January-March 2014 Update

I've been lazy about updating the blog this year, so here is a three month catch up.   Luckily I don't have too much to report on since we tend hibernate from January to March every year anyway.

Abby did a wonderful job performing on the piano for Homelink music night.

Maddy is obsessed with Studio C's Lobster Bisque skit, and decided to dress up one day by borrowing Nathan's church vest and making herself a bow tie and glasses out of paper.

Abby had four of the art pieces she created at Homelink put on display at the Public Library.

Maddy insisted we have a Valentine's tea (hot chocolate) party complete with princess and knight costumes.

The kids' prayers were finally answered and we had a day with enough snow to play in.  Here they are all bundled up to go outside.

Building a fort with the neighbor boys.

The girls really wanted to build an "Olaf" snowman like in the movie Frozen.

Maddy wanted a picture with Olaf too.

With Valentine's day coming up, Maddy had romance on her mind.  Here she is going on a "Romantic Dream Boat Date" (from Lobster Bisque) with her brother (someday she'll understand that this won't work).  By the way, she is holding Hi-bisque-cus flowers that she made out of paper.

Here is Nathan dressed up as a Ninja.

Nathan was impressed with his cousin Christian's fort (that he saw over Google Hangout), so he decided he had to build one even bigger.  Here it is.

Maddy and Abby decided they wanted to help defend the fort too.

I signed all the kids up for gymnastics and they absolutely love it.  Maddy really wanted to do dance instead until I told her she could wear a purple leotard.  On the first day of gymnastics she got all dressed and then flipped her pony tail and informed me, "Gymnastics is all about fashion!"

The kids had a fun time running the yearly Leprechaun dash.  Maddy and Abby both ran the whole way.

Nathan was proud of himself finishing the whole mile, although he had to stop and walk a few times, he didn't give up.

The kids all started Spring soccer.   Here's Abby getting ready to kick the ball.

Nathan all ready to play!

Maddy has fun with all the girls her age.

For St. Patrick's we had some friends over for a party with green food.  For FHE we had a chocolate gold coin treasure hunt.

So yummy!

ABBY
Abby has been busy with homeschool, piano, gymnastics, and now soccer.  She has progressed quickly in gymnastics and is now at the Silver level after only a few months (she started out in Bronze).  She loves to read and study history.  Abby is obsessed with the music from Frozen and she is learning to play "Let it Go" on the piano. She loves her classes at Homelink, and is excited to now be taking a class where she learns all about horses.  Abby is looking forward to turning eight soon, and we have been teaching her the discussions for FHE.  She has also started reading the Book of Mormon each day with me as part of her homeschool in preparation for her baptism in May.

MADDY
Maddy is excelling in school.   Her teacher had her tested for Hi-Cap because she is already so advanced in every subject.  Maddy continues to enjoy doing artwork and crafts, and is excited to have a new friend named Kaia who loves art just as much as she does.  She enjoyed making and decorating her leprechaun trap for school.  Maddy is always happy and loves being silly and making us laugh.  She loves dressing up and "being fancy."  She works hard to achieve her goals.  She is doing extra chores at home to earn extra money for the toys she wants.  Maddy has also been working hard trying to read all 28 of the first Magic Tree House books so that we'll take her to a Paint Me Pottery place in the mall that she wants to go to.   Maddy also reads extra books on Reading Eggspress so that she can earn eggs to buy virtual clothes, furniture, and kitty cats.

NATHAN
Nathan loves preschool and enjoys learning and playing with friends.  He is getting to be a good reader.  He enjoys doing Reading Eggs, and he is almost half way through his 100 Easy Lessons book.  He loves to play with boys and do boy things.  He loves knights, Legos, forts, dressing up as a construction worker, and playing with his trains.  Nathan really wants a Nerf gun, so he is working hard to keep his pull up dry at night so he can get one.  He also enjoys driving his plasma car to the park when the weather is good.

MARY
Between homeschooling, cooking, cleaning, and shopping it seems like I don't have time for much else.  Homeschooling is much more fun now that Abby is old enough for me to introduce some of my favorite childhood books to her.  We just read A Little Princess and Ella Enchanted, and we are now reading The Island of the Blue Dolphins together.   I'm also keeping my mind sharp as I drill her on multiplication tables which I have forgotten.   After the kids go to bed Jared and I enjoy working out together at night as we watch shows on Netflix.  When I get the chance I love to read, and I enjoy my monthly book group meetings.  We are now part of a babysitting co-op so Jared and I now get to enjoy a night out a few nights a month without having to pay for a babysitter.  The kids like hanging out with other kids too (they refer to it as "kid night"), so it's a win win for everyone.

JARED
Jared continues to enjoy his work at Kadlec.   He just wishes he could somehow move this perfect job to Boise.  He stays busy at church working with the Teacher's quorum and doing home teaching.  When he's home, he is always fixing things and spending time with the kids.  Abby loves having Jared do math with her because he is very patient and good at explaining things clearly. The girls love having their dad read them Narnia every night and they just finished reading The Last Battle.  He is excited to introduce them to Harry Potter next.   Jared is a wonderful dad and a great husband.

December 2013 Update

Jared at intermission during his performance of The Messiah.    The performance really helped to bring the true Christmas spirit.

The kids had a lot of fun decorating mini gingerbread houses with their friends.

They were also excited to meet Santa at our ward Christmas party.

Maddy in some "Lobster Bisque" glasses she made.

The kids were super excited to get a little snow.  Unfortunately they only had enough to make mini snowball size snowmen.

The kids had fun visiting Beaver Bark to see the Christmas decorations and the reindeer.

We got to the host the Elders on Christmas Eve.

We had an hors d'oeuvre party and the kids had fun helping me make Grinch Kabobs.

We read and acted out the Nativity story from the Bible.  Maddy was Mary and Nathan was Joseph.

Nathan's baby doll was Baby Jesus.

The Elders were great shepherds.  Don't they look "sore afraid?"

I got to be the narrator and Jared was a wise man.

Nathan after opening his Christmas ornament for this year.  We all got ornaments with Thomas' picture and name engraved on it.  

The kids were super excited to get Christmas pajamas from their Grandma.

Maddy opening her stocking on Christmas morning.

Jared got a new a collection of stories by Jules Verne.

Nathan was excited to get a new toy box.  (It isn't actually finished since Jared was having issues with the paint in the cold garage.)

Maddy got a a new bed for her doll.

Santa brought Abby the same thing.

Santa brought Jared a new bow so he can do archery with the kids in the backyard.

Our family got a really cool 500 piece puzzle that had castles and dragons.  We had a fun Christmas day doing our puzzle, eating left overs, and seeing the movie Frozen.

Jared lost his pictures of me (he accidentally deleted an album on his phone), but I got new Christmas jammies as well.  Santa also brought me a new stereo so I don't have to keep stealing Abby's Hello Kitty CD player when I want to listen to music.


Jared lost the most recent photos on his phone, but we stopped over for a day in Boise on our way down to Utah.  The kids had fun with their cousins, and were excited to get cool Lego sets from their Collett Grandparents.  Their also loved the gifts their Uncle Bryan brought them from Australia.

We made to Utah just in time for the Donaldson family Christmas party.  It was great to see a lot of my family members I hadn't seen in a long time.

My Grandpa with his great-grandkids.

The kids singing together.

It was really fun to see my sister Rachel who came out from Philadelphia to see us.

The kids visiting Thomas' grave.  Nathan wanted to be sure to bring Thomas' teddy for him.

My mom ordered a beautiful wreath that said Thomas and Lavina (my grandma's name) on the ribbon.

Maddy enjoying the children's arts and crafts desk at Grandma's house.

My kids love giving Grandpa bear hugs.

We were excited to meet up with our good friends from Philadelphia at their son Aidan's baptism.  It was weird to see him so grown up since he was Abby's best friend when they were babies.

On the 28th we had a birthday party for my dad with all of my siblings.  It was the first time we have all been together since we went to the Oregon coast a few years ago.  The kids had fun running around and playing in the gym.

The kids also did an impromptu talent show for all the adults.  Nathan did crazy dancing and Abby and Maddy played a song.

My mom with her old mission companion Georganna.

The grandkids playing musical chairs to "What Does the Fox Say?"

We had a couple really nice visits with my Grandpa.  We are happy that he is recovering well and should be able to go home soon.

 Jared and I also had fun seeing the Desolation of Smaug with Nikki and Andrew and having a game night where we played Pandemic, which is fitting since we all came down with sickness after that party.

We all had a fun trip to the children's museum Discovery center in Salt Lake.

Going shopping.

Make sure that plastic fruit is fresh!

Maddy acting out the Princess and the Frog with their cousin Christian.

The older kids and grandpa went to the Planetarium while the younger kids were at the museum.   We all had a nice meal at Chuck-A-Rama afterward.   My parents and our family also enjoyed a 3D IMAX movie about Jerusalem at the Planetarium.

Unfortunately I got super sick with the flu after this so I don't have any more pictures, but the kids had a lot of fun playing with their cousins and celebrating New Years.  Jared and the kids also had fun in Boise on our way back through.