99 Things

Amber posted 99 things you need to do in life, so the things in bold are what I've done so far.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung Karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Winter Frost

We had this frost land in our neighborhood today, and Micah thought this would be a great opportunity to take some pictures. These pictures are absolutely gorgeous, so take a few minutes and look at them. It has been fun to watch Micah's interest in photography over the years. I always thought that in order to take beautiful pictures you had to travel thousands of miles away and visit some special place, but Micah has taught me that beauty can be found in the most simple places- even in your backyard.

Scooby-Doo

As everyone knows we have the Netflix membership. So once in a while, Jayden will get on the computer and bum around to find a good kid movie to watch on the instant play. Early this week he found a Scooby-Doo movie and decided to watch it. Now the rest is history. The kids are totally addicted to Scooby-Doo. We have been having a Scooby-Doo marathon going all week long. I didn't realize that they had made so many movies. There's a cruise ship, a mummy one, a haunted house, an alien one, there's a ton. So last night at Wal-Mart they had some Scooby-Doo movies for five bucks, so we got an episode one (because the kids didn't like the only movie left). So that's what we've been up to all week-- Scooby-Doooo!

As for the adults, I keep telling myself we are going to finish watching the Bourne movies. We've seen the first one, but not the other two, and we've had them rented out for a couple of weeks now. Bye everyone.

Roller Skating

Last Thursday I took the kids roller skating for the first time. It was pretty fun. We met up at Classic Skating wtih our friends that we made at the New Years Party. I still think it is really funny that we met Ryan's brother, Ben Barboka, and his wife on New Years. We have become really good friends with them. We also went skating with Hans and Janis, but I don't think anyone on this blog would know them because they live down in Spanish Fork. Anyways, I took the kids down there around 4:00 and got everyone skates. Jayden refused to wear the skates, and finally ended up trading his skates back in for a scooter. On the other hand, Jacklyn was very excited to go skating. I put her skates on, but as soon as she started walking around in them and about fell over a few times, she decided enough was enough. She sat down by the edge of the skating rink and refused to go out. So her skates got traded in for a scooter as well. I got my skates on, and we were all ready to go. They allowed strollers out on the rink so I just pushed Addison around in his stroller, and he just loved it. Micah came skating with us when he got off of work, and it was fun to go skating with him for the first time. So that is our first roller skating experience as a family. I think we should do it again some time, but I will know next time to not get the kids roller skates until they are ready.

Jayden's Volcanoes

Jayden has this reading homework for school, and when the two of us have read 100 books together he gets a free book from his teacher. So last week, he hit his 100th book, and he brought home his new book called Horrible Harry and the Locked Closet, and it's a story about a bunch of kids in elementary school and in their classroom there is a locked closet that hasn't been opened for over 40 years, and they solve the mystery behind why it was locked. Also, their class was studying volcanoes, which Jayden just loves, and they build a volcano, and have it blow up. So Jayden wanted me to make him a volcano that would explode too. I told him that I couldn't because I didn't know what ingredients they had mixed together to make it explode, and Jayden was so sad. Then, a few days later when we finished the book we noticed that at the end of the book the author had inserted the volcano recipe, so kids could make a volcano at home, just like Harry and his friends. Jayden was so excited, and wanted me to make a volcano, so the next night we did. We got all of the ingredients together, and Jayden and Jacklyn were watching very excitedly. Then I asked Jayden if he was ready for the final ingredient, he said yes, and I dumped the vinegar in, and it exploded and flowed over the glass like lava. It was pretty cool to watch, even Micah came to in watch the volcanic eruption. So that was our excitement for the week. We have actually had a lot of fun activities going on this week. I might post some of them tomorrow, or later, I'll have to see. Have a great weekend everyone.

Our New Years Fun

Hi everyone, and Happy New Year! Wow, Micah and I have been so busy this week, it's not even funny. Busy partying that is. Micah met some new friends on facebook, and we went over to party at their house for New Years. They have an XBOX 360, and they got me addicted to Rockband. It is really fun. I actually wouldn't ever consider myself getting into that, but it is a blast. We ended up playing Rockband and board games all night. They also have a ball pit in their basement that the kids played in with the other kids. They had a blast. Jayden cried the next day because he didn't want to go home. Fun times. We stayed until two the next day. We never expected to stay that long, but with all of the fun and excitement, and the fact that we stayed up until five in the morning; we just stayed the night. So that is what we did for New Years.

Anyways, we went to Mom's house in the beginning of December (as most of you know). And mom had this adorable snowman that I just fell in love with, and had to have, so I asked Micah if he would make me one. He agreed. So I drew up the plans, we bought the supplies, and made our snowman friend. He's adorable. I was thinking after, or more like when I was going through all of the work, that I should have just asked mom if I could buy one from her friend. My brain doesn't always keep up with me and my creativity. Oh well, here it is, and we all wish you a fun and safe Christmas break, because Monday we all have to back to school.