Basketball Season

The girls are playing basketball and they are both in heaven! They couldn't be more excited for practices and games. It's so fun!

They both work so hard and are great teammates. I'm proud of them for doing such a great job and look forward to more busy Saturdays.

Jenny's Braces

The day finally came for Jenny to get her braces off . . . It took 2 years and 3 months but she's finally done. Here are some fun pictures to remember the before and after . . . a little crazy! Where did my little girl go?The day she went in to get her braces on.

October 22, 2009

BEFORE

AFTER
The day she got them taken off (standing in front of the same bush)
January 18, 2012
BEFORE

AFTER

They look awesome! You are beautiful Jen!

We're so happy for you . . . We love you!

Top off the Night with a Jazz Game

After a basketball game, swim meet, sewing class, birthday party,

and last minute yard work before the snow . . .

. . . we left this little lady to make dinner

and we headed out with our tickets to the Jazz game

It feels good to be back in our seats . . .

one game down . . . 9 more to go!

Paintball Target Practice

Santa brought a box of 2000 paintballs and each of the kids a wrist rocket

this year for Christmas. So the day before the kids went back to school

we went out back for a little target practice.

. . . aiming at Osama Bin Laden, Zombies, huge elk

and our own family picture.

Bret was a good sport and added his backside to the targets for each of us to take one shot. Tyler hit him in the back, and then took off running for the frontyard yelling, "Sorry, Dad. Sorry, Dad". It was funny.

Shawn needed a little help shooting but ended up having a pretty good aim.

Jenny thought standing on a chair would help her in some way.

And everyone shot a couple over the top of the shed to Brother Blake's house.

It was a beautiful day to be outside and really fun to all be together.

Just a regular January day in Utah?

January 4th + 50 degrees + no snow = perfect day to take the dogs for a run

Family Pictures

It's one of those things you dread . . .

and it's a fight getting it done . . .

but it's always worth it in the end . . .

I love them, Mom! I'm glad we took the time!

I love you all!

New Year's Eve

The day started out with a movie. We've been watching the first 3 Mission Impossible shows with Jenny and Tyler the last 3 nights late . . . we couldn't help but see the new one on day 4 . . . and it was awesome! We all loved it!We left early so we could get good seats and it paid off. We were the only ones in the theater when we arrived. It gave us time to practice our "IMF" skills and crazy faces . . .

After the show we headed to Texas Roadhouse for dinner at 4pm. It was a little early but we were all starving. We thought we would walk in and eat but it was packed and absolutely crazy.

After waiting 40 minutes for our 15 minute wait Bret finally called it and we headed to Carrabba's. You can never go wrong with that choice . . . It was heavenly!

After a few bites of his spaghetti . . . Shawn had a taste of Bret's Sirloin Marsala and he was in heaven. He gave it a thumbs up . . .

But a thumbs down on the broccoli.

Jenny headed to a party later with some friends and we hung out and had Wii competitions. We're excited and ready for the new year to come.

Shawn and Soccer

We finally got Shawn signed up for his first Soccer team. We didn't know if he would like it but he's in heaven! He asks everyday when his next game is. He runs fast and throws in a few hops/skips and gallops as he goes. He is loving it!

The first two games he w0re white and they lost both times. He couldn't wait to be blue because "the blue team is SO good." The next time he was blue and they lost again :( That night he wasn't sure what color he wanted to be . . . he was so confused.

Back to School 2011-12

It came too quickly, but we're excited and ready. Jenny technically doesn't start until tomorrow but was asked to help with leadership for the new 7th graders today. So she was up and ready . . . excited to help. Tyler was up and ready with a smile on his face. He was excited to have me walk with him to school. He got to class about 10 seconds late and his teacher (which is the same teacher as last year) started teasing him about starting the year off being tardy. He just said it was his mom's fault . . . I was walking too slow. She laughed . . . Katy was up early enough to spend a few minutes with our new dog. She had to hold her for a minute and then she was ready to eat and jump in the shower. Her cute friend Julia stopped by to pick her up on her bike and Katy was off to get hers. I asked Katy if she wanted me to come with her since it was her first day, but she just said no. She was excited to go with Jules . . . they are cute friends. Tyler reassured me that he would go slow enough on his trike so he could stay with me as I walked . . . I love watching their different personalities on the first day of school.After I dropped Tyler off in his class I ran down to check on Katy. Probably just for a little reassurance for me . . . make sure she got there okay and to see if she was alright. She looked happy and confident . . no nerves on that girl this year. She's getting older and ready for a new year. She barely waved when she saw me peek through the door. I love her.

I've got a new excitement for this year at school. I think it's going to be a good one . . .

• Jenny is going to be busy with Student Government, and her classes are going to be a little harder then they were last year. She's excited for basketball and can't wait to see all her friends everyday.
  


• Tyler is the oldest in the school and he's going to be a leader. When I headed out the door from checking on Katy, Tyler was standing right there. Ms. Dennis had asked him to run the lunch money down to the office. It's good to know she trusts him and can count on him to get a job done.
  


• Katy's moving up to be one of the "big ones" at school now. She's ready to get back into soccer and basketball this year . . . no more gymnastics. She loves her new dog and wants to help take care of it.
  


• Shawn's going back to Miss Angie's for another year of reading and fun field trips. I don't know what I'm going to do next year when he takes off for the big school. I can't think about it . . . I'm loving the moments we're in now because we're healthy and happy and ready for the next phase of life.

We love you all!

Happy New School Year 2011-12!

Friday Highlight (Last Week of School)

Shawn's preschool graduation

Watching his cute face up on the stage while he sang and did his part.

"We're ready to gwaduate. We've waited so Yong (long)."

I loved asking Shawn if he wanted a little bit of a granola bar before the program started. He lifted his fingers up slightly and whispered, "Save it for Yater(later)" and then just sat there like a statue waiting for the program to start.

Watching him walk with his cap and gown to get his diploma

Thinking about how much I love Miss Angie . . . She has been the best preschool teacher for our family

Watching Shawn's eyes light up when he saw each of his Grandma's come walking in. He sure loves each one of them.

It was kind of crazy watching Shawn graduate . . . thinking he is my last one. I'm just so glad I get one more year with him.