Monday, January 21, 2013

Landon's Reflections Contest

As a parent I have never made my kids participate in the Reflections Contest at school.  However, last year Landon's teacher had the whole class submit a literature entry.  Landon ended up winning a trophy and was so excited about it (no picture and no blog post - lame mother that I am).  
So, when they announced this year's contest, Landon wanted to enter SO badly.  He thought about the theme, "The Magic of a Moment" and thought photography might be fun to do.  He took our little point and shoot digital camera out in the yard and took a lot of pictures.  In the end it was hard to choose just one, so he decided to make a collage.
 He took pictures of 4 different types of plants in various stages of growth - bud, flower, and "done".  This is what he wrote about his project,
"The moment is magic because it can show a cycle of life like a human. the bud is like being born, the flower is like grown up life, and dead is when it ends.  But, the plant keeps on going.  Each moment has its own beauty."
After turning in his project, he could NOT wait until the awards assembly.  He just HAD to know if he was getting an award again this year.  I kept telling him that there were a lot of students and that not everyone can win every year, that just because he won a trophy last year, it didn't mean he would win again this year.  But, lo and behold, he DID win again this year.  He won first place in his age division for photography and moved on to the multi-school level where he earned an "Award of Merit" (a feel-good way of saying, "Thanks, but you aren't moving on to the next level.").  Landon was SUPER proud of himself and so are we.  He says he's going to enter Reflections every year.  


Friday, January 18, 2013

Christmas Eve/Day 2012

The annual "Picture by the Tree".
This year we did something new - made gingerbread houses (from a kit, of course).  Three of us worked on one house, which, of course, became a contest.  It was actually kind of fun.
It's our Christmas Eve tradition to open one gift as a family.  The gift will always be a game that we learn and play that night.  This year's game was a fun one.
Christmas morning before all the real fun begins...
  One of Landon's favorite presents.  In fact, it was probably the most popular gift among all the boys.  With the boys getting older, there aren't as many toys Christmas morning.  The Hot Wheels track was something to put together and play with all morning.  It was hard to tell who enjoyed the track more - the one who actually got it, or the big brothers.
 Dallin has gotten older and harder to shop for.  But, he is still a good kid and easy to please.  A high school sweatshirt still brought a big smile.
 Cameron had been eyeing this Nerf-type gun and was really hoping someone would give it to him.  His day was made. 
 Jayden got a lot of baseball related items, as well as this gift card maze from Grandma Visnaw.  He took great pride in being able to solve it with minimal effort when others were stumped.  What a fun way to make them work for their gift.  
Jayden also got suspenders, which he promptly sported with his pajamas.  What a goofy kid.
 The aftermath - the bigger the mess, the better the Christmas, right?
 Later that day we headed up to Centerville to spend time with family.  Laurel and Doug had quite the spread which included Laurel's Gingerbread Army - delicious.
 I love this picture for a few reasons - my brother is crazy and I love him, our sweaters almost match, and it was while I was still feeling good.  Let's just say that I didn't have to worry about all those extra calories I ate on Christmas, after all.  Hmm...
The kids look forward to their "second Christmas".  Grandma and Grandpa were so thoughtful to still have gifts for the grandkids, even though they were halfway around the world.  We missed them.

 Christmas Day is one of my most favorite days of the year.  There's nothing better than seeing "Christmas smiles" on kids' faces - no matter how old they are.
Merry Christmas!