March Madness

• Snow, snow and more snow.  After 4 snow days, even the kids were excited to head back to school!  We were trapped at home because the roads were awful, so the whining reached high levels at times.  On the last day we were trapped at home, I put the kids to WORK instead of trying to keep them happy and entertained.  We deep-cleaned closets, drawers and cupboards.  I bet we got rid of 60% of the toys that were either never used or in bad condition.  Yippee!

• Brynlie's basketball season ended, and she got the award for "Most Improved."  Before this season, I don't think she had ever tried dribbling or shooting a basket.  Little did we know, she has some actual talent on the court!  She and Madelyn were definitely the highest scorers on the team, but we were most impressed with the way Brynlie seemed to "get" the game.  This kid worked so hard on the court!  She obviously gets her smarts from her Dad!  We're hoping she wants to continue with basketball next season.

The dancing flexibility comes in handy when you are dealing with a tough defense!

I really love the Upward Basketball league, because it is held at the local Baptist church where each game begins with a prayer and half-time consists of a short speech from the Preacher (shown in the picture below).  The league isn't competitive yet still teaches kids the basics of the game.  Brynlie's coaches required her to memorize an uplifting Bible scripture each week along with practicing actual basketball.

 That's my girl!  She took the ball down the court and goes for a shot!  She made at least a couple baskets during each game, and sometimes made as many as six!

Brynlie and Madelyn were rather upset after the final game.  They worked SO hard all season, yet still didn't manage to win one game.  They usually lost by only a couple points.  When the last game ended, both girls stormed off in tears.

Ryan helped console Brynlie and remind her of the improvement she made.  His little pep talk didn't do much to help though.  She was frustrated and needed to feel defeated for a while.  Later on I told her that we learn much more from our disappointments than we do from our successes in life.  In typical pre-teen fashion, she rolled her eyes and didn't listen.  :)

Bryn and Madelyn with their coaches.

• Me and Ciara threw a party for Jill and baby Andrew at my house.  Ciara did almost everything for the baby shower;  I just had to provide my house and a few food items.

Jill and baby Andrew - he is so precious!

We put Barbara's new baby girl next to Jill's new baby boy.  Oh, I was just in heaven having TWO babies at the house!

My girls were so excited to hold the new babies!

• All the Primary kids performed several songs at a nursing facility in town after church last Sunday.  They sounded so beautiful!  Brynlie had a rough morning that was blamed on her hair but really had more to do with having to perform with the Primary when her best friends are already in Young Womens.  Leave it to Madelyn and Jillian to join the younger kids and help Bryn feel better!  All the consoling a mom can offer means nothing compared to the support of good friends!

How cute are my kids?!?  Sweet Logy-bear in his handsome sweater, Lindsey singing like an angel and Brynlie singing loudly so the younger kids could hear the words.

• Dance has become a huge deal at our house.  Bryn's main goal in life is to make it to Broadway, so she has dedicated herself to perfecting her dance skills.  After summer she will be taking Jazz, Modern, Hip-hop and Ballet.  Starting last week, she also has bi-monthly private dance lessons from Miss Brooke at Studio 10.  For one hour every-other-week, she is physically pushed and corrected.  I would have thought this would overwhelm her, but she begged me to get her involved in something more challenging.  We chose the private lesson route because I won't allow her to join a competitive dance group, for a couple reasons:  first, it would be her entire life (practices 5 days a week!) and I want her to be well-rounded and have her main focus be church and family, and second I don't like the mentality (or immodest costumes!) of the competitive dance teams.  Luckily, she agreed with me on both counts.  She is one expensive kid, but I'm glad she has found something she enjoys so much.  

During her private lesson with Brooke.

• Logan performed some fun songs at his Preschool Carnival last week.  Below he is pictured doing the "Chicken Dance" and trying to coordinate his fingers to do the "Itsy Bitsy Spider."

• Evening of the Experts was last week, and my girls impressed the crowd with their extensive knowledge on their chosen topics!  Brynlie has spent the year studying Pioneers.  I'm not gonna lie . . . I loved helping her think of projects to make (such as the covered wagon and the pioneer home display) so I was proud when she got an A (because that means I get an A too, right?)  Madelyn and Chloe came to the school to support the girls on their big night.

Lindsey did her year-long project on frogs.  In case I haven't introduced the blog to her pet frog, meet Kermit, who we affectionately call "Kermy."  He lives in Lindsey's room and she takes great care of him.  He will spend his entire life swimming, so he never leaves the tank.  We ordered Kermy online and he showed up in our mailbox last fall.

I found some fun project ideas for Lindsey, also, but encouraged her and Ryan to make them together. Lindsey is very proud of the awesome pond scene she created with Ryan's help.

Don't you love the frog hat Lindsey wore for her presentation?

• Although not pictured, Brevan has been busy camping in the cold with the Scouts, playing Chess with his league (and patiently teaching his little brother), and playing the piano, sometimes for hours each day.  Although he has good days and bad days like everyone else, we love his calm demeanor and his ability to move on when life throws him lemons.  He and Ryan have become closer during the past year, which has been a wonderful thing for both of them.
• I had quite an experience last Friday night.  While driving the truck with Bryn, Lindsey, Madelyn and Chloe, I went off the side of a busy road in order to turn around, but ground was so saturated from rain/snow that the truck slid sideways down an embankment toward trees and a canal.  Scary stuff.  I had the girls stand out in the rain away from the road because I was afraid the truck would roll.  After realizing that I was only making the situation worse by trying to spin the tires, I said a little prayer and within minutes there were 5 men with 3 vehicles who stopped to help.  About 30 minutes later, the truck was rescued by attaching it to another truck with a tow rope.  By then me and the girls were soaking wet, but we still continued on to see a friend perform in a theater production.  We literally had to laugh and dance in the rain that night so we didn't get too worried!
• I'm busy decorating lately.  I've been researching furniture, painting walls and buying knick-knacks.  Sometimes I get on a decorating kick and try to accomplish as much as possible before I burn out.  Lindsey's room is almost complete, Brynlie's room is finished with new furniture, Brevan's room is in the process of getting a make-over, the kitchen and family room have new decorations, and the basement bathroom is being re-done.  I will upload pictures after finishing a few more projects.
• We are rocking the Goals Chart for 2013!  We've read more scriptures, said more prayers, held weekly FHE, spent more quality time together, served in the temple and had the Spirit in our home more than ever before.  Hopefully we can keep this up!  I'm also still doing well on my healthy plan, and have registered to run a race in May.  I will most likely get a horrible time, but I won't care one bit.  If I can actually accomplish running a race IN PUBLIC (I am a private exerciser!) then it would be the first race I've run since I lived in Washington state as a kid.  I'M RIGHT PROUD OF MYSELF for working hard on my goals!