Hart Happenings

 Hello Family! It's been a pretty normal week here at the Hart house. 

Alex has been practicing...(can you guess what it is?)...SPIKEBALL! He's getting pretty dang good. We were able to host some of his Spikeball buddies for the weekend which was super fun! Those are some good kids.  He celebrated a big birthday down in Vegas during the huge Spikeball tournament that his company put together and hosted.  It was a massive undertaking and epic success.  

Elise was able to start her seeds!  Woop! Woop!  It feels like an act of faith with the walls of snow still piling up outside.  She also attended lots of community garden meetings. Not as "Woop Woop". Those meeting can drag on FOREVER. Alex and Elise also got to attend the Ryan Hamilton comedy show in Rexburg with Ruth and Garrett which was a blast!  They pretty much laughed for two solid hours.

Ian has been working non stop! But he loves it. It's such a perfect job for him and he gets to hang out with awesome co-workers all day which is a party for him! He has also been singing (non-stop). Ever since we have found him his vocal coach he has been more confident in his vocal abilities and we have all witnessed an amazing change in his voice. We are so proud of all the hard work he has put in to it!  He also celebrated his 17th birthday.  Wait, what?  How?  Blows his mama's mind.  He celebrated with dinner out with some friends and then brought the crew home to play games.  We laughed much and are so grateful he has wonderful friends.

Jack has also been playing lots of Spikeball and has also been playing lots of soccer. Except this week they went sledding for Youth Activities and he crashed pretty hard and has been pretty banged up and sore all week. But he is one tough kid and will not let a little, old sled stop him from playing his favorite sports. He is taking a Constitution class at our homeschool co-op and also trying his hand at stage fighting with swords.  He has many interests.  Another recent obsession is the stock market and he has been working his way through a pile of library books on the subject.

Peter loves SPIKEBALL! He also moved up to a higher rank in his flips class. He sold three Pokemon cards this week. (It's his new favorite thing to do.) He made around $30! We got a little salesman over here. Peter has been researching the types of chickens he wants to get. We're hoping to to get some this upcoming week. He is crossing his fingers that his parents will let him get peacocks as well. (not likely) He planned and hosted a Pokemon trading party this week and executed it perfectly.  All 9 of the kids invited had a wonderful time and the house was still standing after all was said and done so we'll call it a success.

Since we last wrote we have had some very fun adventures, including trips to Vegas, St. George, and New York.  It helped the longest short month (February) go by much faster.  Here are some highlight pics from our travels:

Alex's favorite poutine place.  Pomme Frits.  A literal hole in the wall with excellent food!

Peter in the Egyptian room at the Met.

Ian was in his element in the city and loved every moment of it.

When in New York, ride the subway.

The Lego store!

The Harry Potter store.  A magical place, indeed!

A serendipitous find.  And old bookstore.  We were giddy!

New York brownstones.  Just wandering.

Ian and Daisy at the Met.

More Met.

Wicked on Broadway.  Dream come true!

The early morning flower market on 28th st.

Cronuts.  I don't even have words.

Our favorite ice cream place in the whole world.

Dad and Ian at Six.

Times Square.

Another subway pic.  It was cold in New York too!

The Brooklyn library.

An arch in Brooklyn commemorating the Civil War.

The Pokemon madness.

Birthday treats with Moses.

Birthday dinner.

Catchin' some rays in St. George.

Nilsson News

 I haven't been on here in awhile but I feel like there isn't a whole lot to report.  February is the shortest month of the year but definitely feels like the longest.  We have been cold, cold, cold, but thankfully there has been snow along with the cold.  With the hope of helping to usher in the spring, I have started a few of my early seeds and a couple of them have sprouted!  Yay for green!

Garrett went to LA for four days for a work conference and he got to enjoy some sunshine and warm weather.  The kids and I survived while he was gone and tried to entertain ourselves as best we could.

Addy has been heavily involved in the high school choir, Bonnevaires.  Last night, they put on their annual dinner show and we were happy to have grandma and grandpa and Ian join us there.  It was so fun and Addy did a terrific job especially on her solo pieces.

Emerson has been wood carving things but just recently turned his attention to metal working.  He is very eager to build a forge so he can make his own knives and machete.  Who knows where this is going to lead to!  He has been enjoying his scout troop and survived his snow cave camp.  He said his cave only got down to zero degrees and he was quite toasty.

Eliza now has a bunny.  I real live, fluffy, breathing one.  His name is Opie and she loves him like crazy.  Her fiddling is going really well and her ear is quite astounding.

Henry can't get enough of cars and Legos.  He can name every fancy car out there and is constantly on the look out for fancy cars on the road.  There aren't too many of those on Idaho Fall's roads however.  Henry told me that when he grows up he is going to be a car collector.  He is going to build a barn that won't be for animals but for his machines.  I asked him how he was going to pay for all his cars and machines.  He answered that he was going to be a rocket scientist.  I don't doubt it!

Millie has taken off with her reading thanks to Gerald and Piggie.  She is preparing for her first piano recital and is a little nervous about it.  I told her we could play duets and then I'd be able to go up with her.  She liked that idea so we chose some songs that had a duet part.  Only after a day of practicing, she had MY part figured out on the piano!  I can't keep up.

Speaking of keeping up, Dane is all over the place and doing all he can to try to walk.  He pulls himself up on everything and only holds on with one hand.  Usually he will let go just to see if can stay standing.  He's in the phase of a lot of head bonks and bruises.

Life is good and we're counting down to spring!  Now for some pictures!

Henry's lego and car obsession combined!

When winter gets long, go to the library!

When winter gets long, do yoga!

When we were down to -27, there was thick ice on the inside of all our windows and doors.

Cute, fluffy Opie.

When the winter gets long, go to California.

Addy's dinner show.  She was a great waitress.

When the winter gets long, just play with Dane!

 

Flake Funnies

Well we have spent the at several weeks fighting off "the wog" in every variety but I think that we may be on the mend for the most part. 

Robin received 9 Fancy Nancy books from Aunt Cynthia for Christmas so we have been fully immersed in fancy-ness and big words.  It is not uncommon for her to run into a room exclaiming something like, "mom, there is something terrible in the greenhouse," or "that is so incredible." 

Rand is still fully immersed in all things construction and is thrilled when he can take his diggers and dumpers to play in real dirt and sand. 

James is increasing his vocabulary even though I seem to be the only one that understands him.  He loves being a big kid especially if Rand will do something with him. The other evening he saw Scott driving up.  He jumped down from his chair, looked at Rand and exclaimed, "Ra! 'Mere!" (Rand, come here) and he raced to the front door.

Scott's new boss started last week so we'll see how that works out.  Hopefully it will take a load off of Scott's shoulders.

Hope to see you guys soon!! Keep the baby and other kid pics and videos coming. We all love to see them!!

Manning moments

 Well, 2023 started off with a bang! Everyone know about Chet's broken elbow and we are so grateful for all the prayers and help. It was pretty ridiculous that I couldn't take care of anyone but I am feeling much better these days and very grateful for that. Nick was a super star through everything and took care of laundry, food, work when he could, cleaning and playing with the boys. He is amazing! 

In the midst of that, Gus got croup which he passed onto Nick, Chet, Wes and now I have it. I am so glad I got it after the morning sickness has subsided! We also had someone in the ward back into our van after church. Not a huge smash but expensive to fix if we do that. Then Gus fell on the snow shovel and cut his head. After I broke down about that I realized I needed to change my mindset. So I was very grateful that the shovel missed Gus' eye and very grateful that the car wasn't damaged more that it was. I have been trying to look on the bright side and it proves to be a better perspective.

Chet got his cast off and it has been challenging to see him not use it and be afraid of so many physical efforts but I'm sure it will just take some time. 

In the meantime, we are very grateful for legos. Chet and Wesley have been building legos almost around the clock! They are so creative and remarkable with how they use legos. Wesley is doing well with reading and math and continues to love science!

We sure are grateful for all of you and hope to see you soon!

Smithfield Scoop - From Kentucky

 While Dad has been home shoveling snow and doing his best to stay warm and fed, I have been so enjoying the lovely weather (rain one day, 50 degrees the next) and holding new baby Stetson. I have tried to be helpful, but most of the ladies in the family will understand my consternation at trying to cook in someone else's kitchen, in a different climate and altitude, on a different kind of stove, with different recipes. It seems that everything I attempted to cook for the first week failed! But the Hydes are patient and we didn't starve.

It has been wonderful to be here with Emma and Cameron as they welcomed new baby Stetson Dee to their family. They are very devoted, capable parents and are well prepared to give their sweet baby what he needs to grow up "unto the Lord." Cameron named and blessed Stetson at their home last Sunday. It was a beautiful blessing. Dad was here, along with Cam's family. Very personal and intimate, with no exposure to all the germs that seem to be floating around everywhere right now.

Stetson is growing well. He is not only very beautiful, but is remarkably calm and pleasant. His gaze, like most all newborns, is penetrating and it seems that he very much wants to talk - we think he wants  to tell us everything he knows! What a blessing he will be to our extended family, as well. I'm so happy that all of the cousins seem very excited to welcome him to our family circle. The circle just keeps growing - and there is room for as many more as the Lord will send us!

It has been an absolutely heavenly time here. Tomorrow will be one of those very hard days when I must return home. I am being stoic and refuse to break down, but I have every confidence that the tears will flow when I get to the airport, where no one knows or cares about me. It will be a lonely flight home, for sure. Oh, I will be very happy to see Dad, but it's hard to leave knowing it will be a long while before I see this precious family again.

Here are some of my favorite photos of Stetson...

Emma loves Stetson's toes - they remind us of Dad's!!

His first bath - and he loved it!

One of his first pictures after coming home - 

he always has one or both hands by his face.

This boy is so pleasant and smiles - A LOT!

He also has a penetrating gaze and looks very wise.

It's definitely a love affair!

Hart Happenings

Greetings from the north!  We are experiencing a lovely cold front which hides behind a deceptively sunny day.  It makes me so grateful for a cozy house and a garage!

I tried a new thing yesterday and did some winter sowing.  It is where you plant seeds in milk jugs and stick them outside to fend for themselves.  I planted poppies and stocks.  We'll see what happens!  Apparently there quite a number of things you can plant this way and it was fun to pull out all of my planting accoutrements!  Jack helped cut up the jugs and when I brought the potting soil out he took a big sniff and pronounced that he loves that stuff.  Insert emoji with heart eyes.  

It was a pretty normal week for us.  Peter has found a couple of book series that he loves and has been devouring those and then demanding trips to the library to restock.  It is fun to see him so invested in books!  He is getting really good at his flips and other acrobatic stunts.  I can't figure out how he makes his body move like that.

Jack and Peter and Alex have all been practicing Spikeball a lot to get ready for Nationals which is right around the corner!  Jack is also busy with soccer practice, gearing up for the St. George tournament in February.  He is a lot of fun to be around and is always making us laugh.  He was a huge help to Alex after the last snow storm.  The snow shoveling was a monumental task and Jack and Peter lent their muscle to the job and came of conquerors.

Ian would have helped as well but he was busy shoveling snow at his workplace.  He spent a lot of time working this week and still managed to see friends, go to voice lessons, and start back up with his acting class.  He also attended the homeschool prom last weekend with friends and had a glorious time!  He was asked to the Sweetheart Ball this coming weekend so we have had fun sourcing his outfit and getting a corsage - the whole nine yards.

We all attended the play put on by a local homeschool co-op.  The kids had friends who performed in it and it was very funny and very well done.

I taught a 2 hour class on garden planning this past week for the Idaho Fall Community Garden Association.  It caused me much stress but went off without a hitch.  There were about 60 people in attendance and we had a really great time.  Alex came as tech support and the boys were there as well to offer moral support, which I really appreciated.

Here's a story for you:

    Last weekend we drove up to Driggs to see the snow sculpture contest they host there annually.  The sculptures were amazing and we had so much fun looking at them.  On the way back we drove past this place that had an ice skating rink and Peter wanted to get a closer look so Alex drove over there.  He spotted a lane at the back of the rink that looked like it led out of this resort type place the ice skating rink was in.  It didn't take us long to realize that the lane was actually a groomed cross country ski track that when we drove out onto promptly sank up to the axles of our van.  We tried for a good 45 minutes to get out by tamping down the snow, sticking pine boughs under the tires, and relying on the sheer muscle power of Jack and Alex.  All to no avail.  So Alex called all three local towing companies, but since it was a weekend and after hours there was no answer.  We decided to say a prayer.  Right in the middle of it, Alex's phone rang.  It was Tyler from one of the towing places.  He came right over and rescued us.  It was such a relief!  We were so grateful for him being such a prompt answer to our prayer!

Sure love everyone!  Hope you are cozy and happy wherever you are!

The only pictures that are showing up on my computer right now are from Ian's phone so there are a preponderance of Ian's face and activities.  

Ian and Peter (the selfie kings)

Getting ready for the prom!

Best cousins!!!

Food from the Chinese New Year celebration

The prom!

The Sweethearts Ball request.....