Jazz Game!

Friday night, Uncle Matt called with some tickets to the Jazz game. Daddy, Adam and Tessa quickly got ready and headed up to Salt Lake. This was Tessa's first Jazz game and she was so excited to go spend the night with the boys. 

Daddy said Tessa wasn't terribly into the game. She liked cheering, but she really loved eating the popcorn. 

A classic Tessa picture

The Jazz beat the Warriors! Adam is convinced he is their good luck charm. 

After the game, they went to the Planetarium and played there for a bit. 

They had fun walking on the moon.

Thanks, Uncle Matt! They had a fun impromptu night out.

Family Fun Day

Last Saturday, we had a fun family day of bowling and ice cream at BYU.  Adam and Tessa love to bowl! Daddy took the win, but Tessa took first place for the kids and was so proud of herself. She even got a strike!

 Gwen took pushing her ball down the ramp very seriously!

 Tessa got very into the game! She tried the ramp for the first half of the game, but then moved on to putting the ball on the floor and rolling it down the lane. 

 When Daddy was busy chasing Gwen, Mommy got to bowl with Caleb in tow. I still got 2 strikes! Glad those bowling lessons way back when I was 13 have paid off .

 Great form, boys!

 Gwen had a victory dance after every turn.

 Here is Tessa's roll that got her the strike for the lead! She was beyond thrilled!

 It was a fun afternoon together!

Tessa Boo

 It's about time that we posted something about our Tessa Boo. Tessa recently studied the Aztecs, the Inca, and the Maya in her History class. Tessa loves History! 

At their new school, instead of having class parties, they have what they call, Culminating Activities. After they spend time on a specific unit, they do an activity to go along with what they have just studied. After learning about the Aztecs, Inca, and Maya, Tessa's culminating activity was soap carving. The Inca were known for their stone carving. Tessa said soap carving must have been as hard as stone carving. She made a beautiful heart and did a great job!

Tessa loves school. She says her favorite thing about school is P.E. and history. She is also learning about performing and Opera in one of her classes. Her class is practicing a play to put on and she will be the Narrator for the story of the Farmer and the Golden Goose, and she will be playing the part of the Dew Fairy in the Opera, Hansel and Gretel. She hates performing for us at home, but she is loving it at school.

She has lots of friends and she is adored by her teachers. She was thrilled to come home on Friday and announce that she was the only one in her Math class to get 100% on their math test!
She is a good little student. She started the Magic Tree House Series about 2 weeks ago and is already on book 7. She loves to read! We are proud of her for doing so well in school!

Adam's First Pinewood Derby

Tuesday night was the much anticipated Pinewood Derby! Adam has been working on his car for a month. He designed it, sanded it all by himself and painted it. Daddy helped him with the big tools, but otherwise, Adam did everything else. He has been so excited to race!

 He didn't win any trophies, but his car did well in a few of the races and now he has better ideas of how to make his car even better next year. It was a fun night to be a Cub Scout!

Gwen's Check-Up

 Last week, Gwennie had her 3 year old check up with Dr. Paxton. She was so excited that it was finally her turn to go see the doctor. She wore her favorite skirt and her red shoes. The nurses in the office think Gwen is a crack up. She takes being there very seriously and talks non stop. 

 She is a solid 30 lbs and 3 feet exactly. They checked her blood pressure and even did an eye exam. They said most 3 year olds can't do the eye exam, but since she was so thrilled about everything, they gave it a try and she was able to tell the nurse all the shapes that she saw. 

She loved chatting with Dr. Paxton and she sat so still while he checked her heart. She did her deep breaths so good (she practiced at home beforehand), and she loved having her reflexes checked. It was better than a day at Disneyland! 

 Gwen's other big news from the last couple of weeks is that she is finally potty trained! And she and Mommy both survived! She is now officially a big girl!!

Janurary Happenings

This month has seemed to fly by. There have been so many things going on. I keep saying that February 1st will be our official first of the year. Hopefully by then I will be organized and ready for a new year.

Tessa has taken off reading this month. She decided to give chapter books a try and wanted to start with Harry Potter, but we convinced her to do something a bit easier. She started with Charlotte's Web and loved it. She also started reading the Magic Tree House Series about 2 weeks ago and has already read 5 of those. I am so glad she loves to read. 

 We were sad to have to say goodbye to Aunt Katy earlier in the month. She went back to Washington D.C. to finish up her last few months of school. We had fun with her while she was here.

 Mommy so looks forward to a few minutes of relaxation in the evening without kidlets. These 2 have not been cooperating lately and are staying up far too late with Mommy. 

 Before Caleb started rolling, he was wiggling all over the place. He would start in the middle of his play mat and then wiggle himself all the way off of it. 

 We've had more cooking lessons. Adam made dinner all by himself one evening (with very little help from Mommy.) He made Aunt Virginia's Hamburgers and did a great job!

 January has been our sick month. It always it. We've had sick tummy's, sick noses and lots of coughs. Mommy and Gwen spent 2 nights on the couch one week when Gwen had a sick tummy. Gwen took a nap the next day. A very rare occurrence. Both babies were asleep at the same time. Mommy literally did not know what to do with herself. She could get used to that!

 We could not get Caleb to wake up one night for his final feeding. We tried everything, but he was zonked! But, oh so cute!

 Gwen has spent most of the month dressed up as someone other than Gwen.

 Adam and Tessa's handwriting is getting so good. Tessa has worked hard at her cursive and it is paying off!

 Late nights with Mommy means taking selfies.

 The kids are still constantly grabbing my phone to take pictures of their cute brother. 

Ma sent a picture of one of their cousins who was throwing a fit, so they wanted to take a silly picture to cheer her up. 

 Precious! I love when babies snore.

 Mommy has been getting up extra early to work out and get healthy. It is not easy! And Gwen is usually up by 6. So not much of a break.

 Mommy and Daddy made a goal to get to the temple more often this year. Mommy got to go first this month. We are so blessed to live to close to so many temples!