I'm An Aggie!

Gavin decided about a year ago that Utah State University was the place for him.  He really liked the campus, they had his major (which very few schools do) and he was pretty sure he could get a scholarship.  A great fit!
Over the last year, Gavin has worked hard to keep his grades up and retook the ACT.  In November, he attended a college fair and he was awarded a half tuition scholarship!  We were so proud of him!  Now, he had to get accepted (funny how he got his scholarship before his acceptance letter!).
Gavin applied in November and then he waited.  And waited.  And waited.  Finally, a letter came in the mail today.  He slowly opened it and then got a big grin on his face.  He was in!  Gavin's an USU Aggie!

 Such a happy day for him and our family.  We are so proud of him and his hard work.  To celebrate, I took him Lehi Bakery donuts the next day at school.  Just a little acknowledgement for his accomplishment.  Awesome job, Gavin!

Enoch's Knack of Showing Up

Not all  those who wander are lost.

---JRR Tolkien

 



This quote pretty much sums up life with Enoch.  Honest to goodness, I have never known a child to wander as much as he does.  But, don't tell Enoch he is wandering.  He always has a reason, a purpose to his meanderings.  His curiosity knows no bounds and he sees little problem with taking whatever route he must to figure things out. 

Much to the panic and displeasure of his parents.

I have started telling Enoch that when we are ready to leave, we will leave.  We, the family, will not spend time looking for him.  If he doesn't leave with us, then he can live at the zoo, museum, store, etc.  Really, that doesn't bother him much.  Why?  Because, Enoch has a knack of showing up just at the right time.  As we are walking out the door, he will be there, magically.  I think that is his super power.

I'm not sure how he does it.  But he does.  He shows up.  Every time.  And it is good - I'd hate for him to have to live at Costco.

Provo City Center Temple Open House

We had the most wonderful opportunity of attending the open house for the new temple in Provo.  We have been so excited  for this temple because of the unique architecture and history it has.  Tickets were hard to come by, but we got lucky (more like blessed) and were able to snag a few for a Saturday morning.

 The temple was absolutely beautiful!  It is like stepping back in time.  The craftsmanship was exquisite, of course.  The colors and fabrics were so rich.  But, I loved the paintings most of all.  So unique and colorful for a temple.  They were gorgeous!

 We are so blessed to be able to take our kids to the temple.  I love that our family has had this opportunity so much in recent months.

 The kids loved seeing all the different rooms.  Kate liked the sealing rooms and Guard's favorite was the 'buffalo holding up the pool'.  Enoch was very sweet to explain to him about the baptismal font.

 A perfect Saturday morning.  So happy we could all be there together!

Scattered Thoughts

 

 1.  This is how I found Guard this morning.  I'm not sure how long he was in the kitchen sleeping on the heater vent, but I was up and in the kitchen by 5:45, so it must have been a little while.  My kids are obsessed with heater vents.  It is hard to get them out the door in the morning because we are constantly dragging them off the vents.

2.  Is that Enoch under that newspaper hat?

 3.  Today when I picked up Guard from preschool, he was so excited to show me his project.  They made bead bracelets.  He told me his was for Kate.
Guard is so sweet that way.  He is always giving away his preschool projects to family members.  He really does put thought into what parent or sibling would like each project.  I was lucky enough to get his orange flower drawing last week, because I like orange flowers.  Dad got his snowman, because Dad likes snow.
Today, Kate got his bracelet.  He found one of Kate's stuffed wolves and told me it was a collar for her.  Kate loved it!



 

3.  Our dog is pretty smart. Not really, more like pretty patient.  But only with Greg - she wouldn't let any of the rest of us do that to her.

 4.  Alyssa and I took Leah and Guard to the Dinosaur Museum today.  They had such a great time.  The cave, sand table and sand excavation site were the favorites.  The played in the sand table for 30 minutes!  Good thing - Alyssa and I had some catching up to do!
After the museum, we had lunch at the deli and then did a bit of shopping at the Emporium.  Neither of us got anything - it's a bit tricky with kids - but we had so much fun!

5.  While I was picking up a prescription at Costco, the pharmacist was chatting with Guard.  She asked him what his name was.  He said, "Guard".  Guard is still learning how to say his 'r's.  When he says Guard, it sounds like God.  She looked at me and smiled.  I smiled back.  I told her his name is Guard.  She laughed and said, "Oh!, I thought he was being really optimistic!"  And then she added, "That's an awesome name!"

Scattered Thoughts

1.  Gavin spent all last evening making crepes for his AP Physics class.  He was excited to try out his Christmas crepe maker and share the experiment with his friends.  He made over 200 crepes.

Of course, they were an absolute hit - everyone loved them.  After taking charge of pancake day a few months ago and now a crepe breakfast, he has been elected the AP Physics Professor Chef.  He is even in charge of an app for topping sign-ups for their next breakfast.  I hope they are somehow connecting physics to breakfast foods!

2.  Guard helped me make pancakes for breakfast this morning.  He insisted on having strawberry pancakes, like Daniel Tiger.  He watched me carefully to make sure I mixed and cooked the pancakes just like Daniel Tiger's dad.  I even had to cut his pancake the right way.  I guess it was worth it?  Guard did eat all his pancake.

3.  See this cute kid (who apparently likes to take selfies on himself upside down?!).  His new favorite phrase is "I don't want to be talking to!!!".  It means  leave me alone and don't talk to me when I am mad and you are telling me something I don't want to hear.  I hear it a lot.

4.  Guard did something so sweet tonight.  He organized my and Greg's shoes.  Without us asking or suggesting - he just did it.  He's a sweetie!

Air Cannons

Our family is determined to make it to every Thanksgiving Point Design Challenge this year.  We started going last fall and really enjoyed it.  This year we are going to do every one!
Our challenge for January was an air-powered cannon.  It had to launch a marshmallow using only your own power - no compressors or blowing.  Greg and Enoch seemed to know right away what they wanted to do.
We made a quick trip to Home Depot for PVC pipe and then home for construction.  The building didn't take too long and the kids had a great time experimenting with different pressures to launch their marshmallows.  (You do have the option of making your projects at home.  Not everyone does it, but they post instructions and rules online for those of us that want to do that.)
The kids were anxious to see how there launcher would fare against other teams.  I think we were the only team that built ours at home.  Everyone else was building theirs at the Museum.  Ours was pretty high powered compared to the paper towel cardboard rolls and plastic bags other were using.
Launching time!

 The kids were so excited to win this challenge!  Everyone else's cannons launched around 8 inches.  Ours launched that poor marshmallow 46 feet! 

Yay!! Fowler Falcons!  Great job!  Next month we get to build an insulated bird house with no store bought insulation.  It will be awesome to see what we come up with!

Enoch's Last Pack Meeting

Tonight, we attended Enoch's last Pack Meeting.  As much as I don't look forward to Pack Meeting, I did have a few twinges of sadness, knowing that Enoch is growing up and is done with Cub Scouts.  He has had some remarkable leaders, done some really fun things and learned so much in Cubs.  It's sad to let it go.
Tonight, Enoch earned a few pins and passed off his denner cords to Chase Youngberg.

For the fun and games, they played relay races while pulling people behind them in blankets.  Yep, only at Pack Meeting.  That will probably be the thing I miss the most - seeing the kids have so much fun.

 I've been to a lot of Pack Meeting in this ward.  Between Gavin's time as a Cub, Primary presidency member over Cubs, Cub Committee Chair and Enoch's time in Cubs, I figure I have attended Pack Meetings for almost a decade straight.  That's a lot of Blue and Golds, people.  But now, it's over.  At least for another four years - until it's Guard's turn.

Scattered Thoughts

 

 1.  We have watched a lot of movies this winter.  The kids love snuggling under blankets on cold, winter weekend nights and enjoying a flick.  Our favorites have been Star Wars, Pinky and the Brain, How to Train Your Dragon, Studio C and Big Hero 6.

2.  I think we have worn Guard out over the holidays.  He is still recovering.

 3.  Greg, Tresa, Gavin and Alex went and saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens on five-buck Tuesday.  We all really enjoyed it and it was a nice break, especially for Gavin who is used to working at the theater and not being a guest.

 4.  Kate had her first gymnastic meet on Friday night.  She did great!  She started off with a shaky beam routine and had a hard time recovering, but she did the most important thing: she pushed through her fear and did something that was really hard for her.  That is exactly why she is in gymnastics.  Her parents were so proud of her!
Do you see her in the distance?  Straight body, glued legs, pointed toes - her vault was beautiful!

New Year's Tree

 

 We started the tradition last year of giving our Christmas tree another life by making it a New Year's tree.  After we take off our Christmas ornaments, we spend time on New Year's Eve cutting out colorful snowflakes.  It is such a simple thing, but the kids really like the down time of doing something together, being creative and being at home.  This year we were a few days late, but the fun was the same.

 (And it's great for those practicing fine-motor skills!)

 After 45 minutes of folding and cutting, our tree looks beautiful again!  We will leave it up for another week and enjoy our snowflakes.  After that, the tree is gone and we will hang our snowflakes in the window.  So pretty!