Hannah Dances

Hannah started a dance class this fall on Wednesday mornings. She really enjoys the class and likes to show me all the dance moves she has learned. They do ballet and tap and just lots of general dance. Can't believe how grown up Hannah is getting and how cute she is. A good friend of mine teaches out of her house and it's really nearby so I come home while Hannah is gone. And super weird to be in the house all alone. It's kind of eery and very quiet...

Matthias is back in gymnastics once a week for 90 minutes. He still loves to flip and tumble and climb and be crazy. James started a drawing class that he is really enjoying. He is learning a lot about technique and different art styles and tools. He's done some great pictures with water color and pastels. It's fun to see all the kids learning and loving their activities!

Drawing Time

Taylor has started drawing with the boys on Sunday afternoons. The boys really love to draw and do so most days for hours (if they aren't reading) so Taylor will find a tutorial on something one of the three of them wants to learn to draw and they each draw a picture. It's been fun for them and I love seeing the pictures they do. All three of them impress me with their drawing skills. 

(Usually they are at the table, and awake, while they draw.)

Yesterday at church during the a talk the speaker was discussing pride. He told a story of a couple who were in an argument. Long story short the wife had the thought come to her while praying, "Do you want to be right or do you want to be married?" Which the speaker than rephrased as "Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?" Which I think is a great question to remember.

So I then wrote it down to keep as a reminder. Hannah asked what I wrote...

Me: "Do you want to be right or do you want to be happy?" 
Hannah: "Right."  

Chicken Lady

Hannah has taken on the chicken duties now that Matthias is at school. Meaning she has to open the coop in the morning. Nothing too difficult, but it's just so cute to watch her tromp out there and open the door. A few weeks ago James saw a large snake in our yard so I've been watching her more closely as she goes out. We know they are there, but once you see one you always get more cautious. 

The other day when she ran out I shouted (not thinking) "Watch out for snakes!" And then laughed my head off the rest of the day at my unintentional joke. Haha. Only fellow Penrose 80 folks will get it, but it was pretty funny. 

I've been having the kids do more chores lately and it's been lovely. They've had bathroom duty for a few months now. They each have 1/3 of the dishwasher that has to be unloaded before school. Obviously beds made and clean rooms get done daily. Honestly in our world of convenience it's sometimes tricky to come up with chores for the kids to do. Now that it gets dark earlier one of the boys can shut the coop at night for the chickens. If only we had a cow...

Mother/Daughter Campout

Apparently all my posts are about Hannah lately...she and I tend to be together a lot. Our ward had a Mother/Daughter campout scheduled that we were SO excited for. And then it rained ALL weekend so it was canceled. We did end up meeting for a couple hours at Pflugerville Lake for Marshmellows, games, and girls' camp songs. Then Hannah and I came home and pitched the tent in her bedroom. It was a really fun night together despite the disappointment of the rain. 

When will you be a baby?

"When Hyrum grows up he will be a dad and when I grow up I will be a mom. When will you be a baby?" --Hannah

This comment led to us getting out my baby scrapbook and looking through the pictures. Since I wore all of Marcus' hand me downs when I was a baby I had a hard time convincing Hannah I was the baby in the pictures because not only was I bald, but I was wearing boy clothes.

On one page we were looking at the pictures here:

The one on the far left Hannah asked, "Who is that baby?"

Me: That is Uncle Scott and my mom is holding him.
Hannah: And that is Marcus and that is me. (then she got kind of a confused look like that didn't seem right to have a little Uncle Marcus and her in the same picture.)

It was pretty funny. This is one picture where Hannah and I actually look very similar. It's the awesome thin stringy hair that doesn't grow on the sides. Glad to pass that down in the genetic pool.

**The middle picture is the 3 of us sibling with my Grandpa Hurschell Urie. The one in the top corner is Marcus and me hiding in the closet.**

First Day of School...

The boys were so excited. James couldn't wait to see all his friends...they've had almost the same class since kindergarten, just a couple changes so all the kids know each other and have a lot of fun together. His class has 11 boys and 4 girls which has been the ratio since 1st grade. His kindergarten class had 13 boys and 2 girls. 

Matthias couldn't wait to start school. He was so excited to go to Ms. H's class (we love her!). She bring her dog Daisy to school every day and that's fun for the kids too. Matthias has done so great in school and loves everything. I get so many compliments about him from the teachers...so glad he decided to be wonderful at school and not crazy man. =]