Wednesday, October 24, 2018

September Newsletter & Slideshow


https://photos.app.goo.gl/wHEQmNhoUEgVfuvRA

September 2018
Hamilton Newsletter
FAMILY: Happy September! On the 1st we were in SLC and went to a cool chalk festival at the West Jordan Park! The 3rd was Labor Day. Daddy wasn’t feeling well, but mom took the girls and our renter Dalace to see Cascade Falls. It was fun! That evening we went to the Pizza Cart and it was free balloon night! The balloon man was really funny and had us all laughing - even McKinley whom he was trying to arrange a marriage with the boy in the table next to us :) The 9th was McKinley’s birthday! See her section for more details :) Mom took the girls out of school on the 13th and we went camping! It was dark by the time we arrived, but we found a good spot in the Mammoth area at the top of Cedar Canyon. We had fun hammock-ing, fishing, tenting, whittlin’, biking, s’moring, and exploring. It was truly dry camping - no water or bathrooms. The girls were troopers though & did great! We even had our movie night - mom put the laptop on the mesh at the top of the tent and we all laid down & watched Beauty & the Beast. We also saw antelope, which Daizy, of course, ran after at top speed :) She also had a blast chasing all the Ducks at Duck creek. On the 16th, we headed to Richfield to watch Sedona open her mission call - Achorage, Alaska! We’re so excited for her! The 19th was the ward Harvest Party & it was a lot of fun. We had to really pry the girls away from playing with their friends! On the 22nd, we went exploring in Enoch - found the “dog park” (not much really there right now) and then went to the park where we had fun flying kites, playing miniature golf, and having a picnic. It was a perfect late morning/afternoon. The 23rd was the primary program! The girls all did so good! On the 28th, we went on a epic dog walk! We were keeping an eye on the Hillstead’s dogs and the Worths dogs and so we had 6 dogs going on a walk! It was crazy and fun :)

JASON : After being in an enclosed yurt with sneezing sickies on the fire, Jason succumbed & was sick for about a week after he got back. He is staying busy with his work, calling, and now supporting Heidi in her new calling for the Young Women.

HEIDI: While in SLC, Heidi got to go to the temple with Cindy. She is hurting a lot with her divorce and it was a sacred experience to be there with there & share in her pain. We pray continually for her. Heidi started getting longer runs in for the half marathon and she also got a new calling - 2nd counselor over the beehives in YW! She literally was commenting to Jason after the primary program that she was finally starting to feel good about “getting the hang of it” in primary :) Kezia & Ireland were very upset about the change. McKinley was excited. It was be busy, but fun. At the end of the month, Jason took a day off and Heidi got to go to the Family History Roots conference in St. George. She was one of the youngest ones there, but it was wonderful to be in a learning environment again and even though all the information was overwhelming, it was so good & she hopes to be able to spend more time with it!

McKINLEY:
-We officially have a teenager! HAPPY 13th BIRTHDAY McKINLEY!! It fell on a Sunday this year, so a bit more laid back, but she had ebbelskeevers for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, and Indian Fry bread for dinner. Zhane & Lex came to celebrate! Mom made the yummy Nutella Cheesecake for dessert. For gifts she got an Amazon Echo! (we got an Amazon Show for the upstairs so we can communicate to each other easier.), a new Monopoly game. And she got a cello made entirely out of chocolate! Mom, dad & Kezia stayed up for over an hour glueing on hundreds of Rollos, some Milky Ways & 3 Musketeers :)
-Mom got to take McKinley out for her lunch date & she chose Dairy Queen. They had a great time!
-McKinley has struggled to get to gym class on time & had to meet with the VP about tardies :(
-McKinley continues to practice cello a LOT! Whenever she can with Jessie, she loves it, but even by herself she continues to do well!
-McKinley was in an assembly with the student council for CMS. She said they had a ton of fun - having a dance-off, pie-eating contest, etc. Tons of fun!
-McKinley’s homeroom teacher, Mrs. Allen, had wonderful things to say about McKinley for SEPs. She is an amazing student and her teacher thinks she shouldn’t just go for an undergrad in college but should definitely get a graduate degree or PHd. She is a smart cookie & we are very proud of her.
-At the end of the month, McKinley went with mom to St. George for the Family History conference. They had a youth event and she got to see Jason Hewlett speak. She said he was hilarious and she had a lot of fun. Mom & McKinley even got to go out to Kneaders on our break between classes. It was fun to share this experience with McKinley :)

IRELAND:
-Ireland has done well with middle school so far. She does get overwhelmed at times, but is pretty good about coming home & writing her priorities down, which helps.
-Ireland is getting better & better on the flute! She has a lot of confidence and now that her flute is fixed, it’s working so much better. We’re proud of how far she’s come in such a short time!
-Ireland had a few projects this month - a “dig box” filled with things that describes things she likes:
Drawing (a pencil), Nature (a leaf), Fruit (fake grapes), Camping (a tiny marshmallow), flute (a music note), Ireland (a 4-leaf clover), Dogs (a tiny dog), Shoes (a shoelace), Soda (a tiny soda can), the ocean (a seashell), and an atom model which she made out of styrofoam & tiny balls.
-Unfortunately, there was some hurt feelings with Sariah this month since she didn’t feel like Ireland & Mahina would stay with her to walk. We were so proud of Ireland, who cleared the air & apologized & they are good friends again :)
-Ireland did great in the primary program - she was the last to speak and spoke clearly and loudly. We can’t believe it’s her last one!! :(
-Ireland’s SEP went great and her teacher talked about what an awesome, amazing student she is.
-At the end of the month, Ireland got to go rock-hounding with the Vogts & the rock-hounding club. They found lots of cool rocks & even some geodes!

KEZIA:
-Kezia continues to rock 3rd grade of course! Daddy went to her SEPs and said they couldn’t say enough good things about how wonderful & smart Kezi is. Way to go Kezi!
-At the beginning of September, Kezi was trying to get a drink at recess and a bunch of kids ran by and accidentally hurt her wrist. It was sore for like 2 weeks & she had trouble writing & using it :(
-Kezia finished her book for the Simons Christmas present! Super Simons! It’s fantastic - she did a great job! She even laminated it and likes to have people read it :)
-Kezia was so sweet & made a wonderful dinner & dessert for mom & dad to eat in the basement one night. :)
-Kezia was the first person to speak in the primary program & she had the whole thing memorized and did fantastic and awesome!
-Kezi continues to think about getting a pet, researching them and trying to come up with lots of ways to earn money.

LINK:
We miss you sweet boy! We know you will be with Sedona on her mission. Mom realized the state flower for Alaska is forget-me-nots. Love note!

NOELLE:
-Noelle spends many days out in the sandbox with Daizy digging. They are out there for hours and a time and Noelle is good is getting Daizy to do her digging for her :)
-Noelle was SO excited to go on a “campout” this month! She was in heaven in the dirt and exploring the area. Her area of expertise is definitely finding acorns and sticks! She had quite the appetite on Friday morning & ate like 5 of daddy’s pancakes!
- Chris Marx (the lady that bought our old home) was in church on Sunday & we told Noelle to go say hi & give her a hug. Later Chris told us that Noelle invited her over for a sleepover! :)
-It’s SO cute how Noelle & Sam hold hands all the time. supes adorable!
-One day while mom was brushing Noelle’s hair, mom said “your hair is so long already! I thought I told you to tell it to slow down growing!” Noelle replied “Well, mom, maybe it’s sassy like me.”
-Noelle is still loving preschool & can’t wait to go every day! She is getting better & better at writing her name & almost has her lower-case “e” down in her name.
-Mom sat by Noelle during the primary program. Thankfully we were mostly hidden behind the piano because Noelle wanted to stand when we were supposed to sit and sit when we were supposed to stand. She did say her part into the microphone, though, with mom’s help.
 OAKLYN:
-Oaklyn is now versed in tattle-telling. Usually it’s on Noelle as in “Mom, Noelle is copying me!”
-Oaklyn likes to smack your face and then pull you into a big hug.
-She was sick this month with weeks of a runny nose :(
-Oaklyn loved camping & did well for the most part. We brought the pack & play in the hopes she might go for it, but nope. She ended up sleeping on the floor with us. She had quite a camping appetite, though, and ate like 7 of daddy’s pancakes! Yum!

-When we were camping, we heard Kezia screaming & looked over to see Oaklyn “swinging” Kezia by her hair in the hammock.
-Oaklyn does this cute thing where she makes lips like a duck and then pulls on your bottom lip for a kissy.
-Oaklyn continues to be a fearless baby. Especially at playgrounds. She will go on the scary things every time and only wants help the first time or two to make it up. Gives mom a heart-attack!
-Oaklyn had shots this month at the doctors & was amazing. She barely flinched & didn’t cry a drop!
-Oaklyn still won’t just sit and watch screen time unless mom or dad are right beside her.
-Scary thing happened at the end of the month, we put the girls to bed & Oaklyn laid down & started crying & then sat up and threw up a marble. :(

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