Christmas Around the World Kindergarden Program

Dylan's 1st Grade Christmas Program

Dylan singing his little heart out!

He got all the moves down!

He had a small part as a child in the program. He had to speak in both English and Spanish. He was adorable!

Jordan's True Love

I know that my husband loves me but there are a few things that I think comes close to me. One of them is shooting. To make his year, we took some friends (who also LOVE guns) and went to an outside shooting range where they could shoot all different types of guns and they went wild. Jordan was in heaven!!!

Jordan and Eric Billings shooting a couple of their guns.

Tara and Justice Renyolds. She understands exactly what I go through because she has a husband that loves guns just as much as Jordan.

Girl Power!!

Man's Best Friend

Luke's Baseball Season 2011

One of the things that I want for my children is to find a sport they really enjoy and can do well in. We have tried basketball, football, baseball and soccer. Luke isn't a big runner so both soccer and basketball were not really his sport. This year I thought I would give baseball another try since it doesn't require a lot of running and I think Luke could really enjoy the sport and do well at it. Luke had only done baseball one season through Syracuse City and it was coaches pitch. He was 6 years old and it really didn't give him a lot of time to get good at the sport.

One of Jordan's friends at work said he would be willing to coach baseball if Jordan would be an assistant coach through Syracuse City. So we signed up for baseball and had a pretty good experience. Luke did well and we realized baseball is a sport that he should continue to play. The problem with Luke in all the sports he plays is when he decides he wants to play well, he does. But, if he doesn't care then he mentally checks out and he doesn't do well. This is VERY frustrating for both Jordan and I and we are trying to figure out how to get him motivated but also to keep him motivated.
We also realized that this problem is not just with sports but it is in all areas of his life.  When Luke wants to do something or mentally decides to do something in his life nothing can stop him and he does it well. But if decides that it isn't worth the effort he checks out completely and it is a complete disaster. I wish I could say that we found the key to this problem but we haven't. We will keep plugging along and try different techniques but in the meantime here are some pictures of baseball with the Cardinals.

Luke throwing the ball in practice.

Luke played pitcher and did a good job at it.

In the dugout waiting for his turn to bat the ball.

Baseball ready!!

All geared up and ready to go!

Giving a little smile to his fans before a game!

Dylan's Baseball Season 2011

Dylan wanted to try baseball again. He participated in one year of T-ball as a 6 year old and hadn't played since.  So, we signed him up for baseball through Syracuse City and fortunately our neighbor down the street was his coach. He had a really good time and did pretty well. His coach liked him and saw some potential in him and asked him to be on his competitive baseball team the following year. Here are some pictures of Dylan on the Angels team.

Dylan getting ready to hit a ball out of the park!

Dylan hit the ball and is waiting for his chance to move to the next base.

Swing.. batter, batter.. Swing!!!

Dylan guarding 3rd base. He really wants baseball to be a contact sport!

The stance of a champion!

Face plant on concrete!

No, these aren't police pictures of Dylan after he got arrested in a bar fight. This is the result of what happens when Dylan plays basketball and messes around with older kids. One Sunday he was playing basketball with our friends Jake and Max Roush. Jake is 16 and was tall enough to hold Dylan up to touch the rim of the basketball hoop. So Dylan was holding onto the basketball hoop and Jake was holding his legs so he looked like he was flying which made him horizontal. Dylan was holding onto the hoop but his arms got tired and he couldn't hold on any longer so he let go. He went down and hit the cement face first. Blood was everywhere and his face was pretty messed up. 

I was really nervous about his teeth. He teeth were bleeding and his mouth was really in bad shape. He finally lost his front tooth that was dead from an incident that he had when he was one years old when he fell in the bathtub and hit his tooth on the tub and it killed his tooth. He had a brown tooth in his mouth for about 5 years and finally lost it and had his adult teeth come in when this incident occured. I couldn't believe it! He is destined to have dead teeth in his mouth! But, I took him to a dentist in our ward to check out his front teeth and he said he would be just fine. 

So, this is what Dylan looked like the next day! 

Aaaahhh, he has a face only a mother can love!

Easter 2011

Well another year is here and we have the privilege of celebrating the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. As always, we started off Easter Sunday with finding their Easter baskets that are hidden somewhere in the house. Then we go to church to remind ourselves of the true meaning of Easter. The boys get a new Easter outfit (they have always gotten matching shirts) and we take pictures of them looking dashing in their new clothes. 

In the afternoon we have a wonderful Easter dinner and then the annual Easter Egg hunt. The adults hide all the eggs with candy and money and the kids go crazy finding the eggs. To my surprise the kids want to find the eggs with the money in them instead of the candy. That is when I truly know that they are my children!!

Easter is always a good day filled with good memories, family, food and a reflection on how grateful we are for the great blessing of our Savior in our lives.

Until next year! Happy Easter!

The boys in their Easter Outfits!

 The aftermath of a good Easter Egg Hunt!

Jordan wanting some yummy candy!

A fake smile from Dylan trying to please a mom who is taking some Easter pictures

Luke discovering the treasure from his hunt.

Dylan doing the same.

The smile that comes to a boys face when he gets some candy. I love it!!

Happy Easter!

"We are too sexy for this post"....

There are those Saturday mornings when my kids are not rushing to get to school or are in a hurry to get some where and they spend their time doing "boy" things which always end up being stupid and meaningless. One Saturday morning after the kids had finished decorated some Easter Eggs they started to prance around and show off their "white boy" moves without their shirts on.  Obviously, they thought they were "it" and began to pose and flaunt their bodies by doing many different interesting poses. Of course, they wanted to me to take pictures of their awesomeness. So, here is what I had the pleasure of documenting with my camera.

Ladies, here is Mr. March. The man with the ribs and tattoos!

The coolest pose Mason could come up with!

"The Lady Killers".....Not!!!!

Don't mess with a 4 year old without his shirt on!

Don't ask me what he is doing in this picture. Who knows?

Hey there! You are a 9 - you'd be a perfect 10 if you were with me.

Turning Seven is like a piece of Heaven!!

                                                                 Dylan's 7th Birthday

The kids get to have a friend's birthday party every other year. They talk about where they are going to go for their birthday party for a year and who they are going to invite. This year Dylan decided that the big event should be held at Chuck E Cheese. He was in heaven!

The boys having pizza and having a blast!

Some people stay up all night and decorate their child's birthday cake but this mom picks up the phone and orders hers.

Being the birthday boy at Chucky E Cheese comes with some special privileges. Some of them are that you get a birthday crown, medal and you get a trip in the ticket blaster. The ticket blaster is a container that blows tickets in the air and you get one minute to catch as many tickets as you can.  Well, being the very clever people that we are, we told Dylan to get in the ticket blaster and start picking up the tickets on the ground first and stuff as many tickets as he can in his clothes. That is exactly what he did. Their was a few tickets in the cage worth 500 tickets. He gathered over 1600 tickets!! He was able to cash those in and get some cool prizes at the Chuck E Cheese store!

Dylan counting his tickets after the ticket blaster experience!! He is stoked!!!!

Some special treatment offered by Chuck E Cheese himself.

Say Cheese!!!!!

Presents!!!!!

Dylan opening up presents on his actual birthday!

He is excited!

More presents!!!!!

A Skateboard!!!!!

Happy Birthday Dylan! We love you!!!