Cub Scouts

Wow. I am behind several posts. Tyler is Cub Master in our ward, and the boys have had some really fun activities the past couple of months. This month the theme is "Spring Into Action", so the cubs have been doing a lot of service to earn their "Community Service" ribbon for their Year of Celebration patches.  The whole month has been a huge success ... Aaron helped clean the church (which I have no pictures of), participated in this "clear a neighbor's yard of rocks" service project, and he helped get our whole garden weeded (pictures posted later, I guess) to earn his ribbon (which he'll receive next week). I'm SO proud of him!

Here is the Ty-man and his awesome PACK (missing several)!!


We live in the best area. Such a fabulous group of boys!

Krystal had to get in on the action, of course.

I loved this picture!! Aaron went to scoop up some rocks, and the top of his shovel fell right off. Chandler (the boy with the "Holy Cow!" look) totally made this face when it happened. I laughed so hard ... and then made them "re-do" it for a picture. :) This ward has such amazing support. We have THE best den leaders in the world!


Leave it to the cub scouts to find the biggest rock EV.ER. They had to take turns digging it out the whole hour we were there. Here they all are trying to pull that thing out of the ground.



Noooooowwwwwww ... here are some pictures of LAST month's pack meeting: Paper Airplane Derby. Aaron had a blast!  I think all the boys did. It was a very stressful and chaotic evening for Tyler and I, though. SO CRAZY!!!!

The Wolves were in charge of the flag ceremony, and it was really, REALLY special to watch my Aar-Bear participate.He did such a good job!


All the cub scouts had to fold their OWN paper airplane to compete in the derby ... kids under 8 could participate with their parents help.


Here is Aaron's completed Airplane. He worked all month perfecting a cool plane that Tyler taught him. In fact, his 2nd grade teacher told me that there was a handful of 2nd graders that taught all the kids in their classes how to fold paper airplanes during recess --- and the teachers eventually had to ban paper airplanes from school because they were everywhere.  haha! ANYWAY - after working all month on one model, his Aunt Tina came to hang out the day of the derby and taught him a WAY cooler model. So - he decided to wing it with that one.  :) He tied for 2nd or 3rd place (I can't remember now) - and, even though he didn't win the tie-breaker, it was obviously effective. Didn't he do a good job folding that
do you approve Teener?)


I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of the coolest part, the obstacle course with hanging hula hoops. DUH!! But, here is Aaron competing in the Accuracy test and in the Distance test. He did awesome. I love the faces on all the boys ... pure focus.


Aaron earned his Bobcat this night too. Good job bud!!


This cub scout business is really growing on us.

And presenting ...

Just thought I'd share my excitement.  This is our ranking in the grant as of tonight!!  It's gonna be tight ... but do-able, I think.  ??   :)

ACTD

Signs of Spring .... maybe?

We have all just LOVED the awesome spring weather this past week.  Here is a picture of our VERY first flower that bloomed.  It would open up SO big during the day and close up at night.  I never realized flowers did that, so me and the kids thought it was the coolest thing EV.ER!  I love them. Wish we had a thousand more.  But, little by little we'll get there.

It's only been 2 weeks of grass stained pants and I am SO DONE!!  It's gonna be shorts every day if this keeps up.  But, at least I'm not alone as a Mom.  All of Aaron's friends seem to sport the green kneebies as well.  :)  Another sign of spring:  Rocks, rocks, and more rocks.  My kids just canNOT get enough of rocks.  WEIRD!!

Oh ... and don't forget dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt ... pretty much never ending dirt.  And then it multiplies by 10,000 come Summer.  :D!

I LOVE pretty spring colors and clothes ... and yummy, sweet, (and cheap -- very noteworthy) strawberries!

Playing outside until dark (even when the work's not done ... Spring has to be in full force before THAT starts getting reinforced ... haha)!  Scooters, bikes, skateboards, sidewalk chalk, hula hoops and stuff taking over the garage ... and the beginning of outdoor scuffs and scratches.

Krystal's tulips (we each chose 10 bulbs and planted them all together, but - ya know - it's Krystal - they're hers.)  The first flower started to show right on her birthday.  She was beyond thrilled.  Look at 'em now!  

She earned 5 toys from the dollar store for sleeping in her own bed all night 10 times (she's 5 -- it's time - hahaha) ... and picked flower seeds for one of her prizes.  :)  So ... we'll see how those turn out.

And now today is rainy, windy, cold and gray.  But - we needed a day inside anyway ... well, Marissa went shopping with a friend :).  And Aaron has a big animal project he's working on ... life just seems to continue full force.  Happy Spring everyone!

Update on the grant:  We're still at 23, but feel REEEEEALLY close to 22.  We need to be in the top 10 in 10 days.  Yikes.  So, keep voting like crazy!  Thanks for the help! 

www.refresheverything.com/adolescentcenterfortalentdevelopment 

Build-A-Bear

Krystal used the money Gma and Gpa Jenson gave her for her birthday to take a trip to Build-A-Bear.  It is the cutest experience ever!

Here she is stuffing the bear she chose:

Choosing a special heart, making a special wish, and placing it with love in her bear:  :)

  

Get her bear nice and fluffed.  This was her favorite part!

Choose princess clothes and name her bear Jessie.

Thanks Grover and DeAnn!  She had a great day!  It was so good for her to get out after being stuck inside with strep for a few days.  Made her week!

Click HERE to vote for the grant.  THANKS!!

Pop-u-lar

We WANNA be pop-u-uh-lar!!  :)  So here is the newspaper article that was published for ACTD - Ty's dream.  Don't forget to keep voting at www.refresheverything.com/adolescentcenterfortalentdevelopment !!  We've been stuck at 27 ALL day.  So frustrating.  But, we're still hopeful!  Thanks so much everyone for all the help.  Every vote makes a difference -- and popular vote wins!

And ... if that doesn't make us popular ... maybe this will!!  Check out this "THING" we had to get to change ONE lightbulb.  hahahaha!  We have one lightbulb in the ceiling above our stairs that is seriously impossible to get to.  Aaaaaaand - after living here over 2 years - it finally burned out.  Anyway -- it's a pretty nifty light changing pole, and it reaches like 15 feet or something.  If you are in need ... do NOT pull out those ladders (that didn't reach this light anyway) ... just give us a call!  :)! 

Here's to the woes of popularity!  haha!

Oh What A Feeling!!

1.  Krystal turned FIVE YEARS OLD today!  Feeling:  bittersweet

We love our pretty pretty princess Krystal.  She is very friendly, super girly, precocious, analytical, and giggly.  A week or so ago, Tyler was putting her to bed while I got ready for bed.  He sang her a song, helped her say prayers, and kissed her goodnight.  She then begged him to stay with her "just a little longer."  Tyler told her, "no, honey ... I need to help Mom with some things."  Krystal said, "DAD.  Mom is taking out her contacts.  Do you really need to help her do that?  Take out her contacts?"  Tyler fumbled around for words and then said (more honestly), "but, I'm missing the basketball game, Krystal."  Krystal said, "DAD.  Your basketball game is on pause.  You DVRed it, remember?"  Tyler chuckled and said, "Yeah.  Okay.  But, I want to get back and watch right now."  Krystal giggled and said, "Are you trying to trick me Daddy?"  :D!  We can get VERY little past this one.

2.  Aaron got BAPTIZED this weekend.  Feeling:  A.MAZ.ING.

The Spirit was so strong at this baptism.  Aaron had the biggest smile on his face the whole day.  It was so special.  He was baptized with 2 of his great friends:  Jacob and Isaac.  Everyone kept pointing out how cool it was to have Aaron, Isaac, and Jacob (all Bible names) baptized together.  This day will be a day we will always remember.

3.  Tyler was interviewed by the Spanish Fork Press.  Feeling:  Excited!

For those of you that have been voting for ACTD on the Pepsi Grant website, thank you so much!!  We are down to number 30!  Keep up the good work!  www.refresheverything.com/adolescentcenterfortalentdevelopment

The Spanish Fork Press will be posting a story in the SF newspaper, Mt. Nebo register,  and online with the Daily Herald on Thursday!!!!!  The reporter was very impressed with the program Ty and Jers are promoting for Utah Valley and wants us to get the grant.  Oh man!  We are feeling so blessed.  If you want more info about ACTD - call me or Ty and we'd be happy to share ... we also have a lot of the info right on the Pepsi Grant website.  We'll  be posting a link to the article that is being published on Thursday.  Hooray!

46!! and Krystal's Teeth

Yep!  46 is our newest best friend!  That is what we are ranked in the Pepsi Grant competition for Tyler's company.  We are SO excited!  Keep voting every day.  Each e-mail is counted as a vote, so vote with all your e-mail addresses.  www.refresheverything.com/adolescentcenterfortalentdevelopment  Every vote counts!!  Thanks so much everyone for the support.

Krystal lost a tooth!  Really, she's ALMOST five years old -- so it's officially not toooooo early.  But, it was a tooth that kept getting bumped.  For those of you that know her well - you know how much she falls EVERY minute (although, she usually falls quite gracefully :))  She first bruised that tooth at age 2, and quite honestly -- I'm glad it's gone.  Nothin' prettier than a discolored tooth!  The first picture below is so funny!  I was trying to get a picture of Krystal with her new gap, and we were both laughing so hard at the results.  Aaaaand - the tooth fairy made it (only ONE night late!  woot! woot!), and Krystal couldn't be happier with her dollar bill.  Dentist appointments next week ... hopefully a tooth gone this early isn't a big deal.

I think Spring has FINALLY sprung!!  It is just so happy-making!  I can hardly notice that Krystal is getting another cold.  ;) lol.

Bon Appetit

Ok - first off - if you have been voting for ACTD on http://www.refresheverything.com/adolescentcenterfortalentdevelopment - THANK YOU!!!  I have been in awe watching our rank move from 85 to 58 in FOUR days!  :D!  Please don't stop voting!  It's going to get harder and harder to get into the top 10.  We've got to BE in the top 10 to receive the grant - so, keep voting!  And tell your friends too!  It seriously takes less than a minute.  Sure appreciate the support all!

Marissa has been working on a Personal Progress Goal to cook 10 meals for our family.  Here are some pictures of her VERY first meal!  She made Hawaiin chicken with rice and chopped veggies AND cornbread.  It was so fantastic.  Thanks Lacie for the yummy recipe.  :)  She kinda needs to get on the ball, because she made this meal about a month ago and has yet to make us another.  ;)!

She DID make us Orange Julius a little while back and it was fabulous!

I am about to keel over every time I think about Marissa turning 13!!!!!  next month.  Holy cow!  She is such a good kid.  We sure love her over here!