As You Like It

This past school year, James was in the commonwealth production of As You Like It. I was lucky enough to direct. The kids were amazing and worked so hard.

James had two parts. He was the good king that was kicked out of the kingdom and he was Charles the Wrestler. --This was an easy cast since James is 6'4" and some of the kids are barely 5'.

The commonwealth art class painted the murals and backdrop. We even gathered cardboard carpet rolls and made them look like aspen trees.  It was an AMAZING set.

 I was only a small part of the big picture. There were so many moms that helped with everything. My co-mentor carried most of the weight and was amazing.

Here is the production..if case anyone wants to see..

 This is our reflections slideshow. It has the kids talking about what they learned with the class. You can really see how much they love each other. They are awesome kids!

Mission Call

 Hey...I remember this place!! I'll have to visit my own blog more frequently.

Luke received his mission call last month. He has been so excited to serve and has attended mission prep for more than 4 years regularly.

It was quite the ordeal getting him ready to turn in his papers. The doctors, the shots, and the wisdom teeth! (He actually had to have 8.5 teeth removed. He had so many extra teeth that had to come out. That left his mouth numb for months--even now  he has loss of feeling in his jaw. But at least he now has a normal amount of teeth in his mouth)

The day that he received his call was one I don't think I'll ever forget. It was like he was stalking the mail man. As soon as he drove away, Luke was running down the hill to the mail box. Then we hear a "IT CAME!" and he comes running back up the hill to the house. After much dancing and jubilation, I was able to get a picture of him. I don't think he let it out of his sight for the rest of the day. 

That night he opened his call. I was a nervous/blubbering/excited wreck. But alas, all was well and the call was opened without incident or letter opener.

 What I love about his call to Cincinnati, besides it being stateside, is that he is serving the same people that Cory served on his mission to Indiana. The mission boundaries were reorganized a few years ago and now half of Indiana is in an Ohio mission.

Luke is so excited and busy preparing. He is saving money and anxiously counting down the days that he can go to the MTC. I love that he is excited and worthy to go. Makes my mama heart swell!

Snowball

Every year our commonwealth has a ball. It is a dance that we gather as families and have a great time together. This year was one of the best balls that we have attended. 

Mark was all over the place dancing! He danced more than anyone. He was not limited to back spins, twists, and turns.

The choir sang. It was odd to have the choir sing during a dance, but nonetheless, they sounded great and we enjoyed them like always.

The ballroom dance team. They were so enjoyable to watch!

Luke and Emma were dance partners for the semester. They had a blast together!

Cory was there!!...

...and so was Superman.

We had a great time!

Family Pictures

Family pictures this year was an....adventure. The first half went really well. The kids were happy, they obeyed the photographer, and smiles were all around! However, James then started complaining of a headache and then he stopped smiling....and then he started puking. 

Family photo session over. 

I find it amusing to look at the first set of pictures and James is a little...green..

We were able to finish the session. But by then the leaves were gone and there was snow on the ground. 

The boys jumped around and made faces. I loved it!

It ain't easy being green. :(

Nest year Luke will be having his missionary photos done. Yikes!

Sometimes I feel SO short.

Here I am standing on a rock and Cory is down hill. Hey, it works!

Not so green James.

Looking good!

Hooray for family pictures!

New Years at Zion

 We Love Zion National Park.  I really love it in the winter. There are fewer cars, no shuttles, lots of wildlife, and its much cooler.  Win win all around!! The paths do frequent ice, but, for the most part it is just really pleasant.  Unfortunately my camera died soon after we arrived. We were able to get a few pictures of our fun times.

Grandma and the boys made it to the end of the hike first! They ran most of the way.

Climbing trees

Exploring

Beautiful area!

Lots of deer! We counted seven. Plus we saw turkeys and mountain goats. Not to mention a bunch of different birds.  It was great!