Race Day

Here's some action video for you... Hannah, Paige and Maren on race day.

Hannah

Paige

Maren

Hannah - 1st Place in her age group (Go Hannah!)

Maren - 3rd place in her age group

Paige - Disqualified due to fall, but had the best first run time out of everyone!

Izzy leads everyone on the last run of the day...

Taekwondo

Maren tested for her orange belt.  She has been preparing for a few months in her Taekwondo class and was ecstatic, but nervous, to test.  She did great.

Maren, the Birthday Girl

Happy 7th Birthday Maren!  Grandma said it best in your birthday card...

M is for magnetic which means you are charming and people like to be around you.

A is for agile which means you are quick and fast and nimble.

R is for remember meaning you have a good memory and are a good learner.

E is for exuberance which means you are enthusiastic and a lot of fun.

N is for nice.  You are one of the nicest, sweetest persons we know.

You are all of the above and more and we are so happy to be in your family!

It was a fun week of celebrating Maren's birthday.  Age 7 is when our kids get a birthday with friends.  Star the Magician was the entertainment for this lively group of kids.  They kept him on his toes with lots of questions and a bit of skepticism.  He handled himself well and impressed everyone.

The family party came a few days later, complete with an ice cream cookie cake.  We're all about non-traditional birthday cakes around here!  Happy Birthday Maren.

Christmas Break - Week 2

On the second week of Christmas Break, my true love gave to me.... Holiday ski camp. 

The girls spent all week getting up at the crack of dawn (actually before dawn) and skiing with coaches.  They worked on tons of skills, did lots of free skiing all over the mountain and spent some time running gates.  I thought they would be wiped out after waking up early and skiing all day, every day but they often wanted to take an extra run or two after class ended. 

It was a great week for them and they really improved their skiing skills.  I love to be able to go anywhere on the mountain with them now.  In fact, they are often taking Kirk and I on runs that we didn't know existed or hadn't been on before. 

What a great week!

Hannah and Ally waiting to run the gates.

Maren still smiling after a long day.

Hannah in the gates.

Paige having fun on the bunny hill.

Tooth Fairy

Maren just lost her 3rd tooth.  Kirk found this note under her pillow along with the tooth...

Dear Tooth Fairy,


Please give me $200 for my tooth.
Hello, thank you for the money.
Next time I will probably keep the tooth.


Love, Maren

School Begins

School has begun.  It actually started a few weeks ago and we are getting into the groove although it has been a hard transition from a fun summer.  I just found my camera, so this post is a little delayed. None of the girls were very excited to get their picture taken.  Paige was the least excited, can you tell?

Maren is in 1st grade with Mrs. Vanhorn. Going a full day is tiring and has been a transition for her.  She likes riding the bus home with the big kids.  She reports that 'there is too much math' but likes school otherwise.  I just realized that this is the year when I will need to sit with her EVERYDAY as she sounds out each and every letter in each and every word in each and every book she brings home.  This is tough for me. I am hoping that her learning curve is short and she can be a smooth reader soon.

Paige is in 4th grade with Ms. Litven.  Her group of friends got split up this year.  She is a little sad about this, but I am hoping this will give her an opportunity to expand her pool of friends.  She is in advanced reading and math.  This is the year she gets to go skiing for one of her field trips.  I have already signed up as the parent volunteer for that one.

Hannah is in 6th grade with Mrs. Roget.  Her first pile of math homework (she is in advanced math) was more than she has ever gotten before.  I have a feeling that this is the year when she learns how to balance homework and free time.  No more finishing homework on the bus. This is her last year in grade school.  I am already nervous to send her off to Junior High next year.  Is she that old already?

Horse Camp

Grandma Johnson's neighbor graciously puts on a horse camp for my girls and cousin Natalie every summer.  Mornings are for the horses - including grooming, saddling, riding.  And afternoons are for crafts and swimming.  Isn't that every girls dream for summer vacation?

 Hannah and Natalie in the arena.

 Paige and Rufus are quite well acquainted after three summers together.

On the last day of camp, Maren chose to drive the buggy instead of ride.

And for those of you wondering, NO we are not getting a horse.  One week of horse camp and horses on all sides of our new property is just going to have to be enough.

Photo Shoot

  

I've been dying to get some photos of my girls at The Farm.  Often, when we are there in the evening, the light is beautiful, the grass is green and the old wood has lots of character.  A perfect opportunity for some fun photos of the girls.  I snapped these last night.  I was a little late to catch the perfect light and the girls didn't have enough patience to stand still for too long.  But I thought there were some fun ones.  Oh yeah - please disregard the dirty shirts.  Things seem to become instantly dirty the minute we pull onto the property.

Overheard Today...

Maren to friend Ashlee -
"Let's play karate princess"

Izzy as she chose a drink for lunch -
"Eeny, meeny, spider (pronounced 'pider), mo,
Catch a tiger by the toe.
If he's grumpy put him in time out,
My mother told me to pick a best friend,
And you are not it!"

Birthday Money

Yesterday Kirk took Maren to the bike store. She has been saving her allowance and birthday money for several months to buy a new bike.  Now that the snow is leaving and warmer weather is coming, she is anxious to be outside.  Her old bike was a cheap hand-me-down with a loose wheel.  Last year she was discouraged trying to keep up with her sisters.  Now she won't have a problem...

Happy Birthday Maren

Happy 6th birthday Maren! We are so happy to have you in our family. But how did 6 years go by so fast? It seems like we just brought you home from the hospital during a snowstorm with your crazy black hair and tendency to nap the day away.

Now you are a beautiful 6 year old girl, going to kindergarten, skiing black diamond runs and playing jokes on your sisters. You are imaginative and enthusiastic. You are spunky and anxious to be doing something. You love projects and outings. You hate chores and keeping clean. You have the most expressionistic face. We love you and hope this next year is even better than the last.

Birthday cake request... Chocolate cake with green vines, blue and purple flowers, and white writing - OR - a gingerbread house. I opted for the chocolate cake. It just isn't gingerbread season anymore.

Birthday breakfast request... Crepes with fruit and whipped cream. For dinner... Sukiyaki - a family favorite (recipe to follow).

Summer is OVER

Summer officially ended today! It's turned cold - I don't think it's gotten above 60F today - and rainy. On top of that, today was the first day of school.

Summer is over!!

But we drug out summer as long as possible. We pulled in the driveway late last night from a wonderful rafting trip (I will post on that sometime soon). The girls showered, picked out their first day outfits and went to bed. This morning it was busy, but not to chaotic as we woke early, tried to re-start early morning scripture study, made lunches and drove to school in time to drop of each child to their new classroom with a VERY LARGE bag of school supplies.

I did not have time to take photos before school, but I did manage to get one as everyone arrived home. Just picture the girls with less messy hair and you can imagine what they looked like as the walked out to their new classes.

Maren started Kindergarten today. She was a little nervous and kept telling me she wasn't going to go. But she did fine and even made a new friend. We are sad that our favorite Kindergarten teacher retired, but Maren has a new teacher that is very excited and we hope she has a good year.

Horse Camp

We are so lucky that my parent's neighbor gives the girls a private horse camp every summer. Amy and her daughters spend mornings teaching the girls how to ride. Then Amy does crafts with them in the afternoon. Add a little swimming in the canal and it makes for a fun day. It was Maren's first year at horse camp. She loved to ride Addy. Best of all... she became a real cowgirl with a trophy and everything. Amy awarded it to her for falling off the horse for the first time. Don't worry - she didn't hit the ground and Amy caught her quickly. Cousin Natalie got horse camp started for us... Hannah on her horse, Peppy...

Isabelle even got a chance to ride... Definitely a good week at horse camp! Thanks Amy!

School's Out!

Maren graduated from Mrs. Barbara's preschool in May. She had a great year exploring and being a bit more independent. Mrs. Barbara is a special teacher and we have been lucky enough to have her for all three girls. Hopefully, she won't retire before Izzy is old enough to attend her class also. We love you Mrs. Barbara! Great job Maren! Paige loved having Mrs. Stevens this year. In fact, when we were driving away from school today she asked if she could have Mrs. Stevens again next year. Sadly, she will be moving onto 3rd grade and Mrs. Stevens will be staying behind. But we are glad it was such a good year for Paige. Paige and best friend, Kiley. You've got to love the teeth on 2nd graders! Hannah excelled this year with Ms. Litven. It was her first year to receive letter grades and she was on the Honor Roll all four quarters. Way to go Hannah! Ms. Litven is an excellent teacher and we felt lucky to have Hannah in her class this year.

Hannah's big project for the end of the year was a presentation on Idaho History - which has been a big focus for them this year. They displayed pictures, reports and items from Idaho and spent the afternoon telling parents and other students about what they've learned this year. Hannah got extra points for her great costume - Thanks for loaning us the dress Campbell's!

Now... let SUMMER begin!

(and please send us some warm sunshine - we are ready to go to the beach!)

Quote of the Day

At lunch today, as Maren enjoyed drinking her lemonade through a swirly straw, she was overheard to say: "The person who invented the straw is a really good inventor because look how fast I can drink this stuff". Apparently she really enjoyed that lemonade!

Birthday Girl

Happy Birthday Maren! I can't believe you are already FIVE years old.

Time has flown since you came to us on a stormy January evening. You are so lovely with your beautiful skin and your thick, full-of-body auburn hair. I love the way you show all of your feelings in your face. You have some of the greatest expressions which makes you extremely photogenic.

And even though sometimes I ask for a little 'quiet time', I love that you are constantly chatting with me, asking questions, and telling me about your day. 'My little helper' is a good description of you - as you are always asking what you can help me bake or cook or clean. I will miss you when you go off to Kindergarten this fall. But you are my child that is the most ready and eager to spend the day actively engaged in projects and learning. I am so glad to have you as my daughter. This next year will be fun to watch as you continue to grow and change.