Chalk Festival

Last Friday I talked Ross and Brayden into going up to SLC to Gateway to see the Chalk Festival. It is a fundraiser of sorts for the Foster Care Foundation. People sign up for a piece of sidewalk and complete a picture of their choosing. They then judge the pictures the next day. It was amazing! I had no idea that people could put such detail into a chalk picture on the sidewalk! They also had a kid's corner where they give them some chalk and a little square of carpet to kneel on and let them draw. Brayden thought that was pretty cool, and he did a fabulous job! At the end of the drawings is the big fountain, he got soaked!!! All in all, it was fun, but next year it will definitely be a girls' outing for me and Courtney. Ross is just not big into anything that doesn't involve cars, dirt, or farting.

Favorite Pics

Here are some of my favorite pics of the kids recently, hope you enjoy!!

Parent/Kid Date Night

Ross and I decided that the kids really needed to have some sort of regular one-on-one time with each of us, so we came up with a plan. Every wednesday one of us and one of the kids goes out on a "date". We have a preset spending limit, and the child gets to choose the activity he or she wants to do (this is Brayden and I at "Monsters vs. Aliens, 3-D). I have really enjoyed getting to spend this time with the kids. We are able to connect more and I am able to hear more about how things are going with them. With my day job, homework, yard work, laundry, etc. etc. etc., sometimes it is hard to spend quality time with them. Add to that the fact that we only have them every other weekend, makes for very limited time to be able to connect with the kids. Anyway, we are having a blast creating memories with our kids.

New York!

Ross had a great idea to take a spontaneous trip to NY, just the two of us while the kids were with their other parents over the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday.  We had a blast!!  We flew out on Friday on the red eye, and flew back late Monday night.  I was able to see parts of NY that I hadn't seen before, and we were able to eat some awesome food!  Since he served his mission there, he was able to show me around Brooklyn and Queens, places that aren't as tourist-y as a lot of the places in Manhattan.  We had a fabulous time, it was a great idea hunny!

Jami at Central Park

Ross in Battery Park with a view of the Statue of Liberty

Ross outside of The Plaza Hotel

He will DIE when he sees I put this on here, but it's hilarious!  We went to FAO Schwarz and this was in the Harry Potter section, it's the sorting hat!!

When our kids found out we were going to the huge toy store from the movie Big, they were so excited to see if the piano was still there.  We didn't wait in line to play on it, but took pictures for the kids.  Imagine, for only $250,000.00 you can have one of your own!

All out of Lego's!!

We were walking down the street, surrounded by buildings and all of a sudden Ross says look up, so I looked up and this is what I saw.  It was the angel Moroni on top of a building with a steeple on one corner!  It was so crazy to see that there in the middle of all these buildings.  If you didn't know what to look for, you'd miss it!

Winter Family Fun

This winter the kids have had a blast going sledding.  Ross has been taking them quite a few times and they have had so much fun.  Brayden has developed a fear of sledding down the big hills, so he usually just makes his own small hill to go on, or stays home with me.  We were all able to go sledding together as a family with my sister Lindsey and her family, and my sister Whitney a few days after christmas.  We had so much fun!  We ended up making our own hill complete with a jump and it was awesome!  

Courtney

Cade

Bridger, my nephew

Courtney

Whitney, Lauren & Ross

Britton, my nephew

Brayden, i couldn't get a picture of his face!

Lauren, Courtney, Whitney & Lindsey

Check out the air Cade got!

Brandon and Bridger

Lauren, Whitney & Lindsey

Merry Christmas!!

Ok, so I'm a little behind. First I blame the fact that my camera pooped out on me. Then i blame the fact that we didn't have internet for a little while. Now it has all caught up with me. When your husband is the one telling you that you need to update your blog, you know it's bad! Anyway, we had a really fun Christmas with all the kids. They got a lot of cool stuff, which I'm not sure they even remember exists now, and had a great time. Next year Christmas morning will be pretty quiet, as all 3 of them with be with their other parents, so I guess I won't complain about being woken up at 3am by Courtney and Caden wanting to open presents. At least we'll get to sleep in next year!!

Caden got an erector set for Christmas, look who played with it most of the day!!

Basketball Mania!

Hooray for the end of the season! All 3 kids were in basketball again this year, the boys had to join the Lehi league as Springville doesn't have a league for their age, but they had a blast. Courtney was on a team with her friend Lucee, Lucee's mom was the coach and they had a blast. Cade even had a game where he scored 10 baskets! He was sooo excited! The kids are so lucky to have so many people who love them and like coming to watch them play. They also love that Grandpa Mac (my ex-husband's dad) always gives them each a dollar at the end of their games for playing so hard, who says money can't buy love, hahaha. Good job kids!

Do you remember??

How many of you recognize this photo?

Yep, it's the A-Team, that awesome show from the 80's that all of our fathers got us to watch, and of course we thought it was awesome. Who wouldn't love Mr. T, with all his bling. That was back when bling wasn't cool yet, I wonder if he was responsible for that trend? Hmmmm. Anyway, Ross has gotten ahold of all of the episodes and he and the kids have been watching them non-stop. They love them! Then yesterday while I was cleaning, the boys were playing outside and I overheard Caden calling Brayden Murdock. He is the insane member of the team. I said so if Brayden is Murdock then who are you? Of course he is Mr. T's character, BA Baracas (spelling?). Ross and I got a big kick out of that. I do have to say though, with all the crap that is on TV nowdays, I am glad my kids love these old shows, where I don't have to worry.

Men will be...boys??

So yesterday morning the kids and I woke up to find Springville City employees tearing a big hole in the sidewalk at the intersection between the side and the front. We think they are going to replace the crumbled mess of a sidewalk that was previously there. When I got home from getting my hair colored, Ross and the kids were outside (minus Brayden as he is with his mom for his summer break) playing. Ross had been doing some jackhammering to the lawn (long story) and they were just kind of relaxing. Being that it was almost 8, I went into the house to fix dinner and clean the kitchen. A little while later Ross comes into the house with his “fake mad” face, saying that I have to come and see what the kids have done. This usually means that something is a mess and it was all Ross’ idea, lol. I go outside to see that they have filled the hole with water and Ross had made a ramp going from the hole onto the sidewalk. The kids were riding their bikes, getting a good speed going and hitting the ginormous mud puddle. Needless to say, they were having a blast, and who am I to ruin their fun. Ross tried to take pictures but our camera is on the fritz so we have no proof of this blessed event, dang it! By the end of the night Courtney, 3 of the neighbor girls, and Cade were covered in mud. I actually think Cade must have sat in the puddle and had a mud bath because he was covered from the tip of his head to the bottom of his shoes. Their clothes will never be the same, but like Ross says, as long as the kids are having fun, they will remember this stuff for a lifetime. He is such a great dad, and a great husband. He amazes me all the time with the sweet things that he does for us, we are so blessed to have him. Love you babe!!

Baseball Season Comes to a Close

T-ball is over for the boys, they had a blast and Cade's dad has started working with him on pitching. Matt was a pitcher in little league up to like 9th grade and was pretty good. Cade has the natural talent for athletics but baseball is his fav and he has got quite an arm so it will be interesting to see how it pans out. That kid can hit anything, and I mean anything, you throw at him, it's amazing! It was really fun to see Brayden progress from the first game to the end of the season. The very first game, though I had practiced catching with him a little, Ross and I neglected to tell him how to actually play the game. He ran to first, and then ran all over the field, not sure where to go, it was hysterical! By the end of the season however, he could hit really well, was a great runner, and could even field the ball pretty well. It was awesome. Courtney finished up softball last night. Her team ended up taking 4th in Springville so Monday and Tuesday we were down in Ephraim for a tournament. At the beginning of the season she was doing ok, getting hits sometimes, striking out others. As the season went on however, she started getting all self conscious about striking out and therefore wouldn't swing unless it was perfect. She started striking out a ton, mostly from strikes the pitcher would throw that she wouldn't swing at. Last Wednesday I took all the kids to the batting cages and she did awesome! Her dad bought her a bat of her very own and batting gloves. He took her to the cages Monday morning and she did great. Then at her game Monday she struck out, but at least she went down swinging. This time however it was different, she really wanted it, so it made her upset enough for a couple tears. "I just want to hit the ball and be able to run around the bases", she told me. My heart hurt for her, I know how it feels to want something so much and have it not come together. Well her dad took her to the cages again Tuesday morning, and after getting hit with a baseball at medium speed (she has an awesome 'show and tell worthy' bruise on her upper thigh to show for it) she did even better with her hitting. So at yesterdays game, she steps up to the plate with that "bring it on" look in her eyes. First pitch, and BAM! She hit it, and hit it hard!! It was a great hit, she got on first, and was able to make it all the way to home. Seeing that ear to ear grin that didn't stop, and having her throw her arms around me as she got back to the dugout, made the whole season of sitting in that hot sun, and driving 1.5 hrs each way to get to the tournament, totally worthwhile. She is super excited for next season, and now that her dad is finally involved with helping her, I am excited to see her progress. It was an awesome day.Check out that concentration!

For Cade, baseball is serious business

Brayden puts a whole new definition to "stepping into the ball"

Wedding Pics...Finally!!

Believe it or not, this was Ross' doing-since Scooby is a part of the family, she had to get all pretty too!

Isn't she pretty? Ross got the tiara for her, aaah sweet!

Courtney and Ross coming down the aisle

Jami and the boys

Putting on Ross' ring

Kissy Kissy!

Ross putting on Jami's ring

What a beautiful family!

Just relaxing from all the picture taking

What a good man, no shoving of the cake!

Isn't the cake topper fitting??