Ski Utah!

The 2nd day of our family reunion vacation to Utah was spent on the slopes at Beaver Mountain up Logan Canyon. This was the 3rd and final day that week that my dad had taken anyone in the family who wanted to go skiing/snowboarding. My oldest sister Lisa and her family went all 3 days, as did my sis-in-law Jen and her two oldest daughters Aspen and Libby. My youngest sister Trina and her fiancée Dan went one day earlier in the week, and then Josh and I and our three oldest boys went on January 2nd.

I just love this photo of Malcolm; I think he looks like a model!

It was an absolutely gorgeous day on the mountain--clear blue skies, and there wasn't a lot of people (apparently because some schools had started that day, the Christmas Break crowd wasn't all there). My dad paid for all of our passes, the boys' rentals, and their lessons, too. It was so generous of him, and I think it made it just that much more enjoyable for myself not feeling the financial strain of it all!

My dad was SO HAPPY all day!
He loved skiing with his family!

It has been 6 years since Josh and I have been skiing; the last time we went we tried to teach Ammon to remember how to ski (we had taken him once 2 years before that is all). When my dad said that we'd be skiing for the reunion this year, I wasn't sure how many of my family would even want to go. Ammon remembered not liking skiing and Jonah and Micah have never been. Surprisingly, though, Ammon said he wanted to try snowboarding and the twins wanted to try skiing. My dad signed all three of them up for lessons, and since it wasn't a busy day, they received private lessons. Ammon had a two-hour lesson with a fantastic young instructor, and by the end, he was really liking snowboarding. Jonah and Micah took an hour-and-a-half lesson from an older gentleman, and they were starting to get the hang of it by the end of the day.

Ammon with his instructor



Micah & Jonah getting off the conveyor on the bunny hill,
and their instructor is right behind them.

Even though it had been a long time since I'd been skiing, I picked it right back up. Josh and I went down the mountain a few times together while the boys were in lessons. I had forgotten just how much I used to LOVE skiing! I can't believe I ever stopped!

When the boys were done with lessons, Ammon went on the bigger hill with Grandpa and his cousins, and I stayed on the smaller lift with the twins to help them feel more comfortable and confident in their newly acquired skills.

Micah--learning how to walk sideways uphill



Jonah--ready to tackle a new hill for the 1st time

I took my camera along with me, and since it wasn't snowing, I was safe to keep it under my coat all day. I was able to take a photo of every person in our group, which made me a happy girl!

My dad--still has a smile on his face!

My sis-in-law Jen--who also took photos with her smart phone

My niece Aspen--who skied on black diamond moguls!!!

My niece Libby--who just learned to ski this year, too!

My sister Lisa--the last time we skied together,
I was in still in high school!

My bro-in-law Mack--I rarely saw him all day
because he went on difficult trails.

My nephew Malcolm--who had some funny stories
about getting lost in the trees among the powder!

My nephew Quinn--who just started snowboarding last year,
and he was daredevil enough to try some black diamond runs!

My son Ammon--staying in the upright position after his 1st lesson!

My husband--funny story about this photo:
he was speeding behind me, then he stopped abruptly to get snow all over me,
but instead, his ski got caught in the powder and it knocked him over!!

All the ladies: Kala, Lisa, Jen

Group skiing at the end of the day, L-R: Micah, Libby, Jen, Jonah, Lisa, Josh

Group shot on the last run of the day, L-R:
Jen, Lisa, Ammon, Libby, Mack, Jonah, Malcolm, Josh, Micah
(we don't know where Quinn & my dad were)

Grandpa with some of his skiing grandkids (he's still smiling!) before heading home.

We all had a great time going skiing/snowboarding together! On the way back to Tremonton, we dropped off Ammon, Quinn, & Malcolm in Logan for a night with their Uncle Mick. They went to watch the new Hobbit 2 movie and ate dinner. When we got back to Tremonton, ate dinner with my mom and Kanyon, and then Mom & Dad, Lisa & Mack, and Josh & I and the 3 younger boys went to the movie theater in Brigham City to watch "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty". It was kind of slow to keep the boys' interest, but I truly loved it. It was a great story, with humor and clean language and action. All in all, it was an awesome day!

New Year's Day

We woke up {pretty} early on the morning of New Year's Day to head to Utah for a Perkins family reunion. Lisa and her family flew out from Virginia to go skiing in Utah the week between Christmas and New Year's. My brothers and sisters had gotten all together at my parent's house a few days earlier to celebrate Katrina's birthday, but Josh & I were unable to go then, so we had planned on all getting together again on New Year's afternoon with the whole family being together while Lisa's family was in town. 

 

We arrived in Tremonton early in the afternoon, and the boys were so happy to see their Fisher cousins! They instantly got to tickling & wrestling with each other!

 

It's rare that all the Perkins grandsons are all in one location:

Micah - Ammon - Brendan - Kanyon - Malcolm - Quinn - Jonah

Quinn is just one year older than Ammon, and they get along so well. We were trying to figure out who was taller...

 I love both of these photos because they unknowingly did a flip-flop in their facial expressions. In the first photo, Ammon is frowning and Quinn is smiling. In the second photo, Quinn is frowning and Ammon is smiling.

When everyone finally arrived later that afternoon for a late lunch, my mom had to be creative with her seating in order for everyone to fit in her home for one meal. All the adults sat around the dining table. Then she put a short table in the front room, and used pillows for seats for all the teenagers. They looked like they were at a Chinese restaurant setting or something! Sooo funny!

And she put a short table in the foyer for all the younger kids to sit at. She used her large tins of flour & sugar as chairs for the kids to fit at the short table.

After lunch, we had a white elephant gift exchange...the kids were in one circle on the floor, and the adults were in another circle in chairs and on the couch. We passed around wrapped gifts to a "left/right" story then everybody unwrapped their goods.

 

Bryce had a special gift for my mom, and he made her read a contract before she opened it, then he had her sign the contract, too...

 ...and the pen she used to sign her name was one of those practical joke ones that shocks you when you push the pen clicker at the top. She wasn't expecting it at all, and completely jumped and screeched and we all laughed and laughed!!!

His special gift was a short movie made out of a thousand still photos he took when the family had gotten together earlier in the week, and with all the photos together, the progression told a silent story (set to music!). It was hilarious! We watched it a few times and just kept on laughing! Nice work, Bryce!

Here's a link to view it (and see my dad in a tutu and my mom getting chocolate all over her face): "Stop Motion Ruth"

 

I liked being with all my siblings again--it's been a year and half since we were all together last!

Tabbi & her awesome gift with a quote by Grandma P.

Kala & my cute hubby Josh (we're both sporting some of our gifts we got)

 

Tawna & her fiancée Bryce

Cody & his wife BreAnne

Mick & his wife Jen

 

Lisa & her husband Mack

 

Trina & her fiancée Dan

I made everyone get together for family photos. It took several photos to just get all 26 of us to fit into the same shot!

Then once it finally worked, Mick suggested we do some crazy face photos! This was my favorite: the zombie! (P.S. it's funny to me that my dad's face is the same in the "smile" pose as it is in the "zombie" pose!)

After the dinner, gift exchanges, and dessert, most of the family left that evening. The Fishers and our family were staying in Tremonton, so we played some games together before heading to bed.

Apples to Apples with the Fisher cousins

Kanyon & Libby each played "chest" (chess) with Grandpa,
then they all played Uno together with Grandma, too.

 It was a super fun New Year's Day, and I was so glad to have such a positive get-together with my family!

Panicked

Today something terrible awful happened...

The temperature was -20* today, and as a result, the start of school was delayed two hours. It was a cold day...which isn't the terrible awful thing that happened, but it sure added to the distress of what did occur.

This afternoon, the 1st graders had a Chinese New Year parade in the hallways of the school at the end of the day. They were supposed to do it last Thursday, but school was cancelled that day due to the large amount of snow we received last week. I had originally planned to take Kanyon to a dentist appointment in Idaho Falls this afternoon, and then go watch Ammon's basketball game in Firth this evening. Beginning last week, I started asking people to sub for me this afternoon; I asked 10 people, but nobody could. And then when Kanyon's Chinese New Year Parade got rescheduled to today, he didn't want to have to leave school early and miss it in order to go to the dentist. So I cancelled his dentist appointment and we both stayed here this afternoon instead. The Chinese New Year parade was fun, and at the time I was glad that we stayed for it, although tonight I questioned if staying in Salmon today turned out to be the best choice.

 

After the parade ended, I took a photo of his class in their classroom with their painted red dragon, and then I went to talk to a parent of another student in a different room.

 

Several parents of the 1st graders had come to watch the parade, so Kanyon's teacher let some of the kids leave a few minutes early from school with their parents. Since I had just been in the classroom, Kanyon was also excused.

This morning, I told my boys that I had a teacher's meeting after school so they needed to ride the bus home. So, when Kanyon was excused, he walked out to the bus yard. But because it was early, the buses hadn't arrived yet. He went to my music classroom, but the door was locked. So, he thought he would just beat the bus and me to our home (which, may I add is 7 miles from town!!), and he started running along the highway. He made it several blocks before he was picked up by a sweet lady who goes to church with us (he passed 3 intersections and was already past the Napa Auto Parts store). She saw him, stopped her car, picked him up, and brought him back to the school and parked next to my car.

After I was done talking to the parent of the student, I went back to Kanyon's classroom at the end of school to remind him to ride the bus. He was already gone, so I figured he'd already went to the bus. Then I went and talked to the teacher who I'd be meeting with after school and she said the meeting would start in 15 more minutes. So I went back to my classroom, and then started towards my car to put some of my personal belongings in it to take home later. That's when the lady from our church approached me and told me she picked up my son on the highway. I was in complete shock. I hadn't even realized he had wandered off. He had left his backpack in his cubby (with his hat and gloves), his coat wasn't zipped up (at that time it was -2* outside), and he was running along carrying his folder with his cold, bare hands. I thanked the sweet woman, took Kanyon inside to his cubby to retrieve his backpack, spoke to his teacher, and told the other teacher that I could no longer attend the scheduled meeting because I needed to take my son home.

And then I began to have a panic attack and I couldn't stop the tears from falling. It really hit me: on such a freezing cold day, my little 6-year-old boy was found running next to the busy highway. He could've been killed, or kidnapped, or frozen, and I wouldn't have known what happened to him. The possibilities scared my insides to death.

Kanyon couldn't understand what I was so upset about, although I explained it to him several times about the dangers he put himself in, and the choices he could've made that would've been safer.

I feel like I've aged years in one afternoon. The worry and fearfulness and anxiety finally subsided into a feeling of overwhelming gratitude for a good Samaritan woman for saving my son, as well as my heart.

January 2014 on FB

January 2: Went skiing today for the first time in 10 years. I forgot just how much I LOVE it! It was awesome to be on the slopes with my husband, sons, father, sisters, brother in law, and nieces & nephews. It was a gorgeous day in Logan Canyon and I enjoyed every second on the mountain!

January 3: The new version of the movie "Secret Life of Walter Mitty" was fabulous: thought-provoking, heart-felt, and wholesome-clean humor. I really enjoyed it!

January 4: My agenda for today: rearranging the family room. Needless to say, Josh heard that and has already left the house!!!

January 5: Did our 17-day break from school not seem long enough to anyone else? Sadly, I can't believe how quickly it passed! I'm kind of jealous of all the schools that are closed tomorrow across the U.S. due to freezing temps!

January 11: Our oldest son Ammon turns 14 today!!! He chose to celebrate it by going skiing with us (well...we all ski and he snowboards) and bringing along a friend. Thanks for picking a great way to spend your birthday, son! We love you and are so proud of you!

January 15: I watched "Saving Mr. Banks" in the theater last week, and not a day has passed since then that I haven't thought about it. It was an excellent movie, and brought tears to my eyes. I sincerely love good quality movies! It was definitely worth seeing!

January 17: Well done Ammon at your first basketball game of the season! That perfect 3-pointer shot was the highlight for me from your winning game!

January 17: Woo Hoo! I got my official acceptance letter today to begin my studies at Western Governor's University on February 1!!! I'm so excited to finish this journey that I started 17 years ago!

January 20: I'm SOOOOO excited to FINALLY see P!NK in concert TONIGHT!!!

 

January 26: Watching the Grammy's. I had my 5th graders vote on the nominees, and am grading their ballots as I'm watching the musical performances. The 5th graders had a contest with the high school band to see who got more right: it's a fun tradition I have! But so far, my family hasn't been too impressed with all the songs performed...

January 29: We went from zero snow to 4.5 inches of it in one day! And it's still coming down! The kids are home early from school because of it and are now having a grand ol' time sledding! Thank you, father above, for answering our prayers and delivering such heavenly precipitation!

January 30: One bonus for having school cancelled today: I completed my university's orientation class!!!

2014 Family Goals

I believe that goals are motivational tools that help us to grow into our potential, and they help us improve areas of our lives that need strengthening.  Our family worked on our individual goals at the first Family Home Evening in January. We reported to each other what our 2013 goals were, and if we were successful at accomplishing them or not. Then we all spent time thinking and writing down new goals for ourselves for 2014. Here's the list of our family members, reports of last year's goals, and what our new goals are:


KALA
I already listed my 2013 goals report in a previous blog post, click HERE to see that reference.

Jan. 2013

My 2014 categorized goals are:
1. PERSONAL: Do at least 10 blog posts a month
2. SPIRITUAL: Go to the temple 6 times
3. EDUCATIONAL: Complete 25 university credits
4. MARRIAGE: Go on a date with Josh once a month
5. PHYSICAL: Exercise every week
6. FINANCIAL: Pay off my credit card
7. SOCIAL: Do a random act of kindness once a month


JOSH
These were his 2013 goals:
1. Write in journal once a week - fail
2. Learn Spanish - fail (He bought a book to help teach himself the language, but never took the time to read it.)
3. Lose 2 inches off waist - fail (He does a lot better with this goal during the summer, but never fully reached the 2 inch mark.)
4. Do service every day - He is always doing service for our family and for others, but he didn't document this, so he's not sure if he did something every single day.

Oct. 2013

His 2014 goals:
1. Get at least 50% Home Teaching done this year.
2. Pay off car and credit card.
3. Get weight under 200 lbs.
4. Read Old Testament
5. Climb at least 1 mountain
6. Get to a 20 handicap or less
7. Break our horse Mia to ride
8. Spend one-on-one time with boys each month


AMMON
His 2013 goal report:
1. Pay attention to speakers in Sacrament Meeting at church - achieved
2. Get straight A's in school - achieved
3. Don't hurt brothers - failed
4. Beat my mile record - achieved
5. Stay in shape all year - he said he failed this one, but I think he achieved it. He had basketball, track, changed pipe, and ran cross country, so he was physically fit during each season of the year.
6. Earn Eagle in scouts - achieved
7. Buy gaming system - achieved

May 2013

His 2014 goals (the biggest list of any of us!):
1. Get straight A's in school.
2. Write in my journal at least once a week
3. Beat my lowest score at golf
4. Don't hurt my brothers more than once a week
5. Teach at least 4 lessons in Young Men's at church
6. Be able to play at least 10 hymns on the piano
7. Save $2,000 and spend less than $500
8. Play with the extras in Men's Golf League twice a month in summer
9. Do a service for someone every day
10. Be the 3rd runner on the cross country team


JONAH
His 2013 Goals report:
1. Be reverent in Sacrament Meeting at church - achieved
2. Don't rock chair at school - achieved
3. Do a cartwheel - achieved (it's not a pretty one, but he can do it)
4. Write in journal once a month - failed
5. Earn Bear badge in scouts - achieved
6. Do service for 1 family member every day - failed (but he helped me a LOT and was happy to serve when asked, so I don't think this was really a failure)

Oct. 2013

His 2014 Goals:
1. SCHOOL: Earn AR Goal (Accelerated Reading) every quarter
2. HOME: Play less than 2 hours a day on video games
3. FAMILY: Don't call brothers names
4. CHURCH: Actually sing in primary
5. CHURCH: Pay attention in Sacrament meeting and Primary class
6. PHYSICAL: Exercise 5 days a week


MICAH
His 2013 Goals report:
1. Listen in Primary class - {mostly} achieved (there were several occasions where he had to be reminded to listen!)
2. Write more neatly - achieved
3. Do a walking handstand - achieved
4. Read 50 books by the end of 3rd grade - {mostly} achieved. He took AR tests on almost 40 books, and he could've read more that he didn't take tests on, but he couldn't remember.
5. Don't be physically mean to brothers - failed
6. Do service every day - failed

July 2013

His 2014 Goals:

1. Don't name call
2. Listen in Sacrament meeting and Primary class
3. Read at least 2 books a month
4. Save $200
5. Get all A's in school
6. Don't say "freaking" or "frick"
7. Exercise 2 times a week


KANYON
His 2013 Goals report:
1. Don't bang head at school - achieved
2. Don't pee the bed - failed
3. Do chores alone - {mostly} achieved (he still needs help & motivation cleaning his room and doing his laundry, but can do the chores for the living spaces in the home by himself)
4. Write last name - achieved
5. Don't cry about having to go to church - achieved
6. Don't hit brothers - failed

Aug. 2013

His 2014 Goals:
1. Don't be mean at school
2. Brush my teeth every night
3. Get ready by myself every morning
4. Weed garden row by myself
(This was the first year that he's ever come up with his goals all by himself, and he even wrote them down by himself. I was so impressed!!)

In addition to individual goals, I had a thought come to me that we needed to work on family goals this year as well. When we went to church in Stanley at the end of December, several inspiring thoughts entered my mind about what we needed to work on together in the coming year in order to have a more Christ-centered home. So, I proposed the ideas to the rest of the family, and they agreed to help work together on the goals.

Oct. 2013

FAMILY GOAL #1: Finish reading the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. In order to obtain this goal, we decided to read together every weekday night instead of at just once a week at Family Home Evening.

FAMILY GOAL #2: Have family prayer and  family scripture study every weekday night (this is in conjunction with the first goal). Basically, we've only been doing this at Family Home Evening on Monday nights, so this is building on a current habit.

FAMILY GOAL #3: Have a lesson from the "Preach my Gospel" manual at every Family Home Evening. Currently, our Family Home Evening's consist of scripture reading, family prayer, playing a game, and eating dessert. For years, we have gradually added or changed items to our weekly family nights. In fact, I remember when we didn't even used to have Family Home Evening, so as our boys have gotten older, we progress each year by adding age-appropriate learning activities for them during this family together time.