ANOTHER SNOWY HOME EVENING

I know, I know... not again, but yes, we did go play in the snow for family night tonight. I think my husband watched the weather and knew that it would be windy for kiting, so that is what he suggested. It was fun though, and fairly warm even with the breeze.

Finally got a photo of me skiing that I'm not too embarrassed to show. Practicing my tele turns.

Snuggling with my honey.

My smart aleck teenagers- and this was the 'nice' photo.

SUNDAY AFTERNOON

We had another lovely spring day with a bit of breeze, so we went outside to play. We have a new park close to our house and took a few photos there and then went to fly my honey's kite. It was just so great to be outside in the sunshine!

Three of my kiddos on the slide making a train.

Here's little C jumping off the swing. He's such a Gordon it's not even funny.

Here they are taking turns flying the snow kite in the field. It was pretty breezy, so it was fun.

SMALL SIGNS OF SPRING

It is actually snowing today, nevertheless, there have been some small, but sure signs of spring this week. That makes me happy.

1. Kids playing outside!

I love it when my kids play outside and enjoy the good weather. Sometimes in spring that is few and far between, but this weekend was great.

2. Jr. Genius Fair

Here is little C with this year's project: Tasmania. Big C lived there for 6 months of his mission to Australia. It turned out well and he was happy- that's the important thing.

Here he is presenting to his class. He is such a smarty. I'm so proud.

I LIKE TO READ

I do. But in no way am I an intellectual. I admit it freely- I read for fun, to escape, to pretend, to visit times and places I'll never get to in 'real life.' Here are a few of my recent favorites:

This was my pick for our book club last month. It is a very fun, but interesting read about women during the Depression. Very unexpected things happen, which I love.

Another historical fiction book, but based on a real diary. I laughed a cried through this book (which is my favorite kind of book).

And last and favorite. This is an amazing look at the relationships between black and white people during the 60's in the deep South. Loved it!

ANNIVERSARY

What else do you do on your 19th wedding anniversary? We took our kids skiing, that's what we do in our family.

Here we are eating grilled sausages.

My husband taught D to kiteboard today. He is amazing! We still can't believe how fast he picked it up.

Here they are... tiny little specks out on the hill.

STERLING SCHOLAR AWARDS NIGHT

Last night we went to my oldest daughter's Sterling Scholar awards program. She did not win (not even runner-up), but I think we learn more life lessons from losing, so she didn't come away empty-handed in any way. It was a valuable experience for her in many different ways and I am so proud of her graceful composure. I know I've said it before (and I'll probably say it again), but she is an amazing young lady and I am so thrilled she is my daughter.

This is her (4th from the left) with all the visual arts nominees.

Here we are with our beautiful, talented daughter.

SWEET 16

My oldest son (second oldest child) is 16 today! Get ready girls, he's dating age!

He can't get his license until he gets his Eagle, so it might be a week or two for that. Poor kid with mean parents...

This is him last night- photographed by my oldest daughter. He loves to snowboard!

He also loves skateboarding, hanging out with friends, listening to his iPod too loudly, and art. He is such a sweet, dependable boy and I am so glad he is part of our family!

FAMILY NIGHT IN THE SNOW

We had lots of fun in the spring snow last night for Family Home Evening. Two other families came up with us and we played until 8 pm (which is the only great thing about Daylight Savings...)

Lots of us piling on the snowmobiles.

My littlest cruising down the slopes.

And me!

Thanks to my oldest for playing photographer for me last night. She hurt her knee and couldn't board. She got some good pictures.

COMING OUT OF THE CLOSET

I hope this post does not disturb you, but I feel that it is time to make one of my strange quirks known the to world. It is my love of science fiction, super hero movies/TV shows.

Now you may ask 'how does an almost middle-aged mother of 5 come to love some of the geekiest sci-fi shows out there?' I guess I would have to blame Star Wars. I think that was the beginning of my nerdiness. I loved (and still do) those movies and since then I have been hooked.

Now, don't get me wrong, I am picky about the ones I get obsessed with, but I can't always pin- point exactly what the criteria is in order for my interest to be sparked. Usually they have to be a combination of originality and humor mixed in with some good suspense.

Here are just a few of my favorites in the TV category:

STARGATE ATLANTIS

I did start out watching the movie and then progressed into the SG1 series, but Atlantis has the best characters with great humor and scary villains called the Wraith. Geekiness at its finest! (I own all the seasons).

SMALLVILLE

So very fun to watch. I even loved it when all these characters were in high school. Now they have gotten rid of Lana, it is even better! Clark Kent- my hero!! (I own seasons 1-6 of this show, then they got too expensive, so I have to watch on line now).

FIREFLY

Last, but not least, one of my newer favs thanks to a good friend of mine. She had been trying to get me to watch this show for a few years so a few months ago I gave in and did. LOVE IT! It is a space-western. I know that it sounds strange, but it is the best blend! So sad there is only one season, but the series did spin off a movie called Serenity and I did buy that (couldn't find a way to watch it on line).

So there you have it.

If you have any desire to share in my sci-fi nerd addiction, let me know and you can borrow my DVDS! I'm always willing to share my geekiness!

STERLING SCHOLAR

In Utah schools there is an achievement called Sterling Scholar. There are many areas that students can apply for and my daughter won the Visual Arts for her high school. I am proud of her. She has worked hard and done such a great job at getting ready. Not only did she illustrate her own portfolio headings (by hand), but she also drew (by hand) many of the covers for the other students in her school. She is amazing, and even if she doesn't win Region (we find out next Tuesday), I am SO proud of her!

These are the covers she designed.

This is a charcoal drawing of hers that is part of her portfolio.

CHECK THIS OUT

I have a sister who has been to hell this last year and isn't really back yet. She has just started writing a blog about her attitude towards life and all the unexpected things it throws at us. I am very glad she is doing this. I believe it will be very therapeutic for her for one thing, and I also think it is great for everyone else to see how much we all have to be grateful for each day. We all have trials and problems, but when we get a glimpse of others' issues we are usually thrilled to have the ones we have... Here is a link to my amazing sister's site. She has some great insight about how to get through the horrible things we experience with dignity and even joy...

PRETZEL & MARSHMALLOWS

This is my second study from the ORDINARY EXTRAORDINARY assignment. I really like both of them and can't decide which one to do a final of... any suggestions or opinions out there? It's been forever since someone (anyone) commented on my blog. BTW, that's never a good sign...

My kids were bored yesterday and created a little art of their own. This is our family in marshmallows. I had a couple of bags because I was thinking of putting one in a drawing.

Quite clever and cute. The girls are pink...

SNOW & DRAWING

This is a photo of my back yard this morning.

We have crazy spring weather where I live: one day you can wear shorts and flip flops and the next you will be shoveling 6 inches off your driveway! It really plays with your mind... makes it hard to get excited about warm weather, because you know Mother Nature is just teasing you and you'll be disappointed in a few hours...

Enough whining... let's move along.

Here is my latest drawing for my class. It is a small/study. We are working in chalk pastel over acrylic washes this time. I am really enjoying it.

I haven't worked in pastel since high school (a good 20 years ago), so it has been fun.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE FATHER OF MY CHILDREN

It is my best friend's birthday today. He is an amazing man in so many ways. I just wanted to publicly share my love and admiration for him.

SNOWKITING MASTERS

My husband decided to participate in the US Open Snowkite Masters. He raced and everything! He loves snowkiting with a passion and can't get enough. What an adrenaline junkie.

These are some amazing photos that a friend of ours took of him up there on Friday. (The same friend that took our family photos- Jason Stevens link to his blog).

I went up to watch with a few of my kids on Saturday and the wind was blowing like mad (at least 20- 30 mph). It was FREEZING! My kids wouldn't even get out of the car and I only ended up staying for about 15 minutes. He sure had a great time tho...