Go Xtreme!

Amanda (#11) is playing on Team Xtreme again this year. Her coach is Jeff Womack and has been her soccer coach for 3 or 4 years. She passed on going comp soccer this year because Jeff has been able to keep the same girls on this rec team all 4 years! He is so cute with them and they are really gelling as a team! Last week was her first game, but I forgot the camera. She scored 2 goals that game! Mike pays her $5 for every goal, so we coughed up $10!Love the views we get to look at while Amanda plays!
Here's what B & Sydney do while Mom & Dad are watching the game...complain, tease each other, make huts with the shade umbrella, play on the playground for 5 minutes, and complain.
Today, she played forward for awhile, but then moved back to sweeper to defend the goal with Lindsay. Coach kept her there the entire 2nd half as the team they played had a lot of shots on goal. It's so fun to see her play well and see that she likes soccer so much!
We love you Amanda and are very proud of you!

Sydney's Baptism!

Baptism Day!!!

Our Family! It finally came! Sydney's baptism! She has been looking forward to this day for 6 months! She has practiced with Dad and asked many questions. During her Bishop's interview, he mentioned that Sydney was the most mature 8 year old he had ever met! He was also impressed with her reading skills as we were reading scriptures together and she got some big words right! Sydney was very emotional for a few days leading up to today. She kept telling me that her eyes were getting teary. I told her it's just fine and that she is feeling the Spirit!

Friday, we spent the day getting ready. We made sure her dress was right and that everyone had shoes ready. Mike had to be in Denver all day Friday, so I was rushing to get everything done. I cooked bbq chicken all day! Needless to say, we were all pretty tired by this morning! But, everyone woke up on time and happy! We were able to get to the stake center on time and meet our wonderful family!

When we got to the stake center, D & Kat and kids were there to greet us!

We missed a few of Mike's family and of course, Evan & Jamie who are in WA at McChord AFB. But, we had both grandparents, my 3 brothers and their families (including McKenzie!), Scott & Zac, Doug & Cath and all 5 of their kids, Steve & his family, Kevin & Staci and kids, Janice & Gary with Matt & Jeff, and cute friends-Rachel Orison with Abby & Lucy and Elise Jensen with Justin.

Grandma & Papa Gib

Grandma & Papa Arv

We had Brother Elliott from the Bishopric give us a great talk on the Holy Ghost. Liz Kennedy from the Primary give us a talk on Baptism. The kids in the congregation sang 'When I Am Baptized' and Sydney's Primary teacher, Sarah Croft played the piano for us. Also baptized today was Dallin Barlow. I said the opening prayer and started crying after 'Our Dear Heavenly Father...'

Grandpas were witnesses and Mike performed the ordinances. He did a great job and was emotional himself during her blessing. It was a very special day for our family and we are so grateful for all the friends and family that made it so. Thank you to all that came to share our day! Congratulations, Sydney!

Sydney moments after being baptized! She is clean and pure!

More Sydney birthday!

Monday night we had Grandma & Papa Gib up for dinner to celebrate Sydney's birthday! We had her choice of chicken pillows for dinner. A nice little bundt cake and happy birthday rounded out our celebration! G&P gave her a bead set that she can make bracelets with! She was so excited and has spent hours with the kit already!

(Brandon wasn't feeling well and ended up having an ear infection)

On Wednesday, her actual birthday, we celebrated as a family by going to Wingers (also her choice) and came home for mint chocolate chip ice cream and Mrs. Backer's cake! Since she got an electric scooter earlier this summer that was for her birthday, we just gave her some lip gloss. She was very happy!

Eight is great! We love you Sydney!

Her bff, Abby also came over and gave her this giant cupcake! Abby's mom, Rachel, is a sweetheart and made Sydney feel like a princess! Sydney just licked the frosting off...and so no one else wanted any! Abby gave her a darling 'S' necklace. Thanks, girls!

A little bit of Brandon

B got his haircut this week. He said he wanted it like Spencer's (his friend from next door). Well, that meant modified mohawk! He loved sporting this 'do around!

Next day, he was wrestling with friend, Brooks, who is 3 and all boy, when the two bumped heads. B got a little shiner....makes him look tough right?

We did have a rough week with sickness for him. Another major ear infection! Poor kid! You would have thought he fulfilled his quota for ear infections as a baby! A couple of days on antibiotics and we think he's getting better. Hang in there, buddy!

Happy 8th Birthday, Sydney!

Today is Sydney's 8th Birthday! We love you so much Sydney and are grateful to have you in our family! Your entrance into this world was rough! I remember the nurse and Anesthesiologist up on my bed pushing on my stomach trying to get you born! When you came out, you were a lovely shade of greyish-blue and not really breathing yet. They didn't even let Dad cut the cord before they whisked you away to get you breathing. I remember telling Dad, go with the baby and see if she's ok! Gratefully, you were ok! After a few doctor's visits to fix your strained neck muscles, you were as good as new! And we were in for an adventure! Fiesty and strong with strawberry blonde, curly hair, you were the complete opposite of your sister!

You were a great sleeper, loved your naps and your ba-ba. You loved following your sister around and you two used to give each other big hugs! (Someday I hope that returns). You loved to be carried....something that is still true as you made Dad 'carry' you to the kitchen this morning! You are a girly girl and have a cute personality and sense of humor! We love you!

Here are 8 more things about Sydney:

1. Sydney LOVES babies! She would always hold Brandon when he was a baby (she was 3.5), while I got things done. She never got tired of holding him and she can put any baby to sleep!

2. Sydney loves girly things like pretty dresses and make-up. She a little fashionista-always putting outfits together and accessorizing. She also loves to dance, tumble and sing!

3. She is a tease. She's always trying to fool Josh & Taylor (the neighbor boys), by telling things like, 'I got stiches this weekend'. I keep telling the boys to not believe everything she says!

4. We always have to make sure Sydney has eaten every few hours, or her blood-sugar gets too low and she loses it! It took us awhile to figure this out, but every once in awhile we forget. If Sydney starts to lose it, we remind her to hold it together until she can eat by saying, 'The walrus screams at midnight' Not sure where that came from...Dad & Syd just started saying it!

5. Sydney is super smart! She is really quick with math! (she gets this from her Dad). I rarely have to help her with homework.

6. Sydney stays on-task. She is good with checking things off lists. Let me explain. For chores, I make the kids a chore list. She will crank out all her chores and doesn't stop until she has checked everything off! I know that if I need something done, I just put it on a list for Sydney.

7. Sydney has a great imagination and always makes up the greatest games to play!

8. Sydney is soooo excited to get baptized! She has been talking about it for 6+ months! She has made Dad practice with her so she gets it right. The Bishop told her at her baptism interview that she is the most mature 8 year old he's ever interviewed. She read a scripture for him and he couldn't believe how well she could read! This will be a big day for Sydney and she can't wait!

Sydney, Dad & I love you sooooo much! We are so happy that you are in our family! You are so important to us! We love that you are a great daughter and a great sister! You keep us laughing! Happy Birthday, Syd-Syd!

Piano rewards

Last night I chatted on Facebook with a former piano student from our old neighborhood. His name is Andrew Walkington. Mike was also the Walkington's home teacher, so this family is special to us. As we were moving, they announced they were getting a divorce. We were so worried about their 4 boys.

Andrew started 'chatting' with me last night telling me about his recent performance at a church somewhere (not our former ward). He said it went really, really well and that people kept coming up to him and telling him how wonderful he is. He said, some guy named Kenneth Cope (an LDS artist that was really big in the 80's....or at least that's when I was first familiar with him), told him he had amazing talent!

So, Andrew had contacted me to tell me thank you so much for teaching him how to play the piano! He loves it and doesn't know how he would have gotten through those tough times during his parent's divorce, etc. without the piano. It's good therapy.

Hearing that is good therapy for me! It makes all the craziness and hours of trying to convince students to practice so they can really enjoy the piano all worth it! In this world of instant gratification and instant results, piano is still one of those things that takes time. But, once you put in the time, the reward is fantastic!

On a side note: Andrew also told me that he was just ordained an Elder and is turning in his mission papers in a couple of weeks! We love the kids in this ward. They all held a special place in our hearts as we thought of them as our own! There were a couple of years that we lived there before having our first baby. These piano kids....Beehives and Mike's Priests were our kids! It's so fun to see them as they are growing and making good choices!

Lake Powell!

Riding the boat roller coaster!

Put your hands in the air! Dad did a great job of finding bumps for the kids!

Brandon's photo shoot...

Sydney being funny!

Tubing!

Since we didn't go anywhere during this crazy summer, Mike decided we needed to take the kids to Lake Powell for the weekend!

We headed out on Thursday night, stayed in Kanab, and then on Friday drove the rest of the way to Wahweep! We brought Max along and so the first night in the hotel was a little strange, as he usually sleeps outside. To be inside with us was more excitement than this 8 month old could handle and Mike ended up taking him out for walks at 4am!

Don't get used to this, Max. No dogs on the beds or furniture at our house!

We got to Wahweep around 10am, and got on the water about 10:30a or 11am. While the kids and I were in the boat waiting for Mike to come back from parking the car and trailer, a strange sound which sounded like the fan belt on your car disturbed the peacefulness of the morning. It stopped after about 30 seconds, so we just told Mike when we picked him up. He said, well, let's go and we'll just listen. He put the boat in gear and the alarm goes off and the boat will not move! Thinking it was the impeller, Mikey opened the engine to check it out. Pretty soon, a family from Herriman stopped and talked with Mike and agreed that it was the impeller. They towed us back to the dock (good thing we were only out as far as the 'no-wake' bouy) and even helped us walk the boat onto the trailer! So, we had only been in Powell for about an hour and so far, it wasn't that fun!

Once we loaded the boat, we headed into Page, AZ, to find the boat mechanic that our Herriman friend had recommended. The mechanic agreed that it was the impeller and told us they could work on it. We spent the next 4 hours in Page. It's kind of a dumpy city. Sorry for any Page residents....we spent a little time at the park and had to steer the kids away from the teen-agers sluffing school and 'appreciating' each other on a blanket. Whew....

Soon, we were back on the lake. We had a good couple of hours and really enjoyed finally getting the water! We decided to head back when it was starting to get dark. We dropped Mike at the dock and waited for him to back the trailer in. He came in a little crooked and since he hasn't even done that before, I wasn't sure what to do.....so I just put the boat on the trailer. Except, that it didn't go on the trailer, it kind of turned. Not good. So, in an attempt to get it off, I backed-up....and tore off one of the trailer runners that goes underneath the boat. YIKES! Really, could this day get worse? Yes, as Mike was trying to fix it enough to get us off the lake (with the assistance of other boaters...yes, this was extremely embarrasing for me), he backed the trailer back down without taking the tool kit off the trailer. So, then we lost 90% of the tools in the lake! We were just relieved to get back to our hotel room.

So, the next day, we tried again after Mike went shopping for a new drill, new tool box and everything needed to fix the boat trailer. We really did everything very slowly and carefully this day, hoping not to extend our streak of baaaad luck! We put the boat in the water very carefully! Amanda stayed with Mike to help out. Soon, he had it fixed and we were on our way. Luckily, everything went great the rest of the trip!

The kids tubed and we tubed with the kids. We found shade and went swimming. We found a beach and Mike threw Max in the water. At first, since we were all spread out along the beach and in the water, he didn't know where to swim. He even tried to swim back to the boat. But, finally we showed him where to swim and soon he was loving the water! He did not move at all during the night. We finally wore him out that he slept all night! We even poked him in the morning to make sure he was alive!

Late afternoon, we could see a storm brewing. So, we headed to the marina for some shelter. It was a rough ride in. The kids were really nervous and we were traveling over some white caps. We pulled the kids in from the bow and hunkered down as Mike drove us to safety! The marina was closed, but we hung out for an hour before deciding to get the boat out for the day. Mike & B took a walk through all of the houseboat rows and they were amazed to find a ton of them were occupied! Instead of heading out to find a beach, they just stayed in wet dock and boated from there. It was like a little tent city or trailer park!

Sunday morning was our last day! We decided to take a little drive in the boat and went to see the Glen Canyon Dam from the lake. The kids loved making 'dam' jokes. This is our dam picture!Next we found a beach again and played around. This time, Max, was all over getting in the water and playing with the kids. It was so relaxing and exactly what we love about Lake Powell. Seeing the kids happy and playing and being together as a family. But, there was another storm brewing and so we decided it was time to hit the road. No drama as we packed up, changed out of our swimsuits into clothes and got on the road. Mike was so tired at this point that we stopped in Kanab to get some lunch and let Mike sleep for about a half hour. There wasn't a lot of resting down-time for him this trip, unfortunately. But we loved going and hope we made memories that the kids will remember happily!