Christmas

We had a great Christmas and hope all of our friends and family did to. I even attempted Ice skating with the kids on Christmas Eve. I didn't fall down but I stayed pretty close to the wall. Katie also clung to the wall but the other three seemed to do okay. The kids had a great Christmas morning and are enjoying their toys and have had fun seeing cousins the past few days. They had fun trying out their new sleds yesterday with cousins on Granny hill, and can't wait to see the rest of the family tomorrow at an early New Year's Eve party.

Merry Christmas....and a Happy New Year!!

Christmastime is near...

Wow, I can't believe that Christmas is less than a week a way. Once school started it feels like all we have done is run, run, run. Shawn and Jessica are still taking piano although begrudgingly. Jessica has dance two nights a week and Katie is also taking a dance class. Shawn and Jessica have been going to school choir 2 mornings a week and last Wednesday we had both Katie and Jessica's Christmas Dance showcases and the choir concert plus I had to go to the Cannery all in the same night. It was a busy night but we made it to everything although Jessica had to leave dance a few minutes early to make the choir concert. Shawn, Jessica, and Jeremy also tryed out for the school play. "You're a good man Charlie Brown." they are all in the chorus. Jessica is a Peanut gallery dancer and Shawn and Jeremy are on the Mean Team. They have rehearsals just once a week on Tuesday's. Katie and I go hang out and help keep the cast under control. They have over 100 kids there for the Tuesday practices. The performances will be in February so that will continue after Christmas break.

I think Brett and I are pretty much done with our Christmas shopping but there are a few gifts that we seem to always leave until the last minute. Now we just have to find time to wrap everything.

Well I'm looking forward to seeing everyone over the Christmas holidays. It was great to go to my sister Jill's over Thanksgiving and we will enjoy seeing everyone again in Brigham City and Nephi in the next 2 weeks.

The kids are out of school so I am going to be a slave driver Monday and Tuesday to get this house clean and all the neighbor treats made. Once we clean hopefully we can have a couple of days to relax before the big Day.

Winn Reunion

On Friday the 14th we were able to go to Nephi for the Dean Winn Family Reunion. This year was the 25th anniversery of the reunion. Friday night we went up to the Old Pinery Camp ground where we visited and roasted hot dogs and marshmellow. Ben had brought some horses up and the kids were all able to go for a ride. Jeremy and Jessica really enjoy riding the horses whenever we get the chance. Friday night we went back to Mom and Dad's to sleep then went back up the canyon on Saturday. I sent Jessica and Jeremy with Mom and Dad and they were able to play some games and do crafts with the cousins. When Brett and I got there with Katie and Shawn, I helped Katie do the craft and spent time visiting with a few people. Jessica had woken up Saturday morning with a tummy ache and by the time lunch was over I could tell she had a fever. Since she wasn't feeling good we decided that we had better head for home. I hated to leave having not been able to visit with everyone but it was nice to be there and visit with a few people.

Evans Reunion

On August 6th, 7th and 8th we went out to Altamont to get together with Brett's cousins and their families. The reunion was held by Grandma Evans house and Uncle Dean's house. We all had a lot of fun and ate a ton of food. It was nice to see everyone and spend time visiting. Friday the kids had fun floating the canal, Brett went with the older kids while I took Katie to the end and just waded while we waited for everyone to finish floating, we also went to a ranch out past Vernal that had Indian Petroglyphs, there were some pretty cool ones. Saturday we spent a few hours at Sandwash Reservoir. Jeremy and Jessica had fun riding the inflatables behind the boat, Shawn got to drive the boat and Katie and I played on the beach. Brett was in the boat helping the kids get on and off the tubes. Back at the house Uncle Dean let the kids have turns riding the horses and Brett and Shawn went fishing with some of the cousins.

Saturday night we left late for home with Brian following us. Somewhere past Dushesne we got a flat tire on the tent trailer that they had to fix in the dark, with the wind blowing. I was just grateful we were able to pull over quickly and that Brian was there to help Brett change the tire. I was freezing and was glad to be able to sit in the truck.

Summer

We have been having a great summer so far. July just flew by. On the 4th we had a ward breakfast and flag raising that my sister Jill and her family came to. We then sent Jessica with Jill to Nephi for a week to spend more time with Abby. On the 10th we went to the Ute Stampede Parade and Rodeo in Nephi. The kids have been enrolled in swimming lessons all month and they all took an archery class at the end of July. We ended July with a cub scout family camp out up Farmington canyon, Shawn received his Arrow of Light and Webelos badges. The boys had fun hiking down the canyon and then playing in the river at the bottom. This month we are getting ready for a couple of family reunions and are excited to see everyone. We have already started shopping for school supplies and I am starting to work on getting volunteers lined up to help at the elementary when school starts on the 24th.

Summer Fun

Well we are having lots of summer fun this past week. My niece Abby came down from Idaho last Thursday to stay with us for a week. When she got here Thursday we headed to Sulpher Campground up in the Uintahs for camping. It rained all night the first night but only light showers during the day. It was perfect for a hike to Ruth Lake and playing at the campground. The kids had their bikes, which was good because the river was pretty high so we had to be careful about playing by it. We roasted hotdogs and marshmellows, which is always a mess but yummy. On Saturday we had beautiful blue skys. We broke camp and then drove to Christmas Meadows where we found a slow spot on the river where we let the kids play and float in an inflatable boat. They got soaked and muddy but had a lot of fun.

Sunday we had church and played at home. Then on Monday I took the kids up to the Eccles Dinosaur Park in Ogden then one of the neighbors had a cookie party in the evening with the entire neighborhood, cookies, waterslide, dunking machine and lots of water fun.

Tuesday was a full day at Lagoon with me and 5 kids. We made it through Lagoona Beach and Rattlesnake rapids, and the Log ride in the morning then took a break at home for lunch and then headed back to hit all the other rides. Brett picked up Katie when he got off of work but the rest of us stayed until about 9:30.

Today I let the kids sleep in and then we will head to the Farmington pool this afternoon.

Glasses Update

So the girls and I went back to Lagoon on Thursday afternoon while the boys were at Mad Science to see if they had found her glasses. They had them YAY! They are all in one piece but one lens is scratched pretty bad and there are a couple of small scratches on the frame. She due for her eye exam in a couple of weeks so we will get a new pair then but at least she has a hers back to wear in the meantime.

"Wicked"

Last night I took the girls to Lagoon for a couple of hours to reward them for getting their chores done. We rode several of the little rides with Katie, all the while getting drenched as the rain started poring down. Just before we left Jessica wanted to ride a couple of big rides so she went on Centennial Screamer and Colossus while Katie and I watched. She then decided to go on "Wicked" as her last ride since the line was really short. Anyway as she came off of the ride I saw that she was crying and asked her what was wrong. She said just as they were coming off the first big drop her glasses flew off. We told the ride operator and he did a quick look but didn't see them, and told us to wait for 15 minutes until the ride closed and they would look again. After waiting in the rain for awhile they still did not find them. We left our info, but I would guess if they do find them they aren't going to be in one piece but you never know. Jessica is pretty upset over it even though I told her not to worry about it. Lets hope they find them today in the daylight. Otherwise I guess we will be making a trip to the optometrist soon to get a new pair.

Dance Recital

Monday was a busy day for the beginning of Summer Vacation. The kids and I spent the morning at the High School doing a dress rehersal for their dance recital. Katie has been scared at every dress rehersal and has not been able to do her dance. We had Jessica help her onstage today and with a promise I would let her get a new princess shirt she finally did her dance. I was so proud of her.

We had great hopes for the recital, but alas she froze again and started crying before even making it on the stage. Jessica took her onto the stage for a little bit but she didn't last for very long. After I got her calmed down we did convince her to go on for the finale. She skipped on did her bow and sat on the stage while the other girls did their bows. I was proud that she did that but had hoped she would be able to do the dance also.

Not to forget about Jessica she had two dances and did beautifully on both of them. Even though she sometimes complains about going to class every week I think she really enjoys doing dance.

I am very proud of both of my girls and it was fun to have Grandma and Grandpa Evans, Aunt Kristin and cousin Conley, Grandma Winn and cousin Sarah come and watch the girls.

Lagoon Season Passes

Well we decided to get Lagoon season passes when we went last week. So Brett and I took the kids over yesterday for a couple of hours. We figure if they get their chores done we can go over for an hour or two as a reward. Anyway Jeremy loved going on the Colossus last week and wanted to ride Wicked but I figured he was too small. Anyway I guess they have changed the height on Wicked to 46 inches so he was tall enough. They have special seat inserts so we were able to move up through a special line and get on. So I took the 3 older kids and we rode Wicked, The Spider and Centennial Screamin. They all had a great time and loved it. Since Brett doesn't like the roller coasters he was content to take Katie to the little kids rides and watch her ride. Although he said he took her on the Puff roller coaster and she cried. We also all went on the Kontiki boat and she didn't like that either. Overall it was a great day and it is nice to feel like you can just go for a couple of hours and then leave, and if everyone doesn't get to ride the ride they wanted we know we will be back and can ride it another time.

Jessica

Hello,
My name is Jessica Ann Evans. I have a sister and two brothers (somtimes they are annoying,) but they are still kind of fun to play with.

Crazy Birds

So my family thinks I am crazy. I have an immense fear of birds dive bombing me. Every year at this time we get swallows perching on our porch on top of the window ledge. Anyway today was the first day that they have been a nuisance. I think I'm going insane when just to get out of the house I have to scream and yell to get them to fly away. Whenever I want to go out my heart starts beating faster and it gets a little crazy. I went online to see if I could come up with ways to keep them from perching under there. One post said to spray canola oil on the area which I did. Hopefully that will prevent their nest from sticking if they try to build again. I already sprayed down the mud they had started putting up. I was hoping the oil would deter them from perching too, but it doesn't seem to have worked since I can see one up there right now. Anyway I think tomorrow I'm going to tape tinfoil to the roof of my porch and let it hang down in that area.

I read a lot of posts on the web that said just to leave the swallows alone that they are good for bugs. Well if they were on their porch dive bombing them I don't think they would want them their either.

Lagoon Pictures

Hi Family and Friends

Hi family and friends I just thought I would try this blog thing. Maybe keep people updated on our life. We just had Jill and Randy and their family here for a couple of days. Abby and Josey were participating in National Clogging Competition at Lagoon. We had a fun day watching them do their dances and riding on the rides at Lagoon. I even enjoyed getting soaked on Rattlesnake Rapids but was very glad to get home and change into dry clothes.