Five Year Old Playdough

This week we went to the combined band concert. Mindy played clarinet with the sixth grade band and Maddy played the flute with the high school band. I was in-charge of refreshments as one of my responsibilities as band booster's president. During intermission I filled up 70 cups of punch, with the sixth grade boys acting like vulture ready to eat all the cookies. I warned them as I left to sit back down for the end of the concert not to eat any cookies until after the concert ended. At the end of the concert the band teacher announced that there were refreshments and that the students were to let the guests go first. I made my way over to the refreshments table just in time to remind the sixth grade boys that they were told to let the guests go first. One boy said, "Yeah, he said let Gess go first". Gess is the name of the elementary school that the 6th graders go to. He was sorely dissapointed when I clarified that it was guests first, not Gess.

Mackensey and Mindy at a Christmas performance. This is Mackensey's 3rd year in guitar and she is now using a full size guitar (Makayla is now taking guitar and is using the 3/4 size guitar).

Makayla, Ben and Marianne wait at the Long Term Care Center for Mindy and Mackensey's choir concert. I guess I was too hurried to realize that although all three children we technically smiling, a re-take might have been in order...

In their free time this week (after homework is finished), the children have enjoyed making creations out of playdough. This is actually plummer's putty that we had bought five years ago when installing the shower in our house. The large container of plummer's putty wasn't much more expensive as the smaller one and my dad suggested getting the larger one and the kids could use it for playdough. The good part is that it never dries out (we lost the lid to the container). The children don't mind that it is all the same color. Here Makayla is showing off her masterpiece (and elbowing her brother out of the picture).

Ben and Marianne have their photo opportunity.

Maddy saw Ben in his blue sweatshirt and laughed as she was planning on wearing her blue sweatshirt as well. This picture was taken before Maddy left for Seminary and Ben had just gotten up and dressed. He may not have been as cooperative for a picture with his big sister if he had been more awake. j/k

Family Christmas Picture 2013. Merry Christmas everyone!!!

'Tis the (busy) Season

Mindy and Mackensey have 8 choir/guitar concerts for the month of December. Add Maddy and Mindy's band Christmas concerts as well as church activities and work parties, this will be a busy time of year for our family. Here Mindy performs at the Christian Women's Organization, who helps pay for Choir shirts, etc. This concert was at noon on Wednesday.

Mackensey performed as well. Here she sings "Hip Hop Reindeer".

We went to the Santa Social. Ben sits on Santa's lap.

Makayla and Mindy sat on Santa's lap, but Marianne wouldn't even look at Santa Claus. Luckily the elf had compassion on her and still gave her a Christmas coloring book.

Marianne says "hi".

Ben says "Hi", too. 

Have a great week!

Do not read if you have a weak stomach!

Mindy chose a "kitty litter" cake for her 12 year old birthday on Friday. Luckily we had some tootsie rolls left over from Halloween...

Here is a close up of that picture, showing that we went to Spokane on Friday and Mindy got her ears pierced. All the girls went to watch and then we did some Christmas shopping and went out to lunch. Ben stayed home with Barry and they made Christmas fudge (for Christmas presents for sisters), played the wii, and went to Zips for lunch. This picture also shows that Mindy got her last baby tooth pulled so that her last permanent tooth will come in and she can get braces on sometime next year.

Mindy rode a little kids bike all summer and to cross country practice in the fall, even though she had really outgrown it. She was really excited to get her first big kid bike for her birthday. She was also very excited that it was pink!

The weather didn't cooperate and it snowed on Mindy's birthday, but she rode her bike in the snow. So did her siblings. Speaking of snowing on her birthday. That meant that Maddy drove home from Spokane during that snowstorm. Her first chance of driving in the snow. She did really well. We passed two cars that had slid off the side of the road. We were just taking it very slowly, which wasn't too hard when all the other cars on the highway weren't going faster than 35 mph.

We hosted Thanksgiving dinner at our house this year. Alan and Amber and their 2 children joined us from California and we had a wonderful time.

Lots of food, lots of fun!

We hiked in the forest to cut down our tree. The weather was cold but the Olsen's went on many hikes with us, which always ended in Elaine playing on the swings.

We had a hard time letting Alan and Amber take Elaine and Ethan home. They are adorable children and it was fun to have a baby around to play with. Ben doted on Elaine, which made Marianne incredibly jealous. Elaine would do fist bump with Barry every time she saw him. Every time she saw me she would hold up 2 fingers because one time I asked her, "How ARE you? and she thought I was asking, How OLD are you?" Too cute. For FHE we were playing upset the fruit basket and Amber told Elaine to go to Uncle Barry's seat and when he got up to change seats she followed him instead of Amber. Hopefully she will remember all of us when we see them at the family reunion in August.

The activity days had a daddy daughter dinner dance. Barry went with three dates (it was Mindy's last activity before she turned 12). This is Mackensey and Barry before they left for the church. Now we have two girls in YW, two girls in Activity Days, and in Jan we will have two children in Jr. Primary. My children are growing up.

Have a great week!