BASEBALL SEASON!

My favorite sport season has arrived and because we live in Rexburg my kids learn how to play baseball inside of a gym for the first couple months of the season. Yeah it snowed here this week and it is still freezing cold. I don't know why I love baseball season so much because you never know if it will rain, snow, hail, or just possibly the sun might break through the clouds for a minute--but baseball season makes me happy! This year all of my kids are playing baseball. This is Dallas's last year before high school ball which blows my mind. He should still be 5 in my mind. So Dallas and Josh are both playing baseball, Tiana is playing softball, Logan is playing coaches pitch and Chase will play T-ball. Phil is helping coach Dallas's team and he is also Logans coach so he is going to be busy. I hope for better weather before next week because Dallas and Josh both have their first game next Wednesday so I am praying for sunshine! Good luck kids--mom will be cheering for ya!

Spring Break!

Well we just finished our spring break on Monday and we had so much fun! A lot of my family came into town and guess what--I didn't take one picture. So sad! WE had so much fun though. Heather and her kids came, Trenton and Maren and their 3 kids came, and Garrett and Jilayne and their 3 girls came and then Jared and I both live here so there was a lot of us. WE played a lot of games, ate a lot of food, had an Easter egg hunt, played volleyball and basketball at the high school gym, swam, and the kids played hard. The older kids also went and played arcades at the Rex. We had a blast. WE are so grateful for everyone that came and look forward to doing it again soon.

Logans kindergarten play!

Logans kindergarten class recently performed a play for the parents. It was a circus and Logan was in the strongest man competition. He did really well. It was so funny because they wore dads t-shirts and put floaties in the sleeves to make muscles. They lifted little bars with balloons tied to the ends. Logan did such a good job acting like it was really heavy. We were all afraid he was going to pass out because his face turned so red--well actually almost purple. He definately is STRONG!

Josh's team wins championship game!

Josh has an amazing basketball team and they did awesome this year. They played in the March Madness tournament in Idaho Falls. THe very first game they played Josh sprained his ankle in the 2nd quarter and didn't play the rest of the game. The next day they played a team from Boise and they all played so well! The Boise team had been killing every team by atleast 20 points. Well Josh's team beat them by more than 20 points. It was so fun to watch. The championship game they played a team from Logan, Utah who had been killing everyone also. It was a really close game but Josh's team pulled through and ended up winning by 2 points. It was the funnest tournament to watch. They just keep getting better every year. They have an awesome coach and all the boys are great friends.

Dallas 8th grade basketball.

Dallas finished his 8th grade basketball season and he did AWESOME! He got to play quite a bit and he started every game. He struggled some with the pain in his knees and feet but he battled and we are proud of him.

My New Years goal for this year was to blog (journal as I am calling it) and as you can see I am not accomplishing my goal. So since it is already February I will try to update what has been going on for the year so far. Dallas made the 8th grade basketball team and has been doing well considering all the pain he is in. He has started every game so far and has played well. He has to ice his feet and shins every morning before school and every night after practice/games. Sometimes he will even call me on his lunch hour and have me pick him up so he can ice. He is being tough and he must really love it to keep playing. We are proud of him. On the day of his first game they didn't have school so he asked Phil to take him to the church to practice his shooting. Before they even made it into the gym Dallas ran into the door and had to go get stitches above his eye. He has had a rough time. Josh is still playing travel ball and is now starting indoor practices for baseball. He is also very busy. The younger 3 aren't involved in much right now so it has been nice.

Phil recently received a promotion at work so he is no longer doing the sports stuff. He is now in charge of the Fitness Center, the Wellness Center, and some other thing they are going to start up. He is very excited, but a little stressed also. It will be a good challenge for him and I am sure he will do well. He is very busy trasferring over to this job and finishing up his other. He is right in the middle of ice hockey so he will be doing that also until the end of the month. We are excited and happy for him!

I am now a advisor in the Laurel presidency and so I have been keeping busy with that. It has been fun to get to know the girls. They are such good girls and we have a lot of fun. This week we made Lasagne with the priests and took dinner to a few families in the ward. It was a great way to serve and had fun doing it. Phil is in the Elders quorum presidency so that keeps him busy also. They are doing a cheesecake social this weekend so I am looking forward to that yummy cheesecake from the cheesecake factory. YUM!

Phil took Dallas, Josh, and Logan to a Jazz game last week and they had a blast. It was Logans first time and I guess he really loved it. They all said he really got into the game and was screaming with the rest of them. I guess they all follow in their dads footsteps. They all love ball and are all very competitive. When they are all grown we should have some pretty good ball games amongst ourselves, and I am pretty sure Tiana will be able to play right there with them. She is learning to love sports too. I guess it is a good thing that I enjoy them too. Our lives would be very boring without ball games!

Life is good and we are busy. I am so thankful for all of my family. My own husband and children but also for my brothers and sisters and their families and Phils family and our extended families. We are so blessed to have such a great family. Even though we don't see family much we hope they all know we love them and miss them. My kids talk about their cousins all the time. I am so grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the guidance it gives me and my family and the many opportunities it gives us to serve and to learn. I am so grateful for my life and for my many blessings. We are very blessed!

Josh is 12!

Well on December 3rd Josh turned 12 years old and on December 6th he was made a deacon. I now have 2 deacons. Dallas won't turn 14 until April so they will get to spend a few months together as deacons. I was going to take a picture of my two boys today after church but I forgot so I will do that next week and post those. I can't believe that my two little boys are growing up. It is fun to watch them grow but time is just going by way to fast.

We had a great weekend with our family. My mom came, Phil's parents came, Karena and Brent came with all of their kids, and Jared and Kendra live here in town. They were here also. The kids had so much fun together. I sure wish we all lived by each other. Brent also helped us get all of our plumbing in our downstairs bathroom hooked up so now we have a working bathroom downstairs. Thanks so much Brent! The only problem with having that bathroom working is I now have 4 toilets to clean. Ugh!

This past week on December 10th my mom got married. She married Monty Nickle from Arizona. She new him when they were younger and just recently reconnected. They are living in Arizona for the time being and will return home to Washington for the summers. It has been 10 years now since my dad passed away and she has been very lonely. Change is always hard for me and I miss my dad a lot, but I hope this brings my mom happiness.

Because of everything that has been happening in my family I have really learned to appreciate my family even more. I love my brothers and sisters more than they will ever know. I hope they all know that. I would do anything for any of them. I am so grateful for their friendships. I am so grateful that my kids have so many cousins that they can call their friends and can have such a fun time with them. There is a special bond with cousins I think and it is so fun to have so many and a few more still to come. Maren is expecting anyday and Jilayne is due in June. I am sure Kimberly still has a few more to come. It is such a blessing to have such a large family. Anyways I love all of them!