Little Pigs

They were bored this morning and this is what happened:

Yes, they used tape to make pig noses. They were laughing so hard!! Strange kids.

Rollerblading

Courtney went to a rollerskating birthday party last night...yes, they still have roller skating rinks in the world. So now she is back on her rollerblading kick. She has worn her rollerblades all day and wanted to do a family rollerblade activity after dinner. 

I don't have rollerblades (and Ethan's old ones are only a size 7) so I stayed home and blogged (haha). Ethan squished his flippers ... I mean his feet...into his size 7 rollerblades and then they were off.

It didn't take long before Ethan was back with major foot pain but Courtney and Bryan had a lot of fun!!

We have sighted Big Foot!!

Ethan needed new hiking boots for Scout camp and we wanted him to be able to break them in. So I took him to buy some the other day. I was actually really excited because Ethan doesn't wear out his hiking boots before they are too small so I figured that I would be getting some nice hand-me-down hiking boots next summer. See, Ethan and I used to wear the same size shoe. Notice I said "used to be"?

When Ethan picked out a boot and asked to try it on, the guy asked what his old size was. I said that his last shoes were equivalent to a women's size 8 1/2. After measuring Ethan, it was determined he is a men's 9!! Yes, big foot lives at our house. 

I came to the realization that I wasn't going to get any hand-me-down hiking boots!!  But that's okay because they were on clearance and there are a lot of hikes planned this summer for the scouts so the boots will get a lot of use.

Here is a pic of the box. The price is way off, luckily!! Apparently there are some "amazing new hiking boots" coming to the store and they have to clearance out all the "great hiking boots but last years model" before then to make room. ;)

Monday Swimming

Monday morning we went swimming at the hotel pool.  We stayed at Leigh Ann's house but my parents stayed at the hotel.  It was a really nice pool and was the best temperature!

Ethan is a goofy kid and loves to make up funny things to make people laugh.  Here is his "Australian guy" teaching us how to sneak up on a pool toy:  (it turns sideways in the middle, so just tip your head)

Here is Courtney dancing in the pool:

When we finished swimming and changing, it was time for us to take off for home.  The drive home always seems so much longer but the kids did great!

One big thing about our drive home was that the van passed 150,000 miles.  We actually missed it by a few miles because we weren't paying attention but I still took a picture. The car is almost 10 years old and still going strong!

There was an accident in the Gorge so we went the back way home.  We were very happy to see Ivins!

Sunday and the Gilbert Temple

After Church on Sunday we drove to see President and Hermana Parry at their house in Mesa.  We made a quick stop off at the Gilbert, AZ temple.  It was all locked up tight but we were able to walk around it and take some pictures.  It's a huge (tall) temple!

 I don't know why Courtney had attitude but all the photos have her with a crabby face on.  Go figure!

 We had a lot of fun talking to the Parrys and seeing their new home.  Ethan and Courtney were a bit leery because they didn't want to sit and be bored for a couple hours but after giving them a lot of candy and sending us off with "Dilly Bars" from Dairy Queen, Ethan turned to me and said "They are awesome!"  Yes, they are are!

Temple

Last Saturday afternoon Leigh Ann went through the Mesa Temple to take out her own endowments.  We drove down to Phoenix on Friday afternoon and I was able to go with her as her escort on Saturday.  It was a really great session (completely packed!) and we had family who drove out, or flew out, to be with her.  We are all so proud of her!!

Front row: Courtney, Michelle, Leigh Ann, Jeff Conover.  Next row: Ethan, Bryan, Debbie Conover and Kathy Overton.  Back row: Kelly Andersen, Ferris Oman, Ronnie Oman and Don Overton.

Afterward Mom and Dad took us all to dinner.  It was a fun day.

Crab legs

We took the kids out to celebrate Ethan's 12th birthday, the last day of school, Courtney's piano recital, and any other thing we need to celebrate. Ethan chose Red Lobster. He was in heaven with his shrimp and crab legs. Courtney ate her usual chicken fingers and fries.

He "found the crab" for every piece of meat but he loved tearing the crab legs apart. ;)

Braces

Ethan had his orthodontist appointment today and it was a big day! His eye tooth finally came in enough that they could put a bracket on it and really start moving things. I have no idea what we have been doing for the past 9 months but apparently now things are really going to get moving. Ethan is hurting already and isn't happy about this new bracket but it will be great when he's done!

They had to put on 2 doubles on the front of the top teeth so he didn't get to have the colors alternate like normal. So there are blues on top and yellow on top.

School's Out!!

Today was the last day of school!! Ethan convinced me that he didn't need to go the last day because they were only going for 3 hours and were signing yearbooks. So I let him stay home but gave him chores to do. Courtney, wisely, decided she would rather go to school than do chores. 

This is how they felt this morning:

Let the summer begin!!!!

If a student already has their report card....

do they still have to go to school?

These last two weeks have been really frustrating for me because I have no clue as to why I send my kids to school.  Courtney has been boxing up and cleaning the classroom, having parties, going on field trips, and swimming at the SHAC.  Ethan has been watching movies, arm wrestling, cleaning, and playing games.  Child labor at it's best!

AND, Ethan's final grades were posted over 1 1/2 weeks ago and his report card was sent home 2 days ago in the email.  So...

If a student already has their report card do they still have to go to school?

We have decided that next year we are going to pull the kids out of school right after testing and take them on a big educational vacation where they will learn something during those weeks.  I told this to a friend yesterday and she said that we will only be able to do it when Ethan is in Intermediate School because finals are given in Middle School during the last week.  I think that's how it should be!!

Ethan only went to school today because he has to get his yearbook.  Courtney went today because they have another party.  But I don't know what will happen tomorrow.  Ethan will only be there for 3 hours and they aren't allowed to take a backpack, just their yearbook and a pen.  Courtney will only be there for 3 hours but she wants to go because hot lunch is sloppy joes and french fries and for some unknown reason she really wants to eat hot lunch on the last day of school.  Weird!

Duet Recital

Courtney had a duet recital Tuesday night.  I got to be her duet partner which I loved.  I think her teacher just assumes I am going to play with her which is fine with me.

We got ready and went to the piano store for the recital.  We were right on time and her piano teacher started right after we got there.  Mrs. Hunt did the announcements, we had a prayer, then the piano store lady did a 10 minute sales pitch on the pianos.  Then it was time for the recital.  Mrs. Hunt drew names from a hat for the order you would play in but, unfortunately, there were quite a few people absent or late so it took forever drawing names!

Courtney and I had this song down pat and had played it at a recital at the beginning of May but we never use the first page because it's a pain to turn pages and I didn't want to deal with it.  But Mrs. Hunt doesn't like you to have it memorized for the duet recital so we had to use the music.  This threw me off!!  So I started the song wrong and we had to start over.  Just ignore the beginning of the video if you don't want to see me crash and burn. ;)  Oh well.  We still did a great job, in my opinion.

When everyone had finally finished playing, the awards were given out.  There was a "pass off" incentive that had been in place for the past 3 months.  The students would get a reward (which she doesn't tell them before hand because then they won't work hard if they don't happen to like the reward) if they pass off 44 songs in the 3 month period.  That's an average of 4 songs per week.  Courtney worked really hard and some weeks actually passed off 6 or 7.  So she was given a can of Pringles.  She was pretty excited.

Courtney never looks very happy at piano recitals so I don't have a photo of her with a smile, but she does enjoy playing the piano.

After the recital, all the students were given a huge Butterfinger bar as their reward for performing and then the siblings were given a cupcake.  I stayed after to talk to Mrs. Hunt.  We have decided that we are going to take Courtney out of piano with Mrs. Hunt.  Courtney has signed up for orchestra for the Fall and so we want her to have a little bit less stressful piano experience while she is taking violin.  Mrs. Hunt was really good about it.  She is a really good teacher and I have appreciated the success both Ethan and Courtney have had with her.

Now on to new adventures!

Ethan's Birthday!!

Ethan always gets breakfast in bed.  He usually gets the same thing but this year there was a variation.  He got sausage, eggs, and orange juice.  He usually gets bacon too and sometimes crepes but we tried to keep it simple.  He loves having it brought in to him but he doesn't like eating it alone so after we took it in, he came to the table to eat with the rest of us.

I had meetings so I left to go to those while everyone showered and got ready for Church.  My meeting let out early so I was able to go home and help get things ready.

The meetings were really good.  Ethan sat on the stand for the beginning of Sacrament meeting and then Brother Ence presented him with his certificate of graduation from Primary and his Faith in God award.  Then they sustained him to receive the Aaronic Priesthood.  Ethan was watching the deacons like a hawk during the passing of the sacrament so he would know what to do next week.

He went to his regular Primary class while the adults went to Sunday School then Ethan followed his friends who are already 12 to Priesthood.  Bryan was looking forward to this and told Ethan that he didn't have to go back to Primary to be sung to.  They still sing the "Goodbye Goodbye" song I started when I was chorister forever ago!  Ethan doesn't like it when they sing to him.  Well, during Priesthood they introduced Ethan and then the Primary Secretary found him and told him he needed to go back to Primary to be sung to.  Bryan told her that Ethan would come when Bryan was finished with him.  So Ethan went in late, they sang to him and then he went to Deacons Quorum.  And he LOVED it!

When the block of meetings were finished, we all met up at the Bishop's office so Ethan could receive the Aaronic Priesthood and be ordained to a Deacon.  He was so excited and very ready.  Bryan gave him the most beautiful blessing and I was, once again, struck by the amazing young man Ethan is and what a blessing it is to have him as our son.  I was also struck by the great examples of the men who have gone before him who were able to stand in the circle.

Then it was time to party!!  We went home and began cooking and getting things ready for the BBQ.  Ethan and Courtney entertained with their dancing.

Here's the video:

We had BBQ ribs, shrimp kabobs, salads, fruit, and potato salad.  It was a great meal!  Usually Ethan has steak and shrimp but we compromised with ribs.  Bryan and Grandma Pack figured out how to make them so they were really tender and yummy!

It was then time for cake and ice cream and the opening presents.

This is my favorite picture of Ethan from when he was little.  This was in July of 2003, so he was just a little over 1 year old and he had figured out how to make a "mean face."  But it was just hilarious!!  So I had it printed at Albertson's on sugar paper that I could lay on the cake and it's edible.  I think it turned out cute!

 Ethan got a new mitt from Grandma and Grandpa Pack.

Grandpa Oman gave him a fishing pole and is going to have to take him fishing because we don't fish.  I don't like to clean their guts out.

 Ethan got books from Grandma and Grandpa Pack and Don and Kathy:

Courtney gave him a few drawing books:

Grandma and Grandpa Oman and Aunt Leigh Ann gave him a Nook Glowlight (just what he wanted!):

And we gave him a nice mountain bike so he and Bryan can go out and have fun!  He was so excited and had to ride it around to get the feel of it.

All in all, he had a great day!  Thanks to everyone who traveled and came to our house to spend the weekend and celebrate with Ethan.  I know it meant a lot to him to have his family around!!

Hanging Out With Family

Our plan for Saturday, before Ethan was invited to Carter's party, was to hang out in the morning, go to Courtney's soccer game, and then go to Veyo Pool to swim and catch crawdads.  Then we were going to have a BBQ at our house that night and play games.  But we had to alter the plan.

Ethan didn't want to leave Carter's birthday party and it was going to be too late to go to Veyo Pool and get home in time for the BBQ and have time for Grandma and Grandpa Pack to take him to buy his birthday present.  So we had to improvise and we let Ethan decide what he wanted to do.  So we loaded up and went down to the splash pad at Ancestor's Square to play around too.  Ethan was pretty tired and so he only played for a while but we all had fun.  Courtney had a little melt down because she was really looking forward to Veyo Pool but we will have to go another time.

After playing in the water, chatting, playing baseball, playing frisbee, and just being together, Grandpa Pack bought us ice cream and then we went home for the BBQ.

Courtney even got to play some duets with Jenny:



We played games and talked until everyone was tired and ready to go to bed.

Bryan, Courtney and I decorated for Ethan's big day and then went to bed.

Courtney's Last Soccer Game

We tried a new league for soccer this year and we aren't going to play with them EVER AGAIN.  But Courtney had a great last game, for the time they were able to play.  Andrew challenged her to make 5 goals and she made 5 goals.

There was a bit of controversy with the coach of the opposing team and the coach of the team scheduled to play after us, but that's another story.  So they only played part of the game before the opposing coach pulled his girls off the field.  But Courtney still had fun playing the game.

But I am really glad we aren't going to be associated with that league again.

Carter's Birthday Party

Ethan and Carter have the same birthday so it is sometimes tricky scheduling their birthday parties.  But this year it worked out great because we didn't want Ethan's party on Saturday when we had family in town, so we took Friday night and Carter had his party on Saturday.

We all went to Courtney's final soccer game while Ethan stayed home so he could get to the party on time.  They first went to the Hugunin's house for a waffle breakfast.  Jane makes great waffles!  They then loaded up and went to Snow Canyon State Park to hike in the lava tubes.  I haven't ever been there but Ethan said that we have to go because it is really cool!  Maybe that is a hike we can do one summer morning.

After they were all sweaty and tired, they went to Ancestor's Square to play in the water, eat lunch and have cake/ice cream.

We were going to pick Ethan up early so Grandma and Grandpa Pack could take him to the store and buy his birthday present, but when Bryan showed up to grab him, Ethan was having too much fun and didn't want to leave.  So he stayed there for an extra hour or so before he was tired and ready to go home.

I think Carter had a fun birthday party too!

Ethan's Friend Party

Ethan didn't want a huge party for his friends, so he decided just to take a few to the movies.

We bought tickets for "Mr. Peabody & Sherman" and then sent out invitations.  He only had 2 friends that could make it to the movie and the third one showed up afterward for pizza and cake/ice cream.  When we got to the theater, we bought a huge popcorn (that was refillable) and some drinks.  I had brought some bags so we could divide up the popcorn and it was such a great idea.  The boys went through an entire tub of popcorn before the movie even began!

Ethan and one of his friends liked the movie, but the other friend didn't like it.  But that was okay.  They had fun being together.  Bryan grabbed pizza while I took the boys home.  After they had eaten dinner, we had cake and ice cream.

Then it was time to open presents.

Then we had to take pictures:

I got a good one!

Water Games

The last few weeks of school are just for parties, field trips and water games.  Courtney's teacher asked for help and I was only available during one of the days so I got to help with the water games.  Each of the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade teachers was in charge of a different game.  Then the kids rotated, by classes, around the games for about 2 hours.  Courtney's teacher had a water balloon toss.  Another mom and I helped her run the game.  It was pretty fun!

Here is Courtney doing the game with her friend, Sammy.

 She had a lot of fun and it was fun to be there to see her!

Windy Windy

The weather in St. George has been CRAZY!  One week it is really hot and the next week it is cold, rainy and windy.  Saturday night it was really windy and rainy.  Bryan didn't sleep well because he kept waiting for a tree to fall on our house.  Luckily, none of our trees did but we had neighbors and people in the Ward who had trees fall over.  Crazy!

During Sunday School, all the young men were outside picking up branches from the Church's lawn.  Then after Church, a group of men went over to a couple houses and helped them with their trees.  Yes, it was Mother's Day and I think it could have waited a day, but there was one older man in the Ward who was very insistent that someone help him with his tree that day.  So they did.  It wasn't hurting anything but I think he just had a bee in his bonnet.

Mother's Day

I had a great Mother's Day.  I got breakfast in bed delivered by a cute Courtney.  Then she sent me on a scavenger hunt for my presents.  The Bishop cancelled Ward Council so I didn't have early morning meetings.  We combined all the women for Relief Society and it all went smoothly.  The Bishopric gave us all Mother's Day CDs with beautiful songs on them.  I took a nap!  Bryan made me dinner of grilled chicken, wild rice, and corn.  My parents and Don and Kathy came over for cake and ice cream.  It was a great day!

Pizazz End of the Year Review

Courtney was so excited for her end of the year review.  The main reason was because of her dress.  About 3 years ago, a family in the neighborhood gave Courtney a formal dress as a hand-me-down.  They had gotten it from another family in the neighborhood.  So it didn't cost us anything but was a gorgeous dress!  It was also a size 14 so it didn't fit Courtney at all.  She convinced me to let her try it on and see if I could adjust it to fit her.  Well, it was supposed to be a tea length gown but went to the floor.  I found, however, that it was really easy to modify so it would fit her.  She was ecstatic!

After Ethan's recital, Courtney and I got her ready for her big day.  She was so excited to be all dolled up.  She had a rose to carry and Bryan wore his suit.  They made a great looking couple!

 Courtney absolutely loved twirling in her dress:

At 6:45, the girls lined with with their escorts to begin the Review.  They each had their name announced and the names of their parents announced.

 Then it was time for the daddy-daughter dance.  Courtney loves this part because Bryan twirls her and they have a lot of fun.  She adores her dad!

 And he likes to tease his daughter!

Here's their dance:

After the dance, I went to the dressing room to help Courtney get out of her formal and into her lyrical costume.  I didn't have to help at all after this, which was really nice!  We had all her things laid out in the dressing room and she took care of herself.

They did their lyrical dance first.  Here are some photos:

Here is the video of her lyrical dance:

They then did their jazz dance which is the same one they have been doing for basketball halftime games all year so I didn't record it.  But here are is a photo:

It was then time for her hip hop dance, which I think is her favorite.  They had so much fun with this one and Courtney got to show off with her coffee grinder!  You have to watch that one!

Here's the video.  Her coffee grinder is at 1:48.



After the final dances were finished, they had the awards.  Courtney didn't get anything but next year she will get a medal for being in Pizazz for 5 years.

Bryan bought Courtney flowers and gave them to Ethan to give to Courtney.  (She actually reminded Bryan that he needed to buy her flowers, hahaha.)  He was a very proud brother.

Now Pizazz is finished until August and then we start all over again.  Courtney is having withdrawals but she is still dancing all over the house, so that's good.