The Boys

Will is a smart, hard-working, handsome son. He's the oldest, and he's great at it. Will is a great example to all his brothers and a huge help to me. Will loves football, lacrosse, and park skiing. He's in 10th grade at Olympus High School, has all advanced classes and is pulling straight A's.

Jackson has a great imagination and keeps us laughing. He is very creative and is great at drawing, writing and making up stories. He is my number 1 go-to-guy for babysitting; Such a great helper!! Jackson is in 8th grade at Evergreen Jr. High, is in advanced classes and is doing great.

Tyler is in the 6th grade and is my super athletic son. He is great at most sports but excels at football, lacrosse and basketball. Tyler is wild and crazy and always fun to be around. Tyler is great with his newest younger brother, Robbie. It is so sweet to see such an aggressive guy become so soft and kind to a baby brother. 

Gavin is almost 9 years old and such a great kid. Gavin is the most confident and brave kid that I know. He will disappear, off on his own, without a care in the world.  Gavin is a good looking kid with lots of girls that follow him around. Gavin loves most sports and especially loves park skiing. You will find him skiing backwards down the hill. Before leaving, anywhere, he makes sure his hair is combed perfectly. 

Brigham is the biggest "ham" of them all, and that must be why it is in his name. He is the sweetest little personality, and is so kind to everyone. Brigham is the biggest love bug; always hugging, kissing and snuggling with me. He is the biggest 6 year old you'll ever meet, but a super soft teddy bear inside. Brigham tries to do everything his older brothers do. He loved playing flag football, but is ready for the real stuff next year. He loves playing basketball and park skiing. 

Nathan is such a great kid. He is 5 years old and loves playing outside and playing inside. He enjoys watching YouTube tutorials on Minecraft games and then grabbing my cell phone or iPad and advancing in the game. He's a little quieter than the others, but still a fun, outgoing kid. Nathan is enjoying his last year of preschool and is already excited for Kindergarten to start next year. 

Preston is secretly my favorite son! He has such a great personality. Preston talks ALL THE TIME and asks a bazillion questions about everything. I love how inquisitive he is. If you are sad or angry, just spend 5 minutes with this kid and he'll make you not only smile but you'll be laughing. Preston is such a riot! He is a little mini version of all of the other boys. 

And then there's Robbie. He is a darling. He sleeps great, thank goodness! He's starting to smile and coo at me and the other boys. He reminds me of Benjamin Button with his grumpy old man faces that he makes. I love his huge dark, blue eyes and when he scrunches his forehead. So cute! He's also my favorite...shhh, don't tell!

Eight is Great!!

On March 1st was a very special day for our family, especially for Gavin. He was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  It was such a special event filled with the spirit. 

There were so many wonderful friends and family members in attendance to share in the special event with us. Nana's flight was delayed, then cancelled, so she was not there. We ended up face-timing her so she could be part of this special event. 

Congratulations Gavin!! We are so proud of you for the choices you've made and the young man you are becoming. You bring such wonderful blessings to our family!

Gavin's almost EIGHT!!!

 I realized the other day that Gavin will be 8 years old in a couple of weeks. Such wonderful news! He is so excited to be baptized and start Cub Scouts. I am excited for him too.

We went around the yard taking a few pictures so I could put together a baptism announcement to mail out to close friends and family. 

Here is the announcement Scott and I made to send out. I think it turned out great!! 
(front)

 (back)

Skiing

We love to ski. I love that the entire family (well, almost the entire family) loves to go skiing. It's Brigham's first year and he picked it up just as fast as Gavin, by only the second time down the hill. Not second time going to the mountain, his second time down the hill. The next time we went skiing, Brigham and I raced down the slope... and he won. He's too fast though. He needs to learn control a little bit more. He loves it and has lots of fun though.

Will is phenomenal . He tries new tricks, watches YouTube videos and practices as often as he can. Will skis backwards and then can do a 180 and face forward, going the same speed. He now does jumps and turns while he jumps off 20+ foot ramps. He shows me the videos afterwards. Yowza!! He recently skied on a half pipe.

Tyler is the only snow boarder in the family. He loves it. He is getting much better than last year too. Here he is boarding down the hill and catching a small jump. He landed it perfectly.  He also can board right foot in front, move the board parallel and then left foot in front. Pretty cool. The picture above look closely, he has his tongue sticking out as he concentrates. So funny!

Here's Gavin. Look closely, he's skiing BACKWARDS! Hmm, I wonder where he got that idea from! He copies everything Will does, except for those super high jumps. They are too high. And he's too young!  Will and Gavin have ski passes for Park City Mountain Resort where they go often, especially during Christmas break. But, when the family goes we head up to Alta or Snowbird together.

The snow is so beautiful I am so thankful we moved to Utah... the Greatest Snow on Earth. It's so fun skiing, sledding and playing in the snow. All the kids feel the same way. We love it here!

Outtakes

 

We took family pictures a few weeks ago in an apple orchard. It was fun, but it sure is hard getting 7 little, energetic bodies to hold still, smile, and not move for several minutes. Here are just a few of the outtakes of our adventure.

 

Look at cute little Nathan in the middle with his mean guy scowl.  Watch out, he's about to punch you out!

 

And then the next one is a tad too smiley. He is such a ham!

 

 

 
Preston kept eating apples the entire time we were there. So 99% of the pictures he has an apple in his hand and a mouthful as well.

 

I asked Will to smile and he gave me this sleezy pose.

 

 
Nathan is totally done with posing, Preston is still chomping away and Brig's is getting into it. What's up?

 More apple tasting.

I have no idea what Jackson is doing, but he sure is a cutie!!

 

 

 

I will be posting the real pictures later!! Stay tuned!



School's In!!!

That sure went fast... TOO fast if you ask me. I still can't believe school has started! I am excited for the boys to start their new adventures and make memories. I loved Jr. High.

Will is 13 and in the 9th grade. (In Utah the Jr. High's are 7th, 8th and 9th grades.) Jackson is 11 and in the 7th grade. Both attend Evergreen Jr. High and so far, they are loving it. Will just told me yesterday that his absolute favorite class is Seminary!! He rattled off several reasons why and the entire time I'm listening to him, I'm thinking how lucky I am that he's in our family. I sure love that kid!!

Nice photo bomb kid!! Will was walking Jackson to his locker. Jackson was a little nervous about the locker code, so many teachers and different class rooms. But after a couple of days, he's fine and is really enjoying it all.

45 minutes later, Tyler and Gavin were ready to head out the door for their "first day of school" ritual.

Tyler is 9 and in the 5th grade. He has Mrs. Santos and Mrs. Sharp. Jackson had that same fun combo last year and really enjoyed them both. Gavin is 7 and in the 2nd grade with Mrs. Miller, who was Tyler's teacher two years ago.  Both have several friends in their class and have already said how fun it's been being back at school.

The principal at Rosecrest Elementary is truly one of a kind! Mrs. West is not only kind, hard-working and friendly, but she has also become one of my friends as well. She is such a great asset here in our school and in our community. My boys and I are lucky to work so closely with her.

Tyler standing with Mrs. Sharp, one of his teachers. Liz has also become one of my friends. She is outstanding with the kids and makes learning fun. I am thrilled Tyler's in her care!!

Before school in the early AM we all woke up for breakfast and Father's Blessings. What a wonderful way to not only to start off the school year, but also to start off the day. Everyone was in a good, happy mood and ready for a new start.
I am beyond blessed with a worthy priesthood holder in my home and such fantastic, fun, hard-working boys. I know they will all have another great school year!