Red Neck Sledding

Kevin hooked up the hood to the Bronco and they were off to the fields for some sledding! This was definitely their favorite activity this winter! We have done this with cousins and friends. It's such a great time!

2013 Christmas

 Samantha was Mary for the community Nativity this year!

They were blinded by the camera flash! It's not often all three have their eyes closed in a picture!

Busy December

 We went to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas and had a great time!

 We cleaned out an out building so we could use it as a gym on the farm.

 We joined my family at Thanksgiving Point to watch Jerusalem. After we made blessing bags as our Christmas service project this year.

 We visited Grandma Erickson at her assisted living home. She is doing so well there!

 Derrick finished his first semester of karate. I joined him and we have loved learning self defense. I just need to learn to block my nose better since that is where Derrick always aims! We love our Si Fu!

 Samantha played in the 5th-6th grade band concert and even did a short solo. She is sounding better and better!

 And look! Our nearly 12 year old lost another tooth!

My birthday!

Winter Dance Recital

Samantha and KayDee started taking dance this year in September and have really enjoyed it. They have performed at craft fairs and care centers already. They had their winter recital in December to show the dance they learned for ballet. Both of them were in a lift for their dance which was extra fun. They will start jazz dance next semester. They both did a great job at the recital and we loved watching them!

Derrick's 10th Birthday

Derrick invited his friends over for a Lego building birthday party. They had different items to create and competed to see who could get done first. We took pictures of each item they made and then let them all watch a slide show afterward. It was fun.

On Sunday we invited local family over for his birthday dinner.

Derrick's spotlight:
Derrick has grown up a lot this past year. He is in 4th grade now and has made a lot of effort to do well in school. His teacher requires a lot of personal responsibility and Derrick has stepped up to the plate. He has started taking karate and loves it, and his mom decided to do it with him and they have loved doing it together. They are both yellow belts now. Derrick still takes piano lessons and plays really well. He likes to play the simplified primary songs and enjoys the Christmas song he picked out.  He still loves to read and loves to create things. He loves legos and erector sets, and even got a motor to put on the erector set. He loves to go shoot his BB gun and work with his dad. He has even driven the truck twice now while working with his dad, just from the shop to our house. Derrick has also done very well in scouts and has received his Bear award and is very excited about Webelos. He loves to play outside and still loves riding his bike. He just learned how to play chess and loves it! He also loves the Lego Star Wars game on the Wii.
Derrick is such a good son. He really adds a lot to our family. He is very helpful and tries his best when doing his chores which are cleaning the tub and shower and putting in the dishes. He is thoughtful toward others and really likes to tease too! He gives very nice family night lessons and is always willing to say prayers when it is his turn. He enjoys going to church and brings his scriptures each Sunday. He likes to keep things fair and likes following the rules. He has made different meals for us like tacos and ramen noodles. He also likes to tell all about his day and share stories and jokes.
We love Derrick and feel so blessed that he is in our home. He brings us so much happiness and we are so proud of the choices he makes to learn and grow.

Family Pictures 2013

Friends From Switzerland

David and Andrea visited us while they were on their trip to the United States from Switzerland. We met them at Valley of Fire a couple years ago and we have kept in touch since. They traveled right at the time of the government shutdown and were lucky since they went to the national parks right when they were reopened. They stopped by the farm on their way back to Nevada and California and spent an evening and the next morning with us. We really loved that they visited us!

Going Home

Day 5 Sunday. We got up early, and we are glad we did for traffic purposes, and drove home. We decided to stop at LeAnn's and go to church with her family. We are so glad we did. We had a great visit and a nice break in the drive. She fed us dinner and we enjoyed their company and their puppy! We made it home and had Monday to recover before the kids went back to school. It was a great trip and it makes us want to go on another one!

LEGOLAND

LEGOLAND is the reason we planned this trip to San Diego. The kids had said that is where they wanted to go so that's what we did. We were sure glad we went this year since our kids are getting older. I didn't realize that Legoland was for the younger crowd but we still found a lot of fun things to look at. The rides weren't as exciting as Sea World but some were so creative. One ride we had to peddle to make it around the track. Another ride we pulled ourselves up by ropes vertically and let go to fall. There were some great lego creations we enjoyed looking at too.
 We wanted to join their Brick or Treat that evening and we did when the lines weren't literally hours long. We made it to 3 or 4 of the treat sites. We also enjoyed the Aquarium and got an extra treat there. I think we successfully exhausted the kids with all the fun we had!