The Whitelaws

Jenna is 11.5 today! This is her 6th grade picture. She weighs 86.2 lbs and is 56 15/16 inches tall. That's about 6 lbs and 1.5 inch growth since turning 11. Her favorite color is still green (since age 2.5). She still loves to read (especially in bed at night with a flashlight) and her favorite school subject is history. Her favorite book is still The One and Only Ivan. She loves playing with her cousins and with Kellen. She's becoming quite accomplished on the piano and enjoys trying to play by ear some of her favorite songs.
She still loves Scruffy and likes to celebrate his birthday - November 5th.

Today, instead of taking birthday treats sometime in May (school is always out on her actual birthday), she decided to bring treats for her half-birthday. Blueberry muffins - of course!
This is her art work for her quilt block this year. She still loves all animals and is thinking about being a vet when she grows up. She loves God, is kind, funny, a friend to all. She's becoming more thoughtful and responsible as well. Although we do still find her socks all over! Happy half-birthday, Jenna! We love you!

Friday, November 16th - Early Thanksgiving feast in 2nd grade. They made "thankful" pumpkins, just like Jenna did in 2nd grade. It was a fun time!
Friday evening, we went to the TCA High School production of The Little Mermaid. It was very impressive! Kellen loved Flounder and wanted his picture with him.

Saturday, November 17th - Mima, Heather, Grant, Jenna, Kellen, and I enjoyed the Pine Creek Craft Fair and then I went to work 7pm-11pm.

Sunday, November 18th - Jenna and Madilyn spent the night with Mima for their Sew Fun weekend. Their new project is a poncho.

Monday, November 19th - I had to take a class for a work requirement. At home, Papa and Kevin installed new sinks in our master bathroom (the old ones had started to rust around the drain.

Tuesday, November 20th - We went to see The Grinch with friends from school/church.
Wednesday, November 21st -  The four of us drove up to explore the Morrison Natural History Museum and Dinosaur Ridge.

The first Stegosaurus was discovered in Morrison, Colorado in 1877. The latest fossil that they've been working on they have named "Kevin."

The bus tour of Dinosaur Ridge was pretty fun - tons of dinosaur footprints on this hill.
The darker, smooth areas of this rock are dinosaur bones.

Friday, November 23rd - Papa and Mima watched the kids while Kevin and I went to shop for one Black Friday deal for Kellen's birthday. Then we enjoyed some games together.
Friday evening - we decorated the tree and the house for Christmas.

Saturday, November 24th - Jenna and Madilyn had a playdate. Vet Clinic!

They had a busy day with lots of appointments! I asked Jenna how the clinic day went and she said, "Well, we had to put down a Dalmatian." Even with that, it was probably a better time than the rest of us had watching Michigan lose terribly to Ohio State.

Sunday, November 25th - I worked 7am-7pm. Kevin and the kids went to church and then came to the hospital to have lunch with me.

We had a great, mostly restful break. So much to be thankful for!

Monday, November 12th - We woke up to a Snow Day! It had snowed quite a bit the day before and we knew before going to bed that there would be a 2-hour delay, but to our pleasant surprise, we got an entire day! The kids were super excited after not having any snow days last school year.

We mostly just relaxed, read books, etc. Kellen asked a neighbor friend to come play. And then Jenna wanted to have a snow ball fight with Kevin, so Kellen and his friend joined them.


After dinner, we took them to get a free Frosty (Halloween gifts from Grandpa and Grandma). Then we enjoyed an episode of Little House on the Prairie together. Plus a facetime call from Uncle David, Aunt Katie, and Owen. It was a pretty great snow day!

They had a great time re-enacting the Battle of Cannae.

It's so great to have a K-12 school at one campus. The 12th grade Latin students came out (on their day off) and led the classes in battle strategy.
They even incorporated an elephant - which was historically accurate and also hilarious.
After the battle, the class came in and split into four groups to act out some Greek tragedies. And then they feasted on Greek food. It was a fun day!