Grandma's House

 The boys looking for foxes in the fields behind Grandma's house.

The girls trying out life on the farm.

 Grandma opened up the garage to show my kids my Grandpa's truck, "old blue".  This is the truck my Grandpa drove when I was little and it was one of his prized possessions (a gift from his brothers).  They've kept it all these years and are now going to restore it. 

My kids in the back of Old Blue.  It was pretty much a mini photo shoot for me :)

 Carter and Matson driving Grandpa's truck.  They never knew Grandpa but they sure would have loved him!  I love this picture!

 Me and the kids on Grandma's front porch.

At Grandma Hansen's House.

Just out for a mile walk with my 91 year old grandma!  Everyone does that at 91, right?  She is healthy and active and I'm pretty sure she has more energy than me!  We sure love every minute we get to spend with her. 

End of School

Finished off 7th Grade with an Awards Assembly where Kelsie got an award for 4.0 GPA for the year. 

 Sad to say good-bye to Mrs. Fenn.  She was the perfect teacher for Carter.  She passed her love of science on to him and he had a great year doing fun experiments and wants to be a scientist when he grows up.   He is very concerned about global warming and is BIG on recycling!  He will tell you that it was an extra warm winter because people just aren't recycling like they should. :)  We are so grateful for how much he loved her and how much she taught him.

 

Emily had a great year with Mrs. Mick.  She was the happiest, most energetic person I've ever met!  There was such a good feeling in her class and we are grateful for such an amazing teacher!   She didn't succeed in passing her love of science to Emily.  Emily informed me that she LOVED Mrs. Mick but was sick and tired of science. :)

 Last day of 1st grade and 4th grade.

 

 Emily and Carter loved having Mr. Smith's kids in their classes this year and became such good buddies with them!  They will miss them!

They are SO excited it's officially summer!!!!  Lots of fun times ahead with neighbor friends!

A Teenager

Kelsie turned 13 and we officially have a teenager!  We are really proud of  the great person Kelsie is becoming.  She is sweet, thoughtful of others, and super funny.  She likes things clean and orderly and is a huge help around the house with cleaning, making food, taking care of her baby brother,  and keeping me sane. :)  She loves to bake, scrapbook, hang out with friends, play the piano, sing, and act.  She is currently the Beehive Class President which she loves (and has been such a good experience for her), plays the violin in the school orchestra, and is excited to get to do Student Council and "song birds" (choir) next year.   

Preschool Graduate!

This boy is an official preschool graduate!  He's all ready for kindergarten if I can bear to let him go. I'm still not sure I can send him off!   I have loved being Matson's  preschool teacher the last two years!  He is witty, smart, and sensitive.  He has me wrapped around his little finger and he knows it!  I wish I could keep him four forever!

Our little graduate.  John surprised us and came home to see Matson graduate!  

My little graduate.

Payson Temple

Enjoyed the temple open house for the beautiful new Payson Temple.  Happy for my sister to have a temple so close and happy she watched two of my boys while we went!  

Willy Wonka

 This was Kelsie's first production at the Junior High.  She was cast as a "candy kid" in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  It was fun part and she enjoyed performing with a couple really good friends that she did theatre with at Thunder Ridge (Sydney and Lindsey). 

It was very well done and a darling show.  She loved being a part of Willy Wonka.  Can't wait to see what next year brings!

Fall Trip to St. George

Just found these pics I uploaded and never posted.  This was from an amazing, quick trip to St. George in November.  I'm hoping to start finding time and energy to blog again.  I'm really hoping :) 

We arrived while the Barker kids were all at school so we could surprise cute Brianna!  Kelsie was SO excited and the look on Bri's face made it all worth it!  They were so happy to be together!

 

We saw Uncle Drew's play at his new play house.  It was hilarious, as always!  Kelsie especially loves going to his shows.  She shares his love for theatre.  Afterwards we got to stay at Drew and Julie's new house and have lots of fun time with cousins!

The next day we went to the Children's Museum with the Drew, Julie, and the Barker's.  The kids put on shows, dressed up, fixed cars, and had a great time with friends and cousins. 

These two cousins are too cute!  They adore each other and have so much fun.  This picture was about the cutest thing I'd ever seen.  Matson can't wait to see Sterling again!

Went on a few hikes around St. George and enjoyed the gorgeous weather in November.  A fun, quick family trip!

 

Student Council

Kelsie ran for Student Council and was elected!  She is excited to be an 8th grade officer on Student Council next year!  Here is her campaign poster.  John and Kelsie had a great time working on this together.  So proud of this girl!  She has an amazing ability to achieve whatever she sets her mind to do.  And she isn't afraid to put herself out there in order to achieve it.  It will be a fun year!

Hair Cut

 Got the little guy's hair cut and he looks so grown up! 

Love that I can see those baby blue eyes though.  His hair was pretty shaggy :)

 Tried to get a picture with all the kids, but Tanner laughed and crawled out of every picture!

Storytelling Competition

Emily competed in the School Story Telling Festival.  She was awarded 3rd place and was delighted with this awesome trophy!  (She's wanted a trophy for a long time).  She told the story, "Every Cowgirl Needs a Horse", which is one of her favorite picture books.  Its quite long but she memorized the whole thing, added her own actions, and had this adorable cowgirl accent when she told her story.  Such a fun moment to see her shine!  It was so adorable!  And she didn't get nervous performing in front of the whole school, by herself.  It amazes me!

 

It was quite a feat to even make it to the school storytelling festival.  First, she won her class contest.  Next, she won the 4th grade storytelling competition so they let her advance to the school one.  When we arrived at the competition we realized that two of the finalists were neighbor friends from our street!  What are the chances of that in a school of 1200 kids.  I guess all the time they spend putting on shows for fun is paying off :) 

Carter Turns 7!

 Carter turned 7 on February 4th! 

We celebrated with a mad scientist themed birthday party.  He LOVES science and was so excited for an afternoon of experiments.  He was fully in character throughout the party, and he is quite a character! 

 Here is the birthday crew.  We made slime, did several fun science experiments, and made erupting volcanoes.  The kids got safety goggles to wear which they thought was awesome and Carter wore them in every picture. :)

Their favorite was the exploding diet coke.  They were all screaming and thought it was the greatest thing ever!  :) 

 That's my crazy, mad scientist!  Carter keep us laughing and on our toes.  He loves basketball, soccer, science, and pokemon.  He loves to make people laugh and loves telling jokes.  He loves 1st grade and is teacher tells me that he is the best behaved boy in the entire class and is a great reader.  He is determined and driven which is a both good and bad when you are a 7 year old boy.  But, when he sets his mind to something he sticks to it!  He loves drawing, doing projects, and helping his dad build things.  He makes leprechaun traps year round and is entertained for hours with a cardboard box and a roll of tape!  I know he will accomplish great things!  We love you, Carter John. 

Great Grandma Hansen

Loved having my Grandma come to stay at my mom's house for a couple weeks.  I cherish the time I get to spend with my Grandma.  She is one of my favorite people in all the world.  I hope I'm this healthy and active when I'm 90 years old!

Tanner was drawn to Grandma and wanted to be right next to her.  Seems his stranger danger doesn't apply to his Great Grandma.  He kept gazing into her eyes and pulling her closer.  It was so sweet!

Tanner and Great Grandma Hansen.  I loved seeing these two hang out together!

Somebody is giving the baby chips!  Aunt Janae is famous for trying to sneak forbidden foods to babies.  Don't worry- we grabbed the chips away just in time.  :)

 These two cousin buddies adore each other!  And this is proof that they do sit still once in awhile!

 Great Grandma Hansen with all the great grandchildren from our family.  The kids all adore her and are so blessed to have the chance to know her and feel her love for them. 

Sledding Fun!

The day after Christmas we took the kids sledding and tried out the new zoom lens we got for Christmas.  We had a blast sledding with the kids and captured some fun action shots.