Projects

Ah, the end of the school year. It seems every week there is a project due! Here are a couple we did recently:

Haily did a Great Brain Report where she could research and present a report on any topic she chose. Lots of kids in her class did things like Little Pet Shops, Koala Bears, and so on. Haily chose to do hers on volcanoes! She read a book about them, and we did some research online. Here is the model we built:

We practiced the eruption the  night before about 4 times. It worked every time. When we did it for the class, it did not work! So sad! So the next day I went in and did it again. This time it worked!

Paige’s grade did a zoo where they each and to research an animal and make replica to display in the zoo. She chose the elephant. Here is the one we built:

It was her idea to use the milk carton and to use raw spaghetti for the grassland habitat.

Some more of Charlie playing soccer:

My little girl is growing up!

And for Mother’s Day:

I ordered myself some new running shoes! After the hundreds of miles put on the old pair, I thought it was about time. But the best gifts are the hand made ones from the kids. Haily did a magazine at school where she answered questions about me. If she could give me anything it would be “ 1,000,000,000 dolers”, my favorite restaurant is “McDonalds”, and my favorite TV show is “Opra Wimfree”!

Jean

Thursday, April 14th, 2011 Jon’s grandma passed away. She was one of the greatest people I’ve ever known. I wish I could claim that she was on MY side of the family! She did make me feel just like one of her own. She truly had the ability to LOVE. She made everyone feel so welcome and special. She will be sorely missed.

We had the opportunity to visit her somewhat often over the past year or so. Here are some of the photos we took with her.

February 2010:

 

May 2010

September 2010

This is a picture of a statue that she loved and was printed on the back of the funeral programs:

Here we are after the funeral:

It was a beautiful Spring day and the service was lovely. Lots of happy memories were shared. The girls and I wrote a poem.

In Memory of Jean

A poem for the poet,

With eyes of brilliant blue,

Gentle hands and auburn hair,

A heart so kind and true.

Little Mary Leona,

Her Daddy called her Jean,

And paid her brothers to do the same,

To her mother’s eyes unseen.

Secret money giving,

She learned it while so small,

She’d tuck some in your pocket,

Before you knew at all.

Love at first sight struck young Jean,

They’d dance the nights away,

Then run away to marry,

His name was Norris Kay.

Never forgot a birthday,

Or special occasion missed,

Each child lit up her face,

As their tender cheeks she kissed.

Around her table they’d gather,

Played Go Fish or Slap a Jack,

Out at the pomegranate tree,

They’d gather some in a sack.

We loved her potato salad,

Only she could make it right,

We also loved her happy smile,

It was so big and bright.

She always loved the movies,

To the theater she’d go,

Or stay home with warm milk,

And settle in for a show.

So much fun to be with,

Always made a clever joke,

She’d drop her head and laugh,

Then sip her mug of coke.

Caught between two worlds,

As her time was drawing nigh.

So many here would miss her,

When they had to say goodbye.

The children and the grandkids,

A loving husband most.

Who would eat the nightly mush,

And perfect piece of toast?

“Who will love me like she did?”

She had the magic gift.

Each felt like her favorite.

Her words, their spirits lift.

The duty left to each of us,

She showed us what to do.

She learned from the Master,

Love as I loved you.

Encircled in His loving arms,

Health and beauty hers again,

With daughter, parents, countless more,

Welcomed home by waiting kin.

Now she watches over us,

Sending signs of love,

A hummingbird in Springtime,

A pair of mourning doves.

By Amy, Paige, and Haily Askerlund

These doves came and perched in the tree of her front yard after the funeral. We thought it was a tender moment and looked into the symbolism of these birds:

..."DOVE - reminds us how important peace is. The peace symbolized by Dove is that of the deepest kind. It quiets our worried and troubled thoughts, and allows us to find renewal in the silence of mind. In such moments of stillness we are able to appreciate simple blessings. It reminds us that no matter what is happening in our lives, there are always new possibilities open to us..."

The dove is a universal symbol of peace and innocence. In ancient Greek myth it was a bird of Athene which represented the renewal of life.

Out like a lamb

Here are some of the things we have been keeping busy with these last few weeks!

Zion National Park has quickly become one of our family’s favorite places. We bought an annual pass this year! (p.s. we love to go with friends! Anyone interested?)

This one is actually at Snow Canyon:

Meg saw the other kids gathering walking sticks and wanted one of her own.

Emerald Pools hike:We hiked out another way and looking back you can see the trail to Emerald Pools:Beautiful day.

The new rec center opened here in town and we have loved it! I am thoroughly enjoying my new workout routine. I had been going to aerobics at the church for a little over a year and it was great for that time. I could take my kids and it was fun! But now I am enjoying going without the kids and having some “me” time.

There is a great pool there and all the kids love swimming!

Meg doesn’t look happy here but trust me she was having a ball!

Paige and Meg coming down the slide:

We decided to let Charlie try soccer again even though last year he was less than enthusiastic. He’s on a team with friends this time. They had their first game over the weekend and they won! (I think, we don’t really keep score at this age.)

Here’s Meg just hangin’ out in the Cozy Coupe. She loves it, and Elmo who she calls LaLa because of his song, “la la la la, la la la la, Elmo”s World…”

We have a very generous neighbor who has supplied us with hand-me-downs for Meg ever since before she was born! Here she is going through a latest delivery:

It’s great fun for all the kids. Of course Meg had to put the boots on right away.

We took an excursion to the Bean Museum in Provo. It was interesting and fun for the kids. I couldn’t help but wonder what Meg and Charlie thought since we had been to the zoo the week before.

Growth

It’s been a couple months since I’ve posted. I want to make a more regular effort to post, even if I feel like there is nothing significant to report, or I don’t have the time to make the post AMAZING!

So, let’s start with my little getaway without the kids! Jon and I went with Dave and Shelle to St, George, and spent one evening in Vegas. Here are some highlights:

We had lunch one day at this place:

So, so good! Curry has become a new favorite of mine. I even made Jon take me to a Thai place a few weeks later for our anniversary. (Which was our 12th, on the 12th of March, and 12 is Jon’s favorite number.)

We went to the Bellagio in Las Vegas and ate the the buffet. I can’t even begin to list the delicious and vast amount of food I consumed. The watermelon was so fresh and sweet, the caprese salad was so mouth watering. The crème brulee was delectable.  Here are some pictures in the hotel’s big display. The theme is “Year of the Rabbit”.

We went into Zion's. It was so quiet and peaceful. It was a lovely time. Such a contrast to the night in Vegas.

Back to life…

Paige did a science project about how plants get water from the ground. Here she is next to her display. I’d known about it for weeks and we had looked into some options but the due date really snuck up on us. We put this together the night before.

Here is a photo of Meg. Jon had gotten her out of her bed late at night and brought her downstairs! This is the way we roll around here! She really is a wonderful sleeper, but every once in a while she resists bedtime a little bit. And those are the nights she is a real daddy’s girl.

Meg is now old enough to be in the nursery at church. She finally stayed in there the whole last hour! When I picked her up, she said, “Bubbles! Jesus!”

She is a tiny little thing, weighing in at 18 pounds. But she does have a vocabulary of over 100 words! She keeps us laughing and fills us with joy.

We got to go the baptism of my nephew last week. It was a special day! Haily is really looking forward to her own baptism, just a couple months away.

Charlie is becoming the perfect yin/yang personality. He can be such a tender hearted sweetie and also such a defiant, stubborn button pusher. He got kicked out of his primary class last week. But the following week was much better, possibly because of the agreement we made that he could have a new mermaid doll if he did well. Ah, Charlie.

The past few months have been a lot like Charlie’s personality actually. A lot of turmoil and trials, and yet a lot of tender mercies. People have reached out in care and concern. I have had some sweet opportunities for learning and growth in the temple and in answer to fasting. Prayers have become more frequent, fervent, and meaningful. Relationships have been tested and strengthened.

My brother, Ben,  made a comment that you always learn a lot about yourself when you are going through the harder times. This is so true. Sometimes the things that become evident in ourselves are the things that need some work. This is the Lord showing us our weaknesses that they may become strengths.

These are also the times we learn the most about God as He reveals himself to us through the miracles that we pray so fervently for.

Springtime is on the horizon.