December 19, 2010

I forgot the usernname and password. I need to get better at this!

Let's go back to Halloween. Halloween night, it was cold, rainy, and windy. We took the kids through the neighborhood and they got tons of candy. The kids were excited and had fun despite the cold and rain.

The kids both too ice skating lessons at the Olympic Oval. They both did a great job! They looked so cute in their skates, helmets, and gloves. They both were not afraid and though they fell many times, they got up and kept going. We had fun watching them. Rene gave us a one-year family skating pass as an early Christmas present and we've gone a few times as a family, or Kevin and the kids have gone without me. It's been fun.

Emily got her first report card of the year, and she got all 4's and a few 3's (4 is the best, 1 is the worst). In addition to her awesome marks, her teacher gave her all E's (Excellent) for behavior, getting along with others, citizenship, etc. We are proud of Emily. She has always been an intelligent girl and we are happy she continues to do well in school. Just as important as getting good grades is the fact that she is well behaved and good in class, that she interacts well with others, and that she applies herself. To celebrate her achievement, we went to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory as a family and chose some special treats.

Winter hit with a vengeance the weekend before Thanksgiving. It snowed a lot--probably a foot or more. We get more snow on the west bench then the valley often does. It snowed 2 more times that week, leaving a ton of snow. It was also really cold--single-digit temperature cold!

For Thanksgiving, we enjoyed hosting and cooking at our house. My parents came, as did Craig, Taralyn, Suede, and Ellis (visiting from Kentucky). We had fun being together, preparing the food, and enjoying each others' company. Suede and Ellis are darling, and Craig and Taralyn are good parents.

The next day, the entire Sowby family gathered at my brother Mike's house. There are 29 people, as follows:

Steve & Laurie (Mom & Dad)
David & Shannon (Jarom, Spencer, Kate, Noah, Emma, Caleb, Emma, Ben, Sarah)
Mike & Tiffany (Megan, Luke, Ellie, Joshua, Drew)
Kristin & Kevin (Emily, James)
Rob & Christie

We had a family photo taken in the family room. It turned out as well as can be expected with that many people and children. We had fun visiting and playing. We watched a slide show of old slides my parents brought. It was a hoot!

That weekend, we enjoyed hanging out, eating leftovers, sleeping in, etc. Craig came one of those nights to "play" with Kevin in the studio. They recorded part of a song they just wrote there on the spot. Put two talented boys in a studio for a few hours, and that's what you get!

Speaking of music and the studio, we are all loving it. It has been a dream and a plan for a while, and we were able to put it together and get it done. It is a great, beautiful space for Kevin. Emily practices the piano in there and James has fun on the drums.

As December came, I became busier with work. As the high school counselor, I am responsible for assigning classes for each student (and there are 45o students). It takes time to look at their transcripts, see what they need, then manually enter 6 classes into the system. I am so glad though that I have a job which is flexible and allows me to work from home!

On December 3 I had a staff meeting then later that night, our staff Christmas party. Kevin came with me to the Castle in Layton. I accompanied on the piano as the group sang some Christmas carols.

The following week was busy with the Relief Society party, Ward party, James' preschool program, and Emily's piano recital. Emily played "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" and looked so pretty in her fancy skirt and sweater from Grandma.

James has been doing an online preschool program called Upstart. He is supposed to do it 15 minutes a day and sometimes resists, but does well. He also goes to Goodstart Preschool, run by Joey Brough. He's been going there since he was 3. This is his 3rd year.

We are ready for Christmas. Our kids have asked for simple things this year so Santa will have no problem getting them to them. They are good kids most of the time. Lately they have been fighting and arguing and hurting each other at times. This is normal sibling behavior, but it is not fun. Most of the time they get a long and have fun together, playing games they make up.

We are looking forward to our vacation to California in January!

What we do to make a living

Kevin graduated in 1999 from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education. While he was looking for teaching jobs, he worked at Intermountain Healthcare as a phone representative. When no teaching jobs were available, he stayed there and was quickly promoted to a trainer. He stayed there until August of 2007. He now works for University Healthcare as a trainer.

Kristin graduated in 1998 from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology and History. (That darn math class kept her from finishing sooner). She graduated that same year from Weber State with her teaching license and got a job at Woodland Hills School, an alternative high school. She then went to Bountiful Junior High from 1999-2000. In 2000 she moved to the University of Phoenix to work as an advisor and remained there until Emily was born in 2002. After that she taught at Mountain West College and Lifeline treatment center. In August 2007 she graduated from Utah State with a Master of Education (Secondary Education) degree and went to be the Student Services Coordinator at Stevens-Henager College. In June 0f 2008 she applied for K12/Utah Virtual Academy, and was able to quit other jobs to work full time from home for UTVA. The first year, she taught history. The second year, she was an advisor, and now entering the third year, she is the school counselor.

Cool places we've been and cool places we've seen

Emily has been on an airplane several times, since she was an infant. Her first trip was to San Diego when she was 3 months old. She has a passport, which she used in Canada in 2008. To date, she has been to:
San Diego in 02
Phoenix (several times to visit Nana and Papa in 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08)
Disneyland in 03, 06, and 07
Alberta, Canada in July 08
Washington DC in October 09
DisneyWorld, Florida in November 09
Moab/Arches National Park in 09 and 10
Bryce Canyon, The Grand Canyon, Kolob Canyon, and Cedar Breaks in July 10

James has been to:
Phoenix (to visit Nana) in 05, 06, 07 and 08
Disneyland in Disneyland in 06 and 07
Washington DC in October 09
DisneyWorld. Florida in November 09
Moab/Arches National Park in 09 and 10
Bryce Canyon, The Grand Canyon, Kolob Canyon, and Cedar Breaks in July 10

Kristin has been to:
Canada 88 and 08
Israel 89
Belgium 89 and 95
Japan 93
China 93
Hong Kong 93
Germany 95
Austria 95
Italy 95 and 98
Switzerland 95
France 95
The Netherlands 95 and 05
England 95 and 05
Scotland 95
Chile 06
Mexico 94

Kevin has been to :
Germany twice as a child

Time to start!

I have read others' blogs and enjoyed them, and I use facebook and take lots of pictures, but I haven't done much in the way of journals the past few years. I decided to have a private blog where I can write things about my cute kids and our lives.

It's Sunday afternoon, August 8. Kevin is drumming on his new Roland electric drum set. Emily is watching Hannah Montana in the room next to me. James is upstairs playing in his room.

Over the years the kids have said some funny things. Here is a collection of some of them:
Emily:
"Secrets of the Child" (about 2 years old)
"Baby in the World" (a song: there was a baby in the world. He used to cry. And you would give him his bottle, to feel him better.)
"Felicious" (Her word for her toy dishes)
"Fff Fff" (she would do this when she saw a dog, trying to bark like one)
"Walt Disney Disney, Princess of the Joy" (a song)
Stories she wrote in kindergarten:
I lic to rid mi bic (I like to ride my bike) or I lik to rid mi elefat (I like to ride my elephant)
Funny names for stuffed animals:
Monel the rubber duck
Ossia the lamb
Alshista the silk scarf
Adeezja Azeeza, the imaginary grandma of Sally the baby doll
Enine the dollhouse baby
Inksaw the ghost

James:
"I had it but suddenly I barely just loosed it." (referring to a golf ball he found at the Homestead)
"I need a clunger" (referring to needing a plunger for the toilet) (4 years)
"Do pirates resist?" (resist is in place of exist) (4 years)
"My room is a bisaster" (disaster) (3 years)
"Dad, where does the Disneyland come from?" (about 2 1/2)
"Quaking asper" (referring to Quaking Aspen trees) (4 years)
"Hey look, is this a sand trap? Nope, didn't trap me!" (referring to a sand trap at a golf course)