Another year over...

Getting ready for the game! Go ARSENAL!

It's always fun to watch Thomas and his team play. They get along and know how to work as a team!

Giving all their fans "high fives" after ending the season with just 2 losses!

CONGRATS BOYS!

Yep, it's pretty much the coolest team EVER!!!
See you next season :)

It's been a GREAT track season...

Jac's 2 mile race at STATE

She took 3 seconds off her time ending the season with an 

11:51 finishing in 15th place overall!

We are SO proud of you Jac!

Jac has the BEST friends! They woke up early on a Saturday morning, got an AMAZING mom to bring them to the meet, and PAID money to come cheer Jac on in her race!  Who does that??? There is something special about these guys!

Shane Collier, Min Edwards, Jac, Beans Garlic, Ian Hansen, Thomas, Gibson, Derek and Dallin Griffin

Not only did her buds come to cheer her on but they put this poster up a few days before AND gave her this AWESOME sweatshirt to remember STATE! ...yep, she feels the love :)

It's been an amazing freshman season. Jac is SO excited to have the summer to relax, run, eat, sleep, run, swim a little, eat, sleep and run some more... FUN TIMES, FUN TIMES!

Spring Concert

Emily's first year with the Lehi Children's choir couldn't have been a better theme... "ARF"

A play about DOGS! She LOVED every minute of it and did such a great job! It was so fun to see her singing and dancing :)

Thomas' group did a musical about classic Rock-n-Roll

He WOWED all of us with his singing, dancing and acting!

Thomas played his part in the song PERFECTLY! It was darling :)

Catherine really knows how to bring the best out of kids. THANKS for another great year in Choir!

Science Demo Team

This year Thomas was part of the Science Demo Team. Every Thursday they would teach the 1st grade classes new and fun experiments.

They put on a little assembly to show some of the "magic" of science...

Last but not least, the coke and mentos experiment...

Mrs. Ahlstrom has been so wonderful to share her passion and excitement for science. What is so impressive is that the kids had to TEACH what they learned! They learned so much more then just reading about it in textbooks... Thanks Mrs. Ahlstrom :)

I am sure the 1st graders LOVE having them come!

Speech Fair

Each year Emily performs in a speech fair for the Deaf and Hearing impaired kids ages 3-18

Emily LOVES going because she gets to see old friends and teachers from her preschool days.

This year Emily told the story 

"The little mouse, the red ripe strawberry and the BIG HUNGRY BEAR"

She did an amazing job! It's so fun to see how far she has come and how well she speaks even with her hearing impairment! She has so much confidence!

Colby was one of her best buddies...

Becky and Lori were her preschool teachers
Great job Emily! We are so proud of you!!!

Put on the ARMOR!

Thomas made his very own armor for his 6th grade medieval day. They got to fight with "swords" and everything!

Thomas had the most points in the class for all the things he did so he was appointed the KING! Channel 13 news came to film the kids. Big Buddah had fun fighting with Thomas. Thomas was a great sport!

Regions

It's Region time!

The kids were so PUMPED and READY!!

1st event: 1 mile

The group got off to a slow start making it hard for Jac to get a qualifying time. After the first lap when she heard the time, she got discouraged and let herself stop trying. She told us her mental preparation went out the door... (and you could tell!) It was painful to watch the 2nd and 3rd lap as she let girls pass. FINALLY on the 4th and final lap she "woke up" and kicked it in passing 3 girls. Even though it was a tough race, she came in 7th place overall! 
How can you be upset about that?  
DAY 2
Kenzie and Jac slept in, skipped 1st period to eat a hearty breakfast of baked oatmeal (yes, it's good!) and eggs.  It's much more fun to eat with friends :)

Getting mentally FOCUSED for the 2 mile...

One of the biggest lessons Jac has learned this year is that she needs to run her OWN race! She can't depend on any other runner to take the lead because they might be having an off day or another event they are saving for. Some girls can sprint at the end, Jac doesn't have a kick; her strength is consistency. Knowing this, she planned HER strategy and stopped worrying about what any of the other girls were doing.

Jac and Kenz got off to a GREAT start... no getting boxed in today :)

It was a tough race but Jac was DETERMINED. She stayed mentally IN the race and it payed off!

Jac finished in 3rd place with 11:53.

STATE here she comes!

Some of the awesome track buddies
Abby, Min, Kenz, Emily, Jac, Coach Hays, Beans
Congrats Jac... We are so 
PROUD OF YOU!

Mothers day...

Some women don't like Mother's day because they feel so inadequate. I had a friend give the BEST advice... EMBRACE it! Why not let yourself ENJOY 1 day of pampering and LOVE from your family who KNOW all of your weaknesses yet, LOVE YOU ANYWAY!

So, I DID! As you can see, my family spoiled me with an amazing breakfast, fun, thoughtful and  sweet gifts; and the best part was being able to spend the WHOLE day TOGETHER!

Thomas made a book of poems. Here is one of them... he know just the right things to say :) 

WHAT IS A MOTHER?

A mother is a tender touch

A person who loves you very much

The very person you can count on

Even when you've left your light on

The person who willingly cleans the house

But will never, ever pick up a dead mouse

The person who loves the healthy foods 

Although you can never predict her moods

My love for you I can't express

You, my mother, the very best!

Matt and I celebrated our 17th anniversary on Friday. Jac asked us if we had imagined our lives to be any different when we got married. It was so cool to be able to look at her and honestly say,
"This is EXACTLY how we imagined our life!"
Obviously, we had no idea what challenges we would be facing but they have taken us on the road we have always desired... Luckily it's where the Lord wants us too!
We have each other, we have 3 of the best kids in the whole world, we have a great house with amazing neighbors, friends and family surrounding us, Matt has a great job and we have have the gospel... it doesn't get much better than this!
I am so grateful Matt agreed to take me out 17 years ago, even though it took some convincing, it proved to be one of the best decisions of our lives :) 

Get up and finish the race...

BYU Invitational... a privilege to be there since you have to qualify... 

beautiful day... feeling STRONG and READY!

After getting boxed in at the start and having to go into lane 6 to get out of the crowd, she  push her way to the front. She stayed in front for the first 2 laps making it her fastest 800 yet!
As I was watching her turn the corner, my heart SANK as I watched her GO DOWN!!  A girl tried to pass but cut in too soon; Jac caught her heal, lost her balance and went down bringing another girl down with her.

I was heart broken, this was her race! This was her day! How was she going to handle this? 

As quickly as she fell, she was back on her feet giving it her all to fight her way back. She did good but by the 4th lap her energy was zapped. She came in at a 5:37 which is still VERY IMPRESSIVE!

You can see the pain in her face and her knee has the road rash to prove it.
The amazing part of this story is
#1 she KEPT RUNNING
#2 she didn't let it get her down!
As we were gearing up for the tears and meltdown we 'knew would be coming' she walked up and said, "That was my best 800 time in the mile yet! I was right on track and I KNOW I can do it next time!"
No tears, no anger, just pure determination to prove it at Regions this Wednesday.
Jac may not have won this race but she is well on her way to winning the race of life with an attitude like that!
I am so proud of this girl and the woman she is becoming. 
THANK YOU JAC for being such a great EXAMPLE to us all! 

Rad Kids...

For the past few months Emily's class has been doing a program called RAD KIDS. The purpose of the program is to make them more aware of the dangers around them and give them ways to protect themselves.
With a personality like Emily's you get conversations like this...

(Emily calls me the minute she gets home) "Mom, there is a car out front with two people in it and they aren't leaving!"
Me- "Have they come up to the door?"
Emily- "No, but they aren't leaving AND its a LEHI truck!!"
me- "They are probably workers waiting for another truck to fix the drain in the road in front of our house."
Emily - "But mom!"
I kept her on the phone till I drove up. Sure enough another Lehi truck pulled up to fix the drain.

Emily- "Oh, I am so glad Mom! I just didn't know what to do... I couldn't decide if I should call 911 or you first!"
me - "ALWAYS call me first honey!"
Emily- "OK, unless they are coming after me then I have to call 911 right?!"

Emily got to show us her skills at the graduation...

Emily tells a stranger she won't go with them and runs!

She uses the "pepper move" on this poor guy!

Finally, she showed her bravery by fighting the BAD GUY, getting away and calling home! Dont mess with our Emily! :)

Very proud RAD KID graduates!
Cambry, Em, Lily, Maddie and Faith

CONGRATS!