March 2016

March has been a busy month...  In addition to the usual music lessons, homework, science club, coding club, kids bands, yard work, finishing our basement, Neil's job, church callings, laundry, errands, bills to pay, dog training, school projects, tests, etc, etc...

We got the kids all registered for their next year's schedules (I can't believe they will be in 11th, 8th, and 6th grades!!!), I also took Jonah for an orthodontist consultation, to see when we need to start braces.  Both orthodontists recommended waiting another 6 months to a year, and see where we are at at that point.

Tessa went to her first Prom!  She looked absolutely beautiful & had such a great time!  She also performed at the Regional solo ensemble (on clarinet) & did great, and her teacher put her in the advanced wind symphony for next year.  :)  She is still doing great in school, and has all A's. And we found out (unfortunately) that since we moved here after the 1st quarter of school, Tessa has to make up 1 quarter of class for U.S. History, and 1 quarter of class for 10th grade English.  Kind of a bummer, but she can do the work over the summer, online, so hopefully it's not a big deal.  She is also looking forward to getting a job next year.  She misses having a paper route (or at least the spending money), like she had in Canada, where she could earn enough money to buy extras for herself.

  

Jonah has been having fun in a 4-H coding class after school once a week.  He is learning how to create his own websites & wants to learn how to make apps.  Maybe he'll make something that he can sell in an app store & actually make some money from that!  That would be pretty cool.  Or maybe he will go into computer programing or become an engineer.  Whatever he does, he has a lot of fun & enjoys it.  He is also doing great with percussion & has been in a couple of concerts (on drums, xylophone, and tympani) & sounds great!  :)  And as usual, he is still getting straight A's as well.

Clay is having fun in school, and is also doing a science club after school once a week.  They have learned cool things, like how to extract DNA, how to build a rocket, and how to cross pollinate plants.  He is still enjoying piano & has a recital in just a couple of weeks.  He is enjoying scouts too, and last week they were able to go to a place that has a space simulator.  He thought that was great!  He is also doing great in school, with straight A's as well.

Neil & the boys roasting marshmallows over our fire pit

PJ is doing fantastic!  He loved the Mexico City MTC for the 6 weeks that he was there, and served as both a District Leader, and then a Zone Leader.  He had a great companion & all the missionaries in his group got along well, worked hard, and had fun!  He finished his training at the MTC, and flew to Antofagasta yesterday.  He actually left Mexico on Monday night, arrived in Santiago, Chile early Tuesday morning, then caught another flight to Antofagasta, Chile, arriving there around noon.  He and the other missionaries met up with the mission president & his wife (they sent a letter & pictures for all the parents).  PJ is SO excited to finally be out into the field.  But part of him will miss the MTC as well, the spirit that was there, and the friends that he made.  We are so proud of him & looking forward to hearing all about his service & experiences in Antofagasta!!!

  

Elder Preston Checketts with President & Sister Dalton

Neil is doing great & staying busy with work at Kneaders.  He enjoys the company & the people he works with, and the great environment that it is here.  In addition to helping establish & develop their food safety protocols, he's helped them develop new systems & things to use in their production & stores, etc., which has been great (and which they are VERY grateful for).  With his past experience in regulatory agencies, retail, grocery, and restaurants, as well as food safety, water quality, pest control, and more, he has helped them in many ways that they weren't even expecting!  :)    He has also gone to Idaho, and will be heading to Arizona and Nevada soon too, to do some training in some of their stores there (Kneaders has stores in Utah, Idaho, Texas, Arizona, Colorado, and Nevada, and are continuing to grow & expand into new areas all the time).

We had a nice Easter, decorating Easter eggs (and even made a missionary egg for PJ), worked out in the yard in the beautiful spring weather, the kids opened their Easter baskets & hunted for eggs, and we had a yummy turkey dinner to finish off a great weekend, celebrating the life, atonement, & resurrection of our Savior!



As for me... I'm just me & helping to juggle all of our day to day craziness.  I love being a wife & mom, and am so grateful for my family!!!  They are the greatest blessings in my life.  :)