Personal Best

Pictures taken May 12, 2012

Andrew kicked off the 2012 triathlon season competing in his 10th tri.,

Andy is a triathlete recruiter.

He raced with his Dad, who has been with him from the beginning, his friend Spencer who was racing for the second time, and his friend Alberto who was new to the sport.

This was his best race yet.

And, as always, he had a blast!

Mother's Day Pictures

Pictures taken May 8, 2012

My Grandma has us all keep wish lists around for birthdays and holidays.

With Mother's Day coming up we checked my mom's list and saw she wanted updated pictures of the grandchildren.

Easy enough.

I decided to take the easy way out and delegate the responsibilities.

I asked Katy to arrange for a photographer.

I asked Krista to plan our outfits.

And I said I would do my best to show up...

Katy and Krista did awesome.

Katy found an old friend of ours who was running a steal of a deal.

Krista gave us great color suggestions to keep in mind while we shopped for coordinating outfits.

We went to DayBreak Lake to take the pictures.

Mom also needed an updated picture of my brother.

This meant that the kids got to have fun with Uncle Danny in between photo ops.

All of this just happened to take place on Carolyn's birthday.

So after the pictures were done we played at the playground and ate cupcakes.

It was a fun night.

Date Night

Pictures taken May 5, 2012

As soon as we had a second car again we started doing date night with the boys.

Each parent had one date with each boy every month.

It was lots of fun - for that first month.

Then Andrew's schedule changed and he's working nights.

We haven't really gotten the date routine back into the schedule very well at this point.

But on this particular Saturday night Peter's soccer league was attending the Salt Lake Real game.

So we made it our date night.

Peter and Andy had lots of fun.

Their previous date night together had involved Red Mango.

Peter was dying to go back.

He even made up a song about it.

They went to the soccer game where the kids were able to walk out onto the field.

Cousins Isaiah and Michael are in the same league as him and were there as well.

The parents had to wait somewhere else.

Andy never saw Peter down on the field, but figured he must be in that swarm of children.

Turned out he was wrong,

Peter was tired and cold and had opted to sit it out.

At half time they came home.

We thought Peter was just having a hard time staying up past bedtime - he's like that.

The next morning he woke up throwing up.

He had a terrible 24 hour bug that just hit him hard right after he got to the game.

Luckily it passed quickly and it's just funny to look back on these pictures and see how he started out so cheerfully and then slowly digressed throughout the night.

Ammon also wanted a repeat of our previous date.

He has had his heart set on Jamba Juice.

I really want these kids to branch out and try different things.

But they are just like their parents.

They like to stick with the tried and true.

It worked out well for that night and I enjoyed Ammon's company.

He loves sitting in the front seat of our new car.

The airbag turns off, so it's safe for him.

But he only gets to sit there on date night.

It's so fun to be able to have him right next to me while I drive.

It makes conversation easier and more enjoyable.

I love getting to spend time individually with my boys.

Hopefully there will be many more date nights to come!

Grandma Lynn's Birthday

Pictures taken May 6, 2012

We had a fun time celebrating my mom's birthday this year.

The weather was slightly cooler than we would have liked, but we enjoyed a great family gathering.

I love my family.

My mom created this great group and has given me an amazing legacy of love and service to try to live up to.

I try my best and hope to live up to her example.

The best thing is - I think I'm on the right track.

 But only because of what she taught me.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

From Father to Son

For some reason, watching Andrew teach our son to mow the lawn really touched me.

It was a beautiful afternoon.

The weather was perfect.

Ammon was blissfully happy learning to operate the lawn mower.

And I felt extremely blessed to have such a wonderful family.

My little boy is growing up.

But that's OK because he has a wonderful Dad to help him learn how to become a man.

And at eight years old one of the best lessons in manhood is learning how to mow the lawn.

Peggy's Graduation

Pictures taken May 3, 2012

A few years ago, my one week old nephew was in the hospital having surgery on his brain.

My mother-in-law spent some time with her daughter and grandson while they stayed at the hospital.

After that experience, my father-in-law suggested to his wife that she return to her nursing roots.

She had been a nurse in a former life - the one before having children.

Over the years she had done a lot of amazing and impressive things.
One of her many successes was raising her children into adulthood.
They were all married and having families of their own now.

The time was right, the promptings were there - both tangibly by her husband, and spiritually.

So she did it!
She returned to nursing school.

She spent a year working on the pre-requisites while winding down her existing business.

She was admitted into the very competitive nursing program at the U.

And she worked.

She worked and worked and worked and worked to learn everything she could and keep her grades high.

And finally, two years later, the pay off came!

She is still finishing her final semester over the summer, but there's no doubt she'll get it done.

She has been an amazing example.

Congratulations, Peggy!

Happy Graduation!

Peter's Birthday

Pictures taken throughout April, 2012

Peter was able to have several different celebrations for his 5th birthday.

One things that he looked forward to and included in  his prayers for weeks was his special lunch with Gramma Peggy.

She took him to Red Robbin, and then to the store to buy the toy of his choice.

Weeks earlier he had decided to "save all his nickels" to earn enough for a double-sided light saber.

It was amazing to him that Gramma would buy it for his birthday.

This countdown was bigger than Christmas!

They had a great time together.

I love the picture of him just gazing up at her with those adoring eyes.

The Saturday after his birthday was his first day of soccer.

That made it difficult to have a birthday party with our neighbors and friends.

But we were able to gather together the extended family on my side and they helped us celebrate.

He had fun opening presents and eating more cupcakes!

Towards the end of the month, we signed Peter up for Kindergarten.

He was able to ride the bus home with Ammon.

It was so precious to see those boys walking home from the bus side by side.

They (along with their handsome dad) are my greatest treasures!

It's hard to believe that my baby boy is already five years old.

He's an amazing kid.

He loves to run and always has tons of energy.

He still has funny anxieties that are just so typical of who he is.

He is smart and social.

He craves attention and gifts.

He adores his big brother, but is also confident on his own.

I can't  imagine life without my "little" Peter Joseph.

(Who really isn't that little anymore...)

Cookie Chaser 2K/5K

Pictures taken April 28, 2012

A few years ago Peggy invited Ammon and Michael to run this 2K race with her.

This year Peter and Sophia were old enough to join the fun.

In the past it conflicted with a triathlon Andrew and Derrick liked to do.

But this year the conflict didn't happen.

Peggy and Derrick ran the 2K with the Grandchildren.

Afterwards, Peggy Derrick, Andrew and I did the 5K.

Of my two boys, Peter is definitely the happier runner.

But coming up the final stretch Ammon decided he couldn't be beat by his little brother.

He sprinted ahead and came in before Peter.

That said, Peter was the only one of the four children to place in his age group.

He got a medal for 3rd place!

We also won lots of girl scout cookies!

After the race, the four of us went to Village Inn for breakfast.

Then we went to Peter's soccer game where he ran even more.

2nd Grade Concert

Ammon spent two years at Indian Hills Elementary.

It has been a wonderful school.

For the second grade program they were "habitat hero's".

They sang all about taking care of the earth and the animals.

It was fun to see Ammon.

He is a very deliberate child.

Where it was intended for children to get into the music and sometimes dance, he would take it very seriously and work very hard to get the steps "right".

As always, he interacts with the world more through thinking (or over-thinking) than just by being.

I also spent this whole night thinking about how much Ammon reminds me of my brother David.

I came away thinking it must be in his expressions.

I have been seeing glimpses of David in Ammon for a few years now.

But no one else really does.

Seeing him on stage, with certain looks on his face and reactions to things, I thought that was it.

But looking at these pictures now, I see David in that profile shot.

I am always bursting with pride at my sweet Ammon boy.

I love him so very much!

Neighborhood Olympics

Pictures taken April 20, 2012

One of the best decisions we ever made was to move to the married student housing at the U.

It has been a wonderful place to live.

We've been surrounded by amazing friends and neighbors.

The kids have been spoiled with easy access to fun activities and lots of playmates.

One of our fun activities was the Olympics.

Both Ammon and Peter participated in the potato sack races for their age groups.

Peter had fun with the hula hoop, too.

I think we will always treasure the time we spent here.

Scout Advancements and Awards

April 18, 2012

One evening while Andrew was working, Peter and I went to Scout's with Ammon.

He had earned all sorts of awards and was even advanced to the rank of Wolf.

We were super proud of him and I was sad that Andy couldn't be there.

Even though I get a "mother's pin", it is really the dad in this house that makes scout's happen.

We were so excited to tell Andrew about Ammon's achievements.

We were surprised to find that Andrew was upset by the news.

Knowing much more about scout's than I do, Andrew knew there were several at home requirements that we hadn't worked on with Ammon.

While he didn't want to take Ammon's sense of success away, he also wanted to make sure Ammon felt pride in working for his rank.

This was an experience I hope Ammon always remembers.

After fretting over it for a good time, striving so earnestly to do the right thing, Andrew sat down with Ammon to have a talk.

Andrew explained that Ammon hadn't done anything wrong.

He hadn't been deceitful in obtaining his rank.

But we also showed him that there were things we still needed to do before it was truly earned.

We had recently asked Ammon to read a children's book about integrity.

Drawing on that, he understood the concept and agreed that he wanted to have integrity with his rank.

And so despite having the badge in hand, Andy and Ammon went to work on meeting the remaining wolf requirements.

I couldn't be more proud of both of them!

The Red Dragons

Pictures taken April 14, 2012

My sister organized a fun little soccer team that included Peter and two of his cousins.

A third cousin was invited to join but opted against it.

Peter LOVES soccer.

He played last fall and was thrilled to be back in the action for Spring.

Peter's team, the Red Dragon's is very young and inexperienced for their league.

They are playing against kids as much as 2 years older than them.

Peter was the first member of his team to make a goal.

It was such an exciting moment!

He kicked and down the field and into the net.

Immediately cheers erupted on the field and off.

His arms both shot straight up in the air to signify victory.

And then - the sweetest thing.

In his glorious delight, he ran straight to me and gave me a high five.

I was so excited to share in the moment.

Sadly, Andrew was at the temple with the Elder's Quorum, so he missed it.

But Peter was happy to tell the story over and over again to all who would listen.

I love seeing the way his face lights up when he's out on the field.

5 for 5!

Pictures taken April 12, 2012

Every time I asked Peter what he wanted to do for his birthday, he had a different plan.

So, despite my best intentions, we went another year without a well-planned party.

But of course we woke up the morning of his birthday and wanted to celebrate.

We picked out his favorite cupcakes from the store and invited several of his friends to come share them with us.

I realized that five year olds don't need you to plan games and activities.

These boys spent hours just running around, playing, and having fun!

Chili's

Pictures taken April 10, 2012

My brother is a waiter at Chili's.

They often have coupons for kids to eat for free.

When they do, my sister and I like to take our kids there.

A lot of time Dan is our waiter.

This time he actually came in on his day off work and ate with us.

We had lots of fun.

The kids got balloons, loved their meals and then dog-piled on Danny when it was all done.

Sadly, this is where Ammon lost his pocket knife.

But other than that, it was a great night!

Natural History Museum (II)

Pictures taken April 9, 2012

My sister arranged for the family to go to the Natural History Museum together.

As it turned out, several family members weren't able to make it at the last minute.

But we had fun with my mom, my sister and her kids (including two extra foster kids) and us.

On this trip I was really struck with Ammon's love for learning.

He is so at home in a museum where there is so much to see and discover.

Peter had fun too, and enjoys the hands on exhibits.

It was a great outing.

(And did I mention we went for free?  My sister always finds the best deals.)

Easter

Pictures taken April 8, 2012

Easter morning was filled with fun family time.

The Easter Bunny thought Ammon was getting old enough for some trickier hiding places.

But it's true what they say - people don't look UP.

He had a hard time finding some of the eggs that were put up high.

It was fun.

Peter was excited to get a compass - he'd been asking for one.

Andrew was excited to give Ammon his first pocket knife.

Both presents turned out to be a disaster.

Peter broke his compass at my parents house later that evening.

My mom happened to have another one she was planning to give him.

He broke that one too.

The next day or so we went out to dinner.

Ammon left his knife in the restaurant and we never saw it again.

So basically, Easter had some awesome gifts, but ultimately, they were both a bust.

After church my Grandma hosted a dinner at my parents house.

I was relieved since I had been so busy the previous week I hadn't planned any food.

My brother David came with his wife.

It's always fun to see my brothers.

The kids always climb all over them!

It was a fun holiday!