March Pixtons

OK, I think this is about my 4th attempt at this!  I've learned not to hit "enter" after typing the title or it posts your title automatically and I've learned not to leave my blog entry overnight waiting to submit pictures because if your computer shuts down you loose the whole thing!  So I will try this one more time and if it doesn't work I quit!  :)

So today (March 17th) is a snow day for Bruce and the kids again!  When I wrote this the first time last Thursday, I wrote all about the last snow days we had (March 3-4).  Two weeks ago we had a Monday with everyone home and so we held a "Wii Tournament".  Bruce divided us into pairs and we compete in events like frizbee throwing, bowling, mine cart racing, etc.  And then every few events we would all jump in there and do some Just Dance together.  And then while people were waiting for their turn, they could visit our consession stand that had all kinds of treats and snacks they could buy with their 10 "tickets". It was a lot of fun!  Now the kids are wanting to do it again today--so we'll see. 

Then the next day (Tuesday) was still a snow day and a near miracle happened---I had all 6 kids sitting in a circle on my bedroom floor doing scrapbooks!  When does that ever happen??  Like never!  That was fun too.  Everyone did their own pages of a beach trip we took years ago--we're a bit behind.  But it was great.  I have to learn to let go and let everyone do it in their own style.  :)  At least it's getting done.

So our biggest news its that on Saturday we bought a new (to us) van.  We have out grown our Astro and needed more space if we were going to drive to Utah this summer.  We fill every spot so we could never offer a friend a ride unless we took two cars.  So we found the perfect fit for us.  It is a 2011 Chevy Express 3500  12 passenger extended van.  All that means is that it is the size of a 15 passenger van but they have left the last seat out and made the third bench go all the way across.  So we have room to put things in the back for trips or even just groceries from Costco.  The kids are very excited!  Now Bruce's job is to try and fit it in the garage.............

Caleb  and Isaac took their pinewood derby cars to compete at the district level.  Issac made his car look like a mustache and Caleb made his look like a wedge of cheese.  So we got to spend HOURS watching cars race.  Luckily they didn't win and we don't have to go on to another race.  :)

Rachel did a science fair project and she went to the science fair at their school with it.   She did it on fast food and surprisingly learned that for quality (calarie count)  vs. cost, McDonald's had the best over all meal deal for a basic hamburger, fries and drink. 

Isaac turned 10 and got a balloon art kit for his birthday.  So he has been making all kinds of balloon animals and the kids love it.

We did "Hawaii" last week for Julia's preschool and they were so cute all dressed up doing the hula dance.

For her "date" with mom Patricia wanted to make her own cake, so here it is.  She mixed it, baked it, and decorated it. Someone told us about a fun way to put a picture on.  You put wax paper over a coloring book page and then frost on the wax paper, freeze it, then flip it onto the cake and peel the back off and ta da.............

Here are a few pictures from our past snow days of sledding.  We have loved the snow, but they have canceled close to 18 days of school this year.  So they have started taking off spring break days, adding days on in June and cutting recess to one 10 minute recess.  It's getting crazy!  We're ready for spring!!

  

March grandma

Thanks to Kara I am on. We are doing great. I will write more later.. I am just practicing.

March- Jeremy & Karalee

Jeremy and I went on a trip for Jeremy's Spring Break. We drove to South Lake Tahoe, California. We left on Saturday the 8th and came back Wednesday the 13th. It is so beautiful there! On Sunday we relaxed, took naps and went in the hot tub. Monday we spent the day in town shopping, eating, and sight seeing. We went to Emerald Bay which is part of the lake and did some hiking. There were two waterfalls nearby that we hiked to. We couldn't do too much hiking since most of the mountains were still covered in snow. In fact, they had a snow storm the night before. However, all the snow in the lower elevations melted in an hour. Anyways, after our hiking, we took highway 50 which goes all the way around the lake. We stayed on that road for a few miles to see different views of the lake and then went back to our hotel.

Tuesday, Jeremy got up early and went snowboarding. I decided to stay and have a spa day. I got a massage, relaxed, and went hot tubing. It felt so great! That night we went to a restaurant called the Red Hut. They specialize in waffles so it was fun to get breakfast for dinner. Then on Wednesday we did some more shopping and then drove all the way home... the whole 8 1/2 hours. The drive home wasn't as bad as the way there even though the way there we split and drove half on Saturday and half on Sunday. We took Mom's collection of Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites series and listened to the first 2 books. It passed the time. The funny part is Jeremy wasn't excited to listen to the books because he isn't into those kinds of books. I begged him to just try and now he loves them and can't wait to come home and listen to the books together in our free time. They are adventurous books that were written well, that's all I have to say.

Now we are back to real life with work, school and lots of homework. We are already planning our next get away!

Juggling on the beach with the world's largest pine cones

Emerald Bay- standing on Lower Emerald bay Waterfall

Jeremy at Upper Emerald Bay Waterfall

March - Travis & Diana

Things are going well for us.  Travis & I celebrated our birthdays this month and are now one year older and wiser.  Sophie thought it was strange that there were no balloons, decorations, or presents.  Luke explained to her that we were too old for that.
We are busy with the house, our scouting callings, and keeping up with the kids and their extra activities.
Ian entered a future chef contest and his recipe was chosen to compete in the competition that was yesterday.  They said they had 233 recipes and chose only 24 of them, so he felt pretty lucky.  His recipe was, "Deluxe Quesadillas."  It was quite the process.  He got there and they spent 2 hours in the kitchen preparing a presentation plate along with 50 samples for judges and invited guests to sample.  After that was done, they had the judges come in and sample and ask questions.  Then they invited friends and family members to sample.  He didn't win, but was able to keep his chef hat and coat.  He got a medal, framed certificate, a recipe book with all the entries recipes, and a bag full of cooking accessories.  It was a fun experience for him. 

Ian's 10th Birthday

Chef competition

Ian with his presentation plate

Aurie's with her birthday cake that she created herself.

How to use blogger

So as a quick tutorial…. here's how it works.

log into blogger at blogger.com

on the top right hand next to your email address is new post  click on it and it will open  a new page.

At the top of the page it will say on the left in Blue Ackermann Family Newsletter  then in orange to the right of that will be POST in orange type your title.  ex.  for me would be Travis & Diana- March  or whatever you really want it to be about.  Obviously you would want to include what family is posting.

Then click on the big box below and start composing.  Simple.

on the right hand side in an orange box it will say publish click it and you are done.

To add a photo there is a box located to the right of 'link'  it will then direct you to your photo library where you can upload a photo.  I would encourage this!  Photos are so fun and a great way to see what's happening in your life.

This is a new dish to try, hotdog spaghetti.  See how you like it.  -Gerhard