Swim Lessons

Owen has been very patient waiting for his turn to do something.  Claire is in dance and is constantly busy.  Owen happily rides in the car to every place we go, and doesn't complain.  I decided that it was time for him to get a chance to do an activity by himself.  We picked swimming together.  He was so excited.  I picked the 6:00 time first, but on the first day we saw that his cousin Lilly was in the class right before him, and no one else signed up.  They were happy to change his time, and it was so much fun for them to get to spend some time together.  He did great in his class.  He loved to jump in, and to dive.  He is as fearless as ever.  He can't wait for his next class to start, but I don't think it will be until it is a little warmer.

January

I've decided that this year I would like to journal more.  I always share important events, but sometimes neglect to share the little moments.  January always seems to be a slow month for our family, which is nice especially after Christmas.  It is always nice to get back into our routine.

I started preschool up again, and everything went smoothly.  Owen was thrilled to see his friends, and Claire was happy to start school again too.  It worked out great that Chad had an extra week off school, so he was able to help me shuffle kids around, and watch them when it worked out.  My babysitters kids got sick, so it was such a blessing.

Chad started school again, and seems to be doing well.  He is taking Calculus 1, 2 Engineering classes, and then a couple of 1 credit classes that he needed as fillers.  So far so good.  I was nervous for his Calculus class, but he doesn't seem to think it is so bad.  That is why he is taking it, and not me.

Claire was happy to go skiing again, and enjoyed her time.  Owen always amazes us, and this month decided that he would like to start reading.  He can sound words out, and is writing them.  He is one smart cookie.  Grant is in love with the Leap Frog Letter Factory, and has learned all his letters and their sounds.  It is fun to ride anywhere with him because he points out the windows and yells letter names and sounds.  It is amazing what he knows.  He also started speech, which is going well.  I am learning a lot about how to help him.  Ava decided that she would finally like to sit, and she is quite good at it.  The kids are still in love with her, and help me take care of her which is very nice.

Boys Day Out

Owen was very sad one day when Claire went to play at the neighbors house, and he couldn't go.  I tried to make the situation better by calling his friend Issac and seeing if he could come over.  It just so happened that his mom was just leaving the house and almost driving by our house when I called them.  He was thrilled to have someone over to play.  I thought it would be fun to have them make cookies so we picked snickerdoodles.  It was so funny to watch.  They were very meticulous at first, but when they were finished I found those rather large cookies rolled in sugar.  I fixed them, and we popped them in the oven.  It was a fun activity for the boys, and a good afternoon.

Daddy Daughter Date Night

Chad was thrilled when I told him that he needed to take Claire on a date skiing. It didn't take much convincing. Claire tried skiing last year, and loved it!! She is very good too, which helps. Last year we had to drag her onto the slope, this year she didn't want to sit down long enough to eat a sandwich. She was also happy that her "ski teacher," our friend Hal Jensen happened to be skiing the night Chad and Claire went. They had a great time, and Claire is counting down to the next ski trip.

New Years Eve and Illegal Fireworks

We spent New Years Even in style this year. My parents came so we started off with Owen's favorite dinner "dip sandwiches." After dinner my parents treated us to a movie (I can't recall the last time we even went to a movie, so it was very special). The girls and kids went to see Tangled, and Chad and my dad saw True Grit. Grant had never been to a movie, and the previews were playing as we walked in. He wouldn't move, he was so fascinated. It was a great movie, and we all had a good time.

After the movie the illegal fireworks came out. My dad loves fireworks, and he always has some good one on the 4th of July and New Years. The kids had a great time, and we let them do sparklers, and let one firework off. Then, they were off to bed. The adults played games, ate food, and then at midnight toasted, and sent Chad outside to let off more fireworks. What a guy, it was soooooo cold, and he would light one, then run back inside. It was a great night, and we couldn't have spent it better any other way!

A Visit from Grandma and Grandpa Farmer

Grandma and Grandpa Farmer came to visit us on New Year's Eve. They had to take Amber back to BYU-I so they came a few days early to spend some time with us. We were so glad that they did, and so were the kids because we saved their Christmas presents from them until they came. It was one of the first things we did when they walked in the door. Owen got an Iron Man hand, Claire got a new pair of snow boots (thank you!) and a new Barbie, Grant got a really cute truck, and Ava got a new outfit. They also gave us some BBQ tools, but then quickly took Chad shopping for our new BBQ.

All I Want for Christmas . . .

Claire came up one morning during Christmas break, and was missing her front tooth. We are still not sure where it is, but I'm pretty sure that she swallowed it. She left the Tooth Fairy a note, and was so happy with her dollar. It is so fun listening to her talk, and I was so excited that she lost her tooth before Christmas so we could sing a fun song together!