New Mini-Van

Our previous van was getting old. Last summer on our way home from vacation the air conditioning went out and it would cost more to repair than the van was worth. So we knew we had to get a new one but since summer was pretty much done we had time to look around.

We looked on KSL.com. (The best place to find good deals.) We found some good mini-vans but they would go really fast. By the time we called or went to see them they were gone. There were others out there but they were not what we wanted or such a good deal. We drove to SL one day to look at one, only to find out that one person was test driving it and another couple was waiting to drive it ahead of us. Well, the first guy bought it! We were upset all day.

We kept looking the following week but nothing. Then on Thursday KC saw this mini-van that was a great deal: 2008 Sienna with 20,000 miles. But the ad had been posted for 5 days, so the chances of it still being available were very slim. KC called and the seller did not answer. But he decided to keep calling until he either he talked to the seller or it was marked as sold on ksl. The guy called him back on Friday and we went to see it. We test drove it and it was in excellent shape so we came home did a Carfax on it and decided to buy it.

We were shocked that it was still available for us to buy. After talking with the seller he told us something that humbled us and knew that this was truly a blessing. He said that he had had the van posted for 5 days and had received no calls... KC was the first one to call on it. But after we called he had like 20 calls on it. From previous experience we knew that these vans sold really fast so when he told us that we felt like we had just received a tender mercy!

We love the licence plate!

Toddler Bed

We were waiting to put G in her toddler bed after the Christmas break because we knew we had to be on a schedule. Then Cat came so we still had no schedule. Then she got sick and she wasn't sleeping well. Then she started waking up in the middle of the night! So finally in February we did it. And she loves her new bed! It was a lot easier than I thought.

I think it was harder on me because that means I don't have a baby anymore.

History Fair

CR did a history fair project on President David O. McKay.

This boy is staying busy to say the least!

South End Spelling Bee

The next step was to win the South End Spelling Bee. 15-16 of these kids would go on to the District Spelling Bee. They started out with 82 kids. Cee Ryle's words were:

Round 1 "totem"

Round 2 "policy"

Round 3 "drudgery"

Round 4 "rejuvenescent"

Round 5 "courteous"

Round 6 "beige"

They had so many good spellers that they ran out of words a lot faster than they thought they would so they started using words from previous years that kids had not studied. That was the beginning of round 5 and about half the kids got out.

After round 6 only 9 kids were still in. So they would all be going on. Then they had to do another round with the other kids that had just gotten out so they could add up to 15. At this point CR could just relax, he knew he made it to the next level.

The funny thing about round 5 was that CR did not understand the word beige and was not sure what they were saying. So he asked for the country of origin. The word came from many countries so that did not help him. (We were in the audience just stressing!) So he then asked for the definition. Once he understood what it meant he said "ooohhh beige" and spelled the world quickly. I wish I would have recorded that. We didn't get done until 10:30pm and G was tired so we were trying to keep her quiet.

He was the only one from his school to go to District. March 10th is the date.

K is going to BYU

Can the baby that we had while we were at BYU be old enough to go there? I guess so! She got accepted. We were pretty certain that she would get in but you can never be too sure. Especially when they can only accept so many kids from this state. It's tough competition.

We are so proud of her for working hard to make it in! We will miss her but we know she will have lots of fun and many great experiences.

My Bed is a Boat

All of the Spectrum kids at the Elementary School put together a play. It was called My Bed is a Boat. It was really cute and very well put together. CR was a wolf named Spike. It's about a boy's journey to the land of make-believe.

Gracie did not know what to think about her brother!

Pinewood Derby 2009

Once again CR wins 1st place. Daddy was a little stressed cause they only had 2 weeks to work on it. There was a lot more competition this year but in the end CR still won. KC is really good at letting CR do the work, he just guides him along. That Pinewood Derby Bible really works!

At the end we took all of our past pinewood derby cars to race each other and K's purple car beat them all. This was just for fun.