Halloween, etc.

It's been awhile since I posted. I thought I was busy last year, but this year takes the cake! I'm up before dawn taking Marisa to early morning seminary, the big kids to school, the little kids homeschool worked on and many fun field trips and things that we've been able to work in, the scouts, Young Womens, soccer, music school, and other music lessons. Whew. Sorry I wish I did better at staying in touch, but here are some highlights of the last little while!

Marisa turned 14! Yay! She can now go to dances for which she is thrilled!

Went to a pumpkin patch with some homeschool friends.

The back of our van at the ward trunk-or-treat (one of our eyeballs popped!)

Beautiful Princess Faith

Guess who Jared dressed up as.

The big kids dressed up too, but I didn't get a good photo of them.

Food that we made for our Homeschool Halloween Party. "finger food" (above) gross.

Graveyard vegetable and cracker dip--surprizingly tasty

And we got our Eric back from Mexico! A bit taller, a bit thinner.

Adios!

Eric!

I am SUPER proud of Eric lately. In July he turned 12. He was ordained to the office of deacon and we get to enjoy watching pass the sacrament every week. I see a lot of growth in Eric this year. He quite a leader these days and I've really been enjoying having him around. I love having another priesthood holder in our home.

These are some photos that we had taken for his 12th birthday. He's a handsome bloke, isn't he?

Eric also just left yesterday on his exchange trip to Mexico. He'll be gone for 2 MONTHs! I miss him already. Here are some photos at the aeropuerto yesterday.

Grandma Heidi called just as he was bout to go through security.

Good bye to Faith. She'll really miss her big brother. Eric says she's his secretary. She always helps him get ready for school in the mornings.

Good bye to Jared.

Oh no! My sister is hugging me!

Bye Dad.

All of us in airport.

Good bye America!

All the kids and families. 5 boys from our school went.

2 Piano Jared

We are really excited and proud of Jared. He auditioned and was accepted into an elite music school here in Tulsa. Out of over 100 children only 12 were accepted. He earned a $4000 scholarship to be able to attend. So WaHoo! Yay for Jared.

He's always trying something new. Here he is playing 2 pianos at once (we had to move the pianos because of a leak, so Jared took advantage of the different arrangement).

Marisa, the CHEERLEADER!

Marisa made the Holland Hall cheer squad this year! She practiced really hard over the summer and went to all of the extra stuff that they were supposed to do.

She will have early morning seminary and multiple after school activities, and a full schoolwork load, so she actually made the wise choice to focus on her high school grades above extra curricular. So even though she is a way cute cheerleader, she opted to be an amazing student instead. We support that decision.

I think it's the school's loss though, look at how cute she is!

GO DUTCH!

Marisa's France Trip

This Picture I took in the hall of mirrors at Versailles.

Here we viseted a graveyard, even it was pretty!!!

My french family took me shopping in paris, I didnt have much time for pictured, but this i took when we walked by the Eiffel Tower.

In the Graveyard

This was in the Notre Dame of Ameins. It is three times as big as the one in Paris.

This is a gorgeous clock tower in the shopping area of town in Ameins.

This is a window in Notre Dame.

This is Notre dame also, this creepy skull sits high above a grave and in all of my pictures but one it had red eyes from the flash. Very creepy!

Notre Dame.

Notre Dame.

Notre Dame.

Le boulangerie, or bakery.

The bakery counter.

This was at the trench Warefare museum that we visited, we got to walk down and into the trenches of the battle of the Sommes. at the end, one of the stur=dents bought a gas mask used back then. This is John putting it on.

Me in the French Aerican room. I am bored, listening ro my ipod, taking really bad pictures of me.

Trench warefare museum down in one of the tunnels.

Me in the french computer lab, the keyboards are really different! I'm not really like that, that's my "normal" face.

Pidgeons are everywhere! this was the train station down by one of the flower shoppes.

The arrival gate at the airport right when we got there. I was so nervous and excited!

these are all of the french exchange students in our little room. Away from the sea of french.

This is a movie of my French family. I was allowed to take a video of them on condition that I had to eat cake.
It was very good. I took this my last night, they all speak their best English, and some french, take note of the cool accents! They were very nice, all of them. This video introduces them all but Nora is quite camera shy.
They are so great!

Sprink Break

This week was Spring Break and what a week it's been!
Monday we went to a funny movie, Tuesday we went to the zoo and enjoyed a presentation of the elephants (they did tricks and things)And the kids got to ride camels!Wednesday we had hearing and eye tests.Eric got contacts!
Thursday was "Absolutely Incredible Kid" day, wherein we wrote a letter telling our kids why they're incredible and they got free stuff all through town, like doughnuts, frozen custard (which we are waiting for in this photo)And half off at the laser tag place, which was very cool. eric ranked one higher than me, which he loved to lord over me!I had a birthday! Faith made me a beautiful cake.Damian bought me a piano! It was a crazy miracle story as to how we got it. We weren't even really looking, but it was beyond a good deal and we actually had the money for it, so we're now a 2 piano family! It makes for rollicking good duets, and a lot of chaotic noise! The old piano will be moved at a later time.

We also got Marisa back from France as of yesterday!

She brought us cool, yummy, amazing chocolates! These are her favorites--"cherry chocolates", she had a great time, and had a bit of an accent coming home. Now we get to look forward to her French "sister" coming at the end of April.
Au revior!