A quick update

It has been such a long time since I have posted regularly, and Christmas letters never made it out this year. I think I will do a quick update on all of our kids for those interested, and then we will go back to our regular, quirky posts.

Melissa: My beautiful oldest girl is just finishing her 8th grade year. It has been a very interesting one. As usual, the highlight of her year was the Regional Science Fair. She took first place in her division, and was invited to participate in the Broadcom Masters competition, which means that she was in the top 10% of projects nationwide. She also loved being a part of the school play, Seussical. She was Mrs. Mayor. Melissa recently won an election for student body treasurer. She was nominated to run for President, but she had a very close friend running for the same position, and chose to put the friendship before the position. Currently she is preparing for a summer of pioneer trek, Brighton, OakCrest, and being a counselor at 4H family camp. Her viola teacher gave her a book of hymns, which she loves to play. They say that the teenage years are hard; I am a lucky mom. She knows what she believes and she makes wise decisions.

Jessica: Jessica just finished 7th grade. Her teachers describe her as quiet, but very bright. She gets more beautiful as the days go by. She also won first place in the school science fair, and took place in regionals. Jessica enjoys all subjects. Her grade spent much of the year working on an Urban Farming manual, and studying different gardening techniques. She also played several parts in Seussical. Jessica plays the cello, which she enjoys. Our little Sophia thinks that she owns Jessica, which Jess enjoys most of the time! She loves to hang out with a good book, and really enjoys attending youth meetings at church. She is a sweet kid.

Cassandra: Cass is becoming quite a proficient violinist. She is excited that she will be a sixth grader this next year. We are not as excited to see her grow up on us! She is already beginning her sixth grade service project (part of the curriculum at our school) by helping out the Unified Fire Department with FireCorps, helping with fire safety training at various community events and "town days" throughout the region. She is really looking forward to that. Cassandra is somewhere between a budding teen and a little girls, still enjoying dolls at times, but enjoying older pursuits with her sisters, as well. She is very social, and has a broad circle of friends, including kids and adults. She also took 4th place in her grade in a state-wide writer's contest sponsored by PBS.

Hyrum: Hyrum is becoming quite the storyteller. He loves to write and illustrate stories, especially if the involve dragons. Hyrum's favorite school day this year was Friday, because he would get to participate in Robotics at school. He loved being the "expert" and helping the kids in his class. Hyrum also likes to be the class clown when he can get away with it, but usually manages to keep this in check at school! Hy also placed 4th in the statewide PBS writers contest, and earned a $25 college savings certificate. Along with his sisters and Seth, Hyrum is an Irish dancer. He started hardshoe this year, which he loves.

Seth: Seth has had a lot of "firsts" this year. Seth started kindergarten, Irish dance, and most recently, violin. Seth's best friend at kindergarten is Desirae. Do we see a budding romance in a few years? She is awfully cute.... She is a good reader, and especially likes math. He also likes participating in 4H clubs after school. Eventually, he will probably be our tallest kid. He is a bit of a tease with both Noah and Sophia, but we are helping him to remember to be kind. He is a treasure.

Noah: Noah starts kindergarten next fall, and is looking forward to some time away from home! Noah is quite small for his age, so most people are surprised to find out he is old enough for kindergarten. Noah was cursed with weak enamel on his teeth, and has spent a lot of time in the dentist's office. He has been a trooper through it. Noah loves to play cars and dinosaurs. Fairness is very important to him, so he keeps us on our toes. We are not feeling quite ready for this little boy to go to school; our baby is growing up.

Sophia: Sophia is, and always will be, our miracle. As she develops and changes, she is defying all expectations. It took five minutes of resuscitation at birth, and at first pediatricians were somewhat pessimistic about her future. Now, approaching two, she talks like she is ready for kindergarten. She has a beautiful sense of humor, and loves to jump and dance. She loves feeding bread to the wild ducks that land in Grandpa's back yard, and will readily tell you that she is "bootiful". She also counts to three regularly, and loves to creatively count to 20...heavy on the creativity. She is the princess of the castle, and regularly bosses the rest of us around (but in the sweetest way, of course).

Well, that is the latest on the Ivie Seven. Maybe next week we will actually manage to add pictures!