Book Battle

Derrick our neighbor also participated in the book battle.

Lance talking when he was suppose to be listening to Mrs. Young. Thank goodness she had her back to them. She is strict, but I really like her.

Krista told me they fed him waffles for breakfast. She hoped it was bland enough so it would stay down. Brady has been a good friend for Lance.

Every year they have the 2-6 graders read a list of books. They test them on the books. They take 12 kids from each grade and have a contest where they ask them questions. They have to answer what book the question is from. These are the 5th Graders. It is very nerve racking because they buzz in as soon as they know the answer not when the question is finished. All the kids look like they are going to throw up. Lance won 2nd place again this year. Brady won 3rd place. All of the winners were from Lance's class. Seven of the twelve participants where also from Mrs. Emery's class.

Always Growing and Changing

It is crazy how much your kids can change in 3 years. It is crazy how much they grow in 1 year. Last year and this year we received these safe kids cards with the kids school pictures on them and you put their weight and height each year.

Lance last year at age 9 - 4' 8" and 72 lbs This year age 10 - 4' 10 1/2" and 70 lbs, size 7 shoe
Jessica last year at age 7 - 46 inches and 42 lbs This year age 8 - 48" and 48 lbs, size 1 shoe
Lucas last year at age 6 - 44 inches and 40 lbs This year age 7 - 46" and 46 lbs, size 1 shoe

It is crazy how they each gained 2" in height. They filled out a lot too, well except for Lance. I decided to document this because I found a physical fitness card for my Dad when he was 11 years old. His height was 59 1/2" and weight was 73 lbs. Lance is close to that if you calculate what his average growth is for a year. My Dad is 6'4" today. Lance could be very tall as an adult. I'd like to look back and read this when I know what happens.

Chess

Lance is teaching Kerry to play chess. He joined the Chess Club at school. They both keep asking me what different pieces can do. It is funny because it gives their moves away. Well as long as they are having fun.

Jessee came home from school today and they learned about feelings. She is so tenderhearted. They talked about death. The teacher had them draw pictures of who they missed. She missed her Great Grandma Casper. She was only 6 when she died. She said she missed her and she cried. She said she was sad because her Grandma, my Mom didn't have her Mom anymore. Then we had the whole talk. She knows that she will be with her someday, but said Mom that is long time. It just reminds you to cherish those you love, because it might be a long time before we can see them again.

Just when you think there is a certain age where your kids are no longer interested in playing with the box instead of the present, well you might just be wrong. Here are the kids getting boxes for making dog houses. They ended up with windows, doors, garages, wallpaper and yes carpet. Don't you remember how fun it was to be a kid? They never cease to amaze me.

Lance had his first ski lesson. The Fifth Graders went on a ski trip. He wasn't allowed to take a camera so this is just a picture of him all bundled up after school. He had a lot of fun. He can't wait to go again.

Just a little added note. The Utes are Ranked 1st for the Mountain West Conference and 2nd Place over all. Way to Go Utes!!!

Friday was a good day. The Utes have now won 8 straight bowl games. The
Sugar Bowl is a pretty prestigious one to win. Now they really have another undefeated season. It was a blast to watch, they really came out with a plan and executed it. This year we went to all of the home games. It was well worth the $85.00 for one season ticket. Kerry's work does a tailgate for all of the employees and customers. It has been fun to get to know the people and their wives that he works with this year.

Happy New Year 2009

The kids are watching Journey to the Center of the Earth. Brendan Frasier's hair has never changed. He has looked the same since the 80's, Cute show though.

We went to Trent and Tracy's house for New Years Eve. We played Yahtzee, ate treats and visited. We are never adventurous enough to try a new game. Maybe next year. We let the kids stay up until the magic hour to bang pots and pans. It was freezing outside. They didn't last long. Some of the kids didn't want to go out. We had a ton of fun.

Last night we went to the Utah Grizzlies Hockey Game. It is something we do regularly. We all have so much fun. We have been to a few of the skates and dinners with the players. It is pretty cool to meet the people you are cheering for. We are starting to become sports junkies.

Christmas

I think 1/2 the fun of Christmas is that you get to make a big mess and mom doesn't care. (Well she keeps it to herself.) We had a great Christmas. Everyone got everything they asked for. It didn't hurt that they each only asked for less than five things and that they were pretty basic. I was proud of my kids, at one point I had to tell them they didn't need to say thank you after every single thing they unwrapped. It was fun. Everyone was happy and thankful. We simplified a lot this year and it made things so much better and less stressful. When Christmas isn't all about the stuff it is so much better. I hope we always remember that. It gets harder as they get older. We went to a few family parties. They were nice. It is always good to see the family that you normally don't get to see.

Silly Kid

Friday before Christmas it was snowing bad and we had to leave for my aunts early, Casper Family Christmas Party. I tell Lucas he will just have to go scroungy, because there isn't time for him to take a shower. He freaks out, because he can't go to a party scroungy. So he takes a quick shower. He then comes downstairs and he picked out a red striped shirt that was perfect for Christmas. He's gets frustrated, because he remembers that my cousin Mandy has already seen him in this shirt. Oh my gosh!!

Catching Up On Some Fun Moments

My Aunt Carolyn did her hair magic on Jessica. I wish I could get her hair to go and then stay like this. Jessica told me something funny. That I just have to document. She starts by telling me that Nathan at school isn't being a very good example for the new girl Madyson at school. I then asked her isn't that the boy that you have a crush on from school? She says yeah well I'm thinking about seeing other people. Oh really.

Birthday parties can be a lot for a 1st grader. This is even before the cousins and rest of the family came over. Luckily we were able to wake him up so he could enjoy his family Birthday Party.

It's not a great picture, but it's the best one. Lucas's Birthday Party. They painted ornaments, played with homemade salt dough, ate cupcakes and did the presents thing. It was fun to get to know the kids that Lucas plays with at school better. They were all so well behaved. They were way better than the 10 year old kids that came for Lance's party.

The recent snow day. They took snow from all over the yard to make snow forts. Brady and Lance have been playing with each other a bunch and they get along with each other well. They have very similar personalities. All of the kids had so much fun. I remember when I could stay outside all day and it didn't seem cold. Not anymore, I hate the cold.

Karlee and Jessica looked so cute reading books together on her bed I had to take a picture. Look at these smart beautiful girls. They always have so much fun together. We always enjoy having Karlee over.

Lance won first place in the Reflections Contest at school in the Intermediate (4-6 grades) 3D Division. He had a lot of fun making the scene. I had to cut him off from making more.