Our undefeated basketball champs!!!

What happens when you combine amazing coaches with amazing kids...you get an undefeated season! This year we bailed on our city league when the kids football coach from their first season decided to put together a basketball team through Bellevue Boys and Girls Club. Well, boy what a difference good coaching makes and the kids loved playing with a bunch of their football buddies.

Their team the Hurricanes wasn't exactly a team equipped with tons of talent. There were a few kids that had some skill but for the most part, they were just a group of average players. Put Coach George and Robisson in the picture and what a difference a few practices can make. It was amazing to watch the turnaround in all these kids. Unfortunately Jack and I were away for their final two games which included their playoff game but grandma and grandpa got to take it in. Apparently they were quite the games with some tough competition but the Hurricanes managed to seal the deal with an undefeated season. Congrats to these boys. We were so impressed with our boys and how well they played. They were amazing on defense and both boys scored baskets at each game, helping the team out considerably. Seriously we didn't recognize the players we watched last year compared to the players we watched this year. It's becoming a joke that Coach George doesn't lose at anything he does...the boys were just happy to ride the wave with him!

T-Rod:




C-Rod (and his flaming basketball shoes)...




Sagie and the girls!



Bless my dad for trying to capture a good photo of the boys with Coach George at the final game...

Uncle James!

It's not often that we get a visit from Jack's brother but when we do we're always excited to see him. Luckily he was out on business the day before we headed out on our trip so he crashed here for the night which was especially nice for the kids since they love seeing him and don't get to very often. Sadly it's been years since the kids have been around their NY cousins and some have never even met but we are hopeful that sometime soon we'll get everyone together. Thanks James for sharing your evening with us. I'm just happy for Jack that now that he does more work in NYC he gets to see his brother a bit more often!

Double digits baby!!!

So what happens when your oldest children make it to age ten without a visit to the ER, a broken bone, or stiches?!? Well the parents treat themselves to a two week vacation without kids!!!

The poor boys, of all the birthdays you'd think entering double digits would have been one of the most exciting birthdays yet this one was by far the most anti climatic. Unfortunately this birthday crept up on us so quickly. In prior years I have always looked forward to planning their themed parties. This year I was out of ideas and time. Jack was out of town on their actual birthday and the weeks leading up to it were filled with basketball games and final trip preparations. The two weeks following it Jack and I would be away and after we returned we'd have a couple weeks before heading out to Utah for spring break. After discussing options with the boys and assuring them we'd make up for it with a nice birthday gift, they agreed...kind of. I guess with a bit of persuasion...

So what gift would compensate for not having a party? Well, they will be picking out new bikes. Unfortunately the days of Toysrus bikes are gone and it's time to upgrade to nicer bikes which are unbelievably expensive. Sadly we don't get to use bikes much out here but we must be prepared for the two sunny days a year they get to ride their bikes to school...

In the meantime I did quickly pull off some cupcakes and my dear friend Amy was kind enough to drop off some balloons for the kids to help the official day feel a bit more festive...

It's still amazing to me that our sweet miracle babies are ten! They are the sweetest, most loving and kind boys I know. We feel so proud to have been blessed with them and look forward to a future full of laughter, tears, and cherished moments. We love you Connor and Tyler!!!

PS Photos of new bikes will come soon...at least they better... :)

Father Daughter Dance!

Our homeowners association annual Father/Daughter dance took place this past weekend. Thanks to my friend Rachel, Sage arrived to the dance in a more appropriate dress than last year when Jack reported back that she was way underdressed wearing a skirt and button up shirt with boots while all the other girls were in formal easter type dresses. This year she was also determined to wear her plastic "high heels" from her dress up chest. I was surprised she was even able to make it out the door in those but nothing was going to stop her from having a great time with her dad! Our little girl is sure growing up!

Here's beautiful Sage being escorted to the dance by her handsome daddy!

Life is too short to sweat the small stuff...

We kicked off the weekend before last with our first major snow storm of the year. It couldn't have been timed better since there was no school on Monday in honor of Martin Luther King day. The kids were so excited to spend the day sledding their hearts out on the golf course and I have to say I always love a big snowfall. The day was filled with hot cocoa, snow angels, sledding, and lots of wet laundry...




The boys of the hill...



These boys spent countless hours sledding, rolling, racing, wiping out, and surfing down the hill. I can't imagine what the greens will look like after all this...



Connor's only request was that I come down at some point to get a photo of him going off the jump. Luckily I was able to get one of each of them catching a little air!



On Thursday we awoke to a beautiful but dangerous ice storm and of course another day off school. By this time there was a couple feet of snow on the ground and now a thick layer of ice on top of it. As Jack headed out the door that morning, we lost power. This isn't anything new to us but in the recent years it's usually come back on fairly quickly. By 6 p.m. though we still had no power and things outside were only getting worse with fresh snow now dropping again on top of all the ice. Thankfully when the power goes out, we still have hot water and working stoves and fireplaces, not to mention cell phone service but the house gets chilly fast. (58 degrees) Thankfully, Jack ended up booking a room downtown since he knew if he drove home he'd probably not make it back to work on Friday and he had meetings he couldn't miss on Friday. I'm always up for an adventure and we were all a bit stir crazy after spending the day indoors because it was just too dangerous to be out in it so I packed up an overnight bag and the kids and I made our slow drive into the City to join Jack. It was pretty scary because I90 was covered in snow and ice, hadn't been plowed for some time and I found myself trying to avoid trees and branches that had fallen onto the highway after no longer being able to support all the snow and ice that was on them. Thankfully we made it safely!



I thought we may get power restored by the next night but unfortunately that didn't happen. My phone service was now down so Jack and I weren't able to communicate the plans for where we'd stay the next night. I decided we'd just camp at the house for the night which Jack wasn't very excited about but the kids enjoyed wearing their headlamps around the house and Ty and I became the king and queen of Sequence. It was also a gentle reminder to me that i would have never made a good pioneer...

Thankfully we got word early Saturday night that our power had been restored. By this time we had determined we wouldn't camp at the house another night and had settled on a hotel, the boys had won their basketball game and we were enjoying our visit with Ted and Kristina who had flown into town for the day. We enjoyed a nice dinner out with them and Ty experienced his first oyster (something Connor had attempted before but had determined he'd never do again), and Jack was reminded yet again that even after trying the most expensive oysters, he still doesn't like them. All it took was me looking at them to know that... We arrived home late that night to a nicely heated home and the terrifying sound of a garbage disposal that had accidentally been turned on (by me) during the power outage and had been running without water for the past five hours...not to mention a horrible smell from the motor probably burning out.

Unfortunately the weekend ended on a sad note when I received a heartbreaking call from Ty's teacher on Sunday evening alerting us that his classmate Lily had passed away during the week. It was clear when you first met Lily that she had some disabilities. She was very small for her size but not any less smart than the rest of the kids in the class. Apparently she had a seizure during the week which caused her heart to stop. It was absolutely devastating to the boys but especially Ty who had come to know her quite well. Thanks to our faith and the wonderful response of councilors and teachers at the school, the kids have all come to recognize what a privilege it was to know Lily and that she is in a far better place now where she never has to deal with the disabilities she faced here on earth.

During the walk a thon at the school, Lily was one of the many students that had asked if she could wear Ty's mascot costume for a few laps. Thankfully we have this one photo of her with some of Ty's other classmates.



Although losing power felt like an inconvenience and even a hardship at times I was quickly reminded and brought back to the reality of how easy my week was after receiving this call.

We had another scare last week when our dear friend Ty Bailey who is struggling with cancer was diagnosed with a severe infection which required immediate surgery and the possibility of a negative outcome. Thankfully the surgery was a great success, and instead of a full week of being in the hospital they were able to release him a few days early. Our faith continues to grow as we watch Ty and Rachel exercise their own faith during this difficult time.

On a much smaller note but nonetheless sad, Sage came downstairs this morning to find Connor's beta fish, Luther, dead. Of course this was quite traumatic for Sage and reiterated to me the reason why I'm so hesitant to get a dog for the kids. Pets are indeed members of the family no matter their size or cost and I just don't know that I'm prepared to commit to any further members of the family.

Finally, as we drove on the highways and around our neighborhood over the past week and saw all the damage that the winds, snow, and ice had caused to all the trees, I felt a sense of sadness. It didn't take long for me to witness on TV some of the horrific storms in the south to realize how lucky I was to have a home to come back to...

reflecting on 2011

They say no news is good news...well at least that's what my ob/gyn's office always tells me as I walk out the door and I'd say the same is true when it comes to us reflecting on our past year. For the most part 2011 was an uneventful year! No major illnesses, family additions, or job changes to report. I continue to hold down the fort at home while Jack continues to hope that the majority of America will continue with their coffee addiction into 2012. haha! Really the only newsworthy things I can think of that took place were that we had to have a couple important "talks" with the boys.

So a couple months ago Connor came home from school clearly bothered by a conversation that had taken place during lunch with some girl classmates. Apparently these girls had approached Tyler, him, and a few of their friends asking them simple questions. (e.g. Do you have a garage?) Each response was accompanied by giggles from the girls. Finally one of Connor's friends approached the girls to find out what was so funny and learned that the terms being used (garage and Ferraris) actually were code for other things (male and female anatomy). I vaguely remember this analogy as a kid. I was so happy that my boys felt comfortable coming to me immediately to discuss this conversation but at the same time felt sad that my sweet innocent boys are growing up. Afraid of what could be discussed at school at a future point I decided it was time to dive right into "the talk"! Aside from Connor stating that he "never wanted to have that talk again" and asking "why does God make us do such terrible things to get kids?" I'd say the talk was a success! ;)

A couple weeks later we found ourselves having to have another talk... the talk about the Man from up North. (Looking back it sure seems funny that our boys were old enough to understand the birds and the bees while still believing in some man that travels via sleigh and has a bunch of flying reindeer...) Unfortunately Santa and Mrs. Clause haven't always been as careful as they should be. We knew it was just a matter of time as to when the boys would connect the dots and ask the big question. Well, right before Thanksgiving we returned home from dinner out with friends to a couple skeptical boys. They had clearly been discussing amongst themselves some events that had taken place over the past couple years and wanted to lay out for us some of their thoughts. I took this to mean they already knew the answer but wanted to hear it from us. At the time I told them we'd discuss it in the morning as we had company over and it wasn't the right time. The next morning I found myself anxious to have the talk but looking back I'm pretty certain I could have just forgotten about it and they wouldn't have thought another second about it, possibly buying me one more magical Christmas for them. As it turned out, I did pull them aside and had "the talk". They were absolutely blown away and completely shocked when I shared the news. Ty even shed a few tears over it. Lesson learned: Play along for as long as you can. Christmas just isn't the same after they know. Thankfully the magic of Christmas is still alive and well with Sage!

So the major headlines for 2011...Santa and Sex. Well, it only seemed appropriate to also bundle all the other holiday tales into one conversation while reiterating to the boys that never would we be coming to them discussing with them the validity of Jesus Christ, our savior. I was reminded a year ago from a friend that her main worry about confronting her children with Santa, the Easter bunny, tooth fairy, etc. was that her children would also see God as falling into the same traditional tale. Indeed there is a larger, more amazing miracle that is represented in Christmas and hopefully now the boys will pay closer attention to that miracle rather than getting caught up in the magic of Santa.

On a lighter note, we spent a portion of new year's eve up Snoqualmie pass playing in the snow. I love that less than 30 minutes from home we are greeted by ski slopes. Unfortunately we keep all our ski gear in UT and truth be told Snoqualmie isn't known for it's incredible snow but the kids never get tired of sledding and playing out in the white stuff...well at least until Sage marked her territory...




After a few hours up in the mountain we returned home and spent the evening with friends at our place, celebrating the new year! We are indeed blessed. Happy New Year!

On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

...three Apple ipads, two Apple itouches, one Leapster leappad...and an empty checking account!!! What can I say, it was the year of electronics!

So this year we set out not to plan any family vacations during the month of November or December because in years past it has felt like we missed out on part of the holiday season (and shopping season) doing this. Lesson learned was that it made no difference. I still found myself frantically shopping up until Christmas eve even though I've had 365 days to prepare...

We always kick off the season with our annual photo with Santa at Belle Square. Again we enjoyed next to no line, a few free wallets that they throw in for spending the obscene amount they charge for the 5x7 and stuffed animals for the kids. (And yes, our two nine year olds still get excited about the stuffed animal!):



Next it was on to figuring out which photo we'd use for our Christmas photo. You'd think between a couple cruises and a trip to Utah that we could come up with at least one good photo of the family but no such luck. This resulted in me screaming to the kids one day after school to quickly get dressed in some sort of button up shirt and meet me down by the tree...



Each year I tell myself I will capture just as great a photo as a professional would and each year I am reminded there is a reason I could never charge for my work...

Next it was the countdown to the soon to be full house which would include my parents and my brothers Steve, Paul, and Sean! The kids could hardly wait and I'm pretty certain that from Thanksgiving on they asked me daily how many more days until their arrival. Mom, dad, Sean, and Paul flew in on the Wednesday before Christmas with Steve arriving the next day. Unfortunately they all had to take off the day after Christmas but thankfully Steve was able to stay a full week which helped with the empty nest withdrawals. We missed not having Gary, Kelly and the boys but understand how difficult it can be traveling with small children for the holidays and we also missed not having Teagen and Chaz around but unfortunately they were at their mom's for Christmas this year. There is never a dull moment when you have Jack as the head of household. He kept the boys busy (and in shape) going golfing, playing in a couple basketball and football games in addition to some wiffle ball and speed mitton.

Some of the other activities going on with some or all included a trip to the Space Needle and Snoqualmie Falls, a trip to Jack's office to taste test all sorts of hot cocoas, a shopping trip with mom to update her wardrobe, a Seahawk/Niners football game, Christmas day church, opening presents, and of course lots of eating! Mrs. Clause spent most her days making certain Santa had plenty of toys purchased and wrapped, food on the table, a clean house, and all other loose ends tied... (Santa will be taking Mrs. Clause on a trip to make up for all her hard work in the coming months...) haha! Here are a few shots from the week:




Sean taking dad to his first NFL game on Christmas eve, a Seahawk/Niners game...hmm, wonder who they are rooting for?!?



A few of my favorite men... (minus a couple others)



Not a creature was stirring not even a mouse...



And finally the BIG day had arrived...



Jack and the boys cooking breakfast...



The traditional photo on Christmas morning...



And finally at around 11:30 a.m. we began ...



I'm always so happy to see the kids so appreciative for the gifts they receive. Ty continues to always want to have something for Sage and Connor. This year he picked up something at the book fair for Connor. He had also purchased something for Sage but she had done something to disappoint him so he decided to keep it for himself. A couple days before Christmas when we were at the Falls gift shop, Sage was crying because she wanted a bag of these special polished rocks. I refused to buy them but Ty begged to buy them for her for Christmas. That's our Ty...always looking out for his brother and sister. Sage had also been very thoughtful spending many afternoons drawing pictures for everyone and wrapping them up. Connor continues to show his love by his kind words which we cherish just as much!



Always love looking down at the family I've been blessed with...



Enjoying presents...



This year we had a nice prime rib and New York roast on the menu and of course the meal ended with our traditional after dinner gifts...



And the three women who probably put the most effort into making the day a success... :)



What a fantastic Christmas it was. A special thanks to my family for flying out to spend this holiday with us. We feel so blessed to have such a fabulous family, good health, great friends, and of course our faith which allows us the opportunity each year to pay a special tribute to our savior. We hope 2012 turns out to be another year we can look back on and be proud of! Happy New Year!