The ice fishing derby

Here is a picture from last Saturday's ice fishing derby. Andrew is having a great time in Cub Scouts and was very, very proud of the 2 fish he caught. He actually ended up coming in 7th place out of about 100 boys...he was really excited about that too! I just think this picture is so cute...I could look at it all day!

On the 3 month countdown!!!

April 25th is really just around the corner...and I am so, so happy to turn that corner! So far (I'm still holding out for Christina and Cameron) there are 6 couples - all linked to our King Henry days in college - going on this 7 day cruise to Mexico and I couldn't be more excited!!

Here's the craziest thing about it...because we used points (the one bonus to Greg's many travels) we only paid $7.70 for the cruise...what???...yep, 7 bucks! We could only get the certificates in $100 increments and so we paid the rest in cold, hard cash.

Happy days, happy days, happy days...

I know everyone is on the edge of their seats...

No more need to worry...the DVR is here. It took a little bit of setting up this evening and even a few phone calls to DirecTV to get things working just right, but we are now up and running! I have started to put my list of shows on the DVR and paused t.v. tonight just for fun...oh man, I sure do know how to whoop it up...

A Tivo Trauma!

This weekend my Tivo died. It's a sad, sad day at my house. It has been 8 years since we got Tivo and I forgot just how annoying it is to not be able to pause, rewind and record t.v. at a second's notice!! I am Tivo spoiled!! I am a Direct TV customer and so they are sending me out a DVR as a replacement (they no longer have a contract with Tivo like they did when we got ours - but rumor is that they will in another year or so). I'll have to get used to new sounds and new little features...what a tough life!

Actually, the really, really sad part for me is that I had 3 shows saved on the Tivo that can't be recovered. You guessed it...Oprah, Ellen and Martha...the 3 shows I went to. I am going to have to figure out how to order those shows and get a hard copy! It has been a fun thing to watch every once in a while...

So, for now I'll be back in the land of commercials and live t.v. - but only until Wednesday!

Another new era...

Andrew came home from school on Thursday with this library book. I took it out of his backpack and set it on the couch. When I asked him if he was going to start reading it, he said he already had. I asked if he wanted to put it back in his backpack so he could get a different library book and he told me that he brought it home so I could read it. He thought it was so good, and wanted me to read it so we could talk about it. How cute is that??

So, this morning Greg and Andrew are at a scouting event (ice fishing), and I read the book. I called Andrew to let him know and when he gets home we'll have our first little book club meeting!

Like a little light went on...

I have been working on letters and sounds with Zach for quite a long time and on Friday I saw a little light go on. It was really fun to be there the moment it happened. He has been working on the sounds and just "got" how if you make all of the sounds of the letters, you can sound out a word. He did a great job and was so, so proud of himself...we both loved that little moment!

A Charming 40th Birthday...

I just got back yesterday from a whirlwind trip for Holly's birthday! I flew out on Tuesday, met Jonna at the airport and then we went to Holly's house and surprised her. I can honestly say that I don't think I've ever seen anyone be more surprised...it was great...Publisher's Clearing House great.

That night we went shopping for craft supplies, went to dinner with Holly's family and then after the triplets were in bed, we went to a craft night at one of Holly's friend's house. It was really fun to meet some of her "new" friends and to craft!! We stayed up until about 2:30 talking, laughing and feeling just like we did in college!!

The next morning I gave her the charm bracelet that I have been working on for her birthday. For those of you who don't know or weren't involved, I asked 25 other friends to tell me about their favorite Holly memory and then from their suggestion, I got a charm to go with the story. I didn't take a picture of the actual bracelet (I should have and I'll have to get one from Holly), but it turned out great. I also made a booklet with all of the stories...

That day we met another friend, got pedicures, went to lunch, went shopping, to the movies and then got ready for the big party! Thanks to quite a bit of help from some of Holly's local friends and her husband, we were able to throw her a big party that night. Later, our friend Bridgette came over and we stayed up until about 1:30. That would have been normal for me, but I had to get up at 3:45 to get to the airport on time...yikes!!

So, not a lot of sleeping, but worth every single second of it! Happy Birthday Holly - I love you!

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year friends! We had a nice, relaxed day at home today...it was a great way to start the year.

Here's a little look at some of our biggest accomplishments of the past year and things to look forward to in the upcoming year...

Ava - is now potty trained, can do a push up, has the cute and sassy combo down to a science and has learned to be relatively soft with a puppy. In the coming year she will start going to preschool (just once or twice a week), will probably start in a dance or gymnastics class and I'm sure continue her cute and sassy combo skills.

Zach - has loved kindergarten, had a fun season in soccer and will now put his face under the water (this was a HUGE accomplishment) and was happy and fun and our biggest hugger. In the coming year he will get to play t-ball, soccer and do swimming lessons and will hopefully master all of his sounds so that he can start to read - I'm sure he'll also continue to be silly and loving.

Andrew - was baptized, has found a love of chapter books, played little league and soccer, joined cub scouts and loved to be at school and to make silly voices with his friends. In the coming year he will play all of the sports again, will be on student council, will definitely make more crazy noises and will help around the house as always.

Sandy - (see past year's blog posts if you really want the details) was room mom for both kid's rooms, was in ECFE, MOPS, cubscout committee, in the Stake YW presidency and got A LOT more grey hair!! I also made a few t.v. shows and had lots and lots of fun with my family and friends. In the coming year I don't see too much changing on those fronts...I will start taking college classes again this semester and will also get to visit Beth and friends in Utah in February, go on a cruise with Greg and friends in April, visit Greg's family at a family camp in July, attend girls camp and youth conference and inevitably have to dye my hair!!!

Greg - actually did what so many would love to do and helped start his own company - Exodus Machines. That took up a huge amount of time and energy, but has all been worth it. He was Elder's Quorum President, home repair guy, a great dad and husband and took us on some wonderful trips and adventures! I hope none of that changes this year...except that I hope things settle down and become "routine" at work.

We are so grateful for all of the blessings of this past year and look forward to a wonderful 2010!!