1st Grade Talent Show

Cole came home with a note that the 1st grade was doing a talent show. Since he doesn't take piano lessons yet or dance or gymnastics or any of the typical talent show things and I was pretty sure he wasn't going to get up in front of everyone and sing, I didn't really worry too much about it. However, he soon informed me that he wanted to show off his talent of basketball. Despite my reservations about this being a talent for a talent show, I decided that if he really wanted to get up in front of people and perform, I shouldn't discourage him. (I also talked to several friends who have older children who explained that anything goes at this thing. I also found this to be true. Kids did everything from singing, dancing, and gymnastics to miming, reading a story, and showing off artwork.) I told Cole that if he was going to do it, he had to practice and figure out exactly what they were doing. So, Cole got together with a buddy and practiced what they were going to do and how they were going to do it. At that point, I had no choice but to let him do it!

They had to introduce themselves and their talent first.


Here is their performance.


Cole and his buddy did a great job. I was very proud of him for getting up there and not being afraid to perform!

The First of Many, I'm Sure

On one Thursday towards the end of March, I was just getting off the interstate in Provo to head to one of my final classes. I was mentally going through my class and what I needed to cover since we only had a few class periods left. I was also trying to figure out what I needed to do as soon as class was over because about an hour after I got home from class, Chad and I were flying to Denver to go to the NCAA gymnastics regionals with the BYU gymnastics team. Suddenly, my phone rang. I didn't recognize the number, but it was a Spanish Fork number, so I decided to answer it anyway. On the phone was the nurse from Cole's school calling to tell me that he had split his chin open on the monkey bars and she thought he needed stitches. At first I started to panic because amazingly, this was the first major injury that we have had with the kids and I was 30 minutes away. So, I told the nurse I couldn't get there right away, but I would find someone to come get him. After hanging up the phone, I tried to call 3 different people before finding someone that was home that could pick him up from school until I could get home. Then, I called Chad trying to figure out which one of us could hurry home faster to take him to the doctor before we had to catch our flight. (Although at that point, I wasn't sure if I was even still going to go.) After Chad told me he could leave right then to go get him, I called the doctor to see if they could hurry and get Cole in for stitches. Then, I had to call Chad back and give him all of the arrangements, followed by calling my friend back and telling her Chad was on his way to take Cole to the doctor. As I hung up the phone the last time, I had an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for cell phones and the fact that I was able to make all of those arrangements before I even made it to campus. Then, I went in and taught my class, probably less effectively, for about half of the normal class time before calling it a day to go home and check on my poor little boy and decide if I could handle leaving him after his major trauma.
I arrived home about 5 minutes before they did and as Cole was hopping out of the car, he was reassuring me that he was fine and I should still go on the trip. He even insisted that the doctor had said he was ok to play in his soccer game that night. (I think a lot of this was coaching from his dad, but it made me feel slightly better!) After listening to Chad describe the injury and what the doctor did, I was grateful that Chad was the one that had taken him. It was making me sick to my stomach just listening and I couldn't look at the actual injury or the pictures that Chad took and this was after it was all cleaned up! I can't imagine having to look at it fresh and undoctored! The pictures and descriptions still make me slightly ill to look at!
Here are various pictures of the injury, for those who like to see such things!
And a video shot by his dad as he's waiting to get stitched up!

This is the wound about a week later, looking slightly better, but still making me a little ill.
Needless to say, Cole survived just fine and even played in part of his soccer game that night. He went back to school the next day and had celebrity status because of his stitches! Chad and I went on our trip and hopefully didn't permanently scar him (or me!) by leaving him! And most of all, we all survived our first tramatic injury!

My Daddy's Job

While Chad's job, like every job, has some downsides to it, this spring, my kids have gotten to experience some of the benefits to their Dad's job.
When the BYU Men's Basketball team won the Mountain West Conference Championship, Cole got to go down on the floor after the game to celebrate with the team.
This fun included getting covered in confetti,
Holding the trophy,
And posing for pictures with the players.
A few days later, Emily had her own experience when Chad took her on a trip with the gymnastics team to SUU in Cedar City. She got to ride on the bus with the girls and hang out with the team for two whole days.
She was probably most excited about them doing her hair, although she loved all of the personal attention that she received from several of them.
Humorously enough, it snowed so hard that it closed the interstate. So her overnight trip, turned into an extra night!
Apparently the trip wore her out and she crashed on the bus ride home!
She had a smile like this for several days afterwards and often talks about the gymnastics girls and the fun time she had with them.
Shortly after that, Cole traveled with his Dad and Grandpa to Denver to watch BYU play in the NCAA tournament.
These were the seats they had the first day, where they watched all four games that were played there. (I'm not sure what the concessions bill was from that day!!)
The second day, they got to watch from a suite, much farther away, but still with nice perks of its own, including Cole's favorite, a free hat!
In between the two days of games, they got to hang out with my Aunt Nada and Uncle David, including seeing this wildlife on the way to their house.


They also went to see the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine, which they were surprised to learn that I remembered visiting when I was a kid.
This trip definitely had a happy ending, as shown in this video. (Although you'll have to turn your head sideways to properly appreciate it. I have yet to learn how to flip videos after they are recorded!)

Of course, Cole was not happy to learn that he did not get to accompany his Dad and Grandpa to New Orleans to watch BYU continue in the NCAA tournament!
Then, in April, even Addy got to enjoy the benefits of Chad's job when the BYU gymnastics team came to our house for dinner.
You can only imagine how excited Emily was for this!
In one of her favorite gymnast's boots!
Even Cole enjoyed having the girls come over, even if they were gymnasts!
And finally, Cole's Mom was nice enough to let him accompany his Dad to the end of the season banquet for men's basketball. While he was there, he got one last chance to hang out with the team and celebrate their great season!
Cole and his favorite player, Jackson Emery, apparently color coordinated their outfits! (A little side note on this outfit. His church clothes were too small, so we went to get new pants before he went to this banquet. Instead of just picking out khakis, this is what he picked. If I had picked this out on my own and brought it home, he would have never worn it!! Oh well, he does look handsome in it!)
And yes, he even got his picture taken with The Jimmer!
I'm pretty sure my kids do not yet realize that these experiences are unique and not every kid gets to do them! Maybe one day they will properly appreciate them. In the meantime, I think they will just enjoy the ride!

The Final California Adventure

To finish off our trip in California, the kids really wanted to go to the beach. The only problem...it was freezing cold! So they started out covered up trying to decide if it was worth it or not.
Seagulls like this one were about the only other ones out there!!
However, the kids finally decided to brave the cold and enjoy all things beachy.
Including playing in the water (and yes, they still had their jackets on for a while in the water!),
Playing with a beach ball,
And surfing on a board.
Pretty soon, they just settled for covering up and collecting seashells!
Oh well. Maybe one year we will go to the beach during the summer so we can enjoy it more! All in all, I would call our California Adventures a success!

The Big Game!!

Coincidentally (or probably not), our trip to California occurred at the same time as #7 ranked BYU men's basketball team took on #4 San Diego State. Since it was the end of a long week, the girls and I hung out back at the hotel while the boys (and Grandma Lorna) went to the game.
However, I forgot to send the camera with them (not that it would have been used much anyway), so all we got were a few pictures from Chad's phone. According to the boys though, it was well worth the trip. The atmosphere in Viejas Arena was great and of course the game was a huge success for the Cougars!!
Final Score...BYU--80, SDSU--67.
Don't they look stoked about the victory!