Easter 2012

I'm not sure how or why I let myself get so behind in this family journal/blog.  It bothers me.  A lot.  But what can you do?  So, it's June 11 and I'm finally getting around to a massive update.  Will I back date this post?  Of course.  Sorry if that bugs some of you.

Easter:  My parents have the tradition of doing an Easter Egg hunt with fun prizes.  This year, we knew it wasn't going to work out to have the entire family together.  So they did an Easter Egg hunt with Ryan, No'el, and the girls in Blackfoot and then came to Utah to celebrate with Callie & Mike, Jeff, Emily & Miley, and all of us.  We realize how much they sacrifice for our family and appreciate it!

They got here on the evening of April 6.  Beidler's live in an apartment complex with a movie theater that tenants are able to schedule and use.  They had arranged for that and we were pretty excited.  But there was a problem with the projector so the complex allowed us to have the clubhouse for the night instead.  It's a beautiful area with a pool table, flat screen television, and great sound system.  We watched Puss in Boots and the kids played.

Saturday morning we met at Emily's for the Easter Egg Hunt.  They have a little park in their complex that is rarely used by others so we hid the eggs in that area and let the kids have a great time looking for them.  My mom goes to the trouble of assigning each child a color of egg to find.  That way, everyone gets the same candy, prizes, etc. and it's all fair.  

After all the eggs had been gathered, we went back into Emily's house to open them all up, collect their prizes from Granny & Grandpa, and have lunch.  The Easter Bunny ears came out and most people tried them on.  Enjoy the pictures of our event.  

(I still don't have a camera so my sisters were kind enough to send me their pics.  Some are similar but I'm posting them all. There are a lot!)

Granny & Grandpa went home that evening...we had worn them right out!

Grandma Tisa gave Madi the CUTEST Easter dress.  Did I get a picture of her in it?  Nope.  Will I get one next time she wears it and post it?   Absolutely!

Pinewood Derby 2012

As you may remember, my camera was broken by a certain boy last month.  This has made blogging difficult, as I usually blog off the pictures on my camera.  So grateful that Emily has been involved in most of the fun things we've done this past month so I can get her pictures.  However, March 29 was Cam's last Pinewood Derby (next year he'll be 11) and Emily had something else going on that night and wasn't able to come.  As the first cars were coming down the track, I asked one of the other moms if she'd send me her pictures.  She did...so now I can blog! Thanks, Mandi!

Cam decided early that he didn't want a car this year, he wanted a truck.  He drew out the design and Spencer and Dave started cutting the block of wood into the desired shape.  Somehow, the wood broke.  But Dave was kind enough to get a new kit, cut out the shape, and bring it to Cam a couple of days later.  Cam decided the color and painted it all.  He was pretty proud of his little turquoise truck and he even got 2nd place!  We'll take a picture of his truck next time Emily's around (hint, hint) so we can post a picture.  

We only have 5 scouts in our troop, Cam is the only Webelo, so we recently joined with another troop from our Stake.  Since the other troop had already done their Pinewood Derby and Blue & Gold Banquet, they decided to not have combined Pack Meeting for March.  Instead our scout leaders combined the Derby with the Blue & Gold Banquet for just our 5 scouts.  It made for a long(er) night but was so well put together.  They really put a lot of effort in to the details as they decorated with a cowboy theme and served Sloppy Joes, salad, and chips on Marie Callender tin trays.  After dinner & awards, the men moved the tables and chairs, the track was set up, and the races began!  I took just a minute to feel a little sad that this was Cam's last Pinewood Derby...until I remembered that next year will be Gavin's first Pinewood Derby.  During the races, Spence leaned over and said, "By the time it's Harrison's turn, we'll be professionals!  We'll know ALL the tricks!"  Ah, the life of parents with Boys!

I love how the dads are more serious about the competition than most of the boys.  Here are three of the five dads fixing alignment and tweaking things to make the cars go faster...

Two Stars

Each month, our elementary school honors three students from each class in a Star Student Assembly...two awards are given from the teacher, one from the Principal.  In October, Cameron was awarded a Principal's Choice.  We were in Wyoming, attending the funeral of our dear friend so my mom and Mike had gone in our place.  Imagine how surprised I was when I received an e-mail from both Cam & Gavin's teachers March 20 (the day before the assembly) letting me know they were both going to be recognized.  I hurried to see what was on my schedule for the following day and realized I was supposed to teach piano lessons during the exact time of the assembly.  I now have 23 students so rearranging my lesson schedule is not easy.  Spencer had just gotten back from Portland and had appointments so he couldn't get away from work either.  I called Emily to see if maybe she could go to the assemblies. (They have 2 assemblies, one for the younger grades K-2, and one for the older grades 3-6, so we had to be in both.)  As I was asking her to represent me, I started thinking about how important it was that I go.  I mean, I'd missed the first one, and I'M THE MOM!  So I called my piano students and moved everything around.

They try to keep the Star Students a surprise so when we got to the school, we found a few chairs in the back and settled in.  I put the babies in their backpack leashes and felt like I was driving cattle.  A couple of minutes before the assembly started, Emily and Miley walked in.  We didn't know they were coming but Madi was so glad to see Mi-Mi and I was glad to see an extra set of hands.  Gavin saw us before the assembly started and his face lit up!  The boy loves to receive attention!  His certificate says, "This award is presented to Gavin Styer because he is always doing everything he has to do with a lot of integrity and seriousness."  It was given from his French teacher.

The first assembly only lasted 30-40 minutes, which means we had 20+ minutes before the next group of kids came in for their assembly.  Owen, Han, Madi, and Miley enjoyed running through the gym, chairs on the stage, halls, and eating ALL the snacks we had packed to help keep them quiet during the assemblies.  

 We settled back into our seats as the older students started filing in.  We were really trying to hide from Cam's class so he wouldn't see us.  Just before the assembly started, Miley took off in a mad dash for the door!  Emily had to chase after her and Cam saw us.  Oh well.  He was still surprised, as was I, when he received another Principal's award.  His reads, " This award is presented to Cameron Styer because he is always cooperative and cares about doing the right thing."

I hope my boys continue to do their best in school.

Graduation!

For the past 7 months, Spencer has been participating in PACE, a leadership course for his company.  Each month he would travel to Portland for 1-3 nights.  Between visits to Portland, he would be fulfilling a bunch of assignments, during and after work hours.  He had to sign a lot of new accounts, read a bunch of leadership books, and give numerous speeches.  (He goes to Toastmasters on a weekly basis too.) For Platt Employees, PACE is the way to go if you want to advance in your career.  But it was a LONG 7 months for Spencer's wife & kids and we were SO happy to see it end!  Spence even got his first real diploma!  We are proud of him for setting goals and accomplishing them to better himself and our family.  We love you!  And doesn't he look handsome in his suit!!!