Derek:
1. His lab was awarded $2,000,000 from the state legislature for the USTAR project he is working on. FABULOUS NEWS! Also attended a 2-day conference hosted by his lab up in Park City.
2. Was released as a 15 year old Sunday school teacher and called as 2nd counselor in the Young Men’s presidency. He’s excited to work with our boys.
3. Got a large tool cart for the garage for Valentine’s Day combined with some Christmas money. Gave me a new bread maker.
4. Spent many hours with the boys and Little Grandpa building and calibrating a trebuchet for the boys’ Science Olympiad team.
Aly:
1. Was glad to get back to Yoga after 3 weeks off while Faith was sick. Started walking to pick up the girls from school again as the weather’s getting warmer. Faith and I love it!
2. Was invited to join a new design team for a manufacturer called Epiphany Crafts. So exciting! I’m also re-applying for my favorite Jillibean Soup and hoping to be able to stay on.
3. Got to attend a crop with some local scrappy friends. It was fun!
4. Took Ashley and Lexie skiing for the first time. Although there were some moments of frustration and tears, we had a good time overall.
James:
1. Played for all the elementary schools with the advanced band. Ashley and Lexie thought it was fun to see him at their school.
2. Finally finished the book, The Bermuda Triangle, he’s been working on for a few years. He really wants to try and get it published so we’re editing and fine-tuning and we’ll see what we can do.
3. Attended a scout camp out with Jeffrey and enjoyed shooting shotguns and rifles. I think between all the 12 and 13 year old scouts there, they went through about 1,000 shells.
4. Is playing with the advanced band in the State Band Festival at University of Utah next week. Apparently it’s quite an honor to get selected to play.
Jeffrey:
1. Took the State Math Test at UVU and his math coach said he did really well. He came in 5th individually, and his team placed 4th at the regional math competition at USU last month.
2. Scored a 100% on his solo for the intermediate band Solo Festival.
3. Played for the Intermediate Band Festival and had a great time.
4. Has made some good friends from his trumpet section, and actually calls them to get together. =)
Ashley:
1. Was slightly horrified by the 5th grade maturation class. She’s not looking forward to the future. =)
2. Enjoys her best friends from school, Hannah and Paige.
3. Declared that she officially despises boys. I’m wondering if this is all a cover up?
4. After her visit to the orthodontist, she’ll have to get 2 teeth pulled and have an expander installed for about 1 year to make room for all of her teeth. Then in a few years she’ll have to where braces too.
Lexie:
1. Attended a local production of Hairspray with Derek to see what a musical is all about before she performs Alice in Wonderland in May.
2. Was very excited to finish the first Harry Potter book, and is more than halfway through the second.
3. Enjoyed a play date with her best friend, Emma. Is sad that she’ll be moving this summer.
4. Is always a willing and good babysitter when I have to run errands.
Faith:
1. Favorites: taking off shoes, socks, and pants; getting into the cupboards and drawers in the bathroom; climbing up on the chairs at dinner time and playing with the place settings and food.
2. First sentence: bye bye, luh you!
3. Other common phrases: joo-joo (juice), ppsss (grapes), appoh (for strawberries–she thinks they’re apples), pa-pa (short “a” for pacie), goggy (for doggy), ah duh (all done), hih-come (here it comes–when she’s waiting for a video to start), a cah (a car), and she can sing a few lines of the Veggie Tales theme song.
4. Sleeping SO much better if we give up the afternoon nap and just have one big one mid-day.
We’re looking forward to a trip to San Diego and Seaworld over spring break soon. We’ll get to visit with my parents and brother in Cali as well. That’s all for now!
