Crazy

I have tried so hard to keep up on this blog but life is crazy. McKade's 12th birthday came and went. He was ordained a Deacon at Church and finally gets to pass the Sacrament. He got to go on his 12th birthday trip with his Aunt Denice. That lucky kid got to go to Phoenix, Arizona to Spring Training and watch the Cubbies play in a couple of games. Trevin was ordained a Teacher and now gets to sit by the doors during Sacrament meeting and this is the highlight of his day. LOL! The 3rd Quarter just ended at school and we are counting down the days to summer. Dance competition season is beginning and so is baseball. Trevin is going to start training at the High School to get ready to try-out for the Sophmore Football Team this summer. Like I said, it is crazy at our house but I wouldn't change a single thing.

Update

I tried not to let a whole month pass by without an update again. The weather has been awful this year and we have spent far too much time in the house cooped up. We have been busy with basketball, dance, tumbling, dance and more dance. The 2nd quarter ended at school and I am happy to report that both Brynlee and McKade ended up with a 4.0, Trevin earned a 3.75 and Harlee is doing well, keeping up with her class and reading at a Level C. I couldn't be more happy and proud of them. We celebrated with dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings and a University of Utah Gymnastics meet. Brynlee is getting ready not only for her solo but for her Jr. Underground performance at the end of February. She is performing in one number as well as the finale. She never complains about going to dance or missing out on time with friends. She truly loves what she is doing. Trevin is still taking guitar lessons at school and he has also started doing some off season football training to keep him in shape. He is dead set on going to College at Alabama or Florida and we are trying to do everything in our power to get him there. McKade is enjoying basketball right now and wishing that he had tried out for the basketball team at school. Harlee is my crazy girl and we are still working on getting her anxiety under control. She is loving dance and excited to perform her trio at competition. She is doing a solo next year and couldn't be more excited. There is our month in a nutshell. Weclome to our crazy life!

Happy New Year

Because all 6 of us had either the stomach flu or a head cold or both throughout the entire break we pretty much took it easy. We ended up going out to dinner with Brett's mom and dad at Italian Village and then they came back over to our house and watched football while the kids played some games. We took a bet on who would last the longest. Harlee fell asleep about 10:30. McKade took a little cat nap and woke up at about 11:30 and Trevin and Brynlee held strong and stayed awake long past Midnight. Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas

Christmas has come and gone and like usual it was a busy time of the year for us. We had the girls singing programs, Trevin's guitar concert, basketball games and dance. We did manage to fit in a few fun things. We went down to City Creek one night in the pouring rain to look at the lights at Temple Square and the fun candy windows at Macey's. We built Polar Express candy trains. We went to a few family parties. We went to a movie and we remembered what the season was about. Christmas was very scaled back this year, even more than usual, but the kids didn't even notice and I didn't have to worry about finding somewhere to put all the new stuff they forget about the moment it's put away. It's been a cold winter so far and I am looking forward to some warmer weather and one of the busiest times of the year for us with baseball and dance competitions starting up soon.

Behind Again

I tried to be so good and post in my blog at least once a month but I am behind again. Halloween has come and gone, Football is over, baseball is over and the boys have just started Jr. Jazz basketball. We made it through one quarter of school and the kids all did really well and I am a proud mom. Harlee is learning to read and it has opened up a whole new world for her. Brett and I celebrated our 17th Wedding Anniversary and our oldest child turned 14-WOW! Life has been such a whirlwind but I wouldn't change a single thing. As Christmas is creeping up on us I find myself wishing we had more. I wish I could give my kids every single thing they have asked for and them some but it is just not possible. I have to sit back and remember that we are truely blessed. We have a roof over our heads, food on the table and warm clothes on our back. We have tried to focus more on making memories rather then spending money on toys that get thrown into the toy box the day after Christmas. We started a new tradition on Thanksgiving with just the six of us. We went to see a movie. "Rise of the Guardians" was a perfect way to kick off the holiday season and the kids really enjoyed it. We came home after and the kids got to decorate their tree that is downstairs. The next day was filled with more decorating and then we took the kids down to the Gateway for a little shopping, dinner and fun. We have spent time with our new friends, The Terry's and have more plans with our new friends for some other Christmas activities. Merry Christmas!

Random Happenings

We have so much going on and I don't want to miss anything. I had a chance to take Brynlee to Thriller again this year. We made it a girls day and invited her friend Megan from dance and her mom. It was fun to spend the day laughing and giggling with the girls. This week the kids were off for UEA. We went to the Pumpkin Patch, Gardner Village and topped it off with a cute Halloween movie. We saw "Hotel Transylvania". The weather has been really nice for this time of year and we are taking full advantage of it.

Epic

A couple of weeks ago both girls had a chance to attend a dance convention in Provo called Epic. They bring in choreographers from out of state to teach workshops to the girls. This was a huge opportunity to learn from some of the best. Harlee's only last 4 hours one night and Brynlee's was 5 hours on Friday night and 7 hours on Saturday. She had a chance to take a class from Liz Imperio who has choreographed concert tours for Jennifer Lopez. She was amazing with the girls and I was very impressed with her. Apparently I didn't take any picture of Harlee dancing but I did snap a few of Brynlee.