October 30, 2005

October 30, 2005
I never got the newsletter done last Sunday since we ended up in the ER. Then it was such a busy week. But I have time now to hopefully squeeze in our busy few weeks. It has been around 45- 50 degrees and quite cold. I am gearing myself up for the bitter cold weather which I know is sure to come.

Ok, Let’s see....
The kids did a great job in the primary program last Sunday. Marisa even got to conduct the music for one number. She did a great job. Watch out, Grandpa, she may be gunning after your job!

We had a fun weekend last weekend. Bob and Tyler had a blast going with Grandma and Grandpa to Indiana for the BYU/ Notre Dame game. They left Friday afternoon and got back at 12:45 am on Sunday. They said that had a good trip, but too bad BYU didn’t win. Tyler got neat binoculars from Grandma as an early birthday present which made the game extra fun for him. We girls had a girls weekend. We spent Friday night food shopping and went to Subway for dinner. Then we watched 2 episodes of Numbers and made fudge for dessert. On Saturday, the girls had a primary activity and then we spent the day watching cool shows and watched "Anne of Green Gables" which we thought was excellent. So, now the girls are excited to start reading the series.

Bob:
Bob’s finger is doing much better. I think it was hard since the slice was right by the knuckle, but he gets the stitches out tomorrow. He even played his last flag football game with the stitches. They lost again, but I thought they played much better. He is starting on a new project and will be working on the cockpit display for this new plane: http://www.aerospace-technology.com/projects/ba609/ba6095.html
He is excited. And although he will be working overtime, at least this time he is getting paid!

Alayna:
Alayna is really enjoying preschool. I am sure she would go everyday if she could. She started taking gymnastics at the Y and LOVES that class. It is only 30 minutes so it goes by way too fast. We may need to sign her up for more things soon. She loves to be involved in structures activities. If she isn’t, we see unpleasant results... She is learning her letters and numbers and communicating so well.

Tyler:
Well, Tyler turned 7 this week!! We had a very fun party for him Friday night. He had 4 little friends come over for a spaghetti dinner, the movie "Robots" and cake and ice cream. It was such a great group and we had a great time. It was a Star Wars party and I decided to save myself the stress and get the cake at Hyvee. They actually came through for me this time!! On Monday, Bob and I got a hamster as a surprise for Tyler. If any of you know him at all, you know he is a very serious animal lover!! It is a Chinese Dwarf hamster. He was so excited and we named her Willow (from the movie "Willow"). Well, the kids loved her so much, that that night all the kids pooled their money to buy another one. (You can only have 2 in the same cage if they are from the same litter) So, we got another girl named Fluffy (real original huh?) I am so glad we got her too as the hamsters are great friends. We did have to install a security system (child lock doors) as I awoke one morning to Alayna squishing one in her hand!! Anyway, I think this was his best birthday yet. He even got 2 awesome shark posters to start his shark wall and became a member of the Weird and Wild Creatures Club!
Tyler is also doing so great in Tae Kwon Do. He gets to test for his yellow belt this Saturday. I went to see the last few minutes of his class Tuesday night and he had to go down the line and each student would do an offensive move and he would have to do the correct defensive move. He got to do it for his birthday. I was surprised at how far he has come.

Kayla:
Kayla just finished up season 1 of volleyball and starts the second season this week. I can see much more confidence in her now and she has really improved. It was nice to see she has found something that she wants to keep doing. Her team won almost every game.
She is flourishing in school, which most of you know is different from last year. She is reading like crazy and has already moved into division testing. It is such a joy to see her progressing!
This week we also had a "trunk or treat" at the church. Kayla invited two of her friends to go. All 3 were angels which was pretty sweet. We went to her volleyball game then out to dinner. The took everyone to the church for a small carnival and then the trunk or treat. However, it was 40 degrees so we were freezing to death!

Marisa:
Marisa had her first orchestra concert last Tuesday. She is first chair and had the awesome chance to tune the orchestra in front of everyone. She was beaming, so was I for that matter. She practices even more now and is progressing beautifully. Her first choir concert is coming up in November.
She is pulling straight A’s in school and still involved in drama as well. She also bore her testimony today about how much she has enjoyed our family reading the Book of Mormon. We have had some neat experiences and well, those stories are just so cool!! She also finished reading Gerald Lund’s "Fire and the Covenant" and is starting the "Work and the Glory" today. Sometimes, I really need to remind myself that she is just 11!!

Last but not least...me!
Well, I aced my first class . I got a 97 on the final and a 97 for the class. Looks like I am not too rusty after all? I also finished the health lifestyles class and just need to take the final now. I took a break before the last class to read some adult books. I am reading the precursor to the Da Vinci code "Angels and Demons" now. (Which is awesome so far!)
We did find out that the bond for the new school should pass January 24 and then it should take them about 18 months to build which is perfect! That means I can start teaching when Alayna starts kindergarten, as planned. So, now I can take the next class a bit slower and get all my paperwork taken care of in advance. I have already contacted the School District about my interest in teaching so we shall see how it all goes.

Well, I guess that’s all. If you have read all of this...wow! Thanks! We hope everyone is in good spirits and looking forward to this joyous holiday season.
Love-
Kris and Family

PS- My brother Jonathan just released his first childrens book that he illustrated. It is a beautiful book. If anyone is interested, you can order it at Amazon.com -look under the author Jack Saunders. Enjoy!

Why Bob won't ever help me in the kitchen again!!

Bob was helping me in the kitchen with dinner and sliced his finger. We just got back from the ER and he ended up with 6 stitches! He is doing fine, but I am sure it hurts and probably will more so tomorrow. Just wanted to let you all know...

Getting ready to go to primary program

October 17, 2005

October 17, 2005

We had an incredibly busy week. While Hal and Corey were here, we completed tons of projects! They painted Tyler’s room white and it looks so much bigger now. We put up his Spiderman posters and even made a dinosaur wall. We also made a reading corner where he loves to sit and read all his informational books about animals. It looks great. They painted Alayna and Kayla’s room the same purple (light) we did our bathroom. (I will try to send pics next week). Then we mounted pictures of horses through the room. It looks so beautiful and the girls love it. Then we changed the Spiderman bathroom into a beautiful white and lavendar bathroom with a gorgeous purple floral trim and a Barbie Fairytopia poster. It looks so cool!!! Poor Bob, his home is slowly becoming purple...

We had some neat accomplishments this week. Tyler has earned 3 of his 4 yellow stripes in Tae kwon do. We are so proud. Then Marisa was chosen to be the section leader of the 6th grade orchestra and she gets to tune the orchestra each day. That made her so happy. They keep asking her to take private lessons, they said she is really good. It's just too expensive right now. She has her first performance tomorrow night. Marisa also did a great job in their last dance team performance during half time at the football game. Kayla started her volleyball games and is doing so wonderful! Her team won 5 out of the 6 games they played and she scored several of the points. She was pretty shy at first, but it starting to get the hang of it. Alayna got to go to the pumpkin farm with her preschool class this week. She was so excited and tol us how she got to ride in a wagon and everything. She also brought home a mini pumpkin.

I had teacher conferences with Tyler and Kayla’s teachers and they could not be doing any better. I was so proud of their reports and how much they are accomplishing in class. Marisa has hers this coming week.

Bob is still playing football and basketball. They still haven’t won, but are holding their own. He rolled his ankle last week though- it always makes me worry. I only have 3 lessons left to complete the second course and I take the final for the first course this week. It will be so nice to get these out of the way.

I spoke in church yesterday on how we don’t have to be Superwoman all the time or ever for that matter. Anyway, if anyone wants a copy of the talk or the funny poem that went with it, let me know. It went really well, I think, except for the severe dry mouth which caused me to have one of my most embarrassing moments ever!!

Well, I am off to clean, as always. However, Alayna took a nap for some reason and it has been a very pleasant afternoon!! Our love to everyone and a special thanks to Marisa for all your fun and sweet comments on the weblog!!

Cousin's death

We received some very tragic news on Saturday. My cousin, Justin, went into a river to save his puppy and ended up flying over a 100 foot waterfall and was killed. He was only 21. It has been such a tragic loss. Our hearts are prayers go out to our family and his parents.
http://kutv.com/topstories/local_story_288232413.html

Bob's football game (in black shorts)

Marisa's dance team performance (in center)