Victory Patch

VICTORY PATCH
Jake received his Silver "V" Patch! Great Job, Jake!

Karate Tournament
I love what Karate does for Jacob. I love that it builds confidence along with focus and discipline.

He was so excited about the medals.

Jake Loses His First Tooth
Jacob's tooth was extremely loose. I really just wanted to see just "how" loose it was... When I asked him for permission to wiggle his tooth, he was quite hesitant. He made me promise to only touch--I couldn't even pull in the slightest. (What kind of trust is that?) When he was finally reassured, I wiggled his tooth. As I was playing with his tooth, he moved his head, and to my shock--I was holding his tooth in between my two fingers. I felt horrible that I had accidentally pulled out his tooth when my intentions were entirely innocent.

REGIONAL for PIANO COMPOSITION

Hailey won at the regional level for a piano composition. She composed her own song, which she named, "Happily Ever After". It won at the school level, and then at the regional level, and we just found out that it also won at the State level. It will now be going to the National level of competition. Last year, Hailey entered this same contest, and that composition also went on to the National level. She received an Honorable Mention at Nationals, which only 1,000 of 300,000 receive.

Hailey's "I LOVE YOU"

One day, while picking Hailey up from school, Hailey wouldn't get in the car. She kept giving me the "one second" signal. She appeared to be wandering aimlessly in circles. I couldn't figure out why whatever she was doing needed to continue, and why she wouldn't just get in the car. I almost told her to stop doing her aimless wander when I realized what she was doing. There--at the middle school, in front of her peers--Hailey was writing me a message in the snow. She was so proud as she finished her foot art of "I love you", and I was grateful I let her take the time to create it. Sometimes I am so busy rushing that I miss the moments. I hope I can pause more often to allow moments like these to continue in our lives.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

New Year's at FEATHERVILLE
Because I serve in the Stake Young Women's, we stayed in Boise for the New Year's Eve Stake Dance, and then we went to Featherville to continue our celebrations!

I created a countdown of activities for my kids to do while I was at the Stake Dance.

Jason Gray is a stars on Studio C. He is also the son of the YW Stake President . Because he was in town visiting his parent's, he decided to come to the Stake Dance with his mom. My kids are huge fans so when I saw him at the dance, I called them to come and meet him. (Hailey's friend Kyah also came along as she was at our house.)

FEATHERVILLE & ICE

The kids searched for hours to find ice patches for sliding.

Never EAT Yellow Snow

There was solid ice on the sides of the river. The center of the river was still flowing, but all of the sides were frozen solid. We played for quite some time on the river banks. While playing, I found a patch of ice that wasn't as solid as the rest. I knew it didn't look as sturdy, but... I just had to see for myself. 

Sliding on Ice

We thought we were so funny as we took pictures of us jumping toward the river. It provided for great entertainment.

It seemed that we wanted to fall into the river, because we spent so much time finding weak spots in the ice, and jumping through.

SLEDDING

At first we didn't think there was enough snow for sledding; however, we still thought it would be worth a try...

MAKING BROWNIES

Ice Fishing
I have so many memories of ice fishing with my dad. As a child, we use to go ice fishing every Thanksgiving, and then every other special "winter" holiday following Thanksgiving. It never occurred to me that my dad was expressing how much he loved me by simply taking me ice fishing; however, as I reflect on the years, I now realize why it was so important that I go. I have to admit--I really don't love to ice fish. I never have. However, somehow understanding how important it is to my dad--makes me want to go. Over Christmas Break, my dad really wanted to take us ice fishing.

Somehow it didn't seem like a great idea to build a fire on ice...

The kids liked it.