A full and fun week

This has been a fun week for us. Becca had her final basketball game on Thursday. Her teammates made a concerted effort to get her the ball and kept telling her to shoot it. Apparently she was the only one on the team who had not made a basket and they wanted her to make one. After multiple attempts Becca grabbed her own rebound and made her one and only basket of the season. Once she made her basket, her teammates stopped passing her the ball. Becca enjoyed playing and has become quite a good defender (she is number 1) in the picture. Hannah was nearly perfect on her spelling test this week (24/25). She has enjoyed playing with her friends and is developing excellent jump roping skills. On Wednesday Peter Gordon was running to get in the door at school and slipped on some mud. He told me that it was a “huge crash.” He banged his head, got mud all over his clothes, and decided he didn’t want to go to preschool that day. He loves to be outside and is so happy that the snow is finally melting so that he can play outside more. Emily is really funny. She is saying “Rah! Rah! Cou-gars” in her little voice and is quite proud of herself. She also continues to cart dolls and stuffed animals around and loves to have stories read to her.

Last night I took Chantel up to BYU to participate in a Country Dance class. We learned line dancing and the two-step. Chantel spent most of her time laughing at me. I probably would have been laughing too if I could have seen myself. Dancing is definitely not my thing. We did enjoy our night out. It was fun to try something new and to visit. This morning my Elders Quorum had a ping-pong tournament and it was really fun. I won three games and lost two.

We have had a busy week. Yesterday Hannah had her first piano recital and she did really well. She was a little nervous beforehand but when she got up on stage she zipped right through her piano pieces without any mistakes. She really likes playing the piano. Becca started basketball last week and it is really entertaining to watch 3^rd and 4^th grade girls playing basketball. Becca is trying really hard and is already beginning to improve—especially on defense. Peter Gordon and Emily came up to campus to visit me on Wednesday and we headed down to the Botany Pond to see the ducks. They had brought some waffles and so we shared them with the ducks. This, of course, caused the ducks to swarm and Emily was not to keen on that. She got up on the park bench and stood there staring at the ducks. She was fine until the ducks started circling around behind her and then she shoved her way onto my lap. Peter Gordon thought it was great fun to feed the ducks and even took a piece of waffle over to a duck that had a hurt leg because “he can’t move fast enough and wasn’t getting any food.” I have been busy at work with meetings and various projects. I am taking a faculty seminar on the secularization of the American university and the reading has been really interesting. We had our first class on Tuesday and it was quite fun. There is nothing like a stimulating intellectual conversation. Chantel is busy running our ship and trying to keep everyone happy. Her sister, Holly, was in town briefly on Friday and she enjoyed visiting with her. We have enjoyed nice weather lately but that is supposed to come to an end tonight as another snow storm rolls through. They are predicting between 4 and 8 inches of new snow—more shoveling for me.

Here comes 2008

It is hard to believe that we have entered yet another year. We had a great New Years Day. We went out to Grandma Galloway's and helped her put away her Christmas tree and other stuff. Then we went to Aunt Sylvia's and the kids loved the giant tree and train. We also went to Uncle Steve's and enjoyed visiting with them. Becca, Hannah, Peter Gordon and Emily had a blast playing with all of Steve and Marla's toys. Chantel and I had a lot of fun playing a board game with the adults. You were a zoo owner and were trying to attract the most customers. Today we woke up to a huge snow storm. I just finished shoveling about 3 inches of heavy, wet snow. The kids made a snowman and are very proud of him.

Christmas has come and gone. We took all of our Christmas decorations down yesterday and packed them away until next year. It always makes me a bit sad to have Christmas over and done with. I know Chantel always feels a bit of relief at getting the house back to normal. We had a good Christmas. Christmas Eve we feasted on Swedish meatballs by candlelight. We also acted out the Nativity and had a lot of fun. At first Chantel was Mary and rode the donkey (Peter Gordon) but Emily thought it looked like great fun to ride the donkey and so she became Mary. I was Joseph, Becca was the angel and Hannah played the Shepherd. We also talked about what the different emblems of Christmas represent and how they all help us remember the Savior's birth.

Christmas morning the kids slept in until 7:30 a.m. and then we opened presents. Every one was happy with what they got. I got a gargoyle to go in my garden--once I figure out where I'm going to put him, I'll post a picture. Chantel got a pearl necklace that she really likes--it is made from the two purple pearls we got in Hawaii and a white pearl from a ring her Dad gave her years ago. They are all mounted on a gold chain. Becca can't decide if she likes her MP3 player or her basketball better. Hannah is all dolled up in a hot pink bathrobe with butterflies and got clothes for her American Girl doll. Peter Gordon got two front loaders and they have seen extensive use. He also got some Lincoln Logs and both he and I have had fun building things. Emily got her own baby doll and a mini Sleepytime Carebear. She also got some peg puzzles and is quite good at them already.

We have had snowstorms off and on for over a week and I have spent a lot of time shoveling it. The kids have had fun playing in the snow. Brad was down for a quick visit on Wednesday and we all got a treat--we went out to dinner at Cafe Rio. Brad even treated the kids to a pizza lunch on Thursday afternoon. We wish he was closer. The kids love Uncle Brad. We wish you were all closer so that we could have big holiday parties--oh well. We are looking forward to the New Year and hope it is as good as this one has been.

I finally figured out how to set the automatic timer on my camera and so we hope you enjoy our family picture.

2007 Year in Review

This has been an eventful year for us. Here are a few of the highlights.

Gordon successfully planned and pulled off a two week trip to the Pacific Northwest for the family. We had a delightful time visiting Brian, Carly and Cole in Seattle. We went to the zoo, the aquarium, had a harbor cruise, went to the museum of flight, and hung out on Brian's cool porch. We enjoyed playing in the ocean at the Oregon Coast and had fun hanging out with some old school friends on the Washington side of the Columbia River. Gordon also was able to take a research trip to Laie, Hawaii and took Chantel with him. They had a delightful time and Gordon even managed to get some good research done. Gordon turned in his tenure review file this year and so far has had good news back from the various review committees. There are still a few committees to go and he won't receive final news until May or June.

Chantel is busy at home trying to stay sane. She is always helping out with various neighborhood activities and still finds time to run a book club for the local library. She has enjoyed seeing her family on multiple occasions. The most memorable was a family camping trip to Bear Lake. She loved Hawaii and could spend days walking on the beach.

Becca is a busy beaver. She played soccer this fall and just started basketball this last week--she gets super excited when she makes a basket. She is playing the piano and doing quite well. She has composed her own song and is working on another. She is also an accomplished recitalist. She is thriving in school and has come to love reading. She was baptized this year and that was a neat experience.

Hannah thinks school is the best thing since sliced bread. She loves the challenge of learning to read and thoroughly enjoys herself in class. She started piano lessons in the fall and is having a blast. She loves practicing with her Daddy and is getting quite good. She is a very funny little girl. She informed us the other day that Grandpa Pete is almost 100 (her logic 62, 70, 80, 90, 100).

Peter Gordon is a goer. He started preschool this year and is having loads of fun learning about letters, numbers and other things. He describes his letter (P) as the "up, down and around." He is happiest when he is outside and makes life a little miserable when weather keeps him inside. He enjoys life to the fullest--as should we all.

Emily is our survivor. She is off of her medicine and seemingly out of danger. The hemangioma is still blocking part of her left ear and so she has a hard time hearing out of it. She is always on the go and likes nothing better than hanging out with her siblings. She is almost as funny as Hannah. Lately she has taken to joining me at the breakfast table and when we both have our food she tells me to "Eat! Eat! Eat!" Once I start eating she eats too and then she "bye-bye's" me out the door.

We have been richly blessed this year.

The holidays are upon us

The holiday season is in full swing at the Daines household. We started the month out by attending the President's Christmas party at BYU. The kids had fun making drums, trees and necklaces. They also endured a long line to see Santa Claus and as you can see from the picture Emily is not a big fan--at least not up close and personal. I have Santa on some dark socks and at church this past Sunday Emily saw him and the socks and said "Santa." Emily also wants nothing to do with Cosmo but the other three were happy to pose for a picture. Peter Gordon is in heaven when he sees Cosmo. As he says "Cosmo is my buddy." The next party we went to was our ward Christmas party. They did a Night in Bethlehem and it was interesting. This past Friday we went to the Special Collections Christmas party and the girls were on the program. They both played a couple of Christmas songs. Becca loves being in front of a crowd and Hannah doesn't do too badly herself. This week has been pretty quiet and looks to stay that way. We are almost done with our Christmas shopping and the kids have enjoyed picking out gifts for each other. They have also enjoyed wrapping the presents--though Emily wants to unwrap them as quickly as they get wrapped. This is a joyous time of the year.

Thanksgiving

We had a good Thanksgiving. We headed up to Eagle to spend the holiday with Mom, Dad and Brad. The kids were reasonably well behaved on the 6 hour drive there and back--Emily did melt down a couple of times. We went bowling at BSU and Peter Gordon, Hannah and Becca ended up in a dead tie while Mom soundly beat the rest of us. Peter Gordon went on rounds with Grandpa Pete and thought it was way cool. Mom took Chantel, Becca and Hannah to get their hair cut and they sure look cute. I enjoyed watching BYU beat Utah and it was pretty funny to listen to Peter Gordon telling Uncle Brad and Grandpa Pete that their team lost. Thanksgiving dinner was delicious--orange rolls, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, jello, and turkey. The kids had a vigil to see how long the turkey would take to cook and it seemed like forever to them. We went on several walks and watched a couple of movies. Chantel and I also got out and did some Christmas shopping. On the way home we stopped at Steve and Marla's and they kindly fed us dinner. The kids were super happy--they got to see Uncle Steve and eat. This is a wonderful time of year. We are thankful for all of our many blessings--especially our little Emily's health.