Dance Season Ends with a Bang!

 Samantha competed in St. George for both Lyrical and Jazz dance and her team won both! It was so exciting for her to be a part of it especially for her first year in dance! They made a great team!

 KayDee danced to "Hard Knock Life" from "Annie" at a basketball game.

 Here are the girls waiting to dance at the high school with their niece for the Rammette Review.

 KayDee did her Jazz dance to "Walking on Sunshine." It fit their costumes so well!

Lego Fungineering

Derrick and KayDee love legos! There is a program at school called Fungineering where they build things out of legos and then program the computer to make them move. They were working on a winch system for this picture and made the winch pull a car up a ramp and then reverse down the ramp. They were partners during this group and worked well together.

Kevin's 7th Annual 29th Birthday

Kevin had another birthday but don't worry because he is holding out on 29 still. It is a great math problem for our kids now and the older ones figure out his real age pretty quick. I am so grateful for this man. He is a great husband, father and friend. I am so glad that he has the same goals and desires for progression like I do. He leads our family better every year and takes care of us. I look back to when we first got married and it amazes me at the progress both of us have made and that we make it together. He is so amazing to me. I'm glad I can call him mine and he can call me his. Here's to 29 again!

Samantha's 12th Birthday

Yes, we have a 12 year old at our house and she is definitely getting older. She had a great birthday and a party with her friends.

We gave a spotlight for her at New Beginnings so I will just paste it here so you can know how amazing she is!

New Beginnings Spotlight Samantha

Samantha has many interests. She dances with Sunshine Dance on the junior team and joins her brother and mom in karate lessons sometimes. She plays on a co-ed basketball team. She loves reading, writing stories and poems. Her 6^th grade teacher enjoys her imagination and the talent she shows with each writing assignment. She likes to cook and has the opportunity to at least once a week to make dinner for her family. She is interested in Greek mythology and reads all the books she can about it, fiction and non-fiction. She loves music and plays flute, piccolo, piano and recorder, and also likes to sing. She enjoys dressing up and tumbling too.

Samantha’s favorite color is blue. She loves Taylor Swift music. Her favorite flavors are orange or grape for almost everything. Her favorite foods are sour cream and onion chips, bacon burgers, and apples. She loves babies.

At church she loves feeling the spirit, learning new lessons and achieving things. She likes reading scriptures, praying, and family home evening. She gives thoughtful lessons when it is her turn. She is very excited about being in Young Women’s.

Her goals are to be a teacher and a mom along with being a writer.

We love having Samantha in our home. She is full of energy and adventure. She is so willing to help and be responsible for her role in our family. She has become more thoughtful toward others and has also decided to be more responsible. She takes care of her jobs, homework and is very supportive of our family scripture study and prayers. We love Samantha and are so pleased with her desires to learn and grow and follow our Savior’s example. We are so grateful she is part of our family and we are grateful for the happiness she brings to all of us.

Derrick's Last Pinewood Derby

Derrick raced in his last pinewood derby. He didn't place but he did get the "Most Realistic" award. Kevin and I kept track of who won which race.

Grandpa's Sledding Birthday Party

 My dad invited us to his birthday party, sledding up Hobble Creek and having chili and hot chocolate. This was such a great time! The kids loved celebrating his birthday with him like this. We were so glad we could come and we were so glad he invited us to his party!

New Years Off-Road Trip 2014

I tried to get a video of Kevin pushing through the brush and weeds and that's all I got. It was definitely entertaining in person! The kids in the truck sure enjoyed it too!

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!