Lots of exciting things that keep us hopping....

Cody finally took first place at the pinewood derby!!!! I have discovered that I am a very competitive mom when it comes to my kids!


Morgan had an exciting 8th birthday! We let her get her EARS PIERCED! She was so excited! I took her to get it done right after school on her birthday. She was very brave and didn't flinch at all. She said it didn't hurt. I also took her "girl" shopping. It was lots of fun spending the afternoon with my sweet little girl. She had a fun friend party and we also went to classic skating with cousins.



I took eight kids to Lagoon by myself. I must be crazy! Tom had to stay home and put flooring in the new house. Morgan danced and the boys brought friends. We had a great day! Cole and his friends went on the skycoaster!





Morgan went on the Colossus for the first time and was on the front row! Yikes!! She had a blast! You can see her in this pictures with a blue shirt on.



Cody played soccer the same time as baseball. He was a very busy boy! He loves sports!

Cael graduated from pre-school with his friend Jerom! Cael loves school!



Cole loved his last year in elementary! He had Miss Albaugh for a teacher and she was amazing! He loved her and his class. They played all year long. They went swimming, to clear creek, on a space adventure, played kick ball, had parties and a couple of BBQ's. He was really sad to see it end, especially because he knew he wouldn't start junior high with all his friends. What a great 6th grade year!



Cole earned money being a referee for pre-school age soccer. He earned enough to buy a new skateboard. We bought it on the last day of school. He was thrilled! His friends in 6th grade were really into skateboarding and so thus Cole now loves to skate!

Morgan had a great season of dancing! Their team earned several 1st place awards! She also mastered her roundoff back handspring in tumbling. She was so excited to perform it at the recital.



Cody played baseball for Riverton again this year and had a blast! He got the chance to pitch and catch this year and loved it. Their team took 3rd place. I only enjoy a good baseball game if my child is playing. He was also chosen to play on the Allstar team at the end of the season. Their team took second place in one of the tournaments! They did great and had fun! He had some really great coaches this year.

Morgan's Baptism

Morgan turned eight in May and her baptism was on June 5th. It was extra special because it was grandpa's birthday that day. There are so many kids Morgan's age in the Stake that they had three different times for baptism's. Our ward time was 1:00pm. I had to make some phone calls and get the time changed to 10:30 so grandpa and other family members were able to come to this special event. It worked out great because Morgan was able to see her friend Macklyn and they were both dressed in their white jumpsuits in the chapel together. After Morgan was baptized, we went in the dressing room and Macklyn and her mom were still in there. The girls had the same baptism dress with different shrugs. It was so fun for them to see each other. I am so grateful for all of the support of our amazing family! Morgan was so excited to be baptized. The day was very special! Dad gave her a special gift as well as an amazing blessing. We are so proud of Morgan!

Four generations.....

ITS ABOUT TIME.....

I was trying to remember why I haven't been blogging. It took me a minute to remember because it has been so long. But it's all coming back to me now. When I look back on my blog from last year, it seems all to familiar. During holidays and seasons we are so traditional and do all the same things. The only difference in the pictures from this year are that the kids are a year older. So ditto everything from last year... hehe! Well actually there have been some big changes in our lives. Last Fall while Cael was playing soccer, we noticed that he had a limp in his run. When we asked him if his leg was hurting him, he couldn't pin point where the pain was coming from. He never really complained that it was hurting him. We took him in for x-rays and the result was a hip disease called "Perthes." The disease is where the ball of the hip joint breaks down and then rebuilds new bone. It basically has to run its course. You cannot speed up the process. This was all to familiar to me, I had the same disease as a child. I never thought I would have to worry about this disease ever again. I wore leg braces for three long years. I was six when I was diagnosed. I didn't let it slow me down for a minute. The only thing that I couldn't do was jump on the trampoline. I was very upset when we found out Cael had this disease. I did lots of research and thought for sure he would have to wear braces like I did. We made an appointment with orthopedic doctors at Primary Childrens Hospital and they told us to have him stay off his leg until the appointment. My mom had saved my crutches that I used and Cael learned how to use them so he could go to pre-school. After a couple of weeks we went to PCH and the doctor told us that they don't brace anymore. I couldn't believe it. They said that they still don't understand the disease, but that over the years their was no difference in the outcome with those children who wore a brace and those that didn't. He looked at the x-rays and told us to come back every four months and have it x-rayed again to see its progression. He is suppose to avoid jumping, but we can handle that. We left the office and I looked at Tom and said "are you telling me I didn't need to wear braces on my leggs for three years?" Crazy!!!! Anyway, we have been back to the doctor twice and this last time he told us that his hip looks ideal for perthes and he still has great range of motion. We have been very blessed! I have caught Cael on a trampoline now that it is spring, but overall he understands his limits. He never complains that it hurts.




We put our house up for sale the first of July and sold it in October. We didn't have to be out until mid-November. We actually moved into our home in Harvest Hills on Cole's 4th birthday and moved out of it the week of his 12th birthday. Exactly 8 years. It was sad to leave sell our home, but we are finally building a new home on Tom's family farm in Bluffdale. We moved just down the street still on Nectar Way renting the Pease's house for those of you who have moved far away. Our new home should be finished the end of June. It has been nice to be able to rent a home so close to our old one, finish out the school year, be back in our old ward and stay close to friends.



Our oldest son Cole turned 12 on November 17 and recieved the Aaronic Priesthood. We are so proud of him! WOW!!! It's fun to see him pass the sacrament. He was so happy to be out of primary. Yes, he did get a hair cut.

ANOTHER GREAT SUMMER!!!

We had such a busy summer that now I am playing catch up. Morgan and I both had a wonderful birthday back in May(9th&10). We went and got glitter toes. Cody finished up another great season of baseball. His team took 3rd place. Cael played soccer for the first time this spring and loved it. May was so crazy with end of school year stuff. I was so happy when school ended. We went to the Sherwood family reunion that first weekend in June and had a great time visiting with extended family. We also spent time with my family at a cabin riding 4-wheelers. We went boating at Starvation Reservoir one cold weekend in mid-June. What is up with June and cold weather? We still had fun with our friends. Tom went to China for 10 days. The Chinese government paid for Principals to go to China and learn about their school system. It was a great opportunity! They kept him very busy, they were able to go and see the great wall of china and a few other big sites. It cost $5 a minute to talk on the phone so I had to learn how to text. With the time difference it was hard to stay in touch. While he was gone I worked 24/7 on getting the house ready to sell. It was a lot of work. I recruited some family members to help. We did it and it looks great. Tom flew in from China on June 30th and then on July 1st we headed to Oceanside, CA. We stayed in a beach house with Tom's family for a week. We spent most days on the beach and went to Knott's Berry Farm for one day. It wasn't crowded so we were able to go on all the rides 3 or 4 times. We had a great day! Except for Tom who dislikes amusement parks and lost his new phone on the log ride. Our trip was great and we wanted to stay longer. We all love the beach!!! We were home for one weekend and then Tom and I flew to Phoenix, AZ for a Principals conference. We stayed at the Marriott resort and it was amazing. We left the kids home with grandparents. I enjoy the heat so I was content on laying by the pool in 115 degree weather. We had a nice relaxing vacation without kids. It was the perfect vacation after a vacation. At the end of July Cole and Cody started tackle football practice and with that their is no time for anything else. It is 5 days a week 2 hour practice. We were able to take the boat out a couple more times on Saturdays. Before I knew it school was starting again. Cael turned 5 on August 27. I can't believe my baby is that old. We took his 2 cousins to the Kangaroo Zoo. They had a blast! We finally took off his bike training wheels a few weeks ago and it didn't take long for him to learn to ride. He got a new bike for his birthday. He loves to ride it! Cael also started pre-school and is loving it.

Fun, Fun, Fun... Busy, Busy, Busy...

We have had a very eventful month. It stared off with a girls trip to St. George on April 3-5. Morgan and her cousin Bailey had a dance performance at Dixie High School. We went to St. George with grandma Jetta, Haley, Sammy, Mike, Angie, Taylor and Reece. The girls did very well on their performance and had a great time. We shopped, played, and went swimming. The weather was a little bit cold, but better than home. It snowed on the way down. Morgan's team took the overall high point trophy for lyrical - "I hope you dance." Very exciting!






The very next week (April 8-11) the family headed to Las Vegas with the JHS Baseball team. We stayed at the South Point Hotel. This hotel had an amazing swimming pool. The pool area covered about an acre. The hot tub was huge. The pool was actually shockingly cold. The weather was in the mid seventies, but some days were windy and overcast. Kids are crazy and will swim no matter how cold. It also had a movie theater, arcade and a bowling alley inside it. Fun, fun, and more fun. Basically I was a single parent on vacation with four kids. But that beats being a single parent at home. We went to the pool every day, saw Monsters v.s. Aliens, went bowling a couple of times and spent time at the arcade. Cael became a pro at skeeball. We went to the hot tub at night and watched movies in our hotel room. Dad had a free moment and took us to watch the water show at the Bellagio Hotel on the strip. My favorite part of the trip was laying by the pool reading a book and listening to 80's music. We all had a wonderful time and the kids can't wait to go back.







We came home Saturday night. The next day was Easter Sunday. We had a wonderful Easter! Here are a few pictures of the kids with their Easter baskets. We spent the afternoon with family and the kids had fun finding easter eggs with cousins.












SPRING BREAK!!! We were home for three days and then headed down to St. George for spring break. Tom had a conference at the Holiday Inn. My sister Lacey is in the Dental Hygiene program at Dixie College. We were able to spend some time with her. We did lots of swimming and went shopping for summer clothes. We met my friend Sue at the water park on Main Street and let the kids play while we caught up. Sue and I went to Dixie together and even lived next door to each other while we were pregnant with our oldest children. It was so good to see her and her kids. The kids warmed up to each other quickly and had a good time. I also was able to see my friend Shaquel. It was great to see her again. We went hiking up by the Dixie rock and spent some time in Snow Canyon.