Mother's Day 2013

The Friday before Mother's Day Nate and I went with most of my Siblings and their spouses and my Mom and her awesome husband, Bob, out to eat at Olive Garden up in Logan. Apparently it was supposed to be a surprise for my Mom but I never got the memo. Oops! At any rate we had a great time. 

Mother's Day morning Ryland surprised me by making our bed. What a sweet boy he is!

That Evening I insisted on us having a mini photo shoot. We took some great pictures of the family. Prepare for picture overload. Haha!

 For Mother's Day and Father's Day we bought this awesome swing for our backyard. We love it already!

Life As We Know It - Spring Dance Recital 2013

Recital Day finally arrived! This day is always such a long and fun day. The girls are always such good troopers to get through it with a smile on their faces.

The girls and I are always at the Egyptian Theater earlier than the rest of the family. I grabbed some pictures of the girls while they were in the auditorium receiving some pre-recital instructions.

Once the auditorium starts filling up you know 

the curtain call is near. 

Ally was first up with her cute tap dance 

"After School Shake Shop".

Then we saw our cute little Minnie Mouse come out and shake her stuff. It was so fun watching her. She would get so giggly. So fun.

Ally really enjoyed doing this Jazz dance this year.

 I think this was her favorite one this year.

"Spice up Your Life".

Whenever I watch Ally perform this ballet dance I get emotional. Every. Time. I don't know what it is about it.

"The Climb".

Evelyn's pre-ballet dance was "Tooth Fairy Dreamin". 

Such a fun dance to watch them perform. She is at such a fun little age. I love watching my girls learn and grow and experience life.

This was the first year that the whole family attended. 

In the previous years we didn't bring the boys because the recital can

run a little long and we didn't want their impatient testosterone filled bodies to start whining. They did really great and were a great support to their sisters. What a fun day.

8th Grade Passage

At our kids school they are set up in pods. For example, K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and then the High School. When you reach the age that you are going to move on to the next pod level you go through a Passage. You briefly talk about some of the things you experienced and learned during your previous couple of years and talk about things that have made you grow and helped you to become the person you 

are today. 

Ethan had his 8th grade Passage last night. It is with some of your Teachers, Peer Students, and other Parents. We were able to sit and watch but were not allowed to participate. 

He did a great job! He actually got one of the Teachers choked up. He spoke of his growing desire to be an Author and what he hopes to accomplish in his future. 

This morning he was presented to the entire school, along with the other kids that passed their Passage. He received his Passage pin and wore it with pride. 

Five Going On Twenty-Five

This little Monkey is going to give me more gray hairs than I care to think about. She is just determined to grow up. For Easter she received this sleep mask, which she does actually wear to bed most nights. She had put it on like a bra and worn it to school! How she thought of that I will never know! Hopefully this is the one and only time she will lift her shirt for a photo! Sigh....

Wordless Wednesday: Giving It A Whirl

Pride Comes Before The Fall....

We are never on time to church. Never. It doesn't matter what time it starts at we just can't seem to manage getting there on time. So today when it looked like we were not only going to be on time but actually EARLY, I was just giddy. We were even managing to get there with everyone pleasant and ready. Or so I thought. How Ryland managed to slip this past me I have no idea, but he did. I turned to the kids in the back of the van to give them some final instructions and noticed Ryland's knees. Both knees looked the same. They look like that almost all of the time, he is so rough on his clothes. Good thing he is cute. 

Venture Track Meet at Ogden High School

Today was our last track meet of the season.  It was bittersweet, not gonna lie. As a former track runner I love the thrill of a track meet. The energy, the drama, all of it. As a Coach, feeling a little burned out, not much, just a little. It has been a busy month.

 Lydia D., Jayden C., Katelynn H., Parker M., Coach Mills, Chris I., Brittany H., Ethan, Ashtyn K., Ally

This team photo is most of our team. We had a couple girls who weren't there today. 

Ally running her 100 meter Dash. Look at that great stride!

Because one of our girls wasn't at the meet Ally stepped up and took her place. She was a little nervous running the relay with some of the older girls but she did GREAT! Check out this hand off! Perfect!

Ethan at the starting line for the 4x100. He was the first leg this go round. He did great!

Another great hand off between Parker and Ethan!

It was a great meet! It was a great season! I felt really bad for one of my girls, Katelynn, she was busting out her 200 meter dash and pulled her groin muscle. So sad that happened to her. Well, til next year!