100th Day of School and an Assembly

Last month we got an email from Afton's teacher letting us know that she was going to be recognized during a school assembly for her compassion. (Each month for five months they have an assembly recognizing students who excel in one of five character traits: Perseverance, compassion, integrity, collaboration, and commitment to quality.)

Anyway, that assembly got canceled due to snow.

This month we got an email from Sam's teaching informing us that Sam was going to be recognized during February's assembly for integrity. It's a surprise and the kids don't know until their names are called.

Fortunately for us, they combined the compassion assembly with integrity, so we got to see both kids get an award on the same day. It also happened to be the 100th day of school and the kindergarteners got to dress up like they were 100-years-old.

Here's Afton before school.

Here's Afton at the assembly.

And Sam. (Skip to 43 seconds or so. I accidentally got the girl before him.)

We're so proud of our kids. They are good examples to us.

Other January stuff

Right after New Year's, our local PBS station put on a Downton Abbey season 6 preview at a theater downtown. They've been doing it every year - airing the first episode of the season before it comes on TV. I stopped watching DA a few years ago, but a bunch of girls from church were getting dressed up, going out to eat, and then going to the premiere, so I thought I would join in. It was a great night! After dinner at the Strawberry Street Cafe, we went to the Altria theater to watch. There were so many people dressed up. It was fun people watching. Apparently it's the biggest Downton Abbey event in the nation. After the local PBS people said some stuff, they announced a special guest from the show. You could tell how excited everyone in the audience was... Until they announced someone that was on like two episodes three seasons ago. (He also plays a pirate in the Pirates of the Carribbean movies. I would recognize him if I saw him up close.) So he was funny and talked for a few minutes. Then HE introduced another Dowton Abbey cast member - the woman who plays Mrs. Hughes (and happened to be this guy's wife). Oh, man, the theater went wild. It was fun.

 The girl on the second from the left in the front pretty much single-handedly dressed and styled 90% of our group. She is amazing.

Eli loves bath time.

The Saturday night/Sunday morning after Eli's birthday, Afton came to our room in the middle of the night and complained that her jaw hurt. We felt around and didn't see/feel anything abnormal so we set up a little bed on the floor of our room and told her to go back to sleep. She kept crying saying that it hurt. We didn't get much sleep that night. That morning, Sam came in saying that his ear hurt. Then we put two and two together and figured out that's what Afton was feeling, too. Of course it was a Sunday so I had to wait until 10 and take all three kids to the Minute Clinic because Dan had to be at church. I got there 10 minutes before they opened, but two other guys were already sitting there. So I waited with my kids in the CVS for about an hour. Finally the lady saw them and diagnosed Sam with a double ear infection and Afton with one really bad one after having to ask them all sorts of random questions that had nothing to do with their ears. I wanted to yell, "Just look in their ears, okay???" That was not a fun day! I also got released from my primary chorister calling that day. I miss teaching songs to the kids! Now I'm the second counselor in the primary presidency and I have no idea what I'm doing.

Sam had a school assignment to create something related to Native Americans. He decided to build a model dugout canoe. Dan helped him out a bit.

Very authentic, huh? Sam came home from school the day it was due and told us all about some other kid's two-story long house with faux bear rugs, ladders, etc. Sounds like we weren't the only parents who helped out a little bit...

We went on some pretty walks when the weather was nice enough.

I met Dan for lunch one day.

 We went to the temple. They have this picture of the temple that you can take a picture in front of, so Afton asked me to. I guess people might want to do that so they don't have people in the background? Otherwise, I say just take a picture with the real temple in the background.

 Here's the kid area in the visitors' center.

The kids watched some TV. Let's be honest.

Afton had a school assignment to create a diorama for a dinosaur she was given. I helped with the blue and green background stuff. Dan helped with the other stuff while I went somewhere (can't remember where...), but a lot of it was Afton's idea. I was majorly impressed!

 (She fell at recess and got a big bruise on her forehead.)

Eli was cute.

And then it snowed. And snowed.

The kids had a lot of fun in the snow. Dan shoveled for hours and hours. I basically stayed inside with Eli. If he was already walking, I think we would have ventured out more, but with him just crawling, I didn't see it ending very well. Dan got to stay home on Friday. We utilized that time to play a rousing game of Monopoly.

And a bunch of other games. Church was canceled on Sunday, as was school Monday through Wednesday. So on Tuesday, the kids and I drove out to see my parents since the roads around us and them were clear.

No trip to G&G Cheney's is complete without a game of Hullabaloo.

 We got to meet Grandpa for lunch and Eli also got a few presents from them for his birthday. It was nice to see them for a quick visit!

The last day of the month the weather was really beautiful, so we went on a walk after church and spent some time playing on the driveway. (The grass was TOOOO muddy.)

 Eli is SO close to taking his first steps, but he's not quite there yet.

 Sam got a haircut.

 Eli eventually gave up on the pusher thing and got super dirty crawling around in the melting snow.

 The end.

Resolutions and Books

As I do every year, here's my recap of the goals I set for 2015:

1. Read at least 30 books. (And finish that dang Andrew Jackson!)
2. Run another half marathon. (Probably the Richmond Half in November.)
3. Complete and print blog books for 2011 and 2012.
4. Use the fabric that I have before buying any more (unless it's for a very specific project like curtains).
5. Write in my journal at least once a month.
6. Read the Book of Mormon cover to cover during the month of March. (I'll continue to read it all year, but I've never done the "March Madness" challenge and I think it would be good for me to do.

I failed at two and a half. I succeeded at three and a half! Hooray! I read over 30 books (nursing a newborn gives you lots of time to read), but I didn't finish Andrew Jackson, I printed blog books from not only 2011 and 2012, but also 2013! I didn't buy fabric unless I had a specific project in mind (with maybe one exception...), and I read the Book of Mormon during the month of March.

That means I didn't run a half marathon and I didn't write in my journal once a month. How pathetic is that!? I always forget. 

My goals for this year are: 
1. Go to the gym at least 3 times a week (to make sure we get our money's worth).
2. Finish blog books for 2014 and 2015 (Then I'll be all caught up!)
3. Read 30 books
4. Go through every cabinet/cupboard/box in the house and get rid of things we don't need or no longer use.

Only time will tell how this year turns out.

And for those who are curious, here's the list of books I read this past year in chronological order.

1. Someday, Someday Maybe by Lauren Graham
2. Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick
3. Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly
4. A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel
5. Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks
6. All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot
7. Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh
8. Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
9. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (this was a reread)
10. Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner
11. Boys Adrift by Leonard Sax
12. Etched in Sand by Regina Calcaterra
13. Another Place at the Table by Kathy Harrison
14. Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
15. For One More Day by Mitch Albom
16. The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas
17. Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
18. Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard
19. Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos
20. Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
21. Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan
22. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
23. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
24. 13 Hours: The inside account of what really happened in Benghazi by Mitchell Zuckoff
25. Frozen in Time: An epic story of survival and a modern quest for lost heroes of World War II by Mitchell Zuckoff
26. The Martian by Andy Weir
27. Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan
28. The Inheritance by Louisa May Alcott
29. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (reread)
30. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
31. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
32. The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
33. Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
34. Winter Street by Elin Hilderbrand
35. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo
36. Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
37. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
38. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
39. Carry On, Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton
40. The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
41. Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters

Like I said, nursing gave me a lot of reading time. I'm not expecting to be able to read as much this year. I think of these, eighteen are non-fiction/humor/memoirs etc. Twenty-three are not. My favorites were The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, (This can be read in a day. It's a great kids' book.) The Wright Brothers, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Frozen in Time, Destiny of the Republic, and All Creatures Great and Small. 

I've only finished one book so far this year. I'd better get crackin'!

Eli is ONE!

Eli's birthday was on Friday, January 8. It was a gray and drizzly day. I had high hopes of some cute pictures, but the lighting was so bad all day!

He woke up  and had his milk and cereal. (Not together.)

 I tried to get a cute picture of his in a birthday hat. No luck.

 The rest of the day was pretty standard. Took the big kids to school, ran an errand or two, two naps, picked the big kids up.

For dinner we had rolls, cheddar broccoli soup, and blueberries. All of which Eli loves! Cupcakes for dessert.

 The only one with him looking is blurry! Darn!

 He opened his presents - socks, pajamas, sippy cups, and a stuffed monkey.

 Then on to dessert.

 He didn't go hog-wild about it or anything, but I think he liked it fine. He prefers to be fed, so Dan helped him out a little bit.

 And after smashing some cupcake in Eli's face, it was time for a quick bath.

We sure love this little guy! His dr's appt is in two days, so I don't have his stats, but he has two teeth all the way in on the bottom and his top two are about half way in. It's funny how both sets have come at the same time. He pulls up on everything and will walk around things holding on. He can stand for a few seconds before falling. He likes to dance. He started clapping on his birthday. He loves Sam and Afton. He has a favorite blanket. He finally sleeps through the night (that didn't happen until around 9 months). He still loves toilet paper and destroying our house. He is really sweet.