Grand Adventures with Grandpa Pete and Grandma Susan

Mom and Dad were here last weekend (Mar. 27-30) and we had a wonderful time. They came down to listen to me deliver my House of Learning Lecture on the role of higher education in the Church. When they got to the library auditorium there were only a few people in the seats but we were all pleasantly surprised by how many people were in the seats by the end of my lecture. I thought the lecture went pretty well but was starting to get hoarse at the end of it. Forty minutes is a long time to talk under the bright lights. After the talk Dad took Chantel, Mom and me over to the Creamery to get ice cream--yummy. Friday we got the kids out of school a little early and Dad took us all bowling in the Wilkinson Center while Mom went to see Grandma and Sylvia. Peter Gordon and Emily used a ramp to help them bowl and love it. Becca and Hannah were delighted that they came in second and third behind Grandpa Pete while beating Mom and Dad. We had a lot of fun. Saturday we all went miniature golfing at Trafalga and had a blast. It is always fun when Grandma and Grandpa come visiting. Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera both bowling and mini-golfing.

Emily wasn't too sure about Grandpa but warmed up to him just in time for him to leave. In fact Sunday afternoon she kept going around asking for "Gran-Pa." This picture is great because Dad was reading her and Peter Gordon a story but Emily would not sit on his lap. Instead she hauled her stool over and stood next to them. Silly girl.

Chantel's office

The paint smell is finally dying down and we have moved stuff into Chantel's office. We have all been pleasantly surprised by how much we like the color. Chantel really likes having the shelves built into the wall because they provide so much storage space for her. I have also claimed some of the wall space for my bookshelves which are topped by Winnie-the-Pooh stuffed animals (classic Pooh of course) and my gigantic piggy bank. Most of the books left at home are classics that we plan to read to the children like The Secret Garden, The Black Stallion, Peter Pan, etc. In fact for the last couple of weeks we have been reading about Mistress Mary and her secret garden. It has made me want to get out in the yard and starting working with my roses but it has been too cold at night for me to do any pruning. I am happy to report that all of the plants seem to have made it through this winter and we are eagerly looking forward to the spring flowers.

Easter Hunting

A local car dealership holds an annual Easter hunt and so we took the kids over to it. You have to call it a hunt because there were no eggs involved and the candy was strewn pretty liberally along the sidewalks and landscaping of the dealership. We walked to burn off some of their energy. The kids were quite eager and all trooped along with their Easter baskets. Emily wasn't sure what to do with her basket and had her baby riding along in it but once the hunt started she figured things out pretty quickly. Becca was in the older group with a friend and the three younger ones were together. Peter Gordon and Hannah took off pretty quickly and began stuffing their baskets with candy. Emily had to be coaxed out the door but once she realized all she had to do was put candy in her basket she was off to the races. When we got home we went through our sorting ritual--everyone helps me divide the candy into like piles (all the Laffy Taffy together, all the chocolate, etc.) and then we divided it up. The kids had an impressive haul. I know that the kids enjoy their goodies but Chantel and I are trying really hard to help them understand the real meaning of Easter. They will be surprised by what they find in their Easter baskets tomorrow and it won't be candy.

Number 5

By now everyone has heard that we are having our fifth child. Peter Gordon is going to be surrounded by 4 girls. As Becca and Hannah say he will be "girl trapped." Poor little Emily is completely clueless and has no idea how her charmed life is going to change. Here are a couple of pictures of the kids and Chantel (who doesn't look like she is five months pregnant).

The painting began today and it sure stinks downstairs. Drywall primer has to be the most foul smelling concoction I've ever run across. We have been airing out the house and letting the primer dry. I suppose I will paint the ceiling beige and the walls apricot sometime this week.

Construction and new computer

We've gone and done it again. We are adding another room downstairs. We have had a couple of guys here doing the work. Peter Gordon and Emily have enjoyed watching them put up the drywall and slather the mud on it. They also hung some doors in front of the water heater and furnace. Now I have another project waiting for me--priming the drywall and then painting it. I'm going to try and get it done in the next month or so. The room has some shelving built into the wall and is going to be Chantel's workspace. She'll be able to store her photo and sewing supplies and will have a big desk to work on. I know she's pretty excited about it.

The other fun thing we've been doing is learning how to use our new computer. Becca has had fun typing some of her homework on it and Hannah is eagerly trying to figure out what she can do on it. I've been learning about parental controls and web filters. Chantel likes being able to check her email whenever she wants. It will be a useful tool to have around the house.

I am giving a lecture at the end of the month on the role of higher education in the Church and spent all of today working on my talk. I am focusing on the Church College of Hawaii and Brigham Young University. I have really enjoyed doing the research but am a little nervous about the talk. I hope it goes well.

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.