Hamilton Family Newsletter
May 2016
May 2016
FAMILY: May is always a busy, fun month for us - we survived
another school year! Yay!! Kezia made it through Kindergarten with Mrs. Ekker,
Ireland finished 3rd grade with Mrs. Strother & McKinley completed 4th with
Mr. Sahagun. They all had a good year and did wonderful. The 2nd was North Elementary's Art Night.
Ireland performed Shakespeare's Sonnet 18 with the rest of her class and
McKinley worked as a leadership team member to help direct people. We bought
their artwork & got to have a treat there, too :) On the 10th, we all attended the YW
fundraiser spaghetti dinner at the church. It's always fun to see our friends
and watch the dessert auction at the end. The 12th was Heidi & Jason's 16th
anniversary & they went out to dinner at Sonny Boy's BBQ :) That evening
the Simon family came for a visit! We had lots of fun with them, including
going to the Lake at the Hills, hiking in Zions, having a movie night
downstairs, and having a backyard S'more fest. It was so fun to have them here
& the girls loved to play with them. Saturday the 14th was Kezia's last soccer
game and Grandma Devenish, Grandpa Devenish, Aunt Kim, Hayden & Canyon came
to see it! She did great & scored a few goals, too! Afterwards, we all went
out to eat at Arctic Circle. Grandma Potts & GG came to visit on the 19th
and we enjoyed seeing them while they were here! We also had a Share BBQ the
night of the 19th & it was great to eat and visit with fellow loss
families. The evening of the 20th, we
had the missionaries over for dinner & enjoyed hearing about one Elder who
lived in Canada and had served in PEI just after Heidi & Jason were there.
We headed up north on Thursday evening, the 26th and attended Kalli's high
school graduation on the morning of the 27th. We are so proud of her &
excited to see what life brings her way! Afterwards, we went to the Edwards for
a little party and then we all headed up to Mapleton Canyon. This year we
seemed to have especially good weather & really enjoyed our time up there -
as fragmented as it was. Another wonderful thing for us was that RB let us stay
in the trailer he bought from us, so it was fun for us to spend some time in that
trailer where we have really good memories. So, we stayed in Mapleton Friday
night through Saturday evening. We headed back to the Potts' for the night,
took showers & headed to the Edwards early Sunday to attend their church
and Michael's priesthood ordination. A BBQ at the Edwards afterwards was fun!
and then we headed back up to Mapleton :) We stayed overnight on Sunday and
then helped pack up on Monday. Heidi & Jason headed to their belated
anniversary get-away at a bed & breakfast in American Fork & Grandma
& Grandpa took the kids back to their house for the night. Heidi &
Jason enjoyed going to the movies (X-Men, apocolypse), out to eat (Paradise
Bakery & Rodizio Grill), and relaxing at the bed & breakfast. It was very
relaxing. Thank you Grandma & Grandpa for helping out! Monday afternoon, we
headed to Murray and helped for a few hours with moving Grandma & Grandpa
Potts to their new home in Midvale. We will miss their Murray home, but are
excited for their upcoming life changes! Other than all that fun, Jason &
Heidi have been keeping busy with the rental. Our downstairs renters moved out
and we have been trying to salvage the yard as well as get new renters.
Thankfully, we found some renters at the end of the month - yay!!
JASON: Jason has been Mr. Super-man this month! He has been so
busy at work. He finished his detail, but applied for the permanent position
and in the interm was doing both his budget analyst position and filling in for
the detail position. So - he's been working long hours! Thankfully, at the very
end of the month we found out that he got the promotion to the permanent GS-11
Administrative Operations Specialist position. YAY!!! WE ARE SO PROUD OF HIM!
Way to go! After working hard for 5 years at the Dixie, we feel humbled &
blessed and proud of Jason for all his hard work. The Forest Supervisor, Ange,
was very praiseworthy in her announcement of his new position. :) In addition
to extra work, he's been working hard at the rental, putting in new sprinkling
systems, mowing, etc. And in addition to THAT, he was just called as the Elders
Quorum President in our ward. He has just called his counsolers and is excited
to work with them.
HEIDI: Heidi's month has been busy shuttling kids and going
to end-of-year school events with the girls, as well as coordinating new carpet
for the downstairs rental, listing it, and showing it. Mother's Day was at the
beginning of the month & Heidi enjoyed the church program, the sweet
treats, and daddy's dinner (which mom chose) of lettuce wraps - yum! - and
asphalt pie for dessert! She got lots of wonderful homemade cards, too. They
were so sweet. & daddy got her flowers. On the 20th, Heidi had carpal
tunnel surgery on her left hand & it went well. She is glad both hands are
done & feels like it has really helped & will continue to help make
this 3rd trimester bearable :) We also got a new mattress so that has helped
with hip, shoulder and wrist pain. She's already feeling very large and has
gotten her fair share of "any day now?" comments.) Heidi got a jury
summons at the end of the month, but thankfully after writing a letter to the
judge asking for an excusal, she was granted one. This time at least! She
enjoyed going to a baby shower for her friend Hannah Price, who is having a
"surprise baby" at 40 & needed some extra things. She also has
been busy with the Relief Society Activity Committee (they called a new group)
and Activity Days. And she has LOVED that Cindy, Trisha, and mom have all
visited her in the past month! It's been so fun be with them :)
McKINLEY:
-McKinley has really enjoyed 4th grade and is sad to be done with Mr. Sahagun's class. She has Mrs. Isom for next year (a new teacher), and is excited to be in her last year of elementary school this fall.
-McKinley continues to excel at piano and has learned some really fun pieces this month, including Splish Splash and the Looney Tunes theme song.
-She has been busy with the Leadership Team this month, including Teacher appreciation, helping with Arts night, and helping with the introduction night for those new students from 3 Peaks Elementary who will be coming to North next year.
- We are so proud of McKinley for being a member missionary and inviting her school friend, Madison, to church! She brought her on the 15th and it was her first time coming to an LDS church. We hope she will come again!
-McKinley's big project this month was doing a report on Duchesne County. She did it all online and it turned out really good & she learned a lot! (even if it meant staying up late for a couple nights)
-One day in the car, McKinley asked dad if he was a tender or a bass. :) We explained that it's TENOR not tender, but tender does describe Jason, too :)
-McKinley has really enjoyed 4th grade and is sad to be done with Mr. Sahagun's class. She has Mrs. Isom for next year (a new teacher), and is excited to be in her last year of elementary school this fall.
-McKinley continues to excel at piano and has learned some really fun pieces this month, including Splish Splash and the Looney Tunes theme song.
-She has been busy with the Leadership Team this month, including Teacher appreciation, helping with Arts night, and helping with the introduction night for those new students from 3 Peaks Elementary who will be coming to North next year.
- We are so proud of McKinley for being a member missionary and inviting her school friend, Madison, to church! She brought her on the 15th and it was her first time coming to an LDS church. We hope she will come again!
-McKinley's big project this month was doing a report on Duchesne County. She did it all online and it turned out really good & she learned a lot! (even if it meant staying up late for a couple nights)
-One day in the car, McKinley asked dad if he was a tender or a bass. :) We explained that it's TENOR not tender, but tender does describe Jason, too :)
IRELAND:
-Ireland had fun memorizing Shakespeare's 18th sonnet & did really well at arts night. For her artwork, she made a shield with all the things she enjoys, like gymnastics, the 4th of July, friends, pizza, babies and mom :)
-Ireland had a poetry picnic at the beginning of May that mom & Noelle came to. Her poetry book was fantastic and well-done. After reading her poetry, Ireland loved to take Noelle around the class & show off her baby sister to her classmates :)
-Ireland is excited to finish 3rd grade! She's excited for her birthday this summer & excited to be able to get Mr. Sahagun for a teacher next year!
-For field day, Ireland won 5th place in the overall 3rd grade girls race! And she did it in sandals! Way to go Ireland - McKinley was a proud sister :)
-Mom got cherries from the store one day & Ireland decided it would be fun to cut them in half and squeeze the juice on her eyelids to make eyeliner. It worked! But was a bit sticky and messy!
-Ireland had fun memorizing Shakespeare's 18th sonnet & did really well at arts night. For her artwork, she made a shield with all the things she enjoys, like gymnastics, the 4th of July, friends, pizza, babies and mom :)
-Ireland had a poetry picnic at the beginning of May that mom & Noelle came to. Her poetry book was fantastic and well-done. After reading her poetry, Ireland loved to take Noelle around the class & show off her baby sister to her classmates :)
-Ireland is excited to finish 3rd grade! She's excited for her birthday this summer & excited to be able to get Mr. Sahagun for a teacher next year!
-For field day, Ireland won 5th place in the overall 3rd grade girls race! And she did it in sandals! Way to go Ireland - McKinley was a proud sister :)
-Mom got cherries from the store one day & Ireland decided it would be fun to cut them in half and squeeze the juice on her eyelids to make eyeliner. It worked! But was a bit sticky and messy!
KEZIA:
-Kezia was sad for Kindergarten to end. One night, mom and dad found a note on their bed that said "I am going to miss Mrs. Ekker and my bus driver Lois soooooooooooooooooo much :(" Currently, Kezia is 2nd on the waiting list for East Elementary, so we are really hopeful that she will get in and be able to be in the Spanish immersion program.
-Kezia's Kindergarten program was on the 16th & she did SUCH a great job! :) It was really fun to watch her and take pictures. The songs were all really fun & we are glad that daddy got to see it, too!
-Kezia's friend, Macie, had a party on her last day of Kindergarten. It was Kezia, Macie, Ruby, and Courtney. They had fun playing in the water and having a picnic.
-Kezia's soccer team, Purple Power, finished their season and did GREAT! The last game was close, but we think she had another winning season with no losses! Kezia's gotten a lot better with ball control and keeping on her feet. She is very aggressive and fast. It was so fun that the Devenishs & Reeds came to support her in her last game. Way to go Kezia!
-Kezia has had a hard time lately staying in her room after we put her to bed. She loves to make notes and things and deliver them after she goes to bed.
-Kezia was sad for Kindergarten to end. One night, mom and dad found a note on their bed that said "I am going to miss Mrs. Ekker and my bus driver Lois soooooooooooooooooo much :(" Currently, Kezia is 2nd on the waiting list for East Elementary, so we are really hopeful that she will get in and be able to be in the Spanish immersion program.
-Kezia's Kindergarten program was on the 16th & she did SUCH a great job! :) It was really fun to watch her and take pictures. The songs were all really fun & we are glad that daddy got to see it, too!
-Kezia's friend, Macie, had a party on her last day of Kindergarten. It was Kezia, Macie, Ruby, and Courtney. They had fun playing in the water and having a picnic.
-Kezia's soccer team, Purple Power, finished their season and did GREAT! The last game was close, but we think she had another winning season with no losses! Kezia's gotten a lot better with ball control and keeping on her feet. She is very aggressive and fast. It was so fun that the Devenishs & Reeds came to support her in her last game. Way to go Kezia!
-Kezia has had a hard time lately staying in her room after we put her to bed. She loves to make notes and things and deliver them after she goes to bed.
LINK:
We have felt you close lately, our sweet son. We saw FOUR
different rainbows on the way to Mapleton and it was SO neat! We love you so
much and miss you so much!!
NOELLE:
-Noelle is a slippery, fast toddler and has really given us some scares this month! One time while we were at Kezia's soccer game, McKinley was playing with Noelle on the playground for a while and one time mom looked up and didn't see her. She went over to find her and a lady brought her over and said she was in the river! Another time we were at the Lake at the Hills. She had her life jacket on, but tripped at was head-down in the water. We are so thankful that both times she was protected and watched over & is just fine, but we wish we didn't have the scares at all :(
-Noelle continues to LOVE Daniel Tiger's neighborhood. She's been saying "Grrr-ific!" and "Tiger-tastic!" a lot. SO cute!
-Mom was trying to brush Noelle's teeth one night & she found dad's floss. She called it her "egg" and when she opened it, she said "surprise!!"
-Just in the past couple weeks, Noelle has REALLY been fighting getting her hair fixed. It is a full-on workout to get her to hold still long enough to get even one elastic in there!!
-Noelle has started climbing her changing table to get on top of it and/or in her crib. We finally decided to move it and hopefully it will give us a few more months of her not being able to climb in or, especially, out of it.
-Noelle loves the Go Dogs Go! Book & has applied it to real-life driving. When we are coming up on a light, she will stay "go car go! The light is green!" or "stop car, stop! The light is red!" It's so adorable :)
-Noelle is a slippery, fast toddler and has really given us some scares this month! One time while we were at Kezia's soccer game, McKinley was playing with Noelle on the playground for a while and one time mom looked up and didn't see her. She went over to find her and a lady brought her over and said she was in the river! Another time we were at the Lake at the Hills. She had her life jacket on, but tripped at was head-down in the water. We are so thankful that both times she was protected and watched over & is just fine, but we wish we didn't have the scares at all :(
-Noelle continues to LOVE Daniel Tiger's neighborhood. She's been saying "Grrr-ific!" and "Tiger-tastic!" a lot. SO cute!
-Mom was trying to brush Noelle's teeth one night & she found dad's floss. She called it her "egg" and when she opened it, she said "surprise!!"
-Just in the past couple weeks, Noelle has REALLY been fighting getting her hair fixed. It is a full-on workout to get her to hold still long enough to get even one elastic in there!!
-Noelle has started climbing her changing table to get on top of it and/or in her crib. We finally decided to move it and hopefully it will give us a few more months of her not being able to climb in or, especially, out of it.
-Noelle loves the Go Dogs Go! Book & has applied it to real-life driving. When we are coming up on a light, she will stay "go car go! The light is green!" or "stop car, stop! The light is red!" It's so adorable :)
-Noelle has learned how to
strap the chest strap on her carseat!
-Noelle LOVES the bunny,
Rainbow Truck. Seriously. Loves him. He's in the garage right now & it's
hard to get her in the car or into the house because all she wants to do is see
the bunny. And if you leave her in there for longer than a minute or two, she
has figured out how to get that heavy lid off & Rainbow Truck OUT. A few
times, she's come in the house with that bunny & mom's allergies have NOT
been happy. We're not entirely sure Rainbow Truck has been happy, either, with
all the squeezing and pulling.
-Noelle's sisters obviously adore her to no end. They get her to copy them a lot & lately it's been "I am very, very, very, very, very CUTE!!"
-One day, Noelle told mom "take a picture!" :)
- Noelle still struggles with ONLY drawing on paper. While she was being watched at the Potts, she found a permanent marker and had fun on their newly painted walls :( They were moving the next day or so, so they had to re-paint where she drew :( Naughty, naughty girl!
-Noelle's sisters obviously adore her to no end. They get her to copy them a lot & lately it's been "I am very, very, very, very, very CUTE!!"
-One day, Noelle told mom "take a picture!" :)
- Noelle still struggles with ONLY drawing on paper. While she was being watched at the Potts, she found a permanent marker and had fun on their newly painted walls :( They were moving the next day or so, so they had to re-paint where she drew :( Naughty, naughty girl!
