WARNING

Can you guess why Jeremy's smiling like this?

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Because of this…

Thought I'd warn ya … there is another crazy driver on the road!
(hehehe … we love you Jeremy and are proud of you!)

Racing Day

Jeremy can't wait until he can drive. So we took him to F1 Race Factory for his birthday. This place is fun!

Happy Birthday Jeremy

Today Jeremy is 15 years old, standing at 5' 11", with a head of hair that any woman would die for.

He started high school in the fall and loves to hang out with friends at the bike park, play video games and on occasion will play with his sisters. He's looking forward to getting his driving permit in 6 months … watch out everyone! Happy Birthday Jeremy. We love you and hope you have a great day!

Love,

Dad, Evon, Rachel and Alex

White Christmas ; )

Fall Break

Rachel and Alex had the privilege of going to a horse camp for a week during fall break. Every morning they had to groom the horses, clean the barn, memorize the different parts of the horse and saddle. They even had a 30 minute riding lesson every day and had a daily field trip such as going to a horse show and a horse hospital. The last day they got to go on a 1 hour trail ride. They had a blast.

Jeremy spent his time at the bike park hanging out with friends.

Jeremy at the bike park

Piano/Clarinet Lessons

The girls decided to teach each other how to play the other's instrument. Rachel showed Alex how to play the clarinet and how to properly place her fingers. Rachel went over the notes and Alex got so excited she ran up to me and said, "Hey mom, guess what! The notes on the clarinet are the same as the piano! Can you believe it?" I joined in her excitement and said, "Wow, that's great!"

Alex gave Rachel piano lessons and gave her note cards to study and put tape on the keys indicating each note. She taught her about posture and the correct way to use her hands. She made notes in a notebook to let Rachel know the areas she needs to work on and also gave her very positive feedback like, "You are doing awesome." When Rachel would sit at the piano and get ready to play, Alex would say, "Posture," and Rachel would sit up straight. Alex is a little Sabrina in the making. You did a great job Sabrina. Alex misses you!

Rachel is a natural at the piano and she has already taught herself how to play several songs. And yes, I said piano not keyboard — we finally bought a piano!!! Jeremy was uneasy about us getting a piano because it doesn't have a headphone jack like the keyboard and now he has to listen to the piano being played. Last Sunday he asked if we could have a day of NO PIANO!

FHE-Funnies

We had Family Home Evening the other night and Seth talked to the kids about prayer and what kinds of things we should pray for. I decided to share an experience that I just recently had with prayer. I told the kids that I was having bad feelings about someone and that this person was annoying me and I felt bad about these feelings I was having cause I knew they were wrong. I decided to say a prayer and ask Heavenly Father to help take these bad feelings away and twenty minutes later I felt better and by the end of the day I wasn't even thinking about that person. While I'm trying to be spiritual and share my experience during FHE and teach them by example I get these responses: Alex looks at me and says: "Mom, was it me?" No it wasn't you. Rachel: "Was it me?" No it wasn't you. Seth: "Was it me?" No it wasn't you. Seth: "Oh, I know who it was" (Jeremy wasn't here that night but it wasn't him, either! And for anyone reading this right now, NO it wasn't you either!!! Seriously. Especially if you're related or in a Ray ward! It's not you.)

"Jeremy" by Alex

Click to enlarge picture.

Back 2 School

OK, this picture was taken on the 3rd day of school. (My camera ran out of batteries on the first day). Jeremy started high school. He's not pictured because he was already out the door as I grabbed my camera. Rachel entered 5th grade and joined the school band. She said she loves her teacher. Alex entered 4th grade and started a new school and is busy making new friends. The girls go to the same school now. It was really cute to see them walk to school together with their friends on Monday. Guess my days of sleeping in are over till fall break!

Fun in the Sun

We took our first family vacation this summer. We went to Lake Pleasant and rented a jet ski for a couple of days. We had so much fun it was a bonding experience for everyone. The kids said it was the best vacation they ever had! We came back tired, sore and sunburned but it was well worth the memories we created together. Can't wait to do it again next year!

Click here for the pictures.