Halloween 2008

Here is Haley as the Cave Woman and her friends Maddie, Rachel, Allie, Emily, Claire and Macayla

Booba as Pooh Bear
Phoebe as Belle, Ellie as Ariel, Olivia a mermaid, Meg as Tracy Turnblad ("Hairspray"), and Anna as Cleopatra

Michael as The Cereal Killer, Jon as the Hobo, Jake as a pirate Skeleton, Chase as Merlin and Taylor as a really scary monster (Booba didn't like him. Too scary!)

Ah, Good Times!

Booba is going on a boat ride!

Who needs toys when you have cardboard boxes!

Snowbird

Our family went to snowbird. We celebrated boobas birthday. This is him getting a motorcycle

One night Jake was just messing around on the guitar so John took this video. Jake has really improved since he began lessons. Way to go Jake!

Random Pics of the Kids

I don't have much to post so I thought I would post some pics I like of the kids. Aren't they cute!

Booba at the piano

Booba is our child prodigy!

Way too salty!

We went to California to visit with my mom and aunt and we also did some fun stuff. We went to the beach and to the K1 speed indoor go-karting. It was a lot of fun. Every time I see these pictures I laugh. This is Meg. She swallowed some water right before she got out. Way too salty!

California beach

UEA Weekend 2008

We went down to our house in St. George and had a great time although we wished it was longer. We left late on Wednesday which turned out to be a good thing because we didn't hear the question "Are we there yet?" because all the kids fell asleep. On Thursday we hung out and went to the new Washington County Rec Center and swam. It was fun. On Friday Haley and I went exercising. Upon our return John and Jake were busy installing a new water softener. That was so great of them except for one thing: the water was turned off until they were finished. So there I sat not having showered. I decided that I would watch an episode of a series that I got hooked on last year, "Ugly Betty." But of course as soon as I turned it on all the kids came over to watch with me. But they don't really watch. They talk! So that means I can't hear anything and I don't know what is going on. So then I turn it off and do something else. Such is my life these days. On Saturday Haley and I went excercising again. It is so great to have a buddy to go with. In the afternoon we went to the Rec center pool again and met up with the Shumways, friends from our ward. Later on they came over for dinner. The Wallace's, also good friends, came over as well. The party lasted until 11:30. Overall the weekend went by way too fast but we had a great time.

UEA Weekend 2008

Projects on a beautiful Saturday Afternoon

Jake needed to work on his Egypt project for school. He did a pyramid diorama. The finished product looks good.

While Jake did his project, the other kids decided to paint. No that is not blood on Booba's face, but red paint!

At the ward talent show in September we were entertained by piano solos, piano duets, jokes, a violin solo, a guitar song, and fantastic bell choir! It was so much fun and I was a proud parent. And I was in awe of all the great talent in our ward. Jacob sang and played the guitar- a song called "Bad Day" by Daniel Poweter. Meg did a piano solo. Ellie joined with Dru and Anthony and performed "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" with bells. Phoebe and Olivia performed "Mary had a little Lamb" with bells. They all did excellent.

First Day of Kindergarten

The first day of school started with excitement. Especially for Ellie and her friends Dru and Emma. They were accompanied by siblings and parents. Now they have been in school for two months and are doing really well.

Ellie is learning to read! It is so exciting as a parent to watch and be a part of it. Way to go Ellie!

Work in Holland

Dalton and Greg's Missionary Farewell

Today in Sacrament meeting we were well taught by two fine young men, Dalton Wallace and Greg Shumway. They are leaving very soon for Italy and Switzerland respectively. The people of Italy and Switzerland will be so blessed to have them there. They have been well prepared by their mothers and family and leaders and I am glad to be associated with them and their families. I am grateful for their great personalities and for their testimonies of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I view them as modern day heroes because of their willingness to follow our Savior and obey Him. They have impacted our lives for good, especially our son, Jacob. Someday he will be at the age where he can serve a mission and I am grateful to Dalton and Greg for going on before and being good examples to Jacob. I am also impressed by their families. I want so much to raise my children in righteousness and I look to these people as my examples. I want to incorporate all their good deeds into my home. There are many people that I know that are heroes to me but today I pay tribute to Dalton and Greg. And to quote a Tongan missionary movie, " The Other Side of Heaven" I say to them " Hurrah for Israel!"

Booba's Birthday

Booba's birthday is September 28 and we didn't celebrate because John was in Holland for work. So we finally did it yesterday. We have a timeshare up at Snowbird and we had dinner and cake and ice cream. But the highlight for us all was watching Booba's face light up when he saw his presents. He got 3 motorcycle toys and got all excited. His favorite things in the world right now are motorcycles and keys. He loves to play with both. So much so that we have yet to find John's set of car keys!
Today John gave Booba a ride on the motorcycle. That just made him the happiest boy in the world.

Lake Powell

We were invited to Lake Powell by Derek, John's brother and Traci, Derek's wife. We left on Wednesday, October 1, and drove down to our St. George house. We were going to pick up John, who flew from Amsterdam, at the St. George airport. But instead John got to the house before we did so we met him there. We got up early on Thursday and drove two hours to Lake Powell. We had a great time relaxing, boating, eating, talking, watching movies and more boating. On Friday we went to Navajo Canyon and everyone except me, Phoebe and Booba hiked up a slot canyon. They swam through cascading pools to get to an old Indian dwelling. They had a fun adventure and I was really proud of Meg and Ellie making it through because it can be really tough in certain spots. On Saturday it rained most of the day so we didn't get to boat at all but we had a good time inside just chatting and getting to know each other better. We had a wonderful time and we are so grateful to have spent time with Derek, Traci, Ethen and Tyler. (Emily and Josh are on missions and Alta couldn't miss school.)