Wrapping up March

I've been a bit delinquent from posting so we are wrapping up March in one summarizing post.

J picked up Harry Potter and didn't put it down for two straight weeks!

Seven books and thousands of pages later...glad he finally completed it so that we could have him back.

Speaking of reading...we got back into a better scripture reading routine in February and I'm documenting that we are still going strong after the month of March.

Thanks goodness for a sweet 7 year old who is in charge of reminding us all!

C's "selfie" of the month.

Someone feed that kid!



 J's 3rd grade Native American "museum"

Is it just me or does J look like he is 9 going on 14 in this picture.

Rich's March project was removing a tree that had ruptured our water line.

Rich's words were something along the lines of not really knowing the size of a tree until you take it out on your own!



We were a day late in setting out our Oreos for the St. Patrick's day leprechaun but T's note of explanation worked and he the leprechaun still worked his magic and turned the centers green while the kids slept.

Love cheering on our Wilsonville Wildcat's all season - all the way to the state 5-A championship.

Spring Break {Utah} Bountiful Temple & random extras

While we were in Utah my parents took K and C, along with cousin Aussie, to the Bountiful temple to do baptisms.  Couldn't love this gang any more!

And why wasn't I at the temple you ask?

Because the night before I had picked up this pretty piece of hardware in my tire (luckily before I hit the canyon) so I spent the morning getting a new tire on my van.

All I can say is "thank you" to good Samaritans who stop to help a lady with four kids in her car trying to change the tire in the dark!

(and thanks to brothers who offer to come and nieces/nephews who pray for aunt Kath's tire)

These happened...that would be bacon and potato chips in a chocolate chip cookie.

There were doubters but my dad and I believed and we made them and the doubters enjoyed them just as much as we did!

Basketball at the church (and at the park across the street) happened every day. 

Grandpa was introduced to the game BUMP and I delighted in watching my boys and my dad play some pretty intense games.

Grandma hosted a game day with all of the cousins followed with dinner and an Easter Egg hunt.  I was too busy playing games to get any pictures during the games and I wasn't fast enough to catch any of my kids as they ran around the yard gathering colorful eggs.  You will just have to believe that it happened.

My sister-in-law did send me this fun picture of some of the post egg hunt fun!

I was 31 miles late in taking this shot - but my little Sienna Van passed the 200,000 mile mark while on this trip.  And she got a new rear tire to celebrate :)

Spring Break {Utah} Temple Square

 Rich's parents are serving another mission - this time in Salt Lake City serving in a role with the Young Church Service Missionaries, with their office at the church office building.

I was so grateful that they took time away from their busy schedule to spend a morning/afternoon with us while we were in Utah.

We went to the Family History museum at the Joseph Smith building and enjoyed all the interactive displays.  Aunt Heather joined us with her little Mathew and it was such a fun activity to let the kids explore.  It was fun as an adult to explore!  We could have spent more time there if we had had more time to spend.

From there we caught lunch at the Lion House before going to the Church History museum, where aunt Julie and her little Evan joined us.  So grateful for family making the effort to connect with us in our limited time available.  The kids completed a scavenger hunt at the museum, with the patient help of grandpa Dougall helping to find the last couple of items.

Following that grandpa had meetings and our aunts/cousins had to leave so grandma and I took the kids to Temple Square and the north Visitor's Center.  My kids have been there before but I love the spirit there and love to return often.

It was so great to see Rich's parents and I'm so glad that their location made getting to Temple Square a priority.  A great day all the way around!

Spring Break {Utah} University of Utah & Ensign Peak

 We spent our Spring Break in Utah and had a fantastic week with a wide array of adventures.

My parents helped J and T pass off a special learning target at school by taking us all on a tour of the University of Utah campus.

Show your Ute pride by showing your "U"

 (somebody wouldn't participate but he sang the Ute fight song later in the afternoon so I think his Ute pride came through)

 Love this entire group, heading to the campus bookstore 



 As we were leaving campus we saw a girl's softball game going on and so we joined the Ute's cheering section.  Funny enough, their opponent was OSU (Rich's alum). 

The home team won :)

 From the Ute's campus we caught lunch at a "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" eatery called "Moochies".  I can't believe I didn't get a picture of K and J and their faces (hands, elbows) dripping in marinara sauce from their meatball subs.

Before leaving Salt Lake City we took a quick hike to the top of Ensign Peak and enjoyed the view of the valley before the wind blew us away.

Go Cats!

I must begin by saying..."Holy Handsome!!!"

Now that I have got that out of my system I can give a quick recap of C's AAU basketball season.

For the second year in a row, C tried out for and was selected for the "A" team which is an accomplishment in and of itself.  This year the team had seven returning players and three new players  - and one returning coach and two new coaches - so it took them a few weeks into the season before they really found their "groove" but once they found it they really took off!

They finished the season ranked 4th in their league (a huge improvement over last year when I am pretty sure they came in dead last) and, for the record, they did beat the #1 ranked team and only lost to the #3 ranked team by two points in overtime.

They also played in three tournaments and they won two of the three.  The second tournament they played in (and won) qualified them for an additional state-wide tournament but they declined the invitation to state.

Individually C had to find his "groove" as well.  He has always been recognized as one of the stronger players in the past but with so many of his teammates hitting their growth spurts (puberty) since last season, it left C as one of the smaller guys on the court and he had to figure out how to play differently and find success differently.  In the end I think what made C most successful was his own belief in himself - with each success and good game, he would become that much more confident and he would play that much better in the next game. 
Hopefully by next season he will have a little bit more bulk and be able to play that much stronger.

This is this season's 7th grade A team (sadly minus three players)

Great Season Wildcats!

Sister Dougall...Portland Oregon Mission

Last June K had a friend ask her about our church and K answered her questions and extended an invitation to attend church and/or YW activities.  Nothing came of the invitation at the time and K didn't see Josie over the summer but with the new school year came the renewed interest that Josie had in learning more about our church, so she began attending early morning seminary, attending church meetings on Sunday and mid-week activities.  In November Josie began meeting with the missionaries which has been a great experience as K has been able to join in on the missionary discussions and we have even been able to host a couple of discussions in our own home.

This past week was the culmination with Josie being baptized.

And it was an AMAZING baptism!

What was so touching was that the entire program was youth from our ward who impacted Josie by being her friend and inviting her to learn more.

K and one other YW gave the talks.

One of the YM performed the musical number.

Another YM performed the baptism.

You can't tell me that these kids aren't amazing!

They are living good lives and setting great examples.

Josie is amazing because at an age when most youth are looking to test their boundaries and rebel, she was actively looking for purpose and meaning and happiness and she found the gospel.

Watch out world because this generation is pretty remarkable!

WHS Swim Team Awards

K had her swim team award banquet yesterday and the graduating seniors on the team gave all their teammates creative awards....K's was "Best Water Bottle" because she would take a 1/2 gallon jug to all her practices and meets.  There was even a photo of her water jug in the team slide show so I guess it was kind of a "thing".

K received the following recognition...

"Honorable Mention at State" for her 200 yd Freestyle Relay

"Scholar Athlete Award" for maintaining a 3.5 or higher GPA as a Varsity Athlete

and, of course,

her "Varsity Letter Award" for earning her Varsity Letter

K posted about her varsity letter (big carpet W) here...