Merry Christmas

Our Christmas was very calm and simple this year. We actually got hit with a nasty stomach flu starting on about the 20th. It swept through our house on a rampage hitting 7 out of 8 of us within 3-4 days (and then there were a couple of flair ups again a few days later). Luckily no one was throwing up Christmas Day, but we still weren't all back to normal. Even with that plus the busyness of December we still managed to get in all our Christmas traditions: baking and delivering goodies to friends, Christmas caroling, 12 Days of Christmas, reading Christmas stories, listening to lots of Christmas music, donating gifts/stocking to kids in need, seeing Christmas lights (we did this while we were on our trip at the end of November). We went to our ward Christmas party. This year the theme was A Night in Bethlehem. We all dressed up for that time period. Dad was one of the Wisemen for the nativity. They sang "We Three Kings", which many people mentioned was the highlight of the program. The whole gym was set up like a city marketplace. There were stations where we got our food (cheese, bread, olives, fruit, vegetables and treats of course), there was a clothing station, there were stations for kids to do games and make crafts. All of the stations required money (we got a bag of coins at the beginning of the night). It was great. We did our regular Christmas Eve things: Ham dinner with fancy dishes, reading the account of the Savior's Birth, reading "Jabeez Dawz," getting in matching pajamas and taking a family picture, watching "The Muppet Christmas Carol" and then heading off to bed. The kids actually forgot to leave anything out for Santa. Luckily he helped himself to peppermint ice cream and left them a note about it :) The next morning we could hear the kids awake at just before 7. No one is allowed in the living room until the music comes on. Dad and I came down and got the music going which was immediately followed by the pounding of feet running down the stairs. Santa left Megan her very own pet kitty, which she immediately said was, "a dream come true." She was ecstatic for the rest of the day. The kids all got gifts for each other throughout the month of December...with their own, earned money. Nothing could top the kitten for Meg, but she also got a vanity set, a barbie, hair things, Littlest Pet Shop home.

We spent the rest of the day hanging around in our jammies playing with our new toys, watching movies, playing games, doing puzzles, etc. A perfect family celebration.

Megan is 7

Megan turned 7 years old. My, how the time flies. We had a pretty simple little family birthday party. She chose a Little Mermaid cake, so we did an under-the-sea theme and found an Ariel to put on top. Turned out pretty cute. She was thrilled with her gifts (even the clothes elate this little girl). Megan is such a joy. She is so fun and spunky and social and loving. She can make friends with pretty much anyone (regardless of age, sex, personality, etc). She is a real hugger. This girl loves affection. Once she is your friend, you will know it: she'll hug you, sit on your lap, climb all over you, etc. Megan has really become a good reader this past year. She brings stacks of books to bed with her and reads. Once she's done reading she likes the lights all the way off in her room. She is a good student. She brings home good grades, but also her teacher tells me often what a wonderful classmate she is. She accepts and reaches out to new students, she helps kids that are struggling, she is very compassionate to anyone that is having a hard time. Megan is strong willed at home, but when she harnesses that will she does really great things. She is our cleaner (granted, she also is one of our biggest mess-makers, but at least she is good at cleaning it up). There are times when she'll decide she wants to clean and she'll go from room to room getting things done. She is an animal lover. She loves all types of anima

ls. She's been asking me for a pet kitten since August. We think we might consider something like that for Christmas....we'll see. Megan isn't a picky eater. There are a few things she's not fond of: sweet potatoes in particular, but most things she'll try. She likes to sing, play barbies and ponies, do hair and nails, read, color, help me cook, swim, watch movies, etc. We love Meg to bits - she is such a joy in our home.

Halloween 2013

I failed to get a good picture of everyone dressed up for our ward Halloween party (Nathan was Batman, Megan was Ariel, Ben was the Grim Reaper, Caelan was a gypsy, Austin was a worker guy, Ian was a bat and I was a little girl), but I did get a picture taken before the kids went to school on Halloween day. The kids had their annual Halloween parade and class parties. Nathan had a preschool party as well. We carved pumpkins the night before. Sean made his famous chili for the ward party. It was a great success. The kids definitely made out in the candy department. Megan was satisfied with going around twice, then she went inside to play carnival

games with friends. Their plastic pumpkins were completely full (I LOVE that about trunk-or-treating).

Fall Soccer

Megan played her first season of soccer. Her coach was Coach Eric with her assistant coach being Coach Ashley. Coach Eric was really enthusiastic (especially about winning). Megan really surprised us. We have asked Megan in the past if she wanted to sign up and she has never seemed interested at all. Somewhere in the middle of Spring season she mentioned that maybe next time she would want to play. And she still had the desire when we signed up for Fall season. She was a total surprise to us. Our little girlie girl has some serious SCRAP to her. She got right in there scoring goals and going after the ball. Her coach said on multiple occasions that she was the most improved, especially since she was a first time player, and that she really listened to him when he gave direction (and then would do it). It was great to watch. I volunteered to be a referee and was assigned to be the ref for Megan's team, so I didn't get to do as much screaming and yelling as I would have like :) I had to be fair and impartial as the ref. This was super challenging on the first game when I was right there by all the action and Megan got the ball and started heading right towards the goal. Unfortunately it was the wrong goal...and I just didn't feel like I could yell out, "turn around Meg" right there on the field. Oh man. At least she scored again in the right goal to make up for it. HE HE HE. There were a couple of pretty intense games that I had to run, which wasn't really my favorite, but I definitely learned from them. She loved practice and really enjoyed the season. One of her favorite things was dog piling her dog after the game. Her team did pretty well (I think they only lost twice). I (Mom) was the referee for her team, which was a new experience for me. We had a good time. At the end of the season party, her coach recognized her as being the best 1st time player (and also labeled her as "The Hugger").

Up, up and away

This year we barely squeezed in the Balloon Fiesta. We went the second to last night. We've never been to the night glow before, so we thought we'd do that this year. It was great. We drove down Friday evening and headed down to the field. It was still a little light when they start to fill the balloons, so we still got to have the experience of being right in the midst of all the balloons filling right next to us. The balloons don't go up into the air, but it's still cool to see them all lit up on the field. The firework show afterwards was GREAT. I think it was better than any of the 4th of July shows we've seen in the last several year - really awesome.

Hanging at the Fair

We took advantage of School Days at the State Fair again this year. We saw a Cirque Nirvana show, a Wolf show, pig races, Chinese Acrobats, Native American Fire Dancers, saw the model trains, went to the McDonald's Farm fun zone for kids, got a milkshake from the Dairy, saw a cow get milked, checked out the arts and crafts (including the Lego displays), played on John Deere tractors, went to the petting zoo (complete with all the normal animals as well as an ostrich, zebra and baby camel), ate a picnic lunch.....a full day of fun. And all of that for me and 6 kiddos for a whopping...$4. Yes, my friends, that is how it is done.

Oct 4, 2013

Megan's class was talking about pets. She had me take a picture of her and her pet, Bruno to email to her teacher. Her teacher printed the pictures and hung them on their Pet Wall. Megan loves our dog. She would love to get a cat or another puppy or really any living thing we would let her have. Whenever we are out in public and she spots a dog she immediately goes up to the owner to ask if she can pet it. The girl is drawn to animals.

Back to School

Back to School! Megan is in 1st grade with Mrs. White again (we love her). She loves Megan too - I think she requested to have her in her class again.

The kids had stagger start dates, so Caelan started on a Wed, Ben and Megan started on Friday and Nathan started two weeks later after Labor Day.

Yellowstone Bound

We love camping in this family. We don't do it nearly as much as we would like to. So when my sister said that she was getting together with some of the Sorensen clan to camp in Yellowstone for a few days my ears perked up. Sean wasn't going to be able to take off that much time especially since we were meeting his family in Duck Creek, Utah the very next week. But I started to contemplate the idea of heading up to Yellowstone with the kids and then meeting Sean in Utah afterwards. I got some crazy glances when I talked about my plan to some people (and I even wondered about my sanity to myself a couple of times), but the pros outweighed the cons to me and so I loaded all six kids (one being a two month old baby)and made the 18 hour journey up to Yellowstone by myself. I actually broke it up a little bit, which was nice. We had a great time with Grandpa and Grandma Sorensen, Jesse, Caleb, Corbin, Charity, Chad, Coren, Risa, Haakon, Garrett, Melanie, Genevieve, Aeris, Cian, Leia and even a super quick meet up with Kyra at Burger King on our way to the airport to pick up Sean. I knew it would be a bunch of work (physical and mental....HE HE HE), but Sean and I have always felt it important to make sacrifices to get together with family, especially since we don't live near any. I loved getting together with cousins at family reunions when I was a kid, and I want that for my children. I want them to know and love their cousins and get excited about spending time with them. Not to mention how much I love it when I have the chance to hang out with my family. And what better place to do all of this that at the awesome National Park of Yellowstone while we camped together. Camping is such a great outlet for kids for be free and explore. Staying up too late at campfires, tasty eggs and potato and sausage breakfasts, running free through the campsites and nearby nature, seeing wildlife close enough to touch, sleeping in the chill of the late summer with nothing between the fresh air but you and a thin tent layer, getting a free pass from bathing for a few days :), etc. So, here's a quick run down of our adventure:

Thurs: Got up early and hit the road. Made it all the way to Price, Utah (8 full hours of driving) before making our first stop. We only had to pull over to the side of the highway for one quick minute for Nathan to go to the bathroom. Every one else made it the entire 8 hours - even the baby (drinking a couple of bottles along the way). Made it to Charity and Chad's house that evening. Fri: Hung out at Charity and Chad's. Headed up to Rexburg. Made it there by about 8 PM Sat: Went to the grocery store to stock up. Hung out at Garrett and Melanie's for the morning. Took Ben and Caelan and went and saw a town production of "Les Miserables" which Garrett and Caleb were performing in. It was so great! I love that musical and it was especially fun to see two of my brothers rocking the vocals (several solo parts each). And the kids loved it too (which made my heart happy). We spent the rest of the trip listening to the soundtrack. Headed up to Yellowstone late that afternoon and made it there around midnight, at which point we quickly set up camp. Sun - Wed: Saw all the sights of Yellowstone: West Thumb Geyser Basin, Old Faithful, Artist Paintpots, Mud Volcano, Fountain Paintpots, Norris Geyser Basin (where Austin completely lost ALL control for a good two hours - Yikes), Steamboat Geyser, Gibbon Falls, Mammoth Hot Springs, Virginia Cascade Scenic Loop, Upper and Lower Falls (where we hiked down 300 steps for a great view and then hiked back up), LeHardy's Rapids, and more. We saw thousands of bison which delayed us on several occasions, elk, deer, and lots of birds. We swam in the Boiling River (where a hot springs joins up with a river), we found a shop with $1 fudge bars which we purchased more than once, we went on lots of hikes, we went to church at the lodge at Old Faithful, we saw a quadruple rainbow (that's right friends) and we got some tasty ice cream cones in West Yellowstone. And we battled the rain through the entire trip. We ate dinner one night all huddled under a canopy while it rained around us. The kids were real troopers. It was wonderful!

Swimming Lessons

The kids took swim lessons, so for two weeks Austin, Ian and I waited while the other 4 swam around for 40 minutes. The kids loved it and all really improved. Megan and Ben were both moved up to the next level on the first day because they could both free style swim. They all graduated with flying colors. Megan really improved. She has always been our most hesitant swimmer, but this year she's really gotten in there and had a desire to learn by herself so that she could swim all over the pool.

I thought I wouldn't get to the pool much this summer, but we spent several Wednesday afternoons at the pool in June and July.

July 20, 2013

Some of our Summer Goings-On: *Chick Fil A "Cow Appreciation Day" - We dressed up as cows and got a free meal. I was so surprised how great the service was: no line, workers walking around refilling people's drinks, someone got me all situated at a table. It was great. *Free Zoo Day sponsored by the local radio station. It was busy, but not too crowded. The zoo is always fun no matter how often you go. The kids love to see the animals and play at the playground.

Toothless Meg

Megan has had a pretty loose front tooth. She's good at wiggling it, and she's really been trying to get this one loose enough to pull out. She came up to me one afternoon telling me that it was really loose. She said, "Maybe Ben or Nathan will accidentally punch me and then it will come out." (Just a couple of months ago Ben's friend, Aaron accidentally punched him while they were jumping on the trampoline and knocked his loose tooth out...which we were so happy about - that thing had been sticking straight out for weeks). I smiled at her and she headed down the stairs. She didn't even get all the way down the stairs when I heard her exclaim, "Mom, it's out." She came running up to show me and said, "I wanted to get it out myself so I punched myself in the face and it came out. First I missed (as she demonstrated by punching herself between the eyes) but then I got it (as she demonstrated by punching right at her mouth)." I had a good little laugh.

June 17, 2013

Happy Father's Day to our Favorite Dad!

Big Sister

Our little guy has arrived. He was born on June 1, 2013 at 11:39 PM (just missed sharing a birthday with his sister by 29 minutes). He was 8 lbs even and 20 inches long (the nurse measured him about 19.5 inches, but his legs were totally bent up). I was really in no hurry for him to come. I was excited but we were in the middle of the end of the school year, soccer games (and I was Ben's coach), softball games, etc. I thought it was no big deal for him to take his sweet time....which he did.The next day the kids came to visit. They were all in love....except Austin, who just wasn't sure what this little person was.Our biggest challenge was deciding on a name for him. We really didn't even have a short list when we went to the hospital - there were some names that we both thought were pretty good, but nothing for sure. We finally decided on Ian. We chose Soren as the middle name because we wanted a family name from my side, but the names we had for options were not going to work out with our last name: Richard, Hugh or using just a letter which is a family tradition. So we went with Soren - the first part of my maiden name and also an ancestral name because back in our family history the last names changed: Jens Pederson, Peder Anderson, Anders Sorensen, etc.... so that was kind of cool. Anyway, he is home now and we are all adjusting well. We're so happy he's healthy and here and part of our family.

Kindergarten Promotion

Megan has completed Kindergarten. I always think it's a little funny to have promotions after Kindergarten, but it seems to be the thing to do. They all got a little certificate, they performed some cute songs and we all had some cake. Megan has had a great year. We love her teacher, Mrs. White, who we just found out is switching to teach first grade next year. We'll keep our fingers crossed.

Cliff's

We got tickets to Cliff's Amusement Park for Christmas. They expired at the end of May, so we figured we better get there before school got out for the summer. We took the kids out of school one day and spent 5 and a half hours at the park (it had just opened so it wasn't yet opened for extended hours). I got there and noticed bunches of school buses and school groups lined up out front - I didn't think about all the end of the year field trips that would be happening. It actually wasn't too bad. Some of the bigger rides had long lines but most lines were quick. Plus we spent a bunch of time in the little kid area which was totally empty. The kids had a blast - going from ride to ride. Megan went on some of the real twisting rides and totally loved them. There wasn't one ride that any of the kids were too scared to go on (I mean this isn't anything close to a Magic Mountain or anything but it still has some pretty fun and fast carnival type rides). Austin could ride all of the little kiddie rides and loved those. Honestly the only one who didn't go on hardly anything was me...because I was due later that week. I went on the Carousel one time. Actually I didn't mind at all - it was kind of fun to let the kids take the lead and just follow them wherever they wanted to go. It was a fun end of the school year family trip.

April 11, 2013

The Baptism of Kenneth Benjamin Dick Pianist: Charity Brooks (aunt) Chorister: Tera Dick Conducting: Bishop Foutz Opening Song: If the Savior Stood Beside Me Opening Prayer: Rick Sorensen (Grandpa) Talk on Baptism: Mike Dick (Grandpa) Musical Number: "When I am Baptized" sung by Caelan and Megan Dick Baptism of Ben by Sean Dick Talk on the Holy Ghost: Lindsay Dick (aunt) Confirmation of Ben by Sean Dick Remarks by Primary: Sis. Hilbun Welcome to the Ward: Bishop Foutz Closing Song: I am a Child of God Closing Prayer: Preston Frey (uncle) Refreshments served

April 8, 2013

Easter was pretty low key for us this year. I had intentions of talking about each day of the last week of the Savior's life every night the week leading up to Easter, but we ended up having something going on every single night that week (crazy). We did have a nice Family Home Evening the Monday before talking about Jesus Christ. Sean performed in a Stake Easter Musical Program on Good Friday, which was very lovely. We colored eggs on Saturday afternoon. Sunday was Fast Sunday, so our Easter Bunny didn't even show up until we were at church (he didn't want to tempt Caelan who was fasting that morning). He hid all the eggs around the house as well as the baskets and also a wrapped gift with a picture of Jesus. We ate chocolate and candy until we wanted to be sick, but at least we got rid of it pretty quickly. We had a nice dinner of ham, asparagus and cheesy potatoes. Austin LOVED the candy, especially the chocolate. He knew exactly what kind of candy he wanted, which happened to be the wrapped chocolates (like Hershey kisses or mini chocolate candy bars, etc). He wouldn't eat jelly beans unless he couldn't see any other chocolate options left in the basket. Funny boy. It was a nice, simple holiday. What a blessing it is to know what we really celebrate on this special day

March 24, 2013

A friend from Megan's class (Ziva Goldfein)

invited her to her birthday party at a fun indoor Family Fun Center place in Albuquerque. The invitation was for the whole family. At first I wasn't sure we would go - I felt bad having 6 extra people go, but I saw her Mom (also a lady that is on the PTO with me) a couple of times before the party and she asked if we were coming and hoped that we could make it. So, we ended up going. The kids LOVED it. They had a pizza, pasta, salad bar buffet. Then each of the kids got a pre-paid card they could use on all the rides/arcade games, etc. There were bumper cars, rock walls, a bunch of arcade games, a couple carnival-type rides, etc. They had a blast. And it was all enclosed, so even though the kids weren't right there next to us, we could pretty much keep an eye on them the whole time. Megan tried the rock wall a couple of times, but she didn't quite feel comfortable enough to make it all the way to the top. Fun time.

March 22, 2013

Megan performed in the Kindergarten performance of "The Three Nanny Goats Gruff." She played one of the girl goats. It was a cute little play - the kids did a great job singing out their songs.That same night was the school Literacy night. The kids got punches in their card for each literacy event they went to. If they got 5 punches then they got a little treat on the way out. Clifford the Big Red Dog was wandering around the school. Megan got a good hug with him. Her picture with him (that looked pretty much like this one) got printed in the community newspaper.

March 4, 2013

The kids had three days off of school a couple weeks ago. We just hung out for the first couple of days, so I thought we should do something fun on the last day. Caelan brought up the idea (she's the planner in the family). We went to the library that morning for story time and to make snow trees out of tissue paper. Then we headed over to the Explora Children's Museum in Albuquerque. Caelan had gone a couple of weeks earlier on a special field trip, but none of the rest of us had ever been there. The kids loved it. There are lots and lots of different hands-on exhibits for the kids to try out. Some things they just watch, but a lot of things they get to try out themselves: water experiments, air experiments, different physics activities, sound activities, learning with shapes and colors, currents, bubbles, electronics, etc.

We went over to the park right next to the museum (it was pretty chilly so we didn't last there too long, but the kids got out some energy) and then we grabbed some food and headed home.

March 1, 2013

The school had their annual Daddy Daughter Dance, and this year both girls got to go. Megan was excited and looking forward to it all week. As is tradition, Sean took the girls out to dinner beforehand. They met the Edwards and enjoyed a tasty meal at the Pizza Barn. Then they were off to the dance. Sean said that Megan was done after about an hour - acting tired and ready to go. She loved twirling around with Sean and dancing on his feet. It was a great time for all.

I love that they have this event at the school (even if the Dad's are too keen on the dancing part) - the girls sure do look forward to it.