Sophia Bell is 6 years old!!!

Sophia's favorite color is pink!

Sophia turned 6 years old on Thanksgiving Day! It was fun to have a birthday girl in our house on Thanksgiving because we were home all day with her.
When Sophia was born we all referred to her as the baby. I don't know why we just did. I just can't believe that the baby is now 6!!!! It seems like she was just born.

Sophia is very special to our family. We really wanted her. Her brother has loved her and been very protective of her since the day she came home from the hospital. He is always the first one to put his arm around her if she has been sad or the first to give her a hug of excitement over something good. Sophia and Emily have both been sick and Emily has let her sleep in her room to share the humidifier. After they didn't need it any more Emily asked if she could still sleep with her. It was very sweet.
So, we had a great Thanksgiving Day. We don't like turkey so we had ham and Sophia asked for pasta with alfredo sauce. We had an apple pie and birthday cake.

Sophia got a Crayola glow station(which she has been dying to have) from Grandma and Grandpa Patty and a CD of Camp Rock from the kids(which Emily said 2 hours after they gave it to her they were regretting, she plays it all the time) a GC from G&G Bell, press on nails and a pink knitted scarf from Aunt Ammie, Curious George book from Mom and Dad. She had a great day. Emily made and decorated her a cute pink cake.
It was so nice to hang out and play with her and her new toys and have a nice family dinner.
After dinner things got real busy with putting up the Christmas trees and decorations. As soon as that was over we started packing and getting ready for our trip to California. We left for Disneyland on Monday Dec 1st. We met Mom and Dad and the girls for 5 days. It was beyond fun. I will get a slide show ready later on today. I have lots to report on DL.
Here are 2 cute videos. Love, Amber

Pumpkin Carving and Halloween

For Family night we carved our pumpkins. We grew pumpkins in our garden this year. It was so much fun to watch them grow and change color and then carve them. We cleaned the seeds out and then baked them. Michael loves to eat pumpkin seeds. Here is a video of the kids and their pumpkins.

Kenneth, Katie and their kids came trick or treating with us this year. We had a nice dinner and then we set out trick or treating. The kids had a great time with each other and they got a good haul this year!! Here is a video before we left. Enjoy.

Note: I think I have figured out my blog problem. I am so excited, I have alot to add.

Love, Amber

SPACE DERBY!!!!!

October 23, 2008

Michael has been working hard on his space ship for the cub scout space derby. He did so well. John let the boys race with each other for fun, he did not keep track of who was 1st 2nd and so on. It was fun to just race and have fun. John is the cub committee chair in our ward and he works so hard for these cute cub scouts. John borrowed the track from his friend Aaron and set it up with new fishing line and it was perfect. The boys had a great time. Enjoy.

Michael Bell is 10!!!!

Michael turned 10 on September 13th. He had a great day. We went to Park City and had a picnic and then John, Emily, Michael and Soph rode the Alpine slide. It was so beautiful in Park City, the leaves were turning colors, so pretty. We came home and had icecream cake. He told us it was his best birthday ever. He got a RC airplane, ripstick from Grandma Patty and Grandpa Robert and the girls gave him skull candy earbuds and money from G&G Bell. I would love to post pictures but this blog wont let me, I will have John help me this weekend.
Love, Amber

A new school year!!

I am still having trouble with the blog but I will try to make a post this morning. School started on Monday. Emily rode the bus to the Junior High. She did not want me to ride the bus with her and help her open her locker and walk her to 1st period! What is wrong with her? I really wanted to go. I was excited all day for her to come home and tell me about her first day of at Kaysville Junior High. She had a great time and only got lost once. She missed the bus home, by the time she took what she needed from her locker and went out the wrong door and then found the right door the bus was pulling away! John picked her up. She enjoyed her day and loves her teachers and has had fun meeting new friends. Michael is in a portable and is excited about being very close to the playground as he won't miss any time playing kickball due to walking through the school to get outside. He has 2 teachers and they are great, they job share, one works on Mon and Tue the other on Wed and Thur and they alternate Fridays. He is very excited and has lots of his buddies in his class again this year. Sophia, John and I went to Kindergarten on the first day of school. It was so exciting. It was only an hour. We signed up for assessment and signed up for helping in the classroom and went home. Sophia and I went for her assessment on Tuesday, she talked like a robot and then I realized she was nervous all she cared about what that she passed the test! It was funny. She wants to ride with bus with Michael and is sad when he leaves her every morning. Tuesday is coming!
I have so many pictures and videos saved from the summer I will post them during the coming week. We replaced our oven and it is so nice, here is a video of Sophia this morning.
Have a fun Labor Day weekend, we are hopefully going to get peaches and do yard work. Love, Amber

I'm back baby, I'm back!!!

Hello! Long time no blog! John has fixed the blog for me. This is my trial run to see if it works. I have lots of pictures to post of some things we have done this summer. So, I have missed you all and I will post later this week. Love, Amber

blog problems

Hello! I know there are problems with the blog. John will be able to help me with it this weekend. Thanks Love, Amber

Sophia Bell graduates from preschool

Ginger this post is for you. I love you.

Sohia graduated from preschool last week. I can't believe she is old enough to be done with preschool. We used to refer to her as the baby and then when she was 3 we stopped calling her that because obviously she was not a baby. Time flies. Sophia is always with me, we run errands, go to the grocery store, go to the school and go to lunch together. She is my pal. I love being with her she is entertaining and funny. Our schedule is get the kids off to school and then Sophia and I hang out until it is time for her to get ready for preschool. While Soph is at preschool I have time to go to the temple or get a few things done, then she is home a few hours before the kids get home. This is how things have been for 2 years, I like it this way and don't want it to change.
I can't believe that she is going to Kindergarten in August. She is really excited to go and she is even more excited to ride the bus with her brother. Michael is really looking forward to watching out for her and helping her get to class.
Last week I bought Sophia a new dress. I told her she could not wear it until graduation. This has been painful for her as she loves dresses. I would catch her trying on the dress and she would tell me she was just testing it. So we were both happy when graduation day came and she could officially wear the dress.
Last week was a crazy, fun, fast week. I loved every minute of it. Mom, Dad, Alec and Ammie came for a visit. They were able to go to Sophia's graduation. It was fun, she was excited that Aunt Ammie was there.
I knew Sophia had been learning a few songs to sing at the graduation program but I had no idea how nice it was going to be. They had a slide show with pictures of the kids from the whole year put to music, I was crying.
Summer is here!

This is the place!

I went on a field trip with Michael's third grade class. We went to This Is The Place Monument State Park. It was raining and very cold. The kids were all so cute. We went into a tee pee and learned how to make cornmeal by hitting a rock onto corn and then gathering it up for dinner. The kids were just happy to be out of the rain. I told Michael and his friends I would post this video. Enjoy. The have done alot of work on the Park, it was very interesting.

school play

School is almost out. Time flies. We have had so many end of the year activities going on. Michael's class has been working on a play about the rain forest. Sophia and I went to watch it last week. It was cute. Michael was a monkey. He and his 2 buddies Jaxon and Ethan performed the opening act. Here is a video. It was fun to see them do so well. I will miss all the third graders, I have had so much fun working in their classroom this year.

Baseball

Yes, I know it has been a long time since I posted. I have heard from many of you so this is dedicated to you. We have been very busy.
Michael is having fun at baseball. He got to pitch for a few innings and he was so happy to try that. I will post a video later.
We love baseball season but it has been so cold, I have sat in the stands with a blanket most of the time.
Go Indians!

The Front Runner

Monday morning John and I took Sophia to ride the Front Runner. We boarded at the Layton Station. We sat upstairs, it was fun. We got off in Salt Lake City and rode the Traxx Train to Temple Square. Sophia walked around for a few minutes and then we boarded the train back to Layton. We enjoyed our morning. Here are a few videos.
Love, Amber

Phoenix

Mom and I had a great weekend!
Uncle Steve and Aunt Mae picked us up at the airport. We headed back to Aunt Mae's, we sat by her pool and ate breakfast. It was so warm, it felt so good to sit and soak in warm weather. It was 92 on Friday. We visited for a few hours. It was so nice. Friday afternoon we all headed to the cemetary to put flowers on Grandma and Grandpa Alexander's gravesites and Uncle Frank's. It was nice, it had been 18 years since I had been there. Aunt Mae, Mom and Uncle Steve told some interesting stories about their youth and Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Frank. Uncle Steve drove us around and we saw Grandma's house, I remember running around in the backyard. The orange grove that was behind the house is now houses.
We spent the night with Uncle Steve, he lives about an hour from Phoenix. He lives in a beautiful area in the desert. We went on a walk before dinner and then again Saturday morning, the cactus are incredible up close, it was beautiful, flowers were in bloom and the canyon was so colorful.
Saturday we went to a BBQ at Molly's. It was so fun to see all my cousins. We were having a great time. I didn't want to leave. Katie has adopted a cute little girl from China, she is so sweet. I loved being with her.
Sunday we flew home. Mom and I had breakfast at the airport and our flights left 10 minutes apart.
I had a great time. It was so fun to see my family and be alone with Mom. Next time I really hope Gin and Ammie can come. Here are a few videos. I hope you are happy Ginger!

Cold Wednesday

Happy Wednesday. This post is dedicated to Ginger who looks here everyday for an update.
Michael and John have started baseball. Three practices a week. We are the Indians this year. Michael wants to be a pitcher and John said he can do it he needs to practice. So when Michael has spare time he can be found in the backyard practicing. Monday was the first practice and it was so cold. The boys did great and John is excited about his team.
I am leaving Friday morning really early to meet Mom in Phoenix, I am so excited. Uncle Steve said it was 90 yesterday. I am so looking forward to soaking in some sun! I will have pictures next week of our trip. Have a good week. Love, Amber

Birthday and Easter

The past 2 weeks have flown by.
I had my 40th birthday. It was wonderful. I heard from alot of friends I grew up with that I have not heard from in a long time. It was so nice. My mother asked me what I wanted for my birthday and all I wanted was to have dinner with my family, and that is what I got. It was decorated so cute, my Mom always goes all out, she worked for weeks before the dinner, I could tell. It was decorated so cute. My parents, sisters, John and the kids gave me a very special book that had wonderful letters from all of them. It made me cry the "ugly"cry. John captured all of this on video but I will not be adding it to the blog. Everyone gave me such thoughtful and nice gifts. Thank You. Ginger and Nick gave me something very nice and I love the inscription Ginger, Thank You. I got the panini grill I have been dying for, Thank You John. After dinner and cake my Dad said he had one more special gift, he had put together pictures from my childhood to present and set it to music. Oh it was so nice, everyone was crying. It took him a long time to do that but I loved it very much. Thank You.
Easter was fun, I will add a picture of the kids hunting for eggs and decorating eggs.
Next week Mom and I are off to Phoenix to see my Aunt, Uncle and lots of cousins, so I will have alot to blog about next week.

Michael has earned his BEAR!!!

Tuesday night we had our Blue and Gold Banquet for cub scouts. It was so fun. The theme was Chinese New Year! Michael earned his Bear. It was quite an exciting night. John is the head of the dragon, I thought you might enjoy, it is funny.

Love, Amber Anne

Thank You to the Lymans for the fun activity. Everyone give it a try, it is easy.

Bell Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Pedigree chart - Family history

Bell Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family reunion - Family tree software

Bell Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Descendents - Geneology

Emily decorating a cake

It was cold on Saturday. Emiy was bored so she decorated a cake. She took a cake decorating class years ago with Brianna in Tooele. She still has her tips, decorating bags etc. So, she decorated a star cake. She got the idea from a book my mother gave her. She had fun and it was tasty also. The kids enjoyed having a slice after dinner on Saturday. Sophia now wants Emily to make her birthday cake this year.

Enjoy.

Love, Amber Anne

My kids are growing up!

I don't know when this happened but my kids are growing up. On a typical Friday night we would get a movie and pizza or do something outside if it is nice out. But, lately all of them have become so social. They all have busy social calendars. What? I don't enjoy this. I miss them. Emily has had several birthday parties to attend this month and Michael plays air soft with the teenage boys in the ward on the weekend. So, Emily now leaves to attend a mutual activity one night a week and then has plans for the weekend also. Sophia has a birthday party in the morning and Michael will soon be having baseball 3 nights a week. I guess I have no choice but to go with the flow.
John and Sophia are going to play guitar hero tonight, she is quite excited.

Spring is in the air and I am so excited. As most of my friends out there know next week is my big 40th birthday. Excitement is in the air.

Have a happy weekend. And Jenny Easter is almost here you are almost done!!! I sent you the picture in the mail today, email me when you get it.
Happy Friday to all.
Love, Amber Anne

Sophia having tea

I came upstairs the other day and found Sophia having a tea party with her cat, KeeKee. I had to grab my camera and take some video. It was so funny. Mom bought her this tea set in St George last month. She LOVES it, she has tea 2 or 3 times a day! Dad bought her this dress and she changes into it when she has really special tea parties. As you can see she is serving her cat hershey kisses. Enjoy!

Michael snowboarding lessons

Last week John took Michael to Powder Mountain for a snowboard lesson. He had a great time. He was exhausted when he got home! He was very sore the next morning. He wants to go again. Here are a few videos John shot.

EMILY BELL IS 12!!!

Emily turned 12 on Saturday. She had a great day. She went to the temple to do baptisms in the morning. She went to her brothers basketball game. She had 11 girls over for a friend party and then went out to dinner. We came home and she opened even more presents. She has enough lip gloss to last a year!
Grandma Patty bought her a new outfit to wear to church. She looked so pretty and grown up. She got new high heel black shoes that she has been practicing walking on for 2 days! The bishop introduced her as the newest YW and she told the congregation her favorite article of faith. She did a great job, she spoke slowly and loud enough for everyone to hear. Sophia kept waving to her, it was cute.
I have pictures I will post later today.

Emily age 5

Kendyll and Michael

Kendyll came with us to the Pinewood Derby. Michael was so excited. Michael let Kendyll use his car from last year and they raced each other. Kendyll won the race. It was a fun night and Michael thought he was so cool to walk around with his big cousin Kendyll! I thought you might like to take a look.

Pinewood Derby

Here is a short video of Michael at the Pinewood Derby! He worked hard on his car with John. It was a fun night.

Michael climbing

I forgot to add this to the earlier post. Michael worked really hard to climb this rock!

Presidents Weekend

We spent President's Weekend in St George. It was so fun. We went to baseball games for Kendyll and Kyle(our cousins) on Saturday and Sunday. It was so warm and sunny on Sunday, it was a perfect day. On Saturday after the games we went rock climbing at Pioneer Park. It was a great experience. Sophia, Michael and Emily all climbed up a big rock and did so well. Here are a few video clips of them climbing.
Enjoy.

Valentines

Here is a cute video of Sophia at the dinner table on Valentines night. John came home early from work. He brought me beautifully wrapped flowers and he also gave the girls their own flower wrapped in floral paper. They were thrilled. Michael was sulking(he was sad he did not get a gift) and John told him boys buy girls valentines gifts. He was only feeling bad for about 10 minutes and then he was sent on a treasure hunt and at the end he found a guitar hero III for the wii!

The Lymans and the Bells meet in Salt Lake City

Emily and Brianna have been great friends since they were 1 year old. When we moved from Tooele, that was the saddest thing about leaving. Emily really missed her and has shed many tears over it. Heather and I decided to meet at the church museum last week with our kids. It was so fun. I could not believe how tall Jacob is, he towers over his mother. He loves Disneyland even more than I do, who thought there was a person. I had a great time talking with Jacob, we traded disney facts and he went home and sent me some cool websites I have been checking out when time permits. Thank You Jacob. He is a great boy. Heather and Wayne have done a great job. Brianna is growing up way too fast just like Emily. They gave each other a great big hug. We went upsatairs to the I am a Child of God exhibit. It was fun for Sophia. It is more for the primary kids. It was fun to sit up there and chat for awhile. We have to do it more often . It was fun to see the Lymans! This video is really just for Heather, Wayne, Jacob and Brianna's eyes but if you are curious take a look.
We miss you.

#15 Michael Bell Basketball

Hello! I know there are alot of posts. I have been wanting to do this and I have time so here goes.
Michael is just about done with basketball. He has had a good time. John takes him to practice every Tuesday and he has a game every Saturday. He is really good at guarding his man but he has not been able to score a basket but last Saturday he did. I was so excited that I did not video the basket going into the net because I was cheering. Here is what I have I know my Dad will enjoy watching this.
Enjoy our little basketball boy.

singing at the Utah State Capital

Emily and Michael are in the choir at Kaysville Elementary. They wake up early on Tuesday and Thursday and have choir practice from 7:30 - 8:30 am. They really enjoy it. The Christmas concert was so cute, I had my flip video ready and I was out of batteries!
They have been remodeling the Utah Capital for 7 years and they rededicated it last month. The choir from Kaysville Elementary was the only elementary choir invited to sing. They sang on the marble steps, it was so cool. They did a great job. I was so proud of them. It was an awesome experience. A man working at the Capital told our principal that there had been many choirs singing there in the past week and that we were the best!!
Enjoy

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day Everyone!
We had the worst snow storm yesterday. The wind was so strong that when I picked the girls up from preschool I had to walk backwards to get to the car because the snow was pelting me in the eye, I couldn't see! John did not get home from work until 7 and he left sometime after 5 this morning so he would get there on time. I can't believe it is the middle of February. Time flies. Emily has a Valentine dance tomorrow for all the 6 th grade and she is helping decorate the gym tonight after school. I am going to be a chaperone tomorrow! How funny.
Here is a video of Michael snowboarding that Emily took.
Enjoy.

Vacation in Washington D.C./Virginia

This post is dedicated to Jennifer Dixon. I hope you are happy.
This August we took the kids to Washington D.C. and Virginia. It was so fun. The first day there we saw the white house, Washington monument and the national mall. That night in the hotel John asked the kids what they enjoyed seeing the most. All three of them said riding the Metro. So, we fly all that way to see some history about our country and the liked riding the subway! We have taken them to Disneyland too many times. They need some culture!
We spent 2 days in Virginia watching our cousin Kyle play in a baseball tournament. It was so fun to be with Aunt Dianne, Uncle Matt, Nicole, Kendyll, Kyle and Kody. It rained alot but it is very memorable. We had a great time. The country there is beautiful.We drove in the worst rainstorm I have ever seen, I rode in the back seat with the girls!
We have made a movie of our pictures. Enjoy!

Wii

Christmas 2007!
We did a real snow job on our kids. All they wanted for Christmas was a Wii. It is all I have heard about for 3 months. I told them how hard it is to get one, they even saw on television several times how stores were sold out within minutes of receiving a shipment etc. I thought you would enjoy seeing them open their last gift. They honestly had no idea. They have had so much fun with it. John played with them on Christmas Day for 9 hours. The next morning John, Emily and Michael all had sore arms, Wiiitis! Enjoy.

Christmas 2007

Merry Christmas! We had a great Christmas, it was one of our best. The kids all slept in Emily's room. Michael woke me up at 4 am and I made him go back to bed, he came in again at 6 and I made him lay on our floor until 6:30.
Sophia got the bike she has been hoping for, Emily got a cricket and Michael got a RC Hummer. They were very appreciative of everything they got.
I have compilied pictures from Christmas morning and included some of the Christmas decor around the house. I hope you enjoy.