Cole's Science Fair

Yep - it's Science Fair time!!!! Ugh! At least Cole's class did group science fair experiments and presentations. Plus, they wrote their written report at school - YAY!

There were two experiments that Cole's class did - his was whether the weight at the bottom of a pendulum affected the period of its swing.

They performed their experiments, wrote their reports, prepared their board and it was time to present their findings to their parents. They did a great job. Cole was super excited because his teacher had a baby in December and so they have had a substitute since then. His teacher, Mrs. Forbes came for the science fair and brought her cute, little baby - Sadie.

We are proud of Cole and the work he put into his experiment, his report and his presentation. He loved what he learned about so much that for his next book report - a biography - he wants to learn more about, and report on, Galileo, who used pendulums extensively in his experiments.

Way to go Cole!!!!! Next year, you'll have to do an individual science fair project..... gulp.

Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day came on a Sunday this year. So, we planned to go out or to play or to celebrate before the actual day arrived.

Well, we didn't make it. We were just super busy with all of our activities and we didn't get around to getting a babysitter and making plans to go out. Oh well - next year :)

Steve had ordered Reagan and Cole these new Virtual Reality Goggles. You put your iPhone inside and you use the View Master goggles to view a disk and you are transported to what's on that disk.

We have three packages - space, destinations and wildlife. With space, you can view the planets, clicking on the button to learn more about whatever planet, solar system, star or constellation. With destinations, you can view a bridge in London, the Statue of Liberty, or the pyramids of Egypt, again - learning more with the click of the button. With wildlife, you can go on safari and view animals in the outback, the amazon, or the savanna - again, clicking on an item to learn more. You can turn on the audio and hear what is going around in the background of the place you are viewing. 

We were laughing at each other as we turned the goggles up, around and down to see all that there was to see in each experience. Guess which one of the "children" loved them the most?

Happy Valentine's Day!

End of Winter Soccer

Well, we've concluded another soccer season. Winter season is over. Cole loves winter season because it is played indoor and there are relatively few times that each game stops. In outdoor soccer, someone is always kicking the ball out of bounds and the players have to run to get the ball, set up and throw it back in. There are all these stops and starts. With indoor, unless it hits high enough on the walls or on the ceiling or the ball actually flies over into the parent area, it isn't out - they just keep on playing. There is a lot of fighting for the ball against the wall, but play goes on. It's great. Cole is exhausted by the end of the game, but he has a lot of fun.

We started out with a few weeks of practice without games. The players were able to run drills and hone their skills before being put into a game situation.

Then, it came time for the games. Cole had a great time. 

We had a great team this season - all of the boys were really good and they played well together. Cole's footwork is really getting good, he is learning more skills and learning how to use them in different game situations.

Once in a while, his coach asks him to play goalie. He doesn't really like it (mostly because he likes to score) and we don't really like it (mostly because he is by himself at the end of the field), but he will take his turn. There are other players who really like to play goalie, so, we appreciate that they fill that position when they do.

Cole had the chance to play against a couple of people in his class this year. One girl, Ava, was in the Math Bee with Cole and we played against her team. We dominated them, but her mom said that Ava played two games that day and that she was MUCH more intense when opposing Cole than when opposing the team they played in the first game. Love it - competition is great! Cole was also able to play against Arvind, who is in his school class and his karate class. They had fun doing a bit of trash talking, which spilled over into karate class :) Regardless of whom he is playing, he seems to get caught up with other players - it's no joke out there - they play hard. One game, we were playing another Blue Knights team and they didn't have enough players, so our coach offered one of Cole's teammates to the opposing team for the first half and he offered Cole to the opposing team for the second half. I was actually surprised that Cole played just as hard and rough against his own team as he did against any other team. There was no going easy on them just because they were his teammates.

Of course, when it is rough and tumble, you end up on the ground a fair amount - ouch.

We love going to watch Cole and we love that he can play all year if he chooses. We had originally wanted him to take winter season off (like some of his friends did) so that we could ski and have some time off. Nope - he wanted to play. I suggested maybe he practice (and learn) with the team, but not play the games as they were all on Saturdays when we could be doing other things. No deal - he wanted to practice and play. Well, if he is willing to do the work, Steve and I are willing to do the driving :) He gets better and better and his confidence is growing as well. Most of the time, he is a defender and he is really good at it. He seems to sense where the ball is going to go and he is usually successful in cutting off the other team to protect the goalie and the goal area. Way to go!!!

He enjoys playing with his teammates and has formed several friendships. Of course, those friendships are strongest when the team wins :)

We have a three week break with no practices and no games and then we're starting spring season. Yeah!!!!

Reagan's Primary Talk

We have such a small primary that each child gets multiple chances during the year to give a talk. Reagan was up this time. Unfortunately, Steve had to teach Gospel Doctrine right at the same time that Reagan had to give her talk. So, I pulled out my phone to video it. She did a great job. Way to go Reagan!!!!!!

Skiing With Friends

We hit Brighton with two sets of our friends - the Pescis and the Shapiros. We had a great time with so many friends. 

At the beginning of the day, Steve was in the lodge with our friend Jennifer (who doesn't ski) and I skied wth the kiddos. After lunch, I stayed in the lodge with Jennifer and Steve skied with the kiddos and the Shapiros who arrived just in time for lunch.

The two boys headed off to another lift to ski (they didn't like waiting for the slower girls - boo!) and so, the dads and the three girls were able to have a great time.

Close to the end of the day, the Pescis left and so our family skied with the Shapiro family for just a couple of final runs.

 It was a beautiful day on the slopes made even better to have great friends with us!!! Let's do it again guys!!!!!

Science Fair

It's Science Fair time again and it kills me... Seriously KILLS ME!!!! It is so much work and so much time and so much craziness that I'd rather skip the whole thing. Apparently, that's not an option. I learned this after talking with the Headmaster and Elementary Directors of two Challenger campuses as well as multiple teachers and parents. I was trying to start a movement, but I must have not moved enough or moved fast enough or something because I'm the only one whining :)

Well, this year, Steve helped Reagan choose a topic for her Science Fair that would be easy enough for her to understand and learn the science behind the experiment. (Not like last year when we ALL got to research and learn about hydrogen and covalent bonding and hexagon shaped latices.) Well, they decided to experiment to see whether the temperature of a bouncy ball affects its bounciness. Ok - let's go. We did some research in books and online and we set up to perform our experiment. 

We set up yardsticks on the wall to compare the different balls' heights and we used the slow motion setting on our phones to video the ball drops and then look at it to see how high the balls bounced.

Then, after Reagan recorded the heights of three, separate balls, she put one in the freezer and one in boiling water. After we changed the temperature of the balls sufficiently, we re-dropped them from the exact same height and took video of those drops. Finally, we put the data into a spreadsheet so we could see our results.

Now comes the "fun" part ... not! We get to write a report on our hypothesis, our experiment, our data, our scientific principles and our conclusions. Gulp....

A Little Karaoke

I just had to post this video of Reagan and Cole singing karaoke. They are not in time with the machine, not in tune with the song, but I love how they try and how they sing together and how into it they are. At the start of the chorus, Reagan falls to her knee in belting out the words. By the end, Cole is moving his arms around as he sings the words. I tried to get a video of them from the front, but they would stop singing when they saw me with the camera. This was all I could get. I love them and I love that they will try anything. Awesome kiddos - way to go!!!

Provo City Center Temple Open House

The Provo Tabernacle was an amazing building. I remember having church meetings in this building when my family lived in Provo. I was in that building probably a dozen times before I was in law school. Then, my law school graduation was held there. It was so cool. I remember being dressed in our caps, gowns, hoods and robes and walking through the tabernacle as our family and friends watched and cheered us on. There were bagpipers playing Pomp and Circumstance as we moved from students to graduates. It was such a great day that every time I passed by the tabernacle after that, I would get a smile on my face. When the tabernacle burned, I was so sad - like everyone. I was sad that a building of such historical significance was destroyed and that a building of such personal significance was destroyed.

When I learned that the tabernacle would be re-built as a temple, I was thrilled. I love the care and the  attention that was devoted to ensuring that as much of the original building could remain, being strengthened and reinforced. It was crazy to see the pictures of the building seemingly "floating" in the air as the construction crews worked all around it.

After a couple of years, it was finally completed and the open house began. The new building looks - on the outside - much as it did before the fire. Inside, it is completely different. It is beautiful and elegant and inspiring. The stained glass, the woodwork, the chandeliers, the artwork - everything is amazing. Plus, the feeling there is so calm and peaceful and comforting. Both Reagan and Cole mentioned how peaceful they felt there. I'm so glad that we could go there as a family together and talk about why temples are so important and sacred to us. It is ordinances that take place in these beautiful temples that allow us to be together as a family forever. I love that!

I love that we can take Reagan and Cole to so many temple open houses before the temples are dedicated. When I was growing up, the Arizona Temple was remodeled and rededicated. I was able to attend the open house there, but that was the only one during my youth that I could attend. Back then,  in April of 1975, there were only 16 operating temples at that time. Now, there are 150 operating temples around the world with another 16 under construction. Reagan and Cole have been able to attend the open house for several temples: Draper, Oquirrh Mountain, Ogden, Payson, and Provo City. 

Which temple will we get to visit next? Cedar City? Jordan River? Let's go!

Still Another Lost Tooth

Yep - another lost tooth in this house. I think the Tooth Fairy has been here WAY too much lately. Oh well - Reagan's note is adorable, so, I had to post about it. She thanks the Tooth Fairy for all her "love, kindness and hard work." :)  She always explains how or where she lost her tooth and she always requests that the Tooth Fairy leave her tooth, but put glitter on the money she leaves. At least she is polite in her many requests, right?

Skiing With Daddy

We wanted to ski, but I had been sick for days. So, Steve decided to take Reagan and Cole skiing by himself.

They had a fabulous day and stayed all day long.

Steve has always loved skiing with his kiddos. I remember when I met him, he would take his girls skiing every weekend. He would say "There are only so many places where you can trap a teenager and make them talk to you - a ski lift, a houseboat on Lake Powell, fishing in a boat, etc." His girls loved skiing with him and still talk about the fun times they had skiing. They would have hot chocolate in the lodge, hit the slopes, meet up with friends and ski some more. Reagan and Cole have fallen right into that tradition - they LOVE skiing with Daddy :)

Goodbye GX ... Hello GX

We have LOVED our Lexus GX. We bought it 11 years ago from a dealer in California and it has been our primary, family car since we received it. I knew I loved it when I first saw one on the road - I just knew it was my favorite car out there. We went to our local Lexus dealer (the only one in the state) and they didn't have a white one (they kept trying to talk me into a blue one) and their prices were not discounted at all. Well, we learned that we could write off the vehicle through our business as farm equipment if it weighed over 6,000 pounds and if we had title before the end of the year. We learned this on December 22, 2004. So, we had a few crazy days of car searching. We emailed every Lexus dealership in our surrounding 5 states. We asked what would be their best price for a white, new, GX with such and such features. By December 27th, we had heard back from most dealers. Believe it or not, Beverly Hills Lexus beat our local dealer by over $5,000. Whoa! It cost us around $600 to have them put it on a truck and deliver it to the parking lot of our gym (they needed a big parking lot for the transport truck). Plus, they FedExed us the title before the end of the year. Perfect!!!!

For a few years now, Steve has suggested getting a new car, but there hasn't been one that we have liked as well as the one that we have had. Finally, we figured we would need to select one and so, we chose the newest version of the same car that we had. It is more angled than our other one (which we haven't liked as much) and has tons more tech (which we love). Our old one has 120k miles on it and we are worried that things may start breaking and that we should look to sell it before anything major goes wrong.

So, we began our same process of contacting our local and several out of state dealers. With the internet and so much technology today, it wasn't as easy to pit one dealer against another. We wanted the middle level car until we saw the leather seats. They weren't as nice as the ones in my old car! I think they have tried to keep the price close to the same, but that means that they've had to downgrade some of the features in the car. So, we opted for the top level model which had great, soft leather seats, a better towing package (not that we need that) and power back seats which fold down into the floorboard of the car (my old car had the third row fold up into the windows, leaving less space in the back). We ended up getting the best deal from a Lexus dealership in California. They put it on a truck and we picked it up in a K-mart parking lot by our house. Love it!

Once we had our new car, we needed to sell our old one. I had it detailed and cleaned up. Steve commented on what a great car it was and how beautiful it was. He said he may sell his car and keep that one :) We decided to list our old one on KSL Cars at a fairly high amount and see what happened. Within 1 minute of listing it, a guy called and wanted to come and see it that night with his family. We made the appointment, he and his wife loved it and we met him at the bank the next morning to get cash. Wow! That was WAY easier than we thought it would be. Just like Steve, Reagan had second thoughts. "But, you brought us home from the hospital in this car!" and "We have so many good memories in this car." I finally convinced her that another family would make good memories in that car and that we could make new memories in our new car :)

Even though I originally didn't like the outside of the car as much as our old one, I am liking it more and more. Plus, I LOVE the tech that it has. Reagan and Cole love that the back seats are heated and cooled. I love that there is more room in the back. The ride is fabulous - it is so smooth and comfortable. We are super happy with our decision. It's funny - I had lunch with my sister and mentioned that we bought a new car. She said "It looks exactly like your old car." Well, not exactly, but yep - that's what we love about it!

Pack Meeting

I posted, before, about how Cole joined Boy Scouts when he turned 8 in October. Well, they meet each week with their Den, but the fourth week of the month, they meet with their Pack (several Dens). Cole came into Scouts as a Bobcat, but within a week, he had passed off every requirement for a Bobcat (there weren't too many). So, he was ready by mid-October to go to Pack Meeting, receive his Bobcat award, and move up to Wolf.

Unfortunately, we had some conflict with the October Pack Meeting. He was barely in and the Den leaders didn't let the Pack Leader know to get the award for Cole. Plus, Cole had his last soccer game or something that night, so, we couldn't attend anyway. I didn't realize, at the time, that we would miss November's Pack Meeting while we were in Hawaii and then the leaders cancelled the December Pack Meeting because of Christmas. So, Cole has been MORE than ready to go to January's Pack Meeting and receive his award. His Den was in charge of the Flag Ceremony, so, he was able to participate in that. He carried the US flag and it was his first time doing it. 

Next, several of the boys, including Cole, were awarded a belt loop for something they passed off (I think it was Air of the Wolf). Many other awards were passed out that night. Then, the Pack Leader announced three boys who were receiving their Bobcat awards. Cole (brazenly) raised his hand during the ceremony and pointed out that he and his friend Gavin were supposed to receive theirs as well. The Pack Leader looked around and said "Well, I don't have your awards, so, we'll get it straightened out and award them to you next month." Cole sat back down, but I could see tears welling up in his eyes. After the meeting was over, he walked past the treats and came straight to us in tears. He was so sad. His Den Leaders figured out that the Pack Leader actually did have the two awards, but didn't realize it. They said they would do it next month, but Cole had other ideas - he wanted it right then and there. Gavin agreed. The Pack Leader asked "Don't you want to have us present it in front of the group where you can stand on the box and pin the Bobcat badge on your mom's lapel?" Nope - Cole didn't care about any of the pomp and circumstance - he just wanted that award and now. The Pack Leader acquiesced and gave Cole and Gavin their awards. I made him stand on the box to get a pic (even though his eyes are red from crying). Oh well - whatever makes him happy. If he wants it now, let's have it!

Way to go Cole! We are so proud of you earning your Bobcat and we'll make sure the awards you get next time are ready and accounted for. Keep it up - you're now a Wolf!!!!

American Girl Doll Princess Play

Reagan and her little bestie, Sophia, both LOVE their American Girl dolls. Reagan's is named Danielle (she will tell you that this is because Danielle was the second choice Steve and I had when we were choosing a name for Reagan before she was born) and Sophia's doll is named Amber. Both dolls have horses and lots (too many actually) of accessories. Well, Sophia's family was over for dinner one night and the girls decided to put on a Princess Play. Sophia had done most of the work and had prepared a printed playbook for us and had the entire story planned out. Reagan jumped in with some ideas of her own and the pair recruited Cole to be their lighting guy and we were in for a treat.

They had such a cute story and they both donned British accents (not sure what that was about). They put on their play with a few, minor, hiccups; however, all in all, it was fabulous! We were quite entertained. 

We had to video a bit:

Way to go girls!!!! Keep imagining and creating and we'll keep watching and supporting. Oh - and as a ps - they fired Cole as their lighting guy. Creative differences I guess - gotta love those Hollywood types :)

Coupon Cash In

So, I previously posted about Reagan's Christmas Coupon Books to each of us. Well, we are only a week past Christmas and Steve is cashing in. He LOVES to have his hair pulled and Reagan gave him a coupon for just that. (I know it is weird - who loves to have their hair pulled? Even when his older girls were little, they - and their cousins as a joke - would try to pull his hair hard enough to pull it out. It feels like a massage to him I guess. Good thing he has so much hair!!) So, Reagan is working hard to honor her coupon obligations :)