Another Snowboarding Trip

Hugh took Connor, Connor's friend Chase, and Justin Yoder to Snowbowl today for another day of snowboarding. Apparently, Connor has a talent for this sport. Here are a few pics. The one of Hugh & Connor on the lift cracks me up. Hugh said it looks like Connor's head is growing out of his arm.

Under Construction....again

We (and by "we", I mean Hugh) have ripped out our entertainment center. Hugh is building a simple, new wall unit to accomodate our new tv. He has two weeks to finish....just in time for the next fight night.

Daddy/Daughter Dance

On February 8, the kids school held their first annual Daddy/Daughter Dance. Since there are two girls in our family, but only one Dad, they needed another "Dad". Uncle Scotty to the rescue! Actually, Courtney called him and asked him to be Caitlin's "date". (Sounds a little like high school, huh??) The guys got all dressed up in suits, and the girls were dressed in their Christmas dresses, and they looked gorgeous. They ended up having a blast! All of the dads were out dancing with their daughters. Hugh and Scott actually broke a sweat! Here are some pictures from the evening. I'll post the actual dance pictures when they get them.

This is one of the funniest things I have ever seen!

A Cause for Chloe....

I'm so happy to be a part of Golden WHEEL. At our last meeting Elizabeth Hale (who is the wife of a dear friend of mine from high school, Tom) came to us asking for a donation to help her cause. Their daughter, Chloe, has a rare type of dwarfism called Majewski's Osteodysplastic Primordial Dwarfism (MOPD). It is extremely rare and Chloe is the only one in the state of Arizona who has this. (click on the link to the right to find out more about MOPD and Potentials Foundation). Well, I knew Elizabeth was coming to talk to GWO, but I thought she would be coming alone. I looked up and saw not only her walking in, but Tommy (sorry, but I can't help but to call him that), their 11 year old beautiful daughter Faith, and sweet little Chloe. I almost started to cry. It was so great to see Tommy. He was one of those people from high school that was so sweet and genuine, and I just love him to death - always have. But, Chloe....what a ball of energy. Even though she is just under 3 feet tall and weighs 20 pounds, that little girl was bopping around like the owned the place. I was given several hugs by her, and with each one I could feel her strength. What a special spirit. And I could think of no better family for her to be in other than with Tommy, Elizabeth and Faith. GWO was able to donate $2,500 to Potentials to allow them help other families be able to attend the Little People of American conference being held in Detroit this summer. This conference is the only time these people with MOPD get to see each other. And according to Elizabeth, it is such a blessing to see these people gather together and for that time, not be different from anyone else. The Hale Family has done an incredible job with Potentials, and I am happy that GWO was able to help.

More Wii

Yesterday was my Mom's birthday. I won't say how old she is. We had her and Ron over for dinner, along with Scotty, and my parents' friends, Bob & Dale Folz. Well, after dinner, birthday cake, and presents, it was time for the Wii. Bob & Dale had never played, so we gave them a lesson and let them practice. Before I knew it, Scott had left, and the kids and Hugh & I had gone on to do other things around the house, and Mom, Ron, Bob & Dale were hootin' and hollerin' while playing the Wii! It was a tennis match, and then onto bowling. They were cracking up! In the end, Grandpa Ron challenged Connor in game of tennis, and Grandpa Ron won. (He would have lost if we were keeping track of his many, many foot faults). Since Mom has retired (yippee!!) and she and Ron now get to spend their days together, they are talking about getting their own Wii. Good! Now maybe they won't take control of ours!!

Wii Tennis Tournament

We invited some friends from our ward over on Friday night for our first Wii Tennis Tournament. We moved all of the furniture in the living room to make room for the "court". All of the guys were given headbands, while each of the women was given a visor with their name on it (Courtney did the names on the visors....thanks Courtney!!) It was a blast. We invited some people that we have not had the opportunity to socialize with much outside of church, so it was great to get to know them better. Katie Seguritan, what can I say, that girl cracks me up. She and Hugh had to go up against each other, and those two started stretching. And I don't mean little stretching. I mean like jumping jacks, sliding across the floor, arm circle stretching. Then they started trash talking each other. Katie was in Hugh's face! I don't remember who won the match, but it was fun to watch. In the end, Kort went up against the crippled Kamon Farmer (he rolled his ankle playing basketball the night before, but he's a trooper and played anyway) and Kort won!!! He was even awarded a trophy. You can see him with his Wimbledon style acceptance in these pics. The Wii has brought a whole new level of fun to this house. Thanks Santa!!

Hannah Montana!!!!

My kids are so spoiled!!! Last week, my three, along with two of JoAnna's daughters, and three of Wendy's daughters, attended the concert of the year - HANNAH MONTANA!! They didn't just attend the concert - they were in a SUITE! This was all thanks to JoAnna. The tickets were a Christmas gift from JoAnna, compliments of Jerry & Vickie Moyes. We got VIP parking - right in front of the door to the arena. We dropped the kids off (don't worry...there were enough responsible teenagers there to take care of the younger kids) and they went up to the suite to get settled. They loaded up on snacks and waited for the show to start. Since JoAnna, Wendy & I didn't have tickets, we went to the Yardhouse at Westgate and ate dinner and had a little "girl time" while the kids were at the concert. We picked them up as soon as it was over, and they were all wound up. They had a BLAST. What an experience for them. Thank you JoAnna!!! They say you are their favorite aunt - Kimberly, Kammy, Lynette & Amy....you better watch out!

My sweet girls

Courtney & Caitlin are best friends. My favorite thing in the world is to walk in on them in their room playing together. I had always wanted a sister growing up. I'm so glad they have each other. There are so many opposites in their personalities. In my mind I see it like this....Courtney is pastel - soft & delicate, and Caitlin is flourescent - bright & outgoing. They each have some amazing qualities and talents that are different from each other, but also share many of the same qualities. We have a great time together. Girl power!

Snowboarding, snowboarding and more snowboarding...

Oh boy. Hugh has a new hobby. This cannot be good. He went snowboarding with his brothers a few weeks ago. The following week he took Connor. And the following week, Hugh and our friend Kamon, went. You know what this means, don't you? I now have to be worried that my dear, sweet husband is going to show up at home with all brand new snowboarding equipment. Ug. Well, if he knows what's good for him, he'll keep renting. Anyway, here are a few pics from their trips. The ones with Connor are the cutest dang things I have ever seen. Connor did great. He felt that since he had gotten so much practice on his Ripstick that he got for Christmas, that snowboarding would come easy to him. He wasn't that far off. He took to it right away and had a blast.