Emily Turns 14

 

Emily had a birthday, shout HOORAY!!  She loves a comfy seat and German chocolate cake…a girl after my own heart!!

 

What can I say about this girl?  She’s beautiful, smart, awesome, persistent, talented and lots of fun.

Here are a few things you may or may not know about her:

She loves beef jerky, especially the peppered kind.

She is a super speed reader.  She got Michael Vey 4 and the Blood of Olympus books for her birthday and she had them both finished within a couple of weeks.

She is becoming an awesome piano player.  She plays most weeks for opening exercises in Young Women.

She loves being outside, away from all the boring stuff of life.

She recently started Winter guard (color guard) at the high school.  She is a natural!  She participated in Christmas Fantasy and did a great job!

She is an animal lover through and through.

She’s pretty good with a set of tools.  She got rusty bolts off her bike tires, replaced the tubes, and got everything in working condition all by herself.

She wants to be an architect.

She is really good at math and science.

She is a great helper with younger siblings.

She is very creative and artistic.

Preschool Adventures

 

In early October we learned that Daniel would not be able to continue attending his preschool at Sound Beginnings.  It is a long and emotional story, and involves decisions and processes that are likely not legal…but we decided not to fight the system and conserve our emotional and physical energy for our family.

So Daniel moved to the preschool at our elementary, right in our backyard.  It is nice to have him close (but sure wish he could get more hours of service) and Rachel and Caleb love being at school with him!

 

The change happened so quickly that he wasn’t able to ride the bus for the first couple of days.  WHAT?!?!?  He rides the bus??  Yep, all 200 yards to the front door of the preschool!  We were told it’s a good experience for him to ride the bus, and it helps him practice some of his language and social skills.  Whatever.  All I can say is he looooooves it!!  The first day was a little scary for him, because of the noise and unfamiliarity.  Since then, it has become the highlight of his day.

Is it coming yet??

 

Here it comes!!

 

Bus #61.

 

Daniel has been thriving (but sometimes being a wee bit naughty) in his new school.  He has a great teacher with lots of awesome aides and therapists.  I was lucky enough to get to go on a fieldtrip to the pumpkin walk with his class.  It was so fun to sit next to him on the bus and see just how excited he is to be a big kid.  We passed Jared’s work and he knew right where we were…

 

The pumpkin walk was fun, but a little overwhelming for his little legs and attention span!  He was NOT a fan of the character cut outs!

 

We are happy with the progress this kiddo is making.  He is using more words (over 60 words/approximations!!) and even signing more.  He is generally a happy and thriving kid who learns pretty quickly and captures hearts wherever he goes.

UEA Adventures

 

We took a little trip to Thanksgiving Point, Fillmore, Cove Fort and Provo for our UEA break.  Who knew being so close to home for vacation could be so much fun??

We stayed at a hotel next to Thanksgiving Point.  It was a great location and it had a swimming pool.  ‘Nuff said!!  I managed to forget Daniel’s swimming suit, but we were close enough to Walmart that we were able to get him some shorts and swimming diapers.  Whew!  Thank goodness for modern conveniences!

We explored a volcano in Kanosh and had fun looking through the hole in the rock.

 

We drove through Fillmore and stopped at the cemetery to see the gravesites for Grandparents and other ancestors.

Of course we stopped at the Finlinson wall.  And we even located some bacon!

 

We went to Cove Fort and explored the wonders of a real Pioneer settlement.

 

On our way to Provo, we passed the Payson and Provo Town Center temples (both under construction).

 

We went to BYU and ate at the CougarEat, explored the Bean Museum, and had ice cream at the Creamery.

 

Whew!  That was all in one day!

Then we spent a day at Thanksgiving Point’s Museum of Natural Curiosity and petting zoo.  I happen to know some people who were in heaven!

 

We ended our vacation with a stop at the cemetery to see Grandma F.’s gravesite, as well as other ancestors.

 

We had so much fun!!  We are thinking that a UEA vacation needs to become an annual tradition.  Wonder where we’ll go in 2015?!?!