Looks Like We Made It

I don't have internet yet and I haven't taken a single picture but if you're interested in reading a little, I'm posting.
The drive turned out really well. Dan was amazing and I was just a passenger the entire time. The kids were mostly cheerful, except for the occasional temper tantrum by Donald, but we would have had that at home anyways. The first night we were in Laramie, Wyoming. The second day I got a migraine halfway through Nebraska. I was so upset but I was able to rest a little through it and once we got to Omaha I was actually able to help get the kids to bed. The third day we ended up in Chicago and I was so happy to see Ane and the family. It was really wonderful for the kids to be in a house and play with cousins. On Saturday we drove to Richfield, Ohio and finally on Sunday we made it!! When we asked the kids about their favorite part of the trip it was definitely swimming and playing Nintendo DS, oh yeah, and visiting their cousins!!
Sunday night we made beds and ate dinner and I tried to sleep but the rental bed was way to hard for my aching pregnant body. We had it replaced yesterday and I can finally sleep again.
Monday we unpacked and Dan did a ton of shopping. Some friends had us over for dinner and it was wonderful to have a break from unpacking.
Tuesday we tried to get the kids into school but didn't have all the paperwork we needed. We were lucky to find out their teachers and get a tour. The school is amazing. I kept oooohing and aaahing and I think the school secretary must have thought I was born in a barn. They have a paid music, art, and p.e. teacher and they have super facilities for each. You can pay for lunches online! and the library made me drool. The best part of all is they have really great teachers and really small class sizes, well, compared to Utah.
Wednesday was their first official day and it went really well for all of them. Rebecca had two friends to invite over after school and they all had tons of homework. They made it home on their first bus ride and Thursday morning they managed to catch their bus as well. I had a migraine Thursday morning so that was rough but today has been a little better. I'm thankful it's Friday and I'm trying to take it easy.
Unfortunately I have to go to the library for internet so I won't be checking very often. We'll get internet at our house on February 1 is what we're hoping.
Virginia is so beautiful and our house is perfect for this little adventure. I love the kids school and Dan is enjoying his work thus far. I'm surprised when I look out my windows that Virginia still feels like home. Utah has been home for a few years and before that I didn't think home existed but I find when I go out and about that I am reminded of all the things I loved about Virginia. It was, after all, home for some pretty formative years. I can't wait to see old friends and hopefully I'll have some energy to get reaquainted with the area.
Next on my list is finding a Dr. and getting an ultrasound so we can find out if we're having a boy or a girl...

You're Invited

I've had so much fun teaching the kids piano this school year. We aren't sure what our piano situation will be in Virginia so I decided to have them all prepare a recital piece over Christmas vacation so they could show off all the things they've learned so far.

I started out just teaching the girls again this year but one day Charlie decided he wanted to learn too. I asked Adrian if he would want lessons and he said absolutely not until he saw how well Charlie was doing. Then he knew he could do better and he had to prove it. (Sometimes the competitive side of boys really works to my advantage.)

They've all done really well and I love learning how each one of them learns differently. I also love how they are all learning to express themselves in their music.

Rebecca has been taking leaps and bounds this year because it suddenly got really complicated. She's learning how to alter her fingering in the middle of a song, she's stretching her hand beyond the normal 5 finger reach, and the music no longer has the flats and sharps marked throughout. The funny thing is that she's actually run across some songs that she couldn't play immediately with no mistakes. It's cute to see how shocked she is when she actually has to practice and it doesn't sound perfect right away. This was one of those weeks but she worked really hard and has learned some valuable skills.

to the Blodgett

Shari is amazing to listen to. Whenever I sit down to teach her a lesson I get little tears in my eyes because she plays with so much heart and she really pays attention to the dynamics and mood of her music. She found this song to be really difficult when she first started practicing it but came out with it memorized!! She's brilliant, and I know it's not because of her teacher.

Family Recital

Adrian took off at the beginning of the year and went so quick through his books because he kept playing a few songs ahead of what I had him practicing. He loved to surprise me with all the things he taught himself. Here he is playing a piece called "Christopher Columbus".

Charlie has been working so hard this year to meet all his ornery teachers demands. He memorized his whole recital piece and he's had so much fun playing it for anyone who will listen. See if you can recognize the tune.

Donald wowed us with his own dramatic interpretation of some sort of car/train/truck crash. He's very gifted when it comes to expressing himself.

Bowling in the Basement

Charlie got a bowling set for Christmas and it's pretty entertaining.

Christmas Pictures

On Christmas Eve we usually open a present from Mom and Dad and it's usually pajamas. Here's our cool crew modeling their new pjs.

Christmas morning was filled with excitment but we never got a group picture. So, here they are with some of their favorite presents.
Adrian got a BYU football uniform and he was so excited. The good news is he could wear it with pride after the Las Vegas bowl!

Charlie didn't even know what this was when he opened it but it turns out he really loves it. It's a glow-in-the dark, laser-guided, zero-gravity, remote control car. It is way cool and the best thing is that it actually works. It can drive up our walls and it really does follow that little laser pointer.

The girls got cabbage patch dolls with pretty hair that they can style. I think they're adorable and I guess I'm a little sentimental because I know I won't be able to get them dolls for Christmas very much longer. They do love them and Donald has played with them a little himself. It'll be good practice for him with the new baby on the way. We'll have to work on his technique a little since he likes to throw them across the room and slam their noses on the wall for time outs. He's very strict.

Donald mostly got books. In fact every picture we have of him, besides this one, is with books. He really is a book worm but it turns out he is also a TV bug and his favorite movie is Cars. We have had it recorded on our DVR for a long time but now he has his own copy so we can watch it all the way to Virginia. Rebecca got Monsters VS. Aliens and it turns out Donald really likes that movie too.

Dan and I had a great Christmas. We agreed to keep our gifts for each other small because our real Christmas gift is our new van. Dan got me some terrific microfiber socks and they're really warm. He also gave me a couple of kitchen gadgets that will come in very handy. I gave him some headphones for his Ipod and it turns out that the headphones you get when you buy an Ipod really stink. The ones I bought him are awesome. I was listening to them while I was doing the dishes the other night and I could completely tune out my entire family even if they were standing right next to me talking to me. It was awesome. I could never wear them unless there's another adult in the house because I would have no idea what anyone was doing.

I hope everyone else had a Merry Christmas too!

Thanks Uncle Wii

Here's the kids' reaction to their present from Uncle Wii (Craig) and Aunt Rebekah. The actual video is longer, but we had to edit it to fit here, so we picked the best part of the reaction.

There are more pictures that we'll post later, but we wanted to put this up.