Andrew's Birthday

Andrew turned 8 years old yesterday (March 22nd). I can't believe he is 8 already! He was so excited to have a birthday. He was a good sport and waited all day until after Bethany's program and dinner to open his presents. He got most of what he asked for (the laptop he wants was a bit out of our price range...)

Andrew wanted a pumpkin flavored Leprechaun cake. I was feeling lazy this year (I have a good excuse, though) so it is a recipe I found that is a Spice Cake mix, a can of pumpkin, and water. Luckily Duncan Hines mixes and frostings are all dairy free, even the Cream Cheese flavor (I know, sad but true). And the decorations were kind of lame but he liked them, so I was happy with it.

We are so glad Andrew is in our family. He is such a sweet, caring, sensitive boy. Plus he is super smart and helpful. He is just a joy to have in our family.

4th Grade Program

Bethany had her 4th grade program yesterday - on Andrew's birthday, no less. He was a good sport to tag along and wait for cake and presents. The program was pretty good and Bethany did a great job on her Virginia Reel. In the photo above she is the girl in the middle with the purple skirt.

Jorgen really got into the Virginia Reel too, he was dancing along.

Andrew was mostly bored because he watched it at school earlier in the day.

I have to include the train song because Jorgen LOVED it. He said the rest was boring, but he had a huge grin from ear to ear during this song.

After the program we got to go see all the kids' floats. There were some pretty creative ideas.

County Float

Bethany has been working on her county report for school and she had to make a float to represent her county. She had Iron County. So she made a little stage to represent the Utah Shakespearean Festival, plus some mountains, pictographs, and flags. I thought it turned out pretty cute.

Future Cub Scout

Grandpa Nay came last Saturday to help remove a tree. He also brought some presents for Andrew. He got some model kits and his new Cub Scout uniform. He is soooooo excited to start Cub Scouts! In fact, he talks with more excitement about Cub Scouts than he does his birthday.

He's already been reading the book to see what he can start working on. I think he looks pretty darn handsome in uniform.

5K Assembly

Bethany is on the 4th grade Student Council and they got to put on an assembly to advertise the upcoming Bluff Ridge 5K in May. So I went and watched. It was pretty cute and they did a great job. Bethany got to wave the "Have No Fear" sign and all the kids in the audience would shout the words.

Cookie Booth

Yesterday afternoon Bethany got to work at the cookie booth with her Girl Scout troop selling cookies. She even got to wear the Samoas costume. Sales were pretty good this year, at least for the couple of hours we were there. We still have a bunch of orders to deliver. One more thing on my do-before-baby-comes list.

Piano Recital

Yesterday was my Piano Recital. All the students who did Federation played their 2 songs, so it turned out great. It is fun as a teacher to see students progress from year to year. Some of my older students were just starting out a few years ago, and they have made so much progress. And then some of the younger students who just started recently have just progressed to fast, it is amazing to me. This is my last big piano thing before the baby comes. A few more weeks of lessons is all.

I didn't give out any awards, but I should have. They would be:
Most distruptive child: Jorgen (threw the camera, screamed right in the middle of Bethany's first song)
Most distracted performer: Andrew (he looks around the room as he plays, kind of funny)
And the messiest eater of refreshements: Bethany. Seriously, she is 10 years old and is STILL my messiest eater. Always has been. Probably always will be. She had, by far, the most cookie crumbs under her chair when I was cleaning up.

Fire Station Field Trip

Jorgen's joyschool went on a field trip to the local fire station. Jorgen was sooooo excited! He even wanted to draw fire engines when we got home (instead of trains).

Meet our new Cousin/Nephew

My brother and his wife just recently welcomed the newest member of their family. Austin Joel Baker. He was born on Feb. 22nd. He is their 5th child and second boy (oldest is a boy, then three girls, then new baby boy). So we went to visit them on Sunday to meet the new little guy. He slept the whole time we were there. I think everyone but Jorgen got a chance to hold him. Jorgen didn't really seem to want to. He just wanted to play.

Ben and the boys were tackling the tiger.

Dan's sister is expecting a baby in March, so our little girl will have plenty of cousins her age. She is coming in 8 weeks! No, I am not ready yet - so much to do! And I am so tired this time around. I just want to sit and do nothing but sleep most of the time. Unfortunately, I have kids to take care of and a house to keep up.

Girl Scouts Update

Bethany has been busy with Girl Scouts recently. She has been working on her Bronze Award with her troop. They decided to make fleece blankets to donate to Primary Childrens. Here is Bethany with the blankets she made when we took them to her troop leader's house. I wish I had gotten a picture of her working on them, but didn't think about it soon enough. She had to spend 20 hours total in service to earn the award.



And, of course, it is cookie time! She spent her off-track time in January selling cookies. Now the cookies are here and we just have to figure out when to deliver them She sold 401 boxes! Not as many as last year, but close. Only problem this year is her mom (that would be me) being 7 1/2 months pregnant and not really wanting to cart around all those boxes. We have till the end of March to get them all out....

Daddy Daughter Dance

Our elementary school had a Daddy Daughter Dance a couple days after Valentines Day. So Bethany and Dan went and had a good time.


Meanwhile, the boys stayed home and watched a Disney movie. I can't even remember which one. I just thought is was cute that they cuddled up together on the same couch. They aren't usually that affectionate.