Double Digits

 Today Brody turned 10.  How and when did this happen? I swear, time is going waaaay too fast!  When I stop and think about how much time I have left with him under our roof, I cry.  In 8 short years he will be graduating from high school and deciding what he wants to do with his life.  That is a sad thought for me.  It is a good reminder for me that I need to enjoy every day with this kid, and all my kids.  Today started out with breakfast in bed.  On the menu:  scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, toast on white bread and orange juice.

After school, Jeremy and I took Brody to dinner at Cheesecake Factory and then to pick out his gift.

How is it possible that I have a 10 year old?

 It was a hard decision this year being that Brody wanted some fun new Legos AND something from the Apple Store.

 He ended up choosing some super cool speakers for the new IPod Nano he got for Christmas.

A few things about Brody at 10 years old:

He is super smart.
He has gotten all "A's" since starting his new school
He is an amazing pianist
Brody loves to write poems and stories
He still loves Legos
He is a social kid
He is getting more embarrassed by things
Brody likes to try new things
He is a confident kid and sometimes needs to be told to tone it down a bit
His favorite food is chicken nuggets
He is really into music these days
His likes Michael Jackson and Maroon 5
He hasn't been reading as much as usual but I think it has to do with the rules at his new school
Brody has gotten sassy in his old age
He has some crazy funny dance moves
He is a happy kid and for the most part very cooperative
Brody is an amazing kid!  I am lucky to be his mom.
Happy Birthday you double digit midget!

Saturday's = Basketball

 First thing Saturday morning, Ledger had a basketball game.  Case picked out Ledger's shorts this week, one's without pockets, so Ledger wouldn't keep his hands in them and get more into the game.  I love this picture of the coach lining up the kids so they know who their "man" is.  Ledger, as you can see, is a whole head shorter then any kid on his team...or the other team.  

 This poor kid will probably not be able to make a basket for a few more years, but boy he is sure trying hard.

 It's kinda hard to make a basket when your up against a GIANT!

 Yes, I know....I should keep quiet.  I can't help myself, I'm much too competitive to sit back.  In case you're wondering....it probably sounded something like, "GET YOUR HANDS UP LEGER!"or "GET IN HIS FACE LEDGER!"

 After Ledger's game, we came home, put laundry away, ate lunch and headed over to Brody's game.  I wasn't able to attend Brody's game last week because he and Case had a game at the same time.  I took Case and Jeremy took Brody.  I have to say...I was quite surprised at Brody during his game.  He was all over his man and hustling like I've never seen.  He played most of the game and did really well.  In case you don't know this, but Brody is not an aggressive kid.  He is not a rough and tumble kid.  He is smart, logical, and observant.  He has an amazing attention span and will sit for hours programming his Lego Mindstorm or putting together a Lego.  Although he loves playing sports, he lacks the strength and size to keep up with the other boys his age. During this particular game, Brody was fouled (I am not a basketball girl so I may be using the wrong terminology here so bear with me).  He went to the free throw line to shoot the ball and was unable to get it close to the net.  Basically is was an air ball.  The boys who were on the bench for the other team burst out into the most obnoxious loud laughter after they saw Brody miss his shot.  Although their coach quickly shut them up, it broke my heart as the mom.  (In case you are wondering, Jeremy and I never push our kids to play sports.  As a matter of fact, we strongly urged Brody to try a new sport this winter instead of basketball.  He really wanted to play a team sport so we supported that).  I don't believe Brody heard the boys loud laughter, but it was heart breaking and sad that kids think it's ok to laugh at other kids who may not be as good at something as they are. Hopefully I can teach my kids that it s not ok to make fun of someone and that all kids need to be treated with respect and love. 

Jeremy and I were really proud of Brody today.  He played hard and had a great time. 

Track Blazer

 On Saturday, our ward and the Preston ward competed together at the stake Pinewood Derby.  As you know Jeremy and Brody have been working super hard on this year's car that Brody so carefully named, "Track Blazer."  

  After weigh in's and pit passes, the boys were ready to race.

That is the Track Blazer on the far right.  It looks like it barely won this race. The competition was tough this year, but all the boys had a good time.

An anxious little 9 year old watching as his car races down the track. He had just come from his basketball game and looks exhausted.

The stake purchased a new metal track this year complete with software.  It was really a nice track.  The Track Blazer is on the far left lane.

As tradition, we always make shirts to show our support for Brody.  Since he has always had the #3 on his car, he stuck with it again this year.  While we realize that making matching shirts is a little obnoxious, we feel that these boys put the time, energy and effort into this activity and we are excited to support it.

Brody and Kaden waiting for their cars to race.

This kid is the BEST!  

After a few races it was determined that Brody's car tied for 3rd place with another boy.  There was a tie breaker that put Brody as the 3rd place winner.

Brody was awarded the certificate for "Nascar Ready."  He also received a third place trophy and a car stand to display his car on.

Here he is with the first and second place winners.  The winner, Luke Sibley lives down the street and Marcor Hansen, the second place winner was in Brody's class for second grade.  Way To Go Boys! It's hard to believe that this is Brody's third and final year of Pinewood Derby.  Next year we will be supporting Case at his 1st Pinewood Derby. By time it is all said and done, Jeremy will have made 9 or 10 pinewood derby cars! 

Although Brody didn't win first place, he was a good sport and had a great time.  Dad on the other hand....

Brody was lucky that Papa was able to help this past week with building the car.  He knows a thing or two about how all this works and was a great help to Jeremy and Brody. Case had a basketball game at the same time as Pinewood Derby so he was unable to watch.

Here we are again with Jim but no Jeremy, Case or Papa!

Hooray For The 100th Day!

 On Tuesday, Ledger and his kindergarten class celebrated the 100th day of school.  I can't believe that these kids have actually been in school for 100 days and that there are only 80 left.  To celebrate, the class did some fun 100 day activities and then ended the day with a parade.  They all had a balloon and a 100 day hat as they paraded around the school.  Ledger looked adorable as he marched around with his classmates.  It made me sad to think that my baby boy is already in kindergarten.  

 Ledger and his classmates getting ready to head outside.

Happy 100th day of school!

Getting Ready For The Big Race

 It's no surprise that we love Pinewood Derby around here.  My boys spend hours and days reading, researching, preparing, and planning for the big day.  Each year these guys come up with new and fun ideas on how to make the car faster.  I love the enthuisiam and the chance for these boys to spend some time with dad doing guy stuff.

The guys built a new test track this year so they could compare this years car with last years.  The track was amazing but this years car was struggling.  It took lots of modifications to get it to run the way they wanted it to.

Look at how close these cars are in the test race.

 There was a lot of sanding going on. This is BIG time!

Brody's friend Kaden came with his dad this year to work on the car.  Brody loved having Kaden there.  The next day his friend Jackson came by to work on his car.  So fun for these boys.

Learning The Game

 It's basketball season around here and we have 3 boys playing.  This means we are crazy busy with practice and games.  Here is what our week looks like.  Tuesday night Case and Ledger have skills clinic from 6:30-7:30.  Brody has skills clinic from 7:30-8:30.  Wednesday night Ledger has practice from 5:30-6:30 while Brody has practice in Dobson Ranch from 6:15-8:00.  Thursday night, Case has practice from 6:30-8:00 while Ledger has skills clinic from 6:30-7:30 and Brody 7:30-8:30.  And finally, Brody has practice Friday night at Dobson Ranch from 6:15-8:00.  Saturday's are filled with 3 hours of games which make for a long and crazy day of running from one game to the next.

 This is Ledger's first year playing basketball and it is the funniest thing you have ever seen. It literally takes every ounce of concentration Ledger has to dribble the ball down the court.  Forget trying to make a basket into an 8 foot hoop, it's impossible for a kid Ledger's size. 

 Today Ledger had his first game at Highland Elementary School, the school that I went to for 2nd-6th grade. It was so fun watching Ledger try to figure out how to play the game.  They only had 1 practice before this game so Ledger did a lot of observing.  He thought he could play the game with his hands in his pockets but quickly realized that wouldn't work.

 The good news is he has 7 more weeks to learn the game.  He was thrilled to play his first game and is loving the new sport.  I think once he catches on to how it all works he will really like it.

Loved watching these 2 hold hands as we left the game.  Miss B. was so proud of her big brother. She told him, "Ledger, you are my favorite brother." We'll see how long that lasts. 

A Sun-Beam, A Sun-Beam!

This little lady is now a Sunbeam.  I can't believe my baby girl will now start attending primary with the rest of us.  She is excited but Jeremy and I are nervous.  This lady is a busy little thing.  She is loud and wiggly and has the attention span of a fly.  Should make for an interesting year!  Luckily she will be attending class with her dad as her teacher and 9 other wiggly little friends!  

Love you my little Sun-Beam!

I Am A Child Of God

 This year in primary our theme is, "I Am A Child Of God."  I am excited for this new year in primary. We have some fun things planned as a presidency and I will have all 4 of my kiddos in primary.  To celebrate the beginning of the new year, we had a, "Meet Your New Primary Teacher" breakfast the day before we started the new year.  I had these little mirrors cut and found these white frames at Michaels so that the kids could make an, "I Am A Child Of God" mirror.  This is just the start of Miss B.'s.  By time she was done there were foam stickers all over. Still can't believe this little lady is going to be a Sunbeam!

 Ledger made his sporty and it turned out really cute.

 While I was setting up that morning, my boys started a card game that turned into an all boy card game while we were waiting for the activity to start.

 We served bagels with cream cheese, doughnuts, muffins, fruit and juice. We played a gummy bear game with our classes and new teachers. We also showed this fun video to introduce the new theme. It was a fun way to get to know one another.

Audrey's mom Ellen is in the primary presidency with me and this is her cute daughter.  I hope she doesn't mind me showing this picture of her and her cute mirror. It turned out so cute.

Happy New Year!

 Happy New Year!  This year was a bit different for us since we didn't end up going to the cabin the day after Christmas.  I got the flu and it lasted for a full 7 days.  I was so miserable that the thought of driving up to the cabin with my kids seemed horrible!  Since we didn't go to the cabin, we celebrated at our house with our friends the Giles.  We ate mexican food and played together as we waited to ring in the new year.

 Berkley and Jordan showing off their cute hats.

 Happy New Year Brody!

 We roasted Smores...

 shot off fireworks...

and popped balloons!  

It was a great night even though we weren't at the cabin celebrating as we usually do. Thanks Giles Family for celebrating with us this year!