We Interrupt This Blog for an Important, Very Long, Catch-Up Post...Mostly About Danika and Megan

Last week was a busy one! Actually, the entire last month has been eventful. Let's bring everyone up to speed, shall we?

Danika turned 18 on April 11. All she wanted to do was go shopping for clothes (which we did) and go get frozen yogurt at Menchies...what goofballs :)

Prom was on April 14. I finished the dress Grandma started while we were in Missouri for Spring Break (more on that in another post) just in time...I was sewing literally up until the last minute. That's pretty much how I roll on most things! It was pretty nerve-wracking, but it held together, and she was comfortable! That was her first criteria: comfort. (I love that kid...she is not at all high maintenance!). Danika has had enough of big, poofy, uncomfortable dresses. She wanted an Empire waist, and for it to look kind of like one the dresses in the movie "Emma." It turned out pretty nice, but WAY above my sewing skills! It is much prettier in person though, I think.

She went with Bryton Wells, a guy she has been friends with all through high school. He is a good kid, so we were all happy and comfortable with it :) We were a little worried that his tux wouldn't match, but when he showed up he looked fantastic--very classy, indeed.

Danika successfully pinned on the corsage without puncturing Bryt :)

 Cute, cute couple! (But they're just friends...really!)

On May 2nd, Danika received her Young Women Medallion. She has had everything done for a couple of years except for the last 2 Virtue requirements and reading the Book of Mormon. She finished earlier this Spring. She was awarded her necklace at a recognition night for the graduating Laurels. I was glad she finished (there were times I doubted, I must admit). Her favorite thing was reading the Book of Mormon all the way through by herself. We actually did see a difference in her while she was reading because she was ahead of us in our family reading. She would make comments sometimes that were interesting and showed she was gaining her own understanding of it. Those moments are the payoff of parenting. Mike was out-of-town, so I was the only one there to say a few things about her. All the girls receiving their awards had to do a display table of some of their projects.

 
May 8th was Mike's birthday...he was out of town. Mother's Day came and went. I can't remember much about either, except my family made dinner for me...yay!

Next came Megan's 12th birthday on May 15...NO MORE PRIMARY! She couldn't wait to get into YW's with her friends. Before school she opened her gifts from Brooke (Beatles shirt) and Danika (tote bag).

 

After dinner Megan opened the rest of her presents from Mom and Dad--a new Sunday outfit, sandals, a couple of t-shirts, and some new socks.

Then we went to Sonic for slushies and malts. It was super easy and laid back. Thankfully none of my kids really like cake, so they never ask for it, because I am a horrible cake maker. Happy Birthday Megan!

May 20 was Seminary graduation. Again, Mike was out-of-town. Heidi Francis asked Danika to accompany her in a musical number. It was a pretty hard piece--4 sharps! But she did great! Here are all the Seniors from our ward...

Friday June 1st Megan graduated from D.A.R.E. and 6th grade. She had a great year with Mrs. Austin, who happened to be her 5th grade teacher at Snow Horse. Mrs. Austin moved over to Heritage last year and Megan got lucky enough to get her again. She was super happy about that because we moved halfway through the year, and she was sad to leave her awesome teacher.

Best buddies--Kassidy Webb, Anna Francis, and Megan.

 

Later that day we got to attend Danika's graduation at the Dee Events Center at Weber State. There were 701 kids graduating. Grandpa Allen was in Utah visiting so he was able to come also. We are very happy for Danika and all she has accomplished! She's off to Southern Utah University in the Fall. She received a half tuition scholarship for 4 years, so we are very proud of her!

The Fab Five--these guys are always together! (Carly, Bryton, Jordyn, Lincoln and Danika)

These three call themselves "The Tricycle" because Lincoln and Jordyn are a couple, which leaves the three of them as "3rd wheels."

Danika and Karter Chisholm--Jr. Prom dates and both lifeguarding at Cherry Hill this summer.

A little attitude from my girl!

Proud Grandpa and dad (even though the sun's in his eye)

Happy it's over!  One down, two more to go!

Whew! Glad I got that all down in writing. It's been a blur, but I am really happy for my kids--they are awesome!

Road Trips and Aliens and Pumpkins, Oh My!

We drove home from Washington on Monday, Oct. 17th. We caravaned back with my brother Doug and his wife Donna (they drove a U-Haul we rented to bring back the things we got from my mom), and Trevor and Alex, who drove in Trev's car. It was kind of a fun road trip--although extremely long. Trevor is really into the show "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" with Guy Fieri on the Food Network. So when we would make a pit stop, we would stop at a place recommended on the show. I think we gained about 5 pounds in one day! Here are Danika and Brooke in front of a really cool old building in downtown Pendleton, OR next door to the diner where we ate.

  

Danika had the Halloween Dance the Saturday after we got back. It was a girl's choice, and she asked Jason Squire. Their group went as aliens (girls) and astronauts (guys). The girls made the guys NASA t-shirts. Danika burnt Jason's shirt while ironing on the transfer, so Holly Prows had an extra shirt that they gave him after Danika picked him up (this explains his Nike shirt in this picture).

Jason is around 6'5 or taller...not sure!

The whole "spacey" group!

For Halloween, Megan decided she wanted to be a pumpkin. Don't ask me why, but she really, really wanted a pumpkin costume like Rudy on one of the Cosby Show episodes. So I got busy sewing (made my own pattern). I was literally stitching the stem on the hat up to the last minute, but I prevailed! I am MOM, hear me roar! I hope my kids appreciate my ability to produce their heart's desire when they are parents!

Trick-or-treating with Kassidy Webb, Regan Hansen, and Anna Francis.

A pooped pumpkin!

Culling through the loot.

Trixie sporting the pumpkin beret...ooh la la!

Try to Remember the Kind of September...

It didn't take long for school to get into full swing. Megan had several projects in September and early October. First was the assignment to make a 3-D model of a cell. Megan chose to do a plant cell. We tried something new this time around and sewed some clear vinyl together. We filled it with rice and beans (chloroplasts and ribosomes), a big pom pom (nucleus), and little felt pillows (vacuoles). It worked out pretty well and she got a A.

Next came a book report. Megan had to make a diorama depicting an important scene from her book. She read Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass (one of her favorite authors). It is about 3 kids who unwittingly end up at a campsite to watch a solar eclipse and become friends in the process. So Megan wanted to make her scene of the eclipse--thus the sunglasses on the people (you can't really see them in this picture). We found out it is really hard to figure out how to make a sun look like it's being covered by a shadow!

 After that it was time for the 6th grade Egyptian Wax Museum. Megan was supposed to be Wadjet, the cobra goddess. She was a protector of the pharaoh, ready to strike and kill his enemies. We had big plans to make her a cobra headdress out of papier-mache, but as with many big ideas at our house, it didn't happen in time. She had to memorize a part about her goddess and recite it when someone came to her and pushed her "button."She wasn't super excited about this event. I tried to get her to "walk like an Egyptian," but no luck!

 

When she's not doing homework, Megan always is busy finding ways to amuse herself. Here are two examples of her creative boredom busters!

Chin people--always a fun distraction!

Making word art out of our Mags :)

Daddy Love, Chickens, and Other Random Stuff

Valentine's Day Dinner

When Danika and Brooke were little they used to yell "Daddy!" and run to the front door as soon as they heard him turn the key in the lock when he got home from work. They would hang on his legs (one on each) and he would drag them over to the kitchen and give them hugs. Sometimes they would hang on his biceps and he would try to lift them up. It was so cute! Now they've outgrown that, and we're lucky to get a mono-syllabic grunt from them when we walk in.

After they grew too old to display such unbridled affection for a parent, Megan took over the "Daddy's home!" routine. But at ten years old, even she doesn't run to greet her old dad anymore. Thank goodness for Trixie! Every time one of us walks in, she greets us with a "hello" howl and nearly shakes out of her skin with her tail wagging. It's nice to still have someone be glad to see us.

However, Megan still loves us and isn't ashamed to show it--especially Mike. They are buddies through and through. Since February is the month we celebrate love, I wanted to post some pictures of things they shared this month.

Nap time

Megan likes to give her dad "piano lessons." He willingly submits :)

Mike and Megan went to a Daddy-Daughter dance hosted by the city with the Oylers and Fuhrimans.

Other happenings this month included Megan's History Fair project--which she did NOT enjoy. It was like pulling teeth. She just kept saying "I don't like history." I pretty much had to do most of it, although once we got to the point of putting it all on the board she finally got excited about it! Ha! She wouldn't pick a topic, which was supposed to be something to do with the theme "Debate & Diplomacy in History: Successes, Failures, and Consequences." How does a 5th grader relate to a theme like that? It was interesting to see what they came up with (I was one of the judges at the Fair). I suggested Megan do Susan B. Anthony, and how she voted illegally and was arrested, and fought her whole life for women's suffrage. I think she learned a couple of things, and was surprised that women couldn't vote in this country until 1920.

Doesn't she look excited?

On a totally separate topic, I finished painting the baseboards upstairs--hooray!

It was a happy day for me when I got to pull off the last of the blue tape--I'm so sick of seeing that tape everywhere!

And on a final note, we had a random experience with a neighbor's chicken. Meet Phyllis Diller. She was in our yard one afternoon and wouldn't leave. Trixie was going berserk. It was getting dark and she was bedded down on our porch. I called around to see who she belonged to. Turns out it was our back neighbor's "pride and joy." I really didn't want to wake up to a frozen chicken, so I wrapped her in a towel and had Danika drive me around the block so I could return her. Turns out she has a sister named "Dyllis Philler." Now those people have a sense of humor.
Incidentally, a few days later we cracked this egg into the pan for breakfast one morning. I don't know what's going on, but we are having some weird chicken karma lately.

Only the Good Spy Young

Megan really, really wanted to have a birthday party this year. I really, really didn't want to have to plan one (because I am a lazy mom). But, I made a concession and just recycled the idea we used for Brooke's 10th birthday. It was a Spy party, and for the invitations I cut down a file folder so it was smaller. I stamped "TOP SECRET" on the outside, and on the inside I stapled this:

Everyone arrived in disguise. They were so funny! (Brea Johnston even had a fake mole.)


They did a fingerprinting activity, a memory game, and a "spot the missing object" game. Then I announced that we couldn't have cake, because an enemy agent had stolen it while I was at the store. I explained that I had called all of them to help solve the crime and recover the cake. I handed them an envelope with the first clue. They were so excited, and went running all over the house and neighborhood solving the clues.

Karli Farnes and Ally Megill

Once they discovered where the cake was hidden (the Hogge's house), they came back and we had cake and ice cream and Megan opened her presents. I hate making cakes, but Danika loves it, and helped by frosting it. It turned out really cute!

The whole gang

For treat bags we got some spy things from Oriental Trading--including fake mustaches!

Lindsee Fuhriman and Maddy Oyler

Karli and Emmalie Watson

Kennady Stettler and Ally

It turned out better than expected, and I think everyone had fun!