I just wanted you all to know what an advanced three-year-old looks like. Not that I have one, just that I am sure this is what they look like. Isn't she awesome?  She totally is not reading that book, but she sure makes it look like she is!  She is so funny. Imagine the thought process, "What should I do now?  Oh look, a book.  I know what my sisters do with it.  They sit just like this.  I know this will get fun if I just stick with it a little longer . . ." This week I was sitting on the bed talking to Kevin and she came in, took my hand, kissed it (multiple times) and said, "Come dance with me, my sweet!"

This is what a boy looks like who sees what he wants and jumps right in.  He continues to do dishes with gusto and cooks often.  This week, however, he also added vacuuming to his list of favorite activities.  The vacuum does not even have to be out for him to get it in his head that vacuuming is what he'd like to do.  He'll take a person's hand, lead them to the closet, and then wait with that perfect one-year-old confidence that we'll know exactly what it is he wants us to do.  Once we bring it into a room, he takes over, plugs it in and gets to work.  This wouldn't be so bad if I wasn't so sure that it is a frightful waste of electricity (he'd vacuum for an hour if I let him).  Also, if I happen to want to do the vacuuming, like a true gentleman, he just won't let me.  So, that means whenever he sets the head down (still running) I must jump up and get a few swipes in before he runs back to take over.  It changes getting the vacuuming done into a whole new skill, let me tell you.

Savannah continued in driver's ed this week where we are sure they are trying to kill her before she can ever get out on the road.  She must be in the classroom by 5:45 am and Monday thru Wednesday she had to be on the driving range from 2:45 to 6:00 pm.  This meant that she left the house at 5:30 in the morning and didn't return until 6pm.  Once home, she still had to do two worksheets, find articles on driving in the newspaper, and read chapters from the driver's handbook -- all just for driver's ed.  Once done, she still had homework for her regular classes!  Remember physics, math, English, oh yeah, and don't forget to memorize this monologue for theatre.  Crazy!  The poor girl.  Thank goodness there is only one more week.

We had more stomach flu this week.  Kevin and I and Mariah were all felled by it toward the end of the week.  Yuck, yuck. 

Mariah and I had one basketball game this week.  We lost again.  Here's my piece of advice, "If you're looking for a self-esteem boost, do not become a youth coach."  Ha, ha!  Actually, my team is doing a lot of good things and they are really enjoying playing the game and that is what matters.  Mariah is doing super good.  Watch out for that girl in years to come!  Sarah and Megan and Kevin had a game this week, too, and they won!  Go team!  I wasn't there because of the aforementioned stomach flu, but I hear that they played great.

Cali and Cheyenne continue to enjoy school and Winx and playing with friends.  They don't really enjoy cleaning their room, but they will do it when pestered sufficiently.  They think it stinks (literally ha, ha!) to have Bethany sleep in their room, but they are (usually) good sports about it.  They've brought their homemade lunch bags to school everyday since they made them and Calianne even called me once from school in tears because she thought she'd lost it (she had actually just left it home on accident!)  They are sweet girls who try to be good and do what is right.  And whose hair is always messy . . .

. . . and who have lots of dolls available with which to play.

This is the playdoh container that Ben set on fire!  Pretty impressive, huh?  My boy is not yet two and he has already set something on fire!  I had my back to the stove and Ben and Beth were playing at the table with playdoh when Ben got it in his head to cook the playdoh!  When I turned around, he had the container on one of the burners and had turned it on and was watching as it sunk into the grate while it quickly melted.  He looked pretty surprised.  His eyes got really big and after I saved it he said, "HOT!"  Which was pretty accurate.  I think that since he's smart enough to turn on the stove, I should be able to expect him to be smart enough to restrict the use of his new skill to appropriate circumstances!  Hopefully sooner than later.

Here he is helping me make spaghetti!

See him checking the flame?
He is a very conscientious cook!

We bought some of those tiny clementine oranges this week.  Bethany found the bag, brought three to me and asked, "Mom, will you teach me how to juggle?"  Isn't she the best?  I sent her to Mariah.  It turns out that inspite of her belief that I know how to do everything in the entire world, there are things I can't teach her!

Stomach flu went through our house this week felling Cheyenne and Savannah on Tuesday and Bethany and Benjamin on Friday.  I did laundry just about constantly!  Everyone seems to be better now.  It's a good thing stomach flu doesn't last long.  It is sure yucky and it's so sad to see your little ones miserable.

We had no school on Monday of this week.  Savannah used the time to meet with a couple of gals from her Chineese class to finish a project.  Then she worked in the late afternoon.  I took the rest of the kids (with the exception of Benjamin and Bethany who stayed home with me) to the $3 movie theatre and they saw Hugo together.  It's so fun that they enjoy doing things together and can take care of each other!

We had basketball games on Wednesday and Thursday.  We all lost with varying degrees of grace.  I think all the girls played well.  Mariah particularly had a great game, stealing the ball several times and making layups.  I think coaching is fun, but I am also finding that it is super stressful!

Savannah started driver's ed this week.  She has to be in the classroom by 5:45 every morning! 

Lucky for Kevin and I, we are carpooling.  Savannah seems to be doing well with the schedule and is learning a lot!  Next week she'll start driving with the instructor.  She might actually figure this driving thing out!  Yay for school driver's ed classes!

We had stake conference this weekend.  Savannah spoke in the youth session.  We were pleased that she got the chance and had the confidence and testimony with which to do it.  The adult session, you know, is two hours long, about halfway through, Bethany was tired of all the toys and books we'd brought, so she climbed onto my lap and started to chant, "This is boring.  This is boring."  I'm sitting here trying to think why I find that so amusing.  Maybe because she's only three and can identify her own emotions so well already.  Maybe because she didn't need to tell me it was boring for me to know that she felt that way!  Anyway, she makes me laugh.

We had basketball games on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week.  It was great fun!  My and Mariah's team have not won a game yet!  This is sad!  And yet, we are not sad after our games.  Everyone is having a really great time.  So, that is a good thing.  The wins may or may not come, but we are all getting better and having a good time while doing it.  That is what is important.  Sarah, Megan, and Dad won their first game on Thursday!  Yay!  Bethany went down to sit on the bench with Megan and Hannah.  She gives great basketball advice.

Thursday was the last day of second quarter for our schools.  I'm really pleased with my girls.  They are all working hard and doing really well.  Third quarter will start on Tuesday next week.  This affects Sarah the most.  She has really enjoyed her foods class, sewing class, and journalism class.  All three of them ended for her this week!!  :(  Those three classes have really made school fun for her the past few months.  In their place she will have choir, health, and PE.  Megan's classes stay mostly the same.  She will have PE instead of art.  Savannah will no longer have PE or computer tech.  She gets to start theatre and dance.  It sounds like it's Savannah's turn for a fun semester, huh?

Since it was the end of the quarter, there was no school on Friday.  Yay!  We were still quite busy, though.  I went grocery shopping in the morning while I had babysitters.  Yay!  While everyone helped put groceries away, Ben thought of other uses for the groceries:

That is a new abrasion on his head.
He ran into a wall.

 After going to the gym with Sarah to practice shooting, Mariah worked on her science project.

She is trying to simulate the tunnel vision of an owl.
Conclusion:  It's a good thing owls can move their necks so well,
because they can't see much otherwise!

 Meanwhile, I had promised the twins a sewing project.  I found this really easy pattern for making lunch bags.  http://www.skiptomylou.org/2008/05/08/lunch-time/  It turned out to be fabulous for beginning sewers:  all straight lines and something they can use!  We didn't use oilcloth, btw, we just used cotton we had around the house and we made it reversible -- twice as many straight lines!  I added the drawstrings to Chey and Cali's bags.  When we were done, Mariah wanted to make one, too.  It was great fun!  It looks like there will be less paper bag use around this house!



We actually started on Friday with the bags, but finished Cheyenne's and Mariah's on Saturday.  Other than that, Saturday was pretty relaxed.  It was 54 degrees here on Saturday!  I love it when winter lets go for a little bit and we get a reprieve!

We love our new wagon!

On Monday of this week we had great fun picking up our neice, Kayla, from the airport and bringing her down to her dorm at BYU.  It always brings back memories of our own time at BYU when we talk to kids who are going there now.  It was great fun to talk to Kayla and hear some stories from her!  She even let us come up and see her dorm room!  My girls thought it was great!  And it is.  It was a fun adventure.

We started basketball games this week!  Mariah and I had our first game on Wednesday.  My girls played great.  They scored 26 points!  That is a lot for this age!  We were ahead until the last four minutes when the other team started a full-court press.  I kept thinking I should go over that in practice . . . but I never did.  My team fell completely apart.  It was scary!  So, then we lost.  And it was my fault!!  Ah well.  We will go over that and things will be better.  Afterall, they scored 26 points  AND got 32 rebounds (my friend kept track for me).  They played really well.  It was fun.

Sarah, Megan, and Dad had their first game on Thursday.  They started the season against the hardest team.  The name of the gal on this team who is sooo good inspires fear in every jr. high basketball player in the Springville/Mapleton area.  You think I am joking, but I am not!  So . . . Kevin's team lost.  But they did play really well, and when Megan was guarding their star . . . she did not score.  Sarah did some great rebounding and passing and scoring.  They're both playing really well.  It's going to be a fun season.

Kevin and I went to temple night on Wednesday this week.  I had bookclub on Thursday night.  The girls had Young Women on Tuesday.  Kevin and I went out to eat and to the bookstore on Friday night, because that's what we like to do.

We woke up to snow on Saturday morning. It was our first big snowstorm. The girls were excited! All of the kids went out to play in the snow (except Savannah -- she did work on Saturday) and built snow forts, a snowman, and had a snowball fight (which, they discovered, was considerably less fun than the building of the fort -- all that cold and pain! Whoever decided snowball fights were fun? This comes from having all girls I am thinking). They used all the snow in the front yard, got snow from the back, and even "borrowed" snow from the neighbors -- the ones who, they said, they thought wouldn't mind (which amuses me).

Snowangels are harder when your sisters have taken all the snow out of the yard -- but Bethany figures it's worth a shot anyway!

Megan says that you need a scary snowman when he's part of a snow fort.

I think they made the forts so tall because the idea of kneeling in the snow hadn't really occured to them.  :)

Sarah, Megan, Mariah, and some neighbor friends also went to the mall on Saturday while Cheyenne and I went to JoAnn's.  We made some improvements to our front room as a result of some of those purchases!  We bought some fabric and some foam to make our piano bench "cushy."  Earlier this week we bought the nice shelf.  The baskets will hold piano music so it doesn't make unsightly piles on the top of the piano!  The flower arrangement I got really cheap at a craft store that is going out of business.  I am happy with it!

Yes, I did put African animals on our piano bench.  Cheyenne and I loved them!

Sarah took this picture at the mall when the girls were waiting to be picked up. Sarah said this is Megan's face when she realized that since church changed to 9am, she will only have one day to sleep in everyweek during the school year.   Can you just see the trauma???? 

Before the day was over, Kevin took the four older girls to the gym at the church for some more basketball.  Cheyenne said to me, "Mom!  You're not going to believe this, but Savannah is playing basketball!!!"  I guess Cheyenne doesn't remember when Savannah used to play ball, too!


Happy 2012!

I have to give credit to Sarah for the pictures for the blog this week, too.  She took 259 pictures to my 0.  That was a great present to give her for Christmas!

I can't believe that Christmas was just last week!  Last week there were 141 pictures on my camera, this week there was just 1.  Heh, heh.  Funny, huh?  I guess  I was burned out on that.  Fortunately, Sarah got a camera for Christmas!  She  took 382.  Impressive, right??

Our biggest news is that in 2011, the primary challenged the kids to read the Book of Mormon by Christmas.  They even handed out a schedule.  So, we couldn't resist and we gave it a try.  I am proud to report that on Christmas day we read the last chapter in the Book of Mormon.  We did it!

This is how our Book of Mormons looked when we were done.  Cheyenne said that her teacher, Mrs. Jarvis, said you could tell how much a book was loved by what kind of shape it was in.  She said that if Mrs. Jarvis saw our books she would say, "Wow!  The Skinners sure love The Book of Mormon!"

That was one of my favorite quotes from this year's reading experience (and made me feel better about the condition of such important books. . .)   My absolute favorite was when we were reading 3rd Nephi when Christ comes to America and Calianne said, "Wow!  The book is better than the movie!"  Of course, those were successful comments.  My next favorite was when we were reading about the Lamanites attacking the Nephite cities and Teancum sneaks into the enemy camp at night and kills the Lamanite king and one of the girls says . . . "When is something interesting going to happen?"

 Hello ???!!?

This week we also had basketball practice.  I had practice with Mariah's team Monday through Thursday from 9 to 11am.  It was tons of fun.  I like being a coach when I don't have to play in any games and LOSE.  Bummer.  I'll probably have to deal with that unfun part in the weeks ahead!  But, we sure put in our practice time!

Other than that, there was much playing with new toys . . .

 

 . . . and much inviting of friends over to play!

We also managed to get down the Christmas decorations.  Although, I really have to give most of the credit to Mariah's taking down and putting away skills and Sarah's vacuuming skills.  I love getting help with jobs I'm dreading!  But before all the decorations were put away, Sarah caught this sweet shot on her camera:

It was nice to have Savannah around again.  She only had to work two days this week.  She played alot of piano this week.  She also posted more of her writing on fanfiction.  She said that over 300 people from all over the world have read the things she's posted there.  Isn't that neat?  I think it is pretty cool.

Megan didn't feel well this week and was down for the count for a couple of days.  We were all glad when she was better and could joke with us and bring smiles to our faces again!

Another big item of note is that Cheyenne got her hair cut!  She decided to get it cut the week after Christmas.  I had been urging her to get it cut because it was getting thin in back.  She asked me how long it would take for it to be long again.  I said about one year. So, in order for it to be long again by Christmas . . . she decided on the day after Christmas for the deed to be done.  I love the logic of little people.  I think she looks super cute!

Last night was New Year's Eve and so we had our friends, the Groslands, over and we played games until midnight, watched the ball drop on Times Square, toasted the new year with Martinelli's, and watched the kids run outside without their shoes on.  Crazy kids.  It was great fun!  Here's to 2012!  I hope it is another great year!