Saturday, November 28, 2009

I'm Thankful

I have a lot to be thankful for. Here are tops on my list...
Beautiful Sunsets!
An amazing, devoted and hardworking husband who gives so much to our family and to others! I truly couldn't ask for a better person to be the father to my children. He is so good to all of us.

A wonderful mother who lives next door and who I was able to travel with this year and who I see everyday. She has a wonderful listening ear and lots of wisdom. I love you Mom!

I am so thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the positive influence it is in my life! Mike recently baptized our friend Juan and now Juan is preparing to marry Rose. They are so excited to raise their family in the gospel. The gospel has such power to transform lives!
I am so thankful for my children. They are all happy, healthy and working hard in everything they do. I am so proud of each one of them!

Thanksgiving 2009 has been great...an afternoon in Seattle and A Christmas Carol at the IMAX, sewing aprons with Bethany, bowling, Beatles rock band sessions, Thanksgiving dinner with Juan and Rose and the Horaks, movie Fantastic Mr. Fox and an evening with the Turners. Tomorrow we will attend church together and have a quiet family dinner and send Beth and Em back to BYU to finish off their semester.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

No Shave November

Never heard of this event before but I guess it is a tradition for some of the guys at Curtis High School. With still a week left in the month, Christian says he is one of the top beard growers. I think he even surprised himself.


Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Fall Sports!

We have had a busy fall attending all the kids sports activities. We have spent a lot of time at the Curtis Pool! Now that the seasons are winding down, I thought I would share a few pictures.

PRESTON: Soccer has become a new love for Preston. He works hard every game and kicks the ball in the right direction most of the time! His soccer dribbling skills are improving and at the game last night he dribbled around about 5 opponents and took it in for a goal! He didn't know anyone on the team before but has made new friends and his coach Andrew Torres is wonderful! The other day when we were flipping through the TV channels he said STOP! when he saw a soccer game--he sat and watched the college game intently for a long time and would comment on the different techniques and running and kicking styles.





HANNAH: Is going strong with her Ladybug Soccer team. This year she is coached by Titus and she is having some hardcore practices. She comes home from practice exhausted from all the running and conditioning exercises. She nearly always play defense in the games and loves being with all her friends on the team--Abby Garlock, Natalie Smith, Hannah Fitzsimmons, Annie Kelley and Madison Wells to name just a few.


KATIE: Jumped into high school swimming this year! She really loved making friends on the team and working hard in every practice. It was so fun to see her times shrink as the season progressed. She realized toward the end of the season that her strong stroke may be back stroke--she has a powerful dolphin kick and she was just shy of a varsity time by the final meet. She hopes to get some off season technique coaching and continue to improve. She always was smiling and having fun with her friends during the meets. Molly and Sarah Berger were her new junior friends who would take her to get ice cream after the meets sometimes.
CHRISTIAN: Water polo has been awesome this year. Mr. Pic is one of the most demanding coaches around but he definitely gets results with an excellent Curtis Team. The State Water Polo tournament is coming this weekend and so we will see if they can win it 4 years in a row. Christian has some amazing stats this year and has been a great leader on the team. A couple times a week, a few of the boys have been coming over to watch the videos that Mike has taken during the games.
Addendum: Curtis lost to Wilson in a heartbreaking championship game Saturday night. We won the first 2 tournament games easily against Auburn Mountain View and Rogers. The final game was a tough fight. But we are so proud of the team--they are an awesome group of boys and that is the most important thing! So, we were 2nd in state this year and Christian was named to the 1st team All-state Water polo team. Great job Christian! After the game we had a huge party at our home with the parents, polo players and some fans. We had a great time talking, watching video and pictures from the season and the kids had a marathon game of psychology.

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CHS polo team

2009-2010 CHS Varsity Men's Polo Team
During one of the polo games, Preston was a bit wiggly and so I gave him my camera and told him to go ahead and take some pictures to help keep him entertained. So a few days later I was looking through the 20 or so pictures that he took and I thought this one was pretty funny. He said he was trying to get a good shot of their swimsuits!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Halloween!

Soundview Ward had a fun Halloween Party after Trunk or Treat. We had chili, hot dogs and cobbler, costume parade and some simple carnival games for the kids. From Adults to teenagers to little ones, everyone dressed up and had a good time. (I'm just glad it is over since I am the Ward Activities Chairman!)


Hannah and Hailey
It took Preston a full 15 minutes to get this donut eaten!
Kelsey and Katie as Salem Witch girls.