Crazy days, ice storms and another dead hamster

December 23, 2007

I can hardly believe it has been 3 weeks since we last wrote. It has just been crazy! We had a massive snowstorm last night. It was an amazing blizzard with 40 mile an hour winds. It dropped 8 inches of snow on top of a ¼ inch of ice on the road. Church has been cancelled today since traveling is hazardous. I guess we will do our Christmas play and baking early?
I had my last day of school on Friday. I am very sad the job is over, but excited to spend some time at home not grading papers and doing lesson plans. I am praying that something will open up soon. On Friday, my team of teachers held a special luncheon for me. They bought me a poinsettia and a gift and then wrote the most touching things in my card. I also got several sweet gifts and tons of hugs from the students saying that they will really miss me. I will really miss them (except one, he was the King of all Turkeys!)
For the conclusion of our novel unit on “Death Walk”, we had a fantastic time playing with dry ice. The kids went nuts! I was able to make the dry ice “scream”. Then we put it in apple juice and made apple juice pop, which looked like a witches brew. We were able to blow up balloon with it so the kids could see it is heavier than regular air. Then each group of two to three kids got a crock butter container with a small amount of hot water in it and a big chunk of ice. It makes the lid pop off and really fly. It entertained them the rest of the class! We had tons of people drop into the classroom to see what all the excitement was about. I even let my connections class play with it! (Thanks Grandpa H for the ideas, it was all a hit!)
Tyler started Bears for scouts. They had a big winter camp in where they had a big family dinner and he was able to sign off several things. He has also been playing basketball and loving it. It is on break until after Christmas. He is also singing in the school choir and the special boy’s choir. He loves being there and makes sure to wake up early each morning so he is not late.
We had many people over last week for a Survivor Party. We were so happy that someone from Pleasant Grove won. A couple of friends of ours auditioned here for Amazing Race 2 weeks ago. It would be so cool if they actually made it.
I personally apologize for our lack of Christmas letter this year. I have been so incredibly busy I have had to remind myself to breathe. So, over the break, we will get one taken and we will be sending out New Years cards J but that is better than nothing right? So, be watching your mailboxes!
We had a fun ward party a couple of weeks ago. We had an ice storm that day and snow storm that night so it was scary driving. Bob was peeking through the small hole made by the defroster on the windshield. But we made it safely and had a fun time. We also had to wade through a bad snowstorm to get a new water heater at Sears. Always fun to have to get new appliances right as the holidays start, right?
Last week, Mitt Romney came to our High School. We were able to attend. They made it a family affair and had food, coloring tables for kids, etc. Many people from our Stake attended. His speech was very cool and we were able to see him up close. We were impressed with his wife as well. We put up a sign in our yard, but the giant storm last night blew it away. Who knows where it is now?!
We also babysat the dogs again. It was so funny. One day I came home from work and the dogs smelled like strawberry, which was shocking, since they normally smell like poop. When I asked why they smell like that, Alayna said “Ooo, I know!” Then she ran down the hall and came back with Kayla’s strawberry deodorant. We found that she had covered the dogs in deodorant because she knew deodorant is for making you smell better. We sure had a good laugh over that, excepyt Kayla who said she now needed new deodorant because there was no way she was going to use that one!
When we came home from school on Friday, we found that our last hamster had bit the dust. It was kinda freaky because it looked like she had done a head dive into the bedding and once her head hit, she froze in place. It was weird looking. So, that ends the “era of the pets”. I have realized I am not even close to being an animal person like my mother. If the kids want a pet, they will have to go visit her J
We also closed another chapter in our life this week. We put away the toys, cleared out the toy room, and created an awesome exercise room. For Christmas, Bob wanted a weight machine so we got one that is like the Total Gym. Then we have my treadmill, my exercise ball, and a mini trampoline. Its pretty awesome if I do say so myself! Since we don’t have a toy room, does that mean we are getting old? Wanna hear something really weird? I realized this week that 2 of the teachers on my team are the exact age of the kids I taught in 6th grade over 15 years ago. Scary!
Marisa made a yule log for her French class (for an extra credit contest). Since our schedule has been so packed, the only time we could make it was 10:00pm the night before. She chose a very difficult recipe (figures) and it took us two hours to make. It was a gingerbread one with cinnamon frosting. It turned out AWESOME and she decorated it with gorgeous twigs of mistletoe. When I went to take a picture, my batteries in the camera were dead. It makes me sick since it was such a beautiful project. (Those dumb batteries were dead when we went to see Romney as well.)
Marisa has a new calling as Beehive President. She is so excited, especially since Kayla will be in beehives in only 3 months! I was finally released as Activity day’s leader.
Well, I guess that kind of sums up the last few weeks. I should be better at keeping up now that I don’t have a full time job. Congrats to my brother James and Brandi on their brand new baby born yesterday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dad! We hope you all have a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS! And we hope to hear from you all soon.

Hugs and Kisses,

The Harts