Honorable #32

Jaxon tried out for his school's ninth grade basketball team and made it!  He is pretty excited for the upcoming season and to represent his school.  Go Huskies!

The best part is that he chose the same number that his brother was two years ago when he was on the school team--even though he had some encouragement from McKay.

Happy 12th Birthday Josh!

Oh to turn 12.  What a huge milestone!  Although we had a great time celebrating Josh's birthday, he kind of thought his actual birthday was a bust.  Little did he know that we had plans to celebrate his birthday on more than just his actual birthday.

 Part of the reason he felt his birthday was a bust was that we opened presents first thing in the morning before school.  He missed having the anticipation of opening presents all day.

 Kayden loves his brother and was excited to celebrate his birthday with him!

 The traditional bonk on the head!

 Unwrapping presents.  Serious stuff!

Josh received a couple of pair of basketball socks and a penny board for his birthday.  One of the reasons why we wanted him to open presents in the morning was that a big snow storm was moving and and we wanted him to be able to have a chance to ride his penny board outside before the storm.  He says he still would have rather waited until later in the day to open presents.  We'll remember that for next year!

Josh's day at school was disappointing as well.  Even though he was able to take Krispy Kreme Doughnuts to school for a birthday treat, his teacher's wife had a baby the day before so he had a sub.  The sub didn't celebrate his birthday and he felt a little snubbed.  We also didn't got out to dinner that night for his birthday, but I did make him his dinner of choice.  It was a busy night, but really we were just putting him off until the weekend.

Josh has two friends that also turned 12.  They all have birthdays within a couple of days of each other.  So the parents got together and we decided to kidnap them from school, take them to lunch to JCW's and then spend the night in a hotel in Salt Lake City.  Josh was completely surprised and was glad to continue on his birthday celebration!

After lunch, we went with Josh and his friend Eli to Jack and Jill's where we played two games of bowling.  We then had an awesome laser tag showdown after which we then set the boys loose in the arcade where they had some fun playing games.  The adults had a good time as well chatting and playing some billiards in the arcade.

 

We met up with Ella and her parents a little later for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.  Josh finally got the birthday steak that he had been craving.  However, he was too busy having fun with his friends to eat it!

The waiters then brought out each of the kids their own cheesecake with Happy Birthday messages written on the plate. 

 We were able to sing Happy Birthday to all three of them.

 

 After dinner, we strolled around City Creek Center before heading back to the hotel.

Crazy birthday kids.

We spent a couple of hours playing at the pool and then we stayed up late playing cards.  The next morning we went to breakfast at Kneaders to wrap up the birthday festivities before heading home.  It was a fun weekend and a great way to celebrate Josh and his friends turning 12.

12 Things We Love About Josh

1. His willingness to help.  He has had this quality all of his life and continues to have a strong desire to help around the house and to help others.
2. This year Josh was voted by his peers to be on the Hope Squad.  They all voted for the person in their class that was the most trustworthy and that people would be comfortable going to if they needed help.  Josh is an amazing friend to all!  He has also volunteered for Service Club as well.
3. His continued love of basketball.  He made a Lone Peak 6th grade team this year and has loved playing ball on a more competitive level.  He also loves to play flag football as well.
4. He is loyal.  Be a friend to Josh and you will have a friend for life.
5. He loves his brothers and loves to hang out with them and support them in all that they do.
6. He loves playing outside and with his friends.  It isn't too often that I will find him playing video games.
7. He likes to discover how things work.  He really enjoys science at school and loves checking out the weather app when a big storm rolls in.
8. I love the way his eyes grow big and bright when he is excited about something or when he is happy.
9. He is sincere.  He means everything he says.  He really takes time to say his prayers and really thinks about what he is saying.
10. He is a peacemaker--even when it is hard.
11. Josh started taking piano lessons this last year and has really come a long ways.  He never argues with me when it is time to practice.
12. Josh works hard at school and takes great pride in doing well.  He is always making sure things are turned in and that it is his best work.

Happy birthday Joshua!  You have brought so much peace and love into our home.  I thank Heavenly Father every day for the boy that you are!

Happy Birthday Kayden!

Kayden is in his last year of single digits at the ripe old age of 9!  We had a great weekend celebrating his birthday!

 He waited patiently all day for McKay to get home from work so that he could open his present.

 This boy loves his Legos!  He was so happy to get exactly what he wanted for his birthday--a Lego Star Wars Tie Fighter.

 He set to work right away and started building.  He had it completed before we knew it!

We finished off the weekend by celebrating both Josh and Kayden's birthday at Grandma White's house.  It was a fun weekend and we loved celebrating Kayden and his birthday!

9 Things We Love About Kayden

1. He loves to give and receive hugs.  He is also a great snuggler and I love to watch movies with him on the couch!
2. Despite his feistiness, he recognizes when he has made a mistake.  He has worked hard this year trying to right his wrongs.
3. He loves to play with friends and we constantly have someone knock on our door looking to play with Kayden.
4. He works hard in school and does very well.  His teachers love him and think he is amazing.  He loves to read and this year is participating in the Battle of the Books.  He has already read his assigned books and has read several others as well.
5. He loves Legos and everything Legos.  He builds sets and builds his own creations.  He also enjoys playing Lego video games.
6. He likes vegetables and is always wanting to try my healthier choices.  It is nice not to hear groaning when I put vegetables on his plate!
7. His giggle.  I especially like to hear it coupled with that of his brother's laughs.
8. He LOVES baseball.  He even hit his first home run this year!  He also likes to play flag football and basketball.
9. Tacos.  This boy loves tacos!  I even took his out to lunch to Del Taco for his birthday!

Happy birthday Kayden!  I am so glad that you were sent to our family and that you will be my baby forever!

Miles for Smiles

Dr. Eric Vogel was a good friend of Jeremy's and a wonderful man.  One year ago, he passed away after a hard fought battle with cancer.  He did a lot of charity work which is being continued on today.

Our family participated in a 5K to not only celebrate the life of Dr. Vogel, but to raise money to continue on his charitable work--especially the work at the Food and Care Coalition dental clinic down in Provo.  It was a chilly morning, but we had a good time together running for a great cause and remembering a great man!

Braces--Round Three

Josh got a new smile!  He opted for blue and white bands in honor of BYU football for his first time around.  It was an adjustment for him to get braces, but he has done very well.  Thanks to Dr. Nord and his staff who take such good care of Josh!

Halloween 2016

We had a wide variety of costumes this year.  It was fun to see everyone dress up and enjoy the holiday.

 McKay dressed up as MC Hammer.  He even got down some of The Hammer's moves.  Can't touch this!

 

Jaxon made a last minute costume change and dressed like a missionary.  His buddy was supposed to dress like a missionary too so they could be companions, but he backed out last minute.  When he went out with his friends later Halloween night he dressed as a basketball player--sadly I didn't get a picture.

 Kayden dressed up as a Star Wars Flame Trooper.  He wasn't aloud to wear his mask at school, and wanted to make sure we had a photo of him with and without the mask.

 Josh grew his hair out from a buzz cut for two months so he could shave his head like male patterned baldness and dress like an old man for Halloween.  He got more compliments on his costume and shaved head than ever before.  He played the part well!

 Jeremy's office dressed up this year as 80's punk rockers.  He found himself a nice mullet and tattoo sleeves to dress his part.

I love the Halloween parade at the boys' school.  It is fun to watch the kids parade through the school so I can see all the costumes.

 Kayden with his mask on his head.

 Josh acting the part and drawing lots of attention.

That night all the boys went their separate ways.  Josh and Kayden went and had pizza at a friend's house before trick-or-treating.  Josh went out trick-or-treating with his friends (above) and Kayden decided he wanted to go out with his dad.  Jaxon met up with some friends so that left McKay and I home to answer the door and do homework.  It was the first time I didn't go trick-or-treating in 17 years!

Cruisin' the Mexican Riviera

Jeremy and I met up with some friends from dental school that we hadn't seen in several years and went on a cruise through the Mexican Riviera.  We had a great time!

 Here we are boarding the boat.  This was our first cruise.

Proof that I did some exercising on the ship.  We were at sea the first three days and we tried to get in some exercise each day.  Heaven knows we ate more than enough food to make up for it.  I fell in love with the soft ice cream machine.

 At dinner with our friends that we were traveling with--the Berchtolds and the Wellmans.  We were enjoying some lovely steak, especially Tom.  His steak was huge!

 Our first stop was in Puerto Vallarta.  We took a boat across the bay from where our boat was docked and then took a jeep ride to a zip line where we had a grand adventure.  We started out the zip line tour by riding a donkey up the mountain.  Then the there were several zip lines and a couple of water slides.  It was a great time!

 Heading back to the ship after our tour was over.  The boat drove us close to some of the famous sites in Puerto Vallarta.

 Arriving back to the Norwegian Jewel.

 
 Some of the insect life in Puerto Vallarta.  That beetle was huge!  We should have put a coin or something by it so that you could actually see how big it was.  The butterflies were just beautiful and vibrant.

The first night on board the ship put a show on that showed us the variety of shows that they would be putting on throughout the week.  Part of the show was dancing and I couldn't stop giggling!  One dancer in particular was extra animated.  I went to a zumba dance class one morning and he was our instructor.  I had to concentrate hard on my moves so that I wouldn't burst out laughing.  I learned that his name is Sasha and he is from Ukraine.  The night the show was dancers only, my friend Melanie and I decided we couldn't pass up a picture with him.  The only thing was that he put his arms around us and he was drenched in sweat!  I had to then concentrate on smiling for the picture instead of being completely grossed out.

Our second stop was in Mazatlan, Mexico.  We decided to enjoy a beach day.  We camped out in front of a restaurant ate food and read books and talked and laughed.

 Melanie and I enjoying some Pina Coladas.

 Jeremy and I on the beach enjoying the view.  It was a spectacular day.

 All of us enjoying lunch together.  They name of the restaurant was Lety's and it was both tasty and relaxing.  After enjoying most of the day on the beach, we decided to venture into town and do some souvenir shopping.

 Our last stop was in Cabo San Lucas.  Jeremy and I did some diving with Jeff and Tom while Melanie and Julie did some snorkeling.  It was the strangest dive we had ever done.  It consisted of swimming around and finding a place to put a statue as part of an effort to "rebuild" a reef.  The dive was quite shallow and there wasn't a lot of sea life or coral and the visibility was horrible.  But it was interesting.  Our bottom time was over an hour and I had had it.  I was thirsty for water (which wasn't available) and needed a restroom.  Despite my best efforts, I couldn't pee in the ocean.  I am sure the fish were thankful.  So the boys decided to do another dive and I went into town to do some shopping.

 Me with my shovel swimming around looking for a place to put the sculpture.

 Tom (above) and Jeff (below).  As you can see the visibility wasn't great.

Digging around in the sand preparing to place the sculpture.  This made the visibility even worse.

The sculpture all placed and ready for fish.  We placed sand inside it and rocks all around so it wouldn't float away in the current.  Like I said, it was a strange dive.

 

Jeremy's second dive the water was much more clear.  They did a shipwreck dive and really enjoyed it!  Top left is Jeremy with Tom, bottom left is Jeremy with Jeff.  Right is Jeremy hanging loose.

I got back to the ship first and took a shower and then went and walked around on deck.  The views were amazing.  I also was able to call and talk to my family.  We sure missed them!

 For our last night on the ship we got some dinner at the Teppanyaki restaurant.  It was so fun being all together.

 Catching a piece of food in my mouth.  I caught it on my first try.

 Jeremy's turn catching food in his mouth.  He didn't quite have the skills that I did.

It was a great vacation and I was sad to say good-bye.  Hopefully we won't wait another 14 years to all get together and hopefully next time all our friends will be able to come. We had such a great time making memories together!

 Back at home we showered the boys with the souvenirs that we had bought.  McKay thought the viking helmet we picked up for him was pretty cool.  I knew he would.

Jaxon looked cool in his new RayBan shades that we picked up for him.  Josh received a funny t-shirt about the Star Wars force and sharks.  Kayden loves baseball so we got him a baseball carving from wood.  It was good to be home.  They boys are now looking forward to when we take them with us on our next cruise!

Jeremy made a video of highlights of our trip to share with our friends.  Sweet Caroline is the chosen soundtrack because our friend Tom put on quite a show singing that song one night at the karaoke bar.  Good times!