The Year of the Ox

Gung Hay Fat Cow-
Happy Chinese New Year!

I'm too tired to journal much- today we had a beautiful funeral (my dear Uncle Don, an amazing man, father & husband), Nick's regional swim meet (he beat his record and came in 2nd on the 200. Go Nick! All your hard work paid off), Josh came home from Klondike camp (freezing, but fun), and the fun Chinese New Year's Celebration tonight, while the older boys went to a Stake Dance. We had a great time seeing old friends and meeting new ones! Thanks Cindy for spearheading this CNY celebration each year.

Catching Up...

Our lives lately have been filled with swim meets, basketball games, schooling, and a kitchen project that's been consuming my weeks (pictures coming soon I hope :). It's nice take a break and catch up on some blogging.

Go #31!

Trev's on a good team again with an awesome coach. I like the T-shirt he wears each week that says- "It's just a game" This is becoming Trevor's favorite sport.

Nick has regionals this week-end. He's been preparing by eating super healthy, getting plenty of sleep, and saving his energy for the meet, he even has to shave his legs, all for the love of the sport. Keep it up Nick, you make us proud (not just your dedication, but who you are)

On our way to the Draper Temple openhouse. What a beautiful an amazing Temple!

Ice-skating... And I thought outdoor pools couldn't be year round around here without a bubble. Don't worry, there's a sturdy cover between the ice & pool. They can find fun anywhere!

My first speech

butterflies (Sage) poor pic but cute subjects

Well done! Sophie and Sage gave their first speech in school. They've given a talk in primary before (at church), but this was their first school speech. Sage talked on Vineyards and Sophie on Wheat farms, everyone loved the grape juice and yummy wheat bread they shared. They were all giggly at first and wanted my help, but they did a great job once they started and connected well with the class. They came home to balloons and new art kits. Good job S & S on your first speech, you both got A's!

Sophie Mei...

Winter Break

Winter break flew by. It was a fun break though it's nice to get back into a rountine. After Christmas, I took advantage of a free weekly pass we were given to a nearby fitness club. Fun for the whole family, we played basketball, racquetball, rock climbing, and enjoyed the pool / hot tub / sauna. The girls loved the rock wall and water slide, and the short time in the kidz zone while we worked out. The boys loved racquetball, the lap pool, and the gym. We went almost everyday for a week- ya, I hurt, but I'd love to join. It makes working-out fun!

Yikes! Those are my girls way up their. No fear, for most things. The first time Sophie & Sage climbed to the top, they didn't weigh enough to get down from the pulley, so they hung there calling for help. The workers had to loosen the tension then added an extra rope for next time, and sure enough, they wanted to climb again. They keep me laughing and had quite an audience. It's been awhile since I've done something like this, it's not as easy as it looks anymore, but I rung the bell on each one! That's my workout for the month :)

Sage (pink) was the catcher, notice the picture on the left of her catching Trevor to help him down :). My battery died before I could get pics of them on the water slide, but I'm sure you can imagine. They've been asking to go back already. The first day it was just me & the girls in the leisure pool, while the boys swam laps, but this day I didn't get wet so Josh & Trevor caught them on the slide (after going down first) about a dozen times. It was cute to watch- I think they were all worn out, but such great smiles!

Sledding was another fun past time. Farewell to winter break, it was fun but now it's time to hit the books and concentrate on school, with a lot of fun mixed in.

Welcome 2009!

Look who's in town... We celebrated New Year's Eve/Birthday Party with Danny & Lindsay, Happy Birthday Linz! They had a party in Farmington where she grew up. Fun party, the best part was catching up and enjoying D & L again. The girls didn't skip a beat, picked up as if they had never left. We had fun playing ping pong and fooseball, and sampling the yummy treats. Paul had to work that night so we hurried home to watch the ball drop with him, and Nick & Josh went to a well chaperoned YM/YW neighborhood party, do they have to grow up this fast?

Happy New Year to all!

Good-byes as they head back to sunny CA. I tried to convince them that dental school, the beach, Disneyland, and a dream accountant job was highly over rated, but they didn't buy it, lol. We're so proud of them! We enjoyed some homemade french dip sandwhiches and were glad to hang out with them again before they left. We'll miss you guys, come back soon, we'll keep filling our D&L/CA jar.