Here are some tidbits from the month of February:
Rachel's 100th Day of School
For the 100th day of school, the first graders were asked to dress up like a 100-year-old. Rachel's getup wasn't that fancy, but she did have on her Grandma Wilson's shirt, her 95-year-old Great-Grandma Wilson's watch, and her Great-Grandma Jo's pin. She is really trying to look old here.
For the Love of Violin
Emma received a violin for Christmas, but unfortunately, a large crack somehow developed after only two months! So my parents took it down to Summerhays to see if it could be repaired (my dad used to work as a manager there and knows the owner). The next day, they returned with a different, better violin! Emma was completely shocked! My mom has been teaching her lessons every week, the ultimate Christmas gift! Hopefully having a better instrument will be motivating for her to practice!
The look of surprise is priceless!
Emma with Grandma Bonnie, her inspiration on the violin
Just Chillin'
After sending Joshua out to play in the snow, this is what I saw when I looked out the window. He spent quite a while just licking that giant ice cube he found. I always knew he was an ice lover!
Snow Fun
We finally had the perfect Saturday to go play in the snow as a family: plenty of snow on the ground, lightly falling snow in the valley. So if it was great down here, it must be even better in the canyon, right? So we heated water for hot cocoa, marshmallowed everyone into their snow gear, and filled the back of the minivan with sleds and tubes. Then we headed up AF canyon in hopes of finding a perfect spot. We certainly didn't anticipate the dramatic deterioration of the weather! Within about 5 minutes, the snow was coming down hard, and the road was covered in icy, hard-packed snow. We found ourselves slipping and sliding our way right back down the canyon. Here is a picture as we were about to exit the canyon. See how the roads aren't that bad here?
We decided we could still salvage some snow fun by heading back down to the valley. We found a spot in Alpine with hills and an adjacent park with trails that were perfect for a snow hike.
These pictures are of all the happy sledders back at the car waiting for their hot cocoa. Sorry, I need to do better about getting pictures of the action instead of just the before and after!
Elizabeth & Emma
Rachel
Matthew
Joshua
Brent
I happened upon this cute scene in...my bedroom! Joshua was so thoughtful to spruce it up a bit with some original artwork, nonperishable snacks, and plenty of options for my transportation needs.
Human Chili Dog
OK, I realize these pictures need some explaining. The elementary school had a month-long reading contest, and each day the kids kept track of how many minutes they read and which books. Rachel won second place for her class for the number of minutes she read, and was able to help turn the principal into a human chili dog during an assembly. Unfortunately, the parents were all squished into a tiny corner in order to fit all the students and teachers in the gym, so I could not get to a good angle to get a better picture of her. But you get the idea: ketchup, cheese, chili, fritos...the works. The principal was a really good sport about it!
Rachel, my awesome reader!
I should also mention that Elizabeth and Emma both did an amazing job in the contest, too. They must have had some stiffer competition in their classes!
A rare moment, indeed: a well-oiled after-school machine!
I was so amazed to see all four of the school kids intently and quietly working on homework after school, all I could do was grab the camera!
Rachel is reading "Bedtime for Frances" for take-home reading, a favorite of mine when I was her age.
Valentine's Day
A heart hairdo I attempted on Rachel and Emma, courtesy of the blog Cute Girls' Hairstyles. I keep telling them that if they let me practice, I really will get better!
For Valentine's Day, I attempted these chocolate shortbread hearts (from Taste of Home). They were a bit of work, but unique and yummy!
President's Day Weekend
Joshua was fascinated watching Brent grind wheat for bread. If you're wondering what's on Brent's head, it's a hat Emma knit on an infant-size loom and gifted to him. He actually kept it on there for a few hours!
The bread turned out, hooray!
Check out this awesome Scrabble game that Matthew, Emma and I put together! I love word games, and I love it even more when people will actually play them with me. So it's nice that some of my kids are old enough to challenge me!
On President's Day following a busy morning, we decided to go check out the Midway Ice Castles. On our way, we realized they wouldn't be opening for a couple of hours, so we killed some time at the tree house at the mall, and enjoyed a luscious HOUR of reading at Deseret Book (yes, every member of our family was happily and quietly reading for that long!)
On our way up Provo Canyon:
We made it to the Ice Castles right before they opened for the day, and were so glad we did! By the time we left, the line was huge. It was the very last day they were open for the season, so the ice was starting to go "drip, drip, drop...", but it was absolutely gorgeous nonetheless! I am amazed at how they harvest all these icicles and create such an incredible masterpiece. I am so glad we decided to do this for our President's Day activity. It was one of those not-to-be-missed experiences that we'll always remember!
Isn't it surreal? This is looking up at the sky from inside a cavern.
That evening after FHE, we made marshmallow snowmen. So fun! I forgot to pull out the pretzel sticks for arms until after I took these pictures.
Joshua
Elizabeth
Brent
Emma
For his home economics class, Matthew had to make a recipe completely on his own, from scratch. He chose this pumpkin bread, and it turned out great! Afterward, he said, "Mom, I want to try more recipes!" I was so proud of him. My goal is for each of my kids to be good cooks before they leave home, since I didn't really learn how to cook until I became a mom!
Joshua
After going though quite a few books, Joshua finally conked out...I thought this scene was too cute not too turn on his light and get a picture. Notice the Llama Llama book still open on his pillow.
Joshua's first attempts at numbers! I know if I will just take the time to work with him more, he's developmentally ready for lots more. Preschool can't come soon enough for him!
Conference Talk Time
We started a new tradition this year to help us all become more familiar with the General Conference talks. For $1 each, I bought everyone their own copy of the conference Ensign, which contains copies of the talks from our church's twice-yearly general conference. Since I cleaned out the store's supply to buy them, Joshua ended up with his own notebook with a picture of President Monson on the cover instead . Every Sunday evening, we gather around the table with their Ensigns, pens, and highlighters. They are encouraged to write notes and mark the parts that are most meaningful to them as we take turns reading through a talk. It's amazing how attentive all the kids are as we have done this. We really feel the Spirit as we read these inspired words of our living prophets, apostles and church leaders. I want to instill in my children a love for the words of latter-day prophets, which are modern revelation for us today. Hopefully we'll keep this tradition alive and strong!
