A fun day in Cedar City...

We spent a very quick, but fun day in Cedar City yesterday. We got up early and drove 3 hours to Cedar City for my nephew Brian's mission homecoming. He just got back from serving in Tallahassee Florida (was actually in Alabama a lot). He was a fantastic missionary and we loved listening to his talk yesterday. Wow! He is a very good speaker and he grew so much during his mission. Andrew has to speak next Sunday in the Stake Priesthood session. He's not thrilled about it at all, terrified actually. I told him that there are two good things: 1, there are not any girls invited and 2, it's so early in the morning that most of the men are asleep, they won't remember a word he says. I thought it might be a good idea to ask Brian to write his talk for him!

This photo is of Brian & Brennan (my other nephew that came home recently from France). This is the one picture I took with my camera before the battery died. I knew that I didn't have much juice when we left early that morning, but I didn't have any time to charge it. I took Andrew's point-and-shoot camera with me. My niece, Jill, teases me all the time about the one comment on my blog, ages ago, about a guy using a point-and-shoot at a concert. It just made me laugh that he kept trying and trying to get a picture. So, she thinks I am critical of people who use point-and-shoots. I'm really not at all. I'm just so used to my camera. Which is why none of the pictures I took with Andrew's camera yesterday worked at all. I guess I should have used a flash, I'm just not used to doing that. I feel bad because I wanted to post some pictures of the day for my family that couldn't make it... sorry Mom, Dad, Debbie, Karen & Elaine. I have failed all of you.

Before we headed home we stopped by my nephew Kyle's house. He and his wife Michelle just had a new baby boy. He is adorable! His name is Bridger, he is so tiny! The pictures of him didn't even come close to turning out! The room was too dark. So, I am actually stealing this photo from Michelle's site. Go and look at her post about him, it's darling. (I'm sorry Michelle!)

We skipped the Draper temple dedication, a little too worried about leaving too late with the storm coming. The storm was pretty bad in a couple of spots, but we got home just fine. It was a very nice day spent with the family.

More from Project 365...

March 8, 2009...I snapped a quick photo of Janessa in front of the Timpanogos Temple today. She was on her way to a Jenny Phillips fireside.

March 10, 2009...This was the view from our front door as the kids left for school this morning. I had to hurry and get the camera, as the moon was quickly disappearing. I'm sure the neighbors all loved seeing me in my pink furry bathrobe while on their way to work. I love seeing the temple out our front windows, what a great reminder of who we ought to be.

March 11, 2009...Janessa sang a solo tonight in her Mountain Ridge Jr. High choir concert. They really put on a great show. Rick and I took the boys (Andrew had lacrosse) and Baba & Grandpa came as well. We were really proud of her. She has a great singing voice and a lot of confidence to sing in front of an auditorium full of people!

March 14, 2009...Nathan loves to plant (and eat) peas. We did lots and lots of yard work today. The kids helped out so much, I was proud of them!

Sweet 16...

There has been a lot of focus and attention on Andrew these days. But, you only turn 16 once in your life, so I guess it is justified.

He got his driver's licence at 8:00 a.m. the morning of his birthday (March 9th). Lucky for him, it was a weekday and school was out. Otherwise, we would have heard nothing but complaining. I scheduled the earliest time possible. The woman who gave him the test said that he passed with "flying colors." She said he was one of the best 16 year old drivers she has ever seen. That gave us a lot of confidence in him. He drove a lot during the day and that night Rick and I let him drive home on his own from dinner in Orem. We followed close behind. He made about 50 mistakes, some that could have been fatal. That really worries us that he is the best they have seen. Scary what is out on the road right now.

Rick bought a new car at the end of this week (Andrew was not happy about how long the process took). Now Andrew gets to "use" the Camaro, with certain restrictions that involve grades, attitude, etc. We have made it very clear to him that he gets to share this car with Janessa in 2 and a half years. This is the first day he got to drive it officially. He was on his way to his lacrosse game (40 degrees) and put the top down! The next day when he went to school with it, he came home beaming (again, with the top down). He said, "Man, I love that car." I asked if the kids thought he was pretty cool. He said, "I think I am pretty cool." I guess that is all that matters!

He went on his very first date to Sadie Hawkins with Kirstin Montgomery. She is a darling girl that lives across the street. They are in the marching band together and they were friends before she moved to our neighborhood. They had a great time on their date. They went to her house and made pizza, played games and then went to the dance.

Andrew's 16th Birthday party...

Andrew had a really fun birthday party last night! A bunch of friends came over to the house. They played Rock Band in the family room, Wii in the theater room and they played REAL rock band in Andrew's room (with his drums and friends' guitars). They watched "I am Legend" and played a funny game. We had Maggie Moos cakes (Andrew's request). I actually love it when my house is filled with the noise of kids having a good time!

Days 2, 3, 4 & 5...

These are the photos from my Project 365 this week...

March 2, 2009... Andrew was asked to Sadie Hawkins today by Kirstin Montgomery. She left the first clue in this envelope on his door. The rest were hidden around the house. They were under the dining room table, in his favorite scripture, taped onto the Boston CD, underneath his snare drum and behind his framed portrait. It will be his first date.

March 3, 2009... We attended the Blue and Gold Banquet at our church tonight. Harrison was awarded his aquanaut pin for Webelos. We had a wonderful color guard that came to present the colors. The boys were so impressed with their guns. The theme was "America."

March 4, 2009... Amy Cook, my pilates teacher, wanted to make a necklace today. She and Dianne (pilates friend) came over and we had a great time visiting & beading!

March 5, 2009... Harrison has been complaining about not being able to see the white board at school. Today we took him to the eye doctor. He got contacts to wear most of the time, and glasses as a backup. We wish we would have done it sooner. Hopefully this will help with his headaches he has had lately.

March 6, 2009... We went to Harrison's 4th grade devotional today at his school, it was wonderful! They talked about the values that are placed on the building, around the school. He did a great job on his part and the songs were so beautiful! They were dressed as pioneers.

Project 365...

I got this idea during a really late "girls night out" Friday night. My friend Mindy is creating an amazing book, it is called Project 365. She takes a picture every single day and adds journaling. After the year is complete, she will print it as a book.

I know that this project is something that should be started in January. I really wish I would have found out about it last winter. However, with my personality, I had better not wait to start it. If I put it off until January of 2010, it will be long forgotten.

My project 365 started with yesterday's date, March 1, 2009. I am creating the book online and I might post some of the entries here. I love the simplicity of the idea, just one photo (which is very hard for me) and very simple journaling. Here is my entry from yesterday:

Today the James Family celebrated St. David's Day. Rick's family is Welsh (as is most of mine) and they have a tradition of celebrating the holiday. We had wonderful Welsh foods and enjoyed each other's company. I made two things I had never tried. Welsh bread (not my favorite) and Sticky Toffee Pudding (out of this world). Rick's cousin Bruce, wife Vickie and son Jake were able to join us. We celebrated Andrew & Nathan's birthdays and discussed our 2010 church history tour. As we left the house, Leslie gave each of us a daffodil (the national flower of Wales).