odds and ends...

There is so much I'd like to blog about, but I feel like I'm barely keeping my head above water just LIVING all of these experiences each day. Maybe someday when things slow down I'll go back in time and archive more of these event.

For now, I'm just going to post a smattering of fun pictures and events that have happened in the last 6 months or so. Enjoy!

 Ty was introduced to the sport of Lacrosse this spring by a good friend and instantly became a fan. It is part hockey, part football and very fast paced and physical. What's not to love about it? 

 Grant graduated from preschool in May 2012. Here he is with Ms. Angie.

This preschool was nicknamed "the farm" preschool and it's name did not disappoint. 

Everyday he got to help feed the goats and chickens, go for a hike through the woods and climb the best climbing tree a kid could imagine. He had such a good time and did great!

 Ty performing in his last elementary school concert. 

They were singing Oklahoma and even did some square dancing--I loved it!

 End of the year field trips--this one I took Grant and Miya to. It was a little town that had been restored to what it was like 100 years ago. Miya loved the old schoolhouse.

 Garrett, Grant, Miya and I after our picnic on the field trip.

 Shayla played traveling soccer this year and enjoyed it.

She had to give up gymnastics though, and is excited to go back to it in the fall.

She still spends time every day working on her back handsprings and flips on the trampoline.

She is SUPER excited about watching gymnastics on the olympics this week! (me, too!)

 My good friend painted this tree on the wall of our nursery. I love it and can't wait for our little girl to see her new room.

 Grant's first track meet! He did such a great job--everyone in the crowd kept pointing at him and marveling at how little he was, yet how fast he was running.

He didn't quite know what to do with the attention when people would walk up to him and tell him "great job!" He did a great job staying in his lane and loved everything about it (except the starting gun--it made him jump every time :)

 The fruits of his labors

 Shayla is fun to watch--she has great form!

 Ty, Shayla, Garrett, Grant and Miya. They had a lot of fun and each improved their time.

Ty and Garrett participated in the 1 mile run and got 5:56 and 7:32, respectively.

Too bad I can't run as fast as my boys!

 Soccer was fun--the weather was beautiful so it was fun sitting out watching them play

Grant loved his first season of soccer. Whenever someone on his team would score a goal he would run around the field high-fiving everyone and whooping it up like they had just won the world cup.

I love sports the best at this age!

Okay, next to come...

pictures of our basement-finishing project. It is coming along great and we should be finished in a few weeks.

random shots

Miya loves to climb in boxes, and play with legos. She has been playing with legos from birth (luckily she wasn't one to try and eat them)

After all is said and done, the legos are the one toy that the kids come back to time and time again. What's not to love? There's always something new you can build.

Miya loves to make us laugh. This is her eating carrots a while ago. It's a wonder she didn't choke!

She is such a happy girl--laughing and singing about everything. Yet very passionate if you mess with her puppies or her babies. Such a little personality.

uh-oh

This is what I woke up to the other day. Weird thing is that Shayla also had a bloody nose in the middle of that same night. Must be the dry winter air around here.

It was a good motivator to wash all the bedding--trying to look at the bright side of bloody noses :)

Below--Miya LOVES shoes. Tyler's are a bit on the big side but that doesn't stop her from walking around in them.

Gratitude

Today was the Primary Program at church--my favorite Sunday of the year! The kids were so sweet and cute, and the Sunbeams were so entertaining :) As they sang the songs and said their parts I felt such a sense of gratitude for this young generation.  The future is in good hands. These kids are so valiant and want to do good and be good. We sang "Love Is Spoken Here" for the closing song and I felt the spirit so strongly. It is such a noble and humbling job we do as parents. We are shaping the future by teaching and leading our kids. And they are teaching and shaping us into better individuals as well. More patient and understanding, full of unconditional love. I know so many days I fall short of what I want to be as a parent, but I figure that as long as I am trying and never give up, then eventually, someday, eons from now, I'll be that parent.

So the kids today bore testimony by standing up, holding up their scriptures and saying, "I know the scriptures are true!" I want to add my testimony to theirs. I know the scriptures are true and I am so grateful for them. I'm grateful for those who sacrificed all to pave the way for the Bible to be translated into English and made available to the common man, and I'm grateful to the prophets of old who lived here in the Americas and understood how important it would be for us to have a second witness of our Savior. They took the great time and effort to record the gospel so that we could have it and read it everyday and find the strength to face our challenges and stand tall in the world today. And i'm grateful to Joseph Smith, having the faith and the courage to ask God and then be obedient in all things so the gospel could be restored to the earth again. I know we have a living prophet today, even Pres. Monson, and look forward to hearing from him in a few weeks at General Conference. I know that he speaks the words of Christ, and that I will be uplifted, encouraged and prompted to make changes in my life that will bring me closer to Christ. I know he is my Savior and the Savior of all the world. Such a humbling thought to know that he gave all, even his very life, for me. And for you.

And now for some pictures--totally unrelated to my ramblings today. This is our pitiful garden this year. In spite of our neglect, we were able to enjoy some delicious tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplant and peppers. I think if I spent some time with the garden watering and weeding it it would do a little better. Just a theory I have, but I think I'll have to try it next year :)

 Miya loved the eggplant

 Trying to get Miya to hold the cucumber--she didn't like the pokeys. Yes, this cucumber was left on the vine a BIT too long. And yes, it is bigger than the eggplant.

 My blonde girl

Hurrah for fresh produce! There is something so satisfying about picking food out of our garden right before dinner and knowing how fresh and good it is. Hopefully next year I will feel motivated to spend a little more time with the garden and we'll have a better harvest.

Snow days

December was the snowiest one in history here. I think we got 36". I guess if we are going to have a lot of snow, we might as well go for the gold and break the record. The kids loved it!

Grant--king of the snow mountain!

It was also very, very cold. We hung out in the single digits for quite a while.

The kids in front of our house

This was the view from our deck.

Longing for summer bbq's about now...

Ask a question...

Driving home from church today I asked the kids what they learned about. All of them piped up with what they learned and I got a kick out of their responses:

Ty: I learned about Elijah
Shayla: I learned about the 5 loaves and 2 fishes
Garrett: I learned about sharing
Grant: I learned about coloring!!!!