Life seems to be going good. I feel like we are entering a different phase. Ivan is getting ready for Jr High and I'm not running around wiping bottom ends all day long. There's still plenty of mess making and fighting, but there seems to be more time to do things I want to get done, because I'm not bathing and dressing 4 kids all day. The world has also come out with grocery pick up and goodness that takes such a load off. I can't even believe I used to go to the grocery store with a 4yr old, a 2yr old and a baby. We also seem to be running around less. Or maybe the running around just seems less stressful.  I don't know why? the kids are still doing their extracurriculars. I think it's because, similar to the grocery thing, I don't have to haul all the kids with me. We no longer need baby sitters. Life is good.

I figured I would take a second to journal the things we are up to right now. We just finished January which is good. It's year end for Mike and so he works till 8 or 9 most nights and has to go in on Saturdays. It tends to be a long month.

Ivan is doing basketball. That means a couple practices a week and a game each Saturday. He has also joined the young mens program at church and is such a handsome little devil passing the sacrament. It's crazy he's going to the activities every week. That's pretty much all he has going on right now, besides school work. Which reminds me, we LOVE his teacher this year. Ivan has learned so much. His teacher really challenges them and I love it.

Jack just has tumbling once a week, activity days once a week and piano once a week. He's doing battle of the books again this year and just reading lots right now to get ready for the battles in March. His teacher is always making comments about how capable he is, letting him do fewer problems because he catches on quickly and says not only is he a good listener, but he influences those around him to listen. Both the boys get a few ski days in over these winter months

Emery girl started activity days and is soon to be baptized. Crazy. She's gone down from 3hrs of tumbling a week to one. She also takes a little hip hop class. The rest of the time she plays, plays, plays! Her little bestie right now is Lizzy. They are so fun to watch. They are in and out and back and forth between houses, climbing fences and playing with animals and creating games to play.

Kate and I go over to the school every Tuesday and change out the home reading books for the 2nd graders. I've been doing it once a week since Ivan was in Kindergarten. The program just runs through 2nd grade so this will be my last year until Kate gets into school. And since it's battle of the books time I also go over once a week and do practice questions with some of the 4th graders. Other than that, I take kate to her little dance class every wed, run the others to their activities, practice my piano and fit a piano lesson in every month, cook dinner, clean house and figure out what I can update in my house. I'm getting ready to paint yet again. It will be the 4th color on the walls since we moved in. I work with the oldest group of young women at church and they are awesome. I just have a lesson every couple months and then activities each week. Right now we have 77 young women. There's about 25 in our class. It's a really great place to be. I do get up and work out most days. There is a dance studio close by called "Move." They also have a women's fitness program. They have lots of fun classes. If I'm regular I do a couple weight classes, a barre class and a hight fit class each week. I really, really like it. They have a little preschool class Kate can go to at the same time.

Mike works his tail off and is tired in mind and body when he gets home. He looks forward to the weekends and we just go to kids games or hang out at home. We are leading a pretty simple life right now.