Monday, May 21, 2012

Freshman Year and Soccer

 We have had the most beautiful Spring. 
The weather has been perfect for months.
It has really been enjoyable to be at all of the kids sporting events.
 Haylie had a lot of fun being on the JV soccer team.
They just had their banquet and she won the 
"Most Improved JV Player!"
 She played all over the field but mostly mid-fielder and defense.
It reminded me of my soccer playing days and how much fun I had.
 By the end of the season Ryder was not shy and he would go to the team bench and find Haylie.
He was always the big hit over there.
He would be fed snacks and sit on random girls laps.  
What a stud!
 The tennis courts were right next to the soccer field.  
This was very convenient because he was caged in.
Nice and convenient until I caught him climbing the fence.

 It's hard to believe that Haylie's freshman year comes to an end in 3 days.
Where did this school year go?
 I wish I could get back on the field again.
I think I would kick butt :)

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Garden of the Gods

Our Spring Break was a little bit of a bust.  
We had planned to visit Colorado Springs at the end of our week off of school.  
The hotel room had been booked and the activities planned. 
We were excited to get away and spend some time together as a family and 
to visit a place that we had never been.
Well on the drive to Colorado Springs, Weston started to have a very hard time breathing.
By the time we were at dinner he was in tears.  
He didn't want to eat and he just wanted to see a doctor. 
He had several breathing treatments in the car but it wasn't helping.
So we found an urgent care, then we took an ambulance from the urgent care to the hospital.
The hospital became our home for the next two days.
We only had one car on our trip so there was a lot of driving between the hotel and the hospital.
Either Matt or I would stay with Weston 
and the other would take the other kids out to experience the sights.  
It was hard to be spread apart and to be in a strange place.
We are so glad that Weston improved and was able to check out of the hospital after 2 long days.
He was so sad that he missed the family trip to the Garden on the Gods.
So on his first morning out of the hospital and the last day of the trip we went back to enjoy this...

 The Garden of the Gods.
This is one of my favorite names for any tourist place.
So clever and it lives up to it's name.
 This really is a spectacular place were the rocks just come out of the ground.
 More than 100 years ago a man owned all of this property.
He wanted to give the property to the city of Colorado Springs but
he wanted it to be a free thing for all people to be able to enjoy.
When he passed away his family gave the land to the city 
with the promise that it would always be free to the public.
 What a nice gift.
And my kids LOVED climbing the rocks.
We had to drag them away.



 This was our second trip to Garden of the Gods.  
We had gone the day before when my sister Janna came down to go with us
 and to visit Weston in the hospital.  
Which by the way was very nice of her.
But it was just as much fun the next day. 
And a reminder of how grateful I should be when we can all be together.








 If you come to Colorado Spring this is definitely a place worth stopping.
Our family loved it.
And what's better than something free?

Monday, May 7, 2012

Cousins and a Mint

My sisters and I made an appointment to visit the Mint during Spring Break.
It's always fun to get all the cousins together. 
14 kids between all of us and the City of Denver apparently had never seen 14 kids all together.
We got so many questions about these 14 cute and crazy kids.
To me cousins equal happiness.
 From the parking garage we needed to go to the bottom floor 
this picture is evidence that Cade pressed every button in the elevator.
Here we are trying to keep 14 kids on the sidewalk and out of the busy rode.
We all lived!
 The tour of the mint was really fascinating.  
They make millions of coins there a day.
And only one person (a worker) in the history of the mint has ever stolen money from the mint.
That's hard for me to believe.
I think they were happy to lock these gates behind us when the tour was over.
 A short walk to the State Capitol building.  
We had to pass by some "occupy" protestors to get there. 
 The teenagers wanted to go into H&M so the rest of the kids played
"Do you love your neighbor?" in the middle of the streets of Denver.
 It was a fun day.
But really anything with the cousins is fun!
 Until next time....
Are all of the children yours?

Friday, May 4, 2012

Easter Sunday

 Easter Sunday was a beautiful day.
Although I burned an Easter basket in the oven and I ruined the party potatoes for dinner...
Once I got over these minor annoyances,
 I realized that Easter is bigger than that.
We enjoyed a great, fantastic family dinner at Janna's house.
All of the Colorado cousins were there.
The egg hunt was awesome, the food was delish, and the company was even better.
How thankful I am to know that my Savior lives.
 There was so much candy consumed before church.


 Cade a little bit grumpy because he can't find his hidden basket.
 Remnants of the charred basket.
 The trees with blossoms were incredible this year.
 Ryder looked very handsome in pink.

 Cousins waiting for the egg hunt.
It's very suspenseful. 
 Ryder got the hang of the egg hunt right away.
He was very concerned about receiving his fair share of the candy.

Easter is a gift.

Family Update: Matthew Lewis

I feel so lucky to be married to such a wonderful guy. 
Back 17 years ago I had no idea what a big decision I was making.
I think you have no idea how far reaching your choice of a companion is.
I might add that I must be a very smart person because what a great choice I made.
Matt is a kind person.
Definitely one of the first things that I noticed about him.
He cares about others and he wants the best for them.
He is generous and would help anyone.
He worries about his children and prays that they are happy.
The Church is the top priority.
He holds callings and serves others.
He loves the Savior and he lives a life that proves it.
Matt has been able to bless and baptize our children and I'm proud of that.
Matt is honest.
Not even a white lie comes out of his mouth.
Just ask him about Santa Claus and the tooth fairy!
Matt loves to travel.
He dreams of the next place he would love to visit.
I know this helps him get through the drugery of "normal" every day.
I think he would do just about anything to have more vacation days.
I love that he wants to spend more time with us.
Matt is a great listener.
I love talking to him and I know he will always be there for me.
We love to spend time together, 
whether it's dinner out or going on a bike ride we always have fun together.
Matt is a great father.
He loves to watch the kids play in their different sports.
He loves to check their grades on-line and gets on the kids when the grades aren't good enough.
He can do it all.  
Cook dinner, change diapers, do dishes, help with homework, 
and I realize I'm grateful that he is my partner in parenthood.
I am grateful to be married to my best friend.
I am lucky to be married to a man who provides and works hard for my kids and me.
I love everything about him. 
 It makes me happy to know that we can be together
Forever