APRIL

TULIPS AND SNOW
No one wants snow in April. The good thing about it- it melts fast!
I couldn't resist snapping this picture because although I hate snow in April, I thought the tulips and the snow together were beautiful.

WELCOME TO MY CRAZY LIFE
March and April have been especially busy- perhaps even too busy.
My class schedule, field work, projects and finals have pretty well consumed me.
Add in my part-time job, church calling, PTA job and trying to clean my house and there is very little left of me to go around.
Yet I still stretch because my most important job I haven't even mentioned yet- my family. Homework and scouts and mutual and soccer nearly every night
and trying to find time to eat dinner together, or just do something fun-
it's not easy.
And then there is the neighbors and friends who I should visit, help, serve-
but when?
I need another day of the week, or a few more hours in the day, or I need to let something go.
But what?
Where should the sacrifice be made when I can justify everything?
I don't know the answer, so for now I'll just stay busy and try to enjoy it all.

EASTER
Easter snuck up on me this year (my busy life again). We had to hit the mall the day before for Easter ties (which I love- they look good I think). We don't do the Easter basket-bunny thing but I do always give some kind of gift or do something fun. I wasn't very creative this year but everyone got new soccer socks and a new water bottle filled to the top with candy. The weather was beautiful and the day was nice.

Egg scramble at Grandpa and Grandma's with the cousins.

SPRING BREAK

Sadly, I had to go to school during the week that the boys were out for spring break, which means we didn't really get to do anything fun. Thanks to Aunt Tamra they did get to go swimming and out to lunch one day. Here they are at the mall- nice Aunt, I wouldn't have allowed the no shoes look. They also got to spend a day at the Bird's with Grandpa and Grandma and two aunts to keep them busy.
Thanks family!

We did do one thing together- J took a day off of work and they all came to pick me up from school. We drove up to Salt Lake to take a tour of the capitol building- it fulfilled a scout requirement for Z, and gave us something fun to do together. Because of the rain, we didn't get to walk around outside much but we enjoyed the tour inside where it was dry. Our tour guide was knowledgeable and he tried very hard to be humorous with his dumb jokes. S got a little bored, and T kept telling us he'd seen it all before (field trip), but I thought it was nice for us all to just be together. Here are the pics:

Outside in the rain on the front steps.

T and S- wish they could have played around a little bit more.

Z and S in front of the marble lion statue. I remember sitting on top of that statue when I was younger.

Family pic.

These columns are tall!

Above where S and T are standing is the dome and a huge chandelier. The rectangular pieces around the circle are a type of glass that you can stand on. If your on the floor underneath they act as a sky light in the ceiling letting light through. If someone is standing on the glass and you are on the floor underneath, you can look up and see the bottom of their shoes.

Just starting the tour and already getting a little bored.

BEST COHORT EVER
After spending almost a year with this group, I'm going to miss them. We are all going different ways now- some doing internships, and the rest going to different cohorts for their last year. It was fun learning and teaching together, suffering through hard classes and learning from great professors, spending late nights working and stressing (via facebook), and even singing and dancing together. Good times and good memories!

SEVEN

Happy Birthday to my baby- I can't believe he's 7. S loves to help others and is kind and thoughtful. He always tries to follow the rules and do the things he is supposed to do. He finishes his homework willingly and loves to read. He is social and plays with friends almost every day. He loves to play outside, ride scooters, play soccer and jump on the tramp. He is a great brother and son and we are all so glad he is part of our family!

Birthday surprise.

He didn't ask for a bike, but I think he's pretty excited!

Aunt Tamra's creation.

Every year Aunt Tamra and S look up pictures of cakes and try to find the perfect one. Then Aunt Tamra spends the whole day working hard to make it just right. This years choice was a little challenging, but I think she did a pretty good job and S loved it!

SOCCER AGAIN
Once again, our lives are revolving around soccer. Z is playing on 2 teams, the Shooters and a city team, and he has practices or games 4-6 times a week. T is still playing goalie for the Shooters and he loves it. He usually has practices or games 3 times a week. S plays city soccer and plays 2 times a week. They all play at different fields and different times and on different days- it can get pretty crazy. We really enjoy going to games and associating with the wonderful parents and friends. It is a great community of people to be around. Even though it is busy, I love the things that the boys learn such as: working as a team, listening to a coach, respecting referees (even when they don't want to), the joy of success and the disappointment of defeat and so much more. Even though it's busy, I think it's worth it.

Z and T play on for the Shooters.

Here are some pics of Z from both teams.

Here's T, playing Keeper

After a particularly muddy game.

T's team

Pics of S

S's team- The Tigers

MARCH

SO SAD
Sadly... I lost the SD card that has all of my pictures on it from the beginning of this year. If it turns up I will add pictures to this post- if not... oh well. I guess I will be buying another card. :(
UPDATE- SMALL MIRACLES
No, I didn't find my SD card, but I might as well have. Here is the story:
I had taken my SD card to Walmart to have a CD made. There were six months worth of photos on the card. As I was sitting at the kiosk choosing the photos I wanted on the CD, I had the feeling I should just have every one copied, but instead I made the decision to just put October's pictures on, thinking I would come back later to do the rest. I put the SD card in my pocket and went on with my day. It was later that night when I realized that the SD card was missing. I was very sad but realized it was my own fault- I didn't copy the pictures like I should have, and I didn't take care to put the SD card back in the camera right away. Fast forward one month- being so busy with school and finals, I had delayed picking up the CD that I had made. I finally went to get it at Walmart and just today opened up the envelope to look at it. There were the pictures of October like I had ordered, but also the pictures for March. Not November, December, January or February- just October and March. Because I had already written posts for those other months, some of the pictures are on my computer, but I had nothing for March at all, I had thought those pictures were gone. Would it have been a big deal if I didn't have them? No. Are they spectacular pictures? No. Are they important to me? Yes. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but a small miracle to me nonetheless. I'm so thankful for small miracles, and I'm so thankful for Heavenly Father, who loves His children, and watches over them, even when they least expect it. And... I'm thankful I can add these pictures to my March post.

IN LIKE A LION
Finally some snow on March 1st. We have had such a strange winter with hardly any snow. I haven't really shoveled at all and the snow pants and snow boots were really not even used. Even this snow storm was pretty well melted by the next day. I'm not complaining though- this is definitely my kind of winter.

THE COUNTY FAIR
The 4th grade at T's school put on a county fair to show all of the things that they have been learning about the state of Utah. T was given Tooele county to research. He had to find out some interesting facts about it as well as history and things to do in the county. I think he did a great job! It was fun to walk through and see all of the different county projects and hear the 4th graders sing the song- "Utah, this is the place!"

RILEY AND JURNIE

I can't believe how big Jurnie has gotten since we saw her just eight months ago. She is such a cute little thing and not shy at all! It was fun to have her and Riley and Aunt Holly and Uncle John here for a few days. We wish that we could have spent more time with them and we wish they lived closer. We were sad to see them go but happy for the time we had with them!

Cute sisters.

S and Jurnie loved playing together.

FEBRUARY

SHOOTIN' HOOPS
All 3 boys are playing basketball this winter.

S is playing "Little Hoopsters". His team name is the Celtics. He loves going to basketball and he thinks he's pretty good. He is learning new skills and having fun playing with his friends. He also loves having dad as his coach. Notice the hair? He likes to have it spiked while he's playing- I'm not sure why, but whatever.

T is #5 on the Bucks. He is great at defense and setting screens and he has even made a few buckets.

Z is #14 on the Thunder. Basketball is not his favorite sport but he has still enjoyed playing and has had a great season!


FUTSAL
It really isn't easy getting pictures of futsal games. The players and the ball move so fast that they're gone before I can even snap the pic. Futsal wasn't much fun this year. We lost all of our games but one and they were pretty bad losses. Z wasn't a happy kid at all, but hopefully it was a learning experience for him. I think it is really valuable to have the experience of failing and to be able to overcome that experience and learn from it. If he can get over the frustration and learn from all of the losses, I think it will have been worth it- even if it was painful to watch.

CUTE LITTLE VISITOR
Ashley came to visit us again this month. It was a short visit but it was fun to see her. The boys enjoyed spending time with this cute little cousin that they don't see very often. She was shy but warmed up to the boys pretty quickly. She wasn't that fond of me though- I had to steal a hug the night before they left. I'm glad that we were able to get a picture of the four cousins and I'm glad this time she sat kind of close to them instead of 10 feet away. :)