Happy Birthday Gina!

Gina Mary

December 18, 1992

11:48 AM Central

6lb. 3oz. 19.5" long

Children's/United Hosp.

St. Paul, Minnesota

17 years ago today we welcomed our first child to our family. She was 3 weeks early & just couldn't wait to be here with us on earth. She has been off and running ever since! We should have known that her early arrival was a clue to her personality & energy level!

MMMM...Slushie...she would live on these if she could!

Gina is amazing! She loves all things music & can pretty much play any instrument. She started with the upright bass in orchestra, then added percussion & piano. This year she was on the snare line for marching band & is now the center snare for winter drum line & next years marching band. She is the first girl center snare at Salem Hills High School...a goal she wanted to reach for her senior year but got it early!

Gina is a fun kid with crazy ideas & keeps us on her toes. She is so thoughtful & kind to everyone. Gina is good to help with her siblings & with house hold chores. She loves her friends & puts aside her problems to help them through theirs. It has been said that she is the "Coolest Girl" at Salem Hills...not just by the students but teachers too! We have to agree with that. All of thee things make her beautiful inside to match her outer beauty that is obvious to all.

Thanks Gina for being a part of our family...we love you!

Beautiful Girl...but still WAY cool!

Sledding in plastic bags...guess we "forgot" to tell her it ISN'T a good idea to put bags over your head!

We're back to posting

It's been a while...to say the least...but we are back to posting.

So why have we been absent? COMPLETE chaos is about the only way to describe it. With the kids getting older, it's harder to find the time to sit down and compose just what is going on.

Gina is a Junior in high school now & is still involved with all things music. Marching band, jazz band, percussion ensemble, winter drum line & pep band. Plus she has been playing at other various music things. She achieved her goal of being Salem's first female center snare early! She aimed for the marching band season of her senior year but got it for winter drum line this year. WTG kid! For those of you who don't know what this position is: she is the one who sets the beat for the band & leads the drum line...aka the #1 position in the percussion.

Mike is a "freshman" now but as Nebo school district keeps the 9th graders at the junior high that is why it's in quotes. He joined the marching band this year and played the bass drum. Now he is also in the winter drum line playing the quints (tenors). In the high school pep band he is playing the sax instead of drums! He has started making hemp bracelets and has made some cool designs by adding in colored hemp. He sells them for a dollar a piece to his friends. Not sure if he is making money but he is having fun!

Izzy is now in the 7th grade & is FINALLY at the junior high! She has managed to grow a bunch and catch up to Gina & Mike. We know he will pass up Gina soon. She is still playing the violin & finished book 1 last winter. She is about half way through book 2 of The Suzuki method. She plays beautifully and we love hearing her play. She also started band & is in the percussion section...go figure! Because the high school isn't competing for winter drum line this year the 7th & 8th graders were invited to join. She is in the bass drum line & has managed to wrangle herself a position in the high school pep band! She was also called to be the beehive class president at church this fall & is doing a great job!

Gabe is the only kid in the elementary school & rules the school in the 6th grade. He is still playing the piano. He has mastered the moon walk and is obsessed with Michael Jackson...for Halloween that is who he dressed up as. Some girl dressed up as HIM for Halloween...complete with the red hat he always wears!

Laney is 4 now & is a hand full! She cut her hair twice this year...once on Mothers Day & then the night before the Primary program. Last week her hair was finally long enough to get it fixed at the salon & it looks cute now.

Isaac is 2 and a half & ALL boy! He always has cars in hand & loves following Gabe & Mike around. He is a happy little guy most of the time & can say "Oh nooooooo" just like Mr. Bill from SNL

It's good to be back & we hope to be more vigilant with our posts!

Plain White T's

It's a new week and a new band. Hopefully the happy music of the Plain White T's will inspire the weather to stay nice! We got SPOILED this weekend with weather in the high 50's & low 60's that The Plain White T's just fits! Their newest album "Big Bad World" is full of great songs that have you singing along...just like their previous albums. Trust us...it's addicting! Sit back, relax & enjoy the music...

Muse

So, it's a Monday, the weather is bleak & Muse just matches today. Not that they are bleak...just dramatic. Once we tried to define their music & came up with dramatic-emo-rock...or in better words today's version of Queen! While their music is hard to define it is fun to listen to & their musicianship is hard to match. So sit back, relax & enjoy...

The Goings on...

Why is it the months of January & February are so slow? Is it because we are in such a rush with the holidays in November & December that they just seem slower? Is it the fact that it's too cold to go out & do anything? Are we burnt out from the past year? Could it be that everyone gets colds this time of year & is so stinkin' miserable they just hang out on the couch? Or is there just nothing going on? We are thinking it is a combo of all of the above at our house.

Where we haven't been up to much, we have been too busy to blog & update. Hmmm...does that even make sense? Mathew has been dealing with the sickness while MJ has been working MANY hours for overtime. Gina has been bogged down with pep band & drum line. Mike became an EBay junkie & now has every kind of Rubik's cube out there. Izzy has finished the 1st Suzuki Book for violin. Gabe has been grounded more than not. Laney & Isaac have been ruling the roost & taking over! Everyone got the "winter cold"...except from MJ, she just lost her voice & somehow found Kathleen Turners voice for a week until hers returned...not sure where Kathleen Turners voice went.

Now that the sickness has left & the weather is warming up (can you say 50 degrees expected this weekend?!) we are busy with new adventures: Mathew is grouting the kitchen floor :) MJ has cut back on the overtime...she is SO burnt out. Gina has discovered she can graduate a semester early but isn't exactly sure what she will do & is getting ready for marching band starting soon. Mike is having Jazz Band Ensemble competitions. Izzy has dropped the cello...not literally...& is starting Suzuki book 2 in Violin & preparing for festival. Gabe is starting his science fair project. Laney & Isaac have completely taken over & now dictate all that goes on between the hours of 8AM & 3PM.

That is it for now folks. Hope to blog a bit more now but we are making NO promises! Spring brake is coming up & we will be doing some remodeling in the basement & soon it will be time to start taking the mini vacations we have been planning. Until next time...

This weeks answer is...

Mathew! Mathew loves spy/action/adventure type movies but his all time favorite is "The Saint". He always hoped that they would make a sequel to it but too much time has passed by now. He likes how Val Kilmer's character changes who he is so easily & dupes so many people...maybe he has always had a secret desire to do the same? Bonus is Elizabeth Shue is "hot" in that movie. So if you ever wonder just what to get Mathew for his Birthday or Christmas? Get "The Saint"! We still have it on video (no DVD's when it came out...yes it is THAT old!) & amazingly it is in good shape! It's a good movie to revisit & enjoy again.

How the "Cowboys" hunt

Every year Mathew goes Elk Hunting up on the property of good friends. For the first time they used the horses instead of snowmobiles. He had a great time & enjoyed getting back up onto a horse after a few too many years...he was a little sore ;) He looks pretty good as a "Cowboy", don't ya think? Of course now the kids want to go riding...they are going to HAVE to wait until it gets warm though!