St. George Trip

We took a much needed little vacation to St. George with some good friends. We had such a good time we rented a condo-Which I have to say was so much better then a hotel. We went to Zions, Vegas, Hoover Dam, and bummed St. George. And we swam and swam sometimes twice a day! It was nice to be able to have a place to hang out and cook some meals- we even had a BBQ!  It was so much fun-Thanks to our friends the DeSantiagos we had a great time and can't wait to plan for next year!

                                              Matthew & Matthew-Ice cream

                                          Swimming and Swimming

                                          Hoover Dam-Made the kids Nervous!!

                                           Vegas and the M & M factory.

                                           Kids at Hoover "Dam-Madelynn was grumpy

                                           Playing cards at the Condo.

                                          Hike at Zions-Frank, Jake, Clarissa, Marcus, Madelynn

                                          Zions overlook

                                            Look I finally got a picture of my friend Ivanna!! lol

 

                                        Just Chillin at Zions!

                                     That's a heavy Rock! Tough Boys!

                                          We all rode in the Desantiagos Pilot-just for Zions-fun!

 

Mckay Soccer 2012-2013

McKay just wrapped up his soccer season! What an awesome season he had. McKay has been playing with this team for almost 2 years they play so well together. McKay has been practicing 2 days a week and playing games 2 days a week- all over Utah County. That is alot of soccer! McKay plays defender and is pretty good at it. He scored a few goals this year but as defender you don't get the chance to score very often. McKay has played forward a few times but when he does he seems lost. When he is forward his team mates are always passing him the ball because that want him to have a chance to score- I love that they want him to score!! McKay also got to play against his cousins team. It was so funny because McKay would be defender to his cousin Isaac who was a forward for another team. A few times we would see them out in the field (during a game) talking to each other! Your not suppose to do that?? Unless your cousins! It was a fun season- McKay's team ended up taking first in there division! They were all so EXCITED and got a trophy! They had an almost perfect season only losing one game! I am so proud of these boys!! McKay has just recently tryout for 3 teams- they all want him to play. His coach has a chance to play on a State Level and McKay is one of 6 players that has been invited to play- It just means more time and money- not sure if we have either?? McKay is excited for next year-I am just looking for an opportunity for him to learn and grow some more. Were going to have to make a decision soon!

                                         This is Coach Rigo- and Mckay's  good Friend Axell!

What's Happening?

Since I have been a slacker at blogging I thought I would do a quick update. Since January it has been crazy and busy busy around here! All three boys played basketball-on three different teams-yeah-that was fun! Jake coached Matthew's team which was a good experience for Matthew and Jake. Marcus loves basketball and had a great season-he got to play with his two buddies Nico and Ethan. Mckay also had a great season-He is our "athletic" one- not only is he good at soccer but he is amazing at basketball! He enjoys them both- he is super fast and can dribble and run very fast at the same time-one of his games he scored 16 points! He is amazing! Now that it's Spring we are even busier- I  thought when  I didn't have toddlers anymore things would SLOW down- boy I was wrong! This week we have had a total of 7 games- That's alot!- 3-Soccer and 4 baseball-WOW. Mckay is wrapping up his Soccer season-which has been amazing! Mckay's team Brazil plays tonight for the final-they are currently ranked #1- in there league-they play #2 tonight for the final- it's going to be a tough game-they can do it! We have all kinds of School projects due-because it's the end of the year. Madelynn will graduate from Kindergarten-wwhhooo!  Matthew has been working SO hard on getting his Eagle- he has a project he is trying to get approved- This is not an easy task! Matthew also just had his last Orchestra Concert of the year. We just have A LOT going on! For me Work has been very stressful lately-I have come to realize that people are not always as they say they are- and being hurt by someone you trusted-and thought highly of- really hurts! I took a leave from work for a week and it was nice. Jake is as busy as ever- which is nice and hard all at the same time! We love the work but we miss him! So with all that being said- We are super excited this week to be taking a much needed brake from life! We are headed to St. George the end of the week to have some down time! Yeah for us! The kids are so Excited! We rented a condo for 4 days with our good friends the De Santiago's and are excited to spent time with them! It will be hot-but we are perfectly happy to sit and relax by the pool all day-and enjoy being lazy! Can't wait! We can't wait for Summer-when school is out!

Marcus is 10!

Marcus turned the BIG 10! On April 12th we celebrated Marcus 10th Birthday! We got Marcus this basketball- Arcade game for his Birthday which he loves and plays all the time! On his Birthday I checked him out to take him to lunch for his special day- He asked me "Can Mckay come?" I had teary eyes! I said "absolutely" and we went and checked Mckay out! I can't believe he is 10-he is growing up so fast.Marcus enjoys soccer, baseball and basketball, playing with friends and playing video games! This year Marcus is in the 4th grade and it has been a tough year-he has had some struggles! I admire him so much- he works so hard to get all his assignments done and I know it's not easy for him. I would probly give up but he just keeps at it. We are learning that writing and hand coordination is difficult for him-this breaks my heart-as his mom I want him to succeed in everything he does! He is taking some Physical Therapy to help with what seems to be muscle weakness. Marcus amazes me daily- he is a very special young man! He is always Happy and is always smiling. Mckay and Marcus are best friends-I am so thankful for this! Yes they do fight, but they always seem to have each others back. I am so thankful for Marcus threw him I am learning patience and endurance- Ooohhh how I love this boy! He has such a sweet and kind spirit! Happy Birthday Marcus- we are so proud of you!

Madelynn turns 6

I can't believe she is 6-yes 6! On April 2nd we celebrated Madelynn's 6th Birthday! She is growing up fast. Her Birthday fell during spring break this year-lucky girl. I took the day off work and we went to the Zoo. Madelynn is such a fun little girl! We all adore her! Madelynn is in Kindergarten this year and she loves going to school and says "I love to do work!" She enjoys doing school work. She likes to ride her bike, go to gymnastics, play with friends-(whom mostly are boys)and follow her dad around. She is very social and has learned alot this year in school. She is also my buddy- Likes to go shopping with me, helps me cook and do the dishes, she even likes to clean! I'm so thankful for her and love spending time with her.  She also is always in on all the action at our house and wants to do whatever the boys are doing-lately she loves to play baseball-I think she will love sports! We are so lucky to have her in our family-Love you Madelynn!

Snow.......Happenings 2013

Well it's snowed a lot in Payson this year!! The other morning we woke up to 20" I couldn't even drive to work-my car would have just got stuck! The roads weren't plowed at 5:30 am so Jake drove me in his BIG 4-Wheel drive and I made it-thank goodness it's like 2 blocks away!! LOL I think this is the most snow we have ever gotten-since we have lived here! Jake had to work in Provo so he took the truck thinking they would have snow........................Nope they got like 2 inches!! We got snow all day that day totaling about 2 feet! It is Crazy cold and we still have all that snow- it seems-feels like we live in Alaska!! I always think its funny that we get so much here in Payson when everyone else gets well...............Nothing! January has been busy-all three boys are playing Basketball. Jake is coaching Matthew's team. Mckay just got over from being really sick-poor guy! He had Strep-throat and when we were at the Dr. office they wanted him to have the pneumonia 13 shot-because last spring he had pneumonia which he got from his asthma issues. I agreed to give him the shot-what a mistake!! He had and some kind of reaction to the shot 2 minutes after they gave it to him in the Dr. Office. He was having a hard time breathing-it was scary. We waited 30 minutes and he was much better. The next day his whole shoulder swelled up huge-and red. He missed School for a whole week! Poor kid! Glad that's behind us! Looking forward to Warmer weather and Healthy kids- Hopefully that happens before July!!!! LOL

Matthew

During the Holidays we had a chance to go to an Orchestra Concert for Matthew.  The Junior High teacher teaches both at the High School and Junior High (there like a block away from each other).  Me and Jake decided we were getting old we REALLY enjoyed it!! The teacher has what he calls "Photo Moments" He lets you up on the stage to take pictures while they are playing a song-it was so funny to see some of the kids react to that!! It was great to hear the High School and Junior High they even played together- all 100+ students on the stage.  I am so thankful Matthew is apart of this-Love Salem Hills Junior High and High School Orchestra!

Christmas & New Year 2012-13

I've been a slacker when it comes to blogging lately-I will do better! So here is an update about Christmas and New Years. We had a great Christmas spend time with those that matter most. The kids all got spoiled-of course! Some of our favorites this Christmas were- Kindle Fires (3 of us got one), Tablet, I-Pods Lego's, Animal figurines, Barbie's, Girl Lego's, Good food we ate and did I mention LEGO'S?? My kids LOVE Lego's!!  All in all it was great! We spent time with both of our families and on New Years we spent time with our good friends! For New Years we went to our friends the Desantiago's had a GREAT time stayed up late and played Dance Central with the kids! Matthew and Mckay are pretty good little dancers! Love the Holidays!! Here are a few pictures:

Thankful.........

We have so much to be thankful for! This next week will be a crazy week so I wanted to post a quick Thanksgiving post! This week we will, spend time with Family, eat lots and eat some more, spend time with the kids, do some Christmas shopping, go to a Soccer game, maybe a movie and I'm even betting we will have out tree up by the end of the week! I'm looking forward to a GREAT Week! I am truly so blessed and have alot to be grateful for! Here are a few pictures of what I am most thankful for:

My Family

These Cute, Amazing kids!

My Parents and Siblings that Support and love me! (I love this Picture)

All these CRAZY people!! LOL

And of course My favorite Dog-REX! We all just love this cute guy!
ALL in All I was thinking that  none of these things are..... Things! They are
all people-which I think matters most-the people in your life!! Happy thanksgiving!

Matthew is 14-YIKES

On September 9th Matthew turned 14-scary huh?? For Matthew's Birthday he invited his friend over for a sleepover and they played video games! Not my idea of fun-but that is his idea of a great time! I feel so lucky and blessed to be his mom-he is a great young man! Matthew is in the 8th grade this year and it has so far been a tough year! He started at a new school and has had to make new friends and I think he has felt kinda lost! I really admire him-he is courageous. I think it takes a lot of courage for kids his age (junior High) to go out and experience the world-that is not so great right now! He works VERY hard at everything he dose and for the most part keeps good grades. I just wish he could keep his attitude in check-I don't think that happens until they move out!! LOL Matthew enjoys baseball, basketball, X-Box, Hanging out with friends, Young Men's.  I have to say that his most favorite thing is the Outdoors. Matthew is always ready to go camping, fishing, hiking, 4-wheeling (especially if he is the driver) and hunting! He enjoys life and I am so proud of him! Happy Birthday Matthew!

Mckay is 11

Happy Birthday to my McKay! I sure love this boy! Mckay turned 11 on September 10-he had a good Birthday. He had a late night with a few of his friends-he invited 6-Yikes! He is not so social so I was actually really happy that he wanted to invite a few kids over. They all came over and we had pizza and Jake loaded them all up and took them to the park and they played football for a few hours. Then they came home and watched a Bigfoot show! If you know McKay he loves bigfoot and totally believes there is one! We are always teasing him  about that-his favorite show is  "Finding Bigfoot"! He is so funny and I think very special! Mckay loves almost any sport but his two favorites are Soccer and Basketball. He also really enjoys school and likes to learn and discover just about anything! He loves his brothers-especially Marcus most of the time they are best friends! I am thankful to him for being such a good brother! He has also come out of his shell a little and is not as shy as he used to be. He still likes Legos, X-Box, Making Origami's, Drawing, and he really enjoys the outdoors-especially a good hike! (this kid can hike and hike) We love you Mckay!

Soccer 2012

Mckay played a great season of soccer! He LOVES soccer-can't get enough of it! He has been playing/practicing with Nebo United Club Soccer team for the last year and has really had a fun time. He loves his teammates and it has been so fun to watch all of them learn and grow together. Mckay's team Brazil played a good season each game they got better and better. Overall they took 4th-putting them in a good spot for the Spring Tournment. They will be In B (they have A B C) and will be the top spot in B-pretty exciting! On there last game they played a team from Orem that was undeafeted all season-this team REALLY wanted a "perfect" season. Team Brazil played there best game ever and tied the number one team!! We were all so excited! Mckay mostly plays Defender and occasionally he is a forward- he has even scored a few goals.  I am so thankful for Mckay's opportunity to play with this team and the chance to learn more about soccer!

School 2012-2013

Its that time of year again......................the dreaded School Year.  Can you tell I'm so Happy about it? I know the kids need to go to school but I really enjoy our summers and am always sad to see them end! This year Matthew went to 8th grade1 I know can you believe it?? They built a new Junior High in Salem- called Salem Junior High that is were he is going. He was nervous because it is a new school and he will have to make new friends. He was also so excited because his BFF Matthew D. was going with him! His friend has been going to a charter school and his parents pulled him out and put him in the new junior high. Matthew was super excited about that-so am I! These two are buddies and I really appreciate there friendship-they are good for each other! Matthew said on his first day at lunch he couldn't find anyone to sit by then he seen a kid from our ward and sat with him and pretty sure there was a whole table of kids from the ward sitting by them! That makes me Happy! In our ward there is a large group of boys Matthew's age (about 14 of them) as his mom I find GREAT comfort in knowing they are all at school together watching out for each other! We are so lucky to have these good influences in Matthew's life! Mckay is in the 5th grade this year.  He actually really enjoys school and was excited for it to start!  Mckay loves to learn and is always sucking it all in! He has kinda come out of his shyness a little bit this year and has done some things that have really surprised me!  He was elected for class President and actually did a chant in front of his whole class. He made it to the final and got second and was kinda bummed he couldn't be the president! His teacher was trying to teach them about the presidential election so this was a big learning experience for him and he loved it! I really am impressed with his teacher this year! Marcus is in the 4th grade and he enjoys school also-he is SUPER social! Every time I go in the School with him EVERYONE knows him and I get alot of  "Are you Marcus Mom?" to funny! Madelynn started Kindergarten! I think that is sad actually! She loves it-and wants to know WHY we have to take Saturday and Sunday off-she wants to got everyday! She is super smart and is learning really fast! That sums up the start of (hopefully) an Amazing school year!