VVVVRRRRROOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM

Championship Run

Wow what a night! This is Jake and I's first pine wood derby. We didn't realize how much technology is out there for these little cars until we started to do some research on the internet. After collecting ouselves, we realized that we were going to need some expert advice on how to build a pinewood derby car. That help came in the form of a really nice man at our local hobby shop. He showed us the in's and out's of making a pinewood derby car and how to make it fast. It didn't hurt that he had all the proper equipment and offered to help us. He was really into pinewood derby cars and we really appreciated all his help. Thanks Dave

Taking it to the Streets!!!!!

On Martin Luther King day it snowed 14 inches in our neighborhood. It took the snow plows quit awhile to get around to our neck of the woods, so we decided to take advantage of this situation and broke out the tubes and ropes and pulled the kids behind our vehicles. Illegal I know, but no one else was using the road! I must have put 20 miles on the car as we drove around and around the neighborhood. The more we pulled the kids, the more other neighborhood kids wanted to get in on the action. It wasn't long before we had a line of kids waiting to take a turn. We all had a blast and with no school what better way would you want to spend a snowy January day. We appreciate all that Dr King did for our country, but on this day we thank him for the day off of school. Thank You Dr. King

Spelling Bee

For those of you that don't know Jayden is a major reader. She will read an hour each night before she goes to bed, and that is with mom and dad forceing her to turn off her light at the end of that hour. I know aren't we mean parents. Well when you read as much as Jayden does you tend to learn how to spell. So when her school Spelling Bee came around she was really looking forward to it. Oh by the way, Jayden is also very competitive. The school had given her a spelling list with over 400 hundred words on it and she had them all memorized. There were nine finalist in her grade and they all did so well that the judges had to pull out the second grade words for the kids before it got hard for them. Jayden did really well and finished in 3rd place. She was disappointed with her finish but took it in stride and announced that she would win next year. What a kid!

Christmas Lights

Every year just before Christmas we love to go down and look at the lights on Temple Square. There are a lot of people doing the same thing, but with all the family together and the wonderful feeling of Christmas in the air it is awesome. We really enjoy this little field trip as a family and look forward to each year. We hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. By the way since we are terrible at sending out Christmas cards please choose one of the above pictures, select and copy the following message: Merry Christmas from the Hammonds, and paste it on the picture you selected. Print and hang it on the wall, and now since it is January you can throw it away. Please remember to recycle - With Love, the Hammonds

The Greatest Snow on Earth

For those of you that don't know, Julie and I are fortunate enough to live 15 minuets from four of the best ski resorts in the country. I have to admit over the last few years we have not skied much, but now that the kids are getting older it is time to hit the slopes again. I got a call from one of my friends to go skiing with he and his kids and I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to get back on the slopes. It was 1 degree fahrenheit when we arrived and were getting our ski boots on at the car. This did not deter us, we had our ski gear on, a smile on our face, and most importantly we had already purchased our lift tickets. The sun was out and the lift chairs were calling us, besides it warmed up to 5 degrees later on in the day. Some hot chocolate at lunch, awesome skiing, and friends to laugh with made us forget about the cold and enjoy the best snow on earth. We had a blast screaming down the mountain. What an awesome day - thanks Patches