Super Soccer

This is one of my favorite pictures of Taylor.
He played GREAT today.
His coach really relies on Taylor running the defense
and hates it if Taylor needs to sub out for any reason.

Today was a great soccer day!
First of all it was great weather - finally!

Taylor's team went into the first game this morning in first place with 18 points.
The red team they were playing had 17 points.

In the game this morning Taylor's team won 6 - 1.

Then the same 2 teams ended up playing each other again for the championship.

I LOVE this shot of Taylor.

Taylor's team won the championship game 5 - 1.
* * 1st place * *
What a great way to start the summer soccer tournament season.
This is great pay off for all those early years of watching soccer.

Memorial Day

Paul and his kids at Wasatch Lawn where his mother is buried.
We decided to do our visiting on Sunday when we could all go as a family.

Me with our kids.

Making our own markers at Carolyn's grave because
her marker has not been installed yet.

We got the idea from a nearby grave to make these hearts with the pinecones.

This is Ziggy,
Paul's sister's grandson

Just hanging out at the cemetery with Paul's dad and sister.

Justin looking lost and Kamryn watching him.
Justin had gone to the van to get his Sudoku book because we'd been there a little too long.

After going to Wasatch Lawn we went up to the Salt Lake City cemetery
to find the gravesites of my ancestors.
The easiest one to find is of my mother's parents. I wasn't exactly sure where it was so I told the kids whoever found the marker first got a prize. Justin found it first, along with the rest of the markers we were looking for.

I had to put both of these in just to notice the difference in the kids from one picture to the other. Mostly Paul was trying to get Brooke to really smile. For some reason at about this point she got in a bad mood and wasn't into our little outing.

Paul took this picture just for the view of the U and Mt Olympus.

Me with my mother's maternal grandparents gravesite.

Me with my dad's paternal grandparents gravesite.

Me and the kids at my grandfather's (my dad's dad) gravesite.

It must have been a long and tiring afternoon - Jared and Kamryn crashed out in the backseat.

On Saturday Paul went with his dad to place flowers at the graves of his ancestors. They left at 4:30 am and drove to Panguitch where Paul's dad's grandparents and great-grandparents are buried. From there they went to St George where Paul's maternal grandparents are buried. They then drove to Delta where Paul's dad's parents are buried. They got back home about 5:00 pm. I told Paul he was a saint to do all the driving in one day but he enjoyed it and was glad to spend the time with his dad.

Wasatch Classic Soccer

Just got back from the first half of the Wasatch Classic Soccer Tournament in Kaysville. Taylor is on the U-12 Summer Select team for our AYSO region. This team was formed last fall and has been playing together ever since. They are a great group of boys and a really fun team to watch play together. Their coach is Todd Sullivan and he does such a great job with the boys and they actually listen to him!
Their first game was this morning at 8:00 am which meant we had to leave at 6:30 to get there in time for warm-ups. It was pouring on the way there but stopped just as we got to the field and didn't rain again, thank goodness. They won that game 4-2 and played great for the most part. Taylor did AWESOME and played the best I've even seen him. Their coach gave them a B grade on that game.
We had 2 hours before having to be at the next game so I got Taylor some breakfast and then we went to the mall. He needed new shoes and we went to Sports Authority and spent a bundle on soccer related stuff!
The 2nd game was at noon and it was sunny but still pretty chilly for most of the game. Before the game started Taylor's knee was bothering him so he sat for the first part of the first half and then went in. He again played GREAT and his team won 5 - 1. The coach of the oppposing team told our team that this was the most unselfish and disciplined team he'd ever seen. Quite a compliment!
We head back up there Monday morning to play again at 8:00 and then hopefully into the championship at noon.

Preschool Program

Jared singing "The Wheels on the Bus" at his preschool program.

Jared was the witch for the song "He's a Mean Old Witch"

Jared also played the part of George Washington

Here's "George Washington" and "Abraham Lincoln"

Kamryn was a "toothbug" with her friend Olivia

Jared with his teacher, Miss Carol, getting his graduation certificate.

Kamryn with her teacher, Miss Carol, getting her graduation certificate.

Kamryn at the end of her program with her graduation cerfiticate and present from her teacher.
It was a pencil box with a box of new crayons - a perfect thing for her.

Dad and Mom with the preschool graduates -
or new kindergarteners!

Kamryn and Jared checking out the fish pond in their teachers backyard.

Jared and Kamryn with the world's greatest preschool teacher!!!

Yesterday was Jared and Kamryn's year-end preschool program. Luckily I got there early and was able to sit in the front row. Paul even made it for the program.
It was such a cute program and all the kids in the class did a great job. They all had speaking parts and sang a lot of cute songs.
Jared's part was:
"I liked visiting the land of dinosaurs. We learned about pteradactyl and brontosaurus and even got chased by a T-rex. We had to run fast to get back to the time machine before the dinosaurs caught us."
Kamryn's part was:
"We liked playing farmed in the dirt most of all. We planted seeds and grew food. We even planted people that grew grass for hair."

It was bittersweet watching this program knowing that my babies are growing up and I won't have any more kids get to go to the Rainbow School. Carol Wilkinson is the greatest teacher and we just love her. The only good part about preschool being over is never have to pay preschool tuition again :) Of course, college tuition is going to take over soon and I would rather pay the preschool tuition.

PCMC Visit

A week after the big carnival party we finally made it up to
Primary Childrens Medical Center.
We brought up a basket full of gifts to donate.
Jared and Kamryn had fun unloading the basket and filling the shelves up.

Jared and Kamryn with their gifts to donate from their birthday party.

When we got up to the hospital Kamryn wanted to give all the girl gifts to the girl patients and I had to explain that we weren't going to see the patients. The kids were disappointed about that but it all ended up okay. We met Marie who was the hospital rep for donations. She was great with the kids. She spent several minutes talking to Jared and Kamryn about their donations and then showed them around the lobby area and talked to them about all the different patients there. She showed them lots of pictures and was so cute with them.
It was a great experience for them.

Lots to Report On

Yesterday was Brooke's volleyball club year end party.
Brooke was awarded most improved player on her team.
Way to go girl!

Brooke's team
Great group of girls
and great coach, Adriene

Today Taylor got his braces off!
Check out that great smile :)

Empanadas and World report

Saturday night was empanada night. Parry's whole family along with Cecilia's mom, Julie, met us at my parents so they could show Taylor how to make empanadas.
It took the whole evening but was a lot of fun. Julie did most of the work and I felt bad not really helping but didn't know what she was doing and couldn't really communicate with her. She only speaks Spanish but seems to understand a lot of what we were saying.
Taylor helped with most of the process, especially with making the dough balls and then filling them with the meat mixture.

Parry showing us how its done. He's a real pro.

Julie showing us how to fold and pinch the dough.

Taylor did a great job and his looked so much better than mine.
The best part of the night was talking with Parry and Cecilia about Argentina. It was also fun talking to their kids about their visit their 18 months ago and what the kids remembered about it. They attended school their and told Taylor a lot about it.
It was interesting comparing what Taylor had learned for his report from books and the internet with what Cecilia and her mom told him firsthand from living there.

Taylor getting ready to give his report to his class. He did a good job and shared a lot of what he learned from Parry and Cecilia. The kids loved the empanadas and many had seconds.

Argentina

I have learned a lot about Argentina today. With two brothers that served missions there and my sister-in-law is from Argentina you would think I'd know a lot about it but I've learned I don't.
I have been helping Taylor with his 6th grade country report. I feel like I'm back in school and its actually kind of fun. Of course, I'd rather do all the work myself, but that's not the point.
Taylor did a great job putting together his display board and drew an awesome map of Argentina (that is not something I could do). Luckily the Argentine flag is easy to make/draw. Tomorrow night we are getting together with my brother and his wife and they are going to teach Taylor how to make empanadas so he can share them with his class on Monday.

Deals to Meals

This is a great website! I've been using it for over a year and have saved lots of money. Its so great to know that when I check out the deals for the stores I shop at the items in red are the best prices. Its totally worth the $4.95 a month - I've paid for the subscription price for the year in one shopping trips' savings. And the meal planner is awesome! Check it out - you can try the service for 2 weeks for free.

More Carnival Fun

Kamryn and Jared at the start of their carnival party.

Jared and Kamryn with their cousin Kyson. They are good friends and get to play together frequently. Kyson told him his mom it was a fun party and he was so excited that he won the "Guess the Gumball" game. He guessed there were 180 gumballs in the jar - there were actually 221.

Brooke and Justin were great to help at the carnival. Justin got out of school early to help me set up. They were both very willing to do the face painting and did a great job with the kids. It was fun to have them there. After the party was officially over they played all the carnival games and competed against each other.

When I started thinking about what to do for Jared and Kamryn's birthday party I was considering doing separate parties so it could be more what each of them would want - all girl or all boy. Then I read about the idea of a carnival party and thought that would be fun for both of them. Carnival parties are very popular and there are a ton of ideas online. Some people talked about how they planned a party for 3 - 6 months - that's crazy!! I had 12 days and that was just perfect. Luckily I got a lot of help from very good friends - from doing the invitations to helping decorate and set up. I never could have done it without such great friends.

We invited 22 kids - it sounds like a lot but you have to remember this was a birthday party for 2 kids. We invited everyone from their preschool - 14 kids besides Jared and Kamryn. I felt very strongly about this - I didn't want anyone being left out. We also invited some neighbor friends and some cousins. A carnival needs lots of kids and we had about 21 here.

We totally lucked out with the weather - it was sunny and warm and a little too breezy. My friend Jenny came over with her kids and helped me set up. I never could have pulled it off without all of her help. She even did Kamryn's hair and it was so cute.

We had lots of games to play on the basketball court - tin can alley, clothespin drop, bowling, ball toss, hole in one, ring of fire, penny pitch, ping pong toss, skee ball and water golf. At each game they got tickets for playing the game. At the end of the party they got to come to the prize center to buy toys and candy with their tickets. One little boy was so cute and asked if he could pick out something for his sister - I loved that.

Justin and Brooke started out the party with face painting. And then the big hit of the party, Bubbles the Clown, arrived. The kids lined right up to get a balloon animal or sword from the clown. Thanks to my great friend Paige for sharing her talents with us.

Everyone, the kids and adults, seemed to have a good time and it was all worth it. Thank goodness we don't have big birthday parties like that every year.