Saari Circumstances

"Fun Size Band" Fall Preview

2011-08-28T20:13:00.000-07:00

Cameron is still playing the sousaphone, or "booba" as I like to call it.

Saturday night was the Uintah High School Marching Band Fall Preview show.

The band director has opted this year to include his Jr. High band students in the marching band.

They get their own segment of the half-time show with their own choreography (if that's what you call it for bandos) and even a flag corp! They call them:

The Vernal "Fun Size Band"

watch for Cameron...he's the one with the sousaphone...

it's big and white.....wait for it...the tuba is coming.......

wait for it......

there he is!!!

talk about a Mommy-Moment! (sniff-sniff!)

Who designed this football field, anyway?

Setting up the bleachers to look straight into the sun as it sets? Genius!

I will have you know that I was NOT the loudest mom in the stands.

Some crazy woman behind me kept yelling, "Yeah! Fun Size Band!" No, I did not turn around and look to see who it was. Cam doesn't understand why not.

The End

Uintah High football doesn't have a good schedule this year. They only have 2 home games, and they lost their first one, 37-0. First game of the season. Bummer.

Anyway, the Fun Size Band only has 1 performance left, they will play at the away game in Ephraim,

held at Snow College, Friday, Sept. 2nd. So, if you want to go to Ephraim, you can catch Cameron, his booba and his adoring fans (us) at Snow College. (time TBA)

Back to School!

2011-08-28T19:52:00.000-07:00

BACK TO SCHOOL!

1st day of school was Wednesday, Aug. 24th.

This year, I have 3 kids at 3 different schools: Cameron at the Jr. High, Jaina at the middle school and Jaden at elementary. So, being the picture taking momma that I am, I made the kids pose for their annual back to school pictures.

Here is Cam's "smolder"....

excited?!?!???

Cameron: "Hey!" (sniff!) I am so proud of my 8th grader...

Here's Sissy, soooooOOOoooo ready for 6th grade and the middle school with Daddy!

"I'm SO not related to that guy back there..."

"Mom! Make him go away!"

Now, Jaden, aka "Bubba" is the only child that still willingly lets me go into the school and classroom with him the first day to take pictures. Cam and Jaina? I drop them off and drive away. (sniff-sniff)

So, off we went to Discovery Elementary School, still undergoing renovations, to find the 4th grade hall.
Here's Jaden walking around the classroom, choosing the perfect desk....

Found it!

"Where is that pencil???"

"I know I put it in here somewhere!!!"

Aaahhh, the joys of the first day of school! Mom gets up early and packs some lunches and helps find lost items. I always double check all the bookbags to make sure they have appropriate items in them and nothing important is missing. I only had to confiscate 1 GameBoy this morning. 2 guesses whose it was...

"You've Been Jimmered" Music video featuring LaVelle Edwards, Chad Lewis and Shawn Bradley

2011-02-06T11:06:00.000-08:00

Cameron's 1st Karate Tournament

2011-02-05T20:50:00.000-08:00

He took 3rd Place in his division. Not bad for a first-timer!!!!

So, my blogs are all out of order, but at least we're updating them!

2011-02-05T20:28:00.000-08:00

You Better Watch Out! You Better Not Cry!

2011-02-05T18:12:00.000-08:00

Momma's gonna sit on Santa's lap!

So Santa Claus came and visited our neighborhood retirement center. Jason and Cameron were off hunting so the J's and I went to see Santa. Jaina and Jaden were resistant to sitting on his lap! I couldn't BELIEVE they didn't want to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas, so I had to set a good example....i went first.

Jaina and Jaden had me plug my ears so that I couldn't hear what they told Santa.

Oh well, Momma has her ways......

Cameron had his annual Christmas Band Concert at the Middle School

What Cameron neglected to tell us was that he was performing in an ensemble....

and they were actually quite good.

Fall Leaves, Fall! Gently to the Ground!

2011-02-05T17:43:00.000-08:00

Our Mountain Home So Dear

2010-11-06T13:25:00.000-07:00

Over labor Day, our family went to Freddies'--the cabin on 40 accres in the middle of Cedar BReaks that Mindy's Great-grandpa built. Rustic and quiet, we had a wonderful time there with Mindy's sister, Julie's family and parents.

Back to School

2010-10-25T21:06:00.000-07:00

A little late in the game, here's the Back to School pics....

Cameron, 7th Grade

he never lets me take more than 1 picture anymore...

Jaina, 5th grade

and Jaden, 3rd grade

"Are we ready for this?" or

"When do you think mom'll stop taking pictures?"

For everything there is a season....

2010-10-25T20:32:00.000-07:00

Ahh....School pictures.....

The annual occasion where I walk down memory lane as I take out the old pictures and add the new

Let me take you back about 5 years.....

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

Changing of the seasons...

2010-10-23T17:30:00.000-07:00

Two tremendous events have transpired this week in Vernal, UTAH.....

First, crews went down Main Street and removed ALL the pots of petunias that line the streets of town. Vernal looks so barren now.

Second, the morning after the destruction of "Beautiful Main Street", the first FROST of the season was upon us.

Sniff-sniff.... I actually had to use the window scraper!

More Birthday Fun!!

2010-09-19T21:50:00.000-07:00

MAY 2010

Daddy had a Happy Birthday!

He wished for Fish...

Nay Nay turns 10!!!!

Silly Jaina and her crazy boys...

What's a girl to do?

Jaina invited a bunch of friends to play at the Rec Center...

Then back to our house for more fun...

Bubble wrap, aka, "poppies" were the group's fave gift!

Although, the Crazy Sock Exchange was also a lot of fun, too...

Sleepover cake for a Sleepover Party

I think Jaina had Happy Birthday!

Happy Easter!!!

2010-09-19T20:44:00.000-07:00

APRIL 2010

Okay, so I know its a little late to be posting these, but hey, it happened!!

Happy Easter from the Saari's!!!

A Day at Lagoon!

2010-09-19T20:27:00.000-07:00

The National's Dance Competition is hosted every year at Lagoon, the one and only big amusement park in Utah. The whole family got to go with admission price at half off, when else do you get a deal like that? Grama Helen and Grama Deb came down from Montana, and Grandma Jan and Grandpa Mark came with us. It was a super fun day!

What's Underneath Floor # 2?

2010-09-19T16:44:00.000-07:00

April 2010

Over Spring Break, they came in a tore up the rest of the floor (kitchen, eating area, hall and entryway) down to the sub-floor in preparation for installing the tile we decided on.

Sorry, no pics of the destruction, but MAN-O-MAN!!! Did it stink to high heaven!!!

Worse than before! We opened all the windows (even with snow & hail coming down outside), I lit all the candles I had and Jaina ran around the house with her "No Boys Allowed in My Room Air Freshener". It masked the odor a little bit.

We suffered through the stench all through General Conference and the rest of Spring Break. On Monday, they began the actual installation of the tile flooring. Try walking around your house without being able to walk on the floor in the kitchen or in front of the stairs to the basement to Cameron's room & the laundry room--not an easy feat.

All she wants to do is Dance! Dance! Dance!

2010-06-13T16:38:00.000-07:00

From her first solo competition "Wave Bye-Bye"...

Jaina won Gold in both competitions, making her the

2010 Tap Dance Novice Division Nationals Champion!!!

to Lagoon National Championship Competition

(her group took 1st place at Nationals for all 4 of their dances)

("Destiny's Path")

("Till the Dawn")

("Rhapsody on Paganini" aka--love theme from "Somewhere in Time")

("She's a Pirate of the Black Pearl")

to recital

("Rhapsody on Paganini" aka--love theme from "Somewhere in Time")

("Jai-Ho")

(Destiny's Path")

("She's a Pirate of the Black Pearl"---stabbing Ms. Barbera after the show)

Jaina had a blast this year dancing!

8 is Great!

2010-06-13T15:32:00.000-07:00

This Spring has kept our family hopping with birthdays, dance competitions and recital, soccer and a baptism. Several Spring posts will follow, trying to blog all the big events in our family.

To begin, this May, Jaden turned 8! A huge milestone and exciting for him and the rest of us. Jaden wanted his party at the Recreation Center. So, he invited his buddies and we all went to the pool for awhile then back to our place for cake, ice-cream and presents.

Better than the party and swimming, Jaden was able to be baptized this May. We were able to schedule his baptism for when family members could come. So, on May 22, 2010, with the Saari, Hatt and Meyers families present (minus a few significants--Ryan's family and Julie's family, the 1st in our family without the Edwardses-sniff-sniff!!) Jaden was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Here are some of my fave pictures from that special day:

Cameron Talent Show

2010-04-16T14:56:00.000-07:00

Mute/Pause the "Tunes" in the bottom right-hand corner of Blog before you start the video so you can hear the audio.

Spring Break Camping Trip

2010-04-08T11:32:00.001-07:00

What's Underneath Floor # 1?

2010-03-31T10:05:00.001-07:00

We pulled up the laminant wood in preparation for the new flooring to be installed. What was underneath was a stinky, yucky floor!!!

Now, in the dining room/den (whatever we ultimately decide the room to be) we now have a new, non-stinky hardwood floor!

What will we find under Floor #2?

Beauty in the Morning

2010-03-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

And it came to pass.... Ouch!!!!

2010-03-25T21:44:00.000-07:00

We were reading scriptures the other night and it was Jaden's turn. He was reading along just fine while cuddling with Rosie as she nibbles and licks him like always. Then, "Ouch!!! Rosie bit me on the John-Thomas!!!!"

Anyone who has watched "Man vs. Wild" will know what that is.

In other news....Cameron's Science Fair Project, "Crystal Growing Experiment" was chosen to go to Regionals in Rangely, CO. He leaves in the morning.
Soccer practice started tonight--Daddy is his coach.

Jaina's costumes are starting to come in for her upcoming competitions and recital. Her very first solo competition ever is scheduled for April 9th in Salt Lake City. She is doing a tap routine to "Wave Bye-Bye" To hear a clip follow this link, it is song # 15

http://www.workman.com/boynton/samples/dog_train.html

Jaden earned the highest score on the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) testing for the entire Uintah School District's 2nd Graders in Language Usage (reading & comprehension)--higher than his teacher has ever seen in a 2nd grader, and the highest scores for Math in the history of Discovery Elementary School 2nd Graders.

How come it NEVER happens to Jason?

2010-03-15T15:26:00.000-07:00

Fluffity, Puffity Marshmallows

2010-03-04T12:17:00.000-08:00

I am wondering if I shovel the snow off the garden area, will the soil warm up enough for spring planting?

It's Raining! It's Pouring!

2010-02-23T19:59:00.001-08:00

In the house!! Our NEW house!!!

Mom...Guess what?

2010-02-23T19:31:00.000-08:00

Cameron came home from school yesterday and said: "Mom....the freakiest thing that could ever happen to a teenager happened to me today."
Mom: "You're not a teenager. What happened?"
Cam: "A girl asked me out."
Mom: "What?!?!? Who was it?"
Cam: "I don't know. She just came up to me and said, 'You want to go out with me?'"
Mom: "What did you say?"
Cam: "Um, no."

The results are in......

2010-01-09T14:43:00.000-08:00

"Leibling" = Precious in German, pronounced "LeeBling".

"Rosie" is preferred by Bubba. So, the final name is:

"Lei (prounounced "Lee") Bee Rose"

2010-01-08T19:01:00.000-08:00

http://

My Sister-in-Law, Jenna has started her own Photography business. She is Way Talented!

2010-01-05T17:33:00.000-08:00

http://www.perceptionphotographyutah.com/perceptionphotography/

Merry Belated Christmas to me (update from last night's post)

2010-01-04T20:18:00.000-08:00

Well, Jason and the kids got together and got me a baby for Christmas. Her name was Rasta (at the shelter), I brought her home as Blondie or maybe Precious in German (if Dad would get back to me on how to say that in German) Jaina promptly named her "Rosie" as soon as she laid eyes on her. So, she has also been called, "Baby Girl" or "Puppy Baby" and "Stinky Stinker" (who just went potty on my floor!!!) She is a Chihuahua/Terrier mix, so shouldn't get too big and she was the runt of the litter. So, we'll see.

Our first night was eventful, but I have forgiven her already. We will see how our 2nd day goes.

Alright! Who put Miracle Grow on the Christmas Tree?

2009-12-31T01:20:00.002-08:00

It wasn't that big when we cut it down!!!

Autumn Activities

2009-12-31T01:17:00.000-08:00

A Slide show of all our activities during October & November

From Movies

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/yS8rd0wMwVa3t7OFt0HP3g?feat=directlink

November Stuffings: Part 1

2009-12-31T00:12:00.000-08:00

Okay, so it is a little late, but, I just KNEW that y'all wanted an update on our adventures.

November found us busy traveling:

Dad/Grandpa Mark's Surprise 60th Birthday Party

(pictures anybody? I have gotten in this awful habit of bringing my camera but forgetting to take pictures)...it was a cold weekend.

Mindy's attempt at wogging a 5k (how long has it been?) in Heber City took us out in the cold to a "Fun Run".......

Jaina decided I needed help stretching afterwards.

Soon, they all joined in...

....and the Heber Valley Cowboy Poetry Festival.

Freezing Our Patooskis Off

2009-12-13T20:37:00.000-08:00

The past few days, I have often mused to myself the following:

"It sure is cold out here!"

(For the 1st time in my adult life, I have considered getting long-underwear!!!)

"After almost a decade in North Carolina, we have moved to Winter Wonderland!"

"Hmm....this snow is so pretty! I should take some pictures of what a cute, quaint Christmas town Vernal has turned into..."

Then, we got more snow. Actually....we got hammered!

We really did shovel our driveway last night, you just couldn't tell when we were done... the snow just kept coming. We finally stopped around 9pm when another inch had accumulated after Cam and I had shoveled the entire driveway once and then Jason and I did it all a second time.

I really do need to get some pictures of our snow....

I thought we got a lot on Halloween.

Then, I thought we got a lot last weekend over my birthday, we got around 4-6 inches.

Then, last night, we easily got over 1 1/2 feet of snow and it is still coming.

Ever been snowed in? Well, guess what?!?!? When a snowplow comes through your neighborhood and plows up the road, its really nice. However, they leave behind a wall of snow so high, that you need to use a pick-ax to cut through in order to try and dig a path. Well, since we don't own a pick-ax, we tried knocking some of it down with our little shovels....it didn't work. We ended up digging a path down the side of the road until we found a spot low enough that we could get our poor van over. We were late to church and Jaina and I were pants and boots under our skirts because the snow was so deep.

So, here is a list of a few things Winter in Vernal has taught us so far:

I am already tired of hearing, "You think this is cold? Winter hasn't even started yet!" (this during our -teens temperature days)

FACT: Did you know that Vernal tied with Siberia last week for the coldest inhabited place in the world? The only colder locations were uninhabited places like the North Pole.

We are excited when we see the forecast calling for "Warmer temperatures around 8-10 degrees" (below freezing, yes but positive #s!!!)

4-wheel drive vehicles at every house is NOT the luxury we previously thought and that has been hyped about in newspaper articles discussing the financial demise of Uintah Basin. Winter so far has illustrated that evidently, every household needs a 4 wheel drive vehicle to just get out of the driveway! If both adults work, you need two vehicles with 4-wheel drive to enable both parties to get to work in this weather. Not an over-indulgence in fun grown-up toys...a necessity for this area that nobody ever hears about.

During the winter, women wearing boots to church back in NC was a fashion statement. Women wearing boots to church during the winter in Vernal is a necessity or you legs will fall off. Here, it's not vanity or fashion, if you want to get through feet of snow on your way to church, you need to wear boots or get frost-bite.

I need to go shopping!

LOL!!!!! What a game it was.......

2009-12-02T10:42:00.000-08:00

And the winner is.......

2009-11-03T10:04:00.000-08:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Another fun and adventurous Halloween this year!

Our annual FHE of pumpkin carving resulted in lots of goop everywhere

(FYI: guinea pigs do NOT like pumpkin guts--we checked) and some amazing creations of art.....

The kids and Daddy all dressed up this year. Mom/Mindy's Mrs. Weasley outfit is missing, fess up! Who took it?!?!?!?!?! I can still do a good impersonation :)

BumbleBee--the Transformer

Zombie Cheerleader

Scream Freak

Alfalfa (with rotten teeth)

We attended the Ward Trunk-or-Treat Party at the church and enjoyed the games there and then handing out (mom) and getting (everyone else) candy. Then, Alfalfa took the gang and some friends out trick-or treating around the neighborhoods while mom went home to hand out candy to anyone who braved our closed road. Nobody came, more for me!

Next day at church, Jason won the best overall costume award for not only his outfit, but for his "campaigning". All night, he would gather groups of kids, young, impressionable minds, and tell them not to eat all of their candy at once, or their teeth would end up looking like his.

Poor kids, they were terrified and just stared at his mouth and solemnly promised that they wouldn't. One little girl even insisted later that night that she brush her teeth again, because she didn't want to look like Bro. Saari! Parents were grateful, maybe Jason should have been a Dentist.

(click on collage to see larger images)

It's beginning to look a lot like.....Halloween?

2009-11-03T10:00:00.000-08:00

SNOW!

We woke up Halloween Eve to over 1 inch of snow on the ground with continued snowfall throughout the rest of the day. The kids were all excited and Jaden even got to play in the snow while Jaina suffered through getting her hair brushed.

The snow was gone by the end of the day, but it was pretty and very cold!!!

Don't worry, Halloween Day warmed up quite a bit and we only needed jackets that night for trick-or-treating.

Weird weather!

(see the mountains in the background? Aren't they gorgeous?!?!?!?)

Cameron Fencing

2009-10-26T11:56:00.001-07:00

Vikings Flag Football--Fall 2009

2009-10-25T20:23:00.000-07:00

...and Jaden's got the ball!...

Confident player at the end of the season

Mighty Men!
(Daddy Jason was Asst. Coach)

Block 'em!

Go get him! Run, Jaden, Run!!!

Wa-hoo!

He got tackled...

WAY TO GO BUBBA!

No, Jaden is not frowning, he is just being very serious....that is what football players do.

For all his complaints, Jaden enjoyed his first season of football. The other day, as we were driving by his practice field, he told me, "I sure do miss those guys."

"Who?" I asked, " Your football team?"

"Yeah, I had fun playing football, can't wait till next season!"

Anybody else remember these songs?

2009-10-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

Jason and I showed this to the kids, and we have been laughing ever since!!

Fall update

2009-10-04T11:22:00.000-07:00

Fall is here!!! With fall coming we are going to experience some changes. All the kids are wrapping sports. Cameron finishes fencing next week with a tournament. He finished swim lessons this week and is moving on to level 4. He talks about how easy swimming is now, and has really enjoyed it. Unfortunately I think fencing will end because of a lack of sign ups. That does not include Cam though because he has loved it!!!

Jaina will finish tennis next week with a tournament. She has done well and enjoyed it. She is going to move up in dance this week because she's at a higher level than the group she's currently in. She's excited about that because I think she knows some of the students in the class above her from school/church.

Jaden finished football with a bang! He scored a touchdown on the 2nd to last game. I wasn't able to be there for it... Only one of two games I missed. Mindy said he was playing Running-Back took the hand-off to the right, and ran unnoticed around the right corner for 10 yards for a touchdown. This helped change his outlook on football. Previous to the last game he stated he hated football before each practice, and at least once during each game. However, he had a great coach who didn't focus on winning, and every child got to play every position every game. There wasn't a child who didn't enjoy playing the game because of his commitment to helping them all succeed! If all recreation coaches could be like this, many more kids would probably enjoy and stay with sports.

Mindy is currently still able to stay home! She is loving it, and especially enjoys working out each morning after dropping the kids off at school. She runs a couple of miles/day, and at times bikes or lift weights when she gets tired of running on the tread mill. She bought some new running shoes that has helped her experience be more positive. She says she feels like she's running on air:) Previous to the new shoes she was having trouble with her toes falling asleep and knees hurting. I haven't heard any complaints since then...

Flag football/Tennis

2009-08-29T06:24:00.000-07:00

Jaden recently started flag football, and Jaina started tennis lessons. Jaden is the youngest on the team, but has enjoyed it so far. He doesn't understand the game completely, but is learning. He has had some successes such as catching flags, etc. He's pretty nervous about starting the more physical parts of the game. Monday they start on working on blocking and we'll see how he does.

Jaina started tennis last week and appeared to enjoy it. She is pretty athletic, more so than the boys. It seems to come more naturally for her. She was happy until the end when they moved a girl up to the intermediate level (who is about 14), and she had to stay with the "little kids" who are about her age. She has practice again this morning, and we'll see how it goes...

House hunting is very time consuming, frustrating, etc... We made another offer on a home in the area, and they countered. We countered again yesterday so we'll see where it goes. It's a beautifu 4 bedroom home in a well established neighborhood, where the kids won't have to change schools. Hope it works out...

Mindy's sister Julie has established a fun tradition on her blog I want to start adding to our blog. It's funny family quotes...

Cameron and Jaden were fighting in the van while Mindy and I were looking at a house. Mindy came to the van and said what's the problem? Cameron said, "I have many years of pent up anger and frustration" We laughed since he is a whopping 11 years old.

At football, Jaden said to his coach, "I don't want to be the hiker!" His cooached asked why, to which he responded, "I don't like to get sweaty!"

Jaina's favorite quote is "I hurt myself" which is repeated several times per day. I usually respond by calling her a wimp...

Mindy's favorite quote is, "It's in a box somewhere" which is her common response to all questions having to do with requests for toys, etc... The next most common quote is, "Let's just buy this house and get it over with." I think she's tiring of living out of boxes :)

My famous quote has to do with my boss this week. A teacher came in and said, where's Debbie, she's not in her office? She looked in the wrong office. Debbie, the principal said I'm in my office... I stated, I just saw her come out from under her desk. She's so short she didn't even have to bend down to get under there." Needless to say my boss has been easy to get along with so far and hopefully it continues well...

Back to School (finally) !!!

2009-08-26T20:17:00.000-07:00

The Big Day FINALLY arrived!!!!!!!

Cameron woke up at the crack of dawn, literally, excited, dressed and ready to go to Middle School.

He even WILLINGLY let Mom take pictures.

Jaina & Jaden had an entire extra hour to get ready for school, elementary school starts at 8:20 here.

They were all excited and a little nervous starting at another new school, but, they all came home happy and reported making new friends.

Crystal's Birthday Party with Cousins!

2009-08-23T11:28:00.000-07:00

Uintah County Demolition Derby

2009-08-23T10:40:00.000-07:00

Alright, so a few days ago, we go to the county fair, and cars come in looking like this: (look above) And we had no idea what was going on until this started happening
( look above) they started bashing into each other. We had lots of fun watching the car's radiators blowing up

A Day in Nauvoo

2009-08-20T22:43:00.000-07:00

I can't figure out how I loaded may last slideshow/video thingy, so if this link works, you be able to see the "Day in Nauvoo" Video we made. Hmm.....

I Passed!

2009-08-12T08:59:00.000-07:00

Dean Reid, Interim Dean of the Sociology Department called me the other day to congratulate me on passing my comprehensive exams. My response was, "I did? Awesome!" She didn't know by how much I passed (she was very curious to see how I did considering all I had been through in the Dept. the past year), but they (Graduate Council) would not tell her.
Also, she gave permission for me to finish my studies long distance, i.e.: from Utah instead of North Carolina. So, back to work.

The Move: Part 1 (again--with Slide Show)

2009-08-05T23:45:00.000-07:00

This first segment of our trip consisted of the following legs:

1. Sanford, North Carolina to Knoxville, Tennessee

2. Knoxville, Tennessee to St. Louis, Missouri

3. St. Louis, Missouri to Nauvoo, Illinois

We had good roads with plenty of construction all along the way. Our big destination was Mindy's sister, Julie's new home in St. Louis, MO. Julie & her family had just moved from NC and we were all excited to see them again and spend some time together in Nauvoo with our families.

On the way to Nauvoo, Mindy & Julie saw lots of Corn Coons, fake-bi0-genetically engineered corn fields and learned that not only does MapQuest lie to you, but so does AAA's TripTik.

At the turn off in Illinois to go up to Nauvoo, the very smart sisters pulled over to the side of the road to double-check our directions to make sure we were going the right way. 20 minutes later we still had not found the turn off we were looking for that was supposed to be 3 miles down on the Right. So, we did what anybody would do, we ignored Jason's calls on the cell phone, pulled over where he couldn't go with the U-Haul truck & trailer to consult our directions again.

Well, Jas pulled over behind us, succeeding in creating a traffic jam consisting of a whopping 3 cars behind him on that little country road. Jason got to meet a very friendly Illinois State Trooper who informed him that we needed to turn around and go back 20 miles then turn Right to get to Nauvoo. We did so.

We got to Nauvoo in plenty of time to cook foil dinners, have Julies' 2 girls get bonks on the head and had plenty of time to find seats for the Nauvoo Pageant. Now, you might ask, where was Dr. Beege for all of this? Well, the Good Doctor was at work! BJ left for Nauvoo right after he got off work and drove up to Nauvoo to join us, taking a scenic route through Iowa on the way.

It was an awesome trip!

P.S.

Contrary to all the advice both couples received, Nauvoo is MORE than "Just an hour to the North of St. Louis" and is FARTHER than "About 2 1/2 hours from St. Louis"

it took us MUCH LONGER THAN THAT!

Rediscover the Library!

2009-08-05T16:32:00.000-07:00

The first thing we did after we got unpacked, was to locate the local library and get library cards.

It is right down on Main Street (which is very picturesque) in between the Veteran's Memorial with its really cool Vietnam War Era helicopter out front and the Utah Natural History Field house with its life-size dinosaur replicas out front.

We were all pleasantly surprised to find the library full of books (what else?), but a pretty good size little library with the upstairs completed devoted to Children & Youth's books. (I think Jaden's favorite part is the elevator) Since then, we have all been devouring books and thought that we would share our favorites of the Summer so far.....

Mom/Mindy:

Borrowed from Daddy, I last read these books back when I was a kid, Grandpa Knight introduced me to them. Set in the 4-Corners area of Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado on the Reservation, the books are suspenseful, action-packed, mystery, what can I say? It's Tony Hillerman, his books rock!

My first book out of the library just for me. Kept my attention straight through. A good mystery/kinda-romance (not really, more mystery).

I thoroughly enjoyed it!

A fun, good, quick read. Is LDS Fiction/Action/Mystery/Romance

I can't wait for this author to come out with another book.

Cameron:

Good ol' Uncle Dr. Beege, sent Cam off from St. Louis with a stack of books to read. Cam really got into this series and borrowed the 2nd from Grandpa Mark upon arrival in Utah.

Warrior Cat Series has been a favorite of Cameron's for awhile. The Uintah County Library has a huge selection of these books plus a new series by the same author Cameron hasn't seen before. Needless to say, he is excited and has read at least 5 already.

A new book purchased for our trip, that got packed in a box without a label, Cameron found and read this book upon arrival and is enjoying this new series. He has found others of this series at the library and has read 2 of them since.

Dad/Jason:

I checked this book out for myself out of curiosity; I had seen it so many times in the Deseret Book catalogs, that I had to pick it up. Not sure why I did, because Jason stole it from me and then Cameron stole it from him. They both read and enjoyed it. Actually, Cameron said, "It's okay" I guess there is some romance in there??

Time for Daddy to get back to work! He spent his last few days re-reading his school books, freshening up for the new school year reading books like this.

Jaina:

Jaina just loves books from this era in history, especially about girls who are the heroines. Her friend Jamie Larsen also highly recommended this series to her.

Katie Kazoo, Switcheroo!

Quite possibly one of Jaina's most favorite series, she stifled a squeal when she saw how many of these books the library has--she checks out 4 every time we go Which is about every 3-4 days.

Jaden:

Although he has spent a lot of time on his newly replaced DS (thanks Nintendo for good warranty service), Jaden has rediscovered this series and read more of them. If you haven't discovered Ready Freddy, yet, it is like Junie B. Jones, but for boys.

Another exciting series for Bubba is the Chapter Book collection of Magic School Bus. A great choice for the scientists with inquisitive minds at our house.

The Move

2009-07-23T08:45:00.000-07:00

July 23, 2009

So, there is so much to say and so much that has happened in our adventures across the country, I had a hard time deciding which pictures to post on our blog and which ones to leave out. Sooo...I decided to try and make a slide show of our trip. I hope you enjoy it!

After lots of work and lost of help from wonderful friends, we pulled out of North Carolina on Wednesday, July 15, 2009. We had been in the Sanford area for 7 years..... So many memories made and good friends found, it was not easy to leave! We have grown so much during our time in North Carolina, not to mention our really cool accents that we have acquired. Definitely the best move our family could have made 7 years ago!

Well...the slide show didn't work, so I thought I better publish it anyway. Pictures to follow soon!

Bubba's Birthday

2009-06-07T13:37:00.000-07:00

Jaden got to share his birthday this year, with Uncle BJ's Graduation.

So, we went to Graduation at Campbell University

(most boring graduation ceremony Jason or I have EVER been to, sorry Dr. Beege, its the truth).

When it was over, Jaden chose Golden Corral for his Family Birthday Dinner.

Check out the size of that steak on his plate!

Then, it was home for presents...

Bakugan Brawl & a fishing pole (no picture)

Dart Tag!

Which they immediately began to play...

Jaden's wish was granted....a Nintendo DS of his very own!

Plus, the hottest Pokemon game out there, Pokemon Platinum. (Jaina & Cameron's response...)

Then it was time for cake (Daddy's creation!) & ice-cream

Sponge Bob was having a rough day

Happy Birthday Jaden-Boy!

Dance! Dance! Dance!

2009-05-03T20:16:00.001-07:00

Put me in Coach!!!

2009-04-23T18:06:00.000-07:00

So, some of the first rules of soccer you are taught are that in order to play in the game, you must follow these rules:

1. Shin guards

2. Proper cleats

3. No jewelry.

4. Your jersey MUST be tucked in.

COACH DID IT

I decided...no more boxers for soccer games.

More than 1 dancer in this family...

2009-04-23T17:45:00.000-07:00

Anybody remember this trip?

2009-03-08T18:33:00.000-07:00

Favorite quotes & activities from this trip:

"Hey guys....I have an idea.......let's stop."

"Hey guys...we have to have a funeral. My shoulders just died."

"We have to have another funeral....my feet just died."

Why are all the quotes I can remember from Julie?

What about the raccoon that hit me in the face through the tent?

Remember singing songs & teaching Dad to play Butt-Words? Now THAT is an art!

"Not everyday your young man turns 11!"

2009-01-26T11:26:00.000-08:00

If you can name the movie this is from,

you win a prize!

(Julie doesn't count, she already knows it)

Happy Birthday to Cameron!

Ain't he somethin'?

The partygoers.....

Can we play now, Cameron?

Daddies and their little girls....

Huh?

Cousins! Balloons!

Make a wish!

Um...ice cream, please?!?!?!

It is definitely NOT everyday your young man turns 11!

What a happy boy!

Fun in the Flurries

2009-01-20T19:40:00.000-08:00

Hooray! Snow in Sanford, NC!

Jaina woke up at 7am and proceeded to wake up everybody,

"It's snowing! It's snowing!"

So, after breakfast we (except Daddy, he went in to work)

all bundled up and went outside to play.

Sledding.......

Whee!!!!

Building a fort.....

Snowballs.....

more sledding...

this is fun!

More snowballs...ammo for the fort....

hee-hee!

"Guess who this baby's for?"

"Jaden... what are you doing?"

"Making tracks!"

Our Answer to Every Question

2009-01-15T12:52:00.000-08:00

It used to be, that if you wanted anything at the Saari house, the answer was...

"In a box somewhere"

Now that most of the boxes are unpacked and put away, the answer to every question is....

"Yeah, when Mom gets paid!"

CHRISTMASTIME

2008-12-26T18:26:00.000-08:00

CHRISTMAS EVE

Christmas Eve, we had our friends, the Lundell Family and Bro. Avent over. Christmas dinner was ham, much to Jason's dismay--the turkey will have to wait till New Year's Eve. Then, "The Program" began.

CHRISTMAS CAROL CHARADES....

"I know, right?!?!"

"SILENT NIGHT"

"FA-LA-LA-LA-LA" ???

Christopher's got the Bling-Bling going on.

Ummm....?

"RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER" got run over by a bunch of kids

What Christmas Eve would be complete without the playing of the chimes?

Reading the Christmas Story

You can open just 1 present on Christmas Eve

Okay, so Jason had this idea to switch up the kids' presents for Christmas Eve. Jaden unwrapped some green flannel pants and a pretty shirt with a heart full of pastel mini hearts. Jaina got 2 shirts, definitely not her size or colors, and Cameron got some very pretty turquoise pajama bottoms and some red ones.

Well, Jaden started to cry as we laughed and helped them figure out who got what. It didn't help. With tears in his eyes and a sniffle when he talked, Jaden had to explain (while being cuddled) how wrong it was to mess with a little kid's presents. We still thought it was hilarious. Poor Bubba!

SANTA CAME!!!!

"NO MORE PEEKING......FROM SANTA"

Jaden got some "stupid old underwear"

A SKATEBOARD!!!!!

AHHHHHHEEEEAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

(MORE SCREAMING AND SQUEALING!)

Let's make martians....then we get to dissect them. Cool!

Is that a tear in your eye?

(Sniff-sniff)

"It's a Garden of Eden Apron!"

(from my mom, not what she intended)

The AFTERMATH

LATER ON CHRISTMAS DAY...

Trying out the new scooters and skateboard.

Did I mention it was almost 70 degrees Christmas Day?

Building the skateboard....

Go Cameron!

Woo-hoo, Daddy!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, LOVE THE SAARI'S!!!

Cubbies!

2008-12-26T16:55:00.000-08:00

As you know, we have 2 Cub Scouts in our family: Cameron & Jaden + a Boy Scout Leader, Daddy Jason.

Here are some pics of their exploits this past year.

Scout Brothers!

Jaden earned his BobCat Badge

Jason arranged for Jaden's Tiger Cub Den to go to a basketball game at San Lee Middle School.

Better make that 1 Cub Scout, Cameron formally crossed over from Cubs to Boy Scouts this month.

Miss Sassafrass (aka "Jaina")'s Dance Weekend

2008-12-12T10:25:00.000-08:00

So, I decided that it was time that I did some writing on this blog, lest anyone think this is all just Jason's doing.

Nov. 7-8th, Jaina went to the Carolina Dance Masters Convention in Greensboro, NC with her dance team, "The Mini's" from Dancers Workshop here in Sanford. Mommy Mindy was her chaperone, it was a 3-day thingy, we just did Friday & Saturday, though (no dancing on Sundays for Jaina, much to her director's frustration, but this IS her 4th year there, and they don't seem to mind). We stayed overnight at the Sheraton's Four Season's hotel in Greensboro, very fancy and bigger than any hotel I have ever stayed in. Jaina and friends got plenty of time in the indoor pool and got to "eat out" in the hotel restaurants and lots of giggly-girl time with each other. They managed to squeeze in there dance classes and performances. :)

The girls had a pageant to attend Friday night and a Banquet Saturday night, they were to be in formal dress, so Jaina got to get dressed up like never before and they giggles some more and had fun. Did I mention that parents were not allowed at the Banquet? Just the girls, their instructors, etc. So, we took a lot of pictures and sent my little girl off to have a "Cinderella Evening" with her friends.

She really had a great time and afterward, they all partied in our hotel room until the "hotel police" came and scared the girls quiet. We were only blasting her "High School Musical" CD and jumping on the beds. etc. There really should not be a quiet hour in a hotel hosting a bunch of girls for 4 days. Oh well.

It was a fun busy weekend. While we were gone, Jason and the boys went out and bought Daddy a gun. Hmm.

Holidays

2008-11-27T19:49:00.000-08:00

Today was Thanksgiving.... What a wonderful full of blessings and love! We had good friends come Tuesday and stay the night with their two kids. We went to the temple and out to dinner with them and another family in the ward. What a great time visiting with them! On Wednesday we went out shooting the GUN:) It's a 270 as mentioned probably previously... We each shot it 6-8 times. By we I mean Cameron, Ethan (11 yr. old), Johnny Davis, and myself. We really enjoyed it:) We shot 3 pumpkins we had left over from Halloween. They blew out the back pretty well. Hopefully now that it's sighted in we'll be able to go hunting. I've to get an old hunting license from UT to prove I've had one in the past. Then we'll hit the trail... Cameron is very excited about hunting, and convinced that he needs to hunt. He can't until he's 12, but very determined... Today Julie and BJ and girls, along with Ryan and Jenna came and stayed with us. They are Mindy's siblings and families for those who may not know... We had a fabulous dinner today. The highlight was jalapeno poppers. Julie cuts jalapenos in half, fills them with cream and cheddar cheese, and wraps them in bacon. Can't think of anything better! I ate way too many and know I'll feel it in the morning:( I'm feeling it a little now.... We played board games and the Wii all day and plan to have the ladies go shopping tomorrow and all of us watch movies of some sort. The girls want to go see Twilight while us boys/kids will probably go watch some kid movie. I told Julie they had to take the kids shopping. She got all flustered and said they wouldn't go before she realized I was kidding:) Played in the turkey bowl. I'm way out of shape. Still have jelly legs although the game got over about 12 hours ago. Cameron played for the first time and enjoyed it. He says he almost got his arm broken, got smashed in the head and a few other things. He stuck it out though and I was proud of him. We had 30-35 people show up. It was a lot of fun! Mindy has been still teaching... The only problem is that due to a civil war within the department, the Provost refuses to sign her contract so she can get paid. She hasn't received a check all semester:( There's a major power struggle within the sociology dept. that she is in the middle of, not because of doing something wrong, but just being there... She is a great teacher! I studied teaching, etc. but she is better at it than I was. She's just natural. The kids are doing well. Jaden now has three missing teeth! Front two on top and bottom front. His smile is awesome! Says, "Just brushing and it fell right out!" I told him the tooth fairy was taking the night off because it's a holiday. He didn't buy it. Ryan told a story about receiving two $10 bills one time for a tooth when he thinks the tooth fairy over paid in the dark. We had a good laugh about that one. Jaden's hoping for a pot of gold due to the fact that he's lost so many lately. He say $1 million. I said I'll give all my teeth for a million. I'll eat my dinner from a straw forever for the money:) No strings attached! Anyone want to pay out? Well, I'm looking forward to another fun day tomorrow. We hope all is well for everyone! We are thankful for family and friends along with the blessings of the gospel... Couldn't ask for much more!!!

blah blah blah

2008-11-16T18:33:00.000-08:00

To All....

Busy this week for all here at the Saari front. Lots of unpacking on Tuesday due to the holiday. It was nice to have a day off this week at home at least. Makes for a long week at school dealing with discipline. The students get out of sink and that's it. Had 7 students walk out of a class. For middle school that's a very bold thing to do. How do deal with such a variety of situations I'm not sure. The buses have been crazy as well. Students fighting, calling the bus driver names, and throwing things such as change at the driver! Crazy, crazy week with students... Today, being Sunday was a very fun day for us all! Just relaxed and truly enjoyed each other. We even got some pictures hung. Our home is starting to come together nicely. When we first moved in, I had the piano put in the wrong room. It is still there. I need to get some help and move it into the next room so then we can really finish things up. Mindy has done most of the work as usual. She seems to always make time to accomplish the important things unlike some others we know. The kids are enjoying having their own space. Jaden told me at bed tonight that he likes having his own place to hide and own bed to sleep in. He was of course referring to his room. Jaina got all hurt and offended yesterday when Mindy told her that her room is dirtier than the boys. She dumped all their things on their floors to remind them to put everything away. All of the rooms have a ways to go except so for ours. We got our 1st bedroom set last Thursday, and the room had to be cleaned for delivery. Mindy was surprised that two gentlemen, "grayer than my Dad" in her words, delivered the goods. They left a few souvenirs, including a 6-8 inch scar on our wood floor and a few new dings on the wall. I guess nothing last forever...... I took the boys scouts camping this weekend! We had a lot of fun... Cameron wasn't old enough to attend yet, but will be in January. We went to a place called Camp Durant which is about 30 minutes from here. It was a lot of fun despite gallons of rain. No rain during waking hours, but the heavens opened at night! We found 3 of our boys sleeping under the bathhouse overhands in the morning. Guess their tent parially collapsed during the night maybe with the help of a few scouts who they mad by singing loudly after midnight:) Young boy scouts.... They worked of 1st aid, rifle, and shotgun for the most part. One of our boys went on the ropes course which is wires about 20-30 feet in the air going from telephone poles in the forest. They had to climb on these from one place to another. The final hurrah being a zip 2-300 feet long. My job was to help them off at the end... At one point they discovered a wasp nest on a pole. My job was to hold a 30-40 foot ladder while a 300+ gentleman climbed to spray. He told me to hang on from the inside by pulling as hard as I could on the ladder from about the 4th or 5th step up. My reward was having him step on my hands on the way up, and being kind enough to go around them on the way down. I didn't say much, because believe it or not it didn't hurt at all. I did have to cling to the ladder for 15 minutes which was actually pretty exhausting to keep the pressure on the whole time to keep the ladder from slipping. There ended up not even being a nest. Last weekend Mindy and Jaina went to Winston Salem for a dance convention. They had a blast.
All girls activities. Mindy will have to share with you what all they did at another time. I've got to go to bed for now since I get up around 4:30 and am at work by about 5:30 each morning to make sure all is well with buses. I actually enjoy getting up this early. It's the best time for me to accomplish things for work... It's the only time I can really plan on... The best thing of the week that occurred for our family is I bought a gun. I got a 270 for deer hunting:) I've complained and whined about not having one forever and even had the money once or twice to get one but never did... Finally I bought one! It was only suppose to take 4-5 days to come in, but I haven't heard from them yet. I bought a brand new gun that's all black and has a scope mounted on it. I actually haven't seen it yet:0 They were suppose to call me and let me know it was in but haven't yet. My plan is to actually go hunting this year. The season is from Nov. 15 through January 1st. Nice and long and maybe I can find a place to hunt by then. We'll see. Anyways, that's it here on the home front from my point of view. Hopefully Mindy will give you all a different perspective within the next week or so... Have a wonderful week!!!

Home Sweet Home???

2008-11-02T13:52:00.000-08:00

Well, in case you were wondering, we finally signed on our new home. It's about time!!!! I think they finally gave in when I told them it was Halloween and my name is Jason. I told the lawyer at the signing, that if it didn't occur then that I would probably be on the front page of the paper Saturday morning. Now that I think about it, he did one of those nervous little laughs as if he didn't know how to take me. Oops... I guess I forgot what type of world we live in today.

We began moving on Saturday at around 8:30am and finished at about 10:10am. We had about 15 people show up to help out. One of my friend's, Sean, and I went back to Pittsboro in the afternoon and emptied out our storage unit. It took us about 30 minutes to load it, and about 30 minutes to tie it down. Needless to say nothing moved on the truck or trailer. After we loaded the trailer, we began to head home. We decided to stop and get some ice cream since it was only about 3:20 when we finished. I said "man it sure seems later than it is". Then while we were eating ice cream Sean's wife, Stephanie called. He told her we were at urgent care which didn't go over well since recently he's spent quite a bit of time there due to a car accident and recent surgery.

Upon further examination, my watch had stopped and it only seemed early. Although my clock then said 4pm, it was really almost 5:30. My clock had stopped working:)

Anyways, we are now in our new home!!! It has so much space compared to our 900 foot apartment. We still have to unpack everything, but we're in our home and ready to enjoy it!