Mikaylas 6th grade Graduation

Mikayla has mixed emotions about leaving elementary school. Of course I have mixed emotions too. I can't believe my little Mikayla is going to middle school.


She was excited about her 6th grade promotion night. We curled her hair all cute, and headed off to her graduation. I was able to sit really close to her, which was a good thing. The poor girl had to sit in the middle of about 8 annoying boys. This would be a dream for Kylee...not so much for Mikayla. So we spent the night making faces at each other and quietly making fun of the boys.

The program went really fast, considering how many kids are in the school, and Mikayla posed for this cute picture. Take your pick, they're both cute.

After the graduation, I had to go to a youth activity, and then a meeting, but when I got home around 10 o'clock, Sadie, Mikayla and me went to get ice cream at McDonalds (Arctic Circle closes at 10). Mikayla has become an amazing girl, she is a magnet for younger kids and is always willing to spend her time with them. At every family party, she helps her little cousins paint, or decorate cookies, she just loves to play with them. Mikayla has amazing skills with a sewing machine, and makes the best chocolate chip cookies of anyone in the family. She's always asking what she can do to help me around the house, and helps me make dinner most nights. She just has a sweet caring personality. Best of all, she has a very contagious laugh.

Seminary Graduation

Thank goodness for Seminary. Thanks goodness for great Seminary teachers. Thank goodness they let you make up unexcused absences...otherwise Kyles 4 year certificate would have only been for 1 year. I am so glad that Kyle graduated with a 4 year certificate from Seminary. Even though he had several days to make up, the last several month have made a difference in Kyles life. He would come home from school every day and tell me all what he had studied. He really became dedicated to studying the scriptures and Preach my Gospel. He has changed, and I'm proud of him. I'm grateful that Kyle has had the opportunity to go with the missionaries on splits, and for the leaders he has had during this time in his life.

I'm so glad that both of Kyles families could make his Seminary Graduation. It meant a lot to him to have everyone there.

And his grandparents too. I'm grateful for all the love and support Kyle has always had in his life. We love you Kyle and we're very proud of all that you have accomplished.

Kyles Eagle Project

Finally Kyle became inspired to take on an Eagle Project. I think the actual project has changed 4 or 5 times, so when Kyle actually started this project, I was thrilled. For Kyles Eagle project, he took the cub scouts pinewood derby track and sanded it, stained it, sealed it, and collected money to buy a timer (which means no more angry parents, hopefully).

Our Young Men are really incredible, Kyle had 8 of them show up to help him sand and put on the first coat of stain. They worked together really well and got the beginning part of this project done in just a couple hours. The boys were rewarded with 5 pizzas, 4 2 liters of soda and numerous sugar cookies. I love that you can pay boys with food.

I don't have a finished picture yet, but I'll post it when I do. The track is still sitting in my dining room, so my dining room has been moved into my front room. I told Kyle he's lucky I love him that much. It's not every day I'd put up with losing 2 rooms in my house for almost a week. With all the help from these boys, we were able to finish off the project on Monday night, all that we have left is to order the timer. Thanks to everyone that has already donated, and all those that have volunteered their time to help Kyle with his project.

Sadies 5k

I know it's been forever since I've blogged, I've been busy and blogging was the last thing on my mind. Let me start off by filling you in on Sadies 7th grade year...Sadie is a fantastic student, she works on homework for several hours every night and weekend. She has had a 4.0 every quarter this year, and she jumps at any extra credit opportunity...hence the 5k.

The school encourages the kids to run the 5k because it is a fundraiser. They encourage them with promises of extra credit, and in P.E. if they run the 5k the students don't have to take the final test. Remember those terrible tests about soccer, volleyball, basketball, baseball, etc...Sadie decided she would rather run a 5k than take that test, plus "what if she has a class where her grade drops to a 95%?" *GASP* Seriously, who is this child???

So the morning of the 5k Sadie and I woke up very early, I had a Stake YW Presidency training for all the wards, so I was ridiculously overdressed to be at an early morning race. Sadie was nervous because she has only had to run the mile for Aerobics and P.E. Her best mile was 7.47 minutes. We were guessing she would be done with the race in around 40 minutes. Bret came down to the school after the kids took off and we ran a few quick errands. I was nervous because I didn't want to miss Sadie crossing the finish line. We got back to the school about 30 minutes later, and 2 minutes after that...Sadie came across the finish line.

Bret was so surprised. Her first 5k and she finished in 32 minutes. While Bret was hugging Sadie he actually got emotional (not unusual for Bret) and I got this totally cute picture.

Sadie had a lot of friends from the ward who actually ran the race too. They all did a great job. And for those of you that are wondering, to Sadies horror...she actually got a 95%, it was still an "A", but she's talking to the teacher about it anyway. No way could she have gotten a 95% in P.E.!!! Seriously, who is this child??