St. Patrick's Day

The kids were really excited the night before St. Patrick's Day to find out what those crazy little leprechauns would do.  Well, they were very naughty this year.  They left footprints leading to all the kids' rooms, where they planted big, wet, green kisses on each of the kids' faces.  They also used the facilities, as they do every year.  They added a bunch of green Styrofoam to the cereal. And they turned the milk green, one of their favorite tricks. But this year, the kids must have been very good, because they were left a big pile of gold chocolate coins on the counter.

 

 

We also enjoyed the St. Patrick's Day parade.  We sat in the sun and ate our Wendy's lunch, and gathered up a whole bag of candy!  I think Matthew waved for about 20 minutes straight.  He figures that must be what you're supposed to do during parades, so that's what he does!

The kids were stunned to see a two-level Wendy's restaurant.  They thought it was pretty cool!

 

Joey Day

Joey was baptized in February, and we put off his birthday party because of it.  We had a hard time coordinating when friends could come for a party, and when there were event places open for us to come and celebrate.  So, we finally gave up trying to put it all together, and just decided to surprise him with "Joey Day".  We had a cake and some presents waiting for him when he came home from school.

 

I told him he could decide everything that we did for the rest of the day.  He chose to go to his favorite restaurant for dinner, Fudruckers, where he enjoyed a big, juicy half pound burger.  Then we decided to go swimming at the indoor pool at our fitness club.  We rounded out the rest of the day with video games.  It was a pretty good surprise for him!

 

Pinewood Derby Time!

Although Joey just turned 8 and entered Cub Scouts, this was not his first time competing in the PineWood Derby.  He is already a former champion, and this year was no different!  Instead of entering the open class, he was able to compete against all the other scouts, and because of his awesome skills, he took 2nd place!  He was very proud of his car, which he did all by himself.  The kids had a great time watching him win!  Our neighbor, David, came with us.  Matthew was fine, as long as he had his DeeDee.

 

Joey's Baptism

Joey was baptized on February 9th this year.  He turned 8 on the 3rd, met with the Bishop, and was ready to be baptized!

 

This was our first experience with Stake Baptisms.  Apparently, February is a big month for birthdays, because Joey was one of 9 kids being baptized that day.  Luckily, our ward was in charge of them that day, so we were able to have our Bishop Rogers conducting, our music leaders, and speakers from our Ward.  We also were able to be the last ones baptized, so we didn't feel like we needed to rush.

 

After Joey was baptized by his Dad, we all met back in the chapel while Joey got dressed.  Joey had put his after-baptism bag on the ground by the font before he got dressed, so Ben sent a friend to come get me because Joey had nothing to change into!  Luckily, a man standing next to the bathroom heard our predicament, and quickly located the bag with Joey's clothes.  That was a close one!

 

Everybody in the chapel wrote little notes to Joey, which he keeps in his new scripture bag.

 

Afterwards, we had everybody come back to our place for some treats.

 

It was a great day!

 

 

 

After Joey got dressed, he didn't quite know what to do with himself, so he just followed Daddy around like a little puppy.  It was so cute.

 

 

And while Joey shadowed Daddy, the other kids played hide and seek, and basketball in the gym until it was time to start.

 

And, of course, turning 8 means starting cub scouts!  Joey is our newest little Wolf Scout, and he loves it!

Awards and Basketball

OK, still catching up...

 

We went to an awards assembly, and I'm not entirely sure when it was.  All I know is that I was still wearing my back brace, so it must have been before the middle of February.

 

Andrew was excited because he was the only kid in his class to get all 3 awards that were given out that day.  He also made straight A's, which he was pretty happy about too!  (Also, he is the teacher's favorite student, and he's happy to let you know that.)

 

 

 

Andrew also played 5th grade basketball this year.  He did miss the first game because he was on vacation in Hawaii, but he was back on the court right after that.  They got creamed their second game (mostly because of the mammoth that was on the other team), but won all their games after that.  His teammates called him "The Rebound King".  He was taller than most of them:)

6th Annual Kazamoto Christmas Party

I can't believe it's been 6 years since we started this tradition!  Our favorite family, the Shimamotos, were in town from Utah, and we took advantage to keep the tradition alive.  Melissa and I decided six years ago to get together (which we did often, anyway) each Christmas to teach each other about Christmas traditions in other countries.  It has always been a favorite time for us, especially this year -- we have missed them terribly since they moved to Utah!  Maybe next year, we can go down there to continue the tradition at their new home.

 

In the last six years, Melissa has taught us about:

Sweden

Switzerland

France

Holland

Czechoslovakia

and this year: Africa

 

And I have taught about:

Japan

Germany

Mexico

Ireland

Russia

and this year: Greece

 

This year, we snacked on some Greek cookies while I taught about their traditions.  They turned out much harder than I thought, but luckily part of the tradition is dipping them in honey, so that made them go down a little easier. 

 

 

It was exciting for us to learn about African Christmas traditions, especially because Haley is traveling there this summer to do humanitarian work with her friend's family.

 

 

I love how most of our kids match up in age.  There is always somebody to play with during Kazamoto parties!  Matthew and Ryan found some blasters and the Clone helmets, which kept them busy for a long time!

 

Usually I have next year's country already picked out.  And I do, but I'm not telling.  It will have to be a surprise for next year!

 

***

 

And just one more picture:

Matt and I sat down to enjoy a couple of treats for Last Snack.  He always imparts his wisdom at the end of the day, so our conversations are usually pretty interesting.

 

I'm loving the bedtime outfit.