Merry Christmas!

We wish you all a Merry Christmas!

Where did the time go?

Seems like it was Christmas just yesterday, yet in only 4 days it is here again. How does it come around so quickly each year? The kids are busy counting down and trying to guess what is in their packages under the tree. None of them have come close this year to what they are-Thank goodness. DaNell wants books, Taylor wants PSP Games, Schydi is wishing for an Easy Bake Oven. and Leyton has his little heart set on a BB-Gun. Here's hoping that Santa can help make their wishes come true. Here are some pics from our family Christmas Party-Enjoy!

Here's is Taylor's class singing Jingle Bells.

Taylor's Christmas Songs

For the Christmas Program, Taylor's class was assigned America. They sang Jingle Bells and one called Still, Still, Still. I have never heard this one before, but I really liked it. I tried to load some video, but it was taking forever, I do have a couple pics of him singing. Here is also a couple more pics from the program of Leyton and Schydi. Leyton loved the mustaches, he wore Schydi's all over the rest of the night.

Christmas Program

Here is Schydi singing at her Christmas Program. Her class sang songs from France.

Happy Thanksgiving

Just wanted to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving :-D

Stansbury Trip

On Friday we took a trip to Stansbury so DaNell could work on a Science Fair Project. We left home at 3:30 a.m. to be sure we would make it there by 7:00 a.m. From there she went back to SLC to begin working. They worked from 8-2 p.m. she learned a lot, and had a ton of fun doing it. Thanks Dane for everything! The rest of us hung out in Stansbury, we visited and Yvette made some awesome Chicken Chow Mein for lunch (Recipe Request Please) Thanks Yvette for a great day! After DaNell returned we went to the IMAX in Sandy to watch Christmas Carol in 3D, it was FABULOUS! It was one of the best experiences ever, I could not believe how everything looked and felt. I found myself ducking out of the way of things, feeling like I could actually catch the snow as it was falling, and jumping when things were coming at us. The kids thought it was amazing too. All except for Leyton, he watched a little, then fell asleep. After the show, Leyton said to Taylor, "When I put my glasses on, I thought that guy was coming at me" it was so cute. After the movie we went to Chuck-A-Rama for dinner, the place was packed but the food was good, I think everyone got plenty to eat.
DaNell, Taylor, and Schydi met papa Ringo after dinner and stayed the night with him, then went to Becca's Birthday party, they all said they had a lot of fun, DaNell says she did pretty good and wishes we had a Roller Rink here, Taylor said he didn't skate to well, and Schydi spent most of her time on a scooter. Thanks Aunt Becca for a fun party!
We are planning another movie trip in March to watch Alice in Wonderland in 3-D, I can't wait!

Only 5

Days to go :-) Once again my sister and I have been scouring the "net" in search of fabulous Black Friday deals. We have found JC Penny's, Wal-Mart, and K-Mart, we have looked, looked again, but still find ourselves wanting the "REAL MCCOY", the actual paper ads in our hands before we begin making out lists. I don't know what it is, but having the real ads are just better :-D Here's to the week of ads, may we all find some FANTASTIC DEALS!

Leyton's Dentist Visit

Yesterday Leyton had an appointment with the dentist to get a cavity fixed, I prepared myself all morning for the big fight. All of that was pointless. He did very well, didn't even cry at all. He had a little of the gas at the first, then they numbed it and not even a peep. He was happy with being able to run the remote, and he kept saying that his lip felt weird and really soft. They were able to fix the tooth and he is a lot happier today than the last couple of days. I guess my baby is growing up as bad as I don't want to see it happen :-) I am very proud of him.

National Jr. Honor Society

DaNell was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society last night. It was a short and sweet ceremony. Heres a couple pics. One of her saying the pledge and another receiving her card and signing the book. Good Job DaNell! We are very proud of you!

Happy Birthday Aunt Becca!

Happy Birthday to the Best Sister In The World :)
Thanks for always being there for me!

Black Friday Update

Only 9 days to go!
This year with a lot of stores offering so called "Black Friday" pricing before Black Friday, it is taking away some of my enthusiasm :-( I can only hope that the Real Black Friday prices are even better than the offers I see right now!

First Quarter

Report cards are in. Everyone is doing well, Leyton is liking Pre-School most days and has made some new friends, but likes playing with Jax the most. Schydi is doing well also and has learned to quiet her "motormouth" some. Taylor is working hard at making sure all his work is complete and handed in on time, his Core test scores from last year were excellent and he is enjoying his last year in Elementary and already looking forward to next year. He has made a lot of new friends while playing football who will be there with him in Jr. High. Last but not least, DaNell managed to get her first 4.0 for the first quarter, she was very excited and has planned a trip to Salt Lake to work on her Science Fair Project. We are hoping that this year we will have it completed way ahead of schedule instead of the last minute. She also received an invitation to join the National Jr. Honor Society, she turns in the paperwork today and we will let you know the results as soon as we know. Great Job Kids, We are very PROUD of all of you! Keep up the good work!

My Countdown...

No not for Thanksgiving or for Christmas, but for Black Friday =D
Only 19 Days to get in shape, I can hardly wait!

Transformation....

is beginning. Over the weekend, we hung the Christmas Lights on the house and Schydi and Leyton put these in their room. They are beginning to look through books, make lists, and change their minds 100 times a day. I know, I know, we haven't even had Thanksgiving yet, but we are the kind that just can't wait :-)Each year brings new joy, new challenges, and more fun. My neighbor was outside shaking his head when we were putting up the lights, but the weather was so nice, we had to put them up, it's a lot better than freezing while putting them up. As we all know, the weather in Utah can change in 15 min.

Happy Birthday DaNell!

My how you've grown :-)
Happy Number 14! We Love You!

Talent Show Video's

More Red-Ribbon Fun

Schydi's class participated in the Talent Show and performed to YMCA. Then we had some monsters performing the Monster Mash! Made for a lot of fun.

What a Week!

The last week at the elementary was a busy one,with Red Ribbon Week and Halloween there was activities all week long. One was a balloon launch where we filled almost 400 red, white, and blue balloons to match the tie-dye shirts and let the kids release them all at once. They really enjoyed it, but wished the weather would have been warmer. We also held what we called a Pumpkin-Walk where the kids had decorated pumpkins according to themes, it was open to the public to come see and buy the pumpkins. We also held a Trick-or-Treat at the same time with light refreshments. It looked like everyone had a good time and we had a good turn out.

Reflections Contest

It's that time again when the Elementary is having their Reflections Program. The Theme this year is Beauty Is.........Here's Taylor's Pic's he is entering.

Schydi is still working on hers, I'll post it when she gets it finished.

I'll give you 3 guesses as to what this is (Sorry Those of you who have already seen the pics, you get NO guesses ;-) As you already know what it is!)

Halloween Anguish

3 of my kids can't decide what to be for Halloween this year, usually they are decided and made well before now, and with it vastly approaching, they just can't seem to decide....Any Ideas?

Leyton's T-Shirt

We let the kids at the Elementary tie-dye their own T-shirts for Red Ribbon Week and since Leyton was with me I figured he should do one too :-)

Here's a pic of his:

My Posts....

or lack of posts lately. It seems that I have been pretty busy lately, between all 4 schools, all 4 kids, and PTA I haven't had a lot of time lately. Today being a somewhat slower day I thought I'd try to get caught up on a few things.

First Football is now over-Hooray for me, not so much for Taylor :-(

Next: Dancing has just begun, this year DaNell's group has the chance to go to Disneyland and Perform, now we are struggling with whether we should let her go or not (Yes, I am a little over protective)

Schydi would like to start gymnastics and Leyton is still liking preschool and playing with brothers and sisters.

As for me I have been helping at the school a lot lately and have helped organize Red Ribbon Week next week. Here are some of the activities we planned, Tie-Dye T-Shirts, Crazy Hair Day, Crazy Sock Day, Hat day, we are doing a Balloon Launch will all 374 kids letting them all go at once, and a Talent Show. Hopefully I will have pics next week to share

Game 9

I know, I know......Finally

Game 9 resulted in a loss for the Dolphins, but they did play a good game and only lost by 6 points. Taylor was very sad to see the season end and just couldn't part with his equipment just yet. He also wants to buy his jersey, so he can have it forever and forever. His biggest dilemma now is should he stay in Little League Football next year? Or should he play for the Jr. High team? OH......Decisions.....Decisions :-)

Game 8

I'm Ready! You Ready?
Huddle!

Sweet Tackle!

Run! Yankee Boy! Run!

Field Goal Attempt. GOOD! Our kicker kicked it through the uprights, over then fence and cleared the road below. After that they made us kick our field goals on the other side of the field, away from the road =D

Dolphins vs. Emery (Castle Dale) resulted in a 20-16 Victory for the Dolphins! The 2 teams were pretty evenly matched, and it came down to Emery within 30 yards of scoring, but our awesome D was able to hold them :-)

Our last game is tonight at 7:30 vs the 49ers. Good Luck Dolphins!

Game 7

Game 7 for the Dolphins was a disaster. With all that happened the day before the game, none of the boys were really up to playing the game. We had missed opportunities everywhere. I think they were all just trying too, too hard which resulted in a lot of confusion. I don't even know what the final score was, but it was not pretty.

The family of #32 did attend the game and told the boys thanks for all their support during this difficult time. The day after the game, was the funeral in which most of the football team attended, it was so great to see all the support they were not only for the family, but also for each other. They stuck together in a group through out the funeral and afterward they held their own moment of silence for #32. He will be missed by all that knew him.

Our next game is on Saturday at 1:30 vs. Emery. Here's hoping for a rebound for our team :-)

Loss...

We learned yesterday that a boy on Taylor's football team, who was also the brother of one of DaNell's friends has passed away from a tragic accident on Friday night. I was in total shock as we had just seen him the week before at practice. He was our kicker and free safety, he put everything he had into playing football and played in game 6 with a dislocated shoulder and fractured wrist. He had brought in a note from the doctor saying he could still play football. He livened up our games with his play.

It is times like these when I like to take a few more minutes with the kids, be a little slower getting them off to school, and just watching them do whatever it is that they are doing. I am so thankful for what I have been blessed with and wouldn't change a thing.

I would like thank the family, for sharing their son with us and our prayers are with them.

Game 7 today is dedicated to you # 32 you will always be remembered.

The rest of your team will be wearing your number on their helmets for the rest of the season.

In All My Spare Time...

Yesterday Taylor had the great idea to make a Dolphins Flag, then it was up to me to create it. We used some orange and black broad cloth, markers, and some pex pipe then we went to work. Here is a pic of our final product. I'll bet this flag traveled at least 3 miles last night with different kids running with it around the track :-)

Dolphins Game 6

Last night was Game 6 for the Dolphins against the Vikings. I have to say that this was Taylor's best game yet. He was in the game on offense, defense, and all special teams. He was only out for about 3 minutes total all game. He got 1 block, 3 tackles, 1 interception, and 1 touchdown!! He was also named both Game 6 MVP and Defensive Player of the Game. The final score ended up being 31-0 Victory for the Dolphins! Great Job Taylor! We look forward to more games like last nights.

The Last Couple Weeks....

The last couple of weeks here at the Rasmussen Ranch have been pretty busy. Between 3 different schools, dancing, football, PTA, and everyday life, it seems we have nothing to do but taxi the kids around. Last week was Parent Teacher Conferences at the elementary and the junior high. The elementary one went well, both kids are doing well, Taylor needs to slow down a bit, and Schydi has been working on her "motor-mouth" and has managed to stay on Super Star for 5 days straight. She is so excited to report back to us each day on her progress =-)

We opted not to go to the junior high, since I can look up all DaNell's grades on-line and she was currently sitting at all A's and 1 A- which she plans to bring up before the end of the quarter, she is striving for a 4.0 this quarter.

Good Luck Kids in all you do...We are PROUD of all of you!

Dolphins Game 5

Game 5 against the 49ers resulted in another loss, I am not sure of the final score. I know we scored 3 touchdowns and I think they scored 4? Taylor played the QB for 1 snap where he ran the ball for a 1st down. The rest of the time he played corner back. We have a day off, then practice tomorrow and no games until next week, hopefully we will get back on our winning streak soon. Our record is 3-2 so far. Good Luck Dolphins !

Student Council

Taylor has decided to run for Student Council this year for the Vice President position. Here is his poster made to hang up. Campaigning begins next week with the final vote on the 17th. I'll let you know how it goes. GOOD LUCK TAYLOR!

Dolphins Game 4

Game 4 was a disappointing game for the Dolphins. We ended up losing 0-20 to the Raiders. The boys were discouraged, but did have a good practice last night and are looking forward to next week's game 5. Here's hoping for a rebound :-)

COACHES and PARENTS:

I am having an issue with football "punishments" can any of you help me out?

What is more important, making the kids do extra long work outs when they lose or the kids learning the art of losing as well as winning?

What should you do as a parent if you feel your child is not getting the opportunities you feel he/she deserves when playing a sport?

Thanks for your input!

I look forward to hearing your comments!

Here Comes The Train

Last Sunday we took the kids on their first train ride. They all loved it and are ready to go again, only this time for a longer trip. Here's some pics of our adventures. A big thanks to Papa and Grandma for picking us up.

Games 2 & 3

I was told one day that a team has to win 3 in a row for it to be considered a winning streak......well then we are on a winning streak! The Dolphins have started the season with a 3-0 record so far. Last nights score was 19-6 vs the Eagles again, and the game before vs. the Vikings was 26-6. The boys really seem to be having fun. Taylor got 2 tackles last night and was even put in the QB position for 1 play which he executed beautifully, then the running back fumbled the ball and Taylor was right there to recover =-) He also played CornerbackIt was a good game. Now with the long weekend we have a little bit of a break, no games until the 12Th. I know they will be practicing hard in between though.

Game 1

Game 1 vs. last years Champion Eagles has resulted in a 14-12 Victory for the Dolphins! All the players had fun. they really enjoyed beating the Eagles and eating the cupcakes given out by the coaches. Taylor is already looking forward to the next practice on Monday night :-D

PTA President

I am the new PTA President for Wellington Elementary. So far it is going well, the other 3 ladies on my board are wonderful, we have already had 2 meetings this week and have some great ideas for new things to do this year. I am hoping that this will come with many rewards and that it won't be too hard to accomplish.

P.S. If anyone has any great ideas for things such as Red Ribbon Week, please feel free to post

:-) I am open any to new ideas.

First Week Done

I am very happy to report that the first week of school has went pretty well for all. They seem to like their classes and teachers for the most part. DaNell seems as if she is already excelling and taking on every challenge as it comes, Taylor is also doing well, he needs to work on not being so social all the time, but he assures me that he will work on it, Schydi's teacher says she is a "motor-mouth" and that she is already making it very hard to get mad at her cuz she's just so darn little and cute :-D, and Leyton is doing very well this year at Pre-school too, he is staying without any tears. Last but not least me, I am also adjusting well to having 2 hours a day alone. I love watching them grow and succeed with new challenges.

Here's to another great week!

Game ON!

Taylor has his first football game this morning at 10:30. All he has been getting to do at practice is defense, so this should be an interesting experience for us all. We did a mini-makeover on his helmet and added his #, the team name, and his newly acquired nickname (which gladly his name is no longer hey you). I hope he has a good day and the game goes well. I'll let you know the results later on :-)

Post Report

I am happy to report that I have already passed the number of posts from last year and all together have passed the 200 post mark, I didn't think I'd ever write this much. I have to say though, blogging in much cheaper than therapy. It's amazing how one little comment from someone can make me feel better about a lot of things, Thanks to everyone who reads and comments.

Here's to another 200 posts!

Bow-Hunt

This weekend is the beginning of the Archery Deer Hunt. Here's hoping everyone can fill their tags and have a successful hunt! Pics will come later I am sure :-)

Football Practice

Taylor has started football practices the last few days and so far he LOVES it !

As for me I am not so sure I am liking it, they go from 6:00 p.m. to at least 8:00 p.m. every night. This seems like too long to me. It has been difficult for me watching some of the practices, first off I don't know the coaches, I don't know if I like the way they are coaching, it seems like they already have their favorites picked and some of the other kids are getting left behind. There is also a lot of yelling that goes on. Maybe it's the aggressive style I am having a hard time with? I am used to baseball, knowing the coaches and the way things are going to go for the most part, and being friends with the coaches which has helped make me feel at ease. Football for me so far is very different. As long as Taylor is having fun, I guess that is all that really matters, and he is :-) He counts down the hours from practice to practice every day. Last night the asked if anyone else there was a quarterback and he stepped up and practiced in the quarterback position, he looked like he was doing a great job for not ever doing it before, except on the playground at school. I was happy to see him take the initiative himself and go for it. I think games start in the next couple weeks, so I'll keep you posted on his (as well as my) progress.

Who's Your Teacher?

The day was finally here, they posted the list of teachers for the elementary so we went yesterday to check it out. Schydi got Mrs. Judd's class and Taylor got Mrs. Fiechko's class. I think they were both happy with their teachers, but Taylor feels segregated once again as all of his other friends are in the other class. At least he has his best friend on his football team so they will still get to hang out a lot together. DaNell had registration last week and ended up getting all of her first choice electives which made her very happy. She also has a few pre-ap classes I think she will do great and hope they give her a challenge this year. Leyton gets to attend another year of pre-school and is getting more excited every day to start. Hopefully it is a good year for all.

Early Thanksgiving

Last weekend we enjoyed an early Thanksgiving in Elmo. We played in three tournaments, Ping-Pong, Bean Bags, and Redneck Golf. We also had some of the best food ever, this year we tried deep-frying a turkey it turned out pretty good and everything else was great, especially the pies. We all had a ton of fun and are already looking forward to the next family gathering.

This was DaNell keeping an eye on Uncle Dane, while he played Red-Neck Golf

The Championship Ping-Pong Game came down to Dave vs. Travis

The Champion was Dave

And we had some other visitors that were just amazing to watch, at times there was probably 20 hummingbirds swarming the feeder.

Thanks everyone for the good time :-)

Chicken Farmers

This is a little video of Taylor helping to catch our rooster. Enjoy

:-D

Football Begins

Last night was the Little League Football Draft. Taylor was so excited he could barely hold out until 5:30. They gave them their pads and helmet, but not their jerseys yet so pics will be coming when his uniform is complete. They had the kids do some running, passing, and a few plays then it was the

moment of truth..............the coaches decision........and........the.......winning........team....is......the......

DOLPHINS!

Going into the draft Taylor and his friend had high hopes of being drafted by the Eagles, but they both ended up going to the Dolphins which neither one minded since they were both on the same team. So here's to a successful first year of football :-)

Reunion part 2

DaNell and Maygun danced to Mercy by Duffy
Schydi sang Love Story by Taylor Swift

Taylor dressed the part and sang Dude Looks Like A Lady by Aerosmith

Twins Zaden and Zaric, with Twins Papa Ringo and Tom, Twins Jerald and Garold, and yet another Twin Brent. And believe it or not, more twins were missing ....... Here's hoping that next year they can all make it :-)

Schade Clan and their spouses.