Beautiful CRAZY Spring

 Spring has sprung with a lot of activities for all the kids!  Between baseball, tee ball, ballet, scouts, piano, work, and church we are crazy busy.  But we are content with our chaos, because the kids are enjoying their activities so much.

 Lyv started ballet, and said it was "the best day ever!"  Her teacher is a young woman from the ward who is so kind and patient.  Lyv's body is so hilarious to me because she has this big booty that completely fills our her leotard and these muscular thighs - she looks like a gymnast more than a sleek ballerina!  She puts her total concentration into the lesson and tries to mimic every move - ADORABLE!!

 Finally the boys had opening day for baseball on Saturday!  I always love this time of year.  Maybe it was growing up going to games my entire life, but baseball is one of my favorite sports.  I love the fans, the sunflower seeds, the hot weather, the freezing cold weather, the team unity that develops.  I hope the boys continue to play for a few more years.

 Sam is sporting the #2 in honor of Uncle Ryan!  We still miss him all of the time.  In fact just a few days ago I had a great memory come to me.  When I was about 11 or 12 a friend and I went to see the Babysitter's Club movie (oh yeah baby!) and we couldn't get in because it was PG-13.  I was distraught and Ryan, who had drove us down to Rexburg, sweetly ponied up some dough to buy another ticket and watched it with us so we could go!  What a good brother!

Spring Breakin' in Maui

Wowi! Maui!  After a long wait (11 years) we finally were able to meet up with Shawn's parents for a week in Maui.  They were kind enough to let us mooch off of their time share and we were more than excited to have a week of sun and sand!




We made the most of each day - going on a whale watch, zip lining, golfing, boogie boarding, and EATING!  I don't think I'll be hungry for at least another year…fresh fish and true Hawaiian shaved ices made my tummy happy!! I also got an experience I have been waiting for my entire life - to visit Pearl Harbor.  As a history lover, WWII has always had a special place in my heart, and to be aboard the USS Arizona Memorial was a sacred, humbling experience.  I was overwhelmed to see the oil bubbling up to the surface from a ship that has been sunk for nearly 72 years.  To see the names on wall there made me so grateful for the sacrifices that others have made to preserve and create our great nation.  It was one of my favorite moments.  Also exciting was the chance Shawn and I had to spend with such great company - we laughed a lot!  The only downside, besides missing my little munchkins, was I lost my wedding ring after only being on the beach for about 5 minutes our first day!!!  After combing through the sand for 10 minutes, my father in law found it!!  Thanks heavens - that would have been a Debbie Downer for the rest of the trip.

Waikiki Beach

USS Missouri - signing of surrender from Japan

Golfing at Ka'anapali - there may have been a few swear words dropped on the course this day!

USS Arizona Memorial - Pearl Harbor

Victory - Surviving nearly 12 years of marriage, 4 children, & 7 years of medical school/residency

Humpback whale birthing season runs from Jan - March in Hawaii!! AMAZING to see these creatures!

I was happy to be reunited with my kids after a week of fun, they I'm sure would have taken another week of the life of luxury that is Grandma's, Aunt Michelle's, and Aunt Brigit's, but alas….we had to head back to Yakima!  We've been lucky to have pretty awesome weather this week and hit up the Yogurt Shack to celebrate!  Max a lover of sweets was not thrilled to be sharing, with the worst sharer of all time - Shawn.  The stare down between these two was pretty serious and Max squealed and shrieked every time Shawn tried to sneak a spoonful.  We got to end the two weeks of awesomeness with an awesome group of friends!  We have been so blessed to be adopted into such fun people's lives.  We get to sit back, and laugh while they entertain us until our kids are literally falling asleep on the floor! I'm not sure if we ready for school start up on Monday, but these two weeks have been full of all good things!

(Love Jack photo bombing this pic of the "adults" - what a goof!)

Super Hero Social

Last night we the boys and I had a Super Hero Social - just for moms and sons!  It was so much fun to get to spend time with these two and dress up as our own kind of super hero.  The boys played laser tag, jumped through the bounce house a million times, and scored some pretty yummy candy in the money grab.  I already consider these two as heroes, and I'm so glad to get a chance to make a fun memory with them tonight.

Settling Down Permanently

After a lot of prayer we've decided to finally stake our roots here in Yakima.  Shawn's job has been the dream job opportunity and all we see is continued growth and success here.  We have fallen in love with the people of Yakima, our ward, our neighborhood and our school and feel like we can comfortably look at this as our home.  So…. we bought a 2 acre lot on Flintstone Road that will hopefully be our address for a very long time to come.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Pinewood Derby Day! Sam and Shawn worked for weeks to get the car just right, and it paid off.  Sam's car had the best average race time, and so he can now compete in the District Pinewood Derby!  I wasn't expecting him to win because they averaged eight race times to get the winners, and I didn't remember seeing Sam's car in first very often.  His smile reached from ear to ear.

 Sam's car also received an award for best show of school spirit - secretly it was whispered to me that this actually meant "superior" school colors!

 Sam and two of his buddies - Luke and Max sporting their cars and trophies.

Bobcat

Since my blogging is getting pretty pathetic it seems like we only have 1 child - Sam.  He's starting his journey in scouts and got his Bobcat last week.  I can't quite figure out why they pin the mom, because I didn't really do anything to help him.  Shawn is the scouting parent.  Next week is the Pinewood Derby and we can't wait to reveal the car of all cars!!

Making Hard Choices

Two weekends ago was Sam's tournament for basketball.  He has had a great year and really enjoyed playing, and we were excited about watching his team play.  They won their first game against a team that they had lost to earlier in the season, so they were pumped!  The next day they played and won again - leading them to the championship game.  The only problem was that it was going to be held on Sunday.  As members of the church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, we believe in keeping the Sabbath day holy - that means no sports, no swimming, no shopping, etc. We go to church, visit family, and enjoy the day together as a family.  Sam loves playing ball, and he was so excited that his team had made it all the way to the championship. But he decided to not play.  It was a hard choice to make and we are incredibly blessed to have such a valiant boy.  He felt good about his decision, and I'm sure it will be easier in the future to make hard choices! 

In other hard choices category:  We've had to start making decisions regarding how many activities we put our kids in at one time.  The boys really love participating in team athletics, and we encourage this as well, since we think it teaches great things about hard work, discipline, etc. But we don't want to overload the boys or our family (since let's be honest - the ENTIRE family goes to practice, games, fundraisers, etc) We want the kids to be well rounded with piano lessons, swimming lessons, accelerated classes at school and the like - but where do you draw the line?  My expectations for my children are to do their best at everything they do. I'm not envisioning mini-Sheldon's running around or sports prodigies, but I want to give them opportunities to achieve and be involved.  Poor Sam is the guinea pig and has had to make hard decisions like whether to do soccer or baseball or a traveling BKB team this spring.  Baseball won out (YAY - that is silent cheering from me). But now we have to make decisions about a gifted program that would put him into a different school next year, all in the midst of juggling piano and scouts.  And its only 1 of the 4!!!  YIKES!