.

2012-01-27T13:35:00.000-08:00

I had the best time taking these pictures at Techatticup. I'm hoping to have it printed and framed somewhere. I love it!

2012-01-27T12:18:00.000-08:00

Techatticup

A couple weekends ago we were feeling the need to get out of town. Techatticup was the perfect solution. An early mining town and only 50 minutes away. When you get there you're out in the middle of nowhere. It's a great place for the kids to roam around....and breathe in some fresh air. We had a great time!

We were going to have a picnic out there...but the girls and I were starving so we ate lunch right before we left. Of course the guys toughed it out and ate when we got there.

I love this picture of Dakota. He'd just made a joke...which if you know Dakota and his sense of humor, you know that means he made a literal comment that was hilarious to the rest of us. This was his reaction to the statement...."Dakota, did you just make a joke." Too funny.

2012-01-11T14:49:00.000-08:00

This is my feeble attempt to catch up on the blog. Every year October through December seems to kick me in the hiney. Guess this is better than nothing, right???

Hopefully with the new year I'll have a new desire to do better. One can only hope! :0)

Just a couple of funny things Carly has said that I want to remember.

We were driving down the road and she asked me. "Mom, do bunny's get married?" I said no, why? Her response was. "Well...then how do they have babies?" Me...we'll have to talk about this later.

Over Christmas:

Carly out of the blue. "Mom, I want to celebrate Harmonica this year?" Me...hmm...how do you celebrate that? Carly.... "you make a dreidel out of clay and then just spin it?

2012-01-11T14:02:00.000-08:00

New pictures

One week before Christmas we ran out to try and get a picture for our family Christmas card. Here are a few that I got.

It was COLD so Cassidy was the only one who would cooperate with having "extra" pictures. The rest of the kids were....done.

2012-01-11T13:45:00.000-08:00

Christmas Morning

This was the funniest thing. Cassidy got eye concealer in her stocking this year to help cover up her dark circles. She'd obviously never seen such a thing and thought it was lip gloss. Too funny.

Dakota loved the holidays and all the cooking and baking that comes with it. He was anxious to get some breakfast made on Christmas morning.

Cheyenne in her fedora

Carly got some fun little toys...

Oh the mess....

2012-01-11T13:36:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve!

We had such a wonderful Christmas Eve. It is seriously our favorite day of the year. We stared out with breakfast at a buffet....which turned into brunch because we were there so long! Then it was off for some traditional family bowling. We spent the afternoon at the park riding bikes and rollerblading. Then went home to make some eggnog and yummy dinner. After dinner we hit the spa and then played games until we were all too tired and needed to get to bed. It just doesn't get much better than this!

2012-01-11T13:32:00.000-08:00

Cheyenne Gets BRACES!

But first she needed to have four teeth pulled. Such a trooper.

Cheyenne was SO excited to get her braces....she could hardly wait. She didn't complain at all about any pain or difficulty with eating. She's just plugged along and is doing great.

She looks so cute....and grown up!

Holiday Concerts

Cassidy and Cheyenne had their concerts on the same night at the same time. It took some doing but we were able to make it to both in time to see each of them perform. Thank goodness Cassidy's choir was the last of 5 to take their turn. They both did great and it was fun to watch. Dakota also had a winter concert but I can't find the pictures from it. DARN! It was awesome....oh how I love listening to an orchestra play music.

Cassidy is ALWAYS stuck behind a microphone....

Cheyenne had a speaking part this year too! She did great!

2012-01-11T12:35:00.000-08:00

Girl cousins at Thanksgiving

Brinn made each of her girl cousins matching pajama bottoms. They turned out super cute and my girls have worn them every night since! They love them. Thanks Brinn!

Cheyenne was voted as her school Historian. This was the induction ceremony. Cheyenne gets to make the school's announcements each Monday and also goes to meetings and plans activities. She's really enjoyed it!

Below with Mom

Below with Grandma and Grandpa Wood

Carly's 6th Birthday!

It's always tough having a holiday birthday. This year Carly's birthday was the day after Thanksgiving. We had lots of family in town and also had a garage sale that day. It was super busy....also Black Friday. :) She's a trooper though and was happy and excited regardless!

Dakota's 15th Birthday!

Dakota likes his birthdays to be low key. This year he just wanted to stay home and have ham and bean soup with the family. He chose cherry cobbler for dessert....it was yummy!

He got a new pan and pancake turner from grandma and grandpa.

Dakota's Fall Orchestra Concert

2012-01-11T12:32:00.000-08:00

Halloween

2012-01-11T12:30:00.000-08:00

Halloween....I think this was just before the ward trunk or treat. Cheyenne won for best costume for kids. Thank you very much youtube!

Youth Halloween Dance

2012-01-11T12:29:00.000-08:00

This is Cassidy and her friend Ashton right before heading out to the Church Halloween Dance.

Cassidy's 13th Birthday!

2012-01-11T12:18:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Cassidy!

Finally officially a teen!

For her birthday Cassidy got mascara....seems funny to see these pictures of her now without it. Her favorite present though....was a facebook account.

Cassidy had a friend party and took a few friends bowling then home for lunch. She had a great time!

2011-10-05T13:58:00.000-07:00

For Fun

Last weekend I went to check a place out for pictures and of course I had to drag the girls along for the ride. They were patient with me while I made them sit here and there and everywhere....Love my little models.

2011-09-16T14:03:00.000-07:00

Our sweet 10 year old birthday girl!

Tuesday the 12th Cheyenne turned 10. I can hardly believe it's been that many years since she was born. Monday night we took Cheyenne out to dinner with just Mom and Dad. So nice to spend that time with just the three of us! We look forward to our birthday dates every year. This is Chey's last year in elementary....that seems impossible. Even in 5th grade she still likes to hold hands as we walk down the street to school. Love this girl!!

Cheyenne wanted an ice cream cake this year...so I made her a chocolate cake with cookies and cream ice cream. It was yummy!

Cheyenne we love you so much and are so grateful for the sweet daughter and sister you are.

2011-09-16T13:47:00.000-07:00

First Day of School!

the girls always like to get up early and have their picture taken with Dakota before he heads out the door. Seeing as he leaves around 5:45am this is pretty cool of them!

This year there are lots of changes in our house. Our oldest is in high school and our youngest started kindergarten. Where has the time gone? They're getting too old!!

No...they didn't plan on wearing pink together...it's just how it turned out.

Let's just say that Carly was not too excited for Kindergarten. She's had a bit of separation anxiety. It's getting better...after 3 weeks....but she's still quite pensive at drop off time....and if she doesn't see my face when the teacher opens the door at the end of class she immediately gets teary....still. Once she's there she seems to be fine and I've been volunteering so she loves that. Hopefully in time she'll be more excited.

2011-09-16T13:12:00.000-07:00

End of Summer

We had a busy but so oh so fun end of August. We got back from Utah on a Friday night and Monday afternoon we went to St. George to see the Little Mermaid at Tuacahn. It was amazing! We loved it! We were excited to stay the night in St. George because the play didn't get over until around 11pm. But.....about 15 minutes after getting the kids in bed we heard Dakota start coughing. Mike got up to check on him and he was wheezing pretty badly. After another 15 minutes he was worse. We put him in a steamy shower and that didn't work so Mike took him out for a walk in the cooler night air and that helped a little bit but he was still really struggling. We had him sleep in a different bed and that helped some too....but it was the worst asthma attack he's had since he was 2. So scary. We were at the point where we were taking him to the hospital or just getting up and heading home at 2am. We should have just taken him to the hospital...next time we will.

We came home Tuesday morning and that evening Tucker came to visit for a couple of days. Of course this is the girls favorite...they had such a great time swimming in the afternoons with Tuck.

That Thursday afternoon we packed up and headed for So California. Friday we spent the day at the beach....always so fun!

Mike doing the boogie board thing!

We had some other very exciting news on our trip. While we were at the hotel Carly lost her first tooth. She literally woke up and told us her tooth was feeling loose....and then the next day it popped out. We got home and she lost another one within a couple of days....so now missing her two bottom teeth....SO cute!

Saturday we spent the day at Knotsberry Farm. I have to say that I am not a huge fan of this place because I get so sick on the rides. But...Mike and the kids love it so that makes it worth it. Plus since Carly can't go on most of the rides she and I hang out in the kids area a lot of the time.

This trip we weren't too smart and left our cell phones in the van. Well we decided to split up and so Mike could take the big kids on a couple of rides...then we'd meet in kids area. Only problem was we couldn't find each other. Mike had our backpack with the car keys, water, sunscreen, money etc. So after 3 hours Carly and I were starting to get a bit stressed. Thankfully after about 4 hours we found each other but we learned a valuable lesson....we will NEVER forget the cell phones again!

2011-07-28T18:18:00.000-07:00

New Pictures!!

So I haven't taken Mike's pictures for quite a while and since he'd just had his birthday I figured it was the perfect time. Of course at my house pictures are not the most fun for the kids...yes...there are some groans when the camera comes out. Mike was teasing the kids and acting totally excited for his turn....he told the kids he was bringing his "A game"....I think he did just that.

If you've been in my house you know that each year I take an annual black and white head shot of each of the kids that hangs on the wall as you go up the stairs. These have always been my favorite pictures. I absolutely LOVE looking at them as I go up and down the stairs. I'm excited to get the new ones printed and hanging!

and one of the girls I need to print and put up somewhere.

and their cute smiles!

braces off

2011-07-18T12:53:00.000-07:00

Dakota get's his braces off!!!

One last picture taken the day before his braces came off. Then Cassidy thought we needed pictures with everyone before they came off....and then one with just her....our two little brace faces.

and then for the main event!

TADA!!!!!

With Dr Jeff and Emylee

I have to say that it's taken us a couple of days to get use to seeing him without his braces. But wow! does he look great....we're so excited to see his new handsome smile! He got the braces off last Thursday and got his retainer of Friday. That darn retainer has caused him more discomfort than the actual braces. Today is his first day without pain! Yay!!

2011-07-18T12:48:00.000-07:00

Summer!

Had to include a shot of Dakota's famous and traditional summer countdown!

This summer we've been doing the following:

Jury Duty for Jamie

Interviews

Swimming

barbecuing

playing with friends

Cass and I saw Annie the play at Spring Mtn

Dealing with sugar ants for 2 weeks

5 mile hike for yw's

girls camp (post to come later)

enjoying a visit from Lance and Denise

Dakota got his braces off

Painting and redoing the kids upstairs bathroom

Mike's 41st bday!

2011-07-18T12:15:00.000-07:00

We got home with one week of school left....That was June 5th...it's now July 18th. Where has the time gone. We've been so busy it's hardly felt like we've had time to enjoy it yet. We got home Saturday around midnight and by 3:30pm on Sunday Dakota was doing his first of many tv interviews. The first one on Sunday was done at our house, which was nice. Since then I think he's interviewed with nearly every local channel, including PBS...plus done a 15 minute in studio interview with NPR...that one was my fav! So Dakota. He's received cards in the mail from total strangers and even a tshirt from a hospital. Actually Mike's even been getting creepy emails and a letter from a guy in Malaysia who wants to be Dakota's dearest friend. Like I said....creepy.

He's also been recognized at a school board mtg. They really gave him a lot of praise so that was nice. Tomorrow he's been invited to recognized at a city commissioner mtg. This is the last thing we have scheduled that deals with the bee. It's been a crazy month and a half....but so worth it.

Here he is addressing the school board...telling them about his experience and the words he had to spell.

Coming up for a picture. I love the picture above...the one with his arm around me. This is typical Dakota...if he's with Mike or I he's always got his arm around us. He's truly one of a kind!

The man to Dakota's left is the school superintendent. The lady to my right is the school board pres. Carolyn Edwards. We love her.....here's why.

In trying to get Dakota registered for high school we hit a snag early on. The school he's attending told us he would need to retake Biology even though he'd already taken high school credit bio. This really turned in to about a 3 week battle. I made phone calls to his old school and new school trying to get things figured out and was repeated told NO by the high school....and honestly I got about zero help from Hyde Park which was really upsetting. The hs counselor said it didn't matter who called them or who they talked to he'd need to repeat the class. Finally she told me she'd talked to the assist principal who'd said no...but that if I wanted to talk to the principal that was my last chance...even though she said it probably wouldn't make a difference. I had planned on making an appt with him the following monday. It was a Thursday morning when I got a phone call from Carolyn Edwards personally inviting Dakota to the next school board mtg. I figured what the heck I was going to tell her about our situation and see what she says. She immediately to charge. She apologized that we were going through this and said the school didn't understand. She gave me the number for someone to call for help and then said "wait, let me call her first, then you call in 15 minutes." She also gave me her home phone number in case it didn't get resolved. Well...I called 15 minutes later and the lady was in a meeting....but she called me back within 10 minutes. After answering I started telling her about the problem when she cut me off and said...."I know what's going on...I've already called and talked to the assist principal and Dakota's schedule has been changed." Let me tell you people....it's all about WHO YOU KNOW!! The she went on to tell me that she'd actually been sitting next to us at a previous school board mtg and how excited she was for Dakota and how cute he is. I cannot even say how relieved I was to have this taken care of before school offices closed for the summer....and how grateful I was to get the help I did.

Dakota with his spelling bee prize money!

2011-07-18T11:47:00.000-07:00

Day 7

Head Home

Saturday our flight out wasn't until around 6pm so we had the day to lounge around and take it easy. We slept in...and after getting ready we headed for the hotel shops. The Bee had given us $125 dollars to spend at the hotel so we went and bought shirts for the family at one of the stores. So fun shopping with someone else's money! It was fun walking around the hotel seeing some of the other spellers and finalists that we'd gotten to be around so much the last few days. Dakota tried to work on some homework in the time we had before we went to the airport. He wasn't too excited about that.

Here we were eating lunch at a place called the Cadillac Ranch. We'd walked by the place all week and decided we'd make that our farewell meal. It was unbelievably delicious. The guys got barbecue bacon burgers and I had Rock Fish. We seriously LOVED this place!

Homework time.

Dakota and Sukanya the winner. She and her family were so nice. They were going into a restaurant at the hotel when we saw them so we stopped to talk for a minute. Then I asked if I could take a picture of Dakota and Sukanya and her Dad's reply was "it would be our greatest pleasure." He then went on to say some really nice things about Dakota. We met so many extremely nice people.

Dakota and Sruraj....also a finalist.

Dakota and Arvind and Srarhm (and their little bros)...also finalists.

Dakota wanted to ride the metro one last time so we decided to take a taxi to the Metro Station and then ride that to the airport. Should have taken a total of 30 minutes. Well....the cab driver we got totally took us for a ride...and I don't mean that in a good way. He told us there was an easier and shorter way to get to the airport so he took us to a different Metro Station. Well for one, it was farther away than the one we'd asked for...so it cost us more money. Then instead of having a short Metro ride....like 2 stops....we ended up having to ride for 8 stops, get off and transfer trains and ride another 4 stops. We were actually getting really stressed that we wouldn't get to the airport in time. We knew the walk to the luggage check in, from the metro was like 25 minutes....plus security etc. Anyway...when we got off the metro Mike took off thinking he could go faster and get our luggage checked. Well we got to the metro exit and our tickets wouldn't work for some reason....and there was no one there to help us. So we all jumped the gate and went as quickly as we could to the gate. We ended up checking in with about 5 minutes to spare. We flew from DC to Milwaukee where we had over a 2 hour lay over. Ugh. Then we left around 9pm and got home around 11:30 Vegas time. At least the flight from Wisconsin was nearly empty so we could have our own row and lay down if we wanted. That was nice!

As nice as it was to get home I think we all felt a little let down knowing that because next year Dakota wasn't eligible we wouldn't be able to go again. It had been one of the best week's of our lives....a once in a lifetime experience that will never be forgotten.

day 6

2011-07-18T10:59:00.000-07:00

Day 6

Free Day for Touring

Friday was a day open for Touring downtown DC. We asked Dakota what he'd like to do since it may be his/our last trip to DC for a long time. The two things he really wanted to do were see the temple and tour the capital.

Getting to the temple was no easy task. Since we were out in Maryland we took a taxi to the nearest Metro Station...then rode the Metro for about 50 minutes...then walked to the nearest bus stop and rode the bus for another 20 minutes...got off that and walked the rest of the way...probably a 10 or 15 minute walk. (kind of funny side story...when we got off the metro there was a teenage boy getting on and when he say Dakota he did a double take and then called out..."hey aren't you Dakota from the spelling bee?" He was so excited to see him and we could tell he wanted to talk to him but didn't want to miss the train so as he got on he called out "you're awesome!" )

The DC temple is so beautiful. We went inside the visitor center and then walked around the ground before heading back to the bus.

Dakota, touching the temple.

When we were waiting at the bus stop I noticed I had a missed call. I actually had a lot of missed calls because of all the reporters and tv stations calling to set up interviews....we finally just let them go so we could enjoy the day. Anyway...one of the calls was from our Congressman Joe Heck. He'd called to congratulate Dakota and invite us to his office. He even gave us his direct number to call back on. We decided to take him up on his offer and went to his office next. He and his staffers were super nice. We sat in his office for a while and talked and then he offered to have one of his staffers take us on a personal tour of the capital. This was so neat. We got to see rooms that you don't always get to see on the regular tour....and also went in and saw the senate and house chambers. It was pretty cool to be able to take the underground tunnels from the Congressional offices to the capital.

Pictures of the capital as we walked past on our way to the Congressional offices.

With Congressman Joe Heck

After our day of touring we had to slowly make our way back to the hotel for the Spelling Bee Banquet. This is one of Dakota's favorite activities....because of the fancy food. It's a big and fancy event. They have the presidents band playing music as you enter the ballroom and then some military officers present the colors. The finalists get to eat up on the stage with the keynote speaker and bee director. Parents of the finalists sit up front in the "good seats". After eating Ken Jennings gave the Keynote Address. His theme was pretty much Nerds Rule the World...which of course went over very well in this crowd. After that the awards were handed out. Each of the finalists were brought to the lectern where the presenter gave some highlights and facts about each one and then announced their prize money. It was very cool to hear the crowd cheer again for each of these amazing kids.

The finalists table and the band playing.

Dakota in the middle...Ken Jennings to his right at the end.

The Bee staff saying good bye for another year.

Dakota at the lectern with Dr. Sietsema the assistant pronouncer.

Ken Jennings.

After the banquet they have a dance/party that goes until midnight. Last year Dakota wasn't interested at all in going, so I figured that's how it would be this year. Boy was I wrong. We decided to drop by the ballroom so he could get a cookie and kind of check it out. Well as soon as we came in the doors he was once again bombarded with people wanting his picture and autograph. When he got a free minute we asked him what he wanted to do....if he wanted to leave and head back to our room. He said he wasn't sure. My feet were killing me so I wanted to go take my shoes off. When we got back to our room Dakota was acting really grumpy. I asked him what was wrong and he said he didn't know. After a couple of minutes I asked him if he wanted to go back to the dance....again he said I don't know. I could tell he wanted to so I said how 'bout if Dad takes you back down now. He immediately said "ok" and turned for the door excitedly. So cute. Well he and Mike explored the hotel a little bit more and then made it back to the dance where they stayed until it was over. Yes folks, Dakota even danced. I don't think he partnered up with anyone....the kids were all just dancing together. But I did see proof on video of Dakota dancing to YMCA. Priceless. :) A good end to another fabulous day.

Day 5

2011-07-01T11:42:00.000-07:00

Day 5

Semi-Finals and Finals

Before heading to the ballroom we decided to go outside and walk off some nervous energy. I cannot even imagine how Dakota must have felt. I can only say that I was almost feeling sick, I was so nervous....actually I was feeling sick.

heading on to the stage....some pre spelling banter with other spellers.

The semi-finals started at 10am sharp. First time at the mic....his word was whirlicote. We were so excited when he got it right! It's kinda awkward because a camera man comes and crouches right in front of you with a camera in your face. The 41 kids were so sharp that at first it seemed like no one was missing. Maybe one every 9 words or so. Dakota didn't get his second word for like an hour and a half after the first word. We knew we were in for a long afternoon.

2nd word--espadon, 3rd word-- solenne, 4th word --talmouse

He said he didn't know espadon and solenne...but was able to figure them out based on his studies. Mike was so extremely nervous during the semi's that he had to leave around 4 times to use the restroom. Ummmm....this is saying a lot people. If Mike is this nervous....think about poor me!!!

You can see that finally in the fourth round people started missing....and 7 of the 8 kids before Dakota missed there words. I cannot even begin to describe how stressful this was!

This was right after the semi's Dakota is with Paige Kimball the director of the bee. We were so excited! He made it to the finals!! We kept saying that everything else from here on out was just icing on top! But in the back of our minds....we were hoping!

Immediately after the semi's a group of security for lack of a better word...whisked us off the stage and in to a small meeting room. We had a reporter trying to talk with Dakota and he the security guy basically told him to beat it. Then a little kid wanted Dakota's signature in his bee keeper and again he was told "no dice." They were super strict. Once we got into the meeting room they served a late lunch of make your own sandwiches and salads. The semi-finals were suppose to have been done at 1pm but didn't finish until 2:30pm. Then we were given a new schedule for the rest of the day. We were told we couldn't leave the meeting room...AT ALL. They had a couple computers, a tv and some games for the kids to play. This was by far my least favorite time of the week. BORING! We just wanted to go back to our room and relax for a little while. We did have to take Dakota to have another interview with the ESPN host and reporter for the finals. The reporter was a complete jerk. We also had to take Dakota to get his hair and make up done....that's the picture below. Kinda funny.

After makeup we went back to the room and played some uno. Then Ken Jennings who was the keynote speaker at the ending banquet dropped by to say hello.

Finally at 6:30 they served us dinner. It was actually pretty good. Salmon...can't remember what else. Poor Mike....we were sitting at the table while they were setting it for dinner and the waitress had about 3 glasses of water in one hand and she lost her balance and spilled them all over him. He was so wet on one side. I thought to myself how lucky she was that out of all of those people it was Mike she spilled on.....who happens to be the nicest person in the room. After dinner I told them we needed to take Dakota to our room to let him brush his teeth (braces and all) but they said no....but that we could go get his toothbrush and bring it back. So we did....they also told us they we weren't allowed to have cameras or camcorders during the finals so we'd need to leave those in the room as well. BUMMER!

Around 8:20pm they took the spellers out one door and the parents out another. Parents were lined up backstage waiting to be seated on stage. Mike and I looked at each other and decided to make a dash for the back row. Just as we said it a producer came and told us "parents of 141 you will be seated on the front row in the middle. Nice..... We were taken to our seats seconds before the broadcast started...then the kids were brought in on the other side....jogging past the trophy touching it as they went by. I don't know what it was.....the heat of the lights or my nerves or a combination of both but as the finals were starting I began feeling really light headed like I was going to pass out. I was hoping it would pass but didn't. I finally looked at Mike and said "I think I'm going to pass out." He told me to put my head between my legs during the commercial break....which I did. But all I could think of was that I was going to go down hard and then make the idiot reel that would be played for the next 50 years of the bee. (little did I know that even though they said we were in commercial they were still filming and I ended up seeing that footage later.) I was praying hard! After Dakota made it through his first word of andouille I started calming down and feeling better.

His next word was hexafoos. That was round 9 which is the round last year that crowned the winner. His next words in order were....gravicembalo.....zortzico......sarangousty......puszta......haori.... 4 kids went during round 10 and then then next 4 rounds no one went out. We were seriously on stage dying. Hard to keep your composer when there are camera's in your face. Hard to act sad when other kids were going out when inside all we wanted to do was a happy dance. We kept kind of talking to each other through closed teeth saying....he's guarenteed 9th now....then 8th....then 7th. We got to the point where it was just so awesome that whatever happened it was all good. We could not believe we were sitting through that. Mike actually said he was way more nervous during the semi-finals. Dakota's goal was really only to do better than he did last year....and of course compete as best he could. I think people were aghast at the intensity and longevity of those final 5 kids. Dakota is pretty easy to read during the bees. He's fairly relaxed at the mic and you instantly know if he knows the word because he's all smiles. He's amazing that way.....20 camera men sitting 2 feet from him constantly clicking....in a ballroom with a thousand people and being aired on ESPN and none of that fazes him AT ALL. It's all about the word for him. We knew right away that he didn't know how to spell zanja. We were just hoping he'd have a good guess. When you don't know how to spell a word they say to spell it like it sounds....which is just what he did. ZANGHA. While it was disappointing to see him miss....we were just so proud of all that he'd accomplished. It was a moment I won't forget.....as he got out there were gasps around the ballroom....then all at once everyone stood and gave him a standing ovation. It would be the first of 5. Seriously awesome. People were clapping and cheering for what seemed like forever....Dr. Bailey had to wait and wait just to give the correct spelling of the word. The rest of the finals went fairly quickly. Of course Dakota knew how to spell each word that followed....but that is the nature of the bee.

After the Sukanya won and the bee was over people started seriously collapsing on us. We were getting hugs from complete strangers as well as friends we'd made along the way. Dakota seriously could not take one step off the stage before the wave of people hit. It was like he was a rock star. There were people encircling him ... 3 people deep waiting for their turn to talk to him and get his autograph....and have a picture with him. This continued for at least an hour after the bee. Words can't even begin to express the feelings that we had that night. To have a child who's been socially awkward his whole life....who's known as being a nerd. To see him receiving that kind of attention, respect and accolades felt nothing short of simply amazing. It was definitely "his" night. Yes, Sukanya was swarmed by the media but I swear it was Dakota that everyone wanted to talk to.

This is Abi...one of the spelling bee staffers. After the bee she came up to us and asked if she could take her picture with Dakota. She said that his smile was one of the highlights of the bee and that they'd been using pictures of his famous smile, taken last year, to promote the bee for weeks. She LOVED him.

We had another bee staffer come up to us....and just wanted to congratulate us and let us know that during the bee Dakota had been trending on twitter for over an hour. He said that didn't happen for anyone but Dakota.

Seriously.....people were so kind and so congratulatory....and gave so much praise...it was unbelievable. Truly. We will never experience anything like this again....of that I am sure. Countless people came and told him how they were rooting for him to win. We talked to some people from South Jordan, UT that just happened to be staying in the hotel and stood out in the hallway to watch because they weren't allowed in the ballroom. When it was over they came and found him and asked for pictures.

I think the bee was scheduled to end at 10pm but didn't end until 11:30pm. We were in the ballroom till 12:30am talking with people. We were so wired at this point we decided to go outside and walk around.....and also make a few phone calls. It was 2am before we got to bed.

This was a day for the Jones Family History Books. A day we will NEVER forget. PURE happiness....PURE joy....oh if you could have all seen his face.

ps....I did take a couple pictures of Dakota signing autographs on my phone....just not sure how to get them on the computer...can't find the right cable.

Day 4

2011-07-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

Day 4

Preliminary Rounds 2 and 3

Wednesday morning we woke up to some surprise visitors....and not of the friendly nature. While laying in bed Mike felt something on his leg. So after getting up he was sitting at the computer scratched it off....upon closer investigation he saw that it was a tick. Luckily he'd gotten the whole thing out of his leg. Dakota was in the shower while this was happening so as soon as he got out Mike went in to check and see if Dakota had any too. He almost immediately came out and said he'd found 2...one on his back and one near his crotch. I went in and we began trying to carefully pull them out and while doing that we discovered a third tick. We weren't having any luck removing them and Dakota needed to be down in the ballroom 45 minutes later for the 2nd round of the spelling bee so Mike ran to a CVS Pharmacy that was down the street to buy some tweezers. While he was gone I was able to get 2 off the ticks out but was having no luck with the third. Thankfully with the help of the tweezers we got the third one out and Dakota was able to get downstairs on time for the next bee round. I was lucky and didn't have any ticks. We looked in Dakota's bed and found another 2 ticks. The evening before we had gone on a walk and went all the way around the hotel. There was one side that we had to walk through some tall grass where I'm sure we picked up our little friends. Crazy how many we picked up for such a short distance. Poor Dakota had some pretty good redness going from all the picking and pinching. I left a note letting housekeeping know about the ticks and was called by the hotel and told they'd change our room. Whew! So happy to hear that!

Onward. The 2nd and 3rd rounds were oral rounds where each kid is given one word. If they get that word correct they receive 3 points, if they get it wrong they get zero. These points are then added to the written test score and then they take the top 45ish spellers to the semi-finals.

Here's Dakota before the 2nd round started. He was the fourth speller according to his speller number which was 141. They broke the 275 kids into 2 groups with the first 137 kids starting at 8am. Dakota's group started at 10am. I think at this point Dakota was feeling nervous but also quite confident because he'd studied the list of round 2 and 3 words really well.

His first word was garibaldi---got it right! 3 points!

Round 2 lasted an hour and a half. We left the ballroom but were grabbed by an NBC producer and asked if he'd do an interview.

After his interview we went out and grabbed some lunch at potbelly. Then we took some study material and went to the lobby and sat in the couches to hang out before the next round.

View from our new room. Even better!

Round 3

When the kids spell on one side of the ballroom they put up a picture of the speller with their info....and on the other side they have all of the words given, with their correct spelling and the spelling given.

Dakota waiting for his turn. At this point, I'm very nervous!

Spelling his 2nd word: recidivist 3 more points!

This round finished around 5:20pm and then 5 minutes later they announced the 41 semi-finalists. It's pretty scary....the bee director Paige Kimball says the speller's number and then they show their picture on a big screen. Dakota's number was about the 4th to the last number called. We were fairly certain after round 3 that he'd make it to the semi's so we were dying when they hadn't called his number. Yikes! So exciting when they finally said speller 141! We were so happy now because we knew he would at least do as well as he had last year. That was a big relief!

After the announcement we found a fancy shmancy pizza place....I'm talking very fancy....then we went to CVS, got some ice cream, took it down to the river where we sat and watched the sun set. Not a bad way to end the day.

2011-06-13T11:41:00.000-07:00

Day 3

The written test

Tuesday started bright and early with Dakota taking the round 1 written test. This is probably the most important round leading up to the semi finals. Without a good score on this test it's virtually impossible to advance. Twenty five words are orally given to the kids and they write them down on their test sheet. They get one point for each word spelled correctly. Last year you could miss 4 words and make it to the semi's....this year the competition was much harder...you could only miss 2 words and make it to the semi's. Dakota rocked this test only missing one word....and he actually spelled it correctly and then crossed it out and put a different spelling.

The spellers all sat at tables according to their spelling number and the parents were allowed to stay in the ballroom and observe the testing. It was stressful sitting there listening to those words and hoping Dakota knew how to spell them. They started out easy and then got hard.

After the test we had a meeting with lots of introductions and instructions for how the rest of the week would go.

After the test we went back to the hotel room so Dakota could spend a little time studying. The it was out for lunch and then back to the hotel for more studying. We had lunch at a place called Freshii. It was so much food we had left overs for dinner. For Mike and I it was our least favorite food on the trip. Dakota liked it though. He got a Bangkok grilled wrap and Mike and I shared an Asian Noodle Bowl. Too much ginger for our liking.

The view from our room.

Those little buildings are small stores inside the hotel. The floor just above that had lots of couches and chairs. We spent quite a bit of time lounging around there reading while Dakota studied. Later that afternoon we needed a break and went exploring around the hotel.

You can barely see Mike and Dakota sitting on the grass in front of the hotel.

2011-06-09T12:45:00.000-07:00

Day 2

Monday morning we didn't get up till we felt like it....so 8:30 Eastern time.....we were trying to acclimate a little bit. Mike and I went to try out the work out room and then we all hit the pool. It was supposedly heated but to our thin Las Vegas blood it was freezing. Dakota didn't even get in above the waist.

At 11am we headed downstairs to line up for the famous barbecue. This is the highlight of the week for Dakota.....His absolute favorite part. This year they bused us to George Mason's living farm. As Dakota would say...."we dined on barbecued ribs, chicken, hot dogs, hamburgers, salad, fruit and baked beans." YUMMY! Below you can see the massive tent they had set up. They also had lots of bounce houses, obstacle courses, basketball and golf games. Under the tent they were doing karaoke. We sat with two Philippine families and had an awesome time. They were seriously so nice....it was kind of fun to have friends to chat with and root for during bee week. Sadly I took no pictures. :(

(we lined up in an area called the "hall of champions"....there is a flag with each national bee winner. )

You can see the huge tent behind Dakota...beyond that is where they had all the games set up. It was blazing hot and humid....oh mama it was miserable....I was seriously dripping.

This is George Mason's home....it was beautiful.

After going through the house Dakota wanted to go on this trail that led to the Potomac. It was just before 3pm and the sign said the walk took 20 minutes so I knew time would be tight...but Dakota really wanted to do it so off we went. I started getting stressed because we only saw one other speller on the trail and they were walking in the other direction. We finally made it to the Potomac took about 1 minute to look around and then started back. I swear the trail seemed to go on and on and as we got closer I couldn't hear the karaoke music so I got more worried and started running. Of course the guys didn't follow me. :) I got to the top where the trail opened up to the barbecue and found that everyone was gone! There was one group boarding the last bus.....we hurried across the field dripping with sweat, (don't you love that visual I'm giving you) and were able to catch the last bus for the hotel. It actually left 20 minutes early. Whew....that was a close one.

Dakota at the Potomac

By the time we got back to the hotel it was early evening. We went for a walk and checked out the area a little more then went and grabbed something light for dinner. That night Dakota studied a little more and then we went to bed. Day two.....very fun, but with a stressful moment. :)

2011-06-08T16:07:00.000-07:00

Washington DC -- Spelling Bee Trip

Day 1

Actually...we left for DC on Saturday May 28th at 8am. With an hour and a half layover in Atlanta we finally arrived in DC around 6:30pm. We stayed at a Courtyard Marriott the first night there so we'd be closer to the Metro. Only problem was that we rode the metro to the wrong Marriott and then had to wait for a shuttle to get to the right Marriott. Not a big deal...small hiccup. We finally got to our hotel but were pretty tired and not too excited about trying to find somewhere to eat so Mike and Dakota headed out to a Cold Stone that wasn't too far away. Yep, we had ice cream for dinner our first night. And no, we didn't miss our veggies one bit!

The next morning we got up and took the metro to Arlington Cemetery. It's one of those places you could go to over and over.

Dakota loved riding the metro....so we rode it any time we could!

Arlington

Changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Dakota in front of the Arlington House....Robert E Lee's home. When we were here last year this house was closed for renovation, so it was neat to be able to go in and check it out.

Mike and Dakota by the marker for 2000 Bull Run Soldiers.

The gates leading out of Arlington are beautiful.

By the time we got back to our hotel it was 2pm and time to check out and head to the new hotel. We had to take a taxi to the Gaylord National because it was so far away and no metro access.

Here's a look at our hotel as we rode over the bridge in our taxi. It's the most unbelievable and massive hotel we've ever stayed in or seen for that matter. More pictures of the hotel to come later. It was unreal!

We got checked in and then headed down to get Dakota registered and then take care of another ESPN interview.

Here is Dakota during his ESPN filming. All the kids loved sitting in the egg chair. They filmed a lot of the short segments that were used in the bee here. The kids held up signs, lip synced the words R-E-S-P-E-C-T, jammed out with a guitar, blew bubbles and introduced themselves. It was really fun to watch.

After the filming Dakota sat with a producer and and had to answer more questions. We now know it would be the first bee interview of many....many....many.

After the interview it was dinner time so we headed out to the small shopping area adjacent to the hotel. Fortunately there was a Baja Fresh, one of our favorites. We had a tasty dinner then took a long walk along the river before heading back to our hotel room to relax a little before hitting the hay. Day one.....was a good day!

2011-06-07T14:26:00.000-07:00

Thursday, May 26th

This was one busy day. At 4pm we had to be in South East Las Vegas for a School Board Mtg. They wanted to recognize Dakota for winning the state spelling bee. Here he is with the whole school board and the school superintendent. We had to leave the board mtg a little after 5pm because I needed to get the kids something to eat and then drop Dakota off at his school at 6pm for his school awards program. Carly also had her preschool graduation the same night at 7pm...so I left Dakota at his school knowing that Mike would head there after work and then I took the girls to the preschool graduation. A bummer that this time of year is so busy that you have multiple things happening on the same night and can't go to everything.

Carly's Preschool Graduation

I can't even say how much Carly has loved preschool this year. She wished it would go on forever. It's so hard to believe that our baby will be going to Kindergarten next year. She looked so cute in her cap and gown.....they had a super cute program and then we had refreshments. Thanks Mrs. McIntyre for a wonderful year!

Dakota had a great night at his awards program. He was given an award for having a 4.0, and award for winning the state spelling bee and going to nationals, and award for going to nationals for Math Counts and an award for placing in the top 1% of the country in a math test called the AMC. Not too shabby! I have to say that Dakota worked really hard this year for these awards. He spent many hours doing homework and studying....we're so proud of Dakota and all of our kids for their awesome scholastic achievements!

This was a darling candy bar card that our good friends brought over to Dakota to wish him well at the Spelling bee! So cute!! Doxey's what will we do without you???? Thanks for making his night!

2011-05-25T11:13:00.000-07:00

Cassidy's 6th Grade Awards Assembly

We're so proud of all of Cassidy's hard work and for the wonderful student and girl she is. This morning she received an award for getting straight A's this year. She was also chosen by her english teacher as an outstanding student of the year. We thought she was getting an award for perfect attendance for the year....but she didn't. After the assembly I went and checked on it and because she was more than 30 minutes late for school the day she got her braces on.....she didn't qualify. What the??? Even though she didn't miss one day of school this year and her attendance record reflects that....she didn't get the award. Shoot I feel bad....she went to school this week even though she wasn't feeling the best because she didn't want to lose her award....and went to school the day her cousins were here and went to Circus Circus. That rule is screwy if you ask me. You still have perfect attendance in my eyes Cass!!! Love you and we're so proud of you!

With her friend Ashtin

2011-05-25T11:05:00.000-07:00

Dakota's Final Hyde Park Orchestra Concert

Monday night was Dakota's last concert for Hyde Park. I can't say how much we've enjoyed going to these concerts and hearing the beautiful music these kids perform. They have come so far since the started in 6th grade. Dakota has loved playing the viola and we're hoping he can continue in high school. Great job Dakota!!

2011-05-21T13:47:00.000-07:00

Dakota Takes 1st!!!!!!!

Just got back from a secondary math competition.....kids compete in different math courses. This year Dakota is taking Geometry so that was where he competed. They take two rounds of tests over a timed period of two hours. Last year Dakota took 2nd.....this year 1st!!! It was so exciting! He won a plaque, a one hundred dollar credit card....and a year of free tuition at UNLV. Very Cool!!

Congratulations Dakota! We're so proud of you!!!

2011-05-20T16:07:00.000-07:00

Cassidy's end of the year Choir Concert

Thursday night Cassidy had her final choir concert of the year. They were suppose to dress like "newsies" so that's why she's rolled up her pants....in case you were wondering. They sang 3 songs and did a fabulous job....even did some dancing and moving around while they sang. She really loves to sing so she enjoyed her performance. At the end of their songs he teacher Mrs. Ligon handed out some awards. Cassidy was voted "Outstanding Choir Member" by her class. She got a really nice trophy with her name on it. She was so excited that she won it....and we were so proud of her! I think it says a lot when your you get awards that your peers have voted on. Yeah!! There were two given in each class and the other one went to another girl from our ward. Go BEEHIVES!!

For one of the songs a few kids were chosen to come down and sing a special part.....Cassidy was one of them and was quite nervous to have to link arms with a boy. ha ha ha

2011-05-20T15:50:00.000-07:00

A TRIP TO THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS

Dakota was invited to attend this week's City Council Meeting so that he could be recognized for his spelling bee accomplishments. It was actually pretty cool. They reserved seats for us right up front and center. While another councilmen was talking about something else he asked the kids in the audience what a natatorium was and Dakota was the only one with his hand raised. He answered it correctly so the our Mayor, Mayor Goodman gave him a couple "mayor chips". They're casino chips, but they're the mayor's business cards. It was kind of exciting.

Then Councilwoman Tarkanian called all of us up to the stage to recognize him. She read a really nice little bio on him and then had him say a few words. Yikes!!! That was a little nerve wracking but he did a good job. Then they presented him with a really beautiful certificate in this big heavy final cover. It's really nice....it has his picture on it and everything. Quite and exciting morning! We didn't get any pictures while we on stage but we had the guy behind us tape it so maybe we can put it up sometime.

waiting for the meeting to start

Talking with the Mayor

After the meeting

2011-05-20T15:02:00.000-07:00

A BIT OF EXCITEMENT AT THE JONES HOUSE!!!!

The day before we left for the Math Counts competition in DC I got a phone call from an ESPN producer. They wanted to do a feature package on Dakota for the Spelling Bee. During the airing of the bee (the finals) they run packages on several of the kids....then as part of the final banquet they show all of the packages on a huge big screen. Not sure how he got chosen...maybe because it's his second year?? Anyway.....we set it up so the ESPN crew would come to Las Vegas and spend last Friday and Saturday with Dakota....going to his school and our home for some different footage.

Needless to say it was a CRAZY week getting ready for their visit. Monday thru Wednesday I spent nearly every waking minute out back sanding and painting the swimming pool fence. It looked terrible and really needed to be spruced up. It was a ton of work but looked so much better and I'm glad to have it done for the rest of the summer.

Thursday was spent cleaning and de-cluttering. (This job was made easier thanks to my wonderful in-laws who helped clean while we were out of town) Thursday night our producer Denny came by the house to meet the fam and get acquainted. After he left we headed for the church to take our turn cleaning.

Friday morning the crew went to Dakota's school to film him in his biology class and walking the halls with his back pack. I had to go pull him from school a little early because they wanted to be at our house by 2pm to start filming. That afternoon they filmed Dakota making, baking and eating a chocolate, chocolate chip bundt cake (his fav). Then they filmed him studying....with me helping to quiz him....this turned out to be a catastrophe since I was so nervous I gave Dakota a word then gave him the wrong definition....then I mispronounced another word (I have to admit that happens more often than not :) ) but I gave it the old college try. They filmed Dakota playing chess with Cassidy....then did interviews with me and Mike separately. (Again...my interview was ridiculous....I pulled a complete politician move by answering the question....by not answering the question. I swear, he asked a question and I just started rambling, making no sense at all. Let's just hope my tape hits the editing room floor. Mike did much better.) I don't think they finished until almost 7pm.

Saturday was another busy day. Mike worked so he was out the door bright and early. Cassidy had baptisms for the dead at 7:30am....Dakota needed to be at his school at 10am for an orchestra fundraiser....Cheyenne had to be at her piano recital at 11am....and Dakota needed to be picked up from his thing by 11:30. Of course they were all in different directions so I spent my morning doing non-stop running. We got home around noon and ESPN showed up at 1pm for round 2 of filming. This day they filmed Dakota riding his bike and then tried to do an interview with him. They set it up on our driveway but after nearly an hour the producer came in and said in wasn't working....to much traffic and our neighbors kept coming and going in the background......So they went to a different location to do his interview. Unfortunately they had him sitting and looking right into the sun...so he's squinting and looking down nearly the whole time. Kinda strange, but they're the professionals!It was also super windy which made Dakota's allergies ramp up so he was sneezing and had quite a runny nose...poor guy. They taped him doing a bunch of tag lines too....things like: This is OUR time......2011 Scripts National Spelling Bee..... This is AWESOME. Stuff like that.

Then we came back to the house and filmed some out by the pool...and in the pool. The water was still quite cool so we had to heat it a few degrees so it was bearable. Oh and they filmed Dakota with a rubiks cube....we didn't have ours so at the last minute we were frantically calling friends to find one....thankfully we got one!! I think they finished taping that day around 6pm. It was a crazy, crazy couple of days....but exciting and super fun to watch. Denny kept pulling me over to look at the screen during filming....it looked SO COOL!!! He'll put together 2 packages....one that's 30 seconds and one that's a minute and a half. So much work and film for 120 seconds of air time. :) ps...He actually emailed me today and said the packages are done! He also used some pictures of Dakota reading when he was really young.....and video of him spelling when he was like two. He'll send us copies after the bee.....Exciting!!

Here's the crew.....Denny our producer in the white shirt....then Jen our audio gal.....and Nick the camera man. They were all so patient and super nice....we couldn't have asked for better people to work with....we really liked them!! Nick and Jen are freelancers that travel all over the world filming. They're favorite thing to tape is the Olympics. The blocks they are holding in this picture were used in the filming....Dakota had to spell his "funniest" word...."hardest" word....and his name. I loved this part!

Dakota's interview....it was so windy they were trying to block the wind with their cars.

Getting the bike cam ready. It was super neat....they put a go pro camera on his bike so that while he was riding you see a close up of his face with the background whizzing by. Then they took it off and taped him without it.

The girls got to swim too....just a picture of Carly warming up after the cool water.

2011-05-20T14:57:00.000-07:00

Cheyenne's School Talent Show

This year Cheyenne decided to participate in the school talent show. She didn't have that long to work on her piece but she got right up and pounded it out. She did a great job and has really come a long way with conquering her nerves. She had to perform in two assemblies and the evening family performance. Way to got Cheyenne!!!

3 days later she played the same piece at her piano recital. I didn't get any pictures of it because I was video taping her....but it was great! No tears this year!!! That is a HUGE step forward.

2011-05-20T14:12:00.000-07:00

National Math Counts DC Trip

Dakota dressed for his ending banquet

Word got around that Dakota was at Math Counts and also going to the National Spelling Bee....ESPN was there taping parts of Math Counts and grabbed him for a quick interview.

Dakota hanging with his team before the written competition.

Minutes before the parents got kicked out.

Mike and I at the DC Temple.....our first morning there, Thursday, we rode the metro....walked to a bus stop.....rode the bus then got off and walked the rest of the way to the temple. The skin was seriously rubbed off at least 5 toes as was the skin on my heels. Lovely....thank goodness a kind temple worker gave me some bandaids.....it made the return trip tolerable. Dakota spent the day studying with his team.....the whole day.

At the Lincoln Memorial.....one of Dakota's favorites!

WWII memorial

Vietnam Memorial

Korean War Memorial

Lincoln

Washington Memorial....Dakota's other favorite

Saturday morning Mike and I went to the capital and took the tour....it was amazing! So glad we did it. Dakota spent the day touring with his team. Mike and I also went to the Library of Congress that day....and also the Museum of Natural History. By this time is was mid afternoon and we were beat.....we decided to take a break and go see a movie. We saw Fast Five....I can't say how wonderful it felt to sit in a dark, cool theater and do nothing but be entertained. Perfect end to a wonderful day.

Library of Congress

Friday morning Mike and I went to the National Zoo. It's not super big so we got to walk around and see everything. So nice that it's free....and easy to get to from the metro. After the zoo we headed back to the hotel for the Math Counts Countdown round. That didn't wrap up until evening time and then we grabbed Dakota and headed down to the White House and the war memorials. On the way back to the hotel we grabbed some Chipotle. Yummy. Dakota found out that he scored higher on his written test but fell a few places in the rankings. So he ended up doing about the same as last year. Not bad considering he didn't take the class this year and put in zero studying on his own.

Mike in front of the gorilla enclosure. It was so wonderful being in DC this trip....the weather couldn't have been better. A light jacket in the morning was all we needed. The night we were at the Washington Monument it rained a bit and was pretty windy....but even that weather was enjoyed! I think we were bracing for the heat and humidity that will surely be there when we go back the end of May.

We had a fabulous trip

2011-05-20T14:10:00.000-07:00

After driving home one evening I got out of the car and this is what I saw. I thought it was so beautiful.

2011-05-20T13:48:00.000-07:00

Cheyenne's 4th Grade Field Day

This day has always been a favorite for the kids. It was pretty chilly and very windy but it didn't stop the kids from getting wet and having a great time. Carly and I stopped by for a few minutes to watch and then had to leave because Carly was toooooo cold!

2011-05-20T13:32:00.000-07:00

Carly's Preschool Easter Party!

Oh how this little girl loves preschool. The Easter Party was no exception. Thanks Mrs. McIntyre for making each day special!!

2011-05-20T13:21:00.000-07:00

Coloring Easter Eggs!!

I think this is probably the kids favorite part of Easter.....they had such a great time getting creative with their eggs. Dakota had a plan to try and make a black egg....it didn't quite get there but man it was nice looking....looked like a dinosaur egg. Fun to see each of their personalities expressed through their eggs.

2011-05-20T13:11:00.000-07:00

Easter Morning 2011

2011-05-20T13:00:00.000-07:00

Dakota's Project for Geometry

Dakota's end of the year project for geometry was to build a rubik's cube. They could make it any size...out of any material. Well we all know Dakota loves food.....and especially choc cake.....hence the 3 dimensional cube from cake. This was a big project that he worked on several days over Spring Break. One day to make the cakes...cut them to size and freeze them...one day to make 5 different colors of fondant from scratch.....one day to frost and put it all together. He finished it Saturday night and it looked awesome! We covered it and kept it on the counter ready to turn in Monday morning. When he looked at it Monday morning before leaving for school....at 6:15am....he found that one side had fallen....we couldn't believe it. I printed some pictures that we'd taken of the finished product and sent him to school with the cake as is. His teacher was nice about it and he was able to present the cake and then share it with his class and many of his teachers. He had a great time making it.....this project was right up his alley!

Above is Dakota making one of his batches of fondant.....he had so much fun!

Cakes are stacked!

2011-05-20T12:39:00.000-07:00

Valley of Fire

The last Saturday of Spring Break we headed Northeast and went to the Valley of Fire. We've lived here for 10 years and never driven the 1 hour distance to check this place out. We were so glad we did! What a great place to escape the city and get away....even for a little while.

Elephant Rock....can you see it??

Above is the Seven Sisters.....maybe our favorite place in the park.

This rock formation looked like a profile so Mike's creativity kicked in.....thus the family is turned for a profile picture.

2011-04-01T09:34:00.000-07:00

STATE MATH COUNTS COMPETITION

Last Saturday was the State Math Counts competition. Last year it was in Reno but this year it was held in Las Vegas. Dakota was amazing placing 3rd overall, with his team taking 1st place....and for the first time EVER...he took 1st place in the countdown round. It was the first time he's been able to beat his nemesis! We were all pretty excited. His 3rd place win qualifies him for the National Competition which will be held in Washington DC the first week of May. May is shaping up to be a busy month!!....but we're looking forward to it.

The trophy's were in Reno so he'll get them later.

Here's the team eating lunch before the countdown round....but after testing.

1st place team

Here's the table where the kids sit for the countdown round. Talk about pressure and stress. The question is both read and put up on the screen. The kids can only use pencil and paper and who ever buzzes in first with the correct answer, within 45 seconds, wins one point. The first to 3 points takes the round.

Here the boys are all checking out the final results.

I have to say that I've really loved watching Dakota participate in these Math Counts activities. Fitting in can be a difficult thing......and here with these other math geeks Dakota is right at home. It doesn't matter what kind of shoes you wear, if your pants are too short (which many of these kids wear :0) ) or even if you didn't comb your hair that day. All these kids care about is whether or not you can solve problems similar to the ones below in 45 seconds.

A day can be evenly divided into 86,400 periods of 1 second; 43,200 periods of 2 seconds; or in many other ways. In total, how many ways are there to divide a day into n periods of m seconds, where n and m are positive integers?

What is the units digit of the quotient when 10! is divided by 52.

Two numbers are said to be "relatively prime" if their greatest common factor is 1. How many integers greater than 10 and less than 30 are relatively prime with 28.

What is the sum of the positive multiples of 13 that are less than 300?

What is the smallest whole number that has a remainder of 1 when divided by 4, a remainder of 1 when divided by 3, and a remainder of 2 when divided by 5?

How many times is the digit 3 written when writing the prime numbers less than 50?

These kids are so much fun to watch. Just makes you wonder what they'll all be doing in 15 years.

2011-04-01T09:31:00.000-07:00

Ward Talent Show

Last Friday night was the ward talent show....Cheyenne's Activity Day's Group performed an Irish dance and Cassidy played Claire de lune. They both did a great job and it was fun to see them do their thing! Dakota displayed his two State Spelling Bee trophy's! Nice to have such talented kids!!

2011-03-24T13:30:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, WHAT A WONDERFUL TOWN

So last week Mike and I spent a very busy and fast few days in New York City. We had such a great time. It's the first time we'd gone anywhere without the kids for years. The weather was so nice the day we got there....the next day it was still nice but Saturday it started deteriorating and by Sunday it was freezing. We're just grateful we avoided all the rain they've been having.

Here's a look at our trip through pictures.

After catching a 6:30am flight out of Vegas we got to NY just after 3pm. We spent the afternoon walking around Central Park....which was just a couple blocks north of our hotel.

It was St. Patricks Day and the park was full of people...and full of green.

had to get a picture of the carriage for the girls.

After walking the length of Central Park we grabbed some dinner and headed back to the hotel to enjoy the BYU game.

Friday morning we got up and jumped on a sight seeing tour bus. We rode it from mid-town to lower Manhattan. We saw lots of famous and interesting buildings along the way.

St Patrick's Cathedral. We went inside on Saturday but I didn't have my camera then. This place is huge...and beautiful.

The famous Macy's

NY is full of amazing architecture both old and new.

Freedom 1 Tower is being built on the site and should be finished in 2014. It will be the tallest building in the country when finished.

These are out of order but they're from a famous church that's right across the street from Ground Zero. The first picture is of the pew that George Washington used when he worshiped in the church.

Patches from many of the rescue workers from 911

Inside the church

Friday afternoon we took a boat out to the statue of liberty. You don't get off the boat...you just go out and see it and then come back. It was awesome.

Ellis Island....we would have loved to go here and actually out to the statue of liberty, but just didn't have the time.

the Statue of Liberty was by far one of my favorite things to see. It's so beautiful and such a huge symbol for our country....just amazing to be able to see it in person.

Next it was off to the Empire State Bldg.

The view was amazing up there. It was super windy and quite cold....you could see for miles in every direction.

Then we made our way through China Town and then up to Time Square. Never in my life have I seen so many people. Seriously.

Saturday morning we were up early and off to the Jarvits Center for Vision Expo. I thought we'd be going back to the hotel after Vision Expo so I didn't carry my camera....but it turned out the shuttle didn't go back to the hotel until late afternoon....so we just walked to Time Square instead....hence no camera...no pictures this day.

After Vision Expo we went to TKTS and bought some tickets to the Phantom Matinee. (We actually bought tickets on EBAY to Wicked before going to NY. But....the seller decided to refund our money and sell them to someone else and didn't bother telling us until Mike emailed her in desperation on Friday morning. She responded Saturday morning telling us the tickets had been resold. Very disappointing.....and upsetting)

Saturday we had lunch in this little hole in the wall that sold nothing but pizza. Oh mamma was it yummy! It totally hit the spot. So delish!

Then it was on to Phantom. We had awesome seats and were close enough to actually see their faces and expressions. So fun!!

After Phantom we walked way over to the edge of the city to see the UN building. We found it but were not too impressed. No flags flying....lots of construction.....

Then we had a very long walk back up to the hotel....and decided to pass our hotel and walk up to FAO Schwartz. Had to go see that big piano. Kind of fun....oh how Carly would have loved that store. Pile and pile of stuffed animals. At this point it was getting dark and we were hungry. So off to get some dinner....Chipotle and Jamba Juice to go....back to the hotel to eat and watch the BYU game. A perfect ending to a perfect day.

Sunday morning we got up and walked down to Rockafeller Plaze. We went up to the Top of the Rock. Again...an amazing view. Neat to see the Empire State Bldg. from up there.

The famous ice skating rink. We were the only ones around.....guess it was too early on a Sunday morning....plus it was COLD!

Gotta have a picture outside the NBC News Studio since I watch the Today show every morning.

So cold for us Las Vegans with light jackets.

Our last stop was up to see the Temple. Pretty interesting right there on a busy intersection....right across the street from Lincoln Center.

Interesting.....Temple this - a - way.....Meeting house that - a - way.

Beautiful sidewalk outside the temple.

Doors leading into the temple....gorgeous.

Whew.....I'm sure I missed something....but at this point I'm just happy to have up what I have. We had a great time. Don't know if we'll ever make it back there....SO glad we had this opportunity. It came in a hurry and was over just as fast.

This morning I was thinking to myself....a week ago I was standing on top of the Empire State Bldg....Today I'm standing at my kitchen sink doing dishes. Hmmm......a significantly different picture.

Also have to say a HUGE thank you to Mike's parents who are always so kind to come stay with the kids!!

2011-03-01T13:29:00.000-08:00

Cassidy's Big Day!!!

FROM THIS.....................

TO THIS!!!!!!!!!

Here's Cassidy with our friend Emylee who works on our kids teeth! We LOVE you Emylee!!

She's been nervous but mostly excited to get going on her braces. I have to say that she looks pretty cute with them on.

Here she is....the last picture of her before braces.

After the brackets were on she got up to rinse and we found her lip was pinched in one of the brackets.....had to get back in the chair to fix it!

Almost done....just needs the wires. Can't wait to see this girls smile with beautifully straight teeth!!! Yay!!

2011-03-01T12:44:00.000-08:00

It's official....Dakota pulled off a REPEAT!

Saturday was the Nevada State Spelling Bee and much to our elation and relief Dakota was able to win for the second straight year. And when I say relief....I cannot overstate that enough! It just doesn't get any easier to watch him do that. He had been really nervous for over a week before.....we could tell he was stressed because he wasn't acting like himself. He was obviously feeling a lot of pressure to do well. He said several times to Mike..."you'll still be proud of me no matter how I do...right?"

Anyway.....the bee was hard to watch and we're glad it's over. It seemed like the words were easier this year which isn't always a good thing because kids weren't getting out too quickly. They give everyone a study guide before the bee so we could tell a lot of the kids had prepared. It wasn't until the 7th round when they used words that weren't in the study guide. That's what we called the lawn mower round. I think there were 7 or 8 kids left and everyone missed their word but Dakota. Dakota's word was caisson, pronounced KAY-sahn. Then he had to spell a championship word, which was hubristic....pronounced hew BRIS tic. Dakota thought that one was one of his easier words.

His words were

curriculum

gondola

rotunda

misanthropy

symbiosis

procurator

crassitude

technophobia

caisson

hubristic

The National Competition begins May 29th in Washington DC. We're looking forward to making the trip again!

That evening we took everyone out to celebrate by going to a buffet for dinner.....Dakota's favorite! It was wonderful to see the relief on Dakota's face after it was all over. It was a good day.

****This morning we found out that Fox News wants to interview him one morning this week. The problem is he's taking CRT tests all week so the school doesn't want him to miss any class time. So.....we may have to go in for a 6:15AM interview time. Yikes! This stuff is exciting but quite stressful.

This is Melinda Brown who coordinates the bee for the Review Journal, and Kendal Tenney who is the announcer of the bee. (all three years we've gone.) They're both extremely nice.

Before the bee started

Getting instructions....Dakota was speller 24....you can't see him in this picture.

During the bee

handing out trophies

This one was right after he won!

Being interviewed by a reporter after the bee.

My parents have been visiting and were able to go to the bee with us. So nice to have some extra support there for Dakota!!

2011-02-24T16:17:00.000-08:00

What we've been up to.

All I can say is.....what the heck was I thinking.

My parents have been here visiting and sadly for them they were promptly put to work. For almost a week now we've been slaving away in the kitchen refinishing the cabinets. So much work.....we're tired....but finished.

Here are the before. Thanks to Cassidy for taking them....I forgot to before we got started.

.......and the after.

2011-02-14T15:57:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day

Today Dakota received an anonymous valentine. Here's what it said. "Happy Valentine's Day....smartness is totally sexy."

This made the girls and I totally laugh......Dakota was giggling too as he told us about it. LOVE IT!!! and yes....I totally agree!

The funny thing is that he got one last year too....also anonymous.....but I thought it was a teacher being kind.....now I'm rethinking that.

2011-02-10T17:44:00.000-08:00

Math Counts

Southern Chapter Competition

Last Saturday Dakota had a Regional Math Counts competition. These things always make me so nervous.....and him too...but he deals with it like a champ. We had to drop him off at 8am and weren't allowed back until noon. During that time he takes 3 different tests. After lunch they take the top 8 finishers and have a live 2 on 2 competition called the count down round. That thing is insane.

Dakota did amazingly well. His Hyde Park team took first place in the "team competition." Dakota took 2nd place overall. (out of about 100 kids) He actually tied with the first place kid so they had to look at some other test score which took Dakota to 2nd. Last year he took 4th in this competition and the kid that beat him has always won these things. During the countdown round Dakota was called up and beat the first kid he went against. His second time up he went against Daniel (the kid that took 1st) and lost. It was funny because when the announcer called out those two boys names there was an audible gasp because people guessed these were the two top placed kids and it seemed strange they were already going against each other. Anyway...Dakota got to go back up one more time and secured 3rd place in the countdown. So nerve racking to watch but also so very exciting.

We're so proud of Dakota for the way he handles his nerves and competes like a champ! Now it's off to State in March!!!

His team from Hyde Park....the top 11 were all from Hyde Park except for 8th place. They're an amazing team. Daniel the kid who took first is the Asian kid to Dakota's right....the picture above, with no glasses.

The competition is held in the pyramid building behind Dakota. It's the Clark County Government Center.

2011-02-10T17:38:00.000-08:00

Cassidy's Piano Recital

Last Friday Cassidy had her first recital in years....she played Claire De Lune. She's been working on this song for a long time and it really sounded beautiful. So fun to hear her playing and realize the growth she's made on the piano. She's really got a talent for it and we're so happy that she loves playing. Thanks to her awesome teacher, Andrea!

2011-01-19T16:36:00.000-08:00

A FUN FAMILY day!!

Friday night Mike surprised us by doing something he's never done. He got a room at the Santa Fe for the family. It was so fun and so great to have our little "staycation". He and I had dinner at Cafe Rio and then picked the kids up......got some hot fudge sundaes....and then went to the hotel....put on our jammies and watched a whole lot of Disney. Saturday morning we went to the breakfast buffet and ate WAY too much. That afternoon we went to the park so the girls could show Mike how their new roller blading skills. While they were doing that Mike, Dakota and Carly played a little tennis. It was such a beautiful day....felt like low 70's. Crazy!!! After the park we went to the store for some junk food and watched a movie. What a sweet husband/dad we have!!! Thanks Mike! We loved our day together....and we love you!

2011-01-19T15:40:00.000-08:00

Christmas 2010

So we told the kids we'd go downstair at 7am....but that they could come in our room at 6:45am. Of course they came in on the dot....and we went down on the dot....but when we got downstairs Mike went to start filming and realized we didn't have a tape. So....he told the kids he was going to run out and buy one and for everyone to wait. I told him no where would be open but he wanted to try....so he called around and of course no where was open so he started looking for a tape we could use. We'll at 7:50am he found one and we were finally able to start the festivities. It was pretty funny though, watching the kids sit patiently waiting to dive in to the presents. They were good sports about it!!

The doll house was the one thing Carly wanted from Santa. She was beside herself excited that she actually got one. Super cute.

I love her expression....she was thrilled with everything...even her electric blanket. She kept saying...."awesome" with everything she opened.

Cheyenne wanted a book light.

Showing her new curlers.

Cassidy with the family stash.

Dakota waiting patiently.

Girls with their new roller blades and gear.

2011-01-19T15:19:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was my favorite...as it is each year. Such a fun day to spend together and you still have all the excitement of waiting for Christmas. We got up and did our traditional family bowling.....then went to the Mini Grand Prix for some rides, driving and lunch. Super Fun!! It's the second year we've done it.....thanks to kids and their gift certificates earned with grades and spelling bee etc. Mike and I left the kids to do the time trial at the Speedway. It was a total blast. I don't think either of us could wipe the smiles off our faces the entire time we were out there. That afternoon we watched The Christmas Carol....and had a yummy dinner....followed by reading the birth story and opening our secret santa presents. It was such an awesome day!

2011-01-03T13:44:00.000-08:00

Mike's called to the Bishopric.

Fast Sunday in December Mike was called and set apart as the 2nd counselor in the Bishopric. Having been with Mike for all these years I can't say that I was surprised....but it doesn't make it easy. We're adjusting to him being gone even more than normal.....and we're looking forward to blessings!!

Mike's grandma and mom came down for his setting apart. His Dad would have come but had just had shoulder surgery and wasn't able to make the drive.

2011-01-03T13:41:00.000-08:00

Dakota's Winter Orchestra Concert

Dakota had a Christmas orchestra concert at Las Vegas Academy. This year he's in advanced orchestra. They played 4 songs and sounded really amazing. So fun to hear him growing in his talent for the viola.

Sadly...I can't find my flash card with all of the pictures (this is what happens when you get behind on your blogging....shoot!)...but I'll try and have Mike upload some of the video.

2011-01-03T13:28:00.000-08:00

Ward Christmas Party

This year at the ward party of course the primary sang....and then Dakota and Cassidy along with some friends.....Lindsey, Katie and Jacob played in a quartet. They played 3 songs and sounded great. They'd practiced only about 4 times. We were so proud of all of them and look forward to another performance!

Chey with her bff EllieCassidy was so embarrassed....she just wanted the candy cane. :)

2011-01-03T13:04:00.000-08:00

Cassidy's Christmas Concert

Cass was actually very sick the week of her concert. If it was any other week she would have been home in bed...but she had this concert and needed to be at school to practice. She was such a trooper....and forged ahead even though she felt like she might pass out at times. She was chosen a couple of months ago by her choir teacher to sing a "solo" part with 3 other girls. She sounded great and did a wonderful job....we were so proud of her! Cheyenne had her school concert the same night so Mike and I had to split up. They both did great!!

The Sunday before she played a Christmas Medley in Sacrament Mtg. She took three songs and put them together by herself. It was really pretty. She'd started feeling sick on Saturday and by Sunday she felt and looked awful. She didn't know if she'd even be able to walk up to the piano in church. Her little face and eyes were really red and she was shaking. Boy were we glad when she finished that song. She did an amazing job!

2011-01-03T12:52:00.000-08:00

Cheyenne's Choir Performance at Opportunity Village

This year Chey had 2 Christmas performances. The second one was at Opportunity Village.

This picture was from her school performance....I couldn't even see her at opportunity village. They sounded good though!!

After the concert we walked around and saw the lights. It was COLD!!!

Vision Source had a display in the magical forest so we stopped for a picture with Daddy!!

2011-01-03T12:47:00.000-08:00

Carly's Preschool Christmas Party at Chuck E Cheese!

Santa came and gave each of the kids a present. Very fun!!

2011-01-03T12:36:00.000-08:00

The Polar Express

So this year we tried out the Polar Express in Williams AZ. It was fun and it was nice to get away....for less than 24 hours.....despite the fact that Dakota and Cassidy had been sick....and were still not over it....and Cheyenne became deathly ill by the time we got there. While we were waiting in line to get our boarding passes she started crying and told me she couldn't breath....then collapsed. Yeah...that was fun. I didn't think she could make it on the train but Mike picked her up and carried her. She slept a lot of the way. Poor thing....it was bad. We'd bought the tickets in July....wouldn't you know the weekend we went was the one with sick kids. By Sunday night Mike and Carly had it too.

2011-01-03T12:29:00.000-08:00

Lookie what we got this morning!!

This morning around 7am we got a wonderful surprise! Thank goodness Cassidy got to enjoy it for a few minutes before school. Poor Dakota hopefully saw some on the bus..... By 9am on the walk back from taking Cheyenne to school it had stopped. At 7am the flakes were huge and fluffy. So pretty!!! It left as quickly as it came but boy it was fun watching it fall.

SOOOOO excited!!!

2010-12-15T17:53:00.000-08:00

Spelling Bee Update

This morning Dakota won the Clark County Spelling Bee and will advance to the state competition in Feb.

No pictures....I was way too nervous to go. Mike went. Poor Dakota was pretty sick....has a terrible cold. Made it through though.

I guess it got down to 2 kids (1st and 2nd both advance to State).....then Dakota got the word jaquima and missed it....then the girl missed sarcophagus....and then Dakota got the next word right.

Glad it's over.....now we can all relax for a few months. Whew!

2010-12-01T15:56:00.000-08:00

Whew!!!! November blogging = one super large pain in the neck for me.

Ok December......let's dance.

2010-12-01T15:51:00.000-08:00

Spelling Bee Banquet

Tuesday was this year's County Spelling Bee Banquet. Dakota loves these things! This year Mike took him....nice because he's never been able to go before. Dakota had a great time and loved the fact that he didn't have to go back to school! The county final will be on December 15th.

With his principal Mrs. Bauman

With Kristin Grimm...who's in charge of the bee stuff for the district. She's super duper nice and has been so kind to our family over the years.

2010-12-01T15:34:00.000-08:00

Opportunity Village

Monday night Cassidy got to perform at a little place in Vegas called Opportunity Village. They have lots of lights and decorations to see and some rides for people to go on. She played the piano in the food court area...as background music for those eating.

It was freezing that night so her little fingers were pretty cold to play the piano but she did a great job and it was a good opportunity!

This is the Vision Source Christmas tree....Mike's group.

Cassidy plaed a duet with the girl turning pages for her here....they met at 6pm that night to practice for 30 minutes before going on at 8pm. They did a pretty good job for such little time together.

Cassidy playing while her piano teacher Andrea sings a song.

2010-12-01T15:21:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving

So I realized as I sat down to update the blog that I serioulsy took zero pictures of Thanksgiving. Just too busy and too tired I suppose.

Oh well....it'll live in our memories right? Yeah...maybe not so much....I'm getting old and can hardly remember what I did yesterday. Anyway...we had a great long weekend. Ate a delicious dinner, played games...which I must say was a highligh for everyone. We all stayed up late and played snarr and pass the pig. It was the most we laughed all weekend. We got in the spa, went and saw Tangled (LOVED IT!)...took some pictures of Tuck and Charlotte....watched some movies....and did a little shopping. Saturday night Charlotte curled all of the girls hair....I don't think she understood what she was in for until she felt how thick the older two's hair is. They loved it and were excited that it still looked good for church the next day....shoot...no pic of Chey and Carly.

Chilling with Tucker. Have to say the girls, well all the kids actually, absolutely adore him. He's like the big brother they never had. He teases them constantly....slaps them around a bit and is super silly..... they love every minute of it.