319 Frankin Scout

Iwant you to see what myhusband and the scouts did for cinamatography merit badge http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W--FRTnmn0. IF you miss it try 319frankinscout on youtube. ENJOY!

Easter Fun

Hope these photos find your Easter happy and full of memories!

catch-up

We have our tax money now and that means I will be getting my OWN laptop. Even with FOUR computers it is not easy to get on if you are Mom who does boring things like facebook, blogging, financing and weight watchers:o) I will let you know when I have it and updates SHOULD be more often.




My brother,Eric, is on his way up to visit and bring us our kettle. On the way he got caught in a snowstorm and now he is enjoying snowboarding in route to us:o) Hopefully he will be here sometime in the morning. We are VERY excited about his visit.

March Message

Well it's been a month and unfortunately not much has happened. We have delt with sniffles and sneezes. The snow from January is FINALLY disappearing and the days are even kind of warm (35-40). But I'll give you what little has been going on.

Hunter has decided NOT to go on a mission so we have been getting him signed up for college and get him on his way to being a vet.

Richard has said he wants to go on his mission still so we have just changed our mindset to which boy goes. He is almost done with the credits he was earning in college and is ready for this next step in life.

Christopher continues to keep us in stitches with the stories of school he comes home and tells us. It's a good thing I'm not with him through those hours because I don't think some of them would be so funny then.

Jordan is doing very well in school. He is loved by his teacher and quite a busy boy with the friends he always has over or running to.

Sara is ever our Princess and LOVES fashion. We've signed her into gymnastics but as I watch her we may be changing to ballet. She has such grace and pose and she pretty much DANCES everywhere. At school she is very much a social butterfly who loves her teacher and learning.

Emelie is a constant motor of energy. This is PERFECT for gymnastics and she is quite good. Her brothers dote on her and she LOVES to be the baby sister. She is doing wonderfully in her preschool. She has many friends and the teachers find her a true delight.

I am 42.6 pounds lighter then I was this time last year. I LOVE it and feel GREAT! I have energy for the girls and feel better then I have in a LONG, LONG time. Tim is enjoying the skinnier me too:o) He's even getting back to watching his weight.

That's it you're all caught up. Told ya not much has happened.
Love ya, CHRIS and CREW

Catch-up

Just taking a moment to catch everyone up on what is going on in the VanClan home.

Now that we are into Feruary our routines have come back full force. Older children to school; Dad goes to work;Sara, Emelie and Mom off to gym; Younger ones off to school; Mom has time to nap or work on some project (guess which one); Kids come home; eat dinner; spend family time or split to be with friends (depending on night); wash-rinse-repeat.

Jordan DID get awarded his Arrow of Light in cub scouts FINALLY. He earned it in November but with weather and Holidays we never had a pack meeting. He busted his butt and we are proud of him.

Nothing new for any of the rest of us. Just enjoying the nicer weather, and plugging through life with or family and friends.

Hope all is well with you.

The BIG 4-0

Well, Tim is now on the other side of the hill. He thought he was going to be able to ignore the hill but we (his loving family) had OTHER ideas. We celebrated normal ON his birthday, because there was no work on the 2nd so we held off on our suprise until the 5th.

The night before we told him we were going to go help a friend and while we were leaving we "borrowed" his work keys to his office. Everyone worked hard to make his work door look like a BIG BLACK hill with signs announcing his new age :o) All morning co-workers were popping their heads in to wish him congrats. Just as he thought it was through we came in with 40 cupcakes in the shape of the #40 and sang as loud as we could. Of course we went from office to office to share the treats and remind everyone that he is now an OLD MAN ;-) When he came back from lunch there was one more suprise for him. I had ordered a boquet of balloons to be sent to him. One said "over the hill" and the other said "I'm laughing like crazy because I'm younger then you!" with a bunch of black and silver ones.

He thought he had escaped the razing Topher had been planning and had given Toph a hard time during the weekend but Topher just took it knowing that Dad was going to be suprised, and he WAS!

Christmas Catch-up

Christmas has come and gone and it was a year to remember!

We were able to celebrate Christ's birth with a little Nativity play in our living room with family and friends. Richard and Michelle were Mary and Joseph, while Hunter Christopher, and Geoff were the wiseguys (I mean men). Jordan, Samantha and Alece were our shepherds of dogs, while Sara, Emelie, Grace and Izayah were our angels. As usual when we have that many children involved with something there is bound to be a bit of goofing-off:-) It was beautiful and silly at the same time.

Later on in the evening when all friends had gone the girls got busy making their magic key (so Santa could unlock the door and come in), sprinkling out magic reindeer food and placing the cookies, egg-nog, and carrots JUST RIGHT. Then as soon as they were asleep it was time for Santa and his elf to get busy.

Christmas morning brought a few squeals and some surprised looks when the children saw what they received. The girls have two princess kitchens that they have wanted for a year with food and movies. The three younger boys got PSPs and a game, Hunter was given an elaborate axe (can't have a psp on a mission and the axe won't be out of date in two years). They enjoyed those gifts for a couple of hours and then we slowly opened the rest. More squeals and more "thank-you's". Everyone got just the right stuff to know they were appreciated and thought of.

Dinner, of course, was ham, potatoes, and too many side-dishes and pies to name. The Peterson and the Jensen families came over to enjoy the bounty the Lord has blessed us with. Children played and memories were made.

The New Year gave us a unique opportunity to go out in the city and celebrate a bit with free rides, crafts, dancing, and some cultural art. The biggest things for the girls were the city bus ride and the carousel. Emelie was a bit intimidated by the horses but Sara LOVED them. When we were done gallivanting around town we went back to the Peterson's house to ring in the New Year with food and fun. Around 1:30 we went home to sleep until noon :o)

Now, today is Tim's big 4-0. We kept it pretty mild because there was no work today but he will get it on Monday when a big bouquet of balloons show up and the boys plan to decorate his office all in black on Sunday so ALL of his work will know how OLD he is ;O) Topher's been planning this for MONTHS! I'll let you know how it went.

Except for all that we are just fine and will get back to our boring routines very soon. School should start on the 5th and the gym has been calling me back for the last two weeks. Talk at you later

CHRIS