#49

Daisy had an uncomfortable Christmas holiday this year as she was suffering from a toothache.  She got in to see the dentist the evening of the 26th and who determined she needed a root canal.  YUCK!

#50

These are before and after pictures of Konner’s annual ‘get ready for football’ haircut.  Usually in the off season he grows it out but it seems this year may be different …

Ward Talent Show

The Karrens were on the hook to perform a talent for the ward talent show on Friday. Originally, Jeff was going to swing dance with his partner Whitney and the kids were going to do an airband performance. When he realized the Logan Tabernacle Organ Concert was the same time as the show, Jeff decided to go to the concert. The other kids never got anything ready. When I came home from work on the night of the show Dave had found a video on YouTube of some kids doing this act and thought it might work.

Konner really hammed it up and it was a hit. Lucky for us Salem had learned "Maple Leaf Rag" on the piano last year and was able to resurrect it at short notice. We recruited some neighbors to help and it was a success!

Watch out!

As of February 9, Jeff is a licensed driver!  He's happy to have some more freedom and his parents are happy he can drive himself around.  He better watch out or he'll get stuck with some of our carpooling duties!

2 Bee Sweep (again!)

Well, Salem did it again. He won both the school Geography Bee and the school Spelling Bee at Cedar Ridge Middle School. He had to go against 7th graders (he's in 6th) to do it. Last year he also won both bees at Greenville Elementary.

He's waiting to hear if he qualified for the State Geography Bee again this year. The Cache School District Spelling Bee will be on March 11. He's hoping to improve on his 2nd place finish last year. Way to go Salem!

Daisy in the News

Daisy's school was recently in the news recognizing how the students helped a custodian at the school prepare for her citizenship exam. The kids collected money, helped her study, and even helped with her work so she would have more time to prepare. Salem was actually involved in starting this project when he was student body president at Edith Bowen a couple years ago.

Daisy was interviewed by 2 news stations. The day before the ceremony, channel 4 came up to Logan and interviewed Daisy and 2 other students. The story was featured on the 6:00 news that night and on the morning news the next day.



The news crews also showed up the day of the ceremony. The kids traveled to SLC to attend the ceremony and support Vilma. Daisy was interviewed by channel 5 after the ceremony and her comments appeared on the 10:00 news that night (and ran again the next morning).



In Salt Lake Daisy was also interviewed by a reporter from the Herald Journal (Logan Newspaper). When she told the reporter her name, he looked at her and asked if her brother (Salem) had done well in the spelling bee. The same reporter also wrote a story about Jeff and his Toshiba project last spring. He told her, "wow, you're family is in the news a lot."



Channel 4 Story:
LOGAN, Utah (ABC 4 News)- A Logan custodian is realizing the American Dream after 20 long years. And in true American Spirit, it is the students she serves who have helped in her quest for U.S. Citizenship.

Wednesday, Vilma Valle will become a U.S. Citizen. “Oh yes. I wait for 20 years!” exclaims Valle.

She left El Salvador and her children, in order to give them a better life. “I no see them for 12 years. Oh yeah so very very hard,” Valle says.

But the students at Edith Bowen Laboratory School in Logan have helped fill that void. Valle says, “I feel they love me.”

“I think she's really awesome,” smiles Stuart Hopkins a 5th grade student.

Another 5th grade student, Daisy Karen adds, “She's really nice and always helping us.”

And that's why these kids wanted to return the favor. For two years they have been collecting quarters to raise money for Vilma's citizenship test. They've written letters to immigration, they have chipped in with Vilma's custodial chores so she could study and have even quizzed her.

“Everyone every day asking me a question,” recalls Valle.

That hard work has paid off. “I passed my test. I am ready for ceremony,” says Valle.

“She is the most wonderful, warm, loving person that you would want to meet. She doesn't take anything for granted. She's absolutely thrilled that the students are helping her,” says Joan Kyriopoulos, a 5th grade teacher.

Tuesday the students are all making posters to show their support not just for Vilma but for all of America's newest citizens.

Wednesday, with posters in hand, they will take a special field trip.

“She is going to be sworn in as a U.S. Citizen and we're all going to go down there and tour the State Capitol and watch her and it's going to be exciting,” explains Student Body President, Savannah Knight.

Karen adds, “I'm going to feel happy and it's going to make me feel good because she's worked so hard.”

Vilma has made a lot of sacrifices to live and work in America. In fact, she couldn't even attend her father's funeral. He died in March, her green card arrived a month later.

Wednesday, watch Vilma's Citizenship Ceremony and her reaction on ABC 4 News.

KSL Story:

Students help woman get US citizenship

September 10th, 2008 @ 9:14pm

By Randall Jeppesen and Courtney Orton

More than 1,500 immigrants living in Utah became U.S. citizens today. One of the new citizens, Vilma Valle, is a Logan Elementary school custodian, and she's thanking fifth graders for helping her American dream come true.

"When I see all the children, oh, I am very happy. I am very excited," Valle said.

Fifth grader Michael Harris said, "It's really exciting. She's been waiting for 20 years."

Valle came to America for a better life. For two years, students at Edith Bowen Laboratory School in Logan worked to help Vilma get her citizenship.

Fifth grader Jennifer Ban said, "We helped her pay for her test."

They even helped her study for it, sometimes taking over her chores at school so she could study. The students didn't get to go inside to see Valle or anyone else take the Oath of Citizenship, but they were outside cheering everyone on.

It's a moment the fifth graders won't soon forget. Fifth grader Daisy Karren said, "It's a really important moment for her, and I'm glad we got to be here." And it's a day Valle will always remember.

More than 90 countries were represented in today's ceremony. It was the largest Naturalization Ceremony ever in the state.

E-mail: corton@ksl.com

E-mail: rjeppesen@ksl.com

Salem's First FB Game

Salem played his first game on Saturday, Aug 16. It was nice to open the season with a win over Layton (20-6). Salem had 3 TDs. Here's the highlight reel:

Scooter Fun

About 6 weeks ago I splurged and bought a scooter. It's very fun and even gets about 80 mpg. I ride it everywhere I can and have put almost 800 miles on it so far. I even tricked it out with a cool chrome basket on the back and some Sky View helmet decals on the sides.

Now that I have my motorcycle license I've even tried riding Dave's bike a little. One of my favorite things is to ride side-by-side with Dave!

InTech Spring Formal

This spring Jeff attended his school’s formal dance. It wasn’t officially a “Prom” because students could attend with or without dates. Jeff asked Marquessa to be his date. Luckily his friend Walt has a driver’s license and was willing to drive.

After spending more than a few hours on the “Application to Date My Daughter” provided by Marquessa’s parents, Jeff was ready to go. He rented a Tux from the Kater Shop. He wasn’t into any of the trendy styles but instead was going for the authentic 30s look. White dinner jackets were not available in his size so he went with a black jacket with “peaked” lapels, a traditional tuxedo shirt with black tie and vest. He looked great. Marquessa also wore black and white.

The “day date” was a picnic lunch at Lundstrom Park. Shauna made the chicken salad croissants and the boys provided the rest. That evening they all had dinner at Iron Gate Grill before heading to the dance. Dave and Shauna happened to be out on the motorcycle that evening and decided to drive by to check it out. The dance was very small but looked like a lot of fun.

Jeff got a little extra mileage out of his tux by wearing it to church the next day. He looked great!

Konner's Pogo Stick Featured in Yearbook

Konner and his pogo stick make quite an impression! He took it to school once or twice during the year and his skills landed him a feature in the school yearbook.

Jeff Wins Toshiba Award

Since 1992, more than 220,000 students from across the United States and Canada have competed in ExploraVision - a national competition sponsored by Toshiba and the National Science Teacher Association. ExploraVision encourages kids to create and explore a vision of future technology by combining their imaginations with the tools of science. All inventions and innovations result from creative thinking and problem solving.

Last year Jeff worked with 3 other students to submit a project as part of his science class. The project earned honorable mention at the regional competition. That's what ExploraVision is all about. He and 3 other students submitted a project which received honorable mention at the regional level. Their innovation was a way to re-generate nerves in individuals with spinal cord injuries.

This year his group won the regional competition and was one of 6 finalists considered for national recognition. Their project this year utilizes electroactive polymers to replace damaged muscles.

A Toshiba representative traveled to Logan to present the award in front of the school. His team was invited to describe the project on a local radio broadcast as well as receiving coverage in the Herald Journal and the Salt Lake Tribune.

Jeff's already planning a project for next year. Hopefully his team will be one of the two recognized at a ceremony in Washington DC!

Spring Soccer

Once again we had 2 kids playing soccer this spring. Salem and Daisy both had successful seasons. After playing a year of competitive soccer, Daisy played on a "Rec" team this spring. As a result, she was one of the most experienced players on the team. I think she scored in every game she played -- often multiple times. One highlight was when she won the game with a last second goal. And she actually scored it with a kick-off! Her team was very successful and won all but 1 game.

Salem played for one of the only soccer coaches he's ever had - his dad! He also was a standout on his team. Not only could he score goals nearly at will, but he was especially good at finding teammates to pass to. Sometimes these passes resulted in goals but other times they didn't. In one case, the player he was passing to even tripped over the ball when it came to him because he wasn't expecting a pass! In one game Salem scored the teams only 2 goals - both with penalty kicks.

Our last soccer experience this spring was a fun one. Dave organized a team party for his team. We all met at the soccer field and played a game – parents VS kids. The parents won – in part because of Shauns's outstanding goal keeping skills!

Salem receives Hope of America Award

Salem recently received another award at Greenville. The Hope of America award is sponsored by the local Kiwanis organization and recognizes and encourages students who have demonstrated academic accomplishments, leadership and good character. A boy and a girl from each 5th grade class at Greenville Elementary were presented the award. It was awarded at a 5th grade assembly a couple weeks ago. Dave was a little late arriving from work but managed to walk in just as they announced Salem's name.

The Hope of America award recognizes and encourages students who have demonstrated academic accomplishments, leadership and good character. These students should be potential leaders who have sustained our democratic way of life and exhibited outstanding citizenship traits. Criteria for selection of a recipient includes:

• Capacity for leadership (self‐discipline)
• Ethical and moral character
• Academic competency (general studies)

Selection will not only be made on the basis of high I.Q. or academic achievement, but also on demonstrated leadership and character combined with consistent devotion to the acquisition of learning skills. It is our goal to challenge youths to excel in school and to dedicate themselves to strengthening their character and leadership skills.

Way to go Salem!

Visit from Elder & Sister Mansfield

We had a nice visit from my's parents over Mother's Day weekend. They traveled up to Logan after spending the week at the MTC. Saturday we all (except Jeff, he had to work) got up early and ran in the Health Days race in Smithfield. Dave, Daisy, and I ran the 1 mile. Daisy came in 5th overall and was the first kid to cross the finish line. Dave couldn't decide whether to try to catch Daisy or wait for me so he decided to stay in the middle. Salem ran the 5K and finished very well. Konner impressed us all by finishing 1st in his age division in the 10K. What a morning!

Later we made our way to Daisy's soccer game. We were a little surprised when only 2 other girls from her team made it there. The coach had made a mistake on the schedule she handed out. The other team had some extra players so they shared some with us and we played anyway. Grandpa took some great photos at the game.

Steve and Johnnie joined us for dinner on Saturday night. We had some sweet pork and then went downstairs to watch some family videos. We all laughed at how cute everyone was when they were young!

Sunday brought church with grilled chicken for dinner afterward. Grandma and Grandpa left for Vernal to make final preparations before leaving for Indiana on Monday. We'll miss them!

Family cookout

Last night we got the whole family together (that includes extended) and went up Logan Canyon to have a tinfoil dinner cookout.  It was one of those touching family moments with all the kids doing moronic (but cute) stuff, like putting soot on their faces to look like, for lack of a more politically correct word, Indians.  Things kind of wound down after a while.  Our cousin's friend that had been invited left, and it was just the family now.  We all did our own thing like roasting dough over the fire.  All in all it was a pretty awesome evening.  It is something I would definitely recommend to anyone in need of a good family activity.

Cool I have a Blog

Well this is Konner and I guess having a Blog will be fun.  I'm looking forward to it.

Family Movie Night

It seems like there aren't many activites which the whole family can enjoy together without too much strife, but last Saturday night, we pulled it off. By some some freakish cosmic alignment, all four kids happened to be around in the late afternoon and no one had any plans. I invited everyone to a Family Movie Night. I figured Jeff and Konner would find something else to do, but they were up for it. I chose the movie, War Games, with Matthew Broderick. Everyone seemed to have a good time. Watching movies has been a safe bet on many occasions. I remember having fun watching Amadeus, The Count of Monte Cristo, and recently the Masterpiece versions of many Jane Austen classics. I'm looking forward to another Family Movie Night this weekend! Any suggestions for the film?

check this out

check this out

P.S. I can blog.

My Bees

I got second place in the district spelling bee! I misspelled gorge and spelled "george". I also went to the state geography bee. I had a lot of fun. I plan on doing spelling and geography bees for a while.

Here Goes!

Here goes my first attempt at blogging!