Baptism Photo Shoot

Final preparations for Alex's baptism continued over the weekend.  His new suit arrived and it was time for a photo shoot.  Only one problem - we don't have a photographer.  Not to worry.  Give me a willing model, some good light, and a few selected areas in our yard.

Alex turns 8!

Alex has been so excited for his birthday.  He has been planning and getting ready for this day for months.  He loves opening presents and loves having parties!  So, of course we had several!  We started with a family party on the Sunday before his birthday.  We had a "How to Train a Dragon" cake, a barbecue and of course presents.  He got spoiled with lots of fun presents from the family, including lots of Legos! 

The next day was his actual birthday. Alex wanted to spend some time with his cousins, so we invited them to go to the splash pad by our house. Later that night, we went to dinner and Alex opened his presents from us. More presents!

That next weekend, Alex had his friend party. He wanted to swim, so we went to our neighbors pool with lots of boys and a few girls and had a fun swim party. After swimming, we came back to our house for cupcakes and ice cream, presents and of course a pinata.

Alex, I am so proud of you! I can't believe you are 8 years old. You are such a good kid, with a sweet personality who cares for everyone around you. I love you!

Legends of Roundball

Every season we encourage the kids to try some new sports.  Get outside of their comfort zones and experience different things.  Over the winter we've had a ton of fun with Kennedy and Alex both playing basketball.  Sure, we've shot around in the driveway over the years, but the kids have recently wanted to play in organized games.  It was time for more Junior Jazz basketball!

Alex played basketball last year and it was a struggle at times.  The younger boys don't really have any structure to the games and it pretty much rewards the kids who are most aggressive.  Aggressive is not a word I'd use to describe Alex.  He is much more interested in being part of a team, rather than taking over.  I was hoping things would be different this year.  Well, not so much.

Alex was able to score a few times this year, but he was still on a team where the most aggressive kids took all the shots.  He still had fun, but I'm hoping that he'll get on a team that teaches the boys how to play - I know, sounds like I'm volunteering to coach....


My biggest surprise this season was Kennedy.  She's never expressed much of an interest in playing basketball, but she decided to try it with one of her friends from school.  At first it was a bit of a struggle, but by the time the season ended Dede girl was really starting to have fun!  She took advantage of her height and was able to rebound/defend like a pro!

One of our best moments came over the weekend when Kennedy was able to score two baskets in a row!  This was a girl who could barely shoot last year and now she was making it happen.  She may take the scoring title away from Kevin Durrant, but Dede was having fun and making buckets!  What a big deal for our amazing little girl.

Jr. Jazz basketball - You Gotta Love It!

Alex's Big Day

Alex loves his birthday.  He has been so excited to turn 7 and we had a big day planned for him.  Alex is our only child to have a summer birthday, so we usually like to celebrate with outdoor activities.

This year included a very large blow-up bounce house and lots of kids to play on it.  Alex had a fun birthday party, with water balloons, snow cones, cupcakes, ice cream bars, a pinata and lots of fun presents from his friends.

After the party, we figured since we had the bounce house all night, we might as well keep the party going.  So we had neighbors, family and anyone who wanted to jump, come on over.  We played all night on the bounce house!

Alex's party continued on Sunday with a family party with yummy food, a fun skateboard cake and even more presents.  Alex got spoiled with a longboard and a new bike this year.  He loves both but promptly wrecked on his longboard on his first try down the hill.  Luckily he had his helmet on.  I figure he will get better with practice!

 

I can't believe my Alex is 7 years old!  He is already talking about getting baptized next year and is so excited to take that big step.  I am so proud of my little Alex.  He really is such a sweet, nice boy.  Alex loves to cuddle and gives awesome hugs.  He is such a thoughtful boy and is my best kid to help around the house.  He is always willing to help with chores and loves to help his daddy with projects, especially if there are tools involved.

I am so thankful that we were blessed with such a sweet, loving boy!  I love you, Alex!  Happy 7th birthday!

Photo of the Day

Is this Alex or Papa?

Summer Haircuts

With the last day of school in the rear view mirror Alex was ready to shed his winter mane.  Now Alex already likes his hair short, but his summer cut is a #2 buzz.  He loves it!

Right after finishing with Alex's haircut, Dylan jumped in the chair for his turn. He was pretty excited for a haircut. Tara wasn't so sure about cutting off Dylan's hair though. In the end Dylan won out and now he has a summer haircut. Very cool!

Soccer Boys

Each season we ask our kids what sport they would like to play.  So far we've done a little of everything with some tee ball, soccer, tumbling, basketball.  The sport that Alex seemed to like best has always been tee ball, since he is a really good hitter.  This year he and I even started to play catch out in the backyard.  So, when we asked him what he wanted to play he quickly replied:

Soccer.

What?!  Soccer isn't really somthing Tara and I have ever played.  Still, if Alex wants to play soccer that's ok with us.

He's starting to get it.  No longer content to run along side the action, Alex is actually starting to mix it up and kick the ball this year.  His confidence is definitely growing and he's having a total ball out there.

Dylan also decided to jump into soccer this year.  We figured he would have no problem getting into the scrum and playing with the other kids.  With older siblings and a headstrong attitude Dylan was sure to flourish in sports.

Nope.

Dylan justs runs around on the field and acts surprised when the ball comes near him.  He's kicked the ball a few times, but he's generally just happy to be out there.

Who would have guessed the difference between our two soccer boys.

Hanging at the Jazz Game

One of the perks with Alex being in the Jr. Jazz this year is the free tickets to a real Jazz game. I remember when I was a kid this was the highlight of the season. The chance to watch a real game was to good to be true. I was a bit surprised when I mentioned the tickets to Alex a couple weeks ago and he didn't seem that interested. His response - "Can I play with your phone if we go?"- wasn't really the same level of enthusiasm as I'd hoped.

I kept talking up the chance to go together to the game and, by the day it arrived, Alex was finally on board. It didn't hurt that we planned to ride TRAX with some friends from our neighborhood. Once we got to the arena, it was time for our climb. As you can imagine free tickets to the Jr. Jazz aren't close. I think we were a couple rows down from the top - still it didn't matter. We were together and that was enough for me.

Alex was fairly interested in the game for a while. The Jazz were winning and that kept things positive. I will say that Alex was a little more interested in the treats I promised him than he was on the court. In the end the free tickets cost me $5 for TRAX, $5 for an oversized pretzel, and $5 for some nachos. It didn't matter to me though. I was just happy to spend some time with my son. To me, the night was priceless....

For Your Birthday

Alex,

As we celebrate your birthday this year I want to take a moment to tell you how much I love being your  dad.  I am so proud of all you've accomplished this year and I can see how you're growing into a wonderful person each and every day.

One of your best traits Alex is your unconditional love.  You are such a soft-hearted person, quick to emotion and long on love.  I have never seen a young man so willing to tell his parents how much he loves them.  I know it doesn't seem like a big deal to you, but it is wonderful to have to express your love to me.  Hearing your son say "I love you, Dad" after a long day at work makes everything worth it.

We all know that you're a cautious kid Alex.  Never the first to jump in the pool or to meet a new person.  Still, this year we've seen you try many new things and get out of your comfort zone.  No where was this more evident than school.  Going to a new school is always tough.  You not only survived in you class, you thrived!  It was great to see you make new friends and do so well with your assignments.

Alex, I want to encourage you to always reach beyond yourself.  I know you're the first of my kids to volunteer to help me with anything.  Never lose than willingness to serve others.  I know it's one of things that brings me the most joy in my life.  If you look out for others, you'll always be happy within. This especially goes for your brother and sister.  Look for ways to serve  Kennedy and Dylan and you'll continue to bring peace and harmony to our home.

Happy Birthday Buddy.  I can't tell you how much you mean to me.  You're my guy and I don't know where my life would be without you.  I hope you have a special day because you are a very special boy.  I love you.

Daddy

Alex turns 6!

Alex loves parties, especially when it is for him and he gets lots of presents.  Alex has been counting down to his birthday since the beginning of summer.  About a month before his birthday, he asked me how many days until his birthday.  We figured it out and he made a little countdown calendar with  the numbers one through twenty-six on it.  Every morning he would cross off a number and let me know how many days until his birthday.  He kept telling me all the fun things he wanted to do and gave us a very detailed list of all the presents he wanted.  So we tried to fulfill all those expectations.

We started Alex's birthday with a trip to Chuck E. Cheese.  Alex has been sucked in by all their commercials on TV, so off we went to see Chuckie.  We invited the cousins to come along with us and had lots of fun playing games and riding the rides at Chuck E. Cheese.  We headed back to our house for some pizza, presents, cake and ice cream and a pinata (another of Alex's requests).

Alex couldn't wait to open his presents, so after pizza, we let him go at it.  And boy, did he go.  I've never seen anyone open up presents so fast.  He didn't even see what was in each present before he threw it in the pile and moved on to the next one.  I tried to slow him down, but he was on a mission.  After opening all his loot in less than 2 minutes, he decided to go back and see what he actually received from everyone.

He really did get spoiled, with lots of toys, games and fun stuff.  Later in the evening, he asked my sister Char, "So what did you give me?"  I guess that's what happens when you open presents in record time!

We ended with cake and ice cream and a pinata.  The cake was a dinosaur that turned out so cute.  The pinata was a cool dragon that Alex picked out himself.  Alex had a great birthday and is already counting down the days until Christmas.

Alex, you really are such a sweet boy, with a gentle spirit.  You are so loving and caring for those around you.  I love you so much and am so proud of you as you turn six years old.  Happy birthday, cute boy!

Stake Olympics

As part of my calling with the Young Men I go to a lot of stuff - meetings, scouting, firesides, service projects.  The list never seems to end.  Today we held the quad-stake olympics at East High.  This event has been part of our stake forever.  With the numbers of youth dwindling, we've expanded to include three of our neighboring stakes and the tradition lives on.

For me the day was spent as  part of the support team.  We went all out for the kids this year.  Many wards bring out donuts and juice for the youth, but not us.  Ryan busted out the six burner stove and we made pancrapes - they were supposed to be crapes, but I think they turned into pancakes.  It was awesome and I spent a few good minutes flipping the jacks.

Our kids that attended had a blast.  I don't think anyone thought we were the greatest athletes in the meet, but we sure had a lot of fun.  The boys and girls ran, threw, pulled, and jumped their hearts out.  It was fun working with the other leaders and a great time to play with the kids.

I think my favorite part of the day was taking Alex.  I always try to include one of the kids in the events I'm asked to attend.  I was a little worried that Alex would get bored, as I knew it would be a long day.  I was totally wrong.  Alex was a trooper and he had a great day.  It didn't hurt that he loves Ryan, the YM's president.  Alex is a fun kid and he was in seventh heaven with all the boys and girls.

Photo of the Day

Alex is showing off his hang time!

Note for Santa

As Alex and Kennedy were preparing for bed on Christmas Eve they asked if a final note for Santa was ok.  Since the computer was right there I asked if they wanted to make a little video for the big man to watch later that night.  Here were their final requests...

The Tumbler

For the past few months Alex has been involved in a class - a tumbling class.  I've always thought that Alex has a gymnast's build.  Lean and wiry - the kid has a body made for jumping, vaulting, and flying through the air.  Sure enough, Alex has been a natural.

I don't know if gymnastics will be in his future, but for now it awesome to watch his moves.  Cartwheels, handstands, somersaults and more -  Alex can do it all.