Happy Birthday RYAN!

Today Ryan is turning 10 years old. Here are 10 things we love about him:

1. He is a cute boy and will make the girls crazy.
2. He has a lot of friends and makes friends fast..very well liked.
3. He is always smiling..he has always been a happy person.
4. He has a lot of determination and he thinks he can do everything and anything
5. He is very athletic and plays 3 different sports...basketball, baseball, football. He has also played soccer and would play everything else if he could.
6. His favorite food is Ribs
7. His baseball nickname is "NAILS" because when he first tried out for his baseball team he got nailed in the back by a pitch from the coach and didn't even flinch..so they said he was "tough as NAILS"..I like to call him Ryboy and have called him that ever since he was a baby. When he was a baby he hardly ever cried
8. He loves his little sister Kaelyn and spends time playing with her.
9. He likes to sing even if he doesn't know the words...he doesn't care what people think.
10. He is very competitive and takes things very seriously.

Ryan..we love you being part of our family. We enjoy watching you succeed and your smiling face. Keep being the person you are and continue to be friends with everyone. Have a great birthday and welcome to the double digits!

President Hinckley will be missed

I was so sad to hear of the passing of our great prophet, but also excited that he will be reunited with Sister Hinckley. I loved our prophet so much and will miss him greatly. He gave me such comfort and peace. I loved his sense of humor and the spirit that he brought every time he spoke.

I loved the respect and encouragement he gave to women. It helped me to stay focused on my responsibilities as a wife, mother and a daughter of our Heavenly Father. I always looked forward to hearing him speak. He will be greatly missed.

Austin and some of his friends wore their church clothes (ties, white shirts) today to school to honor President Hinckley. I thought it was a neat thing.

What is going on....

We had a great Christmas. We left Christmas morning to drive to California to visit my family. It had been a couple of years since we took the whole family to visit. We went with no plans, except to visit and relax. My parents were excited because they were able to get a family picture with all grandkids. Everyone hasn't been together for awhile. Kyle and I got to watch the Jazz play the Lakers, too bad they had to get beat. The seats were awesome (right where the players come out). My Dad has season tickets. The kids spent most of the time playing with cousins and getting reaquainted. Austin was a little bored but had his cell phone to text his many friends. He did get to go golfing with uncles. We went as a family to see National Treasure which was good!

We took the kids to visit one of Kyle's mission companions who lives out by San Diego..we usually try to get with them when we go down. We spent the whole day with them and the kids had a blast with their horses, chickens and riding quads. They had made us an awesome lunch and we left before dinnertime.

We were able to have Brandon and Nicole and kids come to my parents home to visit. We should of planned something to do with them but we did get to visit with them.

We were able to travel in good weather, inbetween storms and came home on New Years Day. I felt relaxed and rested but hated coming home to the Christmas mess...I guess you can't have everything.

Kyle will be getting released from being Elders Quorum President and got the call for Scoutmaster..one big calling to the next...Brock is excited. I will look forward to no Sunday meetings. We are now back into our busy lives, basketball, dance and baseball conditioning for Austin. Austin will start Drivers Ed. pretty soon--scary.