Tuesday, November 30, 2010

A little of everything

Boston was a pilgrim in his "Plymouth Plantation play at school. He had one line, "We now live in a new land," and did some running around but that was the extent of it. They practiced for two days after school for 2 hours each time. He was a real trooper. The play was kind of a snoozer if I can be honest but adorable at the same time.


On the same night, Kennedy played the piano for her Jr. high fundraising concert. She has nerves of steal! She did a great job and I was pleasantly surprised at the rest of the talent. Some serious American Idol contestants.

The twins had their friend Price (real name Dean) over to play and see Megamind. If you didn't know any better, you would've thought I had triplets. They all played football across the street.

Here is Jackson with Annica, actually petting a beagle. This is monumental. He has run from teacup Chihuahua's before.

We took the kids out to do a little go karting Friday after Thanksgiving. Kennedy, Meeka and I were to meet the boys after we picked up the pizza. By the time I got on the scene, Jackson announced that "he almost died for the 2nd time!" (The 1st time was this summer when his knees were stuck in the tube, turned upside down) The go kart went ballistic! It accelerated and wouldn't stop and the brakes wouldn't work. Jackson was driving with Leighton in the passenger side, all buckled in. They were spinning in circles and screaming their heads off. Eric had to chase it down and throw his body in front of it. It went up his leg and chewed a hole in his shoe. A major benefit of having some size is that you can stop a moving vehicle.

After the adrenaline wore off, Eric thought maybe he did some damage to his ankle. It's the same one he broke during a football game but I think the plate that's already there saved him.

Don't mind the fuzzy picture. It's the only one I have of Kennedy's rocket she made for science club. She calls it, To Bee or Not to Bee. It received the award for best looking and came in second for height. Grandpa Bateman and her friend Lexi helped her design and engineer it. Thank goodness for Grandpa Bateman and his art skills and endless knowledge of whatever you need to know.

That's the end of our randomness for now.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Giving Thanks

We were blessed to have Byron (Eric's brother) & Amy and their 6 girls, Eric's parents, and Tony (a friend from Eric's work) with us for Thanksgiving dinner. Eric covered all the basics and then some with his gourmet spread. It was delicious and well planned.

I got up at 5:20 this morning for with jog with my friend Nikki and her family. It was a great way to start the day. Eric played in the 2nd annual Turkey Bowl for our ward (he played quarterback?) while the kids and I enjoyed Holiday Outreach at their school. It's a great event where the kids and adults can walk/run the track, baked goods are sold, and donations are made for those in need. It's a wonderful tradition that makes me feel like we really do belong to a community.

As I type this, Eric is watching a football game, Kennedy and her cousin Meeka are cooking, the twins are making a video with my camera, and Boston is passed out in his bed. It doesn't get any better than this!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Our Search

We have a sign in front of our house that says, "For Sale." We are in the process of figuring out what we're going to do with the rest of our life. Nothing much.

We have been talking about all these different places we could imagine our family living and just decided it was time to stop talking about it, and take action. First stop, Denver, CO. We toured the entire Denver region and found a community we loved called Highlands Ranch. Boulder was probably my favorite city but on the expensive side. The above picture was taken outside Pasta Jay's Italian restaurant in Boulder. Matt & Nedra live in Denver so we stayed with them and they joined us for dinner.

We drove North, South, East, and West. The above picture is at Echo Lake in the mountains with a view of the Rockies. Below is a little town called Evergreen.


Echo Lake was already starting to freeze over but the weather was unseasonably warm the two days we were there (70 degrees).

I was channeling my inner chi. Hopefully we are directed to the place we are suppose to be. As of right now, we have a few other places and opportunities to check out but Denver is definitely in the running.

No worries, my local friends. We don't make any decisions quickly or lightly. Odds are, we will be in Vegas for the rest of our lives!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Singing

(This was not a posed picture. Purely natural.)

These three were asked by Brad and Pam to sing for Sean's mission homecoming sacrament meeting and they surprisingly said sure! They did a fabulous job - staying on pitch and even doing a little head-bobbing to I Hope They Call Me on a Mission. They also sang two whole verses of When I Am Baptized.

Before they went up to sing, my mom sent this note down the pew:


And Jackson responded with the above message. I will transcribe his part that may be confusing:
Thank you for coming here. Oh and thanks. I'll enjoy that Sonic snack. Thank you. Mmmm!


I love the part where he told them they were so sweet! Grandpa and Grandma Bateman were also there, with tears streaming down their cheeks. Eric snuck in as well to hear the boys sing and listen to Sean's talk. I must say my heart was full with happiness and thanksgiving.