Merry Christmas Time

Hello, All!

I was just reminded that I haven't updated the WHITESELL blog lately.  I seem to spend quite a bit of time on David's blog, but have neglected ours.  I feel like there are not enough hours in the day, you know!

T.V TIME.  Maybe I should cut out the hours of television I watch each night...oh, wait, I don't do that.  Hmmm.

CULINARY ARTS TIME.  Maybe I should stop spending hours and hours cooking each night...oh wait, I don't do that either!  Ha.  (One of the requirements for a new recipe I try out for dinner is "can I do this in 30 minutes or less?"  If the answer is yes, then I'll try it.)

So I don't have the answer -- sometimes I think the photos make the blog, so I do spend a little too much time with photos... my problem is, I get sucked in because I love pictures so much!  I start looking at them on the computer, and get distracted and look at others...then I edit a few that I'll put in a scrapbook page "someday," then remember another event I wanted to scrapbook.  Then 30 minutes are gone, and I still haven't posted any to the blog!?  Sigh.

I digress.  My point of this post is to say "Merry Christmas!" and let you know we are all doing swimmingly.  (Teresa and Frank have been coughing for weeks, though...the cough seems to hang on the longest.)

Update of recent events:
KARA. Kara would like to play high school tennis in the spring.  She took a camp last summer, and some lessons.  She may get into a clinic this winter, to get better.  She needs more practice playing "doubles," since that's what she would be doing on the team in the spring.

 She has been working hard in her classes, trying to keep up with the increased homework that comes with "being in high school."

TERESA. was sad that volleyball ended.  She'd like to play all day, every day.  We did watch the BYU Women's volleyball team make it to the NCAA FINALS last week!  Ok, so we lost the championship game.  But to even make it that far was AMAZING.

Teresa is in "waiting mode."  She applied to 4 universities and has been accepted to 3 (still waiting on her 1st choice, BYU Provo).  She got accepted to Utah State (Logan), Colorado State (Fort Collins) and University of New Haven (Connecticut) -- yea, Teresa!  But she now says that she doesn't want to go to New Haven.  We will find out about BYU at the very end of February.

Meanwhile, AP Biology and Calculus keep her hopping.  They cover a LOT of material in those classes, as you may know, from either taking the class or having a child take it.

Frank continues to work hard all day, every day to keep the fam afloat!  He's driving in to the office 4 of 5 days now.  The 11-year old scouts learn from him weekly, as well as the both of us teaching the "scripture mastery" day of seminary each week.  This year, he's also been on the Regional Executive Board of the Boy Scouts in this area.

I am still tutoring ELL students 2 days a week.  Seminary is at our house once a week, and they also just asked me to be the Mia Maid advisor.  That's Kara's class...I think she's okay with it?!?  I am also trying to phase myself out of Cub Scouts, but I have been helping the new people since they've never been in it before.  (14 Bears...Bears are in 3rd grade.  Yes. It's a big, somewhat rowdy group...)

FLORIDA. We're going to Florida for the Christmas break, or at least a week of it!  Frank's parents live just off of Lake Okeechobee.  If you look at a map of Florida, there's a BIIIIIG lake right in the southern center. That's Lake Okeechobee, and that's where we'll be!

I think we have family scattered all over the U.S. -- wish we could "teleport" and see everybody this week.

The kids at school get a kick out of saying "See you next year!"  It's kind of weird that 2014 is almost behind us.

Happy Christmas Day on Thursday :)

Kari