Licenses!

We officially have two teenaged, licensed drivers! We had really hopped that we would be able to snag two driver's test appointments the day after their birthdays (a Saturday), but underestimated how quickly the appointments would fill up. Within seconds, all appointments at any facility within 30 miles of us were gone! So, Logan had to wait till the following Monday. But, they both passed, and we're all enjoying having twice as many drivers in the family! 

 

Teacher Friends

Sometimes you're subbing in Elementary school when the 5th graders go on a field trip to the Jr High, and your teacher friend sees your son there, and sends you a picture:)

 

Gethsemane

Jake decided he wanted to sing the song "Gethsemane" in Sacrament Meeting, and Ali agreed to accompany him. They both put in a lot of time and work to get the song ready, and practiced together both at home and at church. They both did an amazing job.

 

He's 9!

Happy Birthday to my youngest! He had a lot of fun planning his lego themed party with me, and loved explaining each game and activity to all his friends. 

He's been wishing for this lego set for more than a year, so we went ahead and made his dream come true:)

We sure love this kid.

New 'Do

Logan got a new hairstyle! It's really different than he's ever had it, and takes a lot more work to get it just right, but he loves it and has stuck with it. Paired with his new leather jacket that he got for his birthday, and he's looking pretty smooth!

 

Date Nights

Jason and I have been on some fun dates lately: we finally used a Christmas gift card to a place we'd wanted to try out. It's a bit hard to explain but it had a bunch of rooms with several different interactive games you could try out in each room. Each game lasted only a minute or two, and you'd go in with only your group. They only let a certain number of people into the place at a time, so you never had to wait long to play. It was really a creative place and a lot of fun!

In this room you  had to find the one button among probably a couple hundred buttons that was the same as the one they showed you. The more you found, the better your score.

And we went to the wedding reception of a young man we'd known as a little boy. Some other dear friends from that ward were also at the reception- the Maduras. We all were newlyweds together with several other couples in the ward at the time, and we all had kids around the same time too. It was a special time with a special group of people. It was so good to catch up with them and reminisce. 

Easter

We tried to be extra intentional with Easter this year, and I really enjoyed both our old traditions and adding a few new ones. How grateful we are for our Savior.

Eli, Jake and I headed to the church the Saturday before for a lovely Easter open house our ward put together. There were bunny crafts and an egg hunt, as well as videos, decorated rooms, and visual aids to teach about our Savior. 

We tried a new way of dying eggs.

And I demanded an egg nose picture as payment for any and all Easter fun I'd provided. They humored me-barley (and some were happier about it than others). 

I'm thankful that because of Him, I get to keep all of them.

Jr High Dance

When your son's friend's mom is in charge of school activities, sometimes you get great pics from her:)

Artists

One afternoon (probably to earn extra technology time) Eli taught Jake some of his artist skills.

Sweet 16

Happy 16th to these two! We took them out to Buffalo Wild Wings to celebrate.

Ali went with some friends to the mall to do a scavenger hunt for a party:

Logan got the classic Dodge Charger he was hoping for...sort of...

We also had the church friends over one evening for a party. These two are definitely worth celebrating!

Stake Primary Activity

Our Stake planned an activity and invited all senior primary kids and their families. I double-checked that families included teenagers, and was assured it did. So I told my older kids Jake supports all their events so they could come with us and support this one for him. And they have lots of church friends with siblings Jake's age- they would probably be there too. Turns out, it was not for really for teenagers and they were BY FAR the oldest ones there (none of their friends came). After a bit of grumbling (and perhaps reading my body language about how I felt about their grumbling). they ended up being pretty good sports and got an ice cream on the way home, so all's well that ends well. 

Selfie

Always selfies on my phone from this one. Always.

Talented Friends

I love going with my kids to their friends' events! Eli and I loved cheering Troy Bolton, I mean Mason, on at the Junior High's musical which was High School Musical Jr...(confusing sentence, I know!).

Seminary

Ali and Logan's seminary teachers have been posting photos on the group chat so parents can ask specific questions rather than, "How was seminary?' to which we always get one or two word answers. It's been fun to get peeks into their classes! We are so thankful for good seminary teachers!

 

Elvis in Third grade

Here we have Elvis- I mean Jake!- on a school spirit day:) 

 

Dune 2

We went to Dune 2 as a family, with very high hopes because of all the raves we heard. We did enjoy it, but save for a few really great scenes we all agreed we liked the first one better. 

I bought tickets at the top of the theater on the edge for this reason- so Jake would be able to sit (or lay!) by the floor lights and read his books once he got bored of the movie...he brought two books and read through most of them (it was a long a movie).

Spring Concerts

We got to go to our usual round of spring concerts. It is fun to watch the kids progress!

 

Walking Crown

Sometimes I get people to go on walks around the neighborhood with me, and sometimes they are very silly with random trash they find along the way...

 

Lord of the Rings

Ali's dad convinced her to read The Lord of the Rings. She likes it more than this picture suggests. 

Sleep Studies

I decided to ask my doctors for a sleep study. I snore (quite loudly sometimes) and wake up feeling tired every day. My dad has sleep apnea, so I wondered if I did too. I also was curious if my snoring and tiredness could be one of the reasons for my headaches. 

So, after MUCH chasing people down on the phone, I was able to get a home sleep study set up. I had to call after a while to inquire about my results (no surprise there), and was told that, on average, I either stopped breathing or slowed in breathing 36 times an hour- which they classify as severe sleep apnea.

Next step is an in-clinic study to be fitted for a CPAP machine. Here's to hoping it's a life changer!

 

Primary Bulletin Board

There is a bulletin board in the primary hallway that Jake's leaders are trying to use more often this year. They are also giving families monthly newsletters with a drawing challenge for the kids. It says if they do the challenge, they will hang the drawing on the bulletin board. Guess who is 2/2 with the drawing/bulletin board challenges so far this year? Yep, Jake.

 

Games

They don't play games as much as they did a few years ago, but sometimes they will a lot for short periods of time (like every day for a week).

Nails

Ali and I had twin nails this week (she painted mine and I did hers!). She was proud that she got me to pick an actual color:)

Often Ali comes home from school with little smileys on her fingers. It makes me happy. So does she.

Blackhawks Game

Eli got a ticket to a Blackhawks game for Christmas- and they won! It was the first time in several game they'd won, and unfortunately they didn't win for several games after, so it was the perfect game to go to. He was disappointed not to get to see Conor Bedard play (he was injured); maybe next time!

Jake's Creations

Here are just some of Jake's latest creations:

Temple Frosties

It's become a tradition to get a Frosty from Wendy's on the way home from temple trips. January's trip was extra special since it was the first time Logan got to baptize! Jake gets to go to a friend's house while we're gone, but he gets a Frosty too!

Volunteer

Ali officially decided she wants to get the High School Graduation honor of having volunteered 150 hours during High School. So, she is keeping her eyes out for opportunities (and so is her mom). She has about 55 hours so far, so she seems to be on track, especially since she can rack up the hours in the summers. This was her helping get a local Elementary School ready for a Valentine's Day party. It helps when her friend's mom is running the event, and is way more fun when some of her friends volunteer too.

 

Seat belt

For some reason, I've been having to remind this one to put on his seat belt lately. One such day, he said he'd obeyed in such a tone that I knew I needed to look- and he was on the floor between two chairs, with the seat belt from one seat buckled into the buckle of the other. Teenagers.

Whittling

We got Eli a whittling kit on a whim for Christmas, and he has discovered that he really enjoys the new hobby!

Lego Photography

Jake planned and took this series of photos where lego mini-figures came into contact with life-sized things that related to them. I thought it was very clever, and that some of them turned out so cool! He also chose to have them in black and white-no idea how he even knew that was possible.