Food Storage

My idea of food storage!

Bountiful High School Basketball Banquet 2012

The Bountiful High School Basketball Banquet was held at the Wight House.  There was fine dining, great company, and a fabulous program.

I love the senior boys this year, and am really going to miss them. There are a few boys that particularly tug on my heart strings.

Brock and Brandon Yates are twins. Their father passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack, one year after Steve. I loved watching these boys rally and watch out for each other throughout the season. One of my favorite plays was watching one assist the other for a score.

Dain Murdock, or the intimidator, was also one of my favs. Dain was one of the leading defenders in the state. His very large family always was there supporting him.

Brit Harding, was one of the leading scorers. His dad was called as a mission president in Atlanta. They leave in June, and Brit leaves for his mission in Washington shortly thereafter. What a great family.

Tommy Lalli, our center, was a big presence.  Sadly, he broke his wrist in the game against Cyprus.  The boys were devastated with the loss of Tommy for several weeks, but Tommy came back to finish off a great season.

The senior boys conducted the program. Each senior passed on a basketball given to them by Coach Maxwell at the beginning of the season, to another younger player that they admired. The senior wrote a message on the ball to the player. Five balls were given out, and Mike happened to be one of the recipients. Dain Murdock gave his ball to Mike.

Awards were received, and each coach talked and gave great advice. Some of the advice was to “pay it forward” so to speak. To be a great mentor to a younger teammate. Another message was about helping others, and being a team player. All inspiring messages.

What a great group of boys, and wonderful coaches! The Braves were undefeated in region, and went to play in the final four at State. Congratulations!

Dain and Mike

Our table, and the coaches.

The Return of the Boat

Friday, Mike and I got the boat out of storage. I feel a little - manly - when I pick up the boat. I have NEVER seen a woman fulfilling that responsibility. I suppose there are many “manly” duties that I now own.

A gentleman picking up his boat at the same time asked for my assistance. Wow - I must have looked like I really knew what I was doing. Hopefully, I won’t be growing facial hair any time soon:).

We forgot the plugs for the boat brake lights, and signals. Mike insisted we go home and get them, but I refused. “I’ll drive REALLY slow and stay in the outer lane,” I insisted. He washed his hands of anything bad that could occur while I was driving home.

 We made it!  If you saw a young (well maybe not-so-young) woman, towing a boat with a red truck, with no brake lights or signal lights, well I may or may not know something about that.

Dancing and Baseball all in gorgeous Saturday!

Creative Arts Academy presented their Spring recital-  Inspiration.  I LOVE watching the girls from their studio dance.  They are fabulous dancers.

Lizzy danced in Warrior Soul and Blooming.  The pictures of her actually dancing were all blurry, so I only have team pictures.  Great job Lizzy! .

Ben had a double header this afternoon at Grant's Park with his accelerated baseball team. They played Murray and Tooele, and came home with two wins. Great job boys!

 

Spring Cleaning

Monday, Ben’s school teacher e-mailed me a LIST of library books that he has not returned.  Stunned, and annoyed, I began searching the house for these books.  My house isn’t really messy, but many drawers, closets, and lockers, need to be organized and cleaned. 

I have been procrastinating Spring Cleaning.  I love opening drawers and closets and admiring them when they are clean and organized, but doing the actual work, not-so-much.

Searching for Ben’s library books forced me into starting my Spring Cleaning.  It is certainly an overwhelming project, but taken in bits and pieces (baby steps I call it), it’s not-so-bad.

Day one I found 2 library books; day 2, two more books; and day 3, I found library books not returned by my older children to the elementary and junior high school.

I e-mailed Ben’s teacher informing her that she prompted a Spring Cleaning frenzy.  When I peeked my head in the classroom with another arm full of books, his teacher smiled, and said to Ben, “Your mom must still be “Spring Cleaning.”

The Boot

Crutches for one more week, was the verdict at the doctor’s office today. Yay! Every time I hear Mike hop down the stairs, faster than I run them, I hold my breath waiting to hear a crash and a tumble. After falling down the stairs at Bountiful High with his crutches, and having to ice his other ankle for the day, I am more than ready to get rid of these pesty aids.

The bandages, splint, and stitches were removed, revealing the surgical wound left on Mike’s ankle. You know you are a seasoned mom, when you find disgusting wounds "cool". In my earlier parenting year’s I would have to put my head between my knees to avoid passing out at the sight of blood. My, things have changed a bit.

Mike is now wearing a boot that extends almost to the knee. One week without weight on his ankle and then he can start trying to walk on his ankle with the boot. After, he wears the boot for 4 weeks, he begins physical therapy.

He is well on his way to recovery! Yay!

Easter

We were spirituality fed in church today with many uplifting Easter messages. We were privileged to end our Sacrament meeting with a message from President Eyring. We feel so blessed to have him in our ward.

Upon returning from church, I gathered my children and watched a wonderful Easter message with them on the church web-site, here. I am grateful for the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ. What a blessing it is to know that our family will be together again someday.

We visited Steve’s grave today. It always makes me a little sad, well maybe a lot sad, but I believe and have faith that we are only separated for but a short time here on earth. I am thankful for that knowledge.

The blossoms are beautiful! We enjoyed a lovely evening at Grandma and Grandpa Brown’s feasting on a fabulous meal, and enjoying the annual Easter Egg Hunt.

We are blessed!

The Easter Egg Hunt at Grandma Brown's.

Beautiful blossoms; visiting the grave; and always a game of basketball.

The colors of Easter

I love the vibrant colors of Easter! Bright yellows, pinks, purples, oranges, blues, and reds. They make me feel cheerful and happy inside!

We are ready for Easter. Eggs are colored; baskets filled; married children gifts given; and new Easter clothes to wear.

Tomorrow, hopefully, we can focus on the true meaning of Easter, our Savior Jesus Christ!

Coloring Eggs

The kid's Easter Baskets.

Gifts for the married couples!

A Bit of a Whirlwind

Spring Break has not turned out the way I anticipated. Having a “stay-cation”, I envisioned, many trips to the rec center; movies; shopping; and much more.

Monday morning I took Mike to the Orthopedic specialist to review the status of his ankle. During the basketball season, he sprained his right ankle multiple times. Some of the sprains looked like he had a baseball attached to his ankle. We had been advised during the season that ankle surgery may be imminent.

Within a couple minutes the doctor had determined Mike’s problem and said he needed reconstructive ankle surgery. Surgery was scheduled for the next day.

Surgery was in the afternoon, and this morning when I couldn’t find him, I opened the garage and found him cleaning the garage. He warms my heart with his quite kindness.

Surgery went well. He was a little “agitated” after surgery so the anesthesiologist gave him more meds. To say the least, he has slept a lot, which is good. On the way home he was acting very strange. He started singing very loudly in the back seat and then would all of a sudden fall asleep again. I was laughing so hard, I wanted to video it, but thought driving was more important.

The recovery is 3 weeks on crutches, 3 weeks in a boot, and 5 months until he can play a game of basketball. He can run, shoot, bike, whatever, just not play in a game of basketball for 5 months.

He’s not a sit-around-the-house kind of guy, so this could be challenging for the next little while.

Fortunately, the older kids have been filling in for me with entertaining Ben and Lizzy. Sarah took them both to City Creek today for lunch and shopping. Lizzy got tons of cute clothes (thank you Forever 21 for making that possible), and Ben got a Bull’s hat. Happy kids, not all is lost.

Happy 19th

My baby Kate is all grown up. She is as adorable now as she was as a baby.

She entertains us, and keeps things happening.

We love Kate, and think she's GREAT!

Happy Birthday!The family at Rio Grande. The bonus person is the waiter, aka, my boyfriend. When he served me my meal he said, "To the woman who could be my ex-girlfriend." Whatever that means! He wasn't invited to join the picture, but it looked like he wanted to anyway.

Holy Cow!

Shock, and denial were my feelings at the gas pump today. Even with my .10 per gallon discount at Smith’s Market, it still cost me around $80 to fill up the Suburban. The red truck, same problem.

According to news articles, for 19 consecutive days, gas prices have risen. The National average gas prices are around $3.90 a gallon, and in many areas they are well over $4. With reports that gas prices could top $5 a gallon in many areas by summer, it is time to reconsider our choice of transportation.

Vespa’s range from $800 and up, and bikes, well I have a few in my garage that one could ride for free. Isn’t exercise important for the human body? Aren’t we all worried about the lack of exercise among Americans these days?

Well, something’s gotta give. Maybe I’ll buy me a Vespa and make Mike ride his bike to school, I’m sure he’d like that.

If you see me on a Vespa you know I've made a drastic choice. Maybe I'll just downsize.

Chicks

This weekend Kate and Mike bought two fluffy, tiny, baby chicks. The purpose of this purchase was to use them in asking a “chick” to prom.

The kids quickly became attached to these cute little birds. I was so happy that they bought two, not one, because these little chicks took comfort in one another’s company. They would snuggle up to each other, and chirp very loudly if you would pick one up and not the other. Kids old and young at my house, fussed about them, played with them and made sure they had all the comforts a little fluffy friend needs.

Each day I would inquire about the status of the chicks’ exit. There was excuse after excuse as to why he hadn’t ask a girl to prom yet.

Ben became particularly attached. When, “Mom can’t we keep them”, didn’t work, he resorted to a more practical approach. “Mom, we may need these chicks for food storage,” he exclaimed. “I think I’ll just buy a case of peanut butter (protein) instead,” I refuted.

The dog was out of it’s element. She would bark and run around trying to get through the closed door where the chicks were resting. One day someone left the door open and we found her in their pen (cardboard box) staring at them. She didn’t even take a nip at them. Good dog!

Sunday night Mike finally asked to the dance. Like all boys, he had made sure the girl he was asking hadn’t been asked and delivered the invitation. Emily, scream when she answered the door with her five little sisters. Unfortunately, she had already been asked (I guess he took too long), and told Mike to come get everything to ask someone else.

In the meantime her little sisters had become very attached. These cute little fuzz balls can really melt your heart. Mike stayed at her house awhile letting the kids play with the chicks. When he finally took them, the little girls began to cry. So sad!

He took the same basket, chicks included, to ask another girl. Annie was ecstatic when she answered the door. She couldn’t stop screaming. When Mike finally talked to her she had googled how to care for them, and had them under a heat lamp. I think these cute little fluffy chicks have found a good home.

Last night while lying in bed, I thought I heard the little chicks chirping. I had told Mike to make sure that the girl he asked knew their was a "no return" policy. Luckily, it was just the smoke alarm chirping, phew! Time to replace the battery.

Now let's hope that she doesn't answer with a bunny!

Little chicks inside the Easter egg in the basket ready to go.

So cute!

Cuddles!

Hunger Games Mania

Fans everywhere are obsessed with the premier of the Hunger Games. Young, middle-aged, and old, are smitten with the tale of a brave girl forced to compete in sadistic Hunger Games. The games are about fighting to the end; life or death. The love triangle between Katniss, Peeta, and Gayle, keeps us in suspense and in wonder.

Lizzy and some of her friends went to the 12:15 a.m. showing. They prepared for this extravaganza weeks in advance. They designed a T-shirt appliqué on the computer, and with the help of a kind mom, printed the design out, and attached it to their T-shirt.

Dressed in their Hunger Game T-Shirts, and treats stashed in their bags, they were ready for the dawning of THE HUNGER GAMES!

Baseball

When I drive past the Bountiful High School baseball field and see a game going on, my heart skips a beat. I am so sad that Mike decided not to play baseball this year. He was an exceptional player!

Year’s and years he has played the game of baseball. He has many great memories with his dad. Memories of Cooper Town; St. George tournaments; traveling to Arizona; and all the local games.

Great High School memories as well. Traveling to California; playing rain or shine; and all the great fans, players, and coaches that we miss tremendously.

He has decided to devote all his time to basketball. Not a bad choice, just sad for me that he is not playing baseball.

Share Your Love

“Give your child a compliment and a hug; say, ‘I love you’ more; always express your thanks. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved. Friends move away, children grow up, loved ones pass on. It’s so easy to take others for granted, until that day when they’re gone from our lives and we are left with feelings of ‘what if’ and ‘if only.’ …
“Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey and share our love with friends and family. One day, each of us will run out of tomorrows. Let us not put off what is most important. - President Thomas S. Monson