Big News!

Lincoln had a great audition, and his role in Seussical the Musical is . . . . The Lorax
He does not have any lines of his own this time, but he is the only Lorax. He is one of the Whos of Whoville in the play. It should be really cute! He has a special walk (which is really funny!) and he sings a bunch of the songs, including "Oh the thinks you can think." He sang that song to me for the entire drive home one day. He started off the ride by asking me how many times I wanted to hear his new song. I said as many as he wanted. So I heard it for about 15 minutes. I know it now too!

Lincoln and Marina learned the words to Sweet Caroline, probably from Ryan's iPod (he frequently plays the Neil Diamond and the Elvis versions, although I often play the Glee version, so it could be my fault). Anyway the kids sing it really cute. Here is an attempt to capture it, but I will try again to get the full effect of their cuteness singing that song.



Lincoln lost another tooth this morning - one of his top front teeth. You can already see the permanent tooth coming in. The other front tooth is barely hanging on, but he wants to wait and let it come out on its own. He must be chewing really carefully to keep that thing in his mouth. Little Marina is still a sweetheart! She has a new game (as of today), that she tries to make a mad face for as long as possible. The longest she can go is about 6 seconds before bursting out laughing. She loves to color and has gone through 500 sheets of paper since Christmas (Lincoln probably helped a little), but she makes a pile of pictures every day. She loves to draw beautiful women. Marina also likes to be a beautiful woman. Here she is in one of her beloved princess costumes, just prancing around the house. What else can you do when you are a princess?


Marina has an entire entourage of animal friends that she loves to line up in whatever room she is in. She lines them up in her bed, when she thinks of it, and she lines them up on the couch or anywhere else so they can watch TV or she can read to them. The latest addition is called Big Bear (thank you Nana!). This picture is Marina with Elvis Bear. They all have names, and Marina gets fairly irritated if you call them by the wrong name.
Marina is doing well in her Kindergarten preparations. She can write all of her letters, knows her colors and shapes, and can count to 100, with a little help. She is very excited to start school this fall, and asks almost every night if she can do homework. I hope that keeps up!

Winter Comings and Goings

It has seemed like a very busy month, getting back into the routine of things. Lincoln has continued in the second grade with excellent results. Here is his mid-year report card, which he was eager to show everyone. The standardized test results that come with his report card show that his test scores were literally off the chart - he was very proud of that. Rightly so!
Marina (and Lincoln too) has been loving to paint lately. This is a "cool, cool candy factory." Abstract, of course.

They are both so grown up now - they can clean their rooms by themselves. Well, if they are properly motivated. Movies and trips to McDonalds are sure to do it, but having friends over usually works too. Lincoln and Marina got to see the Alvin and the Chipmunks movie with their Aunt Kara over the Christmas break. Marina really liked the Chipettes from the movie. Their theme song is "all the single ladies," and Marina has sung her version of the song every since. Here she is with her version:


Marina has been quite the little singer for the last little while. Here she is with her version of "The Princess Pat." She stayed home today with a cold. But a little cold won't stop her from dressing like a princess (first Belle, then Snow White). Tomorrow, she just announced, she will be Sleeping Beauty. Yesterday, she was Cinderella. We even watched the movie "A Little Princess" today. She says "it's about a girl who goes to school in London. Her father dies, and the girls at the school are mean to her. She gets a monkey friend. Then she has a new father. The end."



This is Marina's butterfly dance. Sometimes words are not enough and a little interpretive dance is necessary. From both kids!




Lincoln and Marina made sheep out of marshmallows and donuts to go along with our scripture lesson for family home evening. Here are each of them with their sheep.



Lincoln will be auditioning for a part in a musical (Seussical the Musical) tomorrow. If he gets in, the performances will be March 25 and 26. Here are his audition pieces. His poem is "I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor" by Shel Silverstein. His song, which we have no idea how he learned, goes like this "Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves, Britain never, never never shall be slaves"


Ryan has been busy with work at the museum and teaching in the mornings. He still teaches 2 American history courses at Southern Utah University. He is scoutmaster, and just this weekend went camping and ice fishing with the scouts. He is a better man than I am. Literally and figuratively. I am still working at the Utah Shakespearean Festival as marketing director and keeping very busy with that, the kids, and everything else.

Marina has been practicing her letters, and now has really good penmanship. K is still kind of hard, but she keeps practicing!

(Sorry for all the videos this time, but they were so cute!)

A Very Merry Christmas!

Whew! What a busy few weeks it has been! We arrived at Grandma and Grandpa Paul's right before Christmas, just in time to spend time with the family. Lincoln and Marina got to see their cousins, and there was a Christmas slide show featuring the whole family! We opened some gifts on Christmas Eve, and Lincoln and Marina each got what they now call their special blankets.

Lincoln's has planets all over it, and Marina's has princesses. Lincoln and Marina had left a note for Santa in Cedar City telling him where we would be for Christmas eve. They also left a note for Santa with some cookies on Christmas eve. It included a preemptive thank you for their presents.

On Christmas morning, Lincoln and Marina could hardly wait to go upstairs and see if Santa had found them.

Santa found them just fine, and even left them a note in return!



For Christmas, Lincoln especially wanted Pokemon cards, and Marina wanted a candy necklace. They each got those things, and lots more. Here are a bunch of photos and videos of present opening on Christmas eve and Christmas day.









Some of the present highlights were:


Ryan's Nightmare before Christmas figurine (for his desk at work)

Lincoln's Jedi shadow box (with his Jedi Training Academy Diploma and a photo of his Jedi training at Disneyland).
Lincoln's Jedi training in the large - he already has both hung in a corner of his bedroom (his Jedi corner)
Marina's photo with Snow White (also already hanging on her wall).


Lincoln's Pokemon cards


Marina's many princess dresses (she got a whole collection from her aunt Melissa, and matching dresses for her and her doll from Grandma Paul.




Marina loved playing in her princess dresses:


Marina also loved playing in her cousin Will's new car - notice her twin doll is the passenger.

Marina also loved her Wizard of Oz PEZ dispensers.



Lincoln loved playing with his night vision goggles. They actually work pretty well, so a lot of us enjoyed playing with them!

The week after Christmas, we spent lots of fun times with the family. First we saw Kami's family, and Marina really loved holding her cousin Ella. I think Ella liked it too.


Then, we went to The Living Planet Aquarium.
Lincoln had a great time there. He especially liked the crocodiles and the electric eel. Lincoln liked the part of the exhibit where you could touch a display and get a shock that was about the same as if you touched the eel. Lincoln did it himself and then made sure everyone in that hallway - those he knew and those he did not - knew that you could go get shocked by the eel. He was a great guide!
They both had fun at the aquarium!

They also spent some time with their cousins Carter and Kyle. It was fun to see everyone's Christmas toys. Carter got this toy car from Santa, and Marina could not wait to drive it. (They actually just sat in it and listened to the radio - NPR was the station they tuned it to!)

Then it was back to the Paul' s for more fun. Sledding in the back yard was fun for all:
Melissa and Will

Lincoln


Kami and Marina
And even Grandpa!



Marina made beautiful snow angels when she was done sledding, and we all had a great time!





Lincoln and Marina also found the time to play video games (Lincoln), hang out in her cousin's exersaucer (Marina), and get a little rest too.





Happy new year to all!

Stop the Presses!

Lincoln just lost another tooth - his second. This one, fortunately, did not get lost. It's already safe under his pillow, waiting for the tooth fairy.

Can't Wait for Christmas!

Lincoln had his last day of school for 2009 this week. His class had a party, and he got a Ben 10 watch in the gift exchange. He also got to watch the Polar Express at school as a reading reward. Lincoln has been reading several hours each evening to get as much reading as possible logged for the party. He has read everything from superhero comic books to scriptures, to Roald Dahl books, to Calvin and Hobbes comic strips. What a reader! He also saw a movie about spelling bees, and has been practicing hard words ever since. Here he is spelling Mississippi. He is also working on prestidigitation, but I can't even spell that one right without spell check.


Lincoln also received his first camera this week. (I remembered the many rolls of film I took of seagulls and the walls, so his camera is digital). He took 80 photos in about 4 days. Here are some of his favorites.

For Christmas, Lincoln is hoping to get "100 assorted Pokemon cards" from Santa. Marina's big wish is for a candy necklace (she dreams big!). Lincoln and Marina helped decorate our Christmas tree, and they did some great work!
Marina got some red and green tights from Nana, and she loves them! Here she is, looking like one of Santa's elvesThey have both been good, so they should be able to rest easy on Christmas Eve, just like Lincoln does every other night!

This month, Ryan and I also celebrated our first wedding anniversary. We went to St. George and Springdale, Utah to celebrate. It snowed overnight, and this was the view of Zion when we got up in the morning. We had a great trip, and are excited about the years to come!

It took me most of the year to get and sort through our wedding photos. But, better late than never, here are some of our wedding photos.