Easter 2012

Brocks Birthday

I cannot believe my youngest child turned 6.  We spent his birthday in Utah as we were visiting during our Spring Break.  He chose to spend the afternoon at Boondocks miniature golfing, riding the bumper boats and playing games.  His best friend from Herriman happened to be off track and was able to spend the afternoon with us there.  It was perfect!  Good friends, great weather and no crowds!!  After Boondocks we met up with the Morgan's at Red Robin (one of Brock's favorites) and then for cake and ice cream with the Bruschke's. An awesome day with an awesome kid!!  We love you Brock!!
Your favorite foods:  Mac & Cheese, Pancakes, "Fire Chips" (Doritos) and of course Reeses Puffs cereal.  You are finally trying new things and just the past couple weeks you have decided you love steak, pineapple and corn.
Your favorite color is blue.
You love anything Star Wars.  You love riding your bike and jumping on the tramp.
You ask a lot of questions!!!  Just today you asked me, "If we went to Washington to visit the President of the United States, would we have to ride in a limo?
You love school and your friends and are always so kind to others.

Rewinding to 2011 for a moment.......

There are a few events that happened last year that I never journaled about which are too important to skip. So, before moving on with more of 2012 I want to make sure I don't forget about a few things. First, my dear Grandma's passing. She passed away last May very peacefully at a Care Center where she resided for only a couple weeks (if that.) She and I had a very special relationship, I think because we had a lot in common. She spoiled me, along with my sister Nicole and my cousin Jill. Jill and I had many, many, many outings with our Grandma where we would go shopping and to lunch at the Tiffin Room in ZCMI and when that shut down Training Table was our place. We always came home with at least one new outfit. My Grandma loved fashion and she always looked stunning. I will always remember her jewelry matching her outfit's perfectly. You would never see her without her lipstick on or her fingernails painted. She was also the fun Grandma who would go on the scariest fastest roller coasters with you. I will never forget the images of her white hair sprayed hair not moving an inch as the roller coaster whipped us around. Whenever I see Double Mint Gum I think of her. And unfortunately I will always remember the smell of your cigarette smoke filled car and home but I didn't care. I still loved spending time with you. Miss you Grandma Betty!

My Grandma's husband Wayne (my step-grandfather) He passed away just a few months after.
I owe A LOT to this man. His name is Ron Simmons. He is the man who took my father under his wing as a young boy. He is the man who took him on Scouting events. He is the man who taught my father about the church. He is the man that truly aided in changing generations by, being such a wonderful example to my father and teaching him about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Thank you Mr. Simmons!! I was so honored to meet you at the funeral.

Brian Rustad, Brian Bruschke, Brent Bruschke, Ryan Morgan, Brett Bruschke, Ryan Bruschke, Brad Bruschke, Tyler Rustad.

And I cannot forget the U2 concert!! Can check that off my bucket list! :-) One word AWESOMENESS!!

Our loyal dog Gator. For the record.....we do miss him but know he is in a loving home and being well taken care of. I am sure he is very happy!

Preschool graduation.....though now it is almost kindergarten graduation! Wanted to make sure we always remember Little Scholar Academy and cute Miss Laraine. All 3 of our kids had the best experience there. So grateful Brock was able to finish there before we moved to Idaho. We also can't forget his favorite friend, Annalise!!

Breakfast of Champions

The boy's elementary school does whats called a "Breakfast of Champions" every few months. I didn't really realize what this entailed until I had received a note from Cannon's teacher a few months into the school year saying Cannon was to be at this "Breakfast of Champions" as he was chosen (by the teacher) to receive an award for "Always Making Responsible Choices." As the morning of the event rolled around, for some reason I wasn't really worried about showing up on time (which is strange for me as I am an ON TIME freak!) We got there a few minutes late and his teacher came and grabbed Cannon as they were about to read his name to receive his award and give high-fives to all the teachers. Dumb me didn't even bring the camera! However, I did bring the camera for Brock's event as now I know what it's all about!! Sorry Cans....I have no pics! But we were SUPER SUPER proud of him and thought it was so awesome to receive that sort of recognition as there were only 2 kid's per class picked to receive this particular award. Way to go!!

As for Brock! He received the award for "Always Showing Empathy Towards Other's." He was so excited for his moment of recognition and kept asking Ryan and I if he should run or walk when he gives all the teacher's high-fives. It was so funny to watch him contemplate what he was going to do. Anyways, he was all smiles and happy to be able to eat a Krispy Kreme donut for breakfast!!

So proud of my boys for being the great kids that they are and thankful for great teachers who acknowledge the importance of having good character traits.

Dribble and Shoot! Basketball 2011

The boys had a great time playing basketball this last year. This was Brock's first year and we weren't sure what to expect. He played soccer last year and really liked it (in fact he wants to play again) but he was always so hesitant to even touch the soccer ball. He would just run with the "herd" and really never showed much interest in wanting to get in and kick the ball. Of course he was barely 5 at the time and had never played or watched anyone play the sport before. But.....he did have A LOT of fun which is really all you can ask for. So therefore, we wondered if he would even want to touch the basketball. But.....he pleasantly surprised us! He not only had a ton of fun, but he worked really hard and enjoyed dribbling, passing, and shooting. We were so proud of him!

Cannon also enjoyed his first year of basketball here in Idaho. It really helped that he ended up on a team with 5 of his classmates, one of which has become one of his best buddies. Cannon really loves the game of basketball and we had a great time watching him play. Now onto the next sport! :-)

Christmas Party with the Bruschke's

We had a fabulous time as always celebrating Christmas with the Bruschke's. It was especially fun because my sister and her family came into town from Nebraska. For some reason I didn't get a picture of us together:-( Grandpa and Grandma Bruschke gave my kids pillow pets which they have been wanting for a very long time, along with a couple books and flashlights. This year I was lucky enough to pull my brother Brad's name out of the hat for our gift exchange. He jokingly sent me an email a month or so before Christmas telling me a hand gun was on his wish list. Yeah right!! Since that was way over our gift limit I made a trip to Walmart and bought him a nice plastic pistol. It was definitely a good laugh and maybe someday he will get himself a real one:-)

Christmas Party with the Morgan's!

It was a different Christmas this year for us and our families since not living in Utah anymore. Normally we would have spent Christmas Eve with the Morgan's but since we wanted to be home in Idaho for Christmas our get together ended up being a few days before Christmas. I can't say that I liked it that way either as it was just another reminder that life really is different for us now. I love being with family during the holidays so it was hard knowing we basically had only one day to spend with each side of the family. But on the other hand I really enjoyed being in Idaho just with my little family on Christmas and not having anywhere to go.

At the Morgan party it was definitely the year of University of Utah gifts and we loved it! Grandma Morgan gave the boys U of U jackets, cute U of U decorations, a U of U quilt for our card table, along with many other fun things from aunts, uncles, and cousins. We also got to meet our new beautiful niece Taylee. She is such a cute little thing and Whitney is so happy she finally has a girl cousin on the Morgan side.