What Else Cameron Has Been Up To

Cameron has been looking forward to this moment for weeks. He was so excited for his "Recorder Program". It was kinda' cute to see how seriously the kids took it, too. They sat at attention, hardly cracked a smile, and honestly looked like they were putting on a formal concert. I had warned Leon about Recorder Programs and that if he already had a headache that day that he probably shouldn't go, but it really wasn't all that bad. All of the songs were about 30 seconds long with minor squeaks.

This video is mostly for my mom who used to teach 4th grade and pulled off a fabulous Recorder Program. This should make her feel really good 'cause these kids are probably not anywhere near the level her kids were. Enjoy!?
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What Jayden's Been Up To

My little "Jay-bers" has turned 12. I can't believe it. His birthday landed on Sunday, so this meant that he received the Priesthood and became a Deacon as well as turning the big 1-2. Jayden is a kid that knows exactly what he likes and does not like, and has no trouble expressing it, either. He requested a chocolate and a banana cream pie for his birthday since he does not like cake. Really? What kid does not like cake? Well, Jayden, for one.

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Some More About Jayden:

He is a ham.

He wears his emotions on his sleeve.

He is good at just about everything his tries.

He is very affectionate.

He loves babies - really, loves babies.

He loves school, especially his teacher this year.

He is anxious to grow up and be a teenager.

He is very social and loves "hanging out with friends". (I guess when you get to a certain age, you no longer "play" with friends, but "hang out." Hmm.)

He loves to wrestle with his youngest brother.

He has an incredible sense of what is right and wrong and makes good choices. (I sure hope he keeps this up as we approach his teenage years.)

We love Jayden - Happy Birthday!

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This picture cracks me up with Jayden sporting his new hat and Dallin ready with a sympathy blow.

Jayden's grandparents were able to come down to celebrate the big day, too. They are getting ready to go on an LDS mission and the next time they will be able to celebrate a birthday with Jayden, he'll be turning 15! I can't even fathom that. We were so happy to have them.

The Priesthood men - Dad, Grandpa, and the new "little" Deacon.

(This was what was REALLY going on. Jayden was only nicely dressed from the waist up, but I couldn't resist documenting the "before" picture. Ha!)

A friend of mine shared this and I tucked it away in the back of my mind for when my next son received the Priesthood. If I had known about it with my first boy, I would have done one for him, too. I took a picture (well, many pictures - Jayden was fairly patient to endure the photo session of his hands.) of Jayden's hands and the quote from President Monson at the bottom says, "Let us have ready hands, clean hands, and willing hearts, that we may participate in providing what our Heavenly Father would have others receive from him." I framed it in a nice, black frame and will hang it in his room.

This video is just silly.

What Dallin's Been Up To

The Canyon View Jazz Band has been working really hard with extra practices on weekends and holidays. Dallin has never complained and has loved being part of this talented group. They recently had a Jazz Band Festival and competed with several other junior high jazz bands in the area. I got to hear several of the other bands, and I've gotta' say that Canyon View was one of the best. These kids really know how to play. It's great to see Dallin be part of something great and enjoy himself in the process. I wish we could say the same about church basketball, which is why there are NO pictures of that.

Here is a link to the YouTube video for those die hard grandparents, aunts, and friends:

http://youtu.be/LjZU7VYknRI

What Cameron's Been Up To

Cameron, being the third brother, has the opportunity to watch his older brothers do most everything before he gets the chance himself. He has witnessed many Pinewood Derbies, but has yet to participate in one. The minute he brought his car kit home, he knew exactly how he was going to decorate it and wanted to start working on it right away. He wanted to have penguins on it and call it the "Ice Runner." Okay - I'm not sure where he comes up with these ideas, but he had his mind made up. He helped design the shape, did all the sanding and painting himself, but needed a bit of help with the penguins. He was quite happy with the result.

Not only was his car his own unique design, it was also really FAST. In fact, his car set the track record for the night, and ended up coming in FIRST overall. Cameron was super happy about how well his car did, even though we know the Pinewood Derby is all about fun. Although, it was really good for Cameron to "win" since he hardly ever gets the chance to be the one to be "first." Cameron is such a sweet, humble boy, that it couldn't have happened to a better kid.

Of course, we got asked about what we did to the car to make it so fast. But, we honestly didn't do anything out of the ordinary - just made sure it weighed as close to the 5oz. as possilbe. We didn't even lube the wheels between races like others did. We just "let it roll" and let Cameron have fun. Of course, Leon was SUPER proud of his boy.

(The Top Three with Cameron's First Place standing.)

Small Changes

Anyone who knows us remotely well will know that Leon and I are not good with projects. Big ones tend to get put off and take a long time to finish. Even seemingly small ones take us time to get around to. So, when our kitchen faucet started leaking for the third time, Leon wasn't willing to replace parts anymore and wanted a new one. We contacted my brother who works for Price Pfister and here's the "Before"......

...and the "After". We had no idea the new faucet was going to be so big. It definitely makes a statement and we love it. Once we made this upgrade, we decided to take on another small project in the kitchen.

Our door pulls have always bugged me. They are hard to clean and many of them were either broken or worn to the point that they were hard or impossible to clean. So, we bit the bullet and used some Christmas money to finally replace them. Here is the "Before".....

...and, here is the "After". Installing the door pulls meant I had to get up close and personal with each cabinet door and drawer. New knobs turned into oiling and cleaning all of the cabinets. They definitely needed doing and the result could not have been more satisfying. It's like we have new cabinets.

So, for people like us who have a hard time getting around to projects, these small ones are an accomplishment that I could not let go without noting. Now, on to the bathroom remodel project that is currently half done. Don't hold your breath for a post on THAT any time soon. :)

Eddington Christmas Party #2 / New Year's Eve

Christmas is never officially over until all the presents are unwrapped. This Eddington party was the last of it. The kids got spoiled, as usual.

As gifts were being passed out, Landon saw everyone else getting something, but his lap was still empty. He was good-natured about it and joked about his HUGE pile of presents (he's probably learning sarcasm from his father). But, it wasn't long before his lap really did have a HUGE pile of presents. He had a grin - ear to ear.

After our final Christmas celebration, we rang in the New Year with old fashioned noise makers - pots and pans. We weren't the only ones in the neighborhood making noise - more pot bangers and some fireworks. The kids always have fun making as much noise as they can, for a change. (See video below.)

New Year's Day was spent just hanging out as a family - my favorite part of the holidays. Uncle Jeff got roped in to reading a BIG Richard Scary book - serves him right. What a great uncle.

Video of the New Year's Eve noise making.

Eddington Christmas Party

Traditionally, we celebrate Christmas with the extended Eddington family the Saturday after Christmas. As a kid, I knew Christmas wasn't over until then.

Great-Grandma Eddington always had a rousing game of Bingo ready with a lot of prizes for everyone to win.

My Grandma Eddington and my cousin Gayle looked so cute together, that I had to take their picture..