NOTE:  Here is another really old post that I found (written 12-13 years ago). I added a few pictures of my cute 5-year-old at the time. Does it sound like all we do is work?  Well, yes.  Sometimes it feels that way.  Summer vacation is definitely over. So here's another post about work! My sister asked me recently how much work I expect of my five-year-old.  She has a five-year-old too and wanted to know what she should expect.  One of my highest priorities as a parent is teaching my children how to work.  But I definitely don't have it all figured out... My five-year-old is a little delayed because of health issues so she is not quite as capable as other 5-year-olds.  She has a pretty hard time staying on task. Plus, she's the youngest.  I don't need as much help from her so I really have to force myself to let her do the work and not do it for her. So here's what I expect: A successful morning really starts the night before....

NOTE:  I wrote this post a long time ago (10 years ago at least) and never posted it. However, it seems like it might be helpful for someone out there so I'm going to publish it. With my children almost all grown up, the only people practicing at my house currently are the parents (and we practice without being reminded!). A few of my children still play the piano and organ, mostly for church. My daughter plays her violin in a community orchestra as I also do. Even though some of my adult children are not playing their instruments much, I am glad we did this with our children and I think it helped them learn some valuable lessons.  There are a lot of reasons to learn a musical instrument.  One of my favorites is that it teaches children to do something hard.  Some people have the mistaken idea that children should enjoy practicing and they should just do it because they love it.  Or that some kids are talented and others are not.  Some children DO have more...

January 14, 2001 [written by Paula] Susanna is sleeping better these days. She is usually sleeping by 10pm and wakes up just once so that works pretty well. Everett has been very independent lately (age 2 1/2). He has certain things he needs to do by himself or he gets very upset. Like zip his pajamas up, get the plates down for setting the table, etc. Setting the table has become particularly unpleasant with Everett getting upset about various things. He has been difficult to live with. He calls his gun a "boomie blaster." Lincoln loves to play with his buddy Kevin Barton and isn't so fond of Everett because he tends to destroy Lincoln's creations. Garrett has a cold this weekend, a result of not getting enough sleep. He has a hard time going to sleep and wakes up easily. Jan got baptized last Saturday. It was a nice meeting. After lunch we went up to SLC and saw "The Testaments" at the Legacy Theater. Then we went out to eat at "Ottavio's" i...

Garrett had another birthday! This year I have been featuring pictures of my children in high school. Garrett did lots of things in high school: marching band, jazz band, track, Scouting, plus hanging out with friends and being active in church. He played the mellophone in marching band and the trumpet in jazz band and the French horn in the school band. He also took French horn lessons for some of those years. He was a busy guy! Here are some pictures from that time. Turning 14! Garrett went to a Scout leadership camp called Timberline which he really enjoyed. And he did swim team. A family vacation to Bear Lake and Bergeson Hill north of Logan: We hiked to some (smelly) hot springs near Diamond Fork Campground. I took the three boys to General Conference in the fall. Garrett really enjoyed marching band. Turning 15! Visiting Snow Canyon at Christmastime. Right after Jan's graduation (and Garrett's 10th grade year), we went on a family trip to the Grand Canyon and Snowflake, A...