Sunday, December 27, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Snow, yule logs, and a-slippin' and a-slidin'
December 20, 2009
More snow fell today during church. It was the most beautiful snow I have ever seen. It looked like powdered sugar falling from the sky. It was pretty beautiful until we started the drive home and were sliding all over the road. And then I had 2 teenagers making fun of me for going too slow and for my “gasping” as I lost control of the car and almost ended up in a ditch. Giant geeky teenagers!
We were very involved in church today. Bob and I sang in a quartet and then our entire family sang in the choir for the Christmas Program (even Alayna!) Our choir is big and probably 75% of it is made up of children. I looked like Godzilla in the soprano section surrounded by millions of tony elves! But their voices are so pure and beautiful. It was a beautiful program.
I can hardly believe Christmas is almost here but we are SO ready for the break. I am dying to start my new puzzle, sleep in until noon and do NO work whatsoever. I know, it may just be a dream, but it could come true. Apparently we WILL be having a white Christmas considering the snow is STILL here from the storm 2 weeks ago, we got some today, and it looks like we will be pounded on Christmas Eve. Sounds like a good night to hunker down, drink hot chocolate and watch movies (while wrapping presents!) I wonder why snow NEVER melts in Iowa. You wouldn’t believe how many times Tyler has biffed it on the ice this week. I am surprised he hasn’t broken bones yet. He always pops up saying, “I’m all right…I’m all right!”
Kayla had to make a Yule log for her French class too. So, we made a chocolate one, with frosting, which was to die for. I gave her some ideas and she took off! She has some real talent for anything decorative or creative. I will post a picture so you can see what I mean. Maybe she needs to do the birthday cakes from now on?
Yesterday Tyler went to his friends house for a birthday slumber party and they got to go see Avatar in 3D and he thought it was pretty amazing! The rest of us had some friends over to watch the SYTYCD finale (So you think you can dance). I was so bummed Jacob didn’t win. The funniest thing is most of you who will read this probably have no idea what I am talking about We are having a Survivor Party tonight (Go Brett and Mick!!) after HT, BYC, and SED. Its been a very busy day.
We hope all of you were able to access our first ever Christmas e-newsletter. We also hope you all have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS! And a special happy birthday to my dad on Tuesday. Have a great week!!
More snow fell today during church. It was the most beautiful snow I have ever seen. It looked like powdered sugar falling from the sky. It was pretty beautiful until we started the drive home and were sliding all over the road. And then I had 2 teenagers making fun of me for going too slow and for my “gasping” as I lost control of the car and almost ended up in a ditch. Giant geeky teenagers!
We were very involved in church today. Bob and I sang in a quartet and then our entire family sang in the choir for the Christmas Program (even Alayna!) Our choir is big and probably 75% of it is made up of children. I looked like Godzilla in the soprano section surrounded by millions of tony elves! But their voices are so pure and beautiful. It was a beautiful program.
I can hardly believe Christmas is almost here but we are SO ready for the break. I am dying to start my new puzzle, sleep in until noon and do NO work whatsoever. I know, it may just be a dream, but it could come true. Apparently we WILL be having a white Christmas considering the snow is STILL here from the storm 2 weeks ago, we got some today, and it looks like we will be pounded on Christmas Eve. Sounds like a good night to hunker down, drink hot chocolate and watch movies (while wrapping presents!) I wonder why snow NEVER melts in Iowa. You wouldn’t believe how many times Tyler has biffed it on the ice this week. I am surprised he hasn’t broken bones yet. He always pops up saying, “I’m all right…I’m all right!”
Kayla had to make a Yule log for her French class too. So, we made a chocolate one, with frosting, which was to die for. I gave her some ideas and she took off! She has some real talent for anything decorative or creative. I will post a picture so you can see what I mean. Maybe she needs to do the birthday cakes from now on?
Yesterday Tyler went to his friends house for a birthday slumber party and they got to go see Avatar in 3D and he thought it was pretty amazing! The rest of us had some friends over to watch the SYTYCD finale (So you think you can dance). I was so bummed Jacob didn’t win. The funniest thing is most of you who will read this probably have no idea what I am talking about We are having a Survivor Party tonight (Go Brett and Mick!!) after HT, BYC, and SED. Its been a very busy day.
We hope all of you were able to access our first ever Christmas e-newsletter. We also hope you all have a very MERRY CHRISTMAS! And a special happy birthday to my dad on Tuesday. Have a great week!!
Look what showed up on my porch!
The absolutely best part of this week was when I woke up to find something very interesting on my porch. At first, I thought some guy was peering through the window. So, I went and opened the front door (brave of me, I know!) and I found 6 snowmen staring right back at me. Granted it scared me to death, but it was the funniest thing I have EVER seen!
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Winter is here...
December 13, 2009
Snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look what they do when they stick together.
- Verna M. Kelly
What a crazy week!! We had a storm come in on Tuesday and just pound us until Thursday. I think it ended up being 15 inches of snow. Then the temperature dropped and wind chill dropped the temp to -29. So, school was cancelled T/W/TH! It was heaven! We got a ton done, including our Thanksgiving puzzle. We needed the break so bad, but we still wish we had more. We are counting down the days to Christmas break. It cant come soon enough.
Pathetically enough we JUST got the tree up this week. We are so slow this year. AND we had to put it up without Bob because he was really sick all last weekend. It wasn’t the same without him. As I sat untangling lights for a good 30 minutes I was reminded of when we used to help my dad “untangle” the lights. Oh, the memories. The kids did a great job. We finally had to move all the ornaments up since Neesa kept running off with the ornaments she could reach.
We babysat the dogs again for 2 weeks. We had Whitney (grandma), Taylor (mom), and baby Neesa. She is like a tiny white fluff ball. I was glad they were here to entertain and play with Alayna the 3 days we were cooped up inside Alayna carried Neesa around snuggled in her arms like a baby and Neesa loved it.
We had the big ward Christmas party last night. Our family sang “Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas/Pine Cones and Holly Berries”. We sang it acapella and it was a huge hit!! This weekend I had to help Marisa make a yule log for her French class. It was the first time trying this recipe. I hope it turned out ok.
We have a busy week ahead. Poor Marisa has 2 concerts and her big history exam. Tyler’s musical has been rescheduled because of the snow days. Heres to hoping we make it through the week.
Snowflakes are one of nature’s most fragile things, but just look what they do when they stick together.
- Verna M. Kelly
What a crazy week!! We had a storm come in on Tuesday and just pound us until Thursday. I think it ended up being 15 inches of snow. Then the temperature dropped and wind chill dropped the temp to -29. So, school was cancelled T/W/TH! It was heaven! We got a ton done, including our Thanksgiving puzzle. We needed the break so bad, but we still wish we had more. We are counting down the days to Christmas break. It cant come soon enough.
Pathetically enough we JUST got the tree up this week. We are so slow this year. AND we had to put it up without Bob because he was really sick all last weekend. It wasn’t the same without him. As I sat untangling lights for a good 30 minutes I was reminded of when we used to help my dad “untangle” the lights. Oh, the memories. The kids did a great job. We finally had to move all the ornaments up since Neesa kept running off with the ornaments she could reach.
We babysat the dogs again for 2 weeks. We had Whitney (grandma), Taylor (mom), and baby Neesa. She is like a tiny white fluff ball. I was glad they were here to entertain and play with Alayna the 3 days we were cooped up inside Alayna carried Neesa around snuggled in her arms like a baby and Neesa loved it.
We had the big ward Christmas party last night. Our family sang “Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas/Pine Cones and Holly Berries”. We sang it acapella and it was a huge hit!! This weekend I had to help Marisa make a yule log for her French class. It was the first time trying this recipe. I hope it turned out ok.
We have a busy week ahead. Poor Marisa has 2 concerts and her big history exam. Tyler’s musical has been rescheduled because of the snow days. Heres to hoping we make it through the week.
We miss our Grandpa C!
December 13, 2009
Love doesn't end with dying
Love doesn't end with dying
Or leave with the last breath.
For someone you've loved deeply,
Love doesn't end with death. --John Addey
This week was a tough one. Our Grandpa Cunningham passed away this weekend and we are just heart-broken. We are so sorry we wont be able to make it out to Utah for the funeral. The weather here didn’t cooperate. You will all be in our hearts and prayers. We love Grandpa very much and will miss him, but we look forward to the day that we will see him again!
http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20091213/OBITUARIES/91213007/1023/John%20James%20Cunningham%20
Love doesn't end with dying
Love doesn't end with dying
Or leave with the last breath.
For someone you've loved deeply,
Love doesn't end with death. --John Addey
This week was a tough one. Our Grandpa Cunningham passed away this weekend and we are just heart-broken. We are so sorry we wont be able to make it out to Utah for the funeral. The weather here didn’t cooperate. You will all be in our hearts and prayers. We love Grandpa very much and will miss him, but we look forward to the day that we will see him again!
http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20091213/OBITUARIES/91213007/1023/John%20James%20Cunningham%20
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Happy Turkey Day!
November 27, 2009
Anonymous
May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!
We hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving!! We were so lucky to spend it with family: Hal and Corey, Debbie and Trent and family, and Jeff and Grace who flew all the way from Arizona. We have had a very fun-filled past couple of days. One of the things we girls were looking forward to the most, was going to see New Moon which we did today! We loved it!! I think Marisa, Kayla, and friends hyperventilated through most of the movie and it was so cute. I thought it was much better than New Moon and the werewolves are definitely my favorite!!!
Happy 41st Birthday to Bob! This year his birthday actually fell on Thanksgiving so we had a dual celebration. We also went out on a date earlier this week to celebrate which consisted of going to Staples to buy a new printer (ours died!) and a trip to Cold Stone on a very chilly night.
We also took some family pictures (a special thanks to Corey for being our photographer) I will post a couple, but the rest you will have to wait and see on our Christmas card.
Alayna got sick AGAIN! She keeps getting a fever with it, so we have to keep her home from school. She missed two days this week. I stayed home with her one day and Bob the other. Tyler auditioned for and made one of the main parts in the school science musical called “Cosmic Pinball”! I am so happy and excited for him! I know we have had a busy week, but I cant seem to remember everything. Maybe because I am so enamored by “New Moon” that nothing else can penetrate my mind…lol!
We head back into our normal routine again next week with a VERY busy December ahead. These small vacations go entirely too quick. I have yet another principal observation this week. I am getting so sick of them. Cross your fingers for me- I need all the help I can get!!
Anonymous
May your stuffing be tasty
May your turkey plump,
May your potatoes and gravy
Have nary a lump.
May your yams be delicious
And your pies take the prize,
And may your Thanksgiving dinner
Stay off your thighs!
We hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving!! We were so lucky to spend it with family: Hal and Corey, Debbie and Trent and family, and Jeff and Grace who flew all the way from Arizona. We have had a very fun-filled past couple of days. One of the things we girls were looking forward to the most, was going to see New Moon which we did today! We loved it!! I think Marisa, Kayla, and friends hyperventilated through most of the movie and it was so cute. I thought it was much better than New Moon and the werewolves are definitely my favorite!!!
Happy 41st Birthday to Bob! This year his birthday actually fell on Thanksgiving so we had a dual celebration. We also went out on a date earlier this week to celebrate which consisted of going to Staples to buy a new printer (ours died!) and a trip to Cold Stone on a very chilly night.
We also took some family pictures (a special thanks to Corey for being our photographer) I will post a couple, but the rest you will have to wait and see on our Christmas card.
Alayna got sick AGAIN! She keeps getting a fever with it, so we have to keep her home from school. She missed two days this week. I stayed home with her one day and Bob the other. Tyler auditioned for and made one of the main parts in the school science musical called “Cosmic Pinball”! I am so happy and excited for him! I know we have had a busy week, but I cant seem to remember everything. Maybe because I am so enamored by “New Moon” that nothing else can penetrate my mind…lol!
We head back into our normal routine again next week with a VERY busy December ahead. These small vacations go entirely too quick. I have yet another principal observation this week. I am getting so sick of them. Cross your fingers for me- I need all the help I can get!!
Sunday, November 15, 2009
November 15, 2009
November 15, 2009
It seems like its very difficult to get a newsletter up nowadays. We are always so busy and it might be easier to post each day than rely on my poor memory to share with you all what kept us so busy.
1. We did survive the first trimester of school. That was more of a feat for me than the kids (although Marisa might debate this). I feel like I am truly in Survivor mode, and that I would possibly prefer sleeping outside with creepy crawly things, starving to death, with no chocolate, than to deal with task of educating the middle schoolers of today. Perhaps there are others that feel that same way? If I make it til May (or if my students do) I should win some sort of major reward!
2. Tyler and Kayla had a huge band concert on Monday. Its nice to finally have 2 kids in one concert! It ended up being a long one- almost two hours- but they both did a great job and I saw some huge improvement. We did get the concert taped but forgot to take pics for the newsletter. I am sure if I asked them to dress back up like they looked that night, I would get major protests along with some amazing eye-rolling skills. Anyone dare me to ask?
3. Alayna is still doing gymnastics and she loves it. She almost has all her splits down. I am pretty sure I cant do that anymore and that if you asked me to, I would end up having to be taken to the ER is “stuck-splits-position”. I will just stick with watching…
4. Tyler’s intramural team won their first game this week and he was so excited. His city league starts next week. I took him shopping to use his birthday money. We scored at Kohl’s with a HUGE 50% off sale and got 3 pairs of pants (that don’t make him look like he is expecting a flood), a new shirt, and a black hooded sweatshirt that he has wanted for a quite a while and he covered it with flour when we made homemade calzones last night! You should have seen the “snowstorm” when he did a wiggly-dance to get the flour off…
5. On Wednesday, we had the big Young Women in Excellence Program, that Marisa and her friend Alyssa did. They planned it, planned the whole program, asked the speakers, made the decorations, delegated the refreshments, etc. They did an INCREDIBLE job and it was a very successful, beautiful night. I took lots of pictures that I will post. Marisa was excited about it and very relieved once it was over. That whole responsibility thing can be pretty stressful.
6. We had an insane weekend with deep cleaning, grocery shopping, Tyler’s scout swimming activity, Kayla’s ortho (bottom braces not off til January), hours of stuff for work (I get 7 new students on Monday…somebody shoot me), Marisa went to a school play, Kayla had a day at the mall and slumberparty with friends (its like she doesn’t want to hang around us anymore ;)), the Primary Quarterly party, shopping at Barnes and Noble, Kohls, lunch with dad at Wendy’s, free frosty’s….did I forget anything? Oh, today we had HT, choir in 10 minutes, and the Priesthood Preview for Tyler tonight. I am thinking of petitioning the government to either make 2 Saturdays (one for work and one for play) or since we have such a massive cut in education, lets follow Hawaii’s lead and have a 4 day school week. Oh wait! Better yet- lets just move to Hawaii! Oh no…my wheels are turning…
Hope everyone is well! We finally have everyone happy and healthy (knock on wood)
It seems like its very difficult to get a newsletter up nowadays. We are always so busy and it might be easier to post each day than rely on my poor memory to share with you all what kept us so busy.
1. We did survive the first trimester of school. That was more of a feat for me than the kids (although Marisa might debate this). I feel like I am truly in Survivor mode, and that I would possibly prefer sleeping outside with creepy crawly things, starving to death, with no chocolate, than to deal with task of educating the middle schoolers of today. Perhaps there are others that feel that same way? If I make it til May (or if my students do) I should win some sort of major reward!
2. Tyler and Kayla had a huge band concert on Monday. Its nice to finally have 2 kids in one concert! It ended up being a long one- almost two hours- but they both did a great job and I saw some huge improvement. We did get the concert taped but forgot to take pics for the newsletter. I am sure if I asked them to dress back up like they looked that night, I would get major protests along with some amazing eye-rolling skills. Anyone dare me to ask?
3. Alayna is still doing gymnastics and she loves it. She almost has all her splits down. I am pretty sure I cant do that anymore and that if you asked me to, I would end up having to be taken to the ER is “stuck-splits-position”. I will just stick with watching…
4. Tyler’s intramural team won their first game this week and he was so excited. His city league starts next week. I took him shopping to use his birthday money. We scored at Kohl’s with a HUGE 50% off sale and got 3 pairs of pants (that don’t make him look like he is expecting a flood), a new shirt, and a black hooded sweatshirt that he has wanted for a quite a while and he covered it with flour when we made homemade calzones last night! You should have seen the “snowstorm” when he did a wiggly-dance to get the flour off…
5. On Wednesday, we had the big Young Women in Excellence Program, that Marisa and her friend Alyssa did. They planned it, planned the whole program, asked the speakers, made the decorations, delegated the refreshments, etc. They did an INCREDIBLE job and it was a very successful, beautiful night. I took lots of pictures that I will post. Marisa was excited about it and very relieved once it was over. That whole responsibility thing can be pretty stressful.
6. We had an insane weekend with deep cleaning, grocery shopping, Tyler’s scout swimming activity, Kayla’s ortho (bottom braces not off til January), hours of stuff for work (I get 7 new students on Monday…somebody shoot me), Marisa went to a school play, Kayla had a day at the mall and slumberparty with friends (its like she doesn’t want to hang around us anymore ;)), the Primary Quarterly party, shopping at Barnes and Noble, Kohls, lunch with dad at Wendy’s, free frosty’s….did I forget anything? Oh, today we had HT, choir in 10 minutes, and the Priesthood Preview for Tyler tonight. I am thinking of petitioning the government to either make 2 Saturdays (one for work and one for play) or since we have such a massive cut in education, lets follow Hawaii’s lead and have a 4 day school week. Oh wait! Better yet- lets just move to Hawaii! Oh no…my wheels are turning…
Hope everyone is well! We finally have everyone happy and healthy (knock on wood)
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Happy 11th Bday Tyler!
The picture doesnt do the table justice- but it was all decked out with a massive spider web, millions of spiders and spider decorations. Tyler had a great Birthday/Halloween party with his "Ben 10 " cake.
Dry Ice
Bob did a whole bunch of fun stuff with dry ice and then we used the rest to make our "witch's brew"
(root beer)
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Took a speed boat to a beach alcove (30 min). Took a 45 min truck up a windy mountain. Did a huge obstacle course in which I repelled down ... -
Tyler Jazz Band Tyler not only told me he had a concert, but he told me he had a solo!! So, I finally got to attend one. Here is the link t... -
Long Beach- Day 1 Headed out to beat a huge storm with -50 windchills! Flew to Long Beach and enjoyed the next day there.