RICE FAMILY

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Moving

Since I mentioned it in my last two posts, I thought I'd explain a little more:

The afternoon of October 8th we learned that the rental home we were living in had been sold at an auction and we needed to move. Legally, we had 90 days to be out, but we were offered a nice moving incentive if we could be out by the end of the month. On Saturday, October 9th (after Dallin's baptism) we began the search for a new home. That afternoon we found a house in Provo within our price range, bigger (5 bedrooms-- anyone want to visit?), closer to the kids school and closer to work for Scott. Oh and on a Cul-de-Sac and down the street from a park--- Perfect! Then we learned that the house was managed under the same property management company that managed our previous rental-- even more perfect. They just transfered our deposit and October's rent (that we had demanded be refunded) to the new house. By October 11th we had signed papers on the new house and on October 29th we moved in. So, the kids are still at the same school, Scott's still loving his same job, we just are in a different house with a lot more room. Happy, Happy.

Here are some pictures of Grant and Trent playing in moving boxes as we packed.

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

Halloween

Halloween was especially crazy this year as we were moving on the same day as all the school parties and parade and our ward Trunk-or-Treat. The little boys and I did make it to the costume parade at school-- since Sierra was in tears the night before when she realized that I wasn't going to be there, but at home loading a moving truck. That girls LOVES parades, and especially loves being in parades with an adoring crowd (in this case me and the boys) waving and cheering as she passes. We were quite frazzled, but made it to the Trunk-or-Treat that evening too, after having moved our household earlier that day. In all the chaos, I didn't get many pictures (or good ones at that)-- I think Grandma may have gotten some. We headed up to Lehi to eat dinner and Trick-or-Treat with our good friends on Saturday (again, not many great pics--sorry!) It was fun, the kids got loads of candy, and I'm glad it's over. :)

Dallin designed AND CARVED this pumpkin entirely by himself!

Trent didn't seem to care that the candy was in wrappers-- he just ate right through them.

Oh, did I mention that it was raining when we began to Trick-or-Treat? Hence the raincoats the kids are wearing with their costumes.

The whole group-- aren't they adorable?!?!

Grant's Birthday

It's hard to believe that my "little" (ok, he's not so little as he tops the charts in both height and weight) Grant is already 4! I'm so glad he has a late birthday so I get to have him around for one more year before he heads off to school. Grant is FULL of energy, LOVES everything related to sports, is a GREAT snuggler and often whispers sweet things to me like: "Mommy, you can keep me forever" (this was said as he snuggled up on my lap--in between me and a book I was reading.)

His birthday this year was a little crazy as we were moving (yes, again.) on his actual birthday. I still wanted him to feel special and have a great day, so we celebrated his birthday a day early. Grandma took him to storytime at the library where he got to wear his Halloween costume and march in a parade. Then, his friend Logan came over and they ate Happy Meals and played in a fort. He helped make his birthday cake-- nothing spectacular, as all our kitchen supplies were packed up, but he LOVED it-- camoflouge with "army guys" on it. Presents, cake, and ice cream followed a pizza dinner-- It was a great day.

Here he is army crawling through a tunnel I made out of moving boxes.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Baptism

Yesterday, Dallin was baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We are SO PROUD of his decision to be baptized and are grateful for all those who shared in his special day.

Leaving for the Stake Center:

Dressed in white

Dallin shared his baptism day with his friend June

After the baptism we had refreshments at our ward building.

(my camera started doing something funny so a few of the pictures are blurry)

Dallin and June-- trying not to smile! :)

Dallin with his "Great-to-be-Eight" cookie pop.

I LOVE this picture (got the camera working right again). A HUGE thanks to Grandma Sue who came over early Saturday morning to stay with the kids while Scott and I took Dallin to walk around the temple grounds and talk about the special covenants he would be making when he is baptized.

The end of a wonderful day.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Mad Scientists

Dallin's 8th Birthday celebration continued on Friday with a "friend party". Dallin has been asking for a science party for a couple years now, but I've been unsure of how to pull it off. Things came together this year, though, and we all had a lot of MESSY science fun!

When the guests arrived they were given lab coats (mens undershirts cut down the middle) and goggles along with a pair of gloves to wear during our experiments. We spiked hair mad-scientist-style for those who were willing. Then, Scott took over showing the kids cool specimens using a microscope. After that, it was on to our first experiment.

Since we were celebrating a birthday, I figured we might as well incorporate making a cake into the party. So, we made rainbow cake using white cake mix and sprite, then the kids spooned our multi-colored batter into the cupcake pans. It was messy, but it actually tasted good!

When the cupcakes were in the oven, we moved the party outside to our "laboratory". We had lots of fun doing our experiments, but didn't get pictures of all of them. The experiments we did outside were: Color Collisions-- a simple experiment using milk, food coloring and dish soap; Egg in a bottle; we made Slime; Balloon on a Bottle-- where you make the balloon inflate using vinegar and baking soda; Film Canister Rockets--SOOO FUN!; and the old Diet Coke and Mentos fountain-- we did this twice because it was JUST. THAT. AWESOME.

I asked Dallin afterward if his Science party was what he had imagined. He said it was even BETTER than he imagined! Now that feels good! :)

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Dallin

Dallin's birthday was yesterday. While I was running errands, I drove by the hospital where our little premie made his surprise entrance into this world 8 years ago. How did 8 years go by so quickly? He had a great day. It was so fun to see him so happy--- at school, at home, at scouts (He's in cub scouts?!?! Already?!?!). Dallin is such a blessing to our family! Here are some pictures of his special day:

Dallin requested a Pineapple Upside-down cake for his birthday. As he had never eaten one before I thought it was an odd request. He saw a picture of one a couple weeks ago and has had his heart set on it since. Thank goodness he actually liked it!

He was surprised that he got a pocket-knife for his birthday! He's wanted one forever!

Before he was allowed to open it, Dallin had to study knife-safety in his Wolf Book. After he passed a verbal test administered by Scott he was able to open the knife and put it in a SAFE spot (I trust Dallin with the knife, but NOT some of his inquisitive younger siblings).

More birthday pics to come. . . he is having a friend party on Friday!! Stay tuned!

The Pinewood Derby was also on Dallin's Birthday. How perfect! There is nothing an 8 year old boy would rather do than race cars on a huge track with a bunch of other scouts! He was in heaven!

Putting the finishing touches on his car