Sunday, November 29, 2009
NOVEMBER 2009: by Becky
November went by so fast. All that I can think of that we did around here was adjust to having a dog. He’s been really great, much better than I expected, but it’s still an adjustment. Berry loves the backyard and spends a lot of time outside. He can sit on command and is learning to fetch. I’m reporting on him like he’s one of the kids!
Ellie is doing great. She loves to write Miriam’s name all over everything including the wall. It took us a while to figure out it was her… She has been singing the days of the week and peeling and eating Clementines.
Miriam loves school. She can’t wait until Thanksgiving break is over. I got to help in her kindergarten feast where she and I had the job of making vegetable/cheese picks for the class. She finally likes the dog!
Enoch can’t get enough of the dog. He loves to hold him like a baby and carry him around the house. The two of them like to watch TV together. Enoch is becoming more and more goofy. Any suggestions? He’s had a blast playing basketball this year!
Natalie dances around the house non-stop. She has invented her own style of clogging. Bjorn joined her class on their field trip where they went best dressed to hear the Utah Symphony play. They had a great time. She’s looking forward to basketball season and another Irish dancing Feis in January.
Isaac is also looking forward to basketball. He still spends his free time with friends in the back yard or on the couch with a book. He also loves to play on the computer when I let him…he had a great report card. His teacher told us he’s reading on a a12th grade level. He’s excited about an upcoming field trip to a space museum where they can experience no-gravity.
Auriana just finished one week of shows “the 70’s show” for show choir and is about to start her Christmas show this week. The trickiest part is getting her hair done just right each night, but we’re getting it down. She would much rather read than do most anything else, but she’s getting really good grades, so I guess I can’t complain. She’s still a really great help around here and tends & fixes dinner at least once a week. She’s wonderful!
Bjorn and I stay busy keeping everyone fed and happy. We enjoy the routine and we especially enjoy our weekly dates.
Ellie is doing great. She loves to write Miriam’s name all over everything including the wall. It took us a while to figure out it was her… She has been singing the days of the week and peeling and eating Clementines.
Miriam loves school. She can’t wait until Thanksgiving break is over. I got to help in her kindergarten feast where she and I had the job of making vegetable/cheese picks for the class. She finally likes the dog!
Enoch can’t get enough of the dog. He loves to hold him like a baby and carry him around the house. The two of them like to watch TV together. Enoch is becoming more and more goofy. Any suggestions? He’s had a blast playing basketball this year!
Natalie dances around the house non-stop. She has invented her own style of clogging. Bjorn joined her class on their field trip where they went best dressed to hear the Utah Symphony play. They had a great time. She’s looking forward to basketball season and another Irish dancing Feis in January.
Isaac is also looking forward to basketball. He still spends his free time with friends in the back yard or on the couch with a book. He also loves to play on the computer when I let him…he had a great report card. His teacher told us he’s reading on a a12th grade level. He’s excited about an upcoming field trip to a space museum where they can experience no-gravity.
Auriana just finished one week of shows “the 70’s show” for show choir and is about to start her Christmas show this week. The trickiest part is getting her hair done just right each night, but we’re getting it down. She would much rather read than do most anything else, but she’s getting really good grades, so I guess I can’t complain. She’s still a really great help around here and tends & fixes dinner at least once a week. She’s wonderful!
Bjorn and I stay busy keeping everyone fed and happy. We enjoy the routine and we especially enjoy our weekly dates.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
November 2009: by Bjorn
Isaac and Enoch and I enjoyed a quick trip to Las Vegas for Collin’s baptism. If I could do it all over again, they only thing I would change is to buy a new car before going down. ☺ Well that and maybe staying a week longer so that everything wasn’t so rushed. With all the delays we still ended up making it to Vegas in time for Collin’s birthday party and the movie at noon and the boys loved watching Astro Boy and hanging out with their cousins. Right before the movie started the repair shop called me and said it was the transmission and that it would cost $3000 or more to replace. I was frustrated enough by that point that I told him I was just going to watch a movie and forget about everything for a couple hours and I would call him later with my decision. After the movie I called Harold and asked him if he know of a place I could buy a decent used car. He mentioned that he though he might be able to find a used transmission for a good price, but if not he would look around and help me find a car. He called back pretty quickly to let me know he had located a transmission with 87K miles on it for $850 and that his mechanic would install it for $450. That sounded a whole lot better than $3000 so after talking it over with Becky I told him to go ahead with it. The only catch was that Harold and I would have to tow it to his mechanic’s shop in Enoch (just north of Cedar City). So I told Harold we would be coming back though the next day and take care of it then. I was doing my best to stay in a good mood and Chad and Jenn made it pretty easy with their wonderful hospitality. We really enjoyed the rest of the day and Isaac and Enoch were in heaven hanging out with their cousins. Chad schooled me in HORSE on their very cool sport court and continued schooling me on most of the Wii games, but he let me beat him at a couple of them so I went to bed exhausted but happy. ☺
The next morning was all excitement. We had a little bit of playing time before the baptism and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the boys having so much fun together. When it was finally time to go, they all wanted to sit in the van together on the way to the baptism and were pretty much inseparable the rest of the day. They didn’t leave each other’s sight until I peeled my boys away to head home at about 2 pm after several “just one mores”. The baptism was very special. It was neat to see the boys all singing together up in front of everyone. Chad did a great job on the baptism, the confirmation and his talk. Collin was so ready and willing. As the service ended I was so grateful we had come. So grateful that Isaac and Enoch could be there to experience that special event and share it with Collin. As I reflected on the significance of that ordinance and the lasting impact that being there would have on my two sons I realized that in spite of the car troubles and the shortness of the trip, it was all worth it and I would do it all over again, as is, if needed. It was a joy to be in Chad and Jenn’s home and feel of their goodness. It was great to see Boyd and Karinne and Sarah and Melissa there as well. I also got to see my sister Marianne and her family as Jenn was gracious enough to invite them over for lunch afterward.
We reluctantly got on the road and began the trip north. We met Harold at his mechanic’s shop at about 4:45 and got in his van to go get the Camry at the other repair shop. It took a lot longer to tow it back than I thought it would and after many expressions of gratitude to Harold, we left in Sherrie’s car at about 6pm to get back to Spanish Fork hoping to arrive with enough time to fit in some trick-or-treating. I told the boys that I didn’t think we would make it home until 9:00 and that it would be too late to trick-or-treat. They were both pretty sad, but I had warned them that might be the situation if they chose to stay longer with their cousins – and I was glad that they had chosen cousins over candy. Needless to say, my heartstrings were sufficiently tugged and so I really wanted to get home in time for them to have a fun Halloween. I won’t mention how fast I went but we arrived at 8:30 and the boys quickly changed into their costumes and we got in some good candy-getting (Auriana said we should call it that instead of trick-or-treating). All in all, a great ending to a great weekend!
Becky and the girls were disappointed that it didn’t work out to go to Rexburg for Anna’s baptism. With sickness and weather and a certain new little puppy, the logistics of it all just seemed to work against them. We hope Anna had a wonderful day and sure hope we can make up for not coming by fitting in a visit to Rexburg soon.
I guess our other big news is that we got a dog. Most of you have probably already seen the pictures that Becky emailed out. It is a miniature Goldendoodle - a mix between a Golden Retriever and a Poodle bred down in size twice. It just seemed to be the right dog for our family and after months of guilt trips from Auriana, and all sorts of pleading from the other kids, we finally gave in. In reality the kids were able to come up with all the money to pay for it except $25. When the sellers brought the puppy to our home we just couldn’t say no. And now we have another “baby” and have been experiencing all the things that go along with having a new dog including all the required purchases to feed and train and house it properly. The kids are absolutely loving it and so I have to admit that it has all been worth it to see them so happy and able to share their love with this little bundle. And I must admit that they have all kept their word and been very responsible in taking care of it.
Backtracking a bit into October, Natalie had a fun birthday party – going ice skating with her friends. I can’t believe she’s 10 years old. She went to an Irish dance competition earlier in the month and received a 1st place medal and two 3rd place medals for individual dances. Ellie went with Natalie to the Irish Dance competition and came home prancing around the house like a little Riverdancer.
Auriana continues to blossom as a performer in her show choir. She had a concert recently and did a fantastic job of singing and dancing. She and Natalie have been teaching dances to Miriam and Ellie and the little girls love it. Auriana just got full braces and is enjoying that sometimes-painful experience. I continue to be impressed with how responsible Auriana is with everything from homework to tending to keeping her room clean to keeping up with mandolin. I can’t believe she’s officially a teenager now! She was just called as the 1st counselor in her Beehive class.
Enoch has been enjoying his piano lessons with a teenager named Tanner Bowman that is a very talented musician. He comes over to our house and so that makes it easy for us. He’s also cheaper than a normal piano teacher, so we can let Enoch ease into things without having to pay an arm and a leg.
Isaac ended his football season reluctantly. He really enjoyed the experience – especially once he got the chance to be running back and ended up scoring 5 touchdowns. I just got called as the 11-year old scout leader so I’m enjoying weekly activities with Isaac. I had known about it for several weeks before they finally announced it in sacrament meeting and I really enjoyed the look I got from Isaac as he heard it for the first time from the pulpit. We’re going to have a lot of fun! He is a great scout and has already met all the requirements for his First Class.
Miriam, our little budding artist, is enjoying kindergarten a lot. She is quickly becoming a good reader and spends a lot of her spare time drawing and coloring. The other day Miriam and Ellie were coloring together and Ellie said, “Miriam, draw on my shirt.” So Miriam proceeded to draw on the back of Ellie’s shirt – with crayon – until it had quite a few nice lines and shapes all over it. I think it all washed out. Ellie and Miriam love to dance together. As I mentioned above, they have been learning dances from Natalie and Auriana and so we get performances every time they learn something new.
Becky continues to enjoy her teaching assistant responsibilities at ALA. From the stories she has related to me it sounds like she does a great job with the kids and has had a positive effect on many of them. With soccer and football over we’re glad to have a few more free evenings for a while. At least until basketball starts.
-Bjorn, Becky, Auriana, Isaac, Natalie, Enoch, Miriam, Ellie & Berry (also known as Raz)
The next morning was all excitement. We had a little bit of playing time before the baptism and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the boys having so much fun together. When it was finally time to go, they all wanted to sit in the van together on the way to the baptism and were pretty much inseparable the rest of the day. They didn’t leave each other’s sight until I peeled my boys away to head home at about 2 pm after several “just one mores”. The baptism was very special. It was neat to see the boys all singing together up in front of everyone. Chad did a great job on the baptism, the confirmation and his talk. Collin was so ready and willing. As the service ended I was so grateful we had come. So grateful that Isaac and Enoch could be there to experience that special event and share it with Collin. As I reflected on the significance of that ordinance and the lasting impact that being there would have on my two sons I realized that in spite of the car troubles and the shortness of the trip, it was all worth it and I would do it all over again, as is, if needed. It was a joy to be in Chad and Jenn’s home and feel of their goodness. It was great to see Boyd and Karinne and Sarah and Melissa there as well. I also got to see my sister Marianne and her family as Jenn was gracious enough to invite them over for lunch afterward.
We reluctantly got on the road and began the trip north. We met Harold at his mechanic’s shop at about 4:45 and got in his van to go get the Camry at the other repair shop. It took a lot longer to tow it back than I thought it would and after many expressions of gratitude to Harold, we left in Sherrie’s car at about 6pm to get back to Spanish Fork hoping to arrive with enough time to fit in some trick-or-treating. I told the boys that I didn’t think we would make it home until 9:00 and that it would be too late to trick-or-treat. They were both pretty sad, but I had warned them that might be the situation if they chose to stay longer with their cousins – and I was glad that they had chosen cousins over candy. Needless to say, my heartstrings were sufficiently tugged and so I really wanted to get home in time for them to have a fun Halloween. I won’t mention how fast I went but we arrived at 8:30 and the boys quickly changed into their costumes and we got in some good candy-getting (Auriana said we should call it that instead of trick-or-treating). All in all, a great ending to a great weekend!
Becky and the girls were disappointed that it didn’t work out to go to Rexburg for Anna’s baptism. With sickness and weather and a certain new little puppy, the logistics of it all just seemed to work against them. We hope Anna had a wonderful day and sure hope we can make up for not coming by fitting in a visit to Rexburg soon.
I guess our other big news is that we got a dog. Most of you have probably already seen the pictures that Becky emailed out. It is a miniature Goldendoodle - a mix between a Golden Retriever and a Poodle bred down in size twice. It just seemed to be the right dog for our family and after months of guilt trips from Auriana, and all sorts of pleading from the other kids, we finally gave in. In reality the kids were able to come up with all the money to pay for it except $25. When the sellers brought the puppy to our home we just couldn’t say no. And now we have another “baby” and have been experiencing all the things that go along with having a new dog including all the required purchases to feed and train and house it properly. The kids are absolutely loving it and so I have to admit that it has all been worth it to see them so happy and able to share their love with this little bundle. And I must admit that they have all kept their word and been very responsible in taking care of it.
Backtracking a bit into October, Natalie had a fun birthday party – going ice skating with her friends. I can’t believe she’s 10 years old. She went to an Irish dance competition earlier in the month and received a 1st place medal and two 3rd place medals for individual dances. Ellie went with Natalie to the Irish Dance competition and came home prancing around the house like a little Riverdancer.
Auriana continues to blossom as a performer in her show choir. She had a concert recently and did a fantastic job of singing and dancing. She and Natalie have been teaching dances to Miriam and Ellie and the little girls love it. Auriana just got full braces and is enjoying that sometimes-painful experience. I continue to be impressed with how responsible Auriana is with everything from homework to tending to keeping her room clean to keeping up with mandolin. I can’t believe she’s officially a teenager now! She was just called as the 1st counselor in her Beehive class.
Enoch has been enjoying his piano lessons with a teenager named Tanner Bowman that is a very talented musician. He comes over to our house and so that makes it easy for us. He’s also cheaper than a normal piano teacher, so we can let Enoch ease into things without having to pay an arm and a leg.
Isaac ended his football season reluctantly. He really enjoyed the experience – especially once he got the chance to be running back and ended up scoring 5 touchdowns. I just got called as the 11-year old scout leader so I’m enjoying weekly activities with Isaac. I had known about it for several weeks before they finally announced it in sacrament meeting and I really enjoyed the look I got from Isaac as he heard it for the first time from the pulpit. We’re going to have a lot of fun! He is a great scout and has already met all the requirements for his First Class.
Miriam, our little budding artist, is enjoying kindergarten a lot. She is quickly becoming a good reader and spends a lot of her spare time drawing and coloring. The other day Miriam and Ellie were coloring together and Ellie said, “Miriam, draw on my shirt.” So Miriam proceeded to draw on the back of Ellie’s shirt – with crayon – until it had quite a few nice lines and shapes all over it. I think it all washed out. Ellie and Miriam love to dance together. As I mentioned above, they have been learning dances from Natalie and Auriana and so we get performances every time they learn something new.
Becky continues to enjoy her teaching assistant responsibilities at ALA. From the stories she has related to me it sounds like she does a great job with the kids and has had a positive effect on many of them. With soccer and football over we’re glad to have a few more free evenings for a while. At least until basketball starts.
-Bjorn, Becky, Auriana, Isaac, Natalie, Enoch, Miriam, Ellie & Berry (also known as Raz)
OUR NEW PUPPY
We welcomed "Raspberry" into our home a few days ago. We call him "Berry" for short. The original owners gave him the name for his cute little raspberry nose. The kids have been wanting a dog for years ... their dream finally came true!
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August: by Bjorn
Well, the 3 younger kids are off to their first day of school! Can't believe Miriam's in high school! We did father's blessings...
