Dallin:
First of all, he is doing very good in his online school. Unlike last year, he has been a lot better at getting all his work done on time. (Although he still has a hard time doing his writing assignments. He just can't think of anything to write. If anyone has any suggestions on that matter, it would greatly be appreciated).
He is enjoying school and has joined a couple of clubs like, "The Monitor Newspaper", and the Robotics Club. He's also a lot of help around the house when he wants to be. (He IS a tween, as he likes to remind me.) He is becoming quite the little babysitter, we leave him at home with his little sisters sometimes for just a few minutes and when we return the house is still standing and in one piece. (Can't say the same for the inside, Just joking.) He loves his sisters, although he'd never admit it out loud. He and Elsa can really annoy each other at times or can annoy the rest of us by being silly with each other. They're really good friends.
Right now we're looking for guitar lessons for him, he really wants to learn. We think we'll try the rec. center. They do lessons for pretty cheap. We'll try that first and see how serious he is about it. We'll see about a guitar/piano duet for the Christmas program. (IF we go to Stonehill, that is.)
He still loves being in 11 year old scouts. They recently went on a camping trip and he had a lot of fun with the other boys. He is a good kid and we love him.
This crazy kid is showing off his cool new hair cut.
Calvin:
He likes being in the 4th grade and loves the G.A.T.E. program, although he misses an occasional test every now and then. He doesn't mind missing it, but he does mind the making up part of it. He started piano lessons last Monday and I think he likes them so far. Of course he will never say that he likes them, but I see it in his eyes when I pick him up afterwards. He loves being in Cub Scouts and just recently received his Bear award and is working on some arrow points. He and the Cub Scouts went to the Hoover Dam bypass bridge that they just finished. From the pictures that I've seen it looks really cool and REALLY high. I thought he would have a problem looking over the edge, (he hated Tower of Terror) but he actually liked looking over the edge. He is a sweet boy and loves to play with his sisters at times. Every day after school I let them play on the playground for a while. (In hopes that they get some of that energy out.) He and this other little boy always find some sort of container, (empty water bottle, empty chips bag, etc.) and fill them with water and have a water fight. I don't mind, because it's still pretty hot here and they dry off pretty quick. The girls have gotten into it a couple of times too. Calvin needs a reminder to make sure they want to play before he "gets" them.
He also loves his brother and those two stay up chatting about 'who knows what' at night. Clint and I have to go in and tell them to turn out the light and go to sleep at least 2 or 3 times every night. Calvin has such a strong testimony and surprises me at how much he listens in family home evening and his class at church, etc.
One time in sharing time, I get to be in senior primary, they were talking about prayer and the teacher asked what are some things we can ask Heavenly Father for. Calvin raised his hand and said, "Safety." I thought that was pretty good that he actually listens to the prayers given and when he says the prayer he thinks about what he is praying for. He is a good kid and I'm glad we get to have him in our family.
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| Calvin and Elsa working together on a scavenger hunt I did for them one Sunday afternoon. The other pic. is from Wednesday on the way to school. It FINALLY rained....all day! The kids had fun jumping in the puddles. |
Elsa:
She is doing really well in school. She is very smart and I wish that she would talk so that her teacher would know just how smart she really is. Elsa is getting closer to talking and I'm sure she'll be talking by the end of this school year. Just yesterday her teacher came over to me after school and told me that Elsa giggled out loud. When she told Elsa that she heard that, Elsa looked at her like, "Oops, I didn't mean to let that out." I think that she just needs to know that it's o.k. for others to hear her voice. She is such a funny little girl and everyday I see my own personality coming out in her. Sometimes I think, "Oh no, Why did she have to get that part." The part I'm referring to is the teasing part. At home, she is always teasing someone, mainly Abby, then she says, "Just kidding!" She does it ALL THE TIME. Now I know how everyone else felt when I did it and I am SO SORRY! But I also know that it is fun too. She loves to teach Abby everything she knows from the alphabets to how to act in school to reading to whatever she wants to teach her. She loves having a little sister and they are the best of friends. They are growing so fast and becoming like "real" sisters.You know, fighting one minute then best friends the next. She is also such a good little artist. Her drawing skills are getting so much better. So are her writing skills. She is such a joy to have in our family.
Abby:
She is our little live wire. Even though she is 5. I still have to watch her every minute. In fact the other day, I was walking down the hall where the kids chalkboard is, and found Abby drawing on it. That's not so bad, you might be saying. What do you think she was writing with? Chalk? Of course not, somehow she got a hold of a red sharpie. When she saw me, she tried to hide the sharpie, but it was too late, she was caught 'red' handed. Despite all the times she gets in trouble, she is a good kid. She loves kindergarten and is learning so much. When school started she could only recognize 4 letters, now she can recognize 17. WooHoo! She also loves to read her little books she brings home. She only reads the words with the pictures, but it starts somewhere, right? Abby and I practice the letters almost every morning. I do not doubt she'll get it really soon. She's a smart little girl and she already has little friends in her class. One day when I picked her up, her name was called and one of her friends gave her a hug good bye. It was the cutest thing. She started off the year like Elsa and didn't talk, then her teacher and I tried some of the things that Elsa's Kindergarten teacher and I tried way back then. Well, with Abby, they worked and Abby is talking so much more in school, but not enough to get in trouble for it....yet. One thing we tried was every day when she went into the school yard she had to say 'hi' to her teacher and then as she left she had to say 'bye'. If she did that she got a sticker on her chart and at the end of the week she got an ice cream sundae. She did that and more. Not only did she say hi, and bye but she asked for her snack, and a wipe (to wipe off the table), and saying 'here' when the teacher called roll. Now she doesn't have a problem talking when she needs to.
She loves her brothers and always wants to play with them. Dallin gets annoyed by this when he is trying to get his school work done. She also LOVES to swing, and is always asking me to 'swing' her high. She likes to try and touch the roof of the patio cover. She does too. One time I pushed her super high and she leaned too far back and slid out of the swing. I tried to catch her, but only succeeded at slowing her down as she fell. She stood up, shook it off, and got right back on and asked me to swing her high again. CrAZy girl! But my kind of girl! She is a unique and special little girl and we are so glad she in our family.
In the first picture, Abby is 'acting' tough with her tattoo, In the next picture I just love that smile.
In the last picture, we were coming home from taking the kids to school, when we saw a rainbow.
Of course Abby had to get a picture with it, she just loves rainbows!
