Fur Rondy Parade

Like last year, we participated in the Fur Rondy Parade with Rilke Schule. We Started the week before by helping bring all of the straw (for the kids to sit on) in from Palmer and the rest of the week we helped decorate and laminate signs. On Saturday we all woke up early, got all of our winter gear on and headed to downtown Anchorage. We waited hours in the snow and the 20 degree weather for it to start. There were 2 Rilke Schule floats one with all of the school kids and the other with an igloo and some panthers on it. Braydon and Ethan road in the Jeep that was pulling the igloo float, they waved flags and tried to keep warm.

It was so cold my camera kept on fogging up

When the Parade was over it took hours to get warm again, it seemed like our bodies had to defrost.....even that night and the next day we were still cold.

Proud Parent Moment

Today I was told by another parent that her daughter was wrongfully accused of speaking English when she was suppose to be Speaking German by another little girl (I know it doesn't sound like a too big of a deal but it is to the kids). Between both little girls and the teacher they decided to ask Braydon to tell what really happened because"he doesn't lie".


Everyday when he gets out of my car to go to school I always say "choose the right and love one another" so maybe the words are implanted in his head. We are so proud of Braydon, he has so much integrity. He is always kind and usually makes the right decisions when a challenge is placed in front of him. When recess begins he goes and asks what he can do to help out (Shoveling the snow, putting ice melt on the slick pavement, etc...). We hope he continues being a good example and the caring person that he is.

Out of the mouth of Ethan

Ethan-
Mom can we get on a plane and fly up to heaven and jump in the water with Jesus?

(in his head he sees the picture of Christ being baptized.)

Ethan Michael Deeds

This is my favorite picture of Ethan.



Favorite food: Pizza
Food he hates the most: Hamburger
Favorite color: Green
Favorite place to go: Freddy’s (Fred Meyer)
Favorite song: The Bom Bom Song (Rihianna)
Favorite Primary song: We Are Different
Favorite game: Nintendogs
Favorite thing to do: Play the Wii
Favorite car: A Red One
Something he hates to do: Pick up his Room
What he wants to be when he grows up: A Chef
Favorite stuffed animal: Monkey from Grandma
His Favorite sports team: Chargers and Padres
Favorite T.V. show: Phineas and Pherb
Favorite movie: Madagascar
Favorite book: If You Give a Pig a Pancake
Favorite animal: Lion
If he could have anything in the world it would be: A Gerbil
Favorite quote: ADooh WHHat?
Favorite instrument: Guitar
Best Friend: Sammie
The chore he hates the most: Cleaning his room
If he could go anywhere in the world right now, where would it be: Australia
He wants to go on his mission to: Somewhere in the ocean
Nicknames: Goo, Goober, Ish Ganeesh, Eesse, BahindI Kindi and Bit

Braydon Matthew Deeds

Exhausted in San Francisco
Thanksgiving Day in Mantua, Utah
Easter2003
Disney World 2004
Fishing in Hagerman, Idaho
Earthquake Park when we first moved here
First day of Preschool

4th of July 2007
First day of Kindergarten
Favorite food: Spaghetti
Food he hates the most: rice and roman noodles
Favorite color: red, blue and green
Favorite place to go: Mountain Home, Idaho
Favorite song: Come and Get Higher by Matt Nathanson
Favorite Primary song: I Lived in Heaven
Favorite game: Endless Ocean
Favorite thing to do: Make up stories and stuff
Favorite car: Chrysler 300
Something he hates to do: Chores
What he wants to be when he grows up: Scientist
Favorite stuffed animal: Grandma Monkey
His Favorite sports team: Jaguars and Padres
Favorite T.V. show: Man vs. Wild and Phinnes and Ferb
Favorite movie: Twilight
Favorite book: Skippyjon Jones
Favorite animal: Moose, Jaguar and bear
If he could have anything in the world it would be: a dog
Favorite quote: Choose the Right
Favorite instrument: Guitar
Best Friend: Keaton
The chore he hates the most: Cleaning up my room
If he could go anywhere in the world right now, where would it be: Germany
He wants to go on his mission to: Germany
Nicknames: Brigadoon or "Brig" for short and Bickham

Ethan's 4th Birthday

Ethan is finally 4 years old and he is super proud of it too. Like Braydon, he also got to have his birthday party at the Imaginarium ( a science discovery center). Ethan chose the theme Creepy Crawlies or in other words bugs and spiders. Daylon was absolutely thrilled about this because if you know Daylon he just loves SPIDERS (pansy). Ethan invited his class at school, his Sunbeam class and some other friends, Braydon got to bring along a couple friends too so that he wouldn't be so bored by the bunch of 3, 4 and 5 year olds. All the kids started out running around and playing with all of the activities to do there; playing with bubbles, looking at snakes, flying airplane simulators, touching starfish....etc. When the party was ready to begin all of the kids went into the room and they learned about bugs. They got to touch Hissing Cockroaches and Stick bugs and got to check out a really cool Tarantula. Then it was cake time, which was short lived because playing was much more fun. All in all it was a successful party and the most important part was that Ethan had a great time.




One of Ethan's favorite birthday presents. He also got DS games, movies, a scripture case, etc...

Braydon's Art

Not only does Braydon go to an awesome school that teaches German he has the privilege of having a wonderful art teacher. Her name is Frau Julia, she is from Russia and is the wife of Braydon's former kindergarden teacher. She can some how get the children to draw and paint beautiful works of art. She brings a little artist out of every child in the school, from the kindergardeners to the 8th graders, no matter how much talent they have. Most of their paintings are hung around the school and down every hallway (hence, Rilke Schule German School of "Arts" and Sciences). Here are some of Braydon's art pieces that that he has done......and for a 7 year old I think they are pretty good. The pictures of the art didn't turn out as good as I had planned. The water colors are not as vivid and the 2D doesn't pop out at you like the art itself.

Every wall of the school is filled with art that the kids have done. The kids painted gnomes on wood boards to line the hallways and the stair well. On the main level the older kids of the school have painted huge canvases of famous composers.

This picture of the face, Frau Julia chose to hand on her classroom door because it was her favorite.

Tech

He finally did it.......it took years of studying, whining (yeah that was me), complaining (also me), and late night sessions of reading questions out of the PDG and CDC's to get it into his head (me again) but he took the test and past and now he has gone from a Staff Sergeant to a Technical Sergeant (Tech Sgt. for all those non military people out there). We have waited years and it is official he won't retire as a Staff, ha ha ha (that would have been pathetic). He officially sewed on his stripe Sunday, February 1, 2009 and on the 2nd there was a promotional ceremony that we all got to attend. I got a rose and we all got to go on stage for a photo op, the kids' favorite part. The entire theater of people even got a laugh when during this picture taking Daylon was trying to move his certificate so it wouldn't be over Braydon's face and instead he put it entirely over mine (yeah thanks Daylon). He swears it was an accident but it was so Daylon's nature to do that to me, so after the laughing and some situating of the certificate we got our picture. Daylon went to go stand back in formation while Braydon and I went to leave the stage. What? You ask? I didn't mention Ethan??? He also went to stand in formation with his dad which got the Deeds family another laugh, leave it to us to provide comic relief. It was the cutest thing though he was even standing in military form. We are all so proud of him and looking forward for testing, in 2 years for Master Sergeant.