Have I Mentioned This Before?

I know I've mentioned this many times, but Nicole sure has a good heart!  I love watching her work her magic in the neighborhood.  The other day, she had a whole crew of kids - different  ages and genders, different personalities, some notoriously hard to get along with - playing a HUGE game of "pirates."  They had backpacks filled with maps and supplies and other gear.  They played for HOURS without any sign of getting tired of it.  She's amazing.

Another story about Nicole that happened a couple of months ago:  We have some good friends and neighbors who had twin baby girls a few months ago.  It was an INCREDIBLY high-risk pregnancy and after weeks of trying to hold off, the babies were born at 25 weeks - both under 2 pounds.  Because we love them so much, and because of my calling, they have been a major focus of our lives.  We thought about them, talked about them, prayed for them for months and months.  (On a side note, they are miraculous little babies who are both home and doing impressively well against ALL odds!  Watching their little lives unfold and the miracles surrounding them has been one of the greatest blessings of my life.) One afternoon, Nicole and her friends were playing outside when they came up with a GREAT idea!  They decided to have a fundraiser for our neighbors. For the next hour or so, Nicki and her friends stood at the corner of our neighborhood doing gymnastic tricks for cars passing by.  They placed a hat on the ground nearby to collect donations.  I love it!  I think they also sold lemonade for a while.  Somehow, they managed to collect around $17.00.  They went over to our neighbors house and knocked on the door.  When the wife answered, Nicole said, "Here.  We want to give you this.  We know those babies cost a lot of money so this is for them."  SO sweet!

The wife texted me and said that she was embarrassed to take the money, but it touched her heart that they would do that for her and she didn't want to hurt their feelings.   Later, she wrote a darling thank you note and enclosed a picture of the twin girls for Nicki to see.   Nicole was grateful for the card.  I am grateful for a daughter who thinks about other people.

In the interest of full disclosure, Nicki is sometimes the most dramatic, angry, mean person on the planet. Tell her its her turn to do the dishes or that you need her to put her laundry away and you risk a full scale meltdown.  It's really something.  Dave says she reminds him the the poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:

There was a little girl,

            Who had a little curl,

Right in the middle of her forehead.

            When she was good,

            She was very good indeed,

But when she was bad she was horrid.

Science At It Finest

Our first family had its first experience ever with a science fair this year.  I've never been a fan.  In fact, when I was a kid, I was the only person in my class who opted to write a 10 page research paper instead of doing a science project.  But Alison is more brave then I was (or else her teachers didn't give the research paper option) because she did it!

Her project was a taste test to see if there was a difference between different root beer brands.  She tested about 50 people - her classmates, some family members, even our neighbors.  We set up a taste test table in our front yard and nearly the whole neighborhood turned out in the name of science.  That was a fun night.  She worked hard to keep it scientific and statistically sound.

Interestingly, MOST people thought they would love A&W the best.  Kudos to A&W for their marketing strategy because everyone thinks they love them.  In reality though, it was a virtual three way tie between A&W, Barqs, and Mug.  It really comes down to preference - one is more sweet, one's more spicy, etc.

Alison's project was one of the top ten in her class.  She didn't win the fair, but she wasn't heart broken by that.  It was just fun to be a part of it.

Zoo Lights

For our Family Home Evening activity on December 8th, we decided to try something new.  We took our kids to Zoo Lights at the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City.  We heard really great things about it, so we wanted to check it out.  Here's what we discovered:

PRO:  It was KSL customer appreciation day.  Tickets were discounted.  We were able to get the whole family in for less than $20.

CON:  Everyone else in the world wanted the discount.  It was crowded!

PRO:  The weather was unseasonably warm, so we were pretty comfortable.  Usually, looking at light displays is a freezing, wet, sickness-inducing event.  Not this time.

CON:  Animals sleep at night.  Our kids kept running up to the animal displays hoping to find something, but all was dark and quiet.  If you're going to Zoo Lights to see animals (which our kids were) you're going to be disappointed.

PRO:  We've never seen the bats more active!  EVER!!!

Quinton was so good!  He never made a peep - just stared at all the lights.  Of course, he was so bundles up he couldn't move...

CON:  All the kids were a little wound up while we were there.  Dave and I got pretty cranky trying to keep them all together and safe.  By then end of the evening, we ALL needed a time out!

PRO: By the time we got home and crawled into bed, we all liked each other again and agreed that we had a fun time.  We also agreed that we'll probably not go there again.   The local Christmas Village at the park is just as good and, with the possible exception of the bats, has just as many animals...

D.A.R.E.

Did you have the D.A.R.E. program when you were growing up?  I did, but I think it was just getting started back then.  I don't really remember anything specific about it, other than that it was a drug resistance program.  That's why I was surprised to learn what a big deal it is in our kids' school.

In the sixth grade, an officer from the local police department comes once per week and gives lessons about resisting drugs, violence, bullying, etc.  The kids have required homework and tests.  After completing the program, they have a graduation ceremony.  Not everyone graduates.  At least, some cut it pretty close.  Alison was pulled out of class on the day of the ceremony to help one of her classmates finish the required assignments.

So last week, the boys and I went to Alison's D.A.R.E. graduation.  The mayor, a representative from the Sherriff's office, and Miss Kaysville all spoke.  So did Ali.  We didn't know until the day before the event that Alison was going to speak (more about that in a second) or David would have taken some time off to be there.  He needs a little advance notice to rearrange his schedule.  Bummer.  But luckily, Grandpa Smith was able to make it!

As part of the D.A.R.E. program, each student is required to write an essay about what they learned.  The essays are judged by some members of the police department and one winner is chosen from each class.  Those four winners all read their essays at the graduation.  Due to a mix-up with the police officers not knowing about our Thanksgiving break schedule, they didn't announce who the winners were until the day before graduation.  Alison was her class's winner.

She was, in her words, "nervous-cited" (half nervous, half excited).  She was glad to be chosen, but nervous about giving her speech in public.  She practiced many times at home.  It was fun for me to watch her on stage.  She looked very calm and cool - only her mother could tell how nervous she was.

Each of the four class winners was awarded a medal for their essays.  Out of those four, a grand prize winner was chosen.  Can you guess who it was?  Yep.  Our cute little Ali-gator.  She got a stuffed lion (the D.A.R.E. mascot) for her prize.  More importantly, she is so happy to be an award winning writer.  She says it's especially cool because she wants to be an author when she grows up.  I believe she will be!  Her essay was so good, I was afraid some people might have thought I wrote it for her.  Seriously though, I didn't even see it until she was typing up her final draft.  She's just a good writer. She's been writing her own primary talks since she was about four.

Congratulations, Alison!

Thanksgiving 2014

Oh how I LOVE Thanksgiving!!!  I love autumn, I love spending time with family, I love delicious food, I just LOVE it!

This year, we drove up to Idaho to spend the holiday with David's family.  Dave's parents finished their mission just the week before, so they hadn't even had any time to enjoy their new found freedom yet.  But they sure are amazing and proficient at hosting a huge crowd and making it look easy!

Let em start by saying that I took some terrible pictures this year - I think I was too focused on eating!!!

Can you blame me?  The food was delicious!

Ali was at the big kid table with Maddie, Gracie, Kami and Caden

Here's the medium kid table in the garage (with the ping ping table all set up) The only kids looking at the camera are Nicki and Josh.  The others are:(clockwise from Josh): Nolan, Sander, Isabelle, Hannah, and Addie.

Just restin' and digestin'.

In attendance this year were Grandma and Grandpa Gee (obviously - it was at their house), Aunt Linda, David's cousin Kevin Shirley, who is attending BYU, our family, Suzette and Kory (his kids were with their mom this year), Shawn's family, and Jodi's family.  Kristi was hosting Terry's side of the family this year, and Nathan and Dawn were at Dawn's sister's house in Indiana.

David was not able to take any time off on either side of the holiday, and I wasn't willing to pack all the CRAP it takes to go anywhere just for an overnight-er, so we did an up-and-back-in-one-day trip.  It really wasn't bad at all.  We left at 7:00 a.m, stopping for breakfast in Pocatello. We were at the Gee's by 11:00 a.m.  We had plenty of time to visit, eat, play ping pong, visit some more, ride the 4-wheeler, eat some more, listen to some kids play the piano, eat pie, and visit some more before heading home around 5:30 p.m.  We stopped in McCammon so I could feed the baby, but we were still home at a very decent hour.  All the excitement of seeing their cousins and the anticipation of decorating the tree the next day kept the kids happy and joyful in spite of 7 hours of driving.

Odds N' Ends

Just a few of the comings-and-goings of out life lately:

• We've had some busy days lately.  I hosted a book club in our home one night.  The girls and David had a Daddy-Daughter-Date which sounded very fun, and very rowdy!  A few days later I had to perform a "reading" at our Relief Society Christmas dinner.  It was a very nice night.  I've been super busy with my calling as compassionate service leader.  Seems like things happen in spurts with that calling - I'm either doing nothing, or I'm swamped.  David went to a two-day continuing education class in Salt Lake a week or two ago.  We've been continuing to meet with the missionaries and Jordyn.  It's all been good, stuff, but we're really busy.  I guess with five kids we'd better get used to this pace.  

• Nicole played rec volleyball this fall.  She went every Tuesday night for six weeks.  She'd never touched a volleyball in her life before, but neither had most of the other kids.  In fact, they didn't even play a game until the last week.  They just had lessons on how to hit, serve, set, etc.  It was really fun.  She learned a lot and is actually pretty good!  I hope she does it again!

• Joshua's kindergarten class had a "Grandparents' Day" last week.  Unfortunately, my parents were in St George at a conference and David's parents are wrapping up their mission in Idaho, so Josh didn't have any grandparents that could come.  The teacher specifically said that younger siblings were not allowed, which took me out of the running as a substitute, and David's schedule was packed with 6 Salt Lake visits. So guess who drove all the way here at 8:30 in the morning to be Josh's substitute grandparent visitor...Uncle Brian, of course!  Is that the nicest thing you've ever heard?!?!?  He's on medical leave right now because he's recovering from shoulder surgery (and foot surgery as well), so he was able to go.  

Here they are going into the school...

And here they are when I picked them up.  I wish I had pictures of the day, but I wasn't there.   They both said they had a great time!  Josh was pretty proud to show off his cool uncle who just had his shoulder "broken."  Brian's a pretty fun guy, so I bet all Josh's classmates thought he was awesome!  Brian (who's 6'7") said that everyone kept commenting on how they could see where Josh got his tall genes.  Brian didn't have the heart to tell them that he's my brother-in-law, so Josh didn't get his tall genes from him.   Ha ha!

Afterwards, we took Uncle Brian to our favorite neighborhood Chinese restaurant so they could tell me all about it. What a great uncle!  Maybe we'll have to invite him to Grandparents' Day for Bron and Quin too!

• Last Saturday night, my dad's brother, Brian (not my brother-in-law, mind you...the OTHER Uncle Brian) and his family hosted a Thanksgiving dinner at a church in Daybreak.  What a fun night!  It was the first time my children had met many of my cousins.  We all live within an hour or two of each other, but we're all so busy with our own lives that we NEVER get together.  This was truly a first!  Hopefully we'll have more to come.  We had such a great night!

I LOVE these people!  Back in the doorway is my cousin, Rick - the only cousin from my Uncle Dick's family who could attend.  The rest of them live far away.  He's talking to Uncle Brian and Rick's wife, Julie.  Katie W's in brown plaid.  Aunt Jodi (Brian's wife) is in the light blue.  Scott's the one getting his meat.  David's behind him.  Next to them are my cousin Jake (Brian and Jodi's oldest, and my same-age cousin) and Katie S.  Megan is at the table and Nicole is enjoying her turkey drumstick in the foreground

Bronson and Alison loved their huge drumsticks!  My dad said that Bron looked like King Lear gnawing on that huge thing.  

I've already told you about everyone at that main table, except for Jennilyn.  She is Brian and Jodi's third child.  In the background are Jessie's roommate, Janille's husband, and Jake's wife.  

Her'e a cute picture of the brother's.  Brian's standing, my dad's in red.  They are such a hoot when they get together.  They really get us all laughing.  Jessie (Brian's 5th child) is standing with her hands on the chair.  The two kids next to Rick are two of his children.

We had a fun time visiting with each other.  After the meal was cleared away, we played a few rounds of a charades game.  You haven't lived until you've played games with that rowdy bunch!  It was a blast!  I had to leave early so that we could get our kids to bed.  I was pretty bummed.

The younger kids played in the nursery.  

The older kids had a Nerf gun battle.  

Time for pie!  That's my cousin Janille in the blue shirt.  She is the 4th of Brian and Jodi's children - Scott's age, I believe.  My mom is in the background.  Sorry, but I don't know the names of all of my cousins' kids. 

This is a cuter picture of me...

But Quin is an angel in this one!  Plus, I love Megan's head here too!

•  I love my little Bronson.  He keeps me VERY busy!  He's my little buddy while the other kids are at school.  Here are some pictures of him working on a preschool lesson.  We rarely miss a day.  He loves it!   Let me share just two things he's said recently that made me smile:  The other day, he was talking to me and he said, "Mom.  I'm weewy dood at deeting."  Now, Bron has a speech pattern that is different from my other four kids and VERY difficult to understand.  We almost certainly have speech therapy in our future.  I have to interpret for him all the time - even to David.  Usually I'm pretty good, but this sentence had me stumped.  "Deeting" could mean a lot of things - he's really good at tweeting? drinking? singing?  I could not get it.  Finally, I tried a different approach and asked, "Really?  What makes you good at it?"  He said, "I don't know,  Maybe my brain."  Then, I finally understood.  Bless his heart, Bronson is really good at thinking.  

• I've mentioned before that Bronson likes to be told yes.  He'll do just about whatever it takes to word his questions and requests so that the answer is "yes."  The other morning, I was trying to bustle through my chores while the baby was napping.  Bronson wanted to play.  He said, "Mom, weew woo pay woo with me? (will you play zoo with me?)   I'm not totally proud of myself, but I said no - mommy was trying to hurry and get her work done.  A few seconds later, he said, "Weew woo pay guess what aminal I am with me?"  Again, no,  He asked if I'd play hide-and-seek, hot-and-cold, etc. and I kept saying no.  Finally, I said, "Bronson.  I don't WANT to play right now!  I'm a mom and I have to work!  I don't like to play!  I like to work!  Let's play fold-the-laundry."  He didn't like the sound of that game.  After a few seconds, the sweet boy said, "Mom!  I had a date idea! (great idea) Let's pay woo de mom ad I de tid and we neder pay anyting!"  (let's play you're the mom and I'm the kid and we never play anything.)  I laughed and said, "That's not a game, that's reality!" and it kind of broke my heart.  I guess I'm going to have to play zoo a lot more...

Election Day!

Tuesday, November 4th.  The day we'd been waiting for all year.  Election Day.  For me, it was kind of a bummer.  I'd sent my ballot in the mail weeks before hand, so I didn't even get to go to the polls.  No "I voted" sticker or anything!  LAME!  Just kidding.  But seriously, I did kind of miss going somewhere to vote.

Anyway, in the evening, I went over to my parents' house to watch the numbers come in.  After talking about how to handle the night for several days, we decided not to have it be a big, kid-filled, loud night.  My parents wanted to be surrounded by family, but in a more mellow setting.  So David kindly stayed home with our kids.  They got pizza and watched a movie, so they didn't mind.  Plus, it was a school night so the kids couldn't stay up any way.

At my folks house, Kristin, Katie W. and Megan, Scott and Katie S., and Quinton and I were the only people in attendance.  It was calm, peaceful, and very fun.  We ate pizza and treats while we visited for a while.  Around 8:00 pm, we turned on the news and started watching the numbers come in.  Of course, the numbers for Dad's race didn't come in for quite a while.  We kept checking our phones, tablets, etc. every few minutes.  It wasn't necessarily stressful - Dad was heavily favored, but we were all anxious to see the actual numbers.  Quin fell asleep - too much excitement for him.

Finally, a little after 9:00 pm, the first numbers started coming in.  Dad was the projected winner with 64% of the vote.  His two opponents had 27% and 8% ish.  Dad's phone started chiming every few seconds with "congratulations" texts and emails.  We were all excited!  We called my grandma Church to let her know, and almost called David in Chicago, but he beat us to it and called Dad first.  Then, we took a few pictures with our newest County Commissioner.  Soon after that, the party stared to dissipate.  Quinton and I left a little after 10:15 pm.

By the time I got home and got Quin back to sleep (not a good night for him) it was nearly midnight. By then, the final numbers were in and we could officially rest, knowing that the race was over! I plopped into bed and slept like a rock until 4:30 am, when Bronson came upstairs with a nasty stomach bug.  So, I spent the next day taking care of a sick boy with very little sleep myself.  Luckily for me, I had no plans for the day, so we could just veg out in our PJs and watch TV.

So the hard work of campaigning is past and the hard work of being County Commissioner lies ahead.  Now, upward and onward!  Time for Dad to get to work and show everyone what he meant when he said he'd be great at this job!  I can't wait for the next four years!