Catching Up -Running Around

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!

Happy Birthday, Scott!

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!

Happy Birthday, Camille!

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)

Happy Birthday Matt!

I can't believe my baby turned 9 this week. It seems like yesterday he could hold up one finger when we asked him how old he was. No more.

Summer 2003

Summer 2002

August 20, 2010

The cat was as interested in Matt's presents as he was.

Matt's friend party Saturday at Clearfield Aquatic Center

Another birthday party Sunday with grandparents.

We finally figured out the secret to the rocket cake -molding it out of Rice Krispy treats. I tried making it out of cake a couple of years ago and it was a major failure. I had frosted it all nice after forming it and freezing it and then gone to run some errands leaving it on the counter. I got a phone call from a laughing Camille a little while later letting me know that it had fallen apart and slid off the support down onto the counter. Oh, well. Not my first cake failure.

Matt needed a little help to blow out the trick candles.

Matt got in a Ping Pong game with both Grandmas.

Belated Birthday Pictures

I wished Kevin a happy birthday on this blog a couple of weeks ago, but I never got around to posting pictures, so here they are. As you can see, he likes chocolate cake. I also learned that camera flashes don't work well when I'm wearing a baseball cap, as you can see in the second picture.

8 crazy 13 year olds. What a fun age. They were perfectly happy playing basketball, capture the flag, and kick the can all night. And eating LOTS of cake, ice cream, and pizza.

Kevin couldn't think of anything to ask for for his birthday. Seriously, we kept trying to figure out what he wanted, but I guess he has everything he wants, because he kept saying "I don't know." Talk about maddening. He wasn't thrilled about anything we suggested, so we just gave him a couple of small things, and got something for the whole family. This trampoline seems to be a hit. How long until we're in the ER?

Happy Birthday Kevin!

Happy Birthday to Kevin today! I can't believe this sweet little blue-eyed dimpled baby is now a rough and tumble sweet big blue-eyed dimpled teenager. Where did the years go?

Happy Birthday Scott!

Scott is 16! It seems like yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital. I remember when we got home from the hospital he was still asleep in his car seat, so we placed him under the Christmas tree for a little while while we put our things away. He was so tiny and look at him now. He's grown a ton in the last year and it's actually really nice to have another big, strong guy around the house! He's a big help to John in all of his projects, and I appreciate him, too. He (usually) has a happy attitude and he's lots of fun to be around.

I know what he's wishing for and it has 4 wheels :)

Mommer and Grandpa and Steve and Emily and their family came up for cake and ice cream, but this picture of Matt, Brad, and Zach is all I took. I guess I was too busy visiting!

Grandma and Grandpa weren't here, of course, but whenever any of us have a birthday, we get Happy Birthday sung to us in Russian over Skype.

Happy Birthday Camille, Again

Mad Skillz

Guess what I learned how to do? Next time you need a frosting flower you know where to come! Now that's a valuable life skill, right? It took me all of the ReAl Salt Lake game last night, but I made almost 100 frosting flowers for a birthday cake for Camille's party tonight. Why, you ask? Good question!

Here's the finished product. I took a picture now because it still has to be transported to the cabin along with 9 girls, so who knows what it will look like at her actual party.

Wish me luck tonight!

Happy Birthday, Camille!

The birthdays continue! 2009 is turning into a milestone year for our family. First Kevin turned 12, then John and I celebrated our 20th anniversary, then Matt turned 8, then I turned well, you know, and at the end of the year Scott will turn 16. And on Sunday we celebrated another big birthday -our sweet little Camille turned 18! I can hardly believe it, but I checked the dates and it's really true! It seems like yesterday that I was putting bows in her hair and pushing her on the swings. It has been a wonderful 18 years and I am proud of the person she has become. She's always fun to talk to and laugh with and I'll miss her next year when she leaves for college. She sets high goals for herself, and always does her best. She never takes the easy way out. I look forward to seeing her accomplish many goals in the future.