The Year In Review

In place of sending a letter with our Christmas card, I decided to put our blog address on our cards and then post a review of the year.  

Paisley is just about 3.  She is a bundle of energy and rules the household, pretty much.  She loves Pet Shops and Dora and pretending to play the violin and piano.  Her favorite question is "Why?" and she makes us all laugh with her funny expressions.  Her vocabulary is growing every day and she loves to go everywhere with Mom.

Anya turned 6 in September, and started Kindergarten in August.  She loves all day school like the older girls and is on the Wall of Fame for her class for tying her shoes and writing her numbers.  She is very social and has many friends and is constantly asking which friend can come play.  She plays the violin and loves dancing and singing around the house.

Sierra turned 10 and is excited to be a two digit number.  Sierra started playing the flute this summer and is also taking piano and Irish Dance lessons.  She is very creative and is always drawing new fashion designs.  She collects Webkinz and Silly Bands and loves to read.  

 Emma turned 12 in October and joined the older girls in the Young Women's class at church.  She is home-schooling this year, but still sings in the choir at school and also plays viola in the Elementary Honor Orchestra.  She is working on her first piano Concerto as well and really enjoys playing whatever music she can get into her hands and also likes to play a bit on the guitar.  She spent a week this fall at the Outdoor Science School in McCall, with the rest of her 6th grade class.

Alexis is looking forward to her 14th birthday coming up in February.  She is in 8th grade and ran with the cross country team this fall, winning first in one race and taking 2nd with her team for the season.  She is taking advanced classes through the Treasure Valley Math and Science Center and is in the school choir.  In February she starred in the lead role of the Junior High production of "The Boyfriend"--a cute musical set in the Roaring 20's. She takes cello lessons and has had several boys already ask her out.  Dad has the shotgun handy.

Christa's major milestone for the year was taking Driver's Ed and getting her driver's license.  While still limited to daylight driving hours, she is enjoying that extra bit of freedom every now and then.  She started high school, and is taking AP Chemistry and AP Calculus through the Treasure Valley Math and Science Center.  She was especially pleased with her score of 5 on the AP Physics exam this past spring.  She took first place in her division in the Boise Sonatina Festival, on piano, and took first place in her division in the Meridian Symphony Young Artist's competition on violin. She took the first level of Teacher Training at the Suzuki Institute this summer, and now has her own violin studio with several beginning students.  She started taking lessons on both instruments at the University, and is really enjoying the perspective of new teachers, and is playing with the Boise Philharmonic Youth Symphony, as principal second violinist.  She is the self-proclaimed "Grammar Police," a talent she gets from her Dad.  

Most of our family travels involve either music camp or a conference for Ryan's work.  This year we were able to spend a few days seeing the sights and a show in New York City, skiing in Montana, enjoying some sun in San Antonio, visiting the Oregon Coast and Mt. Bachelor, listening to Itzhak Perlman in Sun Valley and watching a BYU football game (a winning one!).  We were able to pull Dad away from the lab for a few days for a much needed actual vacation, sitting on the beach in Hawaii for a few days over Thanksgiving.  

I spent a good part of the first few months of the year trying to get settled in our new house.  I'm loving my garage where I can park my car out of the weather, and heated bathroom floors.  I'm finally getting the house furnished and decorated bit by bit.  I still spend one day a week helping out at Ryan's office, mostly keeping the books up to date and sharing my opinion on whatever the topic of the day may be.  I had the last of my 30-something birthdays this year and have a few goals of "Things to accomplish before I turn 40."  We'll see how many of those I can make a reality.  Mostly I spend my time driving 6 busy children around town and keeping the household running.

Ryan's practice continues to grow each year, and he is enjoying being busy.  We started several new business ventures this year on the side, including a lumber milling business, a fine woodworking business, a bee-keeping business, and a gold mining business, in addition to Cole's Organic Fruit Tree and Berry Farm here on the property.  He loves listening to TED talks online while he works, and finds all sorts of inspiration for new projects.  

We feel truly blessed, despite the challenges that life inevitably brings to all of us.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Birthday Girl

Anya turned 6 a couple of weeks ago.  We had to sqeeze in cake and ice cream between piano lessons and back to school night, but we got to sing and open presents.  She really wanted to go ice skating for her birthday, so that is still on the to-do list when we have a day to get to IceWorld. There wasn't really anything she wanted, other than to shove her face in pie.  For months whenever Anya gets excited about something, she says, "I think I want to shove my face in pie."  Where she got this idea, I don't really know, but we promised her that on her birthday she could make that dream a reality.  We made a delicious Jello pudding cream pie, and after opening present, she got to shove her own face in it.  Crazy girl. Six things we love about Anya:  She is adventurous and willing to try new things. She loves to read to me and with me.  She is a good big sister to Paisley.  She loves music-both playing it and listening or dancing to it.  She remembers to say her prayers every night.  She loves making new friends. 
This past weekend she went to Utah with Uncle Andrew and visited grandma and cousins there. Our family definitely noticed how much she was missed.  We love you, Anya!  

First Day of School

So this post is a bit belated.  But we are all back into the swing of things with school.  The girls are all enjoying their classes and teachers, and mostly getting to see their friends every day.  Anya is in all day kindergarten, and has adjusted well to that new schedule.  Of course I was the typical teary mom dropping the kindergartener off.  It doesn't really matter how many times you have done that, or have left to do it, it still is an emotional milestone.  Sierra is in 4th grade.  Emma is in 6th grade, and went to school for 2 weeks, and then we decided to homeschool for the year with her, so she can have more time to work on her music and work more at her own pace (somehow I didn't get a first day picture of her.  We'll have to go back and recreate the moment).  Lexi is in 8th grade, and has started with great cross country season, besides a great academic year.  Christa started at high school, and especially loves choir and Calculus. Paisley gets to be home all day with me and asked about 25 times a day for the first week, "Go get Anya?"  It took a bit for her to get used to the girls being gone all day.  It didn't take me long to get used to it :)

Football Season

I have to admit it . . . I LOVE college football.  I'm not a fanatic about it, but I really do enjoy a good game.  I have loved it since I was 11 and my dad would take us to the Air Force Academy games (he taught there for 4 years) and we would watch the cadets all run down on the field to do push-ups when they scored, and my 6th grade teacher was the wife of one of the coaches and we would make posters for the team to put up in the locker room.  I loved going to the games, even when one time my sister threw up when we were stuck in traffic and there were several of us crammed in the back of my dad's old Monte Carlo.  At BYU, my roommates and I camped out for tickets and I don't think I ever missed a home game in the 4 years I was there.  One roommate was a HUGE Ty Detmer fan and would wear her #14 jersey and paint her face blue.  Her dream was to toss the football around with Ty, and I think she realized that dream during that 1990 year when he won the Heisman trophy.  I was there cheering at the top of my lungs 20 years ago this week, when we beat Miami, a highly ranked team that year.  It has been fun to be in Boise during such great years for Boise State, even though we haven't made it to many live games.  I love seeing the highlights for all the good games on College Football Saturdays.   I keep an ESPN app on my phone to track the  top 25 teams (especially when BSU and/or BYU are in the top 25).  This was a great weekend for my teams.  We were able to go to Provo and watch BYU play, and there's nothing like being in the stands when they win.  We watched the BSU game here at home.  Both teams gave me a few new gray hairs by waiting to the last 2 minutes of their respective games to pull out their lead.  I get way to anxious when things are that close.  I didn't see the Air Force game, but their offense put 65 points on the board, and they play BYU next weekend.  Yeah for fall and College Football!!
On a related note . . . We dropped Christa off on Friday night at her first High School football game.  I just about cried.  It was one of those weird moments where I all of a sudden felt much older.  I sometimes feel like I should be the one walking into the stadium as a student, not my child.  Strange.

Paisley

Hi!  I'm Paisley and I am 2 1/2.   Some moments I am so cute and sweet and lovable, and other moments I am wild and completely out of control.   My vocabulary is increasing daily and I love to mimic what I hear other people say.  Two of my favorite expressions are:  "Bad Baby!" (I say this whenever someone else, including Mom, does something I don't like) and "I love YOU."  (I just learned that this is a great way to melt daddy's heart and get whatever treat he has that I want.)   Everyone is also entertained by my gangster "What What" or "Peace Out" complete with appropriate body language.  I want to be like the big girls and follow them around trying to do what they do constantly.   I recently learned how to use the big girl potty and can keep my Cinderella panties dry all day and all night!  Yeah for Mom-no more diapers.  The girls just spent a week at music camp and whenever someone asks me what I want to play when I grow up, I tell them "I play BASS!-A tiny one"  I really like to read books and I love our new puppies, Sugar and Snap.  I don't want to take naps, but if we are in the car after 4 pm, or if the TV gets turned on in the late afternoon, I am sure to fall asleep, and then I will be up until 11:00 or so.  I love  "Lella" and any other princesses, and I love coloring with markers, especially on my hands and legs and some hidden corner of the wall or cabinet.  I have snipped my own hair at least 3 times already.  I love playing outside, and would spend all day in the swings if I could.  I pretty much know that I am in charge around here.  It's great!!  

Oregon Coast and Vancouver

Ryan had a conference scheduled in Vancouver, Washington so we decided to make a little family vacation of the trip.  Here are a few pictures of our adventures.  We spent 3 days on the coast first and then headed inland to the Portland/Vancouver area.  

What used to be the largest Sitka Spruce in North America.  The top blew off about 2 1/2 years ago, but it's still an impressive tree. 

 

Ecola State Park

Tillamook Creamery-a must see for dairy lovers.  

Portland Children's Museum

The Portland Zoo

Japanese Garden and Rose Garden in Portland

Bonneville Dam Fish ladder

Multnomah Falls

One event I didn't get a good picture of-we brought home two new family members.  Someone at a gas station had 2 cute puppies they were giving away.  My husband has a very soft spot for homeless animals and we now have two (because we couldn't separate the brother and sister) new puppies, named Sugar and Snap.  They both rode 4 hours home on Ryan's lap (fleas and all.)  I'll post pictures with the kids later (with fleas all dead).  

I guess I should go clean out my car instead of playing on Blogger.  I'm sure the girls will post more pictures on Facebook.  

Zoo Animals

My sister was here in town on Monday and Tuesday for a couple of days and we decided to take the kids to the zoo.  I hadn't been there in a couple of years so my girls were pretty excited, especially Paisley, who has never been to a zoo.  Our zoo is pretty small and doesn't have too many exotic animals, but it's about right for the 2-6 year old crowd.  They also got to ride on the merry-go-round.  Note to self-do not try to take pictures while riding on the very small merry-go-round.  My head was still going in circles for several minutes afterward.