Merry Christmas!

We celebrated Christmas a day early this year. We figured it would help our kids focus in church tomorrow, rather than have their minds wander back to the presents at home.

The kids woke us early in the morning. Analeigh set her alarm to 5:00 a.m. However, the alarm only woke David, as Analeigh slept right through it. We told David he should just go back to sleep, but he was too excited, so he woke the other kids, resulting in us not being able to turn back. However, we have learned our lesson - we're just going to turn off everyone's alarm clocks before we go to bed next year.



Overall, it was a great Christmas. Corah got a classic Fisher Price Cash Register that Santa found on ebay (the ones they made back in the day are much more durable than the "retro" versions you can find in stores these days). Cailainn got a Lambie doll (from the Doc McStuffins show). Analeigh got a LEGO Friends set. David got the Forbidden Island board game. Everyone came away happy in the end.

We received a number of family board games, which allowed us to spend a lot of time playing together throughout the day. Here we are playing Pitchcar (which is a dexterity game where you build a track, then race each other by flicking your race car discs - making sure you stay on the track and don't bump others off, otherwise you have to go back to where you started).

You Can't Stop Me

Long ago we were given the idea to put our Christmas tree (and all presents) inside a Pack 'n Play, which would protect those items from the prying hands of small children. But we made the mistake of underestimating Corah's resolve - and the window ledge next to the tree.

Butterbeer

We recently finished reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, so the kids got to watch the movie this evening. Since butterbeer is mentioned in the book, we found the following recipe online so that we could enjoy the drink while watching the movie:

Ingredients:

• 1 quart butter brickle or vanilla ice cream
• 1/4 cup butterscotch syrup
• 32 oz of your favorite cream soda

Directions:

• Place 4 (16-ounce) glasses in freezer and chill for at least 20 minutes
• Mix ice cream, syrup, and cream soda in a blender until combined
• Divide between the frosted glasses
• Top each glass with whipped cream, if desired
• Serve with spoons and straws

The result was delicious!

Happy Thanksgiving

Ben's older brother, Steven, and his family joined us for Thanksgiving. We had a wonderful time together and enjoyed great meals. But rather than focus on the traditional meal of turkey, this year we will share a picture of us while a breakfast of waffles is being made. Enjoy!

Polyjuice Potion

In an update to a previous entry, the kids continue to love "reading" the Harry Potter books by listening to Jim Dale's audio recordings. We recently finished the second book and therefore the kids got to watch the second movie.

Elizabeth read about a recipe for polyjuice potion, which was just lime sherbet and Sprite. However, our local grocery store did not have lime sherbet, so we used rainbow sherbet instead. The kids did not seem to notice or care - they just thought it was delicious.

Service Project

Our church has a service project to beautify the landscape around the building. Analeigh and David insisted on coming with their dad, which he agreed to allow, provided that they work the whole time (without whining about being tired or bored). Impressively, they both did an excellent job.

Cosmosphere

Today we visited the Cosmophere in Hutchinson, Kansas. We all enjoyed learning more about the space shuttle program and space exploration in general.

Family Fun Day

Today was the Family Fun Day at the Great Bend Zoo. We got to meet Curious George, which was a lot of fun for the kids (even though Corah was suspicious of him).

We also had a great time looking at the various animals on exhibit there.

Pumpkin PaZOOla

We went to the Pumpkin PaZOOla at the Rolling Hills Zoo today. The kids had a great time playing games, looking at the animals, and picking out their own pumpkin. It was a great day.

Harry Potter

Several months ago, Ben tried reading the first Harry Potter book to the kids. Sadly, it never caught on. So recently Ben decided to get the audio book recordings from the library. We've been listening to the book during long trips and the kids seem to appreciate Jim Dale's rendition better than Ben's.

Once we finish the first book we will let the kids watch the movie.

Flooding

We got a lot of rain over night. We did not know how much until we learned that our children's school was delayed this morning while the city waited for the flood waters to drain. Here is a photo of the flooding (along with a picture of what it should look like on a dry day). It appears we got 6-8 inches in just a few hours. Luckily we live on the hill, so all the rain water flowed away from us (and into the downtown).

A New Approach

We went to J.C. Penney today and learned that they are taking "A New Approach," or "a.n.a." Our Ana thought it was a rather neat sign.

Happy Independence Day

We hope you all had a good fourth of July. We enjoyed setting off a few fireworks and watching what else the neighbors were doing. Here is Analeigh celebrating the holiday in our driveway.

Visitors from Rexburg

Ben's sister, Lisa, and her family stopped by to visit us. It is nice that we could be a stopping point on a trip to/from church history sites out east. The kids had a great time playing with their cousins.

Cailainn's Fifth Birthday

Cailainn turned five today and woke up to a number of birthday presents - all of which she loved. It was a great birthday and she is already looking forward to her next one.

Rock Sale

Analeigh and Cailainn decided to sell "painted" rocks today (they were painted with chalk). They didn't make any sales, but not every entrepreneurial endeavor is going to be an overnight success.

Happy Mother's Day

As a gift for mother's day, Elizabeth received a copy of the Marrying Mr. Darcy Board Game. It is a fun little game, especially if you're a fan of Pride and Prejudice.

Cailainn's Preschool Graduation

Cailainn participated in her preschool graduation concert, which was a lot of fun (if you like children's songs, numbers, and the alphabet).

As a graduation gift, each student got their own Ellsworth Elementary shirt to wear next year.

David's Tenth Birthday

David's age has entered the double digits as he is now 10-years-old. He celebrated in style with a few LEGO Star Wars sets and an ice cream cake.

End of the Soccer Season

David and Analeigh's soccer season ended today. Their team did pretty well (if you were actually keeping score, which the adults don't, even though the kids do in their heads). Here is their team photo:

Pinewood Derby

David participated in the pinewood derby with his cub scout pack this morning. However, since only one other cub scout showed up, David was guaranteed at least a silver medal no matter how bad the car might have been. Luckily, his father hadn't totally screwed up the engineering and David won first.

Since we used the track at the local scout museum, we were able to add a few of their donated cars to make the race more exciting. David's was still the best in multiple competitions.

Analeigh is Eight!

Analeigh turned eight today. Naturally, we celebrated with presents, including her own set of scriptures, a Tinkerbell movie, and some LEGO Friends sets.

After church Analeigh was baptized by her dad (who felt his fatness being accentuated by the snugness of the jumpsuit).

Later that evening, Analeigh got to have her cake and eat it too.

Congratulations Tessa and Andrew

Elizabeth's youngest sister, Tessa, was married today to Andrew Beech. It was wonderful to be there with them at the Salt Lake City Temple.

We wish them the best of luck (especially if they choose to have as many children as are in this photo with them).

Congratulations, Tessa and Andrew!

Natural History Museum of Utah

Today we visited the Natural History Museum of Utah. The kids enjoyed seeing all the sights and playing with the various hands-on activities.

Utah Trip

We went to Utah for Elizabeth's sister's wedding. But, since we came a few days early, we were able to spend some time with Elizabeth's parents in Saint George before heading up to Salt Lake City for the actual wedding.

Today was our trip up to Salt Lake City. We began the day by visiting the St. George Children’s Museum. The kids had an great time playing there and later riding the carousel.

Then we went to lunch at Five Guys Burgers and Fries, since the kids had never had the experience of eating there. If you've never been, their burgers and fries are great. But they also have peanuts available for you to shell and eat while you wait for your order to arrive.

After lunch we started driving up toward Salt Lake City. We stopped somewhere along the way to pick up from cheese curds (because they're awesome), then stopped again in Provo to check out the new Provo City Center Temple.

Then we were off to Salt Lake City where were met up with the rest of Elizabeth's family in a house we rented off Airbnb. We're expecting to play a lot of games and have a lots of fun while we're here.

Happy Birthday Elizabeth!

Elizabeth is another year older (as of yesterday). We had to celebrate today instead of yesterday due to some scheduling conflicts of activities at church, which Elizabeth insisted she was okay with doing. Anyway, she tried a new cake recipe for an Almond Joy type cake. It was delicious.

New Dresses

Elizabeth made some new dresses for the girls. They love them and were very excited to be able to wear them to church.

Toddler Tuesday

On the first Tuesday of each month, the Rolling Hills Zoo/Museum hosts a Toddler Tuesday where they read stories and do various crafts. Cailainn loves going each month.

Third Grade School Concert

David sang in his third grade school concert today. He did a wonderful job performing the actions and moving his lips, which is a big deal for him.