Church Activities

Mike Archbold, the YM President, warned us mothers not to tell our boys what the combined activity was going to be which was probably wise. When the young men found out that they were going to be learning how to dance and would have to hold hands with the young women -gasp - half the deacons ran out of the gym and had to be rounded up. Despite the rough start, it ended up being such a fun night, with (almost) full participation from the youth. We had a few unhappy looks but most of them picked up quite quickly on all the moves and had no problem swinging their partners around the floor. The pictures are great but the videos are even better; wish I could post those!

Dancing with your sister isn't so bad. Noah was one of the deacons who quickly got over the awkwardness of it all and enjoyed learning the moves.

When the young women outnumber the young men, you do what you got to do!

My little dance partner!

Noah's got some smooth moves!

Even Xander had a fun time...I think...

Another fun activity for February was heart attacking the bishop as well as a few of our less active girls. We had a table set up where we could write fun messages on hearts...

and then a table for writing nice things about each other.

Sweet messages for our bishop!

Quality Time Together

Fun times together! With kids...

and without! Valentine's Day dinner...

flowers...

and a few nights later, a date to see The King and I at the Hippodrome Theater. I was absolutely amazed when David told me right before it started that he had no idea what it was about.

With David out of the town all the time, I'm even getting some quality time with Cleo, whether I want it or not! She joins me in the kitchen each night while I make dinner as well as when I'm loading the dishwasher...

she invades my personal space on the couch...

and we take lovely walks together each day where I get to have deep thoughts about many different things like my seminary lessons, concerns about my kids, and why so many dang people throw their gum on the ground and why my dog insists on picking it up and chewing it? So gross! Oh, and she loves sticks!

Savannah's February

Seminary, school, homework, hangin' with friends, soccer training, church dance, friend's birthday party, YW activities - Savannah is one busy girl and yet we only got two pictures for the month. We actually got some warm weather one of the days and she and Noah sat outside, soaking up the sun and doing homework.

We debated several times about going to see My Fair Lady at the theater because the weather was calling for ice but I'm so glad we decided to brave the elements. Savannah had never seen it before and the last time I saw it was years ago. It was definitely a fun night with my girl and a few friends!

Xander's February

Xander's basketball team, though they're missing several players.

His season continued to be frustrating! Xander did a great job playing almost the entire game each game and they did get a few more wins under their belt. Unfortunately, when they had one of their head cases show up, it was a disaster. Xander, however, just continued to go out there and play hard!

He usually got at least 8-12 points a game, several rebounds, and even a few blocks! It helped that he was usually the tallest on the court.

He has been working hard in scouts and was able to earn his Life. Now, on to Eagle!

Some service shoveling snow...

and some cuddles with Cleo.

We did have a bit of a scare one night with Xander. We had taken the kids out to eat at Noodles and, when we got home, the boys wanted to watch a movie on their own so David and I went upstairs. About 20 minutes later, Noah came running upstairs to let me know that Xander wasn't feeling well. When I came down to see what was up, he complained that his stomach was really hurting. He didn't seem to have a fever so there wasn't much I could do for him. Then, about 10 minutes after that, Noah came up again saying Xander had itchy spots all over his back and arms. I have never seen hives hit a body so quickly. As I started examining him, spots started to appear all over his legs as well. The poor kid was miserable, itching all over. I was so worried that I almost took him in but Uncle Ryan said as long as he wasn't having a hard time breathing and his tongue wasn't swelling up to just give him benadryl and he should be ok. And he did start feeling a bit better...

his swollen ear.

Some spots were still there a couple of days later; it's almost like they stained his skin. Needless to say he hasn't wanted to go back to Noodles.