The Ogden 6

Winter Has Arrived

2012-01-08T20:08:00.001-07:00

After a dry, warm December -finally some snow!

Matt's "mini-man"

January Skies

2012-01-05T19:59:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Scott!

2011-12-27T21:38:00.000-07:00

I can't believe Scott is 18! My sweet little, enthusiastic, fearless, talkative boy with the big smile is all grown up. Big things are ahead in the next year and I am so proud of the path Scott is on.

Happy Birthday, Scott!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T19:28:00.001-07:00

I didn't take pictures of the kids with their presents this year, but don't worry, Santa didn't forget them. Here is our tree after all the presents were cleared out, since I forgot to take one before Christmas. It always looks a little lonely after Christmas is over, but it's still the last part of my Christmas decor that I take down. I always hate to see it go. 'Til next year!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T23:05:00.001-07:00

Christmas Eve Prime Rib dinner with Grandma and Grandpa O. and Mommer and Grandpa L.

New PJs were BYU sweats this year

Obligatory asleep on the stairs picture. This worked better when they were a little shorter.

I'm not sure what prompted this picture. They look like they're guarding the Christmas tree, but I think it's one of Scott's tough guy poses and everyone else is copying him.

Finally, everyone is smiling normally! These pictures can be hard to come by. Merry Christmas!

Soccer Team Service Project

2011-12-23T19:02:00.000-07:00

Camille's Home!

2011-12-22T18:58:00.001-07:00

...And she gets a turn at gingerbread house making, too!

Matthew's Choir Concert

2011-12-21T18:57:00.000-07:00

Matthew performed in an awesome Christmas Choir Concert. Even Santa thought so!

Lasagna Party

2011-12-18T22:33:00.002-07:00

We had our annual Lasagna Party with the Lane family at our house but I didn't get a lot of pictures -just this one of a newspaper search game. One highlight -Steve and Karleen (far left in the above picture) announced their engagement!

It was our last time seeing Olga before she returns to Russia.

Heartbeats

2011-12-15T20:08:00.016-07:00

This year I had the opportunity to sing with a choir called the Heartbeats. It is made up of volunteers from the Weber County Medical Alliance, which is made up of spouses of doctors in Weber county. We started practicing in September and spent the first three weeks of December singing at various senior centers and other locations around Ogden. It was a lot of fun and very rewarding. I made many new friends and spread some Christmas cheer.

Mission Call

2011-12-14T18:23:00.001-07:00

We Skyped with Grandma and Grandpa O. while they opened their anxiously-awaited mission call and were thrilled with them to learn that they will be serving in the Stockholm Sweden mission where Grandpa served his 1st mission and where his family originated. They enter the MTC in March. We'll miss them but are proud of their decision to serve and grateful for their example. Before they return we will hopefully have one and maybe two more missionaries serving from our family.

Lunar Eclipse

2011-12-10T18:16:00.001-07:00

Since Matt's current career goal is to become an astrophysicist we knew we'd better get up at 6am to watch the progress of the lunar eclipse. Pretty cool.

Gingerbread Houses

2011-12-05T22:37:00.002-07:00

Mmmm...merry Christmas!

Windstorm

2011-12-03T10:17:00.002-07:00

On December 1st, a huge windstorm blew through Northern Utah. School was canceled and there was quite a bit of damage. Matt is standing in front of some trees that blew over at Forest Green park near our house. The bottom picture is a tree along the road to our house. Our house didn't sustain any damage, but two small windows in my car were shattered by the wind. It was pretty crazy for a while, but it was even worse in Davis county, especially Centerville, where we used to live. Some friends from our old neighborhood posted pictures on Facebook and there was much worse damage there. My thoughts and prayers are with them.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-27T09:59:00.004-07:00

Grandma, Grandpa, Olga, Steve and Karleen came over for Thanksgiving dinner

We spent a couple of days at the cabin over Thanksgiving weekend. There was an intense Speed tournament. In the end it came down to Niel and Camille in the championship, with Niel squeaking out a victory. Quite exciting!

We dug up the time capsule that we buried before Grandma and Grandpa's mission. Each of us had written a letter to ourselves and placed a meaningful item inside.

It was a very fun and relaxing weekend. It's always nice to be able to spend time with family.

Digital Underground

2011-11-19T21:55:00.002-07:00

Scott and Haley before the Digital Underground Dance

(black lights -everyone dresses in neon colors)

Mr. Ogden

2011-11-17T21:54:00.001-07:00

In November Scott participated in the Mr. Ogden pageant. It is a charity event that the high school puts on to benefit Operation Smile. Each club at the school chooses a different senior boy to represent them and they "compete" for the title of Mr. Ogden. Scott was Mr. Softball. The first picture is of the opening dance number the boys learned. The second picture is of the costume portion, and the third picture is of the boys before their interview. Scott is on the left in the 1st and 3rd pictures. I'm sad I didn't get any pictures of his "talent." I forgot to take any while I was watching. He and his friend Lyden choreographed a dance number to accordion music and borrowed two accordions and danced around on stage in berets. Pretty silly.

Scott Senior Pictures

2011-11-15T18:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday, Camille!

2011-11-14T21:49:00.000-07:00

Camille is 20!

I can't believe my little girl is now 20, but it's true. She has become a beautiful, accomplished, driven, caring young women and I couldn't be more proud of her.

Happy Halloween

2011-11-13T21:11:00.000-07:00

I have one child left who goes trick or treating. Sigh

Mummy dogs for dinner

Scary jack o-lanterns

We didn't have as many trick or treaters as usual this year, but Kevin's friends made up for it. I dropped him off at a friend's house for a party and about an hour later the party started showing up at our house, group by group. Soon the entire party had relocated. Trick or Treat!

Another Baptism

2011-10-30T19:29:00.000-06:00

Thursday night we attended another awesome baptism. This time it was for one of Kevin's friends, Juan Robles. He's the one in the orange tie. Kevin has had the opportunity this time to attend missionary discussions and church with Juan, and it has been a great experience. As you can see, Juan has a lot of great support from friends at school and seminary.

Scott and Lyden have been there from the beginning. Pablo should be in this picture, too.

Silliness

Soccer buds

Juan and the elders

Before leaving and invading Farr's

Fall Photos

2011-10-23T21:18:00.000-06:00

I dragged my kids to Beus Pond today to snap some quick photos. Beautiful day, cute kids :)

Matt, age 10

Kevin, age 14

Scott, age 17

Camille, age 20 (next week)

Fall Sports

2011-10-19T21:43:00.000-06:00

Sorry about the picture, Kev, but it's the only one I got without another runner in my way. Kevin ran cross-country with the high school this year, and he did great. His team won the 3A state championship today. Kevin didn't run today, because the JV team didn't compete in the state meet, but he ran in the region championships last week and got his PR of 19:10. Not too bad for a 9th grader. Especially since he has been playing club soccer at the same time, and he decided at the beginning of the season that when there was a conflict he would give soccer the priority. He missed quite a few x-country practices and a couple of meets so he could fulfill his soccer obligations. Next year if he does both, those priorities will most likely switch. He has been good to not complain about his busy schedule and to keep his grades up this term, so maybe he can do it all. We'll see. Now that x-country and outdoor soccer are over it's almost time for school basketball and indoor soccer to begin. It never ends with this kid.

Matt has been busy with soccer, too. He has had a good season, but unlike the rest of our kids, the intensity of club soccer has become a little too much for Matt. He has started to be sad when it's a soccer day. Now that the fall season is over, he's going to take a break. Soccer is so all-encompassing (2-3 hours a day, 3-4 days a week, year round) that if a child isn't enjoying it, there's really no point. We're going to try tennis lessons for a while, and let him see if he likes that. He took some from the city this summer and thought they were fun, and the best part -they'll only be once a week :) If he wants to play a session of indoor soccer with his team he can, but he's not going to do all three sessions straight through the winter like last year. Personally, it wouldn't hurt my feelings if he were done with soccer for good. It has been really fun and good for my older children, but it takes so much time, and Matthew, at least right now, just doesn't have the same love for it. Time will tell.

Back on Matt's birthday, before the season started, -Strikers Cup Champions

Thanks, Dad!

2011-10-07T21:09:00.002-06:00

We went to Bountiful for John's birthday a few days ago and Grandpa L. mentioned that he had more grapes than he knew what to do with. I offered to come down next day to pick a bunch because I was getting low on grape jelly. When I got there the next day, the grapes were all picked and juiced! He sent me home with 12 quarts of juice as well as a 1/2 bushel of tomatoes. I stopped by the produce stand here in town for some more tomatoes and spent the next few days canning. Here are the fruits of my labors. We now have our year's supply of pizza sauce and grape jelly. I feel so prepared.

Homecoming 2012

2011-09-24T20:53:00.000-06:00

Scott and Leilani

Senior year Homecoming Dance. Best dance yet, according to all reports. I resisted the urge to hand Leilani my jacket. :)

Our New Project

2011-09-23T20:43:00.001-06:00

John and Scott found this 65 Mustang on KSL.com and decided it was going to be their next project. John had the very same car when he was in high school and he fixed it up himself so this one was calling to him. Hopefully he can teach Scott a thing or two. Starting with how to pull up his pants. :)

Top of Utah Marathon

2011-09-17T20:41:00.001-06:00

One of the goals Camille set for herself was to run a full marathon. She has run the Ogden half-marathon four times, so she decided to train this summer and run the Top of Utah marathon in Logan this fall. And train she did. She ran faithfully all summer long and was very prepared when marathon day came. And she did great- even through rain, hail, and lightening. Grandma and Grandpa O and I went up to Logan to cheer her on.

about mile 14

about mile 20

a couple of blocks before the finish -still looking strong

A great finish -officially 4:13:56 -and the sun is finally out!

She earned that medal! Good job Camille!

BYU Round 2

2011-08-27T20:13:00.018-06:00

I only had my phone but I had to document Camille leaving us for year #2, even if it is with a bad picture. Lots of stuff, tiny apartment...will it fit? Yes, it will! Camille can do anything! It was great having Camille home for the summer, and we miss her when she's away, but we know she's doing great things. We are so proud of her determination to succeed at everything she does. And thank goodness she's just a hop, skip, and a jump away!

Back to School

2011-08-24T19:55:00.012-06:00

Senior year for Scott. I can't believe it. Apparently Kevin is sleepwalking his way into 9th grade.

Starting 4th grade with a smile.

Happy Birthday, Matt!

2011-08-22T19:14:00.049-06:00

I can't believe my baby is 10!

Matt has brought a decade of joy to our family.

Some of his favorite things: Building things, science, card tricks, piano, friends, playing wii, learning new things (especially about space), scouts, and hanging out with Dad.

On Matt's birthday Camille was out of town and Scott was working (new job at Orange Leaf) so Matt, Kevin, Dad and Mom went out to dinner after Matt's soccer tournament (they won!) and came home to a make shift ice cream sandwich birthday cake.

We celebrated his birthday with the family a couple of days later at iFly - an indoor skydiving facility. He chose to do that instead of having a friend party this year. It was super cool and we all had a fun time flying high! Thanks, Matt!

Camille made this awesome rainbow cake. Sweet!

Last Days of Summer

2011-08-21T22:40:00.000-06:00

Summer is winding down and we've been trying to make the most of it the last couple of weeks. We've been enjoying the mountains and family time at the same time.

Last week Scott, Kevin, Matt and I drove to Silver Lake Flat up American Fork Canyon with Grandma and Grandpa O. and hiked up to Silver Lake. That's a hike we did quite often when I was growing up, but I haven't been up there since, so it brought back a lot of memories. The boys fished and each caught a little brown trout, which we threw back. The wildflowers, cliffs, and lake were beautiful and the boys were goofy.

The day after we hiked to Silver Lake we left for a few days in the Tetons. We stayed in a condo in Teton Village at the base of the Jackson Hole Ski Resort, between the Tetons and Jackson Hole. We had a good time swimming, biking, hiking at Jenny Lake, rafting down the Snake River, and chowing down on BBQ ribs at Bubba's.

After returning from the Tetons, Camille, Matt, Kevin and I hiked to the top of Mt. Timpanogos with Grandpa O. the very next day. It was Matt's first time and he did an awesome job -all 18 miles of it. There was a lot of snow to cross, even thought it's late in the summer and we had to be careful. At the very last tiny spot of snow before reaching the saddle -about a mile before the top- Matt lost his footing and slipped down the snow and some of the dirt at the below the snow. It was kind of traumatic for him and he scraped his stomach and his elbow up, but he calmed down and decided he wanted to keep going because he wanted to make it to the top and slide down the glacier. We were a little nervous when we saw the glacier because it was huge and really steep at the top this year, and most of the people on the trail were turning around and going back the way they came up. We watched a few people go down and they did fine, so we were brave and took the plunge. It was a great ride and took us way down the hill. No walking over rocks this year. Matt did great on the hike down, too, even though his ankle was quite sore. Kevin and Camille were nice to wait for us slow pokes. They finally ran the last two miles and Kevin said he timed himself at an 8 minute mile the last mile! I can't do that when I'm fresh on a smooth surface and not carrying a backpack. Again, the scenery was spectacular -especially the wildflowers. We saw two moose and several mountain goats. I only had my phone, so the pictures aren't great, but it was a gorgeous day. I was sore all over my body the next day, but it was worth it.

This outhouse has seen better days -but the view can't be beat!

The Golden Mantle squirrels wanted to share our lunches at the saddle. This one is eating from an apple core.

We made it!

Looking back at the top from the trail to the glacier

Catching Up -July

2011-07-28T21:40:00.000-06:00

Where is this summer going? I feel like it's slipping through my fingers, and I haven't blogged about much of it at all. And if I haven't blogged about it did it really happen? Hmmm, yes, I think it did.

Mostly we have been enjoying having our kids home this summer -at least some of the time- (I mean they have been home some of the time, not that we only enjoy them some of the time :) -although that might have been a subconscious slip -Just Kidding! I promise!) and we haven't have any really big adventures. Lots of sports -camps, lessons, practices, tournaments; -some church activities -scout camps, EFY; work -Ivy Lane for Scott and nannying + Ivy Lane for Camille; marathon training for Camille; and a house quite often overrunning with teenagers have filled our summer.

Here are a few pictures of some of the other things we have been up to.

Cabin trip at the end of June -Lisa, Camille and Matt

Wildflowers at the edge of the melting snow. Other highlights of our evening drives: Many, many deer, including the tiniest fawn I've ever seen, a moose and a fox.

Riding 4-wheelers

This little squirrel found a home in this birdhouse on the deck railing.

The water in the creek was so high it was running through the playhouse.

Hiking Waterfall Canyon on July 4

Matt, Grandma and Grandpa made it to the waterfall!

Scott, Camille, and Kevin

Scott decided he needed a shower

July 4 fireworks at the church parking lot.

Since arial fireworks are now legal we decided it was a little scary to light them off in front of our house right by the foothills.

Laying sod at Grandma and Grandpa's house

Our boys and some of Grandma and Grandpa's mission friends helped sod their backyard in exchange for a delicious BBQ steak dinner. Everyone thought it was a fair exchange. :)

July 24 Fireworks

We saved the real firework show for July 25, apparently. John and Matt glued all the fireworks to a board and connected them with a fuse so they would all go off in sequence. We took them to the church parking lot again.

It begins...I didn't get good shots, but the aerials were pretty impressive.

Pretty funny to see everyone recording the show on their phones.

It seems like wherever Scott goes a crowd follows. :)

The Newest Member of Our Family

2011-06-18T08:48:00.000-06:00

Curious, friendly, a true exercise nut, and a constant source of frustration to our cat, this cute little guy has twitched his little nose into our kids' hearts. Especially this kid's.

Dirty Girls

2011-06-06T12:05:00.000-06:00

On Saturday Camille and her friend from BYU ran in the "Dirty Dash" at Soldier Hollow. It is a 5K obstacle course over the mountains and through the mud. Sound like fun?

Dirty shoes donated

Maui

2011-06-04T21:09:00.000-06:00

Our summer vacation has come and gone already, but it was a good one. We just got back from 8 days in Maui.

Our flight across the Pacific was more eventful than we would have liked. Due to a combination of arriving at the airport slightly late, the longest security line I've ever seen, and suspicious-looking BuckyBalls in Kevin's carry-on that the security guard needed to handle forever, we missed our plane to Las Vegas by a hair. After a stressful hour on the phone we finally arranged for John, Matt, and Scott to fly to San Francisco then on to Maui, and for me, Camille and Kevin to fly to Honolulu then Maui -there weren't 6 seats on any set of flights. Camille, Kevin and my flights went off without further hitch, and we arrived in Maui 45 minutes after our original flight and found our luggage waiting for us. However, John's flight to SF was delayed, and they missed their flight to Maui. They were able to arrange for a flight first thing in the morning to LA then Maui, and they finally arrived at 11:45 the next morning. I was so glad to get us all together again. It ended up working out okay, because Camille, Kevin and I were able to get the minivan, go to Costco, get the A/C turned on and the condo cooled down, go for a run in the morning, and do the rest of the grocery shopping before everyone else arrived. They really didn't miss anything, and they were able to go swimming at their motel in S.F. and relax a little.

Then...when we all got together, the fun started...

We played at the beach....

Enjoyed the sunsets...

The view from our balcony

Enjoyed shaved ice....

At Banyan Tree Park in Lahaina -the tree covers a whole block

Drove to the top of a volcano....

sea level to 10,000 ft in 1 hour

Driving through the clouds

Golfed a PGA course...

Ocean view at Makena

Swam in the condo pools....

Went surfing...

Snorkled at Molokini Island....

The pictures don't do the crystal clear water and brilliant colors justice

Sea turtle

Drove the "Road to Hana"....

Gorgeous twisty-turny road over 1-lane bridges -with lots of sights along the way

We hiked through mud and over a slightly scary bridge to find this beauty

Playing Tarzan

Black sand beach

When can we go back?

Our Saturday- A Race, a Game, and a Baptism

2011-05-23T09:32:00.000-06:00

A beautiful day for a run! Camille completed the Ogden half marathon for the 4th consecutive year with a time of 1:58. She plans to train for the Top of Utah full marathon this September. Go, Camille!

I probably should have been doing yard work, but instead I traveled to Sandy to watch Kevin's intense soccer game. Beautiful weather, infuriating refs, and no regrets. How often do you get to see your 14-year-old with this expression on his face?

Then, Saturday night, our friend, Ule's baptism. It was a very special occasion. He's a great young man and the third of Scott's friends to be baptized in the last couple months. Pablo and Ule he is especially close to.

The original missionary discussion group that's been together through many, many discussions (with Bro. Williams -seminary teacher)

Support from the soccer team

Support from friends -many come to the missionary discussions

The elders with Pablo, Ule, and Uriel -the three Ogden High baptisms in April and May 2011 -Pablo's showing off his CTR ring :) The elder on the right came into the mission at the beginning of April. Quite a way to start!

Matt and Kevin are good friends with Ule. Matt loves to practice soccer with him in the sports court and he's sad that Ule's going to his own ward now and not coming to church with us anymore.

More soccer team pics

Just a note -if it seems like Pablo's being a little bit of a goof in these pictures -he was absolutely on cloud 9. He and Ule have been best friends since they were little. Pablo has been so excited about the church since he was baptized, but he doesn't have any family support. This is kind of a dream come true for him. Ule's sweet family was at the baptism and his father is reading the Book of Mormon in Spanish and talking to the missionaries. I took a picture of his whole family but I'm so sad it didn't turn out. In addition to his brother and sister in the picture he has a little sister (maybe 5) and his older sister has a daughter who looks like his younger sister's twin (dressed alike and everything -so cute) and his mother and father. I had my camera on the settings from the soccer game and the picture was almost pitch black. Dang.

A very nice night and a good ending to a busy, although not very productive day.

Babies

2011-05-16T08:39:00.000-06:00

We spotted these cuties out back yesterday. Now if the foxes and hawks will just stay away.

Catching Up -Running Around

2011-05-15T08:07:00.000-06:00

At the first of May we ran down to PG for a triple birthday celebration for Kevin, Megan, and Garrett. We enjoyed chatting, playing and synchronized candle blowing with cousins that we don't see often enough. Ule came with us and had fun playing games with the cousins.

We have done a lot of running to and in soccer games. Here are some more soccer pictures. We've had some pretty exciting games this season. These pictures aren't necessarily from the most exciting games -sometimes I forget to take pictures when the games get stressful, but here you go:

One more track meet for Kevin -Same result despite strong winds: Third in mile with same time (5:55) and his 4x400 relay team came in first.

And one more running event to wrap things up -the 3rd annual Shadow Valley 5K. This is the first year it hasn't been pouring rain. We weren't quite sure what to do.

Camille and Matt finished strong at 34 minutes some odd seconds.

We own this place

I didn't get a picture of Kevin finishing, but he took 13th place overall and 1st in his age division with a time of 20:55. And, maybe the biggest victory was that he beat his teammate from track who kept beating him and coming in second in the mile. (His good friend Zach who always wins the mile was signed up to run this race but ended up being out of town -probably a good thing)

If you look closely at Matt's knees you can see where he skinned them when he wiped out about half-way through. He kept on going, though, and did an awesome job. Thanks to Camille for running with him. Next up for her -The Ogden Half-marathon coming up this Saturday! Good luck!

One Big Weekend -One Long Post

2011-04-28T07:53:00.000-06:00

Friday -Kevin's first track meet -3rd place mile, 1st place 4x400

Friday -Kevin and Zach's combined birthday party at a local gymnastics gym and after at Zach's house up the street. 30 crazy 14 year olds, but easy party.

Saturday -Camille moved out of her apartment and back home for the summer. She said a bittersweet goodbye to some great friends. This is her sweet roommate, Ashley.

Saturday -Matt helped Grandpa L plant potatoes before the family Easter egg hunt. The chickens helped. Grandpa said he used to help his Grandpa plant potatoes when he was a little boy.

Shooting arrows with the cousins

Mommer and Grandpa

Easter Sunday -I did a horrible job of taking pictures, but here's a run down:

We had Easter baskets in the morning, I taught the RS lesson for the first time, both sets of grandparents and Scott's friend, Ule (who came to church with us), and Mommer and Grandpa's friend Douglas came to Easter (and Kevin's birthday) dinner. I'm sad I didn't get any pictures of the whole group. Douglas is the grandson of one of Grandpa L's converts from his first mission to France. Glen has kept in touch with the family all these years. Douglas returned from his mission in Louisiana just a couple of days ago and was starting school at BYU this week, so he didn't have time to go home to France, so he was staying with Mommer and Grandpa for a few days. His mission was Spanish speaking, so Douglas had fun talking to Scott's friend, Ule, who speaks perfect English, but whose parents are from Mexico. Ule's taking the missionary discussions, so Douglas got all excited about that, too, and he got his contact information so they could stay in touch. They were cute together and I'm sorry I didn't get any pictures.

Anyway, I did get a couple of pictures of our big (5'11") 14 year old and his grandparents. Happy Birthday, Kevin! We love you and hope you didn't get overlooked too badly in all the craziness this weekend!

Family Pictures

2011-04-15T12:11:00.000-06:00

Love these pictures!

Love these people!

Winter Wonderland and Some Furry Friends

2011-04-10T20:53:00.000-06:00

It has been snowing off and on and then mostly on for the last few days and this morning we had about a foot of snow in our yard. I think a lot more than that has fallen, but it has melted and settled a lot in between storms because it's really not that cold. One of my friends was inviting all her kids and their families over today for Christmas dinner on their Christmas dishes.

For some reason the critters were out in force this afternoon. Besides our striped friend and the foxes, we saw pheasants, Canadian geese (who disappeared as soon as the foxes appeared) and some circling hawks. We saw all of these in the 20 minutes or so that we were doing the dishes after our Sunday meal. The water district pond in back of our pond is an attractive place for the Canadian geese in the spring, but I think it is obvious why we never saw any baby geese last year. Too bad the geese didn't learn their lesson because at least two of them are back so far this year. They are fun to watch, but I don't think it's a very safe place to nest. The fox in the last picture is just staring at the pond. Between the foxes and the skunks I'm sure any eggs don't stand a chance. Ahh, nature.

What Was I Thinking?

2011-04-09T14:44:00.000-06:00

Okay, 1/6 of my life just drove off in this car. I guess the time comes when you have to trust your children, and according to my husband that time is now. I can't believe I just let Scott and 4 friends drive to Las Vegas to stay with his friend's family for spring break. The look on Zach's face in this picture is not exactly reassuring, although I'm pretty sure he was just posing for me. Extra prayers on their behalf would be appreciated for the next few days. FYI -this car is now equipped with brand new tires, speed limit control of 80 mph, radio volume control of no more than half volume, and the radio doesn't work without the seatbelts. They also got the full run down of every warning and lecture in my arsenal. If I seem a little tense this weekend, you'll know why. Why do they have to grow up?

Pablo's Baptism

2011-04-07T08:39:00.000-06:00

Scott & Pablo

Ule, Scott, Pablo, Bro. Williams (seminary teacher), Lyden, Kyler

Kyler, Scott, Ule, Pablo, Clayton

Zach, Kevin

Lyden's mom and I decided refreshments were in order

It was a wonderful night. Many, many kids from the school and soccer team came to support Pablo. Lyden baptized him and Scott and Kyler bore their testimonies during the service. Both of them mentioned that even though everyone tells them that they have been a great example for Pablo it really has been the other way around, and Scott said that he started going to the discussions hoping to convert Pablo, but it became a real conversion for him, too. I'm so grateful for these good boys. I usually see them in shorts and t-shirts and it seems like all they think about is sports and food and occasionally girls. It's wonderful to see them exercise their priesthood and really grow and realize how much good they are capable of.

It's Coming

2011-04-03T12:30:00.004-06:00

Soccer, Of Course

2011-04-01T06:59:00.001-06:00

I haven't posted any soccer pictures for a while, because I get kind of tired of posting about the same old thing, but, face it, that's a big part of our life pretty much year round. Right now we are in the transition from the indoor to outdoor season. Only one more indoor game next week, then on to outdoor for Matt. He has learned a lot this year. He had become much more aggressive during the indoor season.

Kevin has been playing on the 7-8th grade Jr. High team for the last couple of months as well as practicing with his club team. Luckily there are only two other Jr. Highs in our school district so that makes for a very short season. :) 4 games and a championship. They had their championship game last night which they won -good job Rams! -just in time for the club season to begin on Saturday.

Playing keeper for the first time since he was 10

Love these boys!

Scott is playing on Ogden High's team and I don't have any pictures yet because I haven't wanted to freeze my fingers off, but his season goes through May, so I'm sure I'll get plenty. His team is doing well in the preseason, when they haven't been snowed out. Also, there has been some missionary work going on with a couple of the players. They haven't had a game this week and Scott and two of his LDS teammates have been attending the missionary discussions with one of his good friends on the team who is preparing for baptism. Another teammate who is interested has been attending, as well as a teammate who was baptized last year and needs a little boost. More to come on this.

Hey, I Know Them!

2011-03-28T21:03:00.000-06:00


Chamber Choir -Camille's sophomore year

So, if you watch The Biggest Loser, be sure to watch tomorrow's episode. A new couple joins the group and they are from Ogden! My kids said rumors had been going around the schools for a long time, but I must be out of the loop, because I had no idea. Last week I was minding my own business, watching the show while on my treadmill (I like to pretend I'm running at 10 mph and losing 10 lbs a week like the people on the show) and just before I flipped it off they showed the previews for this week's show, and I about tripped off the treadmill. They are in our stake and the mom teaches sewing and cooking at Mt. Ogden Jr. High. She told me once at PTC that Scott shouldn't pursue a career in sewing. He is really looking forward to the trainers making her cry. Vance is a year older than Camille and sang in choir with her at Ogden High for 2 years. Last I heard he was trying to lose enough weight to go on a mission. Anyway, hopefully they'll be able to stick around for a while. It'll be fun to watch people I actually know on the show. I'll be cheering for them to do well.

Jr. Prom

2011-03-26T21:12:00.026-06:00

Scott & Mariah

Don't they all look nice? I'm used to seeing these guys in basketball shorts and t-shirts. I hope all the hairdos didn't get ruined in the rain.
(They only met at our house for a minute for a quick group picture before dinner, but it was sure fun to see everyone in their finery!)

Next thing we know it's going to be these yahoos all dressed up for dances. Watch out girls!

Yesterday...

2011-03-25T09:20:00.002-06:00

Matt and I made a tie-die shirt, which he has been 'dying' -ha- to do forever. Every day in March his school has a different dress up theme (!) and we didn't get the shirt done for hippie day, but we finally pulled it off for rainbow day. Not as hard as I thought it would be, and he loves it!

Kevin and Dad made a pasta car with moving wheels, doors, and steering wheel for his science class. (I was their lovely assistant) It was pretty cool. It would have been even cooler if Kevin had remembered about it before 9:00pm. Thanks Kev.

We had about 14 or 15 high school boys over for a BYU Basketball watching and impromptu birthday party for Pablo. (The cake was thrown together during the first half.) He was one of two Florida fans there and I think he must have wished for a Florida win when he blew out his candles right before the overtime. Bummer.

I didn't get any pictures of this "Jimmer" all night. His friends have started calling him that because he's such a BYU fan. Also, the curly hair and a hot streak from 3 point range during one of his church ball games didn't hurt. He's a little sad, but he'll watch for Jimmer in the pros.

Also...I've been thinking of this recently. I love it. I love loud boys, too. (Most of the time)

Matt's Catapult

2011-03-19T08:56:00.000-06:00

Matt and Dad made this cool catapult and army from a kit using Matt's hand tools. They did an awesome job. I was trying to call Matt to dinner the other night and I couldn't find him anywhere. I finally found him in the shop cutting the bases for the little men with his saw. As you can see, they've all been injured pretty badly by the giant green pom-pom.

Basketball and a Winner

2011-03-16T12:06:00.002-06:00

I didn't take a lot of basketball pictures, and those I did take didn't turn out very well, but here are a couple of shots of Matt in his first season of Jr. Jazz. He learned a lot and had fun, and it was a good break from soccer, which we seem to live and breathe around here.

Also, you can see in the header above our winning family picture -or at least the one I'm going to order for my canvas Mom gave for Christmas. It is the bottom picture from the last post, just not cropped quite so tightly. Hopefully I'll like it all blown up. :) (Don't we look just like one of those mean Ogden gangs you're always hearing about? Don't mess with us!)

Help Me! -One More Added

2011-03-15T14:45:00.001-06:00

Which do you like better? I need to decide before tomorrow! (Can you tell I pasted Kevin's eyes on top of Scott's in the top picture? Scott's were half shut. Still look a little sleepy, but at least they're open)

I don't know which one I like the best -I think our smiles are mostly better in the bottom one, but I'm not sure I like having all our ugly shoes and levi's showing so much. What do you think?

One more - Is cropped better?

Flashback Friday

2011-03-11T06:56:00.000-07:00

April 1996

Family photo 15 years ago

Don't you just want to nibble those little cheeks?

Current family photo (coming soon) -no more chubby cheeks and these two -and their little brother- are towering over me. They're still cute though :)

Brace Face

2011-03-07T21:05:00.001-07:00

Smiling Through the Pain

What you can't see -the BYU blue and white bands around each bracket. Go Cougars!

Family Photos and Russian Dinner

2011-03-06T19:30:00.005-07:00

Last night we gathered with Grandma and Grandpa and Niel and Amy's family for family photos. I snapped a few while the photographer was busy with other people, but I'm glad we hired a pro -I just didn't have the touch last night -not that I ever really do. These are a few of the okay ones, but I'm hoping for better things in our "real" pictures.

After the photo shoot we headed back to Mom and Dad's to celebrate my Dad's 68th birthday and have our much anticipated "Russian Dinner." Mom had worked long and hard preparing Russian specialties enjoyed on their mission. They were all labeled in Russian and English and enjoyed with varying degrees of enthusiasm. :) It was fun to sample the dishes we heard so much about during the two years they were away.

Flashback Friday

2011-03-04T08:14:00.003-07:00

Think Spring!
April 2003

Look at those cute rugrats! It's hard to believe that Matt is now only two years younger than Camille was in this picture. It seems like just the other day that we were spending that Spring Break day together in Salt Lake. We went to Temple Square, the top of the Church Office building (past all the new post-9/11 security) and the Gateway. Ahh, those were the days when all my kids were happy to spend the day with me just sight-seeing, and going to Salt Lake was a big, exciting excursion. :) It's often individual outings now -a Jazz game with Scott, lunch with Camille, Jr. High play with Matt, a trip to Mesquite with Kevin (and Matt). I'm just happy when we get the whole family together for a game of Farkle or a trip to the bowling alley. And even then the "whole family" doesn't usually include Camille. Thank goodness she's only 75 minutes away and we still see her fairly often. Life changes and I'll take all the family time I can get!

How It's Made...

2011-03-01T09:06:00.002-07:00

Sorry -last night's sunset doesn't have anything to do with this post, but I couldn't resist. It almost made me cry it was so gorgeous.

After the beautiful sunset, we got together with John's family at the Centerville cannery to do drypack canning. Mindy had set it up a few weeks ago and we all placed our orders and then worked together with the missionaries there to can what we needed. Matt loves to watch the show "How It's Made" where they show lots of factories, so he thought it was pretty cool. He did a great job putting the oxygen absorbing packets in the cans and the lids on. We canned a LOT of food in a couple of hours. I came home with 13 cases of different dry goods. I think we'll do it again every few months until we feel like we all have what we need. Now I've got to go reorganize my storage room to go make room for it all!

Sunday Musings

2011-02-28T08:10:00.012-07:00

"Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” (Matt 6:8) In Sunday School we read this scripture and discussed why we need to pray if Heavenly Father knows what we need before we ask. I have been thinking about this today. I'm guilty of this sometimes. I know that Heavenly Father loves me and knows what is best for me, and so I sometimes just wait for him to bless me with what I need and then I get frustrated when those blessings don't come. Sometimes they do, but if it happened all the time it would leave out an important step, I think. In the next chapter of Matthew are the verses, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” (Matt 7:7-8) Asking for what we need, through prayer and fasting, is an important step in coming closer to our Heavenly Father and Christ and in developing faith. Our Heavenly Father knows our needs and wants to bless us with what is best for us, but sometimes I think it is up to us to truly seek for it. And it's important to remember that our plan is not always the same as our Heavenly Father's plan. Anyway, that’s just what I’ve been thinking about today. I need to take a more active role in asking for blessings that my family and I need, rather than just waiting for them to fall from heaven.

Make up Your Mind, Mother Nature!

2011-02-22T21:12:00.007-07:00

Kevin, Matt and I drove to Mesquite for a soccer tournament last weekend. Friday, the weather was gorgeous -sunny and 60 degrees -perfect soccer weather and swimming weather (see the out of order pictures below). Unfortunately the Outlaws played one of the best teams in the state and lost the first game.

The second game was Friday night under the lights. Chilly to watch, but nice weather for the players, and a gorgeous full moon over us all. This game they won, in a shut out.

Having a HUGE dinner after the game. They earned it!

Relaxing in the hot tub between games on Friday. Matt was the only brave one to spend much time in the real pool. It was the first day it was open all year and it was just beginning to heat up. That's why his lips are blue. :)

Saturday we woke up to rain. The boys played in wind and rain and I didn't take any pictures. They lost again after their excellent goalie got injured in a yellow card play. Bummer. We left for home right after the game because I knew that the storm was heading north and I wanted to get home before the weather got too bad. We were in off and on snow all the way home. It was white-knuckle driving most of the time, but we arrived home safely Saturday night.

Our view Monday morning

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-20T08:01:00.005-07:00

We had cinnamon roll hearts and pink french vanilla hot chocolate for breakfast on Valentine's Day. One went over better than the other. I guess hot chocolate is supposed to be, you know, chocolate. :)

Funny that all three of my boys showed up to breakfast in red shirts on Valentine's day. I'm certain it wasn't intentional on Kevin and Scott's part, but Matt did it on purpose, I think.
Such festive children.

Our annual huge cookies. Try not to look at the wobbly lines. I actually went to lunch with Camille the Friday before Valentine's Day, so I delivered hers then. Wouldn't want her to feel left out. But I didn't think to get a picture of her taking a bite! I know she would have loved to have that posted.

Sweet Valentine's Math

2011-02-13T08:27:00.003-07:00

1 photo of a cute kid in an awkward pose...

+ a little photoshopping...

+ an exacto knife and a tootsie pop...

x 22 =

1 3rd grader who can sleep tonight because he's finally ready for Valentine's Day!
(Now if we can finish getting those times tables passed off we can lower his stress level another notch. Next up - 6's)

I'm Supposed to be Organizing my Closets...

2011-02-05T08:14:00.003-07:00

Instead I took this old phone photo and played around with it for a while...

Computers are such time wasters... but so much fun! Now I really, really need to go get something useful done.

Flashback Friday

2011-01-28T11:49:00.004-07:00

Scott skied from an early age, but at about age 8 he began to want to snowboard. He would beg me to take him to the hill at the elementary school so he could practice on his little cheap Target board.

Then, at about the same time, we attended this awesome event, and he has never looked back.

February 2002

Winter Again

2011-01-26T07:28:00.002-07:00

Winter is back after several dry weeks and even a few days of spring fever inducing temperatures. Since it's still January and we do live in Utah, I won't complain. It actually was a gorgeous day of snowfall yesterday. And there was even a little blue sky that peeked through last evening. All in all, about the best kind of day you can hope for in January. Much better than the inversion.

Cute Cousins

2011-01-23T20:13:00.003-07:00

Last night was the annual family reunion/party for my dad's side of the family. As always, it was great to see my cousins and their quickly growing children. I'm grateful for a supportive and loving extended family. I took a total of 1 picture, and it was of these cuties. Seems like just yesterday they were the little ones running around and swinging at the pinata. This year Camille and Chunie carpooled to the party together from BYU, and Megan looks like she could have come with them. Where did the time go? But aren't they beautiful?

Science Fair 2011

2011-01-19T06:23:00.002-07:00

It's that time again. And, again, Kevin's science project was beyond my ability to help. He analyzed the speed of sound under different levels of humidity and pressure which involved two different widths of 30 ft. pvc pipe, a 12 volt battery attached to a high pitched alarm, a computer program to analyze the data, two microphones, a camp stove boiling water, a bike pump, and who knows what else. Thank goodness John knows about that stuff, because with only me to help we would have been doing a baking soda volcano or something. Anyway, they determined that the speed of sound increases when both humidity and air pressure increase. And nothing blew up. (At least nothing important)

Boston in January

2011-01-17T09:51:00.003-07:00

John and I just got back from a chilly weekend in Boston for a medical conference. We got there the day after a huge snowstorm, so everything was beautiful and white and COLD. I forgot my camera, but I did snap a few pictures with my phone at this cool church (Trinity Church) that I walked to while John was in meetings one day. It was gorgeous -the blurry phone pics don't do the awesome stained glass justice- and a nice place to warm up after a nippy but picturesque walk across the city.

Jesus commanding the stormy sea to be still.

The church was across the street from a modern skyscraper -kind of cool to see the reflection.

Ever Feel Sorry For Yourself?

2011-01-09T17:17:00.003-07:00

Do you ever think your life is hard? Or think there is nothing good to eat in your kitchen? Or think you are cold? or tired? Oh, man -you need to read this book. You will never look at your life the same way again. It is an inspiring look at the limits of human capacity. It has me wondering how much more I might be capable of if I push myself beyond my little comfort zone that I always stay in. It's an absolutely unbelievable story, and it's all true. Just read it somewhere warm, because your fingers and toes might get a little chilly just reading it. Mine did.

K'nex are Cool

2011-01-05T17:34:00.002-07:00

John and Matt's sweet roller coaster
It drained the batteries within minutes, so they rigged a power source so it plugs in now. Double cool!

Happy New Year!

2010-12-31T17:01:00.005-07:00

Happy Birthday, Scott!

2010-12-28T06:45:00.002-07:00

Seems like yesterday!

Seventeen candles

Congratulations, Scott! You bring enthusiasm, laughter, fun, and excitement to our home, as well as more than a few gray hairs. Life just wouldn't be the same without you! We love you!

Christmas Eve

2010-12-27T14:14:00.006-07:00

Christmas Eve dinner -I tried something different than the usual ham -prime rib. Yum. As you can see Scott ate so much it put him in a coma.

Chime carols. Sometime you do something so many years in a row you just can't stop. :) And we're finally getting good enough that you can almost recognize the songs.

Like I said, sometimes you just can't stop. It's probably been at least 10 years that we've taken the "falling asleep on the stairs in Christmas pajamas" photo and I don't even know how it got started.

Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!!

Christmas Season Catch-up

2010-12-26T17:02:00.005-07:00

Gingerbread decorating

Let it snow!

Our flickering lights inside the house made it look like it was on fire.

Temple Square a few days before Christmas with lots of beautiful lights, but no snow!

Beautiful!

Lasagne Party

2010-12-24T09:40:00.008-07:00

The annual Lasagne Party was held at our house again this year and it was, as usual, a lot of people and a lot of fun. Grandma helped Camille make the veggie tree this year. Funny how silly things become traditions.

Sucking M&Ms

The whole crowd gathering in the basement for silly games

We even had caroling!

Thanks for driving to Ogden, everyone!
Merry Christmas!!

University Town

2010-12-22T07:22:00.004-07:00

Last night we did what we should do much more often and it took BYU basketball coming to town give us the push we needed. We took advantage of having an awesome university right in our neighborhood. There's so much going on all the time at WSU and we only take advantage of a small portion of it. Ballet West and the Utah Symphony perform here regularly -I've been a couple of times and the prices are a lot better than in Salt Lake, not to mention the parking. Awesome sporting events are going on all the time that we really need to support more often -even men's football and basketball games are cheap and easy to get in to. There are always conferences and classes offered to the public that I rarely take advantage of. We've been bowling at the union center once on a Monday night and had the place to ourselves. (It's kind of small) It was a blast. I need to be more aware of what's going on right here in our back yard and try to get my family involved in a little bit more of it. Oh and last night's game? Pretty fun. We felt a little bad rooting against the home team, but it was BYU! And we certainly weren't the only ones. We'll have to go back another day and cheer for the wildcats.

Flashback Friday

2010-12-10T06:38:00.002-07:00

Merry Christmas!
December 2002

Matt's Glasses

2010-12-07T08:30:00.003-07:00

My sister-in-law, Emily, took this picture of us a couple of months ago at Kim's wedding, and I'm posting it now because it is the only picture I have of Matt in his glasses. And the only one that will probably ever be taken, because, as the wise eye doctor predicted, he has now grown out of the bizarre bout of far-sightedness that afflicted him for about 5 months. He came home from school the other day and said that he came in from lunch recess and his eyes were cured. Yes! No more reading glasses scattered around the house. No more running them to school when he accidentally brings his school pair home and leaves them here. Lately he has been telling me that he can read small things a little bit better, but all of a sudden his eyes decided to focus all the way again. Our bodies are weird but amazing, right? He did look cute with glasses, though.
And a side note to my two older boys -seriously? This getting tall thing was kind of fun at first, but it's starting to get out of hand.

Thanksgiving

2010-12-03T17:40:00.004-07:00

Thanksgiving weekend began with reports of a huge blizzard on the way, so I was very relieved when Camille arrived home before the snow started to fly on Tuesday. It was a true blizzard for a couple of hours, but it stopped before it became the killer blizzard the media reports made it seem like it was going to be. Still it was good to have everyone home.

It was too COLD to be good snowman snow, so Camille and Matt made snow angels, instead.

Grandpa and Grandpa O. spent the night with us Wednesday. Everyone got their creative juices flowing making cookie turkeys and Kevin made this cool snowman out of Buckyballs.

There's more than one thing you can do with candy corn!

Camille and Grandma displaying their handiwork.

Good enough to eat!

Flashback Friday

2010-11-19T08:57:00.002-07:00

Thanksgiving helper
November 2003

What a cutie! Look at those pudgie little fingers!

That was back when I made homemade pie crust -somewhere along the line I decided it wasn't worth the time. But homemade does taste better. Maybe I'll do it again this year -if Matt helps!

Veterans' Day

2010-11-11T18:02:00.003-07:00

This is a paper Kevin wrote last year for a class in school. They were asked to interview a veteran and luckily Kevin knows one. Thanks to Skype Kevin was able to interview Grandpa O. while he was in Russia. I thought it was a fitting post for Veteran's Day. Dad, you might have to make a couple of corrections. :)

Happy Birthday, Camille!

2010-11-06T06:51:00.002-06:00

Can you believe this little squirt...

has grown up into this beautiful young woman?

Happy Birthday, Camille! We are so proud of you and our home is just not the same without you here!
(On that note, she's come full circle -she started out in BYU student housing (above) and now she's back there)

Halloween

2010-11-04T16:31:00.003-06:00

Happy Halloween!
(Recycling costumes = happy mom)

Scott as a mountain man in the 4th grade rendezvous

Apple Juice

2010-11-03T18:16:00.003-06:00

A couple of weeks ago Matt, Kevin and I went to Bountiful to press apples with Mommer and Grandpa in their nifty apple press. We pressed 39 quarts of apple juice in about an hour. Scott was taking the ACT and John was working, so they missed out on the fun.

Here is all the juice at home after processing.

A close-up with my nifty new birthday camera lens that I don't really know how to use but that I am having fun with anyway.

Flashback Friday

2010-10-22T10:42:00.001-06:00

Beautiful October at the Cabin
1997

Timp Cave

2010-10-18T21:09:00.003-06:00

Last Friday when the kids were out of school we decided to hike to Timpanogos Cave with Grandma, Grandpa and Megan. It had been years since we'd done it. Scott had only vague memories, and Kevin and Matt had never been. It was a gorgeous day, the canyon was beautiful, and we went early so it was nice and cool.

The kids and their ghost friend inside the cave. Scott told me to pretend this picture was on purpose, but actually my camera was on a goofy setting, and it was too dark to mess with it too much, so I didn't get any great pictures inside the cave.

All of us at the exit.

Pretty fall colors. What a nice way to spend the morning.

Choosing Happiness

2010-10-10T17:19:00.004-06:00

John's family and spouses at his sister Kim's wedding to a wonderful man, Lonnie B. Lonnie's wife died just over a year ago. Between them they have 17 children. 100 people barely fit into the largest sealing room in the Salt Lake temple while Elder Robert D. Hales performed a beautiful, simple marriage ceremony, commenting that he was deliberately leaving out the usual admonition about multiplying and replenishing the earth. It was very sweet ceremony and feelings were very tender especially when Kim embraced Kelly's sweet mother who sat beside Anne, Kim's mom, at the head of the room. After the ceremony they had a wedding dinner at the Grand America Hotel. They wanted to keep it small, so only about 300 of their closest friends and family were there. :) I think they know everyone in Davis County if not the state. It was a very nice evening.

Home for the Weekend

2010-10-03T20:28:00.003-06:00

I'm new at the whole kids-moving-out experience, but I discovered this weekend something that I like about it. Sometimes they come home to visit!!! I thoroughly enjoyed this weekend with Camille. It felt so good to have her home and to set the table for 6 today!

Homecoming

2010-09-29T08:07:00.004-06:00

I've waited a few days to post Scott's homecoming pictures because I've been waiting for a friend to email me a picture of his whole group, but I'm going to forget to ever post them if I don't do it now, so here they are. Maybe I'll add the group shot later, or you can see it on facebook, if you're Scott's "friend." When I was at the dinner location (a friend's back yard) at the appointed time to take pictures, as you can see, only five of the twelve couples had arrived, and we were on our way to a wedding so I couldn't wait around.

Scott and Avery

All 24 sacked out in our back yard after the dance watching a movie. John rigged a giant screen with a king-sized sheet and pvc pipe and hung it from our deck. By all reports a great time was had by all.

Digging Spuds

2010-09-25T23:24:00.004-06:00

Grandpa L. invited Matt to come help him dig up his potatoes today. Matt had never seen how potatoes grow, so he was interested to go help. Grandpa turned over the soil with his pitchfork and Matt spotted and picked up the potatoes. They made quite a team. This was a spot of ground where Grandpa has tried in the past to grow giant pumpkins, so he has used lots of fertilizer there. As a result, there were lots of giant red potatoes to be found!

After they were done Grandpa gave Matt his old 1879 silver dollar that he's had for years and years. He said that his grandpa used to give him a quarter for working with him, so with inflation it's only fair that Matthew gets a dollar. He had made a cute little case for it out of a round piece of wood with a place drilled out that exactly fits the coin. It will be a treasure for Matt. My kids are so lucky to have both sets of grandparents so near. They are such a positive influence in their lives.

Does Punctuation Matter?

2010-09-24T17:25:00.002-06:00

In honor of National Punctuation Day, September 24:

Dear Jack,
I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we're apart. I can be forever happy - will you let me be yours? -Jill

Dear Jack,

I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men I yearn! For you I have no feelings whatsoever. When we're apart I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?
Yours, Jill

Flashback Friday

2010-09-24T06:53:00.004-06:00

February 2002

This second picture was a major triumph. A normal smile from Kevin. At this period in time that was an accomplishment. See above.

Football

2010-09-23T08:46:00.008-06:00

Since Scott is the kicker on the high school JV team, it's a little hard to get many good action shots of him, since, let's be honest, PAT opportunities have been a little scarce for the Tigers this year. I could have taken a lot of shots of his cute backside on the sideline, but that lacks a little drama. Over the past few games I have been able to gather a few highlights, however. Here is Scott in action on some kick offs and PATs.

All of his PATs have been good except when the following happens:

In case you couldn't tell, it was hilarious. The snap went over Scott's shoulder -worst I've ever seen. I think it's the only hit Scott's had to take all year.

An Answer

2010-09-18T18:08:00.002-06:00

He's annoyed that I'm taking his picture. That's why I couldn't take time to focus. You'd think he'd be used to it by now.

He "popped" the question with his name in a bag of popcorn.

Flashback Friday

2010-09-17T10:09:00.002-06:00

Lane Family Reunion at unfinished cabin
1995 (I think)

A lot of changes since then. I had to post this because of Grandma and Aunt Dot. I miss them. Oh and because of Kevin's mustache. I forgot about that.

Tough Guys

2010-09-14T07:51:00.004-06:00

The ongoing "discussion" in our house for the past week or so has been over Homecoming. Specifically the upcoming Homecoming dance. Scott is a junior and so, I believe, duty bound to make some sweet girl's high school experience complete by asking her to the dance. He has gone back and forth between: yes, I'm going, it's too expensive, no one else is going, okay, we're all going, now no one's going, and, I swear, mom, if you say one more word I'm not going. The fact is, all these tough guys want to go, but no one wants to be the first to ask, or end up being the only one. This is the first boys' choice dance for most, if not all, of them. Over the weekend most of them finally got up the resolve, and everything seemed to solidify at school yesterday, because at about 8:30 last night about 8 excited and slightly nervous football players showed up at my house with an assortment of balloons, cereal boxes, posters and the like. They finished up all their various projects, Scott and a friend had to flip a coin because they were going to ask the same girl, (Scott won, but conceded because he didn't really care), they got a little advice and moral support (and pizza), and then were off to make a bunch of girls happy. All at the same time.

Flashback Friday

2010-09-10T20:54:00.004-06:00

Labor Day picnic on Antelope Island

September 2005

This is the size the kids were when we first moved to Ogden -five years and many inches ago

Labor Day Weekend at the Cabin

2010-09-09T07:07:00.006-06:00

Cousins, Grandma and Grandpa, games, 4-wheelers, cool mountain air, good food, BB guns, more games, laundry facilities for Camille, what more could you ask for?

Flashback Friday

2010-09-03T15:06:00.003-06:00

I love this picture from 18 years ago this month. Camille had just started walking and her hair was just long enough to get a tiny curl. Looking back, I think about how much she needed me then for every aspect of her life. Now that she has moved out I sometimes wonder how much she needs me these days. Of course you always need your mother, and I love the random texts and phone calls I get for cooking instructions and other questions, but the truth is that, no, she doesn't need me the way she used to, and I guess that's a good thing. I'm glad she's entering this new, exciting, independent phase of her life. Now I need to do the same thing. :) (As well as enjoy the fact that I still have 3 (4?) boys at home who need me a lot - although they might not like to admit it sometimes!)

September 1992

Saying Goodbye to Summer

2010-09-02T14:25:00.009-06:00

Since school is back in session and it's September I guess it's time to face the fact that summer is over. That's actually okay with me since fall is my favorite time of year. I'm not looking forward to what's next, but I'll just enjoy the slightly cooler weather and not look too far ahead. But before I let summer go entirely, I thought I'd post a few random pictures from this summer that never made it into any blog posts, but that I kind of like.

Oh, I remember this. Ugh. What a lot of work. The kids were such a big help in redoing our landscaping and we're quite pleased with the results.

Matthew's Cub Scouts Space Derby. Kind of like a Pinewood Derby but with rockets. That go sideways.

This jacket came all the way from Russia just for Camille. There is a member there who was a friend of my parents named Kostya (sp?) who loves soccer. When he saw some of the pictures of Camille playing soccer on this blog on my parents computer he was impressed. He would always ask about her. This was his jacket from the time the Rostov team was in the championship. He asked my parents to send it to Camille. We took this picture of Camille and sent it back to him with her thank you note.

Camille and Matt snuggled up watching fireworks on the 4th of July.

Scott was thrilled, THRILLED, I say, to be able to participate with 3000 other area youth in the Youth Spectacular in the Weber State Stadium in July. His major, pivotal part was as one of the flag holders in the finale. If you look hard you can see them, in navy t-shirts, holding the large country flags. I thought it was actually a wonderful event, once all the trillion practices were over and we got to actually watch it all together.

More sunset pictures. The deck's a wonderful place to be, as long as it's not a hot, late summer afternoon.

A rainbow during one of Kevin's soccer tournament games in Park City.

Camille and Kevin carting out a big tray of watermelon that Camille lovingly prepared before Grandma and Grandpa's open house after their mission homecoming. I guess I was visiting too much, because this is the only picture I took the whole time.

Another tournament. This time in West Jordan.

Matt receiving his Wolf badge.

And that's all folks. On to fall!!

Grandpa's 80th Birthday

2010-08-30T08:25:00.004-06:00

A couple of weeks ago was Grandpa L's 80th birthday. Everyone who could got together at our house to celebrate. I didn't count but it was over 40 descendants and a few friends. After dinner we gathered around Grandpa for some words of wisdom. He emphasized work, activity in the church, and finding out what the Lord wants us to do with our lives. He is a wonderful example to all of us and we all love him. What a wonderful and full life he has lived so far.

First Day of School and a New Beginning

2010-08-29T08:32:00.004-06:00

Scott -Junior Year
I can't believe it

Kevin -8th grade

3 Honors classes in his schedule -no worries

Matt -3rd Grade
He's heard he has the nicest teacher in the 3rd grade -we'll see!

Camille -COLLEGE FRESHMAN!! What is the world coming to!! As soon as Matt was off to school the first day of school, Camille and I headed down to Provo with our cars loaded with all of her stuff. We got her moved in, took care of a bunch of things on campus and around town to get her situated, went grocery shopping, met a couple of her roommates, and then I left and she stayed there. In Provo. An hour and 15 minutes away. It's the kind of moment when you wonder if you've done your job as a parent. Not that we're done being parents by any means, but she's on her own now (kind of -thank goodness for cell phones) and it's a strange feeling. I'm excited for her, though. Hopefully it will be a wonderful year full of new and exciting adventures.