They are the Champions!

It has occurred two seasons in a row!
The Hires Big H Softball team won the Fall League Championship!!
This year they went undefeated!
And their captain won the Batting Title with an average of .750!!
Way to go Pike, Schyler, Tim, Jesse, Cody, Rob, Craig, Jason, Steve and Tom. You all did an awesome job and we are super proud to be your fans! :)

Real Soccer, Real Fun

Besides getting free flights, and awesome dental coverage, one of the perks working for JetBlue is the cool Real Salt Lake stuff. First we got the great tickets on the 3rd of July with the fireworks, then I got two free tickets to any game and then last Tuesday I was one of lucky people who were able to go to a private practice, meet some of the players and have them sign autographs, and get free stuff. I was able to snag 4 tickets to this fabulous event, so who did I take with me? The little boys of course! Plus Lukas' soccer team mate, classmate and friend Keeton. The weather was perfect and we had a ball!

Fun In Wyoming??... Who Knew?

I'm a very patriotic person. I believe that we live in the most wonderful country on earth. I don't love however, parades, large groups of people waiting for a hour and a half, in just the right spot, to see 15 minutes of fireworks, then fighting the throngs of people to make our way back to the car.

I think fireworks are awesome, but not that awesome.

My poor, poor children had never seen a real fireworks show until Sage was about 9, when my Aunt felt so bad for them that she took them with her family. Then my mother-in-law joined in and usually takes them down to see the Sandy Fireworks.

This is not to say that I haven't been persuaded to go (watching your kids sell glow sticks, and coming back with 30 bucks, kinda makes it worthwhile). The past few times I've seen fireworks have been at sporting events.

On Friday night games, the Angel's always have an awesome fireworks show. They play patriotic music and it goes on forever! WOW!!! That's my kind of show, get a baseball game, hopefully win, and see some pyrotechnics.

Also think that fireworks that you buy at the store are so overpriced that all I can think is, "I'm literally burning $50 bucks!" Ouch!! Usually I'll splurge for sparklers. They're fun.
This year was different however.
It started the same. Let's stay home and watch fireworks from the library. No fuss, no muss. Then JetBlue offered 1/2 price tickets to the Real Salt Lake soccer game against the San Jose Earthquakes on July 3rd. Lukas and Isaac love to go to the soccer games, Stephen and I have never been, so hey, why not? Bonus - There was going to be a fireworks show at the end. A two-fer. This way we can have our cake and eat it to! I figured our 4th was taken care of.

Later that same day we got a call from our friend Stacey, who wanted to know if we were doing anything for the 4th. I had to be honest and say we weren't. She then asks if we want to come over for a BBQ - yummy - sounds good. Then she mentions that her darling 12 year old son (a professed pyro) has 5 years worth of fireworks bought 3 weeks earlier up in Evanston, WY, where they are actually legal, and did we want to participate. I thought that sounded like fun, but the $500 fine for shooting those off in Utah didn't. I suggested, "Why don't we go up to Evanston and do them there?" Bless Stacey's dear, sweet, heart, she totally agreed. Thus began the Best 4th Of July EVER!!

After the delicious BBQ (thank you Dad and Steve for the BBQ Packs from Hires Big H), and then a stop off in Park City at the Chocolate Factory for some "to-die-for" caramel apples. We headed up to Wyoming.

Coming up over the crest before you actually drive into Evanston, across the entire sky line were fireworks. EVERYWHERE! It didn't matter what direction you looked, the sky was lit with shooting light. We found an empty parking lot that looked good enough to us and parked. When we got out of the car, the noise amazed us! Pop! Boom! Crackle! Bang! You name it, we heard it. It was non-stop sound. If you wanted to see all the fireworks, you needed to have a swivel head there was so much to see. It was so GREAT! It made us giddy, and we just laughed right out loud. A LOT!

The boys were happy to join in the fray. Bottle rockets, Artillery Shells, homemade fireworks, Roman Candles, and tons of other things I don't have names for, were shot off. Happy Days. When a fireman drove by, and didn't even slow down, we knew we had made the right decision. Wyoming was the place to be. So now I will probably always have plans for the 4th of July, and if you want to have the best time of your life - You're totally welcome to come along!

Here's our video of the fireworks. FYI, it was way more awesome than this, also, we added the music :)

This One's for You Jen

What's better that friends, family and food? Nothing!
It's been almost 6 years since we all got together,
but it doesn't feel like more that day!
What fun!!

Watch Out Here He Comes

Well it's official. Sage is now a legal member of the driving community. And where was the first place he drove by himself? Mutual.
Congrats!

16 Years - How Time Does Fly

Sometimes life can just come up and smack you right between the eyes, and today was one of those days. Today my oldest child just turned 16 years old! I knew this day was coming (I did celebrate 15 last year after all), but for some reason I didn't think it would feel like my time with him was getting closer to the end. I thought it might feel like his other birthdays. It doesn't.
Today I look at my tall, curly headed, strange sense of humor, boy and realize that he will be leaving home sooner rather than later. I want that, I do, but I don't want it to come too soon and I don't think I'll have a choice.
So in honor of Sage turning 16, I scrounged around and found pictures of him over the past 16 years. It makes me happy and it makes me melancholy. I love being his mom.

Now here he is today. What a guy!

Rewards

Today is a GREAT day! Today is a reward for all the hard work that we've put into helping with the Draper Temple Open House and Dedication. Today, Sunday March 22, 2009, due to the broadcast of the Draper Temple Dedication that we were at yesterday, we have no meetings! Ahhhhh, it's a beautiful moment.

For the past two days, we've been back and forth from the Draper Temple, either helping with getting people to the Dedication or going ourselves. We were able to get tickets to be in the temple for the 8th session, and it was AWESOME! The entire family was able to go, no worries about babysitters or anything. It's going to be one of those great family memories... "remember when we all were at the Draper Temple together?...." type of things. We sat in the Baptistery, right next to the font, looking down at the oxen. I told the kids that they will always be able to know exactly where they sat for the Dedication, and can remember that great day every time they go do Baptisms. I told Lukas that in less than a year he'll be back in that room. I was so happy that we ended up there.

While we were waiting (and there was a lot of that), Stephen told the kids about the Jordan Temple dedication, about how he almost got to meet President Benson. Stephen has always had a love of the Jordan River Temple because of all he did when it was being built. I hope my kids share this experience with their kids some day too.

I hope my kids have the same happy feelings about being at this dedication and knowing they were in the temple with President Monson, President Eyring and Elder Scott. I hope they remember the sacred feelings while the temple was dedicated. I hope they remember that their Stake President gave the opening prayer, and that a woman in our ward sang in the choir. I hope they remember how awesome the song "The Spirit of God" is and every time they sing it in the future they remember that moment from the temple and get all tingly inside. I hope they remember how important tradition is and why we use white handkerchiefs. I hope that they always remember how sacred the temple is and that they all want to go there someday.

Holy Cow! How Time Does Fly!

I can't believe how long it has been since I have updated by blog. I kept thinking that I was going to, there are a lot of fun things that have happened that I'd like to post. But honest to goodness it seems as if I don't have any time. This is a unhappy moment for me. I don't like not having time to do what I want and when I want (whahhh I know). I never filled my kids schedules so that I spent days in the car driving them back and forth from hither and yon. I don't do book clubs, exercise classes, play dates (although I do do lunch when the kids are in school), my kids only hang out with friends whose homes they can walk to, etc. This has worked very well for me. I get to play a bit and work a bit and hang out with my husband and relax when I want.

Well something has happened. I seemed to have become busy. My calendar has all of a sudden become filled. Driver's Ed classes, YW and YM, Scouts, Scouts and more Scouts. Primary, Pioneer Trek, JetBlue, illness (not mine), Draper Temple Open House and Dedication,and a plethora of other stuff that that seems to just creep into my schedule.

Tonight I called a cease fire on my time, and am spending the evening catching up on the things that have seemed to go by the wayside.

Since Lukas' birthday in the beginning of February we've had some great moments in our house. Two other birthdays for starters. Isaac is now 9 and Sarah is 14.

ISAAC'S BIRTHDAY

Isaac's birthday was great. There was no school!! I think all my kids birthday's should be no school days, they should always spend the day with me. The sad part of the week is that Isaac had been sick with a fever for a week. By the time his birthday rolled around, he sort of lacked the energy for true appreciation of this great day. Thank heavens the fever had broken the day before and he was on the mend. As with Lukas' birthday, Isaac thinks that his birthday wouldn't be complete with out the Riley's coming over for a meal, so Saturday we had Isaac's favorite meal - hot dogs & chips & chocolate cake with white frosting! Yummy!!

SARAH'S BIRTHDAY

Only four days after celebrating Isaac's big day it was Sarah's. This year our baby girl turned 14! She is now eligible for Stake Dances, EFY and working over at Willow Canyon. In our effort to help the kids learn about money (earning and spending) we have had Sage and now Sarah get a job cleaning the elementary school. We get them their own checking account and make them reconcile their account every month. So on her birthday she was lucky enough to go to training to become a sweep for the Jordan School Distict. She was great and didn't even complain. She's been doing a fantastic job there ever since. Her birthday also fell on Mutual night, so Stephen and arranged ahead of time to have some pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting at the church for all the Young Women to help her celebrate. When she finally came home we graciously let her open her presents: HSM3 stuff; Twilight stuff; and of course new jammies. She is my girl after all.