April 26, 2012

Campaign Season

Campaign season has been in full swing around these parts.  Brigham decided to run for  Student Body Business Manager.  He decided to enlist the help of his cute little siblings to get the girl vote.  They are darling.   He also did a fantastic skit based on the Old Spice Commercial.  It was hilarious and secured his victory.  Congrats Brig!

No one was more surprised than we were when Katry came home and announced that she was going to run for Freshman Class Secretary.  She was in Student Council her 7th grade year- but I know she didn't contribute much.  She was/is very quiet.  We read over the list of requirements- she had to do a skit and then if she made it past that round- she would have to do a speech.  Well that was the clincher- no way was she going to do that.  Nothing was said for another week or two- then once again she came home from school and  announced that she really was going to run.  Of course, we were shocked, but saw that she was determined and so we got to work.  We decided on our slogan- Life is Short!  So am I!  Vote Katry Redd Secretary!  I know it makes no sense- but I guess that is the point.  So we were going to put her next to something tall- like the Statue of Liberty or something like that. Then we got a flash of brilliance and decided to use her good looking big brother on the poster.  It worked like a charm.  All kinds of people came out of the woodwork to tell her how "hot" her brother is.  It definitely got people talking and knowing her name.  
Then we decided to use Brigham in her skit as well.   Since he had just done his Old Spice skit- we used a similar thing and just added Katry into it.  It was perfect!  Everyone loved it.  She made it past round one and had to do the speech on her own.  Brig helped her write the speech- but she had to deliver it all by herself and she NAILED it!   I was a little speechless as I watched my shy little girl up there delivering a flawless, hilarious speech!  The night before I asked her how she was feeling- thinking she would be super nervous- but she looked at me with a big smile on her face and said- Mom, I've got this!  Afterwards we talked about what a great experience it was to have finished something that seemed impossibly hard in the beginning and we agreed that it had been a great experience.  It was so fun to watch her confidence soaring!  
The voting was today and she found out that she had WON!  These two will be representing their school next year in Student Council. We are so excited that they will have this class together.  Their friendship has changed sooooo much this last year as they went from a lot of contention to best friends again.  It has been beautiful to watch and we are THRILLED!

April 14, 2012

Birthday Boy

Cute little Kai has turned 4!  He is sunshine and happiness and pure joy.
Everything he does he finds delight in.  He loves to jump out of the car,  he loves to jump on your back,  he is a regular tigger.  He loves to be happy!  
Kai wanted to go to the Zoo for his birthday.  Here Laini is enjoying the monkey.
And here she is covering her eyes cause she thinks she got too close.
This peacock opened up these beautiful feathers- unfortunately, I didn't get my camera out until he turned to the side.  I don't think I have ever actually seen that with my own eyes before.  So pretty.
This Wallaby has the sweetest little baby bouncing around with him.  Too cute!
Lion tamer!
There is no way that Elaina is putting her head in this lion's mouth to get a drink.  No way!
Kai- however- is happy to show her how it is done!
Conquering Tigers!
Petting Donkeys!
Feeding ducks!
This face and hair just cracked us up!
Birthday Interview with
Kai: age 4
Who is your best friend?  Kaleb
What is your favorite thing to do?  Build puzzles
What is your favorite color?  red
What is your favorite food?  corn dogs-cause they are like light sabers
What do you like to do with your family?  play with them
What is your favorite toy?  the Spiderman one
What do you want to be when you grow up?  I want to stay and play with my family
What makes you happy?  everything- opening his arms up wide to include it all
What makes you sad?  mean talking
What is your favorite show to watch?  Ninjago
What is your Favorite book?  The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear
What do you love to learn about?  animals
What was the best part of your birthday?  opening presents and going to the zoo
Where do you like to go?  hotels
What is your favorite treat?  that's easy to tell, big suckers
What do you think about before falling asleep?  umm my birthday
What is your favorite game?  Oh yea- building puzzles and like flicking puzzle pieces
What is your favorite fruit?  peaches
I wish I could bottle him up!  He reminds us to see the joy in living!
We love you Zeb!


April 11, 2012

Wash N Wear

"One of the great discoveries of parenthood is that we learn far more about what really matters from our children than we ever did from our parents." 
Elder Boyd K Packer



April 09, 2012

Easter Morning

Well it's official.  We actually carried off Easter without a single piece of candy.  It wasn't easy though.  There wasn't a jelly bean trail to follow.  This year they followed plastic eggs.
We had a great egg hunt finding the Resurrection Eggs and reviewing the story of our Savior's sacrifice.
I love this season of hope and renewal.  I love my Savior.
Joy!

April 07, 2012

Easter Egg Lovin'











Ahhhh- the simple pleasures of life!

April 06, 2012

Passover Feast

We were so lucky to have half of my family up here this past weekend.  We kicked the weekend off with a Passover Feast.  I have wanted to participate in one for so long and was thrilled to get to pass that off from my bucket list.  
It was so interesting and amazing to participate in a meal so full of symbolism and meaning.  
Special thanks to my mother for putting it all together and making it possible.
The highlight:  These kiddos singing the plague song. During one portion of the program we would say-
Dayenu- It would have been enough and we are grateful, after a line is read. It is a way of giving praise to God and showing appreciation for all the blessings given us.
Truly- our God has blessed us!

April 01, 2012

Spring Break- Las Vegas

The next stop on our trip was Las Vegas.  We were there for Brig's soccer tournament, which I am sad to say was a great disappointment.  But we were very fortunate to have Brigham's brother Nephi and his beautiful wife Melanie to show us around.  Our first stop was the Tournament of Kings at Excalibur.  It was so much fun.  They feed you a pretty good dinner that you have to eat medieval style without utensils.  You get a whole chicken, two potatoes, a head of broccoli, a biscuit and an apple slab pie.  Oh and they start you out with some Dragon's Blood which is tomato soup.  Some of the kids had no problem tearing into the chicken- others were more .....uh....dainty about it.  We all loved the show which included  jousting and sword fighting.  The king from Norway made Katry's heart go pitter-patter so we snagged a picture with him.  Can you blame her?
Nephi, Melanie and their adorable kids.  Such a sweet family!
We sat in this section- Russia.  Fitting- considering Brigham's ties.  Our king was a bit of a cheater but we cheered him on anyway.  
After the show we took a hike down to the Bellagio for their fountain and light show.  
It was impressive.
Then we went inside for their flower show.  So many beautiful flowers!  
We had also stopped at Ethel M chocolate factory- unfortunately, they weren't producing any chocolate during our visit.  But we got to sample some.
The next day were Brig's soccer games.  The Nephi Redds joined us and we tried to cheer them on to victory but it was to no avail.  After the games we went back to their cute home where they fed us a yummy lunch.  We loved visiting with them!  Thanks so much for giving us a great tour, getting  a great deal on tickets for us,  cheering with us, sharing your pictures and feeding us.  
The Nephi Redd's are the best!
Sunday we visited with family between conference sessions and drove home during them. So thankful for all the hosting- nice places to stay and good food!
It was a great week and we were all sad to get back to business on Monday.