My Vunny Vaudeville Valentine

To the right, Olivia does a "construction site" sketch. Above, Olivia's friend, Mary Kate, (on the right) as the lead role in "My Friend Irma." To the left, Matt was coerced into being a birdie in a tree during one of the plays.


To the right, Olivia plays her role as "July" in "My Friend, Irma."

This play was the culmination of a 5 week acting class that Olivia took in January and February. Olivia really enjoyed taking the class. I think the best part was that her friend, Mary Kate, was in the class. Olivia and
Mary Kate are two peas in a pod.

The cake I made for Claire

I made a Spongebob and Patrick cake for
our friend, Claire. She turned 8 on January 6th.
This was a really fun cake to make.

Olivia's 12th Birthday!

Olivia and I with the cake that I made for her.

Nicholas, Garrett, Tyler, Hayley, Claire, Mary Kate, Olivia, and Jordyn.



Olivia is blowing out her candles. I wonder what she wished for? It has been a wonderful 12 years. It is hard to believe that she is only one year away from being a teenager. She is so sweet and such a blessing to our family.

Olivia and her friends are playing her new Wii Fit game. It is a lot of fun and quite a bit more challenging than a person would imagine.

Garrett's First Day of School

So, after 7 1/2 years of homeschooling, we have had a major change in our family. I had been thinking about homeschooling through high school and not being exactly sure whether I felt capable, or even, at this point, had the desire to. I checked in to a local charter school. Still wanting the best for Garrett, I took a 3 hour tour of The Academy, a highly recommended charter school in Pocatello. I was very impressed by what I saw. That night, I told Matt all about it. The kids overheard us talking about it, so we filled them in. The next day, I turned in an application for the "lottery" in March. On Friday, the principal (a Christian who attends our church) called and said that they had an opening for the 7th grade and if Garrett were to join the following week, he wouldn't have to go through the lottery in March. He would just be a shoe in for the 8th grade next year. So, that was our last day of homeschooling, Garrett. Olivia is still at home and we will keep her here for a while. Anyway, Garrett is doing really well. He really enjoys his new friends and is readily accepting the challenges of his new classes. I am so thankful for the way that God just fit the puzzle pieces so nicely together for this transition in our lives. God is so good.

Trip to Dallas, TX

A real mall. A huge house! The new Cowboys Stadium.











The box in the upper right hand window of this brick building shows where Oswald was when he shot President Kennedy. The grassy area is the "grassy knoll" in front of the road that Kennedy's motorcade was driving on when he was shot. The far right photo is of The Texas Rangers stadium. It is HUGE! Everything really is bigger in Texas.











This is the Texas Roughriders stadium. It is a minor league team and has a HUGE stadium. To the right is a sculpture of sorts, of 100s of Texas longhorn cattle being herded through the center of downtown Dallas.













This is me and Amber in front of one of the cowboys that was herding the cattle. The picture on the right is me and my Aunt Doylene. We had a great evening visiting with her and Uncle Bob.

Amber treated me to this trip. It was a nice time visiting with her and getting to see where she lives and works.

Amber and I in front of the "cattle herding" statues.