MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas Everyone, we hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend and a happy new year. We have been busy enjoying the bustle of the season but are all well and happy. Here are a few of the things that we have been up to...An evening downtown with the family is always a fun treat.

We also celebrated Megans 16th birthday yesterday and today, December 24th, she is off on her first double date.

CHAOS

6:48 am, jump out of bed and throw on some sweats because I am late.
6:55 am, the neighbor drops off her 4 kids.
7:35 am, sneak upstairs for a fast shower.
8:02 am, race down stairs to feed the 4 neighbors plus Mollie breakfast.
8:20 am, jump on the internet to look for a christmas gift.
8:28 am, answer a phone call from work
8:30 am, pack Mollie's back pack.
8:35 am, get the neighbors on the bus.
8:40 am, grab my socks, shoes, jackets, purse etc., lock up and jump in the car.
8:48 am, drop Mollie off at school for AM Patrol.
8:50 am, drive to work while calling my Dad to see if he will pick up a gift. (Thanks Dad)
9:07 am, arrive at work and WORK, WORK, WORK.
12:15 pm, leave my office and stop at 4 different schools for work visits.
2:10 pm, pick up Meganat the high school and quickly drive her to drivers ed class.
2:28 pm, drop of Megan, turn around and head back the exact same roads I just traveled to the Swim meet.
2:50 pm, cheer loud for Sam during his events, give him a quick hug.
3:35 pm, run down the street to the corner store to get gas (hmmm, I wonder why)
4:00 pm, return to the pool and have Sam jump into the car as I drive through the parking lot.
4:07 pm, call to make sure Mollie made it home from school.
4:32 pm, pick up Megan from Drivers ed and fight the traffic home.
5:05 pm, visit with Mollie for a minute.
5:15 pm, print off a few things and prep for Pack Meeting (I was filling in as cubmaster)
5:30 pm, throw together dinner of some sort????????? and review homework.
6:02 pm, read the email about achievement days and realize Mollie needs cookies, of course she wants homemade.
6:15 pm, put the cookies in the oven, good thing I have the recipe memorized.
6:18 pm, run upstairs to change into my scout shirt while yelling at everyone to get ready.
6:26 pm, pull cookies out of the oven.
6:30 pm, get everyone into the car and instruct Megan while she drives to the church.
6:40 pm, set up for pack meeting.
7:00 pm, run pack meeting
8:15 pm, clean up from pack meeting
8:30 pm, leave the church for home, swing by the neighbors house to pick up a copy of the assignment Mollie left at school.
8:40 pm, help Mollie with her homework.
9:05 pm, make two quick phone calls to schedule tithing settlement and the church building.
9:10 pm, do a quick, I mean quick pick up so that I don't scream in the morning when I see my house.
9:22 pm, scour the house and car for the missing nintendo dsi. (which I found)
9:30 pm, call Sam to make sure he has a ride home from basketball practice.
9:40 pm, tuck the girls into bed and try to convince Megan that we can make birthday invitations tomorrow say a quick hello and goodnight to Sam.
9:45 pm, sit down to write this post to keep my sanity and put a smile on my face as I hear my husband coming through the door from school (he has been gone for 15 hours) and let him now he is the love of my life and that I am exhausted but love being the MOM.
??? pm, sometime in the near future, falling into bed (after a well deserved foot rub) so I can do it all again tomorrow.

Sorry for the length of this post but mostly it is a quick pat on the back and high five to all of us mothers.

HALLOWEEN

Another sign that we are getting old. All three kids at the table with knives. Although we didn't help carve Mike was still recruited to help hollow out the guts.

Megan and Sam hanging out with their friends on Halloween night.

Mollie heading out trick or treating with her friend, Holly, and her brother and sisters.

Fall Sports Come To An End!

As always Mollie loved soccer season. She spent most of her time in the goalie box and really enjoyed it.

Sam really enjoyed football and especially liked seeing more playing time the second half of the season. He did a great job and his mom even managed to watch most of the time without cringing.

Megan had a great swim season. The meets are incredibly loud but I love going and screaming for her.

PARTY!

Saturday night Mollie dressed up for the ward trunk or treat and Megan and Sam dressed up for the multi-stake dance. A pirate, A princess, and Spiderman...Sounds like the makings of a great story to me.

Homecoming Game

Friday night was the high school home coming. It was fun for Mike and I to watch the kids get caught up in the week long festivities, and prompted a few high school memories of our own. The weather was gross but the team won so I guess it all worked out. Megan played with the band and Sam had a great time hanging out with the other boys on the freshman football team. Mollie was a little disappointed at first that she couldn't go but her and Mike headed over and watched the second half of the game. Mollie joined right in with Sam and Megan and had a great time. Thanks Megan for making her part of the cheers.

MUD!

This week reaffirmed what I already knew. Mollie loves mud. Last week at soccer she was covered in mud. The problem is this picture doesn't quite tell the whole story. She had on a goalie jersey which was solid mud. When she took off the goalie jersey this is what the under shirt looked like and the majority of the mud had been wiped off her face. The game on Saturday was suspended because of lighting and is to be finished this afternoon. Last night at family prayer she asked for the rain to continue, without the lightening because she wanted to "finish" getting muddy. Only for such a cute smile would I willingly wash these disgusting clothes and socks (although I have washed way worse).

Great Job Megan

Two weeks ago Megan officially earned her Young Woman Recognition Award. She has done a lot of great things with the Personal Progress Program and was very excited. At Young Women In Excellence they highlighted Megan and her accomplishments. She did a great job and also displayed the family 72 hour kit which was one of her value projects. I love knowing the kit is done and ready to go if needed. Thanks Megan!

A Visit

Last week my parents paid us a visit. It had been a long time since they had been to our house and it was wonderful to have them hang out for six days. I loved spending time with them and definitely enjoyed myself. It was great to have the extra help and to be spoiled and waited on just a little bit. The kids loved hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa. We had plenty of smiles and laughter. While here they were able to attend many of the kids events, go out to eat, and of course spend some time shopping and crafting. Thanks for the visit, come anytime, I Love You!

Survival Suit

The company where Mike is doing his IT internship has a survival suit race every fall at the Fisherman's Terminal. Different companies compete along with the coast guard. This year Mike was asked to be on a team. There were 17 teams total and Mikes group of four finished 5th. It was kind of a crazy thing to watch everyone get in their suit (which was no easy task) jump in, swim, and then climb into the life raft (which was near impossible as well as hilarious to watch). Time ended once the fourth person on your team was in the raft. It was a lot of fun and there was a lot of hype and excitement for a two minute race. He had a great time and is already talking about how he'd like to do it again next year.

Mike has just jumped in the water down in the bottom left corner.

Here is his team swimming, he is in the 3 spot.

Tired and out of breath the raft looked like a wall. He is on the right about to climb in.

1st Day of School, 9/9/09

Mollie had a great day, likes her teacher but is disappointed that not enough of her friends are in her class. She did comment that her teacher might be "too organized."

Sam had a long first day of high school but loved it. Mike dropped him off at school this morning and I picked him up 12 hours later after football. He is excited about his classes, teachers, and lucked out by getting 2nd lunch with his good buddy. If today is any indication of the year he should love being a freshman.

Megan is very happy with her very demanding sophomore schedule. But I'm sure she can handle the work load. She is only talking about one schedule change. We'll see if we can make it happen. She is happy to not be the "freshman" anymore.

Just for fun. 1st day of school 2005. Where does time go and how does so much change happen in just 4 years. Have a great year Megan, Sam, and Mollie, Love MOM.

Random Thoughts

• How is it that I "BRIEFLY" chose to ignore laundry and now I have 14 loads.


• It is crazy to ride in the car and listen to my son talk about High School football. How did I get so old?


• Even though it has been several weeks it still seems odd to me to see Megan in the drivers seat.


• I'm looking forward to seeing Mollie wakeboard again. It is truly one of her current passions and fun to watch.


• Why on earth would I mention to my husband that it would be better to spend the money on a new vacuum. Sometime practicality stinks.


• It will be sad when the carrotts from the garden are gone. Straight from the garden, steamed carrotts is one of my favorites.


• Why has the same church song been stuck in my head all day?


• It is amazing to me that I can receive so much joy from my children every day even though they drive me crazy most days.


• I am so grateful for good friends who will call and take me to lunch.


• I am not looking forward to returning to work.


• And my final thought for today: in trying to save money we opted not to buy bedding plants for the yard. Instead Mike bought two envelopes of flower seeds for less then $3. I am enjoying them very much, it is an 8 foot stretch of color and beauty.

Dedication of HICKMAN PARK

Yesterday we had a very neat experience. Mike's Dad, Dr. Robert Hickman, had a park officially named after him in Edmonds. A little bit ago we learned that his name had been nominated and then we found out last week that it had been voted in by the Edmonds City Council. It is wonderful to see him receive this recognition in honor of all the amazing things he has done in the field of medicine over the years. It was a real tribute to Bob and Lucy for all of their time, service, and contributions to others. Congratulations!

The site used to be an old elementary school which some of the Hickman children attended. During construction they dug up a time capsule that had been planted by the students in 1963.












A Few of the displays at the dedication ceremony.

Sam trying out the basketball court which was built in honor of a young man named Tyler who lost his battle with cancer at age 11.

The park has a really great play area that is officially named the "J.P. Patches Play Area" J.P. Patches is also an Edmonds local.

Megan taking a turn in the play area. All of the kids loved spinning in this cylinder. Obviously fun for kids of all ages.

Mollie is relaxing for a minute in the jungle gym after climbing all over.

A large crowd turned out for the dedication. Friends and family of the Hickmans as well as Tyler's family and JP Patches family and many local residents.

A wonderful acceptance speech.

The official ribbon cutting ceremony.

Megan with Grandpa and JP Patches.

The Hickman group that was in attendance.

A few of the grandkids breaking in the park.

As you can see it is very beautiful.

The park has a great climbing tree.

Megan reading the official statement about her Granpa and Grandma and all the great reasons why the park was named after them.