pinewood derby

A couple weeks ago Carson started working on his car. I think the style he choose turned out great!!

Brian painted the windows for him. 

There were 20 cars to race. The evening went surprisingly quick as we watched race after race. 

Carson won his first two races then he lost. He handled it very well. 

Afterwards all the boys wanted to keep racing each other. 

Another successful car!! Way to go Carson!!

productive week

Carson ended up going back to school on Friday. He was so glad to be back at school. Although, when he arrived home he was overwhelmed with all he missed. He felt left out and overwhelmed with five worksheets to do over the weekend. All the kids had lots of homework to do. That's normal for Karlee but not for the boys. 

They all worked on homework on Friday but still had more to do Saturday and today. 

Mason had to do a family project for his Spanish class. Karlee helped him by drawing the tree. I think it turned out great!

I was also able to finish block 7, 8, and 9 this past week! I'm glad I've had time to do this much sewing. This next week is going to be busy. I'm sure I'll be lucky to finish another block. Saturday, while listening to a three hour meeting, I started cutting fabric for block 10. When I had three of the colors cut I realized I cut the wrong size!  I cut around 20 blocks at 2 1/8" squared when they should have been at 2 1/4"!! Such a waste! Oh well. What can I do? 

Oh! I almost forgot to share! Mason came home in a really good mood on Thursday, he's usually in a good mood though. In his Spanish class he had a sub. In the notes for the sub it stated that if the kids needed help there were two students they could ask for help. Mason was one of the students!! It sure made him feel special. 

Then on Friday I received a letter in the mail sharing that Carson is in the top 20% of 3rd graders, in the district, for literacy and math! I knew we had smart kids but WOW! In the spring he'll be tested some more to find out if he's in the top 5%. 

Way to go boys!! 

it's only Wednesday

It's been a productive few days. Monday the kids were out of school for MLK day so I took the boys to a matinee. We saw Annie...don't waste your money.  

Tuesday I stayed home all day on purpose!  I finished the 4th block for our block of the month, I'm behind schedule. I cut out the fabric for the 5th block so I would be prepared for sewing class today. 

Last night around 11 Karlee was throwing up. :( No fun! This morning Carson wasn't feeling well either. Both kids stayed home. Carson has thrown up a few times today. Needless to say I didn't go to sewing. Or anywhere else. 

I did finish the 5th and 6th block today. And cut out the 7th block! I'm ahead of schedule!! It's looking like Carson will be staying home tomorrow too. Poor guy! Maybe I'll finish 7th and 8th too!! I've gotta find the silver lining having sick kids at home. 

Karlee ended feeling good enough to attend church tonight. I hope she didn't over do it. 

Mason is having more and more fun playing games with friends online. Monday he bought himself a headset so he could have a mic during his game. He's soo excited that it works!!

Here's a pic of poor Carson tonight. I hope he feels better soon. It's no fun being sick!

good week

A couple days ago flowers arrived for me! I was pleasantly surprised. Karlee asked if Brian and I had a fight. lol Nope!! They go well with the Valentines decorations. :)

This past week has been finals for Karlee. Testing is no fun but she gets three shortened days. Thursday was a shortened day plus she didn't need to be there till 9! It's been nice to have her home earlier. 

Thursday we ran a couple errands then these two FaceTimed with us! We had fun pulling silly faces with them. 

McKinzie is enjoying staying home with them. Some days are hard as she is also watching two babies. Plus she's currently potty training Retta. Not so fun. 

Friday was a teacher work day (no school!) so we played in the snow together. The snow wouldn't pack too well though. We ended up making little snowmen. I think they turned out super cute!

Then the boys and I did a little sledding. I love that we have a hill for sledding. It's so much easier than driving to a park. 

cold blast

Sunday morning we got a little over an inch of snow. It sure made everything beautiful!

(I hadn't shared a picture of our Christmas lights yet. I still turn them on every night.)

Then Monday night we got a few more inches!! I loved it!!

I had a meeting at the Stake Center Tuesday morning. I was excited to go for a drive! I was able to take 8 pictures out the sunroof as I was driving down Burr before my phone shut down because it got too cold. These two were my favorite!

It was cold all day Tuesday. Stella could not keep warm. At one point in the afternoon she pulled out three different blankets trying to snuggle into them. Then she thought Carson's coat would be good. Poor girl. 

We just found out school is cancelled for Wednesday (too cold). Carson is watching on his iPod trying to hide. ;)

On Wednesday I found a blanket just for Stella and we put it by the fire. She's loving it!!

That morning I convinced the kids to play Monopoly Deal with me. The first hand there was fighting. The second hand everybody was loving it!! By the third hand they wanted to kill each other. We had fun if that counts!

Wednesday night Karlee and I went to the late movie since school was cancelled for Thursday. It was great!!! We were the only ones in the theater. It was like I bought out the entire place just for us! LOL 

Today Karlee went babysitting so the boys and I went to a movie. Then I continued to take down Christmas. I'm almost finished. Almost.

The snow is still falling. It's still cold (but not bitter cold). The kids have school tomorrow. They are glad. I'm glad. After so many days it's kind of boring at home. We all need structure. Structure is good!!

our kids

We dropped Bailee off at the airport this afternoon. We are all ready for school to begin again. But now that she's gone I miss her. She's loves the freedom of living on her own. We love seeing her but she won't be back till August. That's a long ways away. 

Carson had a sleepover with Michael and we met his mom today to give him back. He's such a sweet boy. I know they had fun. 

Mason left early this morning for a campout. The original plan was a 2 night campout in Wisconsin in snow caves. No snow. It turned into one night about 30 mins away. I hope they've been warm today, especially tonight. The low is in the 20s and that's not with the windchill. 

Karlee is working on homework. Friends have invited her to get together tomorrow and we're requiring her to have it all finished before she can go. We figure with 2 weeks off there is no excuse to have homework left for Sunday. Call us crazy but that's how we think. 

Happy New Year!!!

It's been a crazy few days, as you can tell from the picture below. 

Monday we went bowling with some friends. It's been a long time since we've bowled. The boys used bumpers so they did ok. Karlee and I were adults so we chose no bumpers. Next time bumpers for all!!

Wednesday evening we went ice skating. All the kids did well! Karlee probably struggled the most. We should go again soon so we don't forget.  

After we skated for an hour or so I was confident and asked Bailee to race. When will I learn to stop competing with teenagers?! We were a little over halfway finished, Bailee was leading but I was gaining on her. Toe pick!! I crashed to the ice. I didn't slide but slammed down on the ice. My left knee and right elbow and hand hit the hardest. Oh man I hurt!! I rested for a bit, took a lap around the rink and challenged her again. Neither one of us pushed as hard. We agreed it was a tie! We all had fun!

We headed home to start the donuts and chocolate fountain! Carson wanted to stay at the fountain and eat. We played hedbanz while the donuts raised, Mason won!

Brian started donuts then took a break to yell and cheer outside then back to the kitchen. 

The BEST part of New Years Day, eating donuts ALL day!! 

The WORST part of New Years Day, cleaning the chocolate fountain. =(

We did some relaxing. I haven't seen Cali under the Christmas tree in years. She's become friendly again since Oscar died. She's such a diva!

Brian and Mason put up his vinyl dog today. We've learned, with having Tank here, this is the only way to have a large dog. ;)

It looks great!!

The kids and I met the Montie's and brought Michael back for a sleepover. I'm glad Carson and Michael are still friends. Hopefully it won't be a late night since we all stayed up late last night for New Years. I'm tired...