Skiing at Sundance

Ryan and Emma took their first ski lesson and did really well!  They had an instuctor to themselves and he was super great with the kids.  After a few hours they were ready to brave the mountain and they got two runs in before it was time to go home.  Way to go guys.

Dun, dudda, dah.... The Pinewood Derby!

Let's stick with the positive things first, shall we?  Ryan loved making his car.  He knew he wanted to make a Star Wars Speeder right away.  I was a bit skeptical of how we were going to turn a Star Wars Speeder into a car, but he knew exactly what he wanted and he made it happen!  He designed it, Shan cut out the car, he picked out the paint colors and helped me paint it, and he hot glued his beloved C3PO to the seat.  The silver dollars were added at the last minute to make weight, but they actually looked pretty great.

And Mr. C3PO won 3rd place!

For the rest of the story, I will go lightly... let's just say that yours truly was in charge of the Pinewood Derby this year.  My personal nightmare to be sure.  But I didn't know how nuts it would be until we got there and there were people weighing their cars, glue and weights and coins being added and parents who cheated to make their son's car go faster.  Ugh.  We had disputes among the parents and parents who wanted us to disqualify cars, and cars that broke during the races.  And each and every boy obviously wanted their car to be first.  Let's just say it was a little intense.  I came home and collapsed.

Together We Can... by Emma

Emma loves the Reflections program and looks forward to it every year.  This year, the theme was "Together We Can."  She entered two projects: a painting of people working together to build a house, and a 3-D paper mache globe with children of the world holding hands around it.  She won first place in her school for both entries and went on to District.  At the District level, Emma took First Place for her globe and received Honorable Mention for her painting.

 Then, she went on to compete at the Region level and she won 2nd Place for that.  They gave her a giant-sized candy bar and it was a hit.

Way to go Emma!  We love your constant need to create, your amazing ideas, and the enthusiasm you have to carry out those great ideas.

Emma's 8 Was Great!

Emma took her friends skating to celebrate her birthday.  She loves to roller blade and looks like the Energizer bunny going round and round.



The roller skate cake complete with chocolate dipped Oreo wheels.

 

(New pierced ears taken on my phone!)  Emma got her ears pierced on her birthday right after school.  This is something she has been looking forward to for years.  I think it stung more than she expected, but she was very brave.  Afterwards, we got ice cream and she said, "Mom, it was totally worth it!"



And the highlight of this birthday was that Emma was baptized a few days later.  In the weeks leading up to her baptism, we talked a lot about baptism and what it means.  I told her all about my own baptism and the feelings I had and the things I remember.  Emma was so excited going into the church.  She was happy to proclaim her discipleship to Christ by taking upon His name.  She asked to say her own prayer in the dressing room right before the ordinance and vocalized her covenants out loud.  It is a wonderful thing to watch her developing her faith and personal relationship with the Savior.

We had so many family members there and the program was just perfect.  Everyone had a part: Mimi played the piano, Ryan said the opening prayer, Madeline recited the 4th Article of Faith, Emma and I sang a duet, Nana and Uncle Jakob gave talks, dad performed the baptism with Papa and Grandpa Stobbe as witnesses, and Papa confirmed Emma with the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  All in all, it was a pretty special day. 



Emma, Mom, and Nana



Papa, Mimi, Dad, Ryan, Mom, Madeline, Emma, and Uncle Jakob.



I love this age!  Emma is such a light with her enthusiasm, quick mind, and kindness.  She truly stands out in a crowd.





 Her two favorite things right now are Science and Art.  She always has a project going on the kitchen table and some sort of flower/seed/rock collection in her pocket.  We are so lucky to have her in our lives.

Home school has overtaken my blogging presence.

But just because I haven't been blogging, doesn't mean we haven't been partying like rockstars.  Mormon rockstars, that is.  So going all the way back to December- here are a few highlights from Miss Madeline's birthday.  She turned the big 5, so on her birthday we took some friends and went to the Festival of Trees.

She was excited to sit on Santa's lap.  Apparently, whatever she told him was super funny...

She and all her friends had their nails painted, their faces painted, and got to make cute little ornaments.

Ryan even stood inside a huge bubble...

And later that evening, we went home and celebrated with Rainbow Cake.

Madeline brings us so much joy.  By nature, she is a peace maker.  Her preschool teacher was amazed when another little girl had taken Madeline's toy away and the teacher had asked them to work it out.  The girl who took the toy pouted and turned her back, and then Madeline said, "I'm so frustrated!  But I can still forgive." 

Madeline loves books and being read to.  She is also quite a good reader when she feels like taking the time to sound out the words.  She loves her hair and brushing it and wants it to be as long as Rapunzel's.  She also loves having her nails painted, going to dance class, and showing us leaps, tricks, and headstands for hours on end.  She loves to pick out her own clothes, but won't put on a dress now because that would wreck the aforementioned headstand trick.  She tries to keep up with Emma's pace and wants to do everything Emma does.  For the most part, Emma tolerates it well and they are best friends.  My heart swells with joy as I watch her grow, and yet aches like only a mother knows.  Having my baby turn 5 was so hard.