RSL Game - Labor Day Wknd 2012

Our last "hurrah" of the summer. The kids start to get really busy with their after-school activities next week and in just a couple of weeks Garrett will be starting his college courses in computer programming. One last bit of fun before all the craziness truly begins. Garrett and I were THRILLED when our good friends, Chris and Jamie, offered us their tickets for the RSL game on Saturday. They were going to be out of town, lucky ducks are in London :), and they didn't want their tickets going to waste. Knowing how much we love to attend the games, they were kind enough to give us their tickets. We can never say thank you enough times to them, WE LOVE YOU GUYS!

Because we didn't have the kids with us this time, we didn't have any reason to attend the pre-game carnival so instead we just decided to go in the stadium as soon as the gates were opened. This gave us the chance to watch the team doing their pre-game warm-ups. So much fun!

Our friends have great seats, and I'm not going to lie, it is SOOOO much fun being that close to all the action.

One of the things that was pretty cool, is that before the game while the team is warming up, one of the Real players was talking to some of the kids and giving them his autograph.......

We love you Luis Gil! We were fans of yours before.....but your character was shown in how you were treating and interacting with these kids.....Our respect for you went up even more after this!

So the weather unfortunately wasn't that great during the game....and after only 3 mins and 15 secs into the match, the officials called a game delay due to the lightning that was striking close to the stadium.

Garrett and I were part of those CRAZY fans who didn't seek shelter from the rain......we patiently sat in our seats, getting rained on, waiting for the team to come back out on the field. There was NO WAY we were leaving!

As the major storm cell started to pass, at least the lightning, we caught a rainbow peaking out over the stadium.

After over an 80 minute delay, the team came back out for another pre-game warm-up, and then the match resumed. It continued to rain throughout most of the match, but like I said before, we weren't going anywhere! Yes, I became one of those crazy fans you see on T.V. who you wonder why in the blazes they are out there in the cold cheering on their team! We had a great time, in spite of the rain. Real won their game, and it was SOOOO much fun! This is the last game of the season that we will get to attend, but you can bet we will be to even more next year. Until then, we will be cheering them on from home, along with our kids! Here's to a great season and upcoming playoffs. RSLTID!!!!!!!

Summer fun 2012

Wow! What a crazy, busy summer we had this year. Logan and Alaina didn't have to wait long after school and dance finished up for the year before they had plenty of things to keep them busy until the start of school again. In May, before the end of school, we took the kids to the Museum of Idaho's exhibit of "A T.Rex named Sue." The kids had a lot of fun seeing all the dinosaurs and their bones.

I think they were shocked to see just how big these things really were. Garrett and Logan also went on their annual Father/Son soccer game weekend with my brother Wade and nephew Warren. This is the 3rd year in a row they have had this weekend and they all look forward to it every year.

Starting in June, both kids were busy with baseball/Tball. This was Logan's second year playing and he did really well. MUCH MUCH improved from last year. He had a great time and was lucky to be on a team with kids he already knew from school and church. June also brought Garrett and I to Salt Lake to attend the Real Salt Lake soccer game with our great friends, Chris and Jamie. Sadly RSL lost this game, but as always it was exciting and so much fun. Logan started into two new activities this summer; piano and karate. We have been super fortunate that he has great instructors for both. I can't believe how quickly he has taken to the piano. Within only 4 short weeks of starting lessons, not only was Logan ready for the piano recital that he is teacher was having, but he had both of his songs memorized. He did really well, and he has continued to excel.

With karate he has really done well also. He has great instructors who teach him the importance of respect and control: control of yourself and your temper. The better he gets with his karate the more self-confidence I see in him. Alaina loved T-ball and this was her first year. She had great coaches and she made some great friends on her team. She really had a lot of fun playing and she is looking forward to next year.

July was a mixture of emotions for sure. Garrett's grandmother passed away after battling with ovarian cancer. It was a really tough time for the family, but was a blessing to have her be out of her pain. She was truly an elect lady, and was always very sensitive to the needs of those around her. I am thankful for the knowledge of eternal families. That knowledge has been a great comfort to all the family. Barbra loved the 4th of July, it was one of her favorite holidays. She loved having the family together for picnics and the fireworks. The timing of her passing made it possible for all for all of the family to be together over the 4th, one last time. During this time of heartache was also a time of joy. We were blessed to have all of Garrett's family up for the funeral, and he was able to have some much needed brotherly time. The kids were able to play and have fun with their cousins at grandma's and built some great memories. July also brought more fun times for the kids. Logan and Alaina were able to take 2 sessions of swimming lessons, which they both did really well with this year. They worked hard, listed to their teachers, and made great progress this year.

The end of July was Garrett and my 10th wedding anniversary. We were able as a whole family to go down to attend another Real Salt Lake soccer game with our friends Chris and Jamie. This was Alaina's first time getting to go and she was so excited.

Thankfully Real won this game, and we all had a great time.

"If you believe, then just stand up on your feet and shout it loud, REAL! Here at the RioT the battle hymns begun, we're here for R S L!"

We are big time Kyle Beckerman fans (he's the team captain for Real), but Alaina LOVES Beckerman. She watches with us when we watch them on T.V. and loves watching Beckerman and her other favorite player Alvaro Saborio. She was ecstatic to see them in person. Beckerman keeps his hair in dreadlocks, and Alaina wanted her hair like his. So before we headed down I put her hair into multiple little braids all over her head. I think we had 25 braids when it was all said and done with.

August was pretty laid back. Logan was still busy with Cub Scouts, piano, and Karate; but overall they were able to just enjoy the rest of their summer playing before the back-to-school madness began. They are both happy to be back in school and to be seeing all of their friends.

They have been lucky, especially Alaina, to have super teachers this year. I can't believe Logan is in 3rd and Alaina is in 1st. It is going by so quickly!

September is almost here and the kids will be starting dance classes again. Logan is going to be taking a hip/hop class again, while Alaina will be starting baton this year in addition to her ballet/clogging/jazz class. I will be volunteering at the kids school in their classrooms as well as helping out with the PTO. Garrett is starting a new adventure as well in September. He will be taking a computer programming course, the first of many for him.

Dance Recital 2012 - Global Rhythm

Can't believe another dance recital has come and gone. This dance year has gone by so fast! I am always amazed at how much the kids learn and grow over that period of time from September to April. They both worked really hard, learned a lot, and did a great job at their recital. Alaina was in 3 dances this year; ballet, clogging, and jazz. Logan was in 2 hip/hop dances.

Alaina: Rio - clogging, One World - ballet, and Let's Get Crazy - jazz

Logan: Let's Get it Started (football jersey's) and Transformers (Optimus Prime)

It's Great to be 8..........Logan's Baptism

On April 7, 2012 Logan was baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He was baptized and confirmed by Garrett. It was a beautiful day. I am so grateful for Logan's choice to be baptized. He is such a great kid! We were lucky to have friends and family with us to share in this special day!

Logan's 8th Birthday!

What an exciting birthday for Logan. He is so happy about turning 8 and his upcoming baptism into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. One of the other fun things he is excited about is that he started Cub Scouts. This will be SO good for him and even though he has only been to one activity, he had a BLAST! We promised Logan that when he turned 8 he could start Karate. So, on his birthday, he got to go for the first time. We are super happy to be able to get him probably the best instructor around in Jared Emfield. Garrett and Jared are and have been friends for many years. In fact, Garrett first learned karate from Jared. So excited for him because this will be great for his self-confidence, motor skills, and physical fitness. Logan has been doing a hip-hop dance class this year, but that will come to an end in April so I am happy he will have Karate and Scouts to keep him busy. Once summer hits then he will also have baseball and swimming lessons to add to his activity list. SHEESH! Can't believe how busy his life just got!

For his birthday he had a party at Leo's on Saturday. He had 2 of his best friends there, Tyson and Ian. Those boys had a BLAST! I'm not sure who was more worn out, the kids or Garrett from trying to keep up with them and help them with their arcade games and ticket redemption.

And of course, Alaina and Mia were there too having as much or more fun than those nasty boys!

The Phineas and Ferb birthday cake! Logan absolutely LOVES this show!

And who can forget the presents!

Logan's actual birthday was on Tuesday, March 13th. We had a small family party for him. The Phineas and Ferb cake met with tragedy the day before Logan's birthday.....thanks to a 2 year old little brother. So I had to come up with a plan B. Thankfully it turned out pretty well!

Logan loves the Real Salt Lake professional soccer team. He and Garrett go to a game every year as their father-son outing. He LOVED this soccer cake we did for him!

Presents, presents, and more presents! And of course, what would be a Logan birthday without some kind of Star Wars involved..........

What a spoiled boy....but we love him!

It's birthday cake time!

Close your eyes! Make a wish!

Any guesses on what he wished for???????