Swimming in January

The weather has been pretty amazing for winter and I am loving it.  The weather is between high 40's and low 50's.  It so does not feel like January.  So Tuesday I decided to take the kids swimming at the Legacy Center.  It took some convincing for Tag since he feared it would be cold.  Once I told him that the water was warm and the pool was inside, he was so excited to go.  We decided to go from 4-6pm so both Gray and Nash would have an hour of free swim time.  They all had a blast.  I was so grateful that they could enjoy swimming and I know they will all sleep well tonight!

Friends Forever

On Saturday we picked Aubrey off at dance at 12:30pm and she spent the rest of the day and night hanging out with her BFF!  I love their friendship!  They come up with the craziest ideas like pretend road trips, going down the stairs on a sleeping bag, and many other crazy ideas.  They have so much fun together and always pick up right where they left off. 

Nash gets his Wolf

Tonight we had Nash's pack meeting for scouts.  He was super excited to go because he was getting his Wolf.  He had worked so hard and accomplished all of the requirements to get this reward.  Before they had him pin me they had him drink the "blood of the wolf" aka gatorade.  After he guzzled the blood he put the wolf pin on my sweater upside down.  The rule is I can turn it rightside up as soon as he does a good deed.  As soon as we were leaving and he held the door open for me, I turned the pin!  So proud of you Nash!  You worked hard and earned this award!

Luke's first sacrament talk

Today Luke gave his first talk in sacrament meeting.  He has the confidence I wish I had.  He spoke on the Book of Mormon.  He shared several things that can be learned from the Book of Mormon.  Then he spoke of the challenge given by Gary Stevenson to limit screen time and spend that time studying the Book of Mormon.  He shared the experiences that several teens had when accepting the challenge.  He then shared his testimony.  He said:

"In closing, I would like to add my testimony about the Book of Mormon.  Every morning that we read the Book of Mormon I get a better start to my day.  It helps me feel closer to my Heavenly Father.  It makes me want to strive to be kind to others and follow the example of my Savior.  I look forward to learning more this year as I read it with the focus of the Savior."

As he spoke I got a little choked up.  Where did my little boy go?  He has grown up into a very handsome young man.  I am so proud of him and so grateful for his example.

It is Finally Winter in Utah

We have had a very mild November and December in Utah.  I have been loving it but we have been needing the snow.  Well it started last night and it has not stopped.  There is so much snow!  I am enjoy watching it from the window in a warm home and the kids love playing in it.  They have been out there several times today enjoying the many inches of snow. 

16 Amazing Years

Thursday was our 16 year anniversary.  We had the busiest day full of work and carpool!  We managed to give each other cards and Joey made me a two cds.  I LOVE when he does this for me.  The kids were so sweet and made heart shaped bacon, a sweet banner, and left us cards.  So thoughtful!  Since we knew Thursday would be crazy we planned to celebrate on Friday night. My boss Jeff gave me $100 to Flemings and lower bowl jazz tickets for Christmas.  We were so excited and knew this would be a perfect way to celebrate our anniversary.  We have dubbed 2018 the year of cheap dates and getting out of debt so this gift was such a blessing.  We went to Flemings for our 6:30pm reservation.  When I made the reservations it asked if this was a special occasion.  I mentioned it was our anniversary and we were given the royal treatment.  Joey and I are not fancy restuarant people so I felt a little out of my element.  They all knew our names and knew that it was our anniversary.  We feasted on $50 filet mignon, delicious chicken, potatoes, french fries, and finished the meal with chocolate molten cake with two candles!  We were given a gift of truffles and a $25 giftcard.  So nice!  Even with the giftcards we still paid $62- ouch!  Quiet the spendy place but such a special experience.  After the amazing dinner we walked across the street to the Jazz game.  They played the New York Knicks and we had amazing seats.  So fun to watch the game cuddled next to Joey.  So grateful Luke could babysit so we could have this time together.  I do not know what I did to deserve Joey.  He is truly my best friend.  Life is not easy and definitely not perfect.  That being said there is no one I would rather go through the difficult and the amazing times with than Joey.  I love him so much and feel beyond blessed to be with him for eternity.

Best Brother

Lately Tag has been a little bit obsessed with the Nintendo Switch.  He wants to play it all day and night.  He is really good at it but it makes me feel nervous that he does not have other interests.  I mentioned this to the kids that we needed to focus on playing more with Tag and so he would be on the electronics less.  Harlee spent a couple hours playing chase and other games with him.  Then Gray took over!  They had so much together.  This picture is from them playing the game trouble.  I love that they have each other!  Gray said that Tag is his best friend! So grateful for the relationships that my children have.  So lucky that have each other!

Monday off tradition

Today is Martin Luther King day.  The kids were off from school and Joey and I did not have to work.  We asked the kids what they wanted to do and they unanimously said they wanted to go to Chubby's!  This is a Childs favorite especially because they have the best fries!  The kids were all so good and we had a very enjoyable lunch.  We came home to work on the puzzle again together.  Perfect day!

Great to be 8

Tonight we went to a program called "Great to be 8".  This is a special meeting for all of those kids turning 8 this year and getting baptized.  I cannot believe that we are going to get to experience Gray getting baptized this year.  He cannot be that old!  It was so fun to watch him get so shy when he had to go up to the front of the room.  What a special year for Gray and I cannot wait to be a part of it.

Family Fun

Today Harlee and I went to the outlets for a little shopping.  We went to a game store that was closing down and they had the best deals!  We bought a few games and a 1000 piece puzzle.  We decided to make finger foods for dinner- chicken fingers and mozzerella sticks and we sat around the dining room table working on the puzzle.  Alexa played us some tunes and we all worked together on the puzzle.  It was so much fun!  I loved the experience so much that I think we will go buy another puzzle to work on next once this one is done.  My favorite Saturday night!

She's 11!

Although we have been celebrating for days, today is Harlee's actual birthday!  I truly cannot believe she is 9!  What a beautiful young women she is!  It was so fun to spend the day celebrating her!  I surprised her and checked her out of school for lunch.  We went to Village Baker and had the best time together!  We kind of had a crazy night with Joey's meeting and Activity Days, but we found some time to enjoy Taco Tuesday, presents, and cake!  Harlee was so excited to get a baby car seat, stroller, clothes, and blanket for her reborn doll.  She also got some joggers, a sweater, some tank tops for dance, and a couple of shirts.  She kept saying "I am spoiled!". After presents we had cake!  I put the candles on the cake and truly had no idea they were trick candles.  Harlee and Tag had fun blowing the candles out over and over again.  Now all the kids want those candles on their upcoming birthday cakes!  I am so beyond lucky to get to be Harlee's mom.  She is such a gift to me and such a blessing to our family.  Happy Birthday Har!!

Snowboarding Day

Today was the day that Luke got to cash in on his Christmas present.  He skipped school and went with his group of friends to Sundance where he was going to learn to snowboard.  He had his lesson for the first half of the day.  His friends Mac and Garrett took the lesson with him.  Then they met up for lunch with the other guys.  After suffering through an expensive and not even good lunch they went to do a few runs together.  Luke had a bad fall and ended up being taken to the lodge on the back of a snowmobile.  It was super tough but I explained that it takes a few times before you like it.  I really hope Luke will try again once the soreness wears off!  I am so grateful for this group of friends.  They are all such good examples.

Harlee's Birthday Dinner

Since it is not a party year for Harlee this year we decided to take her to dinner as a family.  Since the weeknights are crazy with swim practice, we decided to go on Saturday.  Harlee chose to go to Pizza Pie Cafe and Gray was especially excited!  They all got ate so much until they were sick.  Nash ate 6 slices!  Harlee was given a pazooki to celebrate her birthday.  All of the kids were so good and I am loving how enjoyable it is to go to dinner as a family.  Can't wait to give Harlee her presents on Tuesday.

Lehi Swim Meet

The kids were a little less than excited to wake up at 6:30am on a Saturday to attend a swim meet.  They were excited though that the swim meet was a short one and it was at the Legacy Center.  All three boys competed and here were their times:

Luke: 100 Free- 1:17:26
100 Back- 1:35:54- he cut more than 2 seconds off his fastest time
50 Free- 35:26

Nash:
50 Back- 49:64
50 Free- 40:29- he cut 3 seconds off his fastest time.

Gray:
50 Back- 55:66
50 Free- 50:03- he cut more than 3 seconds off his fastest time.

So proud of the work and effort that these boys put into swimming.  I know that it is not easy to go to practice daily but the hard work is paying off.  Love watching their hard work pay off.

The Greatest Showman

With Harlee's upcoming birthday Mimi wanted to take her on a special date and they let me tag along.  We went to Cafe Rio for dinner.  It was so nice to visit and catch up.  Then we went to see the movie the Greatest Showman.  I was not super excited to see this movie as I am not the biggest fan of musicals.  However, I had heard that it was so good.  I was a little scepticle but as soon as the movie started I knew that I would love it.  The music and dancing were amazing and I was even brought to tears at a few parts.  It was so special to watch this movie with my mom and my favorite girl.  So grateful they let me crash their birthday date!  Such a great time!