First, Second and Third

This is the first known picture of the these two friends.

This is the second Master's degree for Robert, but definitely the hardest.  In his first Master's degree he didn't have to write a thesis.  For this one he had to do 86 credit hours and write an entire book- over 90 pages.  This was the happiest day of his life from the last 3 years!

Congratulations to Rob on his Master's in Nuclear Engineering!

Rocket science is for those who dropped out of Nuclear Engineering!

This was our third and final Easter egg hunt with our Ohio Family!

Only Joseph and Max were able to participate this time, 

although Emma filled and hid the eggs with the rest of the young women.

Both Joseph and Max were in the last group to find eggs, too- the Senior Primary!

Say WHAT?  

Our little family is certainly growing up!

BTW- all of these pictures (except the graduation photos) were taken on Manual- I'm getting better!

Personal Progress x2

Yesterday they held a ceremony to celebrate 3 people getting their Personal Progress award.  Two of those people live in the same household.  See if you can guess who they are.

The story of the video mishap and why Sam hates it, to come!

Buck up Little Camper

I hate February!  Can't stand it!  It's the most miserable time of the year.  I hung on this year, but those last 4 days of February took forever.  I finally made it- March!  I thought we were home free and then on the 6th of March- 6 days in, mind you, it snows!

Ah well, it was  pretty

and the kids got a snow day

- which was nice!  I actually don't mind winter, if I can be lazy and sit by a nice roaring fire and read a book and eat fattening food.  Unfortunately, life plods along, except on Snow Days- which is why I love them!  If it's going to be cold and miserable- at least let it snow enough to have a snow day once a week, right?!

During February and March, we did keep busy.  We tried out a couple new recipes.  Max "the Joker!" enjoyed a berry smoothie. 

We had a fabulous night at "My Sister's Closet" put on by the Mia Maids.

This is where the women in the ward donated clothes, jewelry, make-up and body care things and then the Mia maids put it all out to look like a boutique.  They gave each of the girls a cute reusable shopping bag and let them shop in groups.  They had two rooms set up like fitting rooms and a room with treats.  Very well done!

Max got to come,

because Dad was finishing up his 3rd and finally rewrite of his Thesis.  Dad is getting his signatures now- Yeah Dad!

Sam tried to build the biggest snowman ever,

until I told him that the tallest one was over 122 feet!

I made silhouette using photoshop. 

I love on-line tutorials!

We had New Beginnings.  These are all my Laurels!

Now I am practicing with a friend to take better pictures and someone else has agreed to help me learn to make yummy cake!  I also have gotten rid of a whole truck load of stuff and that was just the downstairs.  I still have to do the main level and our bedrooms.

  Luckily, I have moved on from slogging through winter to full on panic mode!  Our unaccompanied baggage guys come in 3 weeks!  Ahhhh!

The Story of Sam

Robert came home the other day when the kids had a snow day and both of us had to work.  He came to take the kids out to lunch.  He found Sam throwing a lego guy repeatedly, trying to hit a lego basket that was hung from Emma's sweet 16 balloon (we have found balloons that stay up for months!)  He asked him what he was doing.  Sam said, "I'm trying to get the lego guy into the basket to weigh the balloon down, so that it comes down to the ground."  

See, originally the balloons are so full of air, that the boys build lego baskets and put all kinds of lego men with guns and cannons and things in there.  Then we send the balloon riding the air waves around the house for protection.  Little by little we strip the men of their weapons and then the basket of it's men to keep the balloon aloft.  We are down to just the basket now with Em's balloon.

The balloon was at the top of our 2 story ceiling in the foyer at this particular time. 

Sam was trying to throw the guy up that high, through the ribbon that held it on and into the basket.  Rob told him that it was a 1-1000 shot, but Sam insisted that he had already done it once.  Rob didn't believe it and said, "I'll bet you $300 you can't get that shot."  All the boys decided they would throw for that bet.  An hour later the other boys quit (Joseph was even crying.  He wanted to buy his own computer so bad!)  But Sam kept it up for quite awhile.  When Rob got home from work he found a note and a picture to prove that Sam had actually done it.  The note said, "I did it!  Now where's my $300!"

I shook my head when I heard the story!  Didn't my silly husband know who he was talking to?  Sam has always been the most  stubborn boy I've met.  He started walking at 9 months.  By the time he was 1 1/2 he would turn off the buttons on the TV to make us mad.  Yelling didn't deter him.  Slapping his hand didn't deter him.  He would look at us and cry, because he knew he was going to get his hand slapped, but he would still reach out and push the button.  He was potty trained in a day.  When I was teaching him to tie his shoe he kept trying over and over and over until he was crying.  I had to force him to take a break!  Remember the shorts and winter war?  This kid is beyond stubborn!  He keeps telling us that one day he wants to be a fighter pilot and I have no doubt that he continues to have that dream he will one day be a fighter pilot!

Now if I can just get that stubbornness to work with how he looks and smells (boys!)  These are his school things. 

Yeah, that's not the opening to his bag, that's a tear all the way down the side!

He tells me that neither of them need to be changed.  I wonder if either will make it all the way through the year! (10 weeks and counting.)