The Lineup

The Occasion

The local high school's Midwinter Formal.

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The Shoes

Rachel made the ribbon roses from the sash material.

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The Dress

I finished it twenty minutes before Summer's date arrived.

I was really glad he was ten minutes late.

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The Girl

Summer is good at multitasking.

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The Date

Anthony looked sharp when he came to pick Summer up.

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The Couple

Here they are ready to go!

Big Girl

Today, I told Kelly and Michael that it was time to get dressed. A couple of minutes later, without looking at her, I asked Naomi what she would like to wear, thinking I'd help her get her clothes on. She announced, "I'm already dressed and I'm wearing these clothes!" She was just finishing pulling her pants on and there she was - ready to go!

Summer's Dress, Version One

I am sewing Summer a dress for the Midwinter dance.

I made a trial dress out of fabric we got cheap on clearance to see how it fit and if she was happy with it, before I cut into the good stuff.


Now, I am cutting out the next version, after I altered the pattern per her request as follows - raise the midriff 1 inch, widen the bottom of the skirt, make the sleeves smaller (these ones are too "Napoleon Dynamite") and take the bodice in.

Wish me luck!

Watch for pictures...

I thought...

...this was so cute (I bet they don't appreciate that adjective)...

...when I saw Rachel helping Summer put curlers in her hair!

And, for good measure, here are a couple of other cuties!

Naomi's Movie Review

We went as a family and saw, "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" at the dollar theater (now it is the $2 theater) on New Year's Day.


Fast forward to today when Kelly, Michael, Naomi and I were standing in line at Kmart. Our friend Siu got in line behind us and offered to take us all to lunch. She took us to Carl's Jr. and the kids got kid meals which came with toys promoting the movie.

On the way home, as she clutched her "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs" toy, Naomi and I had the following conversation.

Mo - I didn't like that movie when it was scary. The noodle part was scary. I was crying at the noodles. The other part was funny. I liked the funny part.

Me - What was your favorite part?

Mo - I liked the jello! I liked to two little people walking in the jello and when they put their faces in the jelly and they were dancing, dancing, dancing in the jelly! I liked that part.

This week…

Naomi has discovered the joy that females everywhere consider their right - changing her mind. Maybe she waffled before, but now she has the vocabulary for it.

All week, she has been saying, "Actually."

I'll ask, "Do you want the pink or the the green bowl?"

Mo replies, " The pink one!"

Then, after the pink one already has cereal in it, she will say, "I want the green one, actually."

Or, I'll ask, "Which book do you want to read?" and after we are half way through the first page of the one she picked, she'll say, "I want the cat cupcake one, actually."

Kelly has been busy trying new things, herself...

...and Summer had to defrost a big chunk of ice to discover she was asked on her first date to Midwinter.

Heather's Reflections Program Poem

The theme for this year's Reflections Program was "Beauty is..."

Heather won first place for her age group at her elementary school.

Here is her poem...


Beauty is the peaceful forest, the majestic trees towering above, the soft leaves of ferns curling under, the animals, silent and watchful.

Beauty is Winter, the soft whiteness of snow spreading around like a blanket, the snowflakes drifting softly to the earth.

Beauty is Autumn, the vibrant colors all around, the trees shedding russet, scarlet, orange and yellow leaves on the ground, the fresh, crisp, scent the breeze carries.

Beauty is wild horses, their hooves pounding a rhythm on the fields of heather, their manes whipping in the wind.

Beauty is gentle, kingly grizzly bears, their shaggy golden heads raised to roar at the setting sun.

Beauty is deer, their large brown eyes that seem to look everywhere at once, their ears pricked up, listening for the slightest sound, their legs tensed, ready to dash.

That is Beauty.

First Blogged Picture of 2010

Happy New Year!!

First Dance

Rachel went to her first dance this evening.

Her grandmother wanted a picture (Hi, Mom!).


Rachel was more excited about going to the dance than she was about the photo session ;)

Rachel is old enough to go to dances now.

Happy Birthday Rachel!

Rachel wanted a day trip and finally decided on window shopping and a visit to an ice cream place I've been wanting to try. The ice cream was worth braving the freeway for, so I'm sure we'll go back :)

By the way, Summer is not being greedy, she is holding my cone for me while I take the picture.

And, once again...

Concert Videos

Elementary Strings Concert



Piano Recital



Choral Performance



High School Orchestra Concert

The Return of Posh Toes

After not being able to reach them very well to paint them for a few months...

(dah da da dah)

...my toes are back (with bells on)!

Christmas Day

Besides eating fudge, cookies, candy and leftover tamales until we all felt sick, we also burned a yule log...

...went on a hike and made button rings.

The week before Christmas...

...the kids did a Nativity play for FHE...

...Rachel wet and braided all the hair she could get her hands on...

...and three different kids had a stomach virus, but we don't have any pictures of that!

Ceramics by Rachel

In addition to her mermaid hippopotamus, Rachel has brought home some more projects from her ceramics class at school.

She made two thingamabobs that you put a tealight and scented oil into to make your house smell better.

She made this pretty box with a lid.

Here are two bowls, the second one is made of little balls of clay smushed together.

Another tealight holder in the shape of an owl...

...and a mask, which didn't make it home in one piece, but was glued back together and is being modeled by Kelly!

This past month...

...a lot has been going on around here, as I am sure has been the case in your families.

A couple of the things that kept us hopping in December were, four different concerts at school...


... and a piano recital...

...with videos to be posted in the near, or maybe distant future.

It also rained and the kids played in the backyard in the wet and mud.

It's all fun and games until you look down at your favorite dress and realize it does not look the way it used to.

Amazingly, all that mud came out of her clothes.

Ward Christmas Dinner

I told Summer and Rachel I'd give them a budget of $10 to spend at Michael's if they would make a centerpiece for the table I signed up to decorate. I think their snowmen were pretty cute. They had fun and I was off the hook.


The Primary put on a play that was just adorable. Michael was a shepherd, if you can't tell because the picture is so fuzzy.




Everyone was excited to see Santa...


...especially Naomi!

Gwen's Christmas Poem

Gwen wrote an acrostic poem for school that her teacher said was the best one she had read in years. This gives her some bragging rights here at home since it is the same class her three older sisters were in ;)

CHRISTMAS

Christmas is a very joyful and wonderful time of year.

Heavenly music fills the air as the stockings are gently turned over, their contents spilling out onto the rug.

Ripped snowman paper flies around the room as children utter cries of delight while they open their gifts.

In the kitchen sweet aromas float out of the oven, adding to the fragrance of melting candles.

Spicy smelling pine needles litter the floor, along with tinsel, ribbons and bits of colorful paper.

The glass nativity set on the mantle glows softly, reflecting the dancing fire in the hearth.

Merry children's faces shine as "Silver Bells" echoes through the lighted streets.

As weary children sit on the floor to eat their many cookies and sweets, they are tired and happy.

Sitting at their table covered with a delicious Christmas dinner, each family, filled with love for each other, reads the story of the first Christmas Eve.

Thanksgiving, finally!

We spent the week of Thanksgiving in St. George with family. It was really a lovely vacation. We relaxed and had a ton of fun. One of the days we were there, I took my two teenagers and their teenage cousin shopping for a girl's day out. We even did lunch :)

Stan took the five younger kids and some other cousins to feed the ducks.

The family dinner was on Friday to make it easier for everyone who wanted to see their in-laws, so for dinner Thursday, Stan, the kids and I went to the community Thanksgiving dinner. We thought it might be fun and would save Stan's mother at least one day of having to feed all nine of us!

It was pretty good, for cafeteria food. They even had live music and jugglers. The only drawback was that they gave us all way too much to eat! I kept saying, "Just a little, half of that, only a bit", but oh well.

After we ate, we took off to Snow Canyon, one of my favorite places in the universe, for a hike. We explored a split canyon...





...and then crossed the road to play in the sand dunes.

I found buckets of red sand in the laundry!

Niquelle helped Summer dye her hair a darker brunette while we were there.

The look on Kelly's face sums up the trip.

Woohoo!