January started off with problems with Dale's car. Oh, how we love those problems! He'd been trying to get home the week after Christmas and there was so much snow, and he slid into a curb and jacked up his tire and rim. So I called Blake and Lindsey and asked if he could stay there, since they are down by his work. So Dale didn't have to make the long commute home that night. I was so grateful to an awesome brother and sister in law! The next day he realized that something major was wrong, so it made it to the dealership to see what the damage was. It was a lot. We would have had to pay over $3000 to fix everything on the car, and we decided since the car had been paid off in forever, pouring more money into the car was not smart anymore, so New Year's Day Dale headed to Low Book Sales while I was at our Primary Party. We have bought both of our vans there, and they treat us so good, so we were content to go there again. Dale had done some research and decided to get a cute Kia Sephia. We love it!
The kids were all pumped for our trip, and we made a count down chain with Disney facts for each day. It was awesome. We learned so much about Disneyland.
It was quite a long month, with not a ton going on. For all of us, this is the hardest, longest month of school. The kids have a hard time going back after break- who doesn't?! There's always a snow storm, so lots of inside recess, and not a lot of playing outside because our kids decided this year they don't like the snow. I kept questioning what keeps us in Utah since we get so much snow, and I know the answer is family and a job, but still. These were questions I had!
Brayden decided he wanted to be like Justin Bieber this month. He became a household name, with Ady singing his songs all day long, and Brayden spending a lot of time in the bathroom brushing his hair like Bieber. Oh how the media influences are beginning!
Brayden also started Sunbeams. Since I was in the Primary Presidency, it was fun to see how well he transitioned (minus the first two Sundays). It was so nice to be in there with all the kids to see how they did with their new teachers. Primary is so fun!
Clayson was funny as always. His big news was he decided to try out for our school play, Wizard of Oz. I was so impressed he even wanted to do the play. He was suppose to have a song and a poem memorized. He would not do a song, and I just didn't care. I went in with him to auditions, and he said, "Humpty Dumpty." It was so cute! There were a lot of kids trying out. He was the only kindergarten boy that got a speaking part. He is a flying monkey named Stinky. What a cutie! We are so excited for his performance in March.
We also broke down this month and got frogs. We got African Dwarf frogs. The kids have been begging for pets, and we have been at PetsMart a lot. Clay wanted a bearded dragon so badly, but we found out they grow up to 24 inches and eat a lot. So we settled on frogs. Dale has been reading them "Treasure Island." They loved it, and loved the pirates. So they names the frogs Long John Silver, and Jim Hawkins. It was quite funny to watch them, and how excited they were to have frogs. All day long they would chill in their room on the stools watching them.
The last exciting thing happening in our house was Ady's exciting news. She decided she wanted to try out for the Spanish Fair at BYU. They only take 10 kids per grade level. They had to prepare a show and tell, or a funny story. Since we don't speak Spanish, she put it together by herself. The morning of her tryout was Moms and Munchies at her school. (The week before had been Dads and doughnuts.) It's a time when the parents come and eat doughnuts with the kids and read to them. It's a great way to get parents involved. She saw her Spanish teacher, Mr. Lott and asked him a couple of words. It amazes me how well she speaks.
She waited for a week to find out whether or not she made it, and she did!!! We were so excited for he. Later at SEP conference (which both the kids did so great this term on their grades, our smart kids!) Mr. Lott was amazed that no one helped her with her "show and tell." He kept saying how well she speaks and just how well she is doing overall. I love hearing that from her teachers. Yay for Ady!
