Well, today is the 22nd of April and what a funny day it's been. It any given time that I would look out the window the scene was different. It went from fog, to sun, to blizzard, to rain, to sun, to hail, to light snow and back again. I actually thought it was a very interesting day, even though we're ready for some steady sunshine and warmth.

I think that kind of reflects the way my life has been lately. Most mornings I wake up feeling a little foggy to begin with but then I being to feel pretty happy and content with a sunny outlook, but then BAM! the blizzard hits and who knows what's going to happen next. Just when I feel like I have things under control, I realize I'm not the one in control.

We have been getting Seth ready to go to Brazil. We've just about gotten everything bought or collected. We still need to go to Pittsburgh to get his Typhoid and Yellow Fever shots because they don't do it around here. We need to go get a nice missionary photo taken at Walmart, although he's balking at that. And we need a few odds and ends. We took Seth through the Washington D.C. Temple (which I'll be posting about soon) and it was wonderful. So, for the most part, things have been just swell.

However, about a month ago, Seth hit a patch of ice on the road on his way to work in the morning and flipped his (Grandpa Phil's) truck on it's side. He wasn't hurt, but the truck was and the fire trucks came, etc. Well, since Brooke had wrecked our suburban in November, we decided not to turn it in to insurance and have Seth fix the truck the best he could. So, he did that, put a new window in, new tail light..... Got it looking pretty good except for a few scrapes along the side.

Fast forward to last Thursday. He was late getting home from work and when he walked in I could see it on his face. Yep, you got it. He wrecked the truck again. This time he wasn't looking and ran into the side of someone's car after stopping at a stop sign. No getting out of this one. Aarrgh! Teenage drivers! I'm trying to remember that I once was one. That's really hard when I know my insurance is going to skyrocket this time. Yay. The maddening thing is Seth seemed to be a really good driver and had a perfect record. We are thoroughly being tested this last month. But, he's getting to Brazil if I have to row him over by rowboat! I wonder if it's going to be easier to see him get on that plane now. Hmmm.

Making chocolate-covered pretzels

Brooke

Kelsey

Savanna

Karly and Kayla

This pretzel was picked the best.

They turned out great!

Hello world! This is Kelsey! It has been forever since my mom has blogged so I thought I would give you a little reassurance that we are all still alive. Mom and Gideon are at Jake's basketball tournament an hour away right now. So Seth, Brooke, Savanna, and I are all home. Our cousins Kayla and Karly are also here for Easter weekend. We just got done with a fun project, making chocolate-covered pretzels. They turned out pretty well! We'll be dying eggs later tonight. Hmm, that should be interesting with two hyper little girls and no mom, but at least Gideon isn't here! :) But anyway, this is how they turned out!

Ok, so I guess I went on haitus from the computer for the past month. Sometimes I feel that way about the computer - I just don't want to mess with it. I'm not sure why. I just feel this resistance to all this modern technology at times. But, I'm feeling ready to enter the waters again. So, I guess I need to add an update on our family:

Steve is doing the same old for the feed mill, but he has been gearing up to coach Gideon's Little League team. This is the first time Steve has gotten to coach one of the kids' teams. He has always been swamped with farm work in the spring. Since we are not growing produce on a large scale anymore, he'll have the time and is very excited.

I have finished up subbing in Savanna's Pre-K class and have started subbing in the school again. I spent a day in the high school office and really enjoyed that and a day with an autistic boy and enjoyed that as well. I've really been learning a lot about the schools and what goes on there. Our church has entered the Daily American (local newpaper) fitness challenge for the next 12 weeks and it has given us a reason to exercize and lose weight. We are trying to win the pastor's cup. I lost 3 pounds last week and 3 pounds this week, so hopefully I can keep going. My favorite exercize is Namaste Yoga on FitTV.

Seth turned 19 and has been busy working for a ski resort making snow but he just got laid off so he's trying to get another job for the next couple of months. We've also been doing a LOT of paperwork to get him ready for his mission. We got his passport back already and we have to go into Pittsburgh to get his yellow fever and typhoid shots. We looked up Rio de Janeiro on Google Earth and it sure looks like a HUGE, lively, beautiful city. During fast and testimony meeting today, he leaned over and said "In three months I'll be listening to testimonies in Portuguese and won't understand a thing."

Brooke has had an exciting month of basketball. They won all their District 5 playoff games to make it to the championship game last thursday. They ended up losing by 2 in double OT and it was a heartbreaker, but the best game we've seen in a very long time. They play a state playoff game on Saturday. So, that was on Thursday, and then on Friday her dodgeball team won a big high school dodgeball tourney, so all was right with the world (for a moment). The team was Brooke, her best friend and teammate Caitlyn, and three boys. The two girls were the last ones standing. Girls Rock!

Kelsey has also been playing basketball in a community league and they lost their playoff game last night by 2 - also a good game. Her regular season started practices this past week and games start soon. She always seems to be doing homework. She has a lot of it this year, but she always does well.

Jacob is also starting his basketball season. The gyms are all being used in the evenings this week, so his team has to go in from 6-8a.m. this week for practice. Out of all the kids, Jacob has the hardest time getting up, so it'll be an interesting week.

Gideon just finished up his basketball season and he's fun to watch. It's a good thing we love basketball. He's a crazy kid, though. Today at church, he ripped a hole in the knee of his khakis and then went outside after church to play (without asking of course) and fell in the mud and came in covered in mud. We had to throw is pants in the garbage and we're working on his shirt. (I'm shaking my head with a huge sigh. Sometimes that's all I can do about Gideon).

Savanna is a trooper about all these basketball games. We get home past her bedtime, but she LOVES school and always gets up great. She can't wait for kindergarten and asks if she can go next week all the time.

This seems like a Christmas letter or something, but it's what we've been doing lately, so there ya go. There aren't too many dull moments around here. And as my family laughs and oohs and ahhs in the background as I type this because they are watching Funniest Home Videos, I feel like I am missing something so I better go for now.....Bye

"Let's go Steelers!"

This is how Gideon and Savanna left for school this morning no doubt to join a sea of black and gold in the hallways of BBSD. Yes, the Steelers are going to the Super Bowl and boy, you know it around here.

I grew up in Montana so we didn't really have a close football team to root for and I never really got into the craze of pro football at all. But, that's not really possible here. We are an hour from Pittsburgh and we definately love the Steelers ("we" meaning everyone around here). Dare I say that (I'm whispering now) I don't really care too much and I can't stand sitting through a whole football game on TV. I actually look forward to a little quiet time somewhere else in the house while Dad is bonding with the kids. So, with that being said....

"LET'S GO STEELERS!"

"Brazil, here I come!"

This was a great day for Seth and the Snyder family. Seth's mission call came in the mail and we couldn't have been more excited! Seth had been threatening to open it without us there. I think he was pulling my leg, but I wasn't quite sure, so Steve confiscated the letter from the mail and hid it and we didn't tell him it was here until around the time everyone was scheduled to assemble. He laughed and said he knew it, he could tell by the looks on our faces.

So at 5:30, when the girls got home from basketball practice, Grandma Snyder came over and we had Grandpa Phil, Grandma Adele, and Grandma Rebich on the video phone and Seth opened his letter. Seth has been called to the Brazil Rio de Janiero North Mission and he reports to the MTC in Sao Paulo, Brazil on May 27th. It seems like a long time, but there also seems like we have a lot to do until then. Seth also has a great job right now and should be able to earn the money for at least half of his mission. (He is making snow for a ski resort from 9p.m. to 9a.m. with overtime).

Rio de Janiero sounds like a pretty dangerous city, so hopefully he won't be right there too much. It's at the very southern tip of his mission. Anyway, there's a lot to prepare for and look forward to and we are all very happy for him. This is something he has looked forward to for a long time and it's amazing how quickly this day has to arrived after I look back on these past years. Seth will be a great missionary!

My angels!

These are just some more snow pictures. The first thing the kids did when they went outside is to fall backwards in the untouched snow and make snow angels. It brought back memories of doing the same thing when I was a kid.

Fun in the Snow!

After a major cold snap last week (school was even cancelled on Friday because of cold temps), the kids were ready to get outside and play in the snow. They were all out of school yesterday, too, so it was a long weekend. The day was beautiful and the snow was perfect and they stayed out for a couple of hours or so. They decided to build a snow hut and I couldn't believe it when three of the big kids could fit inside. Brooke even went out and had a great time.