such a good person. I couldn't have agreed more. The entire program was beautiful. I especially felt the spirit during the last number I'm Trying to be Like Jesus. They had a violin playing with them during the song and just before they sang the chorus for the last time, the violin did a solo. Then the children came in singing with all their hearts the chorus, "Love one another as Jesus loves you. Try to show kindness in all that you do. Be gentle and loving in deed and in thought, For these are the things Jesus taught." It was like they were telling us what the gospel is all about and how simple it is. It was simply beautiful.

Snow

We finally got our first big snow storm of the season and the girls were so excited. I was too because now that our deck is complete, stairs and all, I was able to send them out back to play without having to be out in the cold with them. It was great! I think they played out there for two hours and had a blast making their own snowmen.

Ashlyn was napping during part of it, but when she finally got out there she spent entire time eating the snow. I could barely get her to stop long enough for me to take a picture. Hopefully she didn't contract some weird disease.

Discovery Ice Skating

Sadie got to participate in her second session of Discovery this year--ice skating. She was so excited to go. I think she was thinking it would be just like when we went ice skating with Brady and Jordan last winter. They skated around the rink holding her hands the entire time. But today wasn't anything like that. Her discovery class was meant to teach her how to skate on her own. She was terrified when she first stepped on to the ice and realized how slippery it was. It didn't help that the first girl to get on the ice burst out in tears and that several of the kids kept falling pretty hard falls. She wanted me to hold her hand and help her, but I wanted her to try what they had taught her and insisted she do it on her own. She was pretty nervous but was willing to give it a try. I think it helped once she finally fell and realized that it wasn't that bad. But she still wasn't enjoying herself and wanted a walker. They only had a few of them and were sharing them around.

Once she got a walker, she skated with it for only a few minutes then offered it to another classmate. But then she started whining and begging for my help again. I realized that she probably wouldn't be acting that way had I not come, so I decided to skate away from her and not give her any attention. Once I did that, she did awesome. She was going much farther and decided that she even wanted to go from one side of the rink to the other. Unfortunately, she only had a couple of minutes and then their time was up, so she never made. But I'm proud of her for trying. And when she tells people about going ice skating, she talks as though it was the funnest thing she's ever done.