March 2018

March is always a busy time.  We have family birthdays and an anniversary as well as the kids' many activities.  

JJ put together a group of friends for a potluck and to play our "vintage" How to Host A Murder game.  

Hannah has LOVED that our ward has a young women's basketball team and that the stake has a tournament.  Of course, our ward won the whole stake for another year! Back row: Tessa Chaney, Elise Johnson. Middle row: Mia Jensen, Emma Miller, Lexi Sampson, ? Foess, Mckenzie Olson. Bottom: ?, Hannah.

These weirdos have fun playing board games together.  I'm glad they have found something like that to do instead of sitting watching TV or video games. (Brady Bender, Hannah, JJ and Asher)

Don't let this sweet innocent face fool you.  He chewed up my favorite recipe book!!!

Hannah's been doing volleyball through Saratoga Springs this season as well.  She had a very good team which always makes the games a bit more fun.

Certain things remind me of my mom.  Using her recipe to make banana bread always brings her to my mind.  I love that I have her recipe in her handwriting.

JJ has been struggling with breathing issues this year.  He has asthma that is only induced when he gets sick.  This time it was a bit scary since his oxygen level was so low.  He was given a breathing treatment at the pediatrician that helped. 

Youth conference this year was in Moab. Lance, JJ and Hannah all were able to attend. Asher was SUPER bummed that he wasn't old enough to go.  As the group hiked they would stop at different scenic spots and have a short devotional.

While Lance and the older kids were at youth conference Asher and I went to see Peter Rabbit.  He loved it.

I take more photos of the dogs than I do of my children.

I had a great afternoon hanging out with my good friend Karen Smith at the Holy Cow Boutique.  Delicious big buns and conversation did not disappoint!

To celebrate our 19th anniversary we tried an Eagle Mountain production of Pride and Prejudice.  The seats were terrible because they were trying to make do with a wedding venue location for the production.  Some aspects of the production were good but some were really corny. 

He's so adorable when he has a fresh hair cut!

Not sure why we had the party hats out but of course we had to try and put them on the doggos.  Spirit would have none of it though! Jax was our only party animal.

Basketball is drawing to a close. The kids all really love it. We tried Saratoga Springs Jr. Jazz this year. It had its pros and cons.  I'm just glad to see the season wind down. One less thing in our busy lives.

On the way home after picking up Hannah at basketball practice I tried to capture the view of the moon. The phone just doesn't do it justice.

Despite multiple other events and car trouble I made it to Hannah's "Grand Concert".  She is in the highest level of Choir and is so grateful for her awesome teacher Mr. Johnasen who has made choir such a wonderful experiance these last two years.

February 2018

In an attempt to get my blog up to date I am going to post the pictures that I have readily available and try to fill in what I can remember from the different events.  I am telling myself now that I really need to stay on top of it so that I don't lose the memories!

February in Utah is not my favorite!  It is bitterly cold and so dark.  I relish when the sun breaks through in versions even if it is cold.

 Since we don't have a yard put in yet I've really missed seeing the signs of Spring that give me hope that warmer and sunnier days are coming.  In the last few years I have purchased these forced tulip bulbs from Costco and really enjoyed watching them bloom in my kitchen.  One of my favorite things about my new kitchen is all the windows that let in light. It really lifts my spirits during the grey days of Winter and Spring.

 After this basketball season, JJ will be too old to participate in the Jr. Jazz program that he has been a part of since he was quite small.  He really loves basketball and has learned so much about the game as well as how to be a part of a team over the years.  It was a little harder to be on a team in Saratoga Springs because he didn't know very many of the other players but he made new friends.

 This little guy LOVES to ride in the car - especially if we are going to pick up Asher from school.  He knows the way and gets more and more excited as we get closer.

 This little guy hates to be cold.  Sometimes the kids tuck him in- sometimes he wiggles his way down into the blankets all on his own.  He is a true sun dog!

Hannah is loving basketball right now.  She likes the challenge of being on a team and pushing herself to exceed her own expectations.  She is great at cheering her other teammates on as well!

Asher has made some great friends since we moved here.  It has been great to be able to have a large group of boys for him to hang out with.  Left to right this is Brady Bender, Alec Case and Asher.

This sweet pup loves to snuggle with his boy. Morning snuggles are the best.

Our cute neighbor girl, Alyssa Sampson invited JJ to the Sweethearts Dance with a group that included two other kids from our ward: Everett Whitaker and Emily Burdette.  It was JJ's first date so that is always awkward! He also didn't know his date super well but he still had fun.

 Dinner at Emily's house!

Spirit and Mouse are wrestling buddies.  This time Mouse got his toe caught in Spirit's tag.

To celebrate Valentine's day this year we went to Braza Grill Brazillian

Asher often struggles with doing LEGOs because of his color blindness.  This LEGO however he was able to do because it is black, white and red!  He has been doing the Chess Club at school so it was fun for him to make his own chessboard and then be able to play the game on it.

This is what happens when I am bored waiting to pick up kids from school.

I don't know why but the way this dog was sleeping made me laugh so hard. He knows how to get comfy!

The best part of Super Bowl Sunday for me is the food!  The half time show is pretty entertaining too sometimes. 

Asher's excuse to not get up and do what he was supposed to do?  "I can't get up Mom, I have the puppy on me!"