Guess What I Did?

Addelyn came up to me and asked,

A: Guess what I did?

M: What?

A: I sorted my clothes

M: What clothes?

A: The clothes in the laundry basket

M: All by yourself?

A: Yes, with noone asking

M: All of them? You put them in your drawers where they belong?

A: Yes

M: Are you 7?

A: No, I’m 4

M: Are you sure you’re not 7, because 7 year olds put their clothes away by themselves

A: I’m 4

M: Good job

A: Can I have a dollar?

M: No, you can’t have a dollar. Thank you for putting your clothes away.

The things she learns from her older brother and sisters.

Crazy Hair

Tyler's hair is pretty long. When he has had a good, long nap, this is usually what his hair looks like. Time for a hair cut.

Not again...

Kylee is known for getting stuck. She knows how to go down the stairs backwards, and I have seen her 'back' up to get under her crib then she sits up (the kids play hide-and-seek under the cribs), so I think this is how she got in this situation: she climbed in the play dishes box, backed up, it slid a little more under the bed, and she kept slipping when she tried to get out, but couldn't. Yes, I had to grab the camera to capture it. What a sad little girl.

Tyler and Kylee's #1 Pictures

Our very own ice rink

For the past three winters in Alaska, Jerry has wanted to build and ice skating rink in our backyard. On year four, he finally did it. He cleared a large patch of snow and laid large sheets of plastic down over the grass and up the sides of the snow. Then slowly, began filling it with water. It has taken a few weeks to do this because the water would leak around the seams of the plastic if the water didn't freeze fast enough. It is now complete. The finished project is about 20 feet by 40 feet. The kids tried it out Thanksgiving day and had a blast. This is so great because the kids can ice skate whenever they want and when they get cold, they can come inside and not have to sit in the car, and we don't have to take the twins out in the cold.

We are Thankful for...

We had a nice, quiet (yeah right) Thanksgiving. Jerry started the morning off playing Turkey Bowl with friends, then enjoyed a day of football. I think he would rather watch it than play it (a couple minor injuries). The kids enjoyed being home and couldn't wait to eat. I started baking a couple days before so I could spend less time spent in the kitchen on Thanksgiving. We had our traditional Pomagranate Soup: pomagranates, crushed pineapple with juice, grapefruit pieces with juice, and all this is frozen together. When it is time to eat/drink it, you make it slushy and pour Sprite over it. Yum Yum!

Shelly is thankful for a wonderful husband and kids

Jerry is thankful for

Shayla is thankful for

Tyler is thankful for his binki

Kylee is thankful for crackers

Addelyn is thankul for her friends

Kassidy is thankful for food

Dallan is thankful for encouraging friends

Violin

When Shayla was deciding which classes to sign up for at school, she wanted to take orchestra. She was given a guitar and has learned a few notes, but she didn't know if she would be playing the guitar in orchestra. This is a year long class, so it was something she had to commit to.

Once orchestra started, since she was a beginner, she would have to choose between the violin, viola, and chello. She choose the violin. After getting the music book and other items, Shayla was ready to starting learning how to play the violin. There is only one small problem, I don't know how to play any musical instrument (except the radio) or read music, so I am no help at all. Jerry has some background in music, so he is able to help her after work.

She has improved so much. She can play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (by memory), Jingle Bells (she has volunteered to play it at our wards Christmas dinner), and a couple other songs. She had her first concert and did great. I think she was a little nervous because you could see her make funny faces when she might have messed up, but noone could tell. We are so proud of her.

Hair

Kylee finally has enough hair to pull into a ponytail. It's still not much, but it works. All of my other girls had a lot more hair by a year old. Now the trick is getting her to sit still long enough to do something with it.