A first for Cam....

We took Cam and Bracken to the Draper Temple this morning. It was fun to see how excited Cam was to go for the first time. It is fun being there with the kids and helping them to see how much we enjoy being in the temple. The Draper Temple is beautiful and those sweet people that serve there always make me smile. I love hearing Will pronounce the Spanish names and see him baptize the boys, I can't wait til all six of us can be there together.

Seeing the big picture

Friday night Will, McKinley and I went out to do a little shopping. The topic of the kids Christmas Caroling performance came up and and I asked McKinley about Amber (a girl in her class who happens to have down syndrome). I asked how Amber was doing, she had a fall a month ago at school that really scared McKinley. She said she was fine and asked if I had noticed what a pretty dress she had worn to school. She talked about how funny and nice Amber is and how she is glad to have Amber as a friend. Then McKinley got really quiet and started to cry. We asked what was wrong and she said it makes her so sad when kids at school tease Amber and make fun of the way she smells, she said she tells the boys to stop but they don't always listen to her. We told McKinley how proud we were of her for sticking up for Amber and being her friend. We are so lucky to have our sweet McKinley!!

Christmas Cards

I am thankful for Christmas cards. I look forward to the mail in December. I love the pictures, the notes and most of all I love the people who send us cards. I feel blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives.

It's been a long time....

Keegan 15, Bonnie, Will, Bracken 13
McKinley 10 and Cam 12

I guess I should start with....we are all doing really well.

And I think for the most part we are settling in to our new home and getting to know the people around us. The kids are making plenty of new friends and liking school (as much as a teenager likes school).

Will just switched jobs at Overstock and is looking forward to the new challenge. He is teaching the 4 and 5 year olds in primary and loves it.

I am still working from home and getting use to not being at the school constantly with PTA. I love looking at the mountains and enjoy the trails around our house.



Keegan



Keegan is a sophmore at Lone Peak. He is on the wrestling team; hates it and loves it all at the same time. He is generally gone all weekend with freinds. It is fun to see him loving the high school expereince and strange to have him gone all the time.



Bracken



Bracken loves his new school and is making plenty of friends. He and Cam are working on a comic strip; it is all about making babies cry, strange but funny.



Cam



Cam is adjusting slowly, but doing well in school and loving his karate class. He is still building with anything he can find and enjoys exploring the hills.



McKinley



McKinley is ten and getting older every day. She is taking a tumbling class once a week and is doing fabulous. It is fun to watch her do something I use to love. She has some amazing friends that live close by...having lots of girls in the house is fun.

As the snow comes down outside I can't help but be grateful for all of our many blessings we have; a warm home, jobs that provide for us and little family. I am so glad I get to go through life with these five amazing people.

Wheee....

Will has been on this kick for the last month or so that he needs to get a dual purpose bike, basically a dirt bike that is street legal. He ran into a cousin at his family reunion a few weeks back that owns bikes and said he would invite us out one weekend to ride with his family. This past weekend was the weekend....dirt, dirt bikes, heat and sagebrush what more could you ask for. As far as my boys were concerned (Will included) this was going to be a blast. McKinley and I weren't to sure about riding dirt bikes.



Will took the first turn out and was more convinced than ever that he really needs a bike. Keegan was first up for the kids and he did great his first time out. The second time around he got a little over confident and went down in a nice soft patch of dirt. Bracken was up next, he was the first to crash but it was only a little tip over and he was off again. Cam stayed up both times and even went on a small hill. I should mention we had told the kids to stay off the hills this first time out. I was next and not thrilled about it. I did fine, but don't ever have to ride one again.  McKinley was the last to give it a try, she road around with Will on the back for the first little bit. Then she was off, up and down the rode she went. She had a few scares a long the way, but did awesome. The only problem was stopping for her, the bike was a little heavy for her to hold up and she tipped it twice on herself when she came to a stop. The kids all decided that riding dirt bikes a lot of fun and something we should look into doing more often. But, much to their dismay we won't be out buying bikes any time soon.

4th of July Fun

 

 

The 4th was insane this year....I can't believe how many fireworks were lighting up the sky. Thanks to the amazing deck that came with our house we had prime seating for the amazing display. We watched fireworks, did a few sparkler's and sat down for some yummy smores.

Goodbye

On May 2 we moved out of our West Jordan home. After 11 years I thought it would be a lot harder to leave than it was, of course we will miss our friends, our neighbors, the ward and the schools. But I was really excited about our move.

After everything was pack up and moved out and it was all clean the Greenwoods' came up to say a final goodbye. That part was a little strange, but okay all at the same time. We know we will see them again and they will come hang out with us real soon.

                                           Goodbye Kenyons Claim Circle we will miss you!!

It's Official....

It's official we are moving. Our house went under contract a few weeks ago and we are in the process of packing everything and making arrangements for temporary housing. It has been a crazy few weeks and I think it is about to get a little bit worse. We close on May 2 and have to be out on the 3, that leaves me with 10 days left to get everything packed and find a new house.

On a side note, we had a great trip to California!

March

It's the last day in March and the sun is shining down finally. The kids are at the park having a picnic and I am trying to get some work done before April consumes my life.

March finally came and flew by very quickly for us. My mom came home on the 13th, Cam got braces and Will had a fun trip to New Orleans.

And today the last day of the month we excepted an offer on our house. It looks like we will be moving around the 22 of April. Which means we will have lived in our house 11 years and 7 days and we thought we would only be here for 5 years. For the most part we are all excited about this change in our life, but I think we are all a little anxious.

February is all done!

February was a long month for me....it seemed like we had a lot going on and everytime I turned around something else was coming up. March doesn't look much calmer, but we have seen the sun and now we have a little rain to help my bulbs push through the ground. My trees are even budding!!

Speaking of budding, Keegan is growing like the weeds I didn't pull from my flower garden last fall. He has grown an inch in the last six months and I am hoping that he will grow twice that in the next six. Outside of replacing all of his pants and shorts, I am not seeing a downside to it. Keegan also had his school musical in February, after two long months of practicing it turned out great. He was terrific!! And made us proud as always. He has also been asked to serve as Seminary class President and the Teachers Quorum 2nd Counselor. He also finished up ref'ing for Jr. Jazz. He really loved it and I am kicking myself for not ever going and taking pictures of him doing it.

Bracken is a serious little student, he likes to have his homework done and get great grades. He is really liking his art class and is looking for to 3-D Design next year. He has enjoyed hanging out with his friend Nate constantly over the last few months. Sometimes it feels like we have a 4th son around here (which is fine with me). Track and tennis can't start soon enough and if he gets his way he will be playing soccer in the fall.

Cam is getting so big. He had his top braces put on last month and will get the bottoms on in a few weeks. He is still interested in building things and want to photography classes this summer. Maybe he can talk his nana into the classes with him. He will be starting swim lessons in a few months and running the neighborhood with his friends. Cam is still quite the funny man, he recently put together a petition to have school started earlier so he could have more time after school to do what he wants. It will be fun to hear what  comes of it.

McKinley is beginning to look really big or old. I don't know what it is about turning ten but the little girl look is leaving and a new older girl is arriving. It is fun to watch her change, but I am sad to see my little one disappear before my eyes. She is looking forward to going to a week long camp with her friend Emma this summer. They will be kayaking, swimming, riding horses and doing other camp stuff. She is very excited and I am happy for her to have this experience, but a little scared too.

Will and I are still planning our Texas trip...still because i need to get on and but the tickets! I just finished the planning of the family trip that we moved up to April to save on gas and hotel prices. I can wait to be in sunny, Southern California for 9 days. We will be going to see the Tolley's for a few days and then spend the rest of time with the Whitworth's. It should be a great time!

A look at the Year Ahead

January is dragging by and I am already done with it! Usually, I don't mind January and all the dreariness that surrounds it, but this year I am tired of the cold, tired of the gray skies (I did enjoy the sun today though), tired of the snow and tired of the closed in feeling that winter brings. So, I decided today to think about what I am looking forward to this year and make myself a Top 10 List for the year.

1. Getting our taxes back, because I feel rich for a few days.
2. My mom coming home from New Zealand, it has been a long 4 1/2 months without her.
3. The crocuses blooming in my front flower bed and then the daffodils and tulips. Who can feel dreary with flowers bursting through the ground
4. Keegan turning 15 and getting his learners permit. I really am excited about this, it will be fun to watch him and another milestone in his life.
5. Women's Conference at BYU (April 28-29). If you haven't gone before you should and if you are going let me know.
6. School getting out for the summer, I love days at the pool and lake with my kids. I like feeling warm and not wearing shoes!
7. A surprise vacation with my family to the World's Happiest Place in June. Okay, only a surprise if we can keep it from them, so sHHHHH!
8. BYU Football Season, because watching a football game with my whole family makes me happy and reminds me of my late father-in-law. I love the tradition of it and I love those fall days in a football stadium.
9. School staring back up; one in high school, one in middle school and two in elementary. Lets be real, who isn't excited after a long summer off!
10. Going to Austin, Texas for our anniversary to watch BYU play Texas.

Just thinking of all those things makes me happy and got me a few more minutes closer to February.

Blogging

The other day I read an article on Mormon Blogs, it was written by a woman who claims to be an atheist, a feminist and someone who is addicted to Mormon Blogs. She sites why she loves to read them and she wonders if their lives are as perfect as they seem. I wonder why some who claims to not believe in God, who thinks women need to work to feel useful and doesn't want kids would be so driven to peak into the lives of these families. I wonder if deep down she is seeking for something more in life than herself.

I myself must admit I read NieNie's blog every day before I get dressed, eat breakfast or send my kids out the door to school. I look forward to her positive outlook on life, when life isn't very kind to her right now. I appreciate her quirky style (okay, quirky to me), her love for photography, I love the way she loves her family, her quickness to point out her own faults and I love the way she loves the Lord.

I have a few things in common with NieNie; I have kids, I am Mormon and I know what I do at home is important. I find that these things fill my life with much joy and laughter. I could post on my blog stressful situations or rough days with the kids, but who wants to be invited to my pity party. I hope those who stop by to see what we are doing enjoy seeing my family grow and change and get a glimpse of who we are and what we love.

I hope that the woman who wrote the article I read finds the joy and happiness her soul is searching for and will embrace it when it comes. I also hope she realizes that most of the Mormon Mommy Bloggers do have bad days, but that they choose to not to share those.

I am sure glad I came upon this article, because it makes me want to blog more on what is happening in our daily lives....so I guess I should say I am sorry right know....you may soon learn more about us than you ever wanted too!

Sing-A-Long

These girls are crazy!

Who doesn't love to sing Christmas Carols at the top of their lungs with 15000 other people. It wouldn't be Christmas time without a trip downtown to sing at the Energy Solution Christmas Sing-a-long and a trip to Temple Square. This year we were joined by the Whitworth's (BTW, I love having them back in Utah) and I hope they had as much fun as we did.

 

 

Marci and Ellie



If there is a camera Abby and McKinley will find it!

 

The Wright and Whitworth Crew






Christmas Traditions.

I love Christmas Traditions, I love the way my calendar feels up and all the late nights of family fun. Sometimes I wish we did fun things all the time, but I am sure we would be exhausted and it wouldn't hold the same appeal.

 

Winder Dairy is always at the top of our to do list, we love the scones and chocolate milk. We love going there because it is what we have been doing for years and years. This year the Whitworth's joined us, find seats for 13 was kind of a joke, but it was fun!