Play Time!

First Measureable Snow

We had our first sizeable snowfall last week and Matthew couldn't wait to get out in it.

HS Christmas Dance

Kayla attended the High School Christmas Dance this weekend. Here are a few pics of her in her formal - made by her Mom!

Holiday Cookie Bake-Off

Sarah is conducting the BEST HOLIDAY COOKIE BAKE-OFF! All you need to do is submit your favorite Christmas cookie recipe, she will bake up the cookies, taste-test them, and post the winner(s) on our blog. Reply to this post with your favorite cookie or email it to us at mniteline@hotmail.com . The prize - making a young girl happy knowing someone participated in her grand idea! So...send us your favorite Christmas or holiday cookie recipe, we can't wait to try it!!! We'll post the winner's name on our blog and hopefully some pics of the winning cookie.

Army's Secret Weapon DISCOVERED...

Today I've discovered what could be the Army's next secret weapon...Matthew! As we went to the dentist office for a third visit to try and fix a cavity he was given the drug, versed, to calm him and make him sleepy. Well, Matthew is one of a handful of people who do not respond well and actually became combative, agitated, and very angry! He accused the dentist of "being a BAD guy", commanded him to "Put your hands up", and then proceeded to shoot him, "Pheeew". He ripped off his earphones, bib, and "nose" (gas mask) and was grabbing at the dentist's glasses. He was totally NOT himself...hitting cars with his fist as we walked by them, stomping his feet, yelling at me and anyone else (shut up, I hate this, I hate that, I'm hungry, etc.), trying to escape his booster seat in the car, crumbling his lunch in his fists, pouring out his drink, and staggering along as he walked, and forgetting things (like where I put his toy...in his pocket). It was quite the surprise and experience today to see my three-year old boy behave as a mean drunk. He just couldn't be reasoned with. I hope he will never get drunk in the future and I will pray for the safety of the community if he ever does! Needless to say after 3 tries we will be waiting until he is a little older to fix that tooth.

Our Thoughts and Prayers

Our thoughts and prayers go out to our neices and nephew - Richard, Kendra, Charlotte, and Winona at the loss of their mother and our former sister-in-law, Carla Gallegos Campbell. She died unexpectedly of a brain aneurism last week. She wasn't even 50 years old yet. Her funeral will be tomorrow, Tuesday, November 18th.

Preschool

Well...Matthew started preschool this week for the Child Development class at the High School. It will only be 4 days a week for 3 weeks, but at least he is getting exposure to other kids outside of church. He was a little clingy the first day, but now by the end of the week he is in the swing of things! One great thing is that there are 4 student teachers from our neighborhood. According to Chelsea Tuesday night, Matthew has been somebody different each day...Spiderman and then Batman. Who knows who he'll be for them next week! As long as he is good, I'm okay with it. She also informed us he has a hard time "sitting still", but we already knew that!!! Good Luck High School Students! Your definetely getting your education now!

Brielle is One-Year Old!

Brielle turned 1-year old on Monday, September 22! We had a party for her on Sunday night...It took her a while to get into the cake, and once she did; she didn't want to stop. Her favorite birthday gift was a new baby doll! She is now 30 1/2 inches tall (still off the chart) and weighs 24 pounds (75 percentile). She still doesn't have much hair to do anything with yet, and is starting to be busier than ever. She is starting to walk and will initiate walking on her own. About the most steps she's ever taken at once is about 10 little baby steps!! She is the master of climbing though...she can climb up on my 5-gallon buckets (used for food storage)in the kitchen and stand up next to the kitchen counter. As well, she can climb upon the couches...we'll need to move the large couch away from the stairwell soon!

Eagle Project Open House/Dedication

We attended the Open House and Dedication of the Drak home on Saturday, September 6th. There was local media there from channels 3 and 6. It was cool to be a part of something so wonderful!

A Second Published Poet in the Family...

I submitted one of Brandon's poems for publication because I thought it was great; obviously, so did the judges. His poem, like Kayla's will be published in "A Celebration of Poets", (West, 7-12, Summer 2008 edition). Here is his poem:

Two Year Old Brothers
Two year old brothers are a pest
Two year old brothers jump on my chest

Two year old brothers mess up my room
Two year old brothers hit me with a broom

Two year old brothers like to scream
Two year old brothers can be rather mean

Two year old brothers throw a fit
Two year old brothers sometimes spit

Two year old brothers are a pest
Two year old brothers are the best!

The Homecoming Dance!

Kayla went to the Homecoming Dance this year with another fellow-senior, Derek Sharp! She had a wonderful time; thanks Derek!!

Eagle Project - Final Day!!

We finished our final day of landscaping with the largest group ever, 17!! We were able to finish earlier than normal and left by 2:30. The days after we finished laying the sod, it poured rain here! It was a wonderful blessing to the family since they did not have any water hooked up to the home yet. The project was finished for a total of 131 1/2 hours of work!! We will follow up next month with the Court of Honor!! Excellent job, Brandon!

Eagle Project - 2nd Day

Sorry to take so long posting the pictures....

Welcome Alexys!

My sister, Hillary, had her third baby yesterday - Thursday, August 21 at 1:28 pm. she weighed in at 8 pounds and 15 ounces and is 19 1/2 inches long. She looks a lot like her older sister, Breklynn.

Brandon's Habitat for Humanity Landscaping Eagle Project

DAY ONE: Well it's been in the planning phase for several months now, and we finally did the first day of physical work yesterday, Saturday, August 16th. Needless to say, some of us are sore! It was great to do the work and we are looking forward to next Saturday with a little bigger youth crew. The Saturday before school starts was a very popular day to be busy, but we were thankful for the help who did come! Thanks Nate, Jason, and Jacob!!! We were very greatful so see some LDS missionaries show up to help mid-morning and look forward to seeing them again in the next couple weeks. Some of the dirt was a compacted clay and was more like breaking up rock. JR's tractor "Oliver" saved the day when he ripped up some of the soil for us. It wasn't until the last hour that our driveway expert thought to hook up his snow plow to his truck and bring it on over to level things out. It was the first time it was used in the month of August!! We ended up staying about an hour longer than anticipated, but got the job done!! Way to go Brandon!!

It's GOOD to be HOME!

We just returned from a week and a half vacation to Colorado to visit Blaine's family and as always it's good to be home. We thoroughly enjoyed our 3-part trip: 1) The Pioneer Day Celebration in Manassa, Colorado (2-day parade, carnival rides, rodeo, moto-bike competition, demolition derby, and many hamburgers) 2) The FAMILY Reunion at a cabin in the mountains by the Conejos River with all of Blaine's family - Wonderful! and 3) Colorado Springs - Family, Friends, Shopping, Camping and Water Skiing (Brandon), Swimming at the YMCA, and Chipotle Burrito - we hadn't had a Chipotle burrito since Minnesota (yes, it was way good!). Now the countdown begins for school...summer is coming to an end. :(

Lovette Family Reunion 2008

We just returned from Marci's Family Reunion near Ashton, Idaho! It was wonderful to see extended family. The reunion had to be cut a day short because of all the mosquitos. This picture of Matthew tells it all...this is with bug spray after 2 days!! Poor guy!

The Sign Says It All:

Solo Roadtrip

Well, Kayla finally took her first solo roadtrip...to Pocatello! She took the old family van and navigated her way there and back in one piece, by herself; no other passengers. She went to spend the night with her cousin, Taylor. Way to go Kayla!!

Birthdays, Birthdays!

Well, Brandon turned 14 on June 5th; and Sarah turned 12 on June 6th. We celebrated with Brandon while the 2 older girls were at Girl's Camp; and then joined the girls at camp to celebrate Sarah's birthday. I have to say we were the most popular parents there (thanks to the big birthday cake we brought with us!). Brandon was ordained to the office of a Teacher in the Aaronic Priesthood on Sunday, and Sarah graduated from Primary and is now officially in the Young Women's program! We are so very proud of them and their accomplishments and dedication to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

And She's Off!

Well life is going to get much busier real fast - Brielle started crawling this week! She's trying to get ahead of herself and I have even seen her on her hands and feet (with the butt up in the air) like she wants to walk like a monkey!! She has cut two teeth on the bottom and we are enjoying her immensely!

A "Published" Poet!

One segment of Kayla's English class this year was poetry. Her teacher submitted one poem of each of the student's into a poetry contest. Kayla received a letter this week that her's was selected to be published in a hardbound book, the 2008 "A Celebration of Young Poets". We are so proud of her and she is so excited!! With this honor also comes the opportunity to be a judge of all those selected to be published in the book. The top ten will receive cash and prizes totally $3000! Good luck Kayla!!

A Milestone for Brandon

I remember how proud I was the day I was as tall/taller than my MOM! Today, that day is Brandon's! He is finally 5'7'', the same as his Mother! Way to go Brandon...another inch and you'll be as tall as Kayla, another eight to nine to catch your Dad! :)

It's May Once Again...

We woke up to several inches of the white stuff on the ground yesterday, May 1; and we are celebrating our 18th Wedding Anniversary this Sunday on May 4. It has been a wonderful 18 years and I feel so blessed to have a wonderful husband and 5 beautiful, healthy children!

After 10 Years...

and 200,000 miles, we finally bought a newer family Van!! Yep, the Plymouth Voyager has now become the teenager mobile...and we have moved on to a 2005 Toyota Sienna. We have somehow managed to stay with a patterned color scheme - 2 green vehicles (Ford Courier, Fiat Strata) 2 white vehicles (Chevy Lumina, Plymouth Voyager, Toyota Corolla - briefly) and now 2 tan vehicles (Ford Explorer and the Toyota Sienna)!

P.S. I never knew how much happiness an old van could bring to a driving teenage daughter! :)

Ballroom Dancing

Brandon and Sarah were in the Gem State Classic competition at the BYU-Idaho campus. Sarah was able to win her first ribbons at this event and took home 2nd place in the Pre-teen Waltz, Bronze level. She also won 6th place in the Pre-teen Waltz, Silver level (more difficult). Since Brandon's level has advanced and he is dancing in the "A" group, the competition is tougher and he wasn't able to add to his ribbon collection this time. He is still an excellent dancer though!

They also had team competitions. Brandon was able to fill in on Sarah's team at the last second because he is one year ahead of Sarah. Brandon's team came in 2nd place. I'm attaching a video clip of his second place Samba routine, "Best Days of Our Life" (he is the second boy from the right in the line-up). Matthew fell down the stairs in the middle of the routine...so there's a little blooper in the filming!!

Me and Mary

Ringing in the New Year with my cousin, Mary, in our purple PJs! Mary is about 3 1/2 months older than me.

Tall Baby!

Brielle just went for her 4-month check-up and has grown 3 inches and gained 3 pounds in 2 months!! She is now 27 inches long (off the charts) and weighs nearly 16 pounds (90th percentile).