Heroes

For as long as I can remember, each Memorial Day we have gone to put flowers on the graves of family members who have gone on before us, we have flown an American Flag in front of our house, and we have remembered those who have served in the military. I have two heroes that are part of what is referred to as the "Greatest Generation." My Grandfathers: One that I have never met, and one that I am priveleged to be able to still go visit in his home, and get great advice, and big hugs from. Both of my grandfathers served in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

My Grandpa Grace (pictured on the left) is one of my biggest heroes. Not only because he served our country valiantly, but because he has served the Lord so valiantly as well. His testimony and love helped me to gain my own testimony of the gospel. I always wanted him to be proud of me, and thinking about how he would feel if I made certain choices always seemed to keep me out of trouble. I always felt like everyone knew my Grandpa, and I was proud to be a Grace! He is a great man, who even through health problems and pain, seems to have a big smile on his face. I don't think I have ever heard him complain. Next week we will celebrate another of his birthdays, and I'm so grateful to still have him here with us to teach and love my own children. I want to celebrate him on this memorial day as one of my greatest heroes, and I'm glad I'm not having to put flowers on a grave for him yet.

My other grandpa, Grandpa "Richard" (pictured on the right) as we sometimes call him, passed away when my mom was only 11 years old after battling pancreatic cancer. Although I have never met him, he is also a great hero of mine. Hearing stories from my Grandma and Mom always painted a picture in my mind of such a wonderful, kind, heroic man. He also served the country and the Lord valiantly. I have loved reading my grandma's accounts of him. She always talked about how handsome and wonderful he was, and my mom made him sound like he must have been the best dad in the world. I have always said that he is one of the first people I want to meet when I leave this life. I always loved going to put flowers on his grave on Memorial Day, and imagining how awesome he was. Now that my grandma has been reunited with him, I miss her all the time, but I am so happy that she is with Grandpa again. I would have loved to have seen that reunion.

There are so many more heroes, some that I know, like cousins and friends who have served in the military, and many, many more that I don't know. I am so grateful for all the men and women of the armed forces who put their lives on the line daily to protect our country and keep us free. So many have sacrificed everything, and I couldn't be more thankful for their service. Yesterday when we went to visit the cemetaries, we saw a young man in his army uniform. As he passed, our boys said "Hi Army guy!" He was sweet and said "hi" with a smile. He walked over to the grave of a fellow soldier who had died in Irag. He cried and saluted his fallen friend. When he came back past us, my sweet Bryson said "Thank you for fighting in the Army." I wish we could tell them all "Thank you," because they are all heroes!

Dance Festival

More and more end of the year activities... they just keep coming. It's fun, but busy. We were just happy to have great weather for the dance festival. It wasn't hot (unlike some years when we go and get cooked in the sun), but it wasn't TOO chilly either. Just nice and cool.

B's class did a Mayan/Aztec type dance. It was so cute. They had these little "shakers" made from soda cans, and of course a Mayan head-dress. He was kind of in the middle of the group, so it was a little hard to get him on video, but I could see him better than the girls. He did awesome. He was so serious, it made me smile :)

The sixth grade did an Israeli dance. Eryn wasn't very excited about it... she felt like it was a boring dance, but I thought it was really cute. It's not as elaborate as some of the ballroom dances she's done, so maybe that's why it seemed "boring." The ballroom team also performed a few of their dances, so Eryn got to dance several times. She was in the back where I couldn't see her very well, but I did catch occasional glimses.

The fourth grade did a Brasilian Samba. The music was so cool, and they did a fantastic job. Too bad that when I was taping it, I thought I was right on Kaitlyn, but after a few minutes I realized it wasn't her! She had the same color and length of hair, khaki capris and a white shirt, and of course the MASK... it wasn't until I looked at the girls' shoes that I realized that I was videoing a total stranger. I finally found K clear in the back, and got to watch her for the second half of the dance. She did great.

I always enjoy going to the dance festivals. This year I didn't have a little voice in my ear saying "This is boring! When is it over!" That little voice stayed home and helped daddy do some trenching in the yard for the pressurized irrigation. It was the only day we could do it, and Jared felt bad that he couldn't come see the kids, but I was secretly happy to not have to take the "little voice." Good thing Daddy can watch the video... even if half the fourth grade dance is focused on somebody else's kid!

Gone Fishin'

Last Monday, we sat down to eat dinner, and Jared said "Hurry and eat. Tonight for Family Home Evening, we are going fishing!" You should have seen the kids' faces. All four of them! They were so excited. He had talked to me about it earlier, but told me not to say anything... just in case it didn't work out. I think it was so I wouldn't ruin the surprise! We have some really fun families in our ward that we are friends with, and we all went together. It was a little chilly and somewhat breezy, but it was so fun. The kids had a blast!



Bryson caught his very first fish. He didn't stop smiling for the rest of the night. The next day it was all he could talk about "I caught my VERY FIRST FISH!" I think he told everyone he saw... some even got to hear about it multiple times.




We caught more moss and mud than anything, and a few people accidentally stepped into the water and got all wet, but it didn't matter. We had a great time.



It was fun to go with our friends. One family ended up having to leave early... they had a little one that wasn't feeling well, so we didn't get them in the big group picture above. We were sad they had to leave.




Hayden was getting a little bit frustrated, because he just couldn't seem to catch anything but moss. All of a sudden, our friend Travis (who is also our bishop) called to Hayden. "Hurry Hayden! I've got a fish on my line! I need you to help me reel it in!" Hayds was so excited. He worked so hard to get that fish pulled in. He wished it was on his OWN line, but he was still pretty happy.



Eryn didn't catch anything, but I think she enjoyed casting her line out and reeling it back in anyway. The other two girls her age didn't want to fish. They just wanted to sit in the truck and watch a movie. I'm glad E wanted to be out with us! :)



K was hilarious. She didn't catch anything either, and she is a little more vocal in her frustrations. She let everyone know how irritating it was everytime she just had a little greenery on her hook. But then she would laugh and joke about it, and make us all laugh.



The kids are already asking when we can go again. Soon, guys. I promise!!

Cinderella Outgrows Her Glass Slipper

Last Friday, B performed in the cutest play! It was called "Cinderella Outgrows Her Glass Slipper." He was Storyteller #2, and he had a lot of lines to memorize. He was nervous, and afraid he might forget what to say, but he remembered all his lines, and pretty much everyone else's too! The play was about Cinderella, and how she really wants to go to school to become a veterinarian. She makes shoes on the side to save money, but her step-mother and step-sisters treat her like a slave (of course). One day, her Fairy Godmother comes to measure her for her ballgown, and no matter how hard Cinderella tries to tell her she doesn't want to go, her Fairy Godmother doesn't listen! She tries to pawn the Fairy Godmother off on her step-sisters, but they tell her they don't need a Fairy Godmother, because they can catch the Prince on their own! Cinderella ends up going to the ball (against her wishes) and meets the Prince, who falls madly in love with... her shoes! The clock strikes midnight, and Cinderella runs off, leaving just one of her shoes. The Prince thinks they look so comfortable, he MUST FIND HER! When he finally shows up a couple weeks later, he gets her to make some shoes for him, and some for his parents. Finally Cinderella has enough money to go to Vet School! And she lives happily ever after, of course ;)

We have LOVED B's teacher this year, and hope that Hayds gets her when he gets to first grade. This was such a fun little production, and I know the kids worked so hard on it! Congrats, B! You are the BEST ACTOR! :)


We were so proud of Bryson. He did such a great job!


All I took was our digital camera that does video, so these are just some screen shots from the video. I thought he was so cute sitting up on his tall stool "telling the story." He had to remind both of the girls of their lines a couple of times.

School Carnival

I love school carnivals. They are always a little crazy, with lots of people, but my kids love to go, and I think it's a fun way to earn money for the school. The weather was SO nice this time! Sometimes it's windy, or rainy, or chilly... but this year was perfect!

There were lots of fun games...

Face painting...

Friends...

Karaoke (where E spent most of her time!)...

and more games!

And when we had run out of tickets, but not out of energy, we headed over to the swings. Meanwhile, Jared was hiding over by the auction booth, getting me a really great basket of goodies for Mother's Day ;)

My Greatest Blessings Call Me Mom

My sister has this really cute frame with a picture of her 3 cute boys... I think the quote on it says "My greatest blessings call me Mom." I love that! It's so true. I love Mother's day... not only because I can honor my own mother (and my mother-in-law) but because I LOVE being a mom. It's the best, and definitely the greatest blessing. I love all the little handmade cards that my kids give me. They are the best!

Eryn gave me a cool card she had made in Arabic class, and a cup with flowers and flower pencils... along with a coupon for my choice of breakfast in bed, a foot massage, OR lots of hugs and kisses. She did inform me, however, that she would rather not rub my feet! I laughed. Not that I have bad feet or anything, but I don't know that I would want to rub anyone's feet either. Not my thing! But I'll take the hugs and kisses and breakfast in bed ANYTIME!

Kaitlyn gave me a really cute journal she had made at Activity Days. I love it! She picked my favorite color - RED, and then decorated it so cute. It turned out adorable.

Bryson gave me a little poem, with a note underneath that said:

Hayden made this cute, cute card in Preschool. His teacher asked him the questions... and he filled in the blanks. I just love how little minds work. This definitely made me laugh!

The Friday before Mother's Day, our kids had their school carnival (which I will post pictures of soon. They always have a big auction with baskets FULL of fun stuff. Each class is in charge of a basket, and the items in the baskets are donated... some from local businesses, some from the kids in the class. Jared decided to surprised me and bid on a basket. It was full of some REALLY YUMMY treats, which I definitely enjoyed eating and sharing :) Jared thought he should take a picture of me with it before I opened it up and started eating all the yummies!

I LOVE being a mom. Even the "not-so-good" days are worth it. Nobody ever said it would be easy, but it SURE IS WORTH IT! I love my kids so much, and I'm so grateful that Heavenly Father has trusted me with them. I hope I can be as good a mom as my own is ;)

Spring Ballroom Concert

The end of the school year is always so fun, but OH, SO busy! It seems like everyone has concerts, plays, performances, and tying up loose ends. It has been so fun this year watching Eryn participate in ballroom. She has loved it! She has really learned a lot, and it's been such a great experience. She is excited, because next year, in 7th grade, it won't be an after school thing, but it will be her PE class! It was funny to listen to her when I would pick her up after practices. She HATED the costumes they were wearing for the Spring Concert! The blue dress was itchy, her top for one performance was too big, one of the skirts was too short (poor kid... she's the tallest one!) But despite wardrobe issues, she had fun. They did a great job for their final performance, and I was SO glad that someone was there with video cameras, because we didn't exactly have the best seat. We would catch glimpses of her (so I got a FEW pics) but she was hard to see when they would move around the floor. They had a fun little party and everyone got a DVD of the concert.

There should be something new here on the blog about every other day this week. I still have to blog about Mother's Day, and B just had a cute little play last week, so check back ;)

Signs of Spring

This has been a rough Spring. I have lived here all my life, and I still can't get used to the Jekyl and Hyde weather we experience during Spring. It fools me every year. We have a couple of gorgeous March and April days, and I make the mistake of thinking "Oh... Spring is here! Hooray!" I start getting Spring clothes out, retiring coats and gloves for the season, and thinking about the yard. Well, it never fails. It's 70 degrees one day, 30 and blizzarding the next! Seriously. Then after a few freezing cold days, we heat up again, only to go right back to Winter temperatures and weather. The only thing I can count on, is loving the spring flowers. They are always so pretty! I love seeing tulips everywhere, and blossoms on trees, and I especially LOVE bleeding hearts. I've always kinda liked them, but since I planted three of them in front of my house a few years ago, I have REALLY grown to love them. I love seeing them peek up through the ground at the early beginnings of Spring, then they grow so fast, and soon are covered with beautiful heart-shaped flowers. I get so sad when the wind blows really hard and beats them up! They grow bigger each year, and I love to go out and take pictures of them. Here are a few I took (and a few of our tulips too) and played with in photoshop. Now if the weather would just decided to STAY nice, I'll be the happiest person around!









And my favorite one!

The End...

... of Spring Soccer, that is. I'm glad there were at least a couple of games played in decent weather. We sat through games in hail, wind (not just any wind, but freezing, arctic wind), rain, and even one in snow. Honestly, it feels like Spring will NEVER get here for real. But the kids had a blast playing soccer. They didn't even mind having to wear gloves, coats, and beanies. And Kaitlyn thought it was fun for me to honk the horn from the van when she scored. (Yes, it was THAT COLD... and I think I honked 6 times that game!) I love watching them, I would just prefer to get a sunburn while doing so - just sayin'!

Anyway, here is Hayd's official soccer post. His first time playing was last fall, and even though there was only a slight improvement with his focus, there WAS improvement. After every game he talked about how much fun it was. He always gave his coach a giant hug, and sometimes even hugged a few team mates. Plus, he just looks so stinkin' cute in his long socks, shin guards, and soccer cleats! I spent most of his games just laughing. This age is just so funny to watch, it's definitely entertaining! He loved being the one to kick off at the beginning of the game, loved having the chance to play goalie (and he did great jumping on the ball when it was coming toward him), and loved throwing in. It was great, but I'm not going to pretend that I'm sad it's over. It was a long, cold season!!

Moms

Happy Mother's Day! I'm so blessed to have my mom. After having daughters of my own (especially the "pre-teen" variety) I understand better what my mom must have felt. I truly admire her for what she did raising FOUR OF US! Four girls! I can only imagine. I am so grateful for the example that she has been to me. I hope that one day I can be as good a mom as she has been to me. I never, ever questioned her love for me. It was always so evident. Everything she did for us made it completely obvious that she loved us... and she told us every day. I love you, Mom. Thanks for everything :)

And I am so thankful for my "other mom." Jared was so blessed to have such a patient mom... and trust me, she would HAVE to be patient to raise my sweet hubby. I know he gave her a run for her money as a teenager, but he has turned out to be such an amazing man. I know that her love and guidance had a lot to do with it. She is a great lady, and I'm so blessed to be her daughter-in-law (and I love that she always says that the "in-law" part is just a formality. She has always treated me like a daughter).

And of course, I am so thankful for the opportunity the Lord has given ME to be a mother. It is the most wonderful job in the world. It aint always the easiest job, but it is so worth it. I love watching my children grow and learn. They make me so happy! I LOVE BEING A MOM!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Once upon a time, 15 years ago...

Once upon a time, a boy decided he would move out to Utah from his home state of Virginia. He had no idea what was in store for him. He began working at the Olive Garden as a cook/host/busser (a young man of many skills obviously) and soon began to think that maybe Utah was not the place for him. It was okay, of course, but it was no Virginia. Apparently he loves humidity :)

Meanwhile, a Utah girl decided she needed a change from the Golden Corral she was working at, and applied at the Olive Garden. She got the job and soon began her training. She was a little shy, and really wasn't interested in doing anything other than coming to work, and leaving with a paycheck, but she made new friends (and even got to work with a couple of friends from High School - see our Halloween picture below. We didn't always dress that way at work LOL). It wasn't long before the boy noticed the girl and started asking her questions. She usually gave the shortest answer possible and went on her way. Soon the boy nicknamed her "Sargeant." He thought she'd make a great police officer or something (actually it was because she was all business... no way would she even think about dating anyone from work!). He was persistent, however, and soon began asking her what her weekend plans were. She always had some, of course... until one weekend.

This particular afternoon, when the boy asked the girl what she was doing later, she answered that she was working another shift. Not something she would normally do, but she was too nice to say "no" when someone asked her to cover their shift. The boy was shocked!

Later that night, during the dinner shift, the boy returned to the Olive Garden. Everywhere the girl turned, he seemed to show up. Picking up an order from the bar? Yep. He was there. Entering an order into the computer? Yep. There too. She soon became a little nervous (but also flattered). She wondered if he would ever just go ahead and ask her out! Thank goodness he finally did, because she was getting so nervous that she started tripping over things and dropping things. Kind of embarrassing!

Well, that first date almost didn't happen. The girl went to a high school graduation ceremony with her sister, and ended up stuck in traffic. The boy called the girl's home several times, and finally had decided that he had been stood up. But when she got home, she quickly called him. She apologized for what happened, and he promptly drove over to pick her up...

The first few dates were fun, but the boy wasn't sure if he should continue. This girl just really didn't say much. Oh, she answered his questions, but didn't start many of the conversations. He had decided to just let it go, when she happened to show up at the Olive Garden during his shift. She was there to pick up her check, but walked back to where he was cooking and said "Hi. What should we do tonight?" Reluctantly, he agreed to another date, and he was NOT disappointed. Apparently it just took a little longer for her to warm up. They were together every day after that, and soon decided that they wanted to be together forever. The boy asked the girl to marry him, and of course the girl said "YES!"

On May 5th, 1995, the boy and the girl were sealed for Time and all Eternity in the Salt Lake Temple. It was the happiest day of their lives. They were young and in love, and they didn't have much money, but they had eachother and knew that together they could do anything!!

Now, 15 years later, they look back at these pictures and laugh a little. Partly because styles have changed a lot (I mean, look at that giant bouquet), and partly because they were so young and skinny and they have learned a lot since then, but mostly because after 15 years they are still happy. Even more happy, because they have added the four most amazing kids to their family. But mostly happy because they have eachother, and that's all they need! And they are living happily ever after :)

What a Difference!

Bryson started playing soccer when he was four. I remember thinking several times that year... "What on earth were we thinking?" He was much more interested in watching his shadow in the grass as he ran crazily up the field. The bugs buzzing around caught his attention more often than the ball. And when he did run, it was with his arms straight out, airplane-like, and his eyes up in the clouds. It was entertaining, that's for sure. I was laughing and rolling my eyes more often than not, but he was having a blast, and that's what counts, right? Fast-forward a few years. He is seven now, and is AWESOME! I've only seen him do a cartwheel once, and heck, I would too if I just blocked a goal! So, here are HIS answers to my Soccer questions:

What's the best thing about soccer? I don't know. It's just FUN!

What's it like having Dad as your coach? It's GREAT!

Why is it great? Well, 'cuz I like him!

What's your favorite position? Offense (he has come SO close to scoring. He wants to score a goal SO SO badly!)

What's your least favorite position? I don't have one. (In fact, he is a terrific goalie. It's great when it finally clicks!)

What's your team name? YELLOW DRAGONS!

This is the first time Jared has coached B's soccer team. It's funny, because he has coached Kaitlyn's team for five years. Most of her team is made up of the same girls every year. They have grown so much as players and as a team, and they are amazing (and undefeated). So to go back to a team where most of them have never played before, and the those that have are just barely starting to really get it, has been a challenge for Jared. He feels so bad for them when they don't even get to score a goal. He's done a great job with them, and we are hoping that by the end of the season they can win a game. ;) The hardest thing, is that usually only 6 boys show up. So many times, there hasn't even been an extra to sit out. They get so tired!

But even though many of the boys on B's team are still trying to figure the whole thing out, Bryson is doing amazing. He GETS it! And he is SO focused (most of the time) it's fun to watch how much he has grown!

And here he is rockin' his sweet goalie skills!