Arches and Pioneers

We had a great Saturday last week in Arches National Park.  It was a beautiful day and beautiful scenery.

Jeff and the kids at Balanced Rock.

Amanda keeping Collin from falling over.

Proof that we were there.

Underneath Delicate Arch--the unofficial emblem of Utah

Amelia also had a "Wax Museum" program at her school last week.  Amelia was Eliza R Snow (and she makes a cute pioneer young woman).

Teeth and Cousins

Collin has been teething the past couple of weeks.  Well, it never really ends until all the teeth are in, right?  Anyway, his molars have come in on the right side, but the left side is still working it's way through.  The past two nights he has been sleeping better.  Yeah!
Kelly has been visiting this past week which has been a lot of fun.  Sophie and Ava keep busy playing with Ross and Collin during the day.  Yesterday, we (Shauna, Brydger, Ayden, Kelly, Sophie, Ava, Kim and Naaman) went to the girls school for lunch and the book fair.  It was definitely a little crazy, but fun.
We are all looking forward to Spring and riding our bikes to school.  I'm also dying to get out and start running.  I'm hoping to do another half marathon towards the end of the year!  We'll see.
Amelia gets to participate in the School Spelling Bee this coming Tuesday.  I think she is excited, and we hope she does well.
The biggest news is that Liz had her baby yesterday at about 6:01 pm.  Ethan Cade Parker, was 8 lbs. 3 oz. and 21 1/2 inches long.  We are excited to meet the 31st grandbaby!

Back In The Saddle Again

It has been so long since I have posted.  I actually started a FB account and I rarely post anything there--I really don't feel I have anything to say on there.  But, I miss doing our blog because it really has been my journal writing for the last year.  Our family has renewed its efforts to write in our journals.  I'm going to start blogging again.  It is mostly for myself!

HARRY POTTER!

We feel very blessed that my parents have let us live in their home these past few months.  We know we will be here awhile longer while Jeff goes back to school.  He will be starting this summer so that we can save up a little money before then.  Hopefully he doesn't need anymore root canals before then!

Collin questioning why dad brought him out in the cold!

Amelia and her new exercise shirt

Santa finally brought Claire an AG Doll 

Looking spiffy in his new jacket AND Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle PJ pants!

Zady taking a breather in the snow

I want to include some pics from the past few months.  All the holidays were great--being able to celebrate with family!

Cha-Cha-Cha-Changes!

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit out west this past month.  It was great to be with family and the girls also had the experience of Suzuki Camp, again.  It always helps to motivate us to practice better!

Cousins at BYU

Coming home to Indiana was bitter-sweet.  It was hard to leave all the family.  And it was definitely a drawn out process.  First we said goodbye to Jeff's family, then to my sister Jessica, then Liz, then Ben.  Anyway, I wonder if we should all leave at the same time next time--You know, like ripping off a band aid!  Just get it over with.

Battle Creek Falls

Well, we are happy to be back at our house and to get started on some more of our projects.  Unfortunately, Jeff has also been trying to get certified in Elementary Music and looking for another job, in case he couldn't get certified.  As things have progressed, we have decided that the job here is not going to work out and we can't find another teaching position.  Soooo, we have chosen to move back to Utah and have Jeff enroll in school to pursue another career choice.   Something in computers, we think.  Things are still in the early stages, but we are VERY busy packing the house up and finishing ALL the projects we had wanted to complete over the next year.  We even had the realtor come this week to look at things and give us tips.  She seems confident we will be able to sale the house and that is very comforting.  The branch here will not have a regular Primary after we leave, and that will be sad, too.

Michaelis Clan at Mesa Falls

Caytie and Ross

Amelia, Carley, and Zady after haircuts

  Remington, Collin, and Lucy after bathtime!

Lucy and Collin chillin'

I don't know when the next time will be that we will update the blog.  Hopefully not too long.  Here are a couple of pics from our trip.  It was a ton of fun!  We love you all!

"Pretty"

    Have you ever wondered what your Pyrex baking dish (or two) would look like shattered?  Wonder no more, because I have graciously demonstrated it for you!  Zady described it as "pretty".  I would describe it as me being stupid to put my dishes in cupboards that have a door on both sides.  I'm always amazed at how disasters happen in slow motion and you can't make yourself move fast enough to stop it.  Oh, well, I chalk it up to being a learning experience.

     This past month we also were blessed to have Elder Neil L. Anderson of the Quorum of 12 Apostles come and speak at our Stake Conference.  It was a very enjoyable experience and strengthened our testimonies of His apostolic calling.  About 45 minutes after returning home, the power glitched in our home.  We looked out the window and saw this tree had fallen across the road almost directly in front of our home.  It took them several hours to get it cleared.  Thankfully, we had power during the process.



    We also made it to the end of the school year.  Jeff's students finished on the 25th of May.  Which also happens to be his birthday.  None of his students knew it was his birthday until I went to his school with Ross and Collin.  We took him lunch and brought a birthday balloon.  Then, that night we had some members of our branch over for peach cobbler and ice cream.  It was a very relaxing evening outside.

The girls with their principal, Mr. Dunn

We picked the girls up from school the last day.  I helped with Claire's End-of-School class party, and then we had to pay for a book that Amelia has misplaced here at home.  Of course it was a nicer, hardback that cost $14, instead of the cheaper books that they have.  I'm still hopeful that it will turn up before the end of summer.  We are preparing for our trip out West.  We are very excited to see everyone!

Exciting April, Calm May

       I am finally posting some pics of Zady's baptism last month.  She was very excited!  She is number 2 in our family to be baptized.  I am always humbled and grateful at these times.  It helps to remind me of the covenants that I have made and I remember to "have joy in the journey".
      Also, Jeff was recently called to be the 2nd Counselor in our Branch Presidency.  That means they asked him to shave his Van Dyke (I guess that is what it is called).  He didn't mind, and I certainly like to kiss him more without it!  Well, okay, I like to kiss him no matter what!:)

Zady was lucky that the water was not green this time!

 Zady also had the opportunity to play her violin for her music class at school.  I don't know if the video will work this time, but I'm trying anyway.  She had fun and the kids loved seeing her small violin.  They were shocked when I told them that they come smaller than this.  Hopefully, Amelia and Claire will get to play next week before school ends.

My Big Boy Collin sitting at Zady's baptism.

Happy Easter!

  We had a busy Easter Weekend.  Friday everyone was out of school to celebrate Good Friday.  So, I took the girls shopping for Easter dresses.  It was fun to be "just the girls".  I think the girls also liked trying on all the clothes.
  Then we celebrated Zady's eighth birthday on Saturday with a friends party.  Her birthday cake was a baby chick in an egg.  We had a TON of cake leftover, since only a couple of girls had any.  This was the first time I've had kids say "no" to cake and ice cream!

  For her party, her friends made a "party dress" out of tissue paper for her.  I think they were pretty creative.  There was definitely a lot of giggling going on.  Then they painted an egg that we had blown the insides out of .  They made the eggs into little birds that they could hang up.



                                                                                                                                                                                      Collin ended up being our Easter Bunny for the day.  Sunday, we had the Elders and our Senior Missionary couple over for dinner.  It was very enjoyable and we even got to play a game of Ticket to Ride with Bro. and Sis. Stith.  They are finished with their mission and will be leaving us on the 18th of this month.  We will miss them so much!
  I also want to mention that my sister-in-law, Holly, had her baby boy last week.  We are glad that all went well and look forward to meeting little Benson this summer!
  We hope that all of you had a wonderful Easter.  Amelia gave us a FHE lesson about The Saviour and His Atonement.  I know that I am humbly grateful for the gift of the Atonement in my life.  And I am very grateful for the internet that helps to keep us connected with all our family and friends.  We love and miss you all!