random January happenings according to my phone

Emma and her friends came home from school and played Uno one afternoon. This was a happy day with friends. Unfortunately this month, she also had some bad ones. Some not so nice things were said about her by two different boys in our ward whom she had considered friends. It was hurtful. It was totally uncalled for. It made me very grateful for all the really good friends she does have.

I made five batches of playdough. They get used every day by all the kids and the neighbors too. The favorite activity recently has been cutting out heart cookies for Valentine's Day.

Slade's new iPod nano that he got for Christmas went completely kaput on him. We took it to the Apple Store and they traded it for a new one. Yeah, Apple! I took the five kids with me and they were actually all so good! We went to Target afterwards and bought Slade new pants. He is growing like a weed. At his priesthood preview at church, he was several inches taller than the other incoming deacons. I really wish I had a picture of the 50ish Young Men in our ward lined up to shake their hands. It was really cool.

Dave's parents invited us over for dinner one Sunday. It was really nice to spend time with them without all the chaos of the entire family. We had stir fry and then Jello and cookies for dessert. After dinner, we played games. Nathan and Sawyer wanted to learn how to play checkers so Grandma and Grandpa helped them play. Anne and Ben fell asleep in the van on the way home. I thought their stuffed dogs tucked in with them looked rather cute. If you look closely, you can see Emma and Slade holding their hands up above their hands in the back. They were all fighting and making us crazy so Dave told them they had to hold their hands above their hands the rest of the way home. Of course, they turned it into a competition but it sure made the drive quieter.

A student from the BYU Bean Museum came and did an animal show at Anne's preschool. Her teacher was gracious enough to let the boys come and watch as well.

We received sad news mid-month that one of the directors of the BYU folk dance team had passed away from flu complications. Delynne was a really awesome teacher, mentor and friend and it was hard to believe that such an active, vivacious woman had died at only 62. In honor of her, the folk dancers invited alumni to attend a Rec Night. We aren't so young and skinny anymore, but we still danced. I wish more of our friends had been able to be there but we had a great time. We were able to see more of our folk dance friends at her funeral. It was a sad occasion but folk dance reunions are always a joyful thing. I think Delynne would have appreciated all the hugs and laughter between the many, many lives she touched.

We also went to see BYU Vocal Point in concert. This is such a terrible picture but the concert was lots of fun. And of course, I always like being on a date with Dave.