Happy As A Camel On Hump Day!

 This week was election week at the school.  Brody decided he wanted to run for Vice President and Case opted out of running.  Brody went with the Geico commercial theme…you know the one right?  His poster was hilarious and his speech was even better.  

 Today Jeremy and I headed over to the school to listen to Brody's speech.  Brody was hoping his friend Drew Shumway was going to win the office of president and that he was going to win VP.

There were 3 kids running for VP, Brody and 2 girls.  One thing you should know about elections at this school is that you cannot have any props, music, nothing.  You can only get up and say your 1 minute thing and you are done.  Here is how Brody's speech went:

"My name is Brody Felstead and I am running for the office of Vice President."

From the audience Jeremy says, "Yo BRODY…BRO BRO BRO" (like the commercial)

Then I say, "GUESS WHAT DAY IT IS?"

And Brody responds, "ELECTION DAY!" (please tell me you have seen the commercial?)

Ands finishes with, "So vote Brody Felstead for VP and I'll be as happy as a camel on hump day!"

It was HILARIOUS!  And Brody won!  We had a great time this week, like we always do, coming up with funny ideas for these elections.  Because you cannot use props, you really have to be creative in what and how you say your speech.  I am so proud of Brody for always wanting to run for student council office.  This kid is the best!

The Maroon Monsoon

 This morning we headed over to the Stake Center for Case's second pinewood derby.  He, Jeremy and Papa have been working late nights this week to get Case's car finished and ready to race.  As expected, Case made an ASU Maroon Monsoon car this year.  He actually made 3 cars this year and then tested them on Jeremy's test track at the office.  This was the fastest by far.   

You all know we LOVE Pinewood Derby.  We also LOVE our Devils!  It was only appropriate that we make some Maroon Monsoon shirts to wear on the day of the big race.  Case chose number 42 as his car number since that was Pat Tillman's number.  

 Since our scouts are combined as a "super pack" (meaning there are three wards of boys that meet together), they split the boys randomly into 3 groups for the race.  Case competed against about 12 boys today.  His car was REALLY FAST!

 He kept setting new track records today which was fun!

 Here is what the back of our shirts looked like. It was funny but when Jeremy was designing the shirts, Case was having a fit that his name was on them.  He did not want his name ANYWHERE on the shirt.  Since we were making them to recognize HIS pinewood derby, we kinda felt we needed to put his name on them.  He gets really shy about things like this.  He doesn't love a ton of attention.  

 Case and some of the boys he raced today.

 Love this cute scout!

 Here are some of the cars Case was competing against.  There were some really fun designs and paint jobs.  

 Some of Case's pit crew!  

 Waiting in the pit with some of the other racers.

Berkley is all about who she can play with at things like this.  Thank goodness Cardston was there!

GO MAROON MONSOON!

Here is the "DUD" car the boys made this week.  Of course it was super SLOW, super UGLY and LOST every race against the Maroon Monsoon! Boo U of A!

Just so I remember for next year, here are the pit passes I made for all the boys in our super pack.  They turned out really cute!  Love Pinewood Derby!

So Case ended up winning the Pinewood Derby today for his group.  In fact, our Bear den rocked the Pinewood Derby.  Case was first, Ethan WIlson second and Jamey Reeves third.  Way to go Bears!

 Because Case won, he had to go back at 3:00 for the finals.  The top 5 winners from the other wards in the stake competed for the championships.  Here are the 5 cars that competed.

The race is on!  GO MAROON MONSOON!!!  The cars in the championships were really fast!  

The races were all really close today.

 After 30 races, Case won the championships.  His car was really fast today!

 Jeremy, Case and Papa worked really hard on the Maroon Monsoon this year.  These guys get really into the whole theory of how it all works.  They work hard and do their research.  Way to go dudes!

 How lucky is Case that he has such a great pit crew?!?!  Hooray Maroon Monsoon!

 Thanks Sugar and Jim for coming today. 

Arizona Science Center

Today I got to chaperone Ledger on the second grade field trip to the Arizona Science Center. Although the bus ride over was long and loud, Ledger and I had fun talking to each other and doing funny things with my phone!

  I love this field trip because the Science Center is so fun! Mrs. Schwartz had enough parent volunteers sign up to help so I was only responsible for Ledger and Sam.  It was great!

The water area is always a hit.  These boys could have played outside all day!

Water and bubbles, what else does a boy need?

This is the first year that Ledger and DeMarco have not been in the same class.  These boys are great friends.

So much to see and touch!

Go Ledger!

The bed of nails is always a hit!  

And how could a boy not love balls that float on air?

This was by far the easiest field trip I have been on.  There is so much to do here and it is so fun watching the kids get excited.  

Seven Springs

 This morning we woke up at 6:00 (super hard after ringing in the new year last night) and headed home.  Brody was going on a 3 day 2 night hike with the Scouts and we needed to be home by noon.  Normally it wouldn't be a big deal however a HUGE storm blew in last night and this is what we had to drive home in.  It took longer then normal but thankfully there was noooooo traffic on the first day of the new year at 7:00 in the morning!  

Because this was a HIKE, Brody had to carry with him, everything he needed for 3 days and two nights.  The other concern was that it just so happened that the storm that blew in at the cabin, also blew into the valley and the temperatures at Seven Springs were in the teens at night and hight 20's during the day. I was beyond worried about how Brody was going to stay warm at night with only the things he had on his back.  Jeremy was able to go on the hike which was good but I was seriously so stressed each night when I went to bed.  I kept waking up in the middle of the night, freezing cold myself, wondering how these boys were staying warm.  It was scary.

Jeremy ordered this 2 man little tent from Amazon while we were at the cabin.  This thing saved them! Although they woke up with ice and snow inside their tent, they were able to sleep a little and stay somewhat warm.  And remember those freezing temperatures, the boys were able to earn an extra badge for camping two nights in a row under those conditions.  I seriously love Brody's scout leader.  He loves his calling as scout leader and he is sooooo good with the boys.  His patience were tested on this hike and he was able to remain calm and collect in order to get help a boy who was struggling.  What an amazing experience for both these boys.  

Happy New Year!

 New Year's Eve was spent at the cabin. The countdown started at 1:00 with fun and games for everyone.  

 Berkley was the youngest of the group this year so she got to pop the first balloon.  

 Can you say KARAOKE?!?!

 This turned out to be the best thing ever.  The kids had a ball singing and rocking out to their favorite songs. The boys sang boy songs...

 and the girls sang girl songs.  What is it with kids and a microphone.  Suddenly they turn into rock stars!

 Speaking of rock stars…Kim, Erika and I rocked "Let It Go" with our girls!

 Charades was played somewhere in the day/night and that was a huge hit too.

For the past few years, we have been having the kids fill out a form that recaps their year.  We pulled them out this year and laughed so hard we wanted to cry.  We then had the kids fill out new ones and then we filed them away for next year.  it is so fun to see how the kids grow and change each year.

 Frosting sugar cookies was a huge hit today also.  As you can see, we had to choose countdown activities that were indoors this year.  It was beyond freezing cold and we couldn't even go outside!

 The highlight of the night had to be the balloon popping oh and the glow in the dark balloon scavenger hunt.  These kids loooove balloons.  They provide hours and hours of entertainment!

Who knew?!?!

 The poppers are always fun along with the late night (around 10:00) fireworks in the backyard!

 Around 10:00 we count down with New York and then it's off to bed we go.  

 We had a great New Years and our time at the cabin was much needed.  I have had so much on my mind while here and I am grateful for this place away from home.  I hope 2015 brings happiness and joy to my little family.  I hope that we can all be a little kinder and more respectful to one another.  I hope that my kid who is struggling right now will find a way to be happy and see the good in life.  I hope that the thoughts in my head will settle down and I will find a way to make things happen. That I will make a positive impact. I hope the grouchy member of my family will find a way to be happy and not be so negative all the time.  I hope most of all that we will all be healthy and happy this year.  That we will find joy in the journey.