Just January

Well, it's been months since I've added anything, but between Kenny and my mom "reminding" me . . . here I go.

January was cold and dark, snowy and dark, long and dark. It was pitch black by 4:30 pm and we didn't see evidence of the sun until nearly 7:30 am it seems. That's my ONLY complaint of Massachusetts!


Tessa went all out on a school project - a diorama of a book she read. Of course mom had fun helping, oh and Ivy. All those little rocks were fun to run her fingers through!

Tessa was so creative. The "fountain" is made of two tiny (child size) bakeware pieces that we painted and glued together with wood dowels. She cut out each black and white "tile" and laid them individually. It was fun thinking in "miniature." Of course she got an A.

Maia made front page!

I really shouldn't document this case of child neglect, but . . . . Poor Ivy must hav been left to her own devices while I slept on the couch or something. She's wearing her favorite 18-month old outfit that is essentially a minidress and sorting through the cereal for the dried fruit pieces. Evidence of an unclean house abounds!

Ivy is still enthused about shoveling snow, but Austin is glad to take a break! He has done our house and a few neighbors by this time. In Utah, it's normal for neighbors to help out neighbors, but here is it met with confusion, offers to pay, and plain old surprise! The little kids took their tiny shovels across the street and worked on the grandma's sidewalk. She paid them each a little and they were ecstatic! She also pays them when they take her apples or a treat. I've tried to stop her, but she says she wants to be "nice" like they are.

Coop works as hard as his dad and big brother! When they were both gone one time, he moved nearly as much snow as I did!

McKenna submitted this visual as her final project for her four-month-long National History Day report. She highlighted the trials, the persecution, and the journey of the Saints. She did a great job.

Of course her favorite part was the ox! She made the wagon wheels of ribbon spools and the water out of blue sand and clear modge podge. It made for a heavy display, but it was cool. At the public showing in the evening, she received lots of interest and an excellent grade as well.

Cooper made himself! When he brought this project home from school I really had to think about where to put it, but this turned out to be a great place. He's always in the pantry anyway, so I didn't even miss him when he was at school. He and I are very proud of his art work!

VERY FIRST day of "Sum beans!" She's happy to pose for the camera today - because she excited for her first day of primary.

Ivy LOVED her class and her teacher, Sister Lane. This is Heather (her teacher's daughter and McKenna's good friend, hence Ivy has latched onto her also. Whenever she's hurt she wants to "show Heather.") She made this crown in "Sum beans" and wore it for days . . .

. . .and days.

School projects, shoveling snow, and the darkness wore us out! I don't even know who took the picture.

Snowmobiling

in Vermong.  SO FUN!  Austin scared McKenna though, so she asked to be "dropped off" before the tour was over.  The younger kids had a blast in their own "arena" on little snowmobiles.  Richard and I watched and played in the snow with Ivy.

Ice-Skating in Vermont

I had been trying to find an outside pond on which to skate, but Tessa, Maia, and Cooper absolutely refused to even consider it! I think they've seen too many shows about people falling through the ice! As it turned out, the day was VERY snowy and cold so an inside rink was perfect. Our family had been ice-skating only one time prior to this, so it was a definite learning experience!
Outside the rink, which is in a beautiful park area. Austin's catching snowflakes on his tongue! Cooper didn't want to have his "fat" coat on.

This rink (and maybe others?) has a great idea! They have some milk crates around that can be stacked to different heights and beginners just hold on and go. The crates glide easily, but provide plenty of stability. Coop loved the independence the crates gave him!

Ivy went around the rink once with dad on her skates and then flat-out refused. Sitting on the crates was the only way she'd go after that. Since her mom is a beginner skater, pushing Ivy on the crates was safer and more fun for BOTH of us!

A fuzzy Maia in motion.

Tessa and Cooper making their way around the rink. Thank goodness for the wall to hold on to. They did get to the point where they didn't have to hold on ALL the time. I barely got to that point.

Richard, McKenna, and Ivy going around.

The only way to go!

Maia and McKenna. Richard and Ivy behind. And Austin and Cooper behind them.

The red blur is Richard racing Austin. There's a disagreement about who the winner was.

Maia got tuckered out pretty quickly - and didn't really think it was all that fun. Ivy was having fun, but of course didn't want to look at the camera. Silly girl.

Press the arrow to watch Cooper skate. Watch his little feet fly. He reminded me SO MUCH of my third grade friend Hong - when we went roller skating for my birthday party. Although he had never been on skates (having just immigrated from Vietnam), he tried harder (and fell harder) than anyone else there. Cooper has the very same tenancity. By the time we went home, the seat of his pants were soaked!! He never did take a break though - and each time he fell he got right back up again. No surprise to his mom!

The Birthplace of Joseph Smith

We stopped in Sharon, Vermont for a few hours on our way home. Of course, there's a well-done and beautiful Visitor's Center commemorating the birthplace of Joseph. The missionary couple who greeted and taught us there, has a daughter and son-in-law in Cedar City. What a coincidence. -- This place is beautiful and part of the property is "Camp Joseph," a family campground which we have heard is SO fun. Perhaps if we have time when the weather is good we can make another trip up there. -- Although we weren't there at night, the missionaries told us how it is lighted with more than 100,000 lights and that many, many cars drive up to see even though they don't know what they're driving toward. It must be gorgeous to see the woods lighted up like that.

By the statue of Joseph. The window behind is actually just the corner of a large bay window that provides a view to the huge, solid piece of granite which is a monument to Joseph Smith. -- Along one wall is a large time-line of Joseph's life with a long case below which holds all many of the books by or about Joseph. (Ivy is asleep here.)

I'm disappointed this is fuzzy - but our camera is tricky if one hasn't used it before. Here we are all kneeling on/near the big hearthstone on which Joseph was placed and dressed when he was born. It's the original stone that was in the home where he lived the first 10 years of his life. Cooper was so excited to touch and examine the very stone that the Prophet Joseph had! (Ivy is not asleep, just hiding from the camera.)

The 42 foot tall monument. The top 38 foot spire is a SOLID piece of granite from a Vermont quarry. Many miracles assured its placement nearly 100 years ago. (Ivy is not asleep - just hiding from the camera)

The bench behind us sits on the snow which covers the dirt which covers the original foundation of Joseph's birthplace (just 22' x 24' - and my children complain about sharing rooms!). It was here that he had his leg operated on. (No, Ivy's not asleep.)

A closeup of the monument. The Spirit is strong here.

Christmas Morning

Our hotel wasn't fancy - but we had two rooms! That made it perfect for mom. Every time someone was ornery, I could banish him or her to the other room! -- We didn't get up too early on Christmas morning, so that was wonderful. Here the kids are enjoying their few presents - and not a single one complained about, or even mentioned, the smaller-than-usual pile of gifts!

McKenna is opening a gift from our landlord. She gave something to every single child! Very nice.

Cooper, busy with his new Leapster. It's a hand-held video game system - which games teach math, spelling, logic, etc. The only drawback is that he is constantly asking what certain sums are or the correct spelling of some word. I guess we can't complain about that. -- This is the surprise that Ivy accidently ruined before Christmas. She didn't even know I had gotten him one (she didn't even know what it was!!) but when she saw it on television one day she told Cooper that that is what mom was giving him for Christmas! Little turkey.

Ivy playing with some new groceries for her shopping cart - and wearing her new Dora the Explorer pj's. I finally got that off of her a couple of days ago to wash it.

Maia and Ivy each got a puppy carrier with the puppy and all kinds of accessories inside. Maia keeps good track of hers, but I find little bones and dog-ear bows of Ivy's all over the house.

Coop's gift from our landlord Maria.

Everyone in their Christmas Eve pajamas.

Horse-Drawn Sleigh Ride

We spent our Christmas in Vermont and really did have a nice time going on a trip instead of opening a bunch of "stuff" for Christmas. Not only do we not have room for much"stuff," but I couldn't see buying more when we have so much in storage at home. Of course the kids still got to open presents, but just a few. Mostly, we spent our money having fun. -- I'm going to post just one or two events at a time - so keep checking back.

This sleigh ride was at the Von Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, VT. Someday we're going to stay there! It's 2400 acres and is run by the actual Trapp family of "Sound of Music" fame. They settled in Vermont in the '40's and the youngest son of the Captain and Maria still runs it with his family. It's a beautiful place with first rate amenities - and LOTS of activities for families.

Waiting for the sleigh ride. It was a gorgeous day!

Tired of waiting - so gearing up for a snowball fight!

All loaded. They offer rides on the smaller, traditional sleigh only in the evenings - and it wouldn't fit our whole family!

Birthday girl! We did the sleigh ride the day after Christmas to help celebrate our animal-lover's birthday! She loved the horses and sat in the very front!

A view during the ride. This particular part of Vermont had a LOT of snow on the ground, but evidently not a recent snowfall, as the trees are aren't covered. In other parts of Vermont the trees were absolutely laden with snow. Beautiful!

Another view. That's the top of the main Austrian-style Family Lodge. There are also smaller lodges, time-share villas, restaurants, work-out facilities and more on the property.

The ride was courtesy of Burt and . . . now I've forgotten. I'll have to ask McKenna the other horse's name.

Happy girls because horses are involved.

After the ride. You could see the steam rising from the horses' backs.

This might be Burt or ?

This might be Burt or ?