2019...heck yeah!

Happy 2019!

I'm hopeful for another great year. A year of learning, of travel of love. I hope to be present and to be positive. I hope to be an example and a teacher. I hope to learn and to grow.

Kedzie started her new year off with the removal of her wisdom teeth! They had no roots, so the doctors were excited to extract them. she was great. It was hard, and painful and took a week to be feeling better, but she was a trooper and milked it for all it was worth. Nothing better than literally spending a week on the couch watch "Once Upon a Time" on Netflix!

While Kedzie was healing, the boys were working hard at XR winter soccer camp. They had coaches from all over the place including a recruiter for the mens national team. Ethan was back to playing soccer for the first time since August when his knee started hurting him. He was happy to be back and enjoyed playing soccer again. Alex and Triston haven't had a break from soccer forever and don't seem to mind it! I'm so proud of their hard work and commitment to their team and their coaches.  

We also headed to Copper Mountain for a day of skiing and it was the craziest, best day ever!

Triston's bindings were too lose for the powder, so our first run took an hour. Every turn, he'd lose a ski! Needless to say, the other boys left us in the powder! 

Once Triston and I met up with the boys, Alex was crying because his toes were being crunched in his boots. So, we decided to rent some. However, he took his boots off first and then we had to walk across snow to the rental place. A kind employee offered to carry him the 1/2 mile. I was so grateful. He was rewarded kindly by his boss. It was neat to watch. 

Finally, we hit the slopes and everything was great. Everyone was happy and progressing and we had so much fun. When we headed home, Alex walked from the rental shop to the bus and finally to the car in his socks! We didn't need dry socks anymore! It'll be a day on the mountain to remember. 

In October, we sold about 40 plus dozen cookies for the boys to go to Spain. I thought we'd try again this month thinking that we would have far fewer requests. Boy was I wrong! We have such supportive friends and family. I'm so grateful for their kindness and generosity. We have about 40 dozen to make again. I bake with some help. Travis makes the frosting and we all frost and the boys deliver. It really is a family effort. The boys will have plenty of money for their trip. I'm so grateful and I'm over making cookies!!!

We finally had a great snow storm that required sledding and a fort/igloo. Travis and Perry are such great dads and the boys had the best time ever!

Second piano recital with Emily Shafenberg and the kids are amazing. Sadly, Alex quit this fall much to our chagrin. We are hopeful he'll again play because he has a talent. However, Triston was amazing as was Kedzie. They played so well. They practice every day. Although they don't spend a lot of time practicing, they do practice and it shows in their skills at the recital. So proud of them both. 

Cali, Kaylen and Kezdie...piano students and friends

Our dog is still our favorite animal! We especially laugh a lot at him when he has poop stuck in his bum and he can't get it out. This picture doesn't do it justice.  The next picture is of Wiley and I on the couch after the kids headed back to school. Phew, we made it through another break with kids!

The boys continue to play basketball with Coach Perry. They are excelling. They finally lost by one point last week to the other undefeated team. It was a disappointment for all, but it was by one point. They play well and are learning and growing at each practice and each game. Numbers 8 and 5 are my favorite players! 

They were invited to play a scrimmage during the half time of the CO Christian University vs. Westminster (Utah) game on a Friday night. It lasted a total of six minutes. Alex was the only player on the Net Snappers that scored. They played an older team, so they lost, but they had a lot of fun. The group of boys are such fun friends and great athletes. Grateful for the opportunity to watch them play and grow in strength and skill.