April

Happy April Fool's Day!  I have never played a trick on my kids or even attempted to.  Stockton wanted to trick Brynn by putting saran wrap over the door to the bathroom when she was in the shower.  Justin helped him and we all sat around waiting for her to walk out.  The funniest part was that she was too short and walked right under it without noticing it was there! The rest of us laughed so hard and then hurried and moved it to her bedroom door while she was changing.  But it was a fail because she noticed it before she walked into it.  But a good effort and we got a good laugh anyway.

Our Young Men's basketball team dominated the whole stake this year.  They made it to the semi-finals and decided to wear jerseys that night.  They won and proceeded to the championship.  They won that as well.  Champions!  The next night they got together and played a group of men from the elders quorum. Justin was the referee and had a great time.  The girls and I went to watch and chatted with other moms and wives and it was really fun.  We were impressed that so many boys would give up their Friday night to hang out with old men.  (For the record, Stockton went to hang out with friends.  Basketball was not his priority at the moment, especially when a certain girl was going to be there, wink wink.)

Stockton #45

semi-final winners: Tyler, Levi, Austin, Jake, Bracken, Chase, Kelton, Justin, Riley, Stockton, Drew, Jimmy

champions: Jantsen Roney, Kelton Webb, Riley McPhie, Tyler McPhie, Austin McPhie, Drew Whimpey, Chase Turman, DJ Lazenby, Jake Webb, Jimmy Stephens, Rome Perotti, Justin, JR Coleman, Levi Jones, Jacob Jones, Bracken Holm, Stockton

We finally, finally got started on a soccer season.  It is so fun to watch and Molly is doing a fabulous job.  We are so proud of her.

Ivy rode her bike to the bus stop!  Wahoo!  That's a true sign that spring is here, or close.

Brynn loves her graphic design class with Ms. Chappell just like Stockton did.  Stockton's projects were all baseball-related and Brynn's are all cheer-related.  Ms. Chappell is in our ward so she sends me photos and that's fun to see.

Brynn is the front right, next to Oakley who also cheers at TCA

We also got to start a baseball season.  We didn't even think a baseball season was going to happen...and then it did!  Usually Justin goes to the baseball games but the schedule worked out best for me to take Stockton that first Saturday he was playing.  He played a good chunk at a new position: catcher.  He's only ever done this once, his very first time playing comp baseball and it was not a good experience.  This was different and he held his own out there.  I was impressed.  He also had an amazing double when the bases were loaded, earning his team three runs, and two other singles.  It was a good day for him and always is a good day when he can play some baseball.

PROM!  Molly had been asked mid-February by Jake Webb so it was a long wait for the actual date.  Enough time to make her feel a little nervous but mostly she was really excited.  She had picked out her dress...not fancy but not something she would wear to church...and she had bought pink heels.  Her and Jake had also bought matching Converse sneakers.  Jake picked her up around 11 and they had brunch at the Turman's house (family in our ward).  Then they drove down to Utah County to a place where they could drive go-karts.  The other boys in the group are seniors so I wasn't worried about the driving situation.  Molly said the go-karts were a blast even if she came in last place every time. They got lunch at Zupas before coming home to get ready for pictures, dinner, and dance.

Jake and Molly are bottom right

Molly had her friend Jalynn help with her hair.  She didn't love it but I think it ended up being okay for her.  I thought she looked very pretty.  Jake picked her up around 6 and we got some pictures of the two of them before they headed out.

They took pictures at a pretty place in Daniel with Mount Timpanogas in the background.  They ate dinner at the Allen's (another family in our ward).  They went to the dance.  They went back to the Allen's and watched a movie.  It was a very successful dance, Molly loved it.  She felt very relaxed the whole time and was able to just enjoy being with people she knew and felt comfortable with.  I knew it was going well when she didn't come home until 1:00 in the morning, two hours past her curfew.  With permission, of course.  Molly has done a few school dances now and this one has been her favorite by far.

Molly and Jake on the left

Molly and Grace Valinga on the left

Molly and Jake on the left

Grace, Molly, Haylee Allen (who was in a different group but these three are in YW's together)

Molly second in from right

Molly on the left at the top of the table

**This is a picture of the kids from the group that are in our ward, including little Brooke who didn't go to the dance but was there for pictures.  Bryson has his mission call and Chase is waiting for his to come anyday. I love these kids so, so much, they are completely golden!

Molly, Jake, Brooke Turman, Chase Turman, Grace, Bryson Allen

Brynn and Ivy accompanied me on a Sunday afternoon walk.  It was so nice outside and Justin was at a temple prep class.  We walked down the street to check the creek and saw that water was running down the creek, the first time in several years.  We definitely had to go down and throw rocks into the creek.  We stayed out for a little while riding bikes and it felt fabulous.

Each morning I wake Ivy up, carry her to the couch, and snuggle her for five minutes before getting up to finish getting the other kids off.  Sometimes she is more awake that other times.  This was a morning that she had a hard time waking up and continued to sleep on the couch. (Also, I really detest having two different morning schedules...the big kids and then Ivy.  It would be so much nicer if it was all four of them out the door at the same time.)

Stockton played in his second baseball tournament down south. This one was in Cedar City and it was a boys weekend.  And...they actually won a game!  I have admired this group of boys for so long because they keep putting themselves out there, they keep practicing, they keep showing up, they continue to improve...and have continued to lose game after game.  For them to win a game was a big deal.  Justin was so happy to be there and it was such a good moment for them.  I'll say it again...so many lessons in these sports that transfer to life.

Stockton is second in from the right on the bottom

Since it was in Cedar, Justin's good friend Parker Webb was able to pop over for part of a game and say hi.  Parker's going to school at SUU.  Justin was his priesthood leader in some respect basically since Parker was a deacon and they have a close relationship.

Parker, Stockton, Justin

Molly got her date in April.  We spend a lot of time together driving to soccer and back so we tacked it onto a soccer day when we were already in Utah County. Molly chose CupBop and it was delicious.

Molly also signed up to double roster with the '04 Heber team this spring.  She was hoping to play more games with them but with games and practices for Celtic the schedule hasn't lined up very often.  When she did get to play with them, she was most excited to be reunited with Regan, her very best soccer friend.

Molly and Regan Heywood

The final cheer competition was Nationals at Sea World in San Antonio, Texas.  This was a girls trip, just Brynn and me, but we also joined with four other girls and their moms.  So 10 of us total. Brynn was so excited and I was too, but this ended up being way more fun than I expected!

We left early on a Thursday morning and flew out of the Provo airport.  One of the mom's had found a flight that was a killer deal so we all jumped on that and decided to stick together.  It ended up being the best decision to travel together.  Traveling with a group of young, excited cheerleaders is so fun!

Brynn, Claire Winsor, Brook Moore, Abby Boyer, Abby Hansen

Abby, Brooke, Abby, Claire, Brynn, random boy who wanted a picture with the cheerleaders

We arrived in Austin a couple hours later and picked up our party van.  Yes, 5 girls and 5 moms=party van for sure!  We stopped to get burgers for lunch and drove the extra hour (2 hours with traffic) to San Antonio.

Jill and Claire Winsor, me and Brynn, Brook, Abby, Abby and Marissa Boyer, Becky Hansen, Kary Moore

We opted to go straight to the Riverwalk instead of going to our hotel first.  This was such a neat area!  I loved the atmosphere...music and restaurants and shops all along the river.  We walked around, the girls did some impromptu cheering, and we ate dinner at a restaurant with some other girls and moms.

Brynn, Brook, Claire, Abby

Abby, Abby, Ella Wilson, Evan Schuler, Claire, Brynn, Brook

Abby, Claire, Evan, Shaylee Williams, Brynn, Brooke, Ella, Abby

Jill, me, Jenny Wilson, Abby, Brook, Ella, Becky, Marissa, Kary, Bekah Schuler, Abby, Claire, Brynn, Evan

We went back to our hotel, got checked in, and the girls played games in the hotel room for an hour before calling it a night.

We had a free day Friday.  We didn't compete until Saturday but Coach Tavia wanted a buffer day in case anyone had any travel snags.  We knew we would have Saturday at Sea World but weren't sure how much of the day we would actually have to enjoy the park.  So we decided to do Sea World Friday as well and we are so glad we did.  The park was not very crowded and we jumped on every ride or got into every show with no problem (totally different story Saturday, btw).

Brook, Abby, Shaylee, Abby, Brynn, Claire

The girls were so happy and excited to be there.  They wanted to jump around from one ride to another and had no sense of organization as to where things were located in proximity to each other.  We were happy to follow their whims but we did make them stop and do the shows that day.  We saw the sea lion, dolphin, and whale shows that afternoon.

Shaylee and Brynn

Claire, Brynn, Abby, Abby, Brook, Ella, Evan, Shaylee (with orca whale trainers)

The girls also jumped on as many rides as they could that day.  I allowed Brynn one over-priced Sea World snack.  She chose a slushie.  We skipped lunch since we were having an early dinner and survived on the beef jerky and dried mangoes that I had packed from home.  The sunshine felt amazing and we had a great day!

Shaylee, Brynn, Claire, Ella, Abby, Evan, Abby, Brook

the mom's trying to be like the cheerleaders: Becky, Jill, me, Marissa, Bekah, Jenny, Kary

We had a team dinner that night at the Hard Rock Cafe which was also located on the Riverwalk.  The coaches had rented the whole basement for all the teams.  It was crazy chaotic but the burger was good and Brynn loves being with the team anytime.  We also walked over to see the Alamo which is on the Riverwalk and we had missed the night before.  We didn't stay on the Riverwalk that night but opted to go back to the hotel so the girls could swim.  Good thing too, since we got hit with an incredible thunderstorm right as we parked at the hotel.  The girls played games while they waited for the storm to pass and then some of them jumped in the pool for a minute.  Brynn stayed in for less than 10 minutes...it wasn't heated and was quite chilly!  I had her shower and get ready for bed since it was going to be an earlier morning with comp the next day.

all teams and coaches-Brynn's in the back, one of the other girls is holding her up

Team Code Blue! Brynn is front left

me, Jill, Becky, Abby, Shaylee, Abby, Marissa, Brook, Kary, Kim Williams, Brynn, Claire

Shaylee, Brynn, Abby

Comp day!  We had to have them at the park before it even opened.  We also had to be packed up and checked out of the hotel that morning.  Since it was just Brynn and me, and since she was super excited, it was manageable.  They were ready to go out and compete!

Brynn, Claire, Brook, Shaylee

The coaches wanted the girls to stay together and to stay and support the other teams who were there from Tumble Central so we ended up staying at the competition venue all morning.  We had a big cheering section as we cheered on teams Everest and Eclipse from TCA.  They did so well!  I was starting to get nervous.  Brynn had done well all year but the team as a whole had had some bumpy performances.  They had worked so hard and traveled so far and only had one chance to hit their routine.  I always get some butterflies but had never been this nervous for her to compete.

Brynn had been promoted to center flyer, a position well-deserved and a little past due.  I wanted her to prove that that was where she deserved to be.  It was finally their turn to compete.  And, wow, they put on a performance!  They hit everything so well and so strong.  It was the best I've ever seen them compete.  I was so happy and proud for them!  Brynn was amazing at center flyer.

Brynn is second in from the right in the middle

They had the next several hours to explore the park.  Our ticket that day came with a lunch.  It wasn't super great but at least we didn't have to spend a fortune on park food.  The crowds were crazy and any line we got in we waited for at least an hour.  We were so glad we had gone the day before.

We had to be back at 5:30 for awards.  The girls had done so well, everyone had expected them to take first.  They got second.  I was a little disappointed but Brynn was happy.  They scored the highest they have all year and a special judge's award for choreography so there was that.  I did hear a rumor that our coaches made a mistake in submitting our routine and that is what caused us to get 2nd...but that is just a rumor so I don't put much stock into it.  Bottom line is that the girls did amazing and it was a great performance to end the year.

2nd in from left, front row

Flyers coach Tiana and Brynn

Brynn and her amazing base, Shaylee

We had a drive back to Austin that night and a super early flight the next morning but the girls wanted to stay at the park.  They ended up closing the park that night...they were having so much fun, we couldn't pull them away, nor did we really have any desire to.  I was personally having just as much fun as they were and was the only mom who rode all the rides along with the girls.  I enjoyed spending time with them and getting to know moms and girls better.

coaches Tiana, Connor, Kenzie, Evan, Claire, Brynn, Ella, Brook, Abby, Abby

Claire, Ella, Brynn, Evan

Brook, Ella, Evan, Claire, Abby, Brynn

Kary, Jill, me, Becky, Marissa

We stopped for Torchy's Tacos (our best meal of the whole weekend), got to our hotel at 12:30 am, took a "nap", and headed to the airport a couple of hours later.  We landed in Provo at 9 that morning and we were home by 10:15.  Brynn immediately fell asleep on the couch and slept for 6 hours, when I made her get up.  I went to church, haha.  I actually felt surprisingly rested all that day...Monday was a different story however and I struggled to get back into the swing of things.  But, such a fun weekend and I'm so glad I got to make these memories with Brynn.  Looking forward to next year!!

Brynn and Claire

on the airport shuttle at 4:45 am: Brynn, Claire, Abby, me, Becky, Kary, Abby, Brook

My mom ended up coming and getting Molly and Ivy on Thursday afternoon and taking them to Plain City.  Molly had been wanting to watch Abby dance with her drill team and Chloe do her rodeo and it worked out that they were both performing/competing that weekend and Molly was free to go.  Ivy went just for fun.  Stockton stayed home for baseball practice.  They met back up with Justin and Stockton Saturday morning at a ward activity at the Family History Library in Salt Lake.

Ivy, Josie, Lucy

Tessa, Molly, Chloe, Abby

Stockton and Justin had baseball games Saturday night so Molly and Ivy were hanging out at home.  Molly took Ivy for a slushie.

On the last day of April, I finished reading Nancy Drew Pool Party Puzzler with Ivy.  We are working on reading all of the books in the series, at least the ones we own which are the first four or five.