SUPERBOWL SUNDAY!!! The best way to start off the month. We went to the Stewart's house to watch the game with a bunch of friends. It was a blast. Shane was hoping the Seahawks would win and I was pulling for the Patriots. The score was relatively close throughout the entire game and came down to the last few seconds. Seattle decided to throw the ball on their own three yard line and threw and interception. It was awesome. The Patriots ended up winning the game.
February 2nd I went back to LNC to grade the dance performances. The kids wanted to perform for Mr. Willits on his first day back. The 7th grade had chosen to choreograph their own routines and pick their own music. They completely tanked their performances. They looked like they had not had three weeks to get ready. Mr. Willits was not pleased at all. I had been in communication with him throughout the entire month so he knew what was going on and he knew that I had worked with each group individually but they chose not to take my advice and went their own way and it completely did not work for them. The highest grade in the class was a C. Eighth grade did not let me down. I taught them a hip hop routine and then told them to add their own flavor. They did a great job. The lowest grade in that class was a B. I learned that grading is a lot harder than the teachers make it look. You want to be fair, but also honest and sometimes the two just don't happen on the same assignment.
February 6th Naomi came home with three ribbons attached to her shirt. She had gotten "A Honor Roll", "Perfect Attendance", and "Reading Challenge". Way to go!
February 7th, Nick played in a church basketball game. The team played really well but they still lost by 9. I am proud of Nick because he didn't get discouraged. He recognized that they had played their best and just happened to play a team that was 9 points better.
A little "after game therapy". Yes, that is one of my bras wrapped around his head. What a nut!
After the basketball game I went back down to the Mathapalooza. I had dropped Naomi off before heading to Nick's game and wanted to get back in time for the awards ceremony. I missed it by about 10 minutes. That is okay because Naomi was just as excited to show me her 3rd place overall trophy. She had a great day and loves math even more now (if that is even possible).
The Highland Creek Mathapalooza team.
Naomi and her trophy.
Naomi with Mrs. Favaloro, her third grade math and science teacher.
That night Jeremy and I went to the Saturday Knight Live talent show at the high school. It was really good. I was impressed with the level of talent in the show and the level of planning that went into making the show so much fun.
February 10th the washing machine broke. Normally this would not be a huge deal but this time is worth a blog mention. I wasn't about to surrender and get a new machine so I went to the internet and googled the problem. I found a couple of things that seemed like they might be the cause, located the replacement piece and repaired it myself. It was the agitator coupling. A $15 part and 30 minutes of my time was all it took to fix it. BOO YA!
That afternoon Nick's service project group met at Hind's Feet Farm to do the planting of the bulbs. This is part of the 7th grade project. The kids were divided into groups of 4 and asked to find a service project in the community they thought was needed and help out in any way they could. Nick's group wanted to beautify the grounds of a nursing home or care facility. After making a couple of phone calls and getting turned down Nick suggested calling Hind's Feet. Marty had the perfect project in mind. He needed flowers planted in the boxes in front of Puddin's Place, their main resident house. Marty told them that the house was named after his mother (whose nick-name was Puddin') and that her favorite flower was the tulip. With this in mind got to work planning. Today was the day we would put their plan into action. Two hours later they had over 150 bulbs planted. The mothers stood on the sidelines and cheered them on while they did the majority of the work.
Nathaniel, Ryan, Matt and Nick laying out the bulbs.
Done! (Naomi is photo bombing off to the left)
February 11, 2015, Nick officially became a teenager. In his own words --"BEST DAY EVER!!!" We took his bike in for a major overhaul and tune-up and it was ready for pick up on his birthday. He loves to ride his bike and to have it back after four days in the shop was really exciting. The girls at school sang "Happy Birthday" to him during physical activity time (think recess with a fancy new name). I brought homemade-oreos to lunch so he could share them with his friends. We had Papa Murphy's pizza for dinner with rootbeer floats for dessert. After dinner we showered him with gifts. It was a day all about him and he loved it.
Candles in the pizza are a lot easier than candles in a rootbeer float.
Now he can build his own cars. Erector sets are the best!
Car clock - to add to his new room decorations.
Friday the 13th Naomi did not have school so we got to hang out for the day. We didn't do much that was exciting, but it was exactly what we wanted to do that day so it was perfect. That night, Steve and I decided to get ahead of the crowd and go to dinner for Valentine's Day. I think we might have to make this a tradition in the future. There were no crowds and the prices were normal - not the special "holiday" pricing which does not always save you money.
On Valentine's Day we spent most of the day getting Nick's big project done and ready to hand in the following week. This meant time at Matt's house to get the paper written and the final touches on the visual presentation. The boys had a great time together and really listened to what the parents had to say. They were good at taking our advice into consideration and using what they felt would improve their final product. That night we all just chilled as a family.
Sunday, February 15th, Steve had a double Eagle Court of Honor for Blake Giler and Ethan Shamanis. These boys have been inseparable since the day the Shamanis family moved into the ward ten years ago. They have done everything together and met their scout milestones together along the way. So, to have them both get their awards the same day was very fitting. It was a great ceremony and the mothers had prepared an impressive spread for afterwards. Steve was beaming because he added two more mentor pins to his collection. He really works hard to support his scouts all the way to Eagle and the boys really appreciate him.
February 17 and 18 were both snow days for all three kids. There was a delayed start of the school day on the 19th because of ridiculously cold temperatures in the morning. We made the most of our time off.
February 19th JEREMY TURNED 16! We had a Cafe Rio dinner that night with caramel cheesecake for dessert. I spent all day preparing the food and it was worth every second. I cannot believe that my baby is 16.
This tomatillo had a nose. I named him Squidward (after the Sponge Bob character).
The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch t-shirt he has been dying to get.
His own, Japanese mug for warm drinks. (Front view)
Mug back view (because it is so cool we have to show both sides)
No 16th birthday would be complete without a new car. We bought Jeremy a BMW Z4. He spent the night driving it around.... the house. It is remote controlled. Pretty cool.
CHEESECAKE!!!
Naomi also found out that she made the choir at school. She had tried out the previous week and was on pins and needles to find out if she made the cut. Congratulations!
1. Don't believe in the works of fiction the world wants you to believe. Believe in the truth.
2. Look out for each other. Don't take risks. Be clearly on the Lord's side. Mutual night should be like an oasis. Stay strong for each other and stay in the group.
3. Don't take your beliefs for granted. Higher standards equal higher levels of happiness.
4. Sundays should be your favorite day. It is a day of rest - so rest. What you do on the Sabbath is a sign of how you feel about God and the kind of person you want to be.
5. Always be in tune with the spirit so you will be ready to hear His voice and do what is needed.
6. Don't give up, tire, slack or rest until you receive answers to your prayers. Answers will come.
7. Stay on the path, no matter what. Happiness is your destiny.
8. God knows you and claims you as his own. You are never alone.
February 25th was a great day for all. The boys were told by the orthodontist that they did not have to wear their elastics any more. They were happy because they hate wearing them and I am thrilled because I will no longer find used elastics all over the house!
February 26th we got 6 inches of snow. We spent most of the day playing in it!! Steve and the boys decided to redo the wood pile and put a real roof on it since the other one basically fell apart. We also got in some good service by shoveling driveways for neighbors.
Nick had the coolest project for science that was due somewhere during all this activity. He had to create a shirt that showed the major organs, bones and muscles in the torso area. It was fun to do and the results were great as well. He got an A.
February 27th Justin Muller slept over (as Jeremy's birthday party. This is what he wanted). We played SPOONS and Apples to Apples, watched a movie and had a great time.
Febraury 28th was JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT!!! And it was AMAZING. The kids were spellbound the entire time. I didn't hear a single "when is intermission" or "how much longer." The background was a simple white curtain upon which they projected brick walls, or Egyptian pyramids, or Pharoh's palace or... Some of the props and costumes were white and were used to show projected images that enhanced the scene. It was pretty cool. My favorite part was still the brothers. They have the best part. Pharoh was great as well. Diana Degarmo did an excellent job as the narrator. Ace Young was an okay Joseph but it is nearly impossible to out perform Donny Osmond (especially for this girl who grew up having a crush on Donny!!!) Afterwards we went to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings. Jeremy was especially excited about his because he has never been to a sit down restaurant before. It was an amazing day!
The Tooth Fairy visited again that night. Naomi left her another challenging note with a questionnaire about herself. She is such a character. Check it out.
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