Spring Break

During Spring Break we got some great news. Andy got a job at Snow College in Ephraim, Utah. Things are starting to fall into place. We are excited and ready for our next adventure.

To celebrate we went out on Wednesday. It was Andy's only day off since his Spring Break was in March. We all wore Super Hero shirts, specifically Justice league. (Mine was Batman and not pictured.) For those that are interested: Marcus - Green Lantern, Luke - Aquaman, Anneke - Supergirl, Mallory - Wonder Woman and Andy - Green Arrow.

 The Easter bunny came on Saturday. Mallory spent the whole time picking up the "baby eggs" or jelly beans. So, Marcus then gave her all his plastic eggs. We eventually divided them up evenly, but it was all so cute.

 We dyed our eggs. Since we had greenish and brown eggs to start they turned out beautifully.

 Anneke and Luke are my two that are still into this kind of thing. Mallory is in and out.

 A rare moment when the big boy will join us.

 For Easter we all wore red and white polka dots. It was so fun. (Luke's was my favorite.)

 Mallory calls it her Minnie dress.

 Anneke is proud she is in an adult size small.

 This guy gave a talk in church about the Atonement. He didn't feel like he did very well, but it was the best talk. (And I am not biased at all.) Marcus is such a great guy. They spelled his name Marcos on the program, so all the deacons and their leaders called him that for the rest of the day.

 This was my favorite shot, even if it is not perfect.

 I don't like pictures of me, but thought I would share one.

 Luke is very proud of the one he got to take.

Today we are having a family that Andy home teaches over for dinner. They are very fun. Marie is Mallory's primary teacher and Mo is so excited to have her come to our house. Have a great week. We will keep you posted as we learn more about the job and the move.

When you can't sleep...

...you blog.

I did not realize that it had been over a month since I last blogged. March was a rough month. We were sick for nearly the first 3 weeks of it, plus allergies.

Andy had a job interview at Snow College. He will find out by next Wednesday if he got the job. I debated about telling people, but prayers and happy thoughts would be nice. We have had some great help and support in the process. Did I mention that his book is at the publisher? He finished all the editing and now they are having it reviewed.

I have been working on Young Women's Camp stuff. The camp director will most likely not be able to attend and if she does it will only be for a few days. That leaves a lot on my shoulders. Our theme is Keep Your Lamp Burning. It goes along with D&C 33:17 and the 10 Virgins parable. For a Personal Progress project a girl did modern day versions of the parable. You can see it here. (5whowerewise.blogspot.com) She won awards for it and is currently serving a mission. I thought it was interesting to see her interpretation. I am currently trying to figure out how to make oil lamp name tags with little drops of oil to punch out as they certify. It is proving difficult, and it was not my idea. I am in the last couple of days watching the little girl I have been babysitting since she was tiny. Her mom is going to have another baby any day now and then they are moving this summer. We will miss our Audrey.

Marcus had his first basketball game on Saturday. He was flustered because so many people (girls and boys play together) were trying for the ball so he just threw it at the basket and made a shot. His reaction was hilarious. They won 36 to 13. I felt really bad for the other team. Marcus is my height with shoes on and it is not okay with me. He is very forgetful and unorganized. That frustrates his teachers, not to mention his parents. He forgets to do homework, get permission slips signed, etc. He literally lost 3 permission slips for a scout camp last month, 2 in the same day. We are trying to figure out ways to help him. Suggestions?

Anneke did not win anything at the UNLV Science Fair. There are actually a couple of schools devoted to science that won most of the awards. She was disappointed, but seems okay with it. We got Slurpees on the way home and had fun together. She is also unorganized. She will do her homework and lose it before she can turn it in. I have taken away most of her clothes in hopes that she can take better care of them and her room. It is not working. Anneke is trying to read 40 books by the end of the school year. She started in January. They have to be in specific areas, too. We'll see how it goes since she seems to be scared of many books.

Luke did very well on his tiger project. He had it memorized and you could hear and understand him. Not bad for my super shy boy. Next up, science project. He is going to test different boat shapes and see which floats the best. He is starting to read more on his own. I have read him a few silly books lately that he has then acted out with Mo. Toys Go Out and 8 Class Pets + 1 Squirrel (divided by) 1 Dog = Chaos were the books. Very good for younger elementary reading. Luke is struggling with his household responsibilities. The last 3 days have been rough. I may have to take away some privileges and I don't like that. Luke was Owl of the Month for March. His teacher wrote this: Congratulations to Luke, our Owl of the Month for Creativity! Luke is very creative in his storytelling, writing, and artwork. Luke also needs to be commended for showing outstanding leadership in my classroom. Luke is an incredible role model to his classmates and we all appreciate him.

Mallory is calming down. We are spending time reading and playing outside while we can. She loves dancing and singing anything from Frozen. Plus, she still dresses up all the time. We went to the library and the security guard was so sad that she was not dressed up. She said, "I didn't recognize you without your princess clothes." Mallory just sighed and said,"Yes." (Not sure what that meant.) She is a very visual learner, so I am working on ways to help with that. Colors are a hang up with her right now, but she knows shapes. Yesterday we were driving in the car listening to Colors of the Wind. "Mom, I can paint with lots of colors. And I can mix colors and make new colors. I am a good painter." Take that Pocahontas.

For General Conference I worked on an eagle cross stitch. It is quite complicated and I hope to have it done by the time Marcus gets his Eagle Scout Award. Anneke asked to do a cross stitch. So, I made a minion pattern for her on graph paper. Andy thought it looked like fun, too. I made a Captain America shield pattern for him. By the end Anneke had a cute minion and Andy had a red circle. You still can't tell what mine looks like, but I made some good progress.

We really hope to move this summer. I think we are all counting on the Snow College job. It will be rough if we don't get it.