It's Great to be Eight

Today is a big day. A day that Olivia has been waiting for, for so long. It is Olivia's 8Th birthday.

She was well taken care of with gifts (the gifts started coming at 7:00 A.M.).

She played all morning with her new toys.

Then it was off to the movie she has been dying to see.

Back home in time for a delicious dinner of chicken fettuccine, and pesto pasta.A few bike rides with her cousins Katy and Jeff (Thanks for coming to spend the weekend with us)!

Home again for another present she has been waiting for, for a long time.

Time for cake and ice cream.

A night of fun and games.

Happy Birthday Liv! Can't wait for your party tomorrow, and then your baptism on Easter Sunday!

B......Born March 30, 1970.....yep...old..and 40...ugh

I.......I am loved by many! Thank you all for the gift and calls

R......Rosalynd and family...Thanks for the visit. We are glad that you came!

T......Twin....Thankful to have a twin. Love you Happy Birthday

H......Half way dead, If I live to 80, but knowing granny, great grandma Chriss, and Bloomfield...I could be 105 when I die....sigh

D.......Damaged....only slightly broken, but my kids might have a different opinion.

A.......Am grateful that that difficult day has past

Y.......Year......I am glad that I have a full year till the next one, and I KNOW THIS YEAR WILL BE BETTER THAN THE LAST.

Wedded Bliss!

Today marks 16 years of blissful marriage. Nothing too exciting happened. James worked of course, but asked me to come down to his work this afternoon. He took me to a really cool store called Navajo Trade. He let me pick out anything I wanted. I chose these beautiful earrings and he got a handsome bracelet. I got to meet the owner, who is in our ward, and he was so nice and generous to us, and I am sure this will not be our last trip to his store!James came home from work and had reservations at the nicest restaurant here in Farmington, The Bluffs. The Bluffs reminds me of a nice restaurant like we would have in San Diego. We each had delicious dinners, and topped it off with Creme Bruele, our absolute favorite! The best part of the meal was when the waitress came over and told us that the bill had been taken care of, by James' boss Jay. He really is the most generous person...Thanks Jay and Susan.

It was a great day and I can't wait for the next sixteen years!

Spring Break

I know Spring Break isn't over yet, but we have been very busy and I wanted to update. We just got back today from going to Colorado to my parents cabin. We got there Sunday night. Monday, James and I took the kids to Wolf Creek Ski Resort where the kids were able to ski for the first time ever (not Elijah, he had already been a few weeks ago with the Scouts from our ward). It took a few runs down the bunny hill, but Olivia has got some talent. James took her and Elijah on some of the intermediate slopes and she is a natural. Go Girl!!! Ethan, on the other hand, didn't take to it quite as easy, but with practice, he will be great. While James and I worked with Olivia and Ethan, Elijah was off all over the mountain. He loves to ski!!!
On Tuesday, James went back to Farmington to work. My parents and I took the kids to the Sand Dunes Hot Springs in Hooper Colorado. It is a pool that is filled with the water from a hot springs. The temperature is around 100 degrees, and the jacuzzi is about 107 degrees. It is the cleanest pool we have ever been to. We found out that they drain the entire pool every week and power wash all the surfaces and refill it. There isn't any nasty hot springs smell. It really is great and it seems to really help my Dad with the pain he has in his legs. It was pretty cool to be swimming with snow all around. We will definitely go back!

On Wednesday, Olivia had a fever so we stayed in the cabin all day watching old westerns, reading books, and feeding the deer. We had a wonderful time, thanks Grandma and Grandpa, we can't wait to do it again!

Breaking News.........News Flash........

I got a call today to come to school to talk to Elijah's teacher. His Science teacher Mrs. Gonzales told me that she felt really badly about Elijah not making it to the State Science Fair, so her and Elijah's Mentor, Bill Young, sent an email to the President of the Regional Science Fair. Elijah is now going to the State Science Fair....YEAH. He is so excited, but it just means more work for me. I am so happy for him!!!

A Week of "Honorable Mentions"

It really has been an exhausting, learning experience, and stressful weekend. We spent most of this last week getting Elijah ready for the Regional Science Fair. Elijah has put in a lot of time on his project and had felt really good about his project. We met with his advisers this week, practiced his interview, stayed up countless hours redoing his board and rewritting his project. I took Elijah on Friday to set-up his project and we were able to get a sneak peak at his competitors. I was stunned! I know that this is the first time we have ever done Science Fair, but I was shocked at the caliber of projects that the kids had come up with. I knew once Elijah saw the other projects he was pretty worried.

His interview was on Saturday, and when I came to pick him up, he was the shade of milk (If he could be any paler!). He said that the judges had told him that his project didn't make sense and that it was horrible. I felt so bad for him. He still wanted to go to the award ceremony that night to see how his friends did. When it came to his category, I prayed my heart out that he would get some kind of recognition......and they gave him "Honorable Mention". Not all the kids got that and I knew my prayers were answered. My dilemma now is trying to convince him that that was a good thing. He keeps telling me that it means failure. This whole process has been a definite growing experience, I just pray that I am handling it right.

Ethan also had an honorable mention this week. We had Pinewood Derby this last Friday night. This is the first year that his Grandpapa has not been able to help him make his car, and it has been up to James to help. OH NO IS RIGHT!!!! James has never done one.....so what does he do, he has one of the his coworkers help Ethan on Thursday night. They started his car at 5:00 and finished it at 1:30 in the morning. Thank goodness that James has friends here!!!

Ethan's car was really a beautiful car, and he did pretty well too. His car came in 2ND in his Den and 4Th Overall, which I was grateful that it wasn't dead last!!! Ethan is so competitive that he wasn't so happy. Unfortunately this is our family's last year with Pinewood Derby (I wish there was a way to type words with sarcastic undertones)!

On a final note. Thursday March 11 marked our one year of living in New Mexico. I don't quite know how to sum up this last year. It definitely has been one filled with challenges, struggles, adjustments, but most importantly blessings. Countless blessings have been bestowed upon our family and I am grateful for them.

A Beautiful Picture

This picture might not be beautiful to just anyone, but for me...it is!!! It is the first time in three months that our driveway has not had some snow on it. Could it be a sign of Spring....I sure hope so!