Albion dance concert

Facelift

Our blog just received a facelift! Thanks to my amazing friend Rebecca. When I read on her blog that she had started SweetPoppy designs and Mamarazzi workshop I knew that she was just the person to help me out. She sent some samples and this is our favorite! She is so creative. Thanks Becca! So now that we have a new look I will be posting pictures and updates soon!

Leaving it ALL on the Court!

Well, they did it! They left it ALL on the court. The Albion Knights had a very eventful Saturday. They had to play both of the teams they lost to in the season to head to the championship game. They started with Butler. Here is the recap: At the end of the first quarter they were down by 12 points. By the half they were tied. They went back and forth. At the end of the third quarter they were down by 6 points and in the end they tied and had to go into overtime. It was intense! They ended up winning my 12 points. On to the Championship game. We played Crescent View, who we lost to earlier because of 30 turnovers. They boys had psyched themselves out before, but they were ready this time. Two friends from High School were there watching their boys play. Tyson and Connor (Tara Aste Ogden's son) battled underneath the entire game. It got a little heated. We were neck and neck the whole game. We then were up by 10 points. With about 2 minutes left Crescent View hit three 3 point shots. With about 1 minute left we were down by 2 points. In the end we lost, but what a game. After the game Tyson gave me a big hug and said, "Mom, I left it all on the court." To me that says everything! He had 18 points, 16 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 blocked shots and he battled the entire game. Tyson we are so proud of you! What a season! We celebrated by going to Yogurt Stop with the team. We don't know how their revenue will do since we won't be going there every Thursday and Saturday to celebrate. Then, we took the two darling girls seen in the picture, Kolette and Abbey, Albions biggest fans, to dinner. These two girls have come to almost every Super League game and every Canyons District game. We have come to love them as our own. They were also so good to Bryn. All in all it was a great season! Thanks also to Grandpa and Grandma Gillespie for all of your love and support. You are the best!

Semifinals for the Albion Knights

Congrats to Tyson and the Albion Knights for a great win in the quarterfinals. Next week we face our rivals Butler in the semifinals and then the championship game will be held immediately after that game. It has been such a great season. There was a four way tie for 1st. Every Friday night these boys have a team dinner and it has been so fun to see them grow closer as a team. I just had to take a picture of the darling cheering section. These girls have been coming to not only their Saturday games, but to their super league games on Thursdays as well. Good luck Albion Knights! Special thanks to Brynlie, her brother's biggest fan!

Brynlie's Heart

This post is in honor of Valentine's Day, and an honor to Brynlie's heart. Fifth grade has been a bit crazy this year. There have been raging hormones in some children, and Brynlie, to be quite honest, has been apalled. To her, boys are good friends and great competition on the soccer field. A few weeks ago Brynlie came home a bit disgusted that people were actually asking each other to be their Valentines. With a rolling of the eyes and a look of disgust Brynlie relayed to me all of the "couples." She also made it known to many that she thought that was just plain silly. That is until Monday. Let me introduce you to Isaac. We have known Isaac since Kindergarten. He is quite the sensitive guy. He is very quiet and to be honest reminds me of Baloo the bear in the jungle book. It has been said that he has had a crush on Brynlie since Kindergarten and yet he never talks to her. Well Monday he walked right up to Brynlie and asked her to be his Valentine. She told him that she would have to get back to him. Well Monday night she was so distraught. She didn't know what to do. Jeff and I told her that she could blame it on us and say no. She could also say that she didn't think she was old enough, then other kids became involved. Some of the boys teased him and told him that she would never in a million years be his Valentine. And then Brynlie's friends and other girls in the 5th grade told him absolutely no way. Tuesday after school I could tell that Bryn had the weight of the emotional world on her shoulders and then she shocked me. After a long talk she asked permission to call Isaac (yes, she is not allowed to call boys). The conversation went something like this, "Hi, is Isaac there?" "Isaac, it is Brynlie, will you be MY Valentine?" Then she had a huge smile and hung up. I guess when you are a Valentine you are expected to exchange gifts. Bryn, Jeff and I went to the store and picked out two cute small safe gifts. What we didn't know is that after she called he was at the park and was sharing his great news. A few mean kids decided to ruin his mood and told Isaac that it wasn't true and that she couldn't possibly mean it. This morning at Safety Patrol he got out of the car and walked right up to Bryn and asked, "Brynlie were you serious, or just kidding?" Brynlie smiled and said, "Isaac, I was serious." I admit, I had to hold back the tears as I watched a darling young man roll his shoulders back and actually strut, well maybe run, to line up. I hope that Brynlie always maintains her huge heart. Love you Bryn! Dad and I are so lucky to be your parents.

Bryn's Pool Party

Happy 11th Birthday Brynlie! Brynlie wanted to have a pool party this year. Thank heavens for indoor pools. She invited 16 of her closest friends and they had such a great time. Yes, I said 16 and that was her short list. She was so afraid of leaving anyone out. I can't believe that my baby is 11 today. We love you Bryn! Here are 11 reasons we love Bryn:

1. She has an incredible heart
2. She is fiercely protective of her brother
3. Family comes first with Bryn
4. She has an amazing sense of humor
5. She is beautiful inside and out
6. She involves everyone
7. She is constantly doing anonymous service for others
8. She is one of the most selfless people I know
9. She is a beautiful dancer
10. She is so nurturing
11. She is very competitive - especially at soccer

We love you Bryn!

Happy Birthday Jeff - IFLY Adventure

Happy Birthday to the love of my life! I think that Jeff would kill me if I posted how old he is. And although I could list that many reasons why I love him I will just tell and show you the adventure we took him on. I have a reputation for being transparent when it comes to keeping surprises from Jeff. I have tried numerous times to surprise him and I can count on one hand how many times I have succeeded. A few months ago I was ready to order a gift certificate to IFLY for him for Christmas. I soon realized that I had gone a little out of control for Christmas so maybe I should just wait for his birthday. And what an adventure it was. I didn't tell Tyson and Brynlie where we were going until this morning. Jeff has a way of making us all confess. When I told Tyson this morning on the way to basketball he got really excited. Bryn was excited as well but was a bit nervous. I facebooked Jeff to be ready for his adventure at 5:00pm. Well he informed us tonight on our way to IFLY that this post created a buzz at work. Everyone tried to guess and figure out what we had planned. Jeff called throughout the day asking which direction, what time would we be home, etc. Their guesses were everything from a Jazz game to a play at Desert Star or Hale Theatre to a romantic getaway, the list went on and on. We grabbed dinner to go and made our way to IFLY. It was incredible. I tried to get some still shots of them in the air chamber but the glass was fogged. So, you will have to see the before and after. It was a blast and they all loved the adventure. They are already planning their return trip. If you ever have a moment come on over and watch the DVD of their experience. Happy Birthday Jeff, you are my world!

Handsome Nephew Eagle Scouts

We had the privilege of attending Danny and Devin's Eagle Scout Court of Honor this weekend. It was wonderful. They are incredible young men and I am so blessed to be their aunt. One of my favorite parts was the duet they sang. They have strong testimonies of the gospel, run cross country for Pineview High School, have an abundance of musical talent in not only singing but instruments, play basketball, are very handsome, the list goes on. The best part is that they are not too cool to hug their aunt and tell her that they love her. Congratulations you two, we love you very much. And congratultions to their wonderful parents. I thought the best picture was of their family acting like eagles.

Happy Birthday Tyson - The Big "15"

Happy Birthday Tyson, it is such an honor being your parents. Now I don't want you to think that this is going to be a post about how "perfect" our son is. No, we decided a long time ago, before he was born, that we weren't going to be those parents. There are far too many in the world. It is however an adventure raising our son. Monday morning he got up and had breakfast in bed. His favorite, cinnamon rolls. The sad part of the day was that Brynlie had strep so we had to lay low. As you can see, Brynlie knows Tyson best and put a lot of thought into her gift. Yes, it was his favorite, mug rootbeer and an assortment of poptarts. I want you to know that I do make him breakfast every morning before he goes to basketball at 5:45am and he still makes room for a poptart after practice. In honor of Tyson here are the 15 reasons why we love his guts:

1. His smile lights the room
2. He has an amazing work ethic
3. He is Mr. Social - his personality is hard to beat
4. He is his father's son
5. He is the best brother to his little sister
6. He is nurturing of others, especially adoring children in the neighborhood
7. He is very smart and maintains his 4.0
8. He has a very strong sense of family
9. He has a great relationship with his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins
10. He is an intricate part of our family
11. He is very protective and loving of his mother
12. He honors his priesthood
13. He is an Eagle Scout (Age 14)
14. He is always thinking of others (The stories I could tell)
15. He is very athletic and works hard

Darn, I had so many more to share! We love this boy and are so thankful that he is in our family! Love you Tyson!

Team Dinner at Laser Quest

Happy Birthday Tyson! We had a fun team dinner/birthday party with the Albion Knights at Laser Quest. They are such a great group of young men. Their coaches were hilarious and I think they were more excited than the boys. We didn't realize when we booked the party, but they put us in the Knight theme room. Get it, the Albion Knights. It was quite the night with the Knights!

Decorating Lockers

Tyson made the Albion Middle School Basketball team. The tryout was pretty intense as there were many who tried out and only 12 were selected. He has worked very hard and has been playing very well. They are playing in two leagues so it keeps our whole family very busy. The night before every Canyons District game they have a team dinner. Their lockers also get decorated. We decided for Tyson's turn/birthday we would do both the lockers and the dinner. Brynlie was such a great sport and got up early with me last Friday to decorate the lockers. We decided that Coach Long needed his door decorated as well. We had a blast!

Carter the Cutest!

We had the privilege of babysitting Carter this past week. Tracy and Whitney are two of the most amazing parents in the world. Their little guy stole our hearts! He was so darling and it was so fun to pull out all of the toys from Tyson and Brynlie. He loved all of the toys but he especially loved the tunnel. One of our favorites when our kids were little was the shape box. Carter is brillliant, see Whit, I think so as well. He would examine the box and find the shape that would fit. He was so patient and smart. We hope we get to watch him again real soon!

Loving the Snow - Sleigh Riding

Our Florida and St. George cousins just couldn't get enough of the snow. The kids had a blast sleigh riding.

Cousin Sleepover

We were fortunate to have a cousin sleepover with the Gillespies when everyone was here. They just love to be together. I caught them enjoying themselves while playing HA!

Surprise!

Tyson asked for weights for Christmas and Brynlie wanted a bed. Look at their surprised faces when they also got an Ipod and a camera. WE LOVE CHRISTMAS! The boys surprised us with a limited edition of our favorite picture, "Denim to Lace," this picture sums up Brynlie's personality. It meant so much to her. We have looked for this print for some time now and we were told they were sold out and weren't making anymore prints.