Recent Highlights

Our life has been absolutely insane for the last few weeks, so I thought I would do an all-purpose post showing some of the highlights of the last few weeks.

First, it was finally time to give the boys their annual summer haircuts. We varied between long and short over the winter, but the summer definitely calls for short hair! I almost cried when I cut off Tate's long locks, but it looks cute short and much cooler for him.

Hannah and her friend Tayler caught the entrepreneurial spirit with their lemonade stand last week. I wish I would have got a close-up of their sign. It read "Any one coin for one cup of lemonade". I suppose they weren't in it for the money, more for the social aspect. They did each make $1.35 and sold out of lemonade though, so I'd call that a success.

Porter had his first-grade awards assembly last week. He's on the end in the back row on the top picture, and the first one in line in the second picture. The lighting in the gym was terrible and we couldn't get any closer to him to get a better picture. Despite that, he managed to haul in a number of great awards. He received two reading awards, excellent attendance, most improved in math, and the principal's award for academic achievement. I wasn't sure what the principal's award was, so I asked his teacher after, and she said it was only given to the students with the highest academics in all areas. It was only given to three kids in his class. He continues to amaze me with his academic skills. Great job Porter!

Last but not least, the kids participated in their tumbling review held at Bonneville High. They had a short show to show off the tumbling skills they've learned throughout the year. Hannah's favorite was the beam, and she is so graceful on it. Her legs are so long that they just float across the beam. Porter's favorite was the trampoline and the bars. He's not so graceful, but he has fun running around and burning energy.

Bacon Salt

As you all know, yesterday was Mother's Day. I really enjoy Mother's Day. Yesterday, I received a very special gift from my wonderful husband. It's this great new seasoning salt called Bacon Salt. As you can imagine, I was a little perplexed when I opened the gift. I've never even heard of Bacon Salt, let alone as a gift for Mother's Day. I was expecting something more traditional, such as a CD, lotion, etc, so I was a little surprised to see this gift. But my husband truly knows me well, and he knows my intense love of bacon. So it's not surprising that he wanted to give me a gift that makes everything taste like bacon. When it comes right down to it, I can't really think of a better gift for me. And if you thought Bacon Salt was surprising, you can imagine my shock when I also received bacon-flavored lip balm. Now I can savor the flavor of bacon on my lips all day long. Thank you Allen!

Wedding Day

My little brother is officially a married man now. Last night was his wedding and it was quite an event. They had the ceremony first, then dinner, dancing, and a reception. I loved their first dance together. My brother was so nervous, but he did great! I would have been nervous too, with all those people watching your every step. Good thing he had weeks of lessons to fall back on. Hannah had the great privilege of being asked to be the flower girl. She got to wear a beautiful dress and get her hair done for the occasion. In my totally unbiased opinion, she made a BEAUTIFUL flower girl, and I have to admit that I have way more pictures of her than the bride and groom. Sorry Scott! Anyways, it was a beautiful evening and I'm glad I was able to share in their special occasion.
Tate completely monopolized Hannah on the dance floor. Any time she would try and dance with someone else, he would run to her and say "Anna, dance". She was a good sport and spent the majority of the night dancing with him.
Hannah and her cousin Ashley having some fun outside during pictures.
All the girls (minus the new bride) in my family!
Porter, his cousin Spencer, and Tate.
Here I am during the dinner with the groom.
Doesn't he look cute with a cast?
Hannah was so cute walking down the aisle. She had to throw little rose petals on her way. It was priceless!
Two of my three little angels!
Hannah and her grandpa enjoying a dance together.

Tate's bad day

Yesterday started out as a pretty good day. The sun was shining, we played outside, had a photo shoot for the kids, played some softball, etc., and then all heck broke loose. I went to my softball game last night (which we won!), but when I got to my phone after the game, I realized I had missed several calls, voicemails, and text messages. When I saw they were all from Allen, I immediately knew something was wrong, and I was right. Tate had fallen off the trampoline and had broken his arm. I had carpooled with three other ladies to the game, so we booked it home as fast as we could. My friend Jen drove my car home because I was such a wreck. I felt so guilty that I had been playing softball and hadn't got the messages. Poor Allen had been trying to get a hold of me, but finally gave up, and hauled all three kids to the instacare. Luckily, there was no wait, and they confirmed through x-rays that Tate had fractured a bone above his elbow. They sent him home in a sling and made an appointment for us to take him to an orthopedic specialist today. We just got back from the hospital and luckily, Tate didn't need surgery and they casted him right then. He only needs it on for three weeks, so it could have been so much worse! I'm so grateful that he didn't need surgery, for a very capable and loving husband, and for good friends that got me home from the game last night.

SLC Half-Marathon

We did it! I really can't believe the big race is over. I finally put my mind to something, and accomplished my goal. The SLC half-marathon was a blast! I was fortunate enough to train and run with my cousins, Amy and Carly. We had so much fun together. I never would have made it through the race without them. We began training in January and even though we all live far apart, we kept in touch and helped each other through the training.
The kids and I after the race!

Here we are nearing the finish line at the Gateway. When we turned the final corner towards the finish line, it was the most amazing feeling. We could see our families cheering us on and it felt so great! We finished the race in 2hrs 40 min. We did have to wait for the bathrooms at mile 5 for 15 minutes, so if you take that off, we actually finished under 2:30, which was our goal. Thanks again, Amy and Carly! You guys are the greatest! And, thanks to my wonderful husband for his support and encouragement. He was amazing during the training and the race. I never could have done it without him. Next stop, MARATHON!

Happy Easter

Easter was a lot of fun this year. We spent Saturday hunting Easter eggs at Grandma's house. She puts on quite an Easter party and the kids had a grand time. We got all of that done on Saturday and that made it possible to have a very nice Easter Sunday with just our little family. We went to church and then had our very own Easter feast, complete with ham, potatoes, rolls, salad, pie, and ice cream. It was yummy! Then we went for a walk and topped out the day watching America's Funniest Home Videos (the kids favorite show and a new Sunday tradition.) We had such a great time with our kids and think they are amazing children! What a great Easter weekend!

Move over Mozart!

Hannah and Porter had their piano recital last night and they did such a good job. It was Porter's first recital, and he looked so little by the piano. The best part of the night was when Porter got up to play his second number. He was following a taller kid (which is basically everybody) and the bench was pulled out quite far. Apparently scooting it up would have taken too much time, so he just decided to stand and play his number. It produced quite a chuckle among the audience. I'm very proud of both kids. They practiced hard to have their songs memorized and are always so diligent with their daily practicing. Also, thanks to my mom for teaching them piano. She's a tremendous teacher and we're lucky that she's willing to teach them. Great job guys!