Spring Break 2010

For spring break we were craving some warm weather. We didn't decide until last minute but decided to go to St. George, UT. We had perfect weather and the best part is there is an In and Out Burger there.
St. George was beautiful! We played in the water a lot, enjoyed the wonderful people and history there. All the parks had lush green grass that the city was still watering. (if you don't live in Col Springs, they are only watering a few parks due to budget cuts).

There was one park downtown that had a great fountain. The girls loved running in and out of the water. Reid decided he didn't want to get wet. His brother and sisters had a different idea. They not only got him wet but other spectators were yelling to hold in the water. Even he was laughing by the end of it.

We got home and still had a couple of days vacation. So we headed up to Bishops Castle. It was really neat that one man has done this on his own. There are a lot of stairs and some areas that unless you are real close to the kids they could fall. But the builder was there and loves to talk. He has been building since 1969 and no one has helped him.

So between the great weather of St. George and the snow we came home to we had a little bit of everything for the week. The best part is Mike and I got to go away just the two of us Saturday night. We were in a hotel with a baby next door that cried most of the night. So it made our kids and our bed even better to come back to.

The week was amazing and we loved hanging out together. We taught the kids how to play skipbo and read bed time stories every night. At first the kids thought I was being a dork. But then after a couple of nights they looked forward to the stories. Of course most good things must come to an end and we are back to reality......with work, school, church, scouts, soccer and dance festival and bunko on schedule for this week, we'll be lucky to get half the rest we did on vacation!

Sadie Hawkins Dance

The Sadie Hawkins dance is named after the Li'l Abner comic strip character, Sadie Hawkins. In the comic, November 13 was Sadie Hawkins Day, where the unmarried women of Dogpatch got to chase the bachelors and marry the ones they caught. The even was first introduced in 1937. In the U.S., this concept was popularized by establishing dance events to which the woman invited a man of her choosing, instead of demurely waiting for a man to ask her. The first known such even was held on November 9, 1938. Within a year hundreds of similar events followed suit, and the tradition become a permanent fixture in some regional American cultures. A couple of weeks ago we had a late night knock at the door. (Krystal knew it was coming) but not David. When he opened the door there were cookies, streamers and the message below.

It said, I would be tickled pink if you would go with me to Sadie Hawkins?

Rachel was waiting in the car across the street to see David's reaction.

He looked at it (sort of like he did his drums on his birthday) and didn't show much expression. The car speed off and then the phone call. It came into Krystal's phone but said he would take the call, answered and said, YES immediately. So there went my clever ideas on how to answer.

The main reason I think that he didn't want me involved is because I had the camera and started snapping pictures. He said....MOM do you have to document everything? OF COURSE! As you can tell in the first picture he wasn't real excited about me taking the picture on the night of the dance. But he didn't protest too much. Think he was afraid I would really embarrass him. A few kids from our ward got together and made pizza, went to the dance then went to Sonic. From what I hear they all had a great time. They all looked pretty cute too!

FAMILY

definition of family according to merriam-webster.com:

1) a group of individuals living under one roof and usually under one head:HOUSEHOLD

2) a group of persons of common ancestry:CLAN

3) a group of people united by certain convictions or a common affiliation:FELLOWSHIP

definition according to us:

Dad, Mom, David, Krystal, (Alan) Reid, Laura and Haley.

Celebrating David at AFA

We got a letter for a Eagle Scout Recognition dinner for the boys who have earned their Eagle in 2009. It was addressed to David and it was an invitation for dinner and a game at the Air Force Academy. He was excited and asked if I would finally sew his eagle patch on his shirt. Well with the many things we had planned yesterday I didn't get to sew his patch on. When I got home from a baby shower Mike and David were sitting at the dining room table. My first thought was....uh oh....what did David do. But as I got closer Mike was sewing the patch on and showing David how to do it. The pocket was sewed close but it was a great job!David kept asking if he would have to get up in front of everyone. We weren't sure but of course they did. All the boys in a few different districts were there and were recognized. David was making jokes most of dinner entertaining our table. As other boys had their name called and walked by David gave them knuckles. Of course my camera wasn't fast enough no matter how many times I tried.

We didn't get any pictures of us with David at his actual court of honor. So we wanted to make sure we had some from last night. Still we didn't get any of David standing on his own by the flag. But a lot at the table (trying to get him to smile long enough for the picture to take)

Here are two of my boys posing, with Dad on his tip toes trying to stand taller then David. We are so proud of David and even more excited that he accomplished this at such a young age. Most of the boys at the dinner were in 18 and if not in college were in their senior year. One of the boys asked David where he graduated from and I said he was a sophomore. They were pretty shocked. But as most of the moms felt we had accomplished this with our boys. I know that even with my encouragement, if he didn't have the drive and leadership he has that he would not have finished! Great job David.....we love you!