Proud of our kids!

Both Cole and Morgan had excellent report cards again this term! We are proud of their accomplishments!

It is hard to imagine that in less than 3 months, Cole will complete his elementary school years. It went by way too quickly! He will enjoy the rest of his time at Alta View with Tech Club, Chess Club, guitar lessons, and hanging out with his friends! In addition, he is gearing up for Spring Flag Football, which starts in April.

Once again, Morgan made it into Wildcat Academy at her school, Willow Canyon Elementary. She earned this by demonstrating excellence in her work skills, social skills, and attendance. She also demonstrated the values of Wildcat PRIDE- Polite, Responsible, Independent, Disciplined, and Empowered. She continues with ice skating, and will also start soccer this weekend! Rich is coaching once again, so we will be busy having fun the next couple of months.

Much Ado About Nothing

During the masquerade ball

taken into custody

Cole and Nick S.

Cole and his buddies, Tyler, Taiyo, and Aaron

In my blogging fervor this morning, I almost forgot to post about Cole's 6th grade class play, Shakespeare's, "Much Ado About Nothing". Cole played the part of a villain, "Conrade". He, along with his classmates, did a fantastic job with their lines, their props, and their acting! During one part of the play, a masquerade ball, the boys and girls had to dance with each other. A lot of the girls are taller than the boys in the class, which made it entertaining to watch. Afterward, Cole said, "when I switched partners and was dancing with Helen, I don't know if she was nervous, or has a crush on someone in the class- heck, it could even be me- her palms were totally sweaty!". Great job Mrs. Cheever's class!

Ski Visitors from Montana and Kentucky!

The McKay family from Missoula, MT and the Malmquist family from Bowling Green, KY came to ski Utah! They spent a night with us, then ventured to a condo in Park City. We all skied together at Park City Mountain Resort! What an awesome time we had playing in the snow, visiting and laughing in the hot tub, and catching up! Thank you for visiting, we can't wait for next year!

Finally, some snow!!!

We are low on snow this year! Our lawn was bare most of January and February. We got several inches of snow the beginning of March! Here are some photos of our snow fun!

Beagles: an update

Bert, Abby, and Maggie had a great winter. They are very excited for Spring and being able to bask in the sunshine during their naps! Maggie was sneaky and escaped out of the backyard... luckily, after 2 hours of searching, a neighbor found her. Here she is snuggling with Cole. I also love this picture of Bert getting a bath; he looks so happy!

Basketball Season Ends...

Pep talk in the huddle

Mark & his son, Justin

The cheerleaders: Sydney & Morgan

Cole's Jr. Jazz basketball team, the Sharks, finished their season strong. They only lost one regular season game. In the playoffs, they got a #2 seed. Unfortunately, they played a very tough team their first game in a single-elimination tournament and they were done. It was a very emotional ending to the season, as one player was hospitalized with pneumonia and the boys were just not ready to be "done". This is the team's 3rd year playing together, and it was their 3rd year of winning the Sportsmanship Award!

This is part of a letter I wrote to Coach Mark...

"...I cannot imagine a better coach or mentor for our boys. Mark, you have done an amazing job with all of them the past few years. Stephanie, thank you for sharing your husband's time with our boys and with us. Jesse, Justin, & Maya, thank you for giving up your Dad for a few hours so that Cole could learn from him. He has learned to play basketball, but more than that, he has learned some great life skills to move forward with. Thank you all for letting me practice with you on occasion. I feel so alive when I am out there, so I appreciate being able to run around with the boys.

I had to shed a tear or two last night that the season is over. In part, because of the fact that the boys have grown so much physically, in their skills, and in their character over the past few years... but, largely because of the fact that they are growing up and they may not all play together next year..."

The boys are moving on to middle school next year and may not all play together again. Growing up is hard... for parents! Great season Sharks!

Ski adventures continue...

We've had a low snow total this winter is Utah. Luckily, the ski resorts are getting enough to keep skiers & boarders happy! On this day, we skied our favorite mountain, Solitude. We had a little friend, Flat Stanley from Washington, join us for the day!

Fat Tuesday with great friends!

The Brown's are always up for a great party! On Fat Tuesday, we ventured to their home to enjoy amazing company and great food! Nothing says "Cajun celebration" like Hurricanes, crawfish, oysters, and King Cake!

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day was pretty casual for us this year. I worked at the U, then stopped to get heart-shaped pizzas for dinner. Here are some of Morgan's creations for the occasion. I love my family!