A Week of Firsts!

Joshua played in his first ever lacrosse game and did quite well for himself! He was a wonderful defender blocking plays and then when they put him in on attack, he even scored an epic goal!(Joshua says it was an epic goal because he got slammed by a defender and has a bruise to show for the hit and he had FOUR defenders on him when he scored!)

I got to watch my first ever lacrosse game and found it to be extremely fun. Of course, anytime I am rooting for my kids, it is fun to watch!

Savannah was given this cute ICarly bike by a friend in the neighborhood. The only catch was it DID NOT come with training wheels. But sometimes, when a bike is cool enough, you can overlook things like that! Within 30 minutes of going out to attempt a 2 wheeler, she was riding like a pro!

Women at the Well

For our Relief Society Birthday Social this year, a friend in our ward wanted to put on a musical presentation depicting the women who Christ had contact with throughout his life. It is a beautiful program that shares many of the miracles he performed and was a nice change from the typical "history of Relief Society" presentation. I don't know, maybe I am the only one who feels this way, but after 21 years of hearing about the history of RS once a year, I welcomed the change! Unfortunately, what I didn't know at the time was that this friend of mine would be recruiting me to sing one of the songs in the presentation! Those who know me know that I am NOT a singer. As a matter of fact, pretty much the only people in our family who do sing are Joshua and Shelby. The rest of us attempt (well, Caleb won't even attempt) to hold a tune and we do best in a choir setting. My friend eased my mind by telling me that I would be part of a small group and the others in the group were more accomplished singers, so it would be fine. At our first practice, we discovered that none of us felt comfortable!

As we learned our song, Heidi, Erin and I started to feel more comfortable. We even thought we sounded pretty darn good with the acoustics in Heidi's kitchen as we stood around singing along to the dvd player! However, our first official practice with the group didn't go so well.....we forgot the words several times and we were told we looked scared to death! (Why wouldn't we? We WERE scared to death!) Through it all though, I felt the words of the music testify to my heart of my purpose as a woman and mother. I was strengthened as I brought the beautiful qualities I was singing about home to my family.

The night of the program came and due to sick kids and schedules, we hadn't practiced together for over a week. We met at the church a few minutes early and were a little nervous as we practiced. We never did get all the way through our song without a mistake during practice. However, once the program started, we were able to pull it off without a hitch! The music was beautiful, the spirit was strong, and I was so glad to have had the opportunity to participate. Thank you Darla, for bringing the spirit of Christ into my home over the past few weeks and for helping me to stretch myself just a little bit! And thank you to Erin and Heidi who suffered right along with me as we stretched! It has been an incredible experience.

YMCA Winter Swim Champs

For a kid who was kicked off the first swim team he ever tried to join, Samuel has made quite a name for himself as a young swimmer in our area! He is competing at the AAAA level (which is the most competetive level of swimming) and continues to do well at his meets. Champs was no exception..... In spite of coming down with a cold the night before and waking up all night long to blow his nose, then forgetting his swim cap and asthma inhaler, Samuel was still able to place in every event! He started off the day with a 6th place ribbon for his team's medley relay, then got a siver medal in 100 IM, barely missing the gold by a second. He redeemed himself on the backstroke when he beat the kid who beat him on IM and claimed a gold medal for backstroke! He finished off the day with a bronze medal in the butterfly competition.

Joshua has had an incredible swimming year! He has gotten better at every single meet and is gradually pushing his times to new levels. He competes at the C level, but has bumped many of his times up to B level throughout the year. We are so proud of the hard work and dedication he puts in! Joshua was beyond thrilled to receive his first ever gold medals! He took first place in both the 50 yd and 100 yd freestyle events! He got a silver medal with his freestyle relay team and then a bronze medal for his butterfly, along with a 5th place ribbon for the team's medley relay.

Here's Samuel (wearing his borrowed swim cap, thanks to a friend who said he packed an extra just in case Samuel forgot his again.....does he know my child well or what!) preparing to race.

For those who don't swim, there is a lot of time spent W-A-I-T-I-N-G at swim meets! Here's Joshua as he waits to take his place to swim.

Congratulations boys on another great swim season! We can't wait till summer so we can be back at our outdoor pool!

Swim Team Banquet

The boys attended their swim team banquet last night and were thrilled to receive their trophies. Oddly enough, we are not quite done for the season.....we still have champs to look forward to this weekend.

Samuel and Joshua have both really enjoyed being on swim team year round. They have improved on their skills and their times just keep getting better. But....it is time for a break! We will have two months off before we start into summer swim team and that is fine with us! Joshua has already started lacrosse and his practices were overlapping with swim practice. Samuel needs to buckle down and focus on his school work. He tends to be awfully forgetful and leaves papers home that should be at school, so it will be good for him to have a little more time to practice doing things right! As for me, perhaps I will be able to make it to a few of Caleb's tennis matches (first one today!) rather than driving car pool to swim team. No rest for the weary in this house!

Shopping for a Modest Prom Dress

Shelby and I went on a 10 hour road trip yesterday in search of a modest prom dress! After searching the internet and agonizing over buying a dress online without ever being able to try it on, I found this little shop owned by a Christian lady that specializes in carrying only modest formal and wedding dresses. Well worth the drive! Shelby found several that she liked, but here are the ones that didn't make the final cut..... The second place dress. This was the first one she tried on and she loved it!

Another favorite, but not quite the right color.....maybe if it had been burgundy....she thinks she looks bad in red (although I think it was gorgeous on her!)

Nice dress, but she thought the color washed her out.

She loved this one but was afraid it would be WAY too poofy when all the crinolines were steamed out.

I think her dad would have died if I had brought this one home! Very cute, but she was afraid she would chicken out of wearing it! I told her prom is when you want to look elegant.

Anyway, you will have to wait to see her final choice; I am not posting it on here until she gets all dolled up with hair and makeup for the prom in April. We had a fun trip and it was definitely worth the time it took to get there. I love that my daughter knows that it was important enough to us for her to dress modestly that we would devote a whole day to finding a gorgeous dress that fits within our standards.

FIFTEEN and Pinewood Derbys......

Just to prove how complicated my life is, let me do a little catching up and share with you the day of Caleb's fifteenth birthday.......It was a Saturday morning and Chris and I both left by 9:00 am. He took Samuel to the pinewood derby and I took Joshua to his lacrosse practice. Samuel was thrilled to win 2nd place with his awesome car, The Black Widow.

When we all got back home (around 12:30 pm), I quickly loaded up all the kids to go shopping for Caleb's birthday presents. Everyone wanted to buy him fish because he is very hooked on his aquarium right now! We rushed back home by 1:30 pm and did cake, ice cream and presents with him before we had to run out to Joshua and Samuel's swim meet at 2:00 pm. We got home from that just in time for Chris and I to run out to a party for the evening (at 7:30 pm), after which we did a quick trip into Walmart to get milk and arrived home just after midnight! It is craziness around my house, I tell you, CRAZINESS!!!

Why I Volunteer

People volunteer for many reasons. Sometimes it is to be involved in things their children are involved in. At other times, volunteering may happen out of guilt because no one else will do it. There are plenty of people who volunteer for altruistic reasons, because they feel they want to give back to society.

As for me......I volunteer so I can laugh! I spent the day at school yesterday helping with school pictures. I have to admit to initially being lured in by the offer of free pictures of my child for helping for the day, but after spending a day there, I find myself craving the opportunity to go back! I have never laughed so hard in my life! First there was the little girl who was going from photographer to photographer (we had 3 set up to make things go faster) trying to get her picture made THREE times because "it is so much fun and I want to be a model!" Then there was the darling little autistic boy who had to be coaxed into a upright position with his hands not in his mouth or over his face......I personally thought they should have sent the candids home since those were adorable! After twenty minutes of all of us coaxing (including the kids in his class) the photographer finally got a shot she was happy with. But the most hilarious was the 5th grade boy who twisted and twisted the comb into his hair so tightly that it could not be removed! Of course it was right up in the front of his head where his bangs were! I was trying so hard not to laugh while I struggled to get it out! The photographer finally took the picture with the comb pushed back into his black hair and hoped that in group shot it wouldn't be too noticeable!

Having an impulsive child myself, I probably would not be the best one to be a substitute teacher at a school. I am afraid I would laugh too much to be effective in disciplining, but I think that sometimes kids just need to be loved and celebrated. (if only I could remember that more at home.....)

I can't wait to go back!