Compassion, Bowling and Basketball

We are in full throttle around here with Scouts! Brody earned his bowling and basketball belt loops Tuesday night at Pack Meeting because 1. He played on a basketball team and learned all about the sport and 2. He went bowling last weekend for Sugars birthday and learned the rules of the game. His den was also in charge of the flag ceremony which was a first for him. Our scouting theme for this month was Compassion. My friend and primary partner Anne's mother came to speak to us about her life in a wheel chair. When she was 19 years old she was horseback riding with some friends and was thrown off her horse. Her story was a real lesson in courage and compassion. Brody is loving scouts and can't wait to earn more awards. He is such a goal setting kid anyway so scouts is right up his alley. We'll see how we do when he's 14 and needing to earn his Eagle!

Brody's first flag ceremony.

Mike and Natalie Mason are the best den leaders. For the past 2 weeks they built bird houses with 7 eight year old boys...with nails...and hammers...and wood!! I love that they aren't afraid to do fun things with the boys.

Brody, McKay Mason, Kaden Hall, Nathan Smith and Camden Hall opening their cracker Jax boxes to see what awards they earned for the month. Leslie Smith is the Cub Committe Leader and she does a fantastic job. I love working with her.

Trike-A-Thon 2011

Today Ledger participated in a Trike-A-Thon at his awesome preschool. He was sooooo excited to take his green bike to school to help raise money for St. Jude. He loved riding up and down the street practicing all the safety tips he has been learning. Great job today Ledger man!

Practicing those safety rules!

Love that green bike Ledger. That green bike has a funny story behind it that someday I will have to share with all of you. It has something to do with a blue bike that went missing around Christmas time.

Ledger earned his drivers license for participating.

Jack Stradling, Ledger and Paige Moore waiting for their awards.

Basketball Season Is Over

Case was great at making baskets.

He looooved to dribble and strut across the court. After the game the coaches handed out awards. Case recieved the "Dribble Champion" award. Way to go Case!

Jeremy and I had to split up for most Saturday's since both

Brody and Case's games were at the same time. Below is Case's team, The Rattlesnakes. We didn't know any of the boys on the team except for Calvin Stevenson (second from the left). Case didn't mind a bit. He will make friends with anyone. Coach Lane was great and we really appreciate all his effort and hard work!

Yesterday both Brody and Case finished their basketball season. Although I was a little disappointed with the organization of the league, both boys had great coaches and learned tons. Being a Mom of boys is tough. I am finding that when it comes to sports, you have to expose your kids to all of them in order for them to be able to keep up with the kids they are playing with. Ok, I totally said that wrong. We are not trying to keep up with the other kids. What I mean is that in order for your kids to play on the teams with the other boys, they really have to play each year in different leagues. For example, this was the first year either of my boys have played basketball. Not because they haven't wanted to but because they have been involved in other things such as swim team and golf. It was obvious by the way they played compared to the other kids on their team (especially Brody). The boys on Brody's team have played before. They have attended summer camps through the high school and played in the off seasons. They are good at the game. Brody...not so much. I don't mean that mean, really, it's just that he has never played before. This was his first time EVER to play the sport. I actually kinda felt bad that I hadn't had him play before. The other boys were GOOD. They understood the game. They made baskets, they weren't afraid of the ball. The good thing about Brody is that he is happy, loves new things, he's coach able, and loves the social aspect of playing sports. I like that about him. He's not in it to win the game, he's there to have fun. I guess what worries me is that many of the other boys, and their parents aren't. They are there for the win. They want their kid to be on a team with the BEST of the BEST. It's hard to know whether to teach Brody that he needs to be more aggressive or to let him just have fun. I feel like I know the answer to that but when I'm at these games I have a different opinion. I hate that! All of this brings me to my next point. Are my kids at the age where I should be focusing them more on ONE sport and not exposing them to all the others? Should I be pushing Brody more in swimming since he is GREAT at it, or should I continue to let him try all the others. What is your opinion to all these mind boggling questions?!?!

Brody loved playing basketball this year.
Thanks to Heather for putting together this great group of boys. Coach Pierce and Coach Stradling were fantastic coaches. This is a nice group of boys!

After the game, the boys pulled out their markers and pens and had each other sign their basketballs.

To celebrate the end of the season, we headed over to the park for Popsicles, cookies and fun. This is the only picture I got.

Our cute little Super Star

This past week Ledger had the opportunity to be the Super Star of his preschool class. Can I just tell you, this kid was beyond thrilled about the week! He woke up Tuesday morning asking all kinds of questions, "How many hours will I be the super star?" "When will my family come visit?" "Is Case or Brody the super star or just me?" It was so funny. You should have seen his face light up when Jeremy and I showed him the super star poster we made for him. I think he stared at it for 30 minutes straight! Although he had a rough day at preschool (he got a little upset about a coloring activity and wanted everyone in the class to know about it!) he was excited about being the star! On Thursday, we got to go for a family visit to the preschool. We loved watching him tap each student on the head to let them know it was their turn to introduce themselves. We loved reading his Minnie Mouse book to his friends and having a tour of the school. I have said it time and time again but I love that Ledger gets to go to school with Miss Jody, Miss Ashley and Miss Tauna. They are so sweet and positive with him. After our visit on Thursday, we took Ledger and Jack Stradling to lunch at El Charro. It was hilarious watching the two of them eat and talk at the table. It was even more hilarious listening to Ledger as he tried to convince Jack to pick up his bean burro and eat it like he did. Jack wanted nothing to do with it so we cut it up in little squares like he asked. Ledger was in disbelief that Jack wouldn't listen to him! It was just a funny conversation. We love you Ledge-Man and think your a Super Star every day!

Yes we all went to celebrate the super star!

Miss B. can't wait until it's her turn to go to preschool!

I loved reading" Minnies Valentine" to the class.

Brody and Case loved getting out of school to visit their old stomping ground!

We love you Miss Jody!

Jeremy and I made this poster for Ledger. It turned out cute but what was even better then the way this poster turned out was the reaction he had when he first saw it! He was so so happy.

It's Great To Be 8! Brody's Baptism

Here is the video for all those out of towners who missed this awesome baptism

(oh and you too Libby!)

The baptism boy all ready! He looked adorable! Note to self for the next baptism: Hire Miss Ashley to take pictures! I was so stressed before hand that I forgot to take a picture of Brody by himself! I also forgot to take pictures at my Mom's house after. I am kicking myself today!

Brody and G-Pa. Brody was a little nervous.

He had his arms folded the entire hour before the baptism.

Brody and Jeremy.

Brody with Carsen. These 2 boys have the most stunning blue eyes you will ever see.

G-Pa and uncle Chris all ready for the baptism.

We (I) were just a little crazy before the baptism started.

It's obvious from the terrible pictures!

On Sunday, Brody finally got baptized. He was both excited and nervous about the big day. So were Jeremy and I! We arrived at the church about an hour before the baptism began. I was slightly overwhelmed not only because my Brody was getting baptized, but because I was giving the talk on the Holy Ghost in the chapel before the actual baptisms. I hate talking in front of adults. If I could have excused them, I would have been fine talking to the kids. Brody got baptized with another little boy in our ward named Carsen. We don't know their family very well so I was a little nervous. The truth is, I had so much fun getting to know the Mom. We have so much in common and she could be someone I would love to hang out with and get to know more. Since there were 2 families, it was a little crazy during the actual baptism. It was a full house with standing room only. Since Jeremy is not a member, Brody was baptized by his great grandpa. He was really excited about this but also a little nervous. Since G-Pa was shot down in WWII, he has no feeling in his leg which causes him to use a cane and a brace on his leg. He was nervous about getting in and out of the font without falling. Because of this, we had Uncle Chris put on his baptism clothes and get in the font with G-pa, just in case! G-pa did super and Brody went right down in that water. It was so exciting to watch as his mom. I was overwhelmed with emotions. The other boy was next to get baptized and then instead of staying in the room where we were, we had to move to the chapel because we had so many people there. I was a little bummed about having to move because the chapel is so big and I had set up a table with pictures and programs along with a video. The stake primary girl was so sweet and moved everything to the chapel for us. While we were waiting for the boys to change into their church clothes, we watched the video of both Brody and Carsen. Both boys were then confirmed, Brody by our friend and home teacher Peter Reis, and Carsen by his Dad. Our Bishop said some things about the boys and about the ordinance of baptism. The highlight of the day was when Brody played "Teach Me To Walk In The Light" on the piano in the chapel. We all sang and I cried. How amazing to see your 8 year old playing in the chapel. He did a perfect job. I wish we wouldn't have been running late on time because on the program he was scheduled to play "I Am A Child Of God" also. It was a wonderful day for Brody and for us. His friends and family were there to support him which made him so happy. He was a little bummed that some of them didn't get to watch him get baptized because his friends Jackson, Carlee, Madyson and Tayla all got baptized too. It was hard for everyone to decide whose baptism to watch. Luckily Brody got to watch each of them get baptized since he was the last of the kids. What a special day for each of them. After the baptism we headed over to my Mom's house for dinner. We grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, made homemade french fries, beans, pasta salad, spinach salad, fruit and veggies. For dessert my Mom made a Texas Sheet Cake. My sister in law made sugar cookies in the shape of the number 8. We had root beer floats and ice cream sundaes. The food was yummy and it was the perfect way to end the day!

The serving table before all the food was on it. I decided on using Brody's Lego's along with framed pictures of him for the centerpieces. I also made the banner hanging from the fireplace that read, "It's Great To Be 8."

Of course no party would be complete without a "Candy Bar." I had fun using the Cricut machine to make labels for all the candy.