A Little Info

Hi Everyone!

  So, I know I haven't posted in forever, (being a student, wife, and mom will do that to you:), but I wanted to let you know that I finally  joined the Facebook universe!  I might not keep up a whole ton on that either, but I promise to at least try.:)

Some Random Pictures

  Ok, so rather than create a super-long post with updates about everything we've been up to for the last several months, I'm just going to share some pictures and comments.  (Here's hoping it's at least a little bit shorter...:)

I took this on a short trip we took to San Diego.  I absolutely love this temple, and it was fun to get different viewpoints of the spires and facade.

This is the USS Midway, which is just off the coast in San Diego Harbor.  I really liked the big statue that commemorated the famous picture from the celebration that WWII was over.

Mary's 5th birthday cake was covered in Mario character figurines.  She's the only girl I know who will turn down a princess movie for a good Wii game if Luigi is in it.  (She was him for Halloween while in preschool.:)

Just before running a race at Thanksgiving Point.  My kids did so great!  Each of them placed in the top ten of their age group, and Savannah and Isaiah were high enough to even get trophies!  Way to go, guys!

Preschool graduation with Teacher Nisha.  The frog Mary's holding was their class pet for the year, Frederick.  There was a raffle at graduation, and she won!  Needless to say, he's taken up residence on her bed.

Savannah had just finished her gymnastics exhibition and is holding a trophy her grandparents gave her.  She did a fantastic job, too.:)

Is this not the cutest costume for a ballet recital you've ever seen?  Mary even got to dance with her ballerina teddy bear.  So sweet!

During the summer, the kids decided to do a show for me and their dad, complete with skits, songs, and dancing.  This is during one of the skits (that's a cash register in Isaiah's lap), and I just love that smirk on his face.  They were so excited!

So I found a video online for how to create beachy waves in your hair by twisting it up overnight.  Apparently, I did something wrong when I tried it on Savannah...good thing we had time to do her hair normally before church.:)

Isaiah has gotten to the point where he adores baseball.  He even asked for a new bat this Christmas, despite the fact that he can't really use it until Spring.  We sure love watching him, so here's hoping that continues.

Isaiah's also been obsessed with Pokemon this past year.  I loved making this cake for his birthday because it was relatively simple, but turned out fantastically.  Thanks again Shari for showing me how to use food coloring to make it rainbow colored on the inside, too.:)

Mary's first day of Kindergarten!  What a big girl!  (And for those of you who are wondering, I did get a little misty about my youngest being so big.  Just a little though.:)

Visiting the witches at Gardener Village with cousin Max.  It's a tradition of ours to go see them every year, and we love it!

This is another witch from Gardner Village that we loved.  She's holding an "eye-phone", trying to get reception up on the roof.:)

This is Savannah's very first piano recital, in which she played fantastically with our neighbor.  She also participated in an ensemble festival and technic exam, and did great in both.  Way to go!

Mary absolutely loved her first year of soccer and all the running around she got to do in her favorite purple shorts.  (It may have helped a little bit that her dad was the assistant coach.:)

Isaiah also got the chance to try out flag football this year, and totally LOVED it!  (So did his mom.  This is a great alternative to seeing your kid get tackled and worrying about injuries.:)

This is from Isaiah's Halloween program.  I love how much this kid adores singing.  (He certainly seems more enthused than whoever he's sitting next to.:)

Savannah did a great job in her program for Veteran's Day/Voting.  The funny thing was that even though she's one of the smallest in her grade, because she had a speaking part, she ended up on the back row.  Every time they stood up to sing, she just disappeared...:)

Jason and I were lucky enough to be able to attend our neighborhood "Prom" again this year.  This time it was a 1940s theme.  So fun!

Ok, being a Disney nut myself, how can I help but love this picture?  My own little princess must have taken a bite of that poisoned apple, because she's fast asleep...even with Mickey and Minne standing guard.:)

 

   Well, that's some of what we've been up to, but there's so much more.  Now if only I can find the pictures...:)

Yes, I'm Still Here

   No, I haven't dropped off the face of the planet.  Although sometimes I almost wish I would...:)  Life has been absolutely crazy these last few months!  I always thought I was organized before, but I've had to become ridiculously organized and set my priorities straight.  Trying to get my brain to remember how to do schoolwork hasn't been a picnic, but it has been going pretty well.  Thank heavens I made it through my first semester!  And I'm proud to say that I acutally did quite well, thanks in no small part to my fabulous husband and children for helping me through.  (There's nothing like a hug from your children or an encouraging word from your husband to boost your confindence levels.:)  I actually made it through college level algebra and health.  Now onto biology...:) 
  Everything is pretty fantastic, all things considered.  Aside from some minor viruses, everyone is healthy and strong, and the kids are as busy as ever.  Savannah started taking piano lessons and is doing a fabulous job!  It's so much fun for me to watch her try and remember what her teacher said and how she is suppossed to do things.  She even gets up at 6:30 every morning in order to read her scriptures and get her practicing in before school!  (That's my girl!:)  Isaiah has been loving baseball again this year, and is extra excited because his dad is his coach.  (Jason does a great job, by the way.)  He has so much energy that running after the ball just comes naturally to him.  His swing is getting more power behind it too.:)  Mary has been absolutely loving learning to read, and she graduates from preschool this week!  How crazy is that?  When did my kids get so grown up?  (Maybe it has something to do with their mom reaching her 30s...:)
  Jason's work has been going well, too.  I admire that man so much.  I don't know that I could handle working outside every day, no matter what the weather holds for you.  Yet he does it without complaint.  We're now reaching the part of the year where he gets LOTS of sun, but that doesn't even faze him.  (It just creates an interesting tan line.:)  And through it all, he still finds the time and energy to support his wife with her schooling and spend time with each of the kids.  He's the best ever!  He also decided to surprise me this year and combine my birthday and Mother's Day gifts by taking me to Anniversary Inn in Salt Lake in a couple of weeks.  I am ridiculously excited!!!!
  Here's hoping the coming months are every bit as much crazy fun!

Savannah's Birthday and Baptism

  I can't believe my sweet little girl is 8!  Honeslty, where does the time go?  But then again, she really is quite grown up.  She's always checking on me to make sure my legs are feeling okay, and she's the first one to jump up and help, even before I ask.  The other day I was making spaghetti and meatballs for when Jason's brother Taz came home, and asked her if she wanted to learn how to roll the meatballs.  Now remember, we had about 200 or so to make.  I was all set to show her and then let her do a few.  I figured she'd loose interest after awhile.  Boy, was I wrong.  She loved it and helped me roll the entire batch.  She even came back up later to see if there were anymore to do.:)  I'm always so proud of her, but never more so than when she made the decision to be baptized.  It wasn't even a question for her.  She's been excited about it for months, and even made sure to invite her great-grandpa who's a non-member.  When the bishop asked her why she wanted to be baptized, she immediately said, "So I can be like Jesus."  Did I mention how proud I am of her?:)

We love you Savannah!  Way to go!

What on earth have you been up to?

  Hey there!  So, rather than post a super-long list of all the crazy stuff we've been up to lately, I thought I'd just add a few highlights from each month.  (Sorry if this sort-of sounds like a holiday letter.:) Here goes:
July
Isaiah turned 6--I can't believe how big this kid is!  Plus, he has the energy of about 3 6-year-olds.  I hope he keeps that zest for life later, but right now, sometimes I wish he'd just calm down for 2 seconds!  (Such is the life of a mom.)  He was really excited this year because we went to Draper Days on his birthday, which means he had his very own fireworks!  How cool is that?  (I have pictures of this, but I'm not exactly sure where the CD is at the moment.  I'll post them later if I find it.:)
Swimming lessons--My kids are seriously little fish.  I've never seen anybody who loves the water so much.  Normally teachers will have to talk kids into putting their heads under the water, but with my kids, they have to be reminded to stay ABOVE water.  Savannah was even brave enough to go off the high dive, which is something her mom still gets nervous about.  Sometimes I wonder if they have gills...:)

August
Missing a husband--For a lot of the month, Jason was out of town on work, either in Fillmore or somewhere in South Dakota. (I know.  What fabulous locations.:)  I had to get creative to figure out stuff for the kids to do during summer break that didn't involve spending money, but we sure had fun.  We even managed to finish a few projects around the house!  All the same, everyone was sure glad when Daddy came home!
Fun at Lagoon and the cabin--One of the best things about summer for me is that we all go to Lagoon together as a family.  I didn't get to go a lot as a kid, and I'm so glad that we've made it a yearly tradition.  It always makes for such great memories.  Plus, this year we went up to the family cabin in Lava Hot Springs right after and relaxed for a few days.  Now that's my kind of vacation!

September
School starts again!--You mean I don't have to entertain my kids all day every day anymore?  That's fantastic!  Why didn't somebody think of that sooner?:)
Singing in a FABULOUS choir--I was very fortunate to be asked to sing in the choir for the Relief Sociey session of General Conference.  What an amazing experience!  The music was beautiful, and the spirituality of the practices and performance was something I'll never forget.  I feel so blessed to have been a part of something so spectacular.  (Even if we did spend a LONG time down on Temple Square the day of the broadcast.:)  And for those of you who've been asking, yes, that was me in the close-up on camera.  (Actually, the camera was pretty much right in my face.  Let me tell you, it was really difficult to pretend it wasn't there.:)
Isaac leaving on his mission--Jason ended up having two brothers as missionaries at the same time!  His youngest brother, Isaac, left in September to the Seattle Washington mission.  He's doing a fantastic job, and I hope he's not getting too soggy in all that rain...

October
Happy Halloween--I love that my kids still like to pick cute costumes out as oppossed to the scary ones.  It's so much more fun!  This year we had a Mario and Luigi, as well as Alice and 2 Mad Hatters (one old movie and one new).  The best part by far though was that Jason grew out his hair just so he could be a fantasic Johnny Depp Mad Hatter for Savannah's Alice.  He looked absolutely amazing.  (He even did his makeup by himself.  I had no idea I married such a talented man.:)

Yes, that's his real hair.  We got a spray hair dye for the night.:)

Family pictures--Jason's sister Toni was nice enough to take some new family pictures for us up at the cabin.  We have current pictures of the kids thanks to school, but it dawned on me that in our last family picture Mary was 1.  (Oops.:)  They turned out wonderfully, thanks to Toni being aware that you must take MANY pictures in every pose in order to get ones where everyone is actually looking at the camera and smiling at the same time.  (Who new that was such a complicated idea?)

I love my family!

Don't you just love this picture?  It's one of my favorites.

This looks kind-of like an engagement photo to me, and I love it!  Who says we can't still love each other after almost 10 years?:)

Savannah's program--Each year the kids get to do a program at school, and for Savannah's grade that means Halloween.  It was super cute, and I love how you can always hear my kids singing, even in a big group.  They love it, and so does their mom.  Savannah did such a fantastic job on her speaking part as well.  (She could even reach the microphone this time.:)

That's my girl!

November
Remembering gratitude--We had a small medical scare thanks in part to my fabulous blood clotting genes.  I had gone of my medication for a couple of days in order to have an endoscopy (lucky me) and my legs were quite sore for a couple of weeks after.  I went to have an ultrasound and discovered what looked like more clots.  I thought, "Oh, great.  I seriously have to do this again?  Really?"  But during the procedure, the doctor let me know that it was actually more scar tissue from when they treated me a couple of times over the summer.  I was sore, but I'd be okay, and I got to go home.  The neat thing was that it was almost exactly a year after I first was fighting the clots, and right before Thanksgiving.  It was as if Heavenly Father was saying, "You remember what you learned about gratitude last year?  Yeah, don't forget that."  It was most definately a very good reminder.

December
Programs--Savannah's school program was for Halloween, Isaiah's was for Christmas.  Remember what I said about being able to hear my kids no matter what?  That's especially true for Isaiah.  He has such a love for music, and can't wait to sing it at the top of his lungs. (Mary's that way too.) He did such a fantastic job.  Mary had her preschool program and a dance showcase as well, and I just had to smile at how excited she was to sing, and more especially to dance.  She would focus long enough to do the steps her teacher asked, but she would jump up and down between each section.  Super cute!:)  She did a really good job, too.

Ta-da!

Christmas--Christmas was awesome, fantastic, and completely crazy.  We have tons of family to visit anyway, but adding in the concept of it being on Sunday and working around everyone's meetings, trying to plan to be at Jason's parents' house when his missionary brothers called, and my brother Tony and his wife having a new baby 2 days before (yay for Braden!:), things were just nuts.  It was all enjoyable, but I did feel bad for my kids.  About halfway through the day, Mary asked if we could go home yet so she could play with her new toys.  Too bad we still had 2 more places to go that day...:)  I was really proud of my kids this year too.  Normally their gifts to each other consist of whatever they think would be okay at Wal-Mart.  But this year, each of them really thought about things the others had said they wanted and got those instead.  Let me tell you, it is such a fantastic feeling as a parent to see the smiles not only from the one receiving the gift, but from the one giving it as well when they know they really picked something the other would want.  And they all even waited until after church to open their presents, since our meeting was at 9:00.  The true meaning of Christmas was most definately in focus this year, despite all the craziness, and I LOVED IT!

I had to put in this picture of Isaiah with his bomb Angry Bird from Santa.  All the kids got a bird and a pig in their stockings, but he was by far the most excited.  Love that smile!

January
Taz's homecoming--The missionaries are back down to one!  Jason's brother Taz returned from Monterey, Mexico and is just as awesome as ever.  I would say even more so than when he left.  (Missions tend to do that.:)  We're all super excited he's home, but I don't think anyone is more so than my husband.  I've never seen him that happy before, and I've seen him at some pretty happy times.  I can only imagine how it will be when Isaac comes home as well.
Going back to school--So I decided to be nuts and go back to college.  (As if I don't already have enough to do.)  My kids are getting to the age where it's a possibility, and I've always wanted to.  I will eventually be persuing a degree in music education, but at the moment, I'm finishing some general classes online that never got finished at the Y.  It's going pretty well, but it's really interesting to try and figure out college-level math when I haven't had to think that way in about a decade.  I'm reaching into parts of my brain that I forgot existed, which causes a few headaches. Here's hoping it keeps going as well as it has been.:)
  So, that's what on earth we've been up to lately.  Here's hoping I get a little more time to update things on this blog more frequently, but I'm not making any promises.:)

Does Life Ever Calm Down?

  You know how life gets so busy and you keep thinking that you'll have time to get around to things when it calms down?  Well, what happens if things don't calm down?:)  I think that's been the story for the Greenwoods the past few months.  At first I thought summer would be relaxing.  But then my husband was working out of town for most of it and I had to think of stuff for the kids to do all day so they didn't notice.  Then I thought things would be calmer when the kids went back to school.  But I forgot about all the homework and projects and me becoming the family taxi driver.  Then I figured that the holidays would be busy, but at least lots of fun.  You'd think I'd remember how crazy everything was last year...Oh, well.  At least I've updated the blog enough so that it doesn't look like it's the middle of summer anymore.  Maybe someday soon I'll get around to doing something like posting pictures.:)

More Random Pictures

  Here's a few more random shots that didn't make it in anywhere, but I had to share.:)

I know it's hard to tell, but these are antelope!  There was this whole herd of them just hanging out in the farmer's field across from Wal-Mart.  We HAD to stop and stare for a little while.

After petting the rays at Sea World: "I gotta wash my hands." (Mary still says that everytime she sees this picture.:)

I took this after Jason and I had a temple date.  I couldn't believe how beautiful it looked.

This is from Mary's birthday party at my parent's house.  I love how excited Papa (my grandpa) is to be singing to her.  (He just loves her, and calls her Mary J.  So cute!)

This is a llama at Farm Country.  I love that he looks like he's saying, "What?"

Waiting outside Chuck-a-Rama with Aunt Kristianne and Cousin Max.  Love those cute smiles!

  Thanks for letting me share!

Thanksgiving Point Fun

  A little while back Jason ran in the Thanksgiving Point Half-Marathon with his sister and brother.  (They did a fantastic job, by the way.) In the race packet there were wrist-bands for all the activities at Thanksgiving Point, so we decided to go make a day out of it.  I mean, how often do you get to do that sort of thing for free?  What a fabulous time we had!  My kids couldn't believe we got to do Farm Country and the Dinosaur Museum in the same day.  (Usually it's one or the other due to cost.)  I particularly enjoyed the fact that Jason got to come with us this time.  He's usually working when we go, but this time it was Saturday.  The kids absolutely loved pointing everything out to him, too.:)

I love the smiles in this picture.  They were so excited to get to pet that little lamb.

I just had to inculde a picture of Isaiah's favorite.  He's been obsessed with pigs lately, and was absolutely thrilled that there were some to pet.  I guess they are pretty cute.:)

Jason told them to look sad for this picture.  Awesome!

Goofing around at the museum

Digging for dinosaur bones

ROAR!

  What a fantastic day!  I hope we all get to go back again soon.  (Maybe I can talk Jason into running another race...:)

Baseball and Gymnastics

  I really love how active my kids are.  Sometimes it's hard for me to keep up!  Isaiah just finished baseball season, and he totally loved it!  He was so excited that he got to be in coach pitch this year.  He did a great job, too.  The funny thing was about halfway through the season he went from hitting almost every pitch to missing a lot.  It took us a while to figure out that his swing speed had gotten a lot faster, and so his timing was all messed up.  But, he practiced hard and before long he was back to getting hits, this time with a lot more distance due to the power and speed in his swing.  It was awesome to see his face light up when he'd connect and hit it far.  Way to go, buddy!

Look at that stance.  He's so ready to go!

This is actually one of the only times I caught him holding still in the outfield.  He was always jumping around or trying to talk to somebody.  I guess he still does have 5-year-old focus.:)

  Savannah had her first gymnastics exhibition a few weeks ago as well.  It was a lot of fun, and I loved how official the teachers made everything.  It was just like a real meet, right down to how the students walked and rotated to each event.  So cool!  Savannah was great, too.  She's doing such a fantastic job learning how to tumble and dance around.  She loves swinging over the bars especially.  There was even a little awards ceremony at the end, and all the students took turns standing at the top of the podium.  Good practice, right?:)

A lot of the pictures ended up blurry because of all the movement, but I love how in this one she's the only one in focus.  That's where our attention was anyway, right?

Look at that smile!  She was so proud.  Her mom was, too.:)

  Way to go, you guys!  Great job!:)

Such a Big Girl

  In April, my little Mary turned 4!  She is such a big girl!  Sometimes I can't believe how grown up she is.  But, if I ever forget, she'll remind me.:)

Yes, that is a Twinkie with candles in it.  I already had to make a cake for the family party and cupcakes for another one, so on the actual day of her birthday we had Twinkies.  I can only bake so much!:)

Opening presents--most of which had to do with the movie Tangled

Blowing out the cupcakes, which, of course, are pink

Mary's pink princess cake, with ice cream cone turrets.  (She's become almost obsessed with princesses lately, and asked for a castle cake.  Thankfully, I at least had an idea of what to do.  The rest came through looking at pictures and some trial and error.)

Happy Birthday, Mary!  We love you, big girl!