Basketball Begins

We put Ben and Sarah in Junior Jazz this year.  Ben was very disappointed last year when he didn't get to play basketball and so he was really excited to play this year.  Junior Jazz is quite a bit different than basketball in Idaho Falls was.  For starters they begin in 1st grade not Kindergarten, which Hannah was really disappointed about.  Also 1st and 2nd graders do an instructional thing and don't actually have a team or games.  It was kind of a bummer for Ben, but for the most part he enjoyed it.  He is, however, looking forward to next year when he gets to play on a team of his own.

Sarah has wanted to play basketball since Ben played back in kindergarten.  We couldn't afford it last year and she was pretty bummed.  When I asked her if she wanted to play this year she was very excited up until it was time to register her.  At that point she wanted to back out because she was nervous.  Kenny and I both felt it would be good for her in many ways so we encouraged her to change her mind.  Thank goodness she did because it has been wonderful for her.  Her team is fairly new at the sport and her coach has never coached before.  Kenny took Sarah to her first practice and noticed quickly that her coach really had no idea what he was doing. Kenny offered some suggestions and then asked if the coach wanted any help coaching.  The coach said yes and they've been coaching together ever since.  Kenny has enjoyed coaching Sarah and getting to know the other girls on her team and Sarah has enjoyed having her dad there teaching everyone.  

Sarah's first game was on January 11th.  It was a rough game that they sadly didn't win.  The girls had only had one practice and didn't really know what they were doing.  The next Saturday at practice Kenny helped them with their defense and taught them to be more aggressive.  It worked wonders and they have improved so much since then.  Here are some pictures from Sarah's first game.  There'll be more pictures to come as the season progresses.

Hogle Zoo

We may have had a not so wonderful New Year's, but the kids quickly got feeling better, just in time for warmer weather.  This winter has been far from a typical winter and that was very evident on January 2nd when the sun was shining and the temperature were in the upper 40's. We started by taking the kids to see a matinee showing of The Muppet's.  It was awesome.  We have all become big fans of The Muppet's.  It was the best kids movie I've seen in awhile.  

We came out of the theater smiling and singing Muppet songs only to discover the warm temperatures and beautiful sunshine.  We figured it was the perfect day to use our new Zoo pass we got from Kenny's parents for Christmas.  We headed home real quick, got the camera, stroller, zoo passes and some snacks and headed to the zoo.  It was a great finish to a great day.  The kids had a great time and loved looking at all the animals.  I'm excited to go when it's a little warmer and more of the animals are outside.

Adam watching the elephants.

Gracie and Hannah watching the elephants from a distance.

The kids liked playing with this monkey.  He was very entertaining.

Watching the big rhino through the window.  He was kind of intimidating.

New Years Disappointment

After Christmas I headed to Logan with the kids to spend a week with my family.  My cousin was in town for the week from California and I wanted to spend some time with her.  It was a lot of fun hanging out with family, so fun in fact that I didn't take any pictures.  Oh well!  Maybe next time.

We were suppose to spend New Years in Grace.  I headed up Friday night and Kenny was going to come up Saturday morning.  However, Friday night didn't go smoothly.  I'll spare you the details and just say that I slept about an hour thanks to multiple kids throwing us ALL over the place.  It wasn't pleasant for any of us.  I decided, rather than stay with sick kids, that I'd drive home the next morning.  So we spent our New Years at home with sick kids and an exhausted mom.  Oh well, it happens.

The kids were all VERY disappointed that they didn't get to stay and play with their cousins.  So once they were feeling better we let the 4 youngest get in mom and dad's bath tub.  It's totally like grandma's hot tub, right!?!  It wasn't our most favorite New Year's ever, but we're hoping the new year will be wonderful.

Love this picture of Dan.  I don't know what he's doing, but I love his face.

Family Gifts

Opening gifts from siblings.

After playing with our Santa gifts for awhile we decided it was time to go up the the Christmas tree and open gifts from family members.  The kid each had a gift from mom and dad and one from a sibling (whoever picked their name earlier in the month.)  We started with the gift from their sibling and every child was very happy with the gift they received.  Though they are happy to get a gift I love how they look intently at the kids who's present they bought, wanting to see their reaction.  They're so excited for their sibling to get a gift and to enjoy that gift that they bought.  It's so fun to see.  After those were opened we opened gifts from mom and dad.  They were a hit.  We had a lot of fun playing with our toys and enjoying the relaxing day together.

The boys, with help from Daddy, opening their sibling gifts.

Hannah got a huge elephant from Dan.  I always wanted a huge stuffed animal when I was little.  Lucky girl.

Adam got a popper toy from Sarah.  He (and Dan) love it.

Gracie got a ballerina dress from Hannah. I think Hannah chose it  because she really wanted it, but it turned okay because Gracie loves it.

Dan loves his fishing boat from Gracie.

Ben and Sarah showing off their toys.  Ben's light saber set came from Adam (with some help from Sarah) and Sarah got her Littlest Pet Shop toys from Ben.

Hannah and Gracie shared their toy from Mom and Dad.  They got 7 princess Barbies, they were in heaven.

The kids with their gifts from mom and dad.  Dan and Adam got 'Cars' shaky cars, Ben got a double bladed 'Nerf' sword, the little girls got Barbies, and Sarah got. . .

A phone.
Boy was she surprised.  We decided instead of getting her an MP3 player we'd just go ahead and use our 3rd, unused cell phone and upgrade it and give it to Sarah.  She was so surprised and absolutely loved it.

The boys playing with their toys.  Merry Christmas everyone.

Santa Comes to Visit

All 6 kids in their Christmas jammies waiting to see what Santa brought.

Christmas came, and what a great day it was.  The kids had so much fun with their presents from Santa and from the family.  We had so much fun playing as a family and even got a nap (which was kind of bad because we slept right through church, darn 1:00 church.)  I hope everyone had a great Christmas.  Here's a look at our Christmas.

Adam on his new donkey.  This was one of the best gifts Santa brought this year.  It has gotten a ton of use by all the kids.  Adam certainly loves it.

Dan playing with his new garden set.

Gracie (and Hannah) love their new doll house.  Santa will have many years of gifts to give in order to fill it up.

Ben found, and loved his new scooter.

Sarah got another Liv doll and a scooter, among other things.

Dan and Gracie playing with the doll house while Hannah waits for me to open something for her.

Ben got a baseball game.  He's pretty good at throwing that ball.

Dan loves puzzles and his new winter puzzle was perfect for him.

Sarah had to take a turn on her scooter.

Even Ben played with the girls and their doll house for a short time.  He's such a good big brother.