Catch Up

I have been told repeatedly by my daughter and mom that I've really been a slacker lately on my blog. :) So this is going to be my attempt at a catch up blog for this year so far...and I'm sure my daughter and my mom will be the only two that will make it through this entire post. :)

We started out the year as usual with basketball season. I absolutely love watching my kids play sports whether they win or lose but we were THRILLED this year that we actually got to see Nick's team win a few games. Those were the first wins in two years for his team and they were very close games that were VERY exciting for us parents cheering our guts out on the sidelines. 

 Hailey had a good season as well and got to be the hero of the game once this year which is always exciting to see. I have a personal huge regret from this season however that I missed her first 3 pointer she's ever made because Brian and I were at the Jazz game with friends that night. I have never missed a game of hers before and I was so bummed to miss that big shot!!! It's hard to believe that this is the same girl who used to be so shy she would not participate in anything that is done with a crowd looking at her. :)

 In March Nick got to take his first limo ride. It was CJ's 16th birthday and Nick was invited to ride in the limo on the way to the party.

 In April Nick and Bryson went to the Temple for the first time together to do baptisms. It was really a neat experience to have both our boys there together and we hope Hailey will be with us next time we go. She actually went the day before with a friend but on this particular day she was babysitting.

 In May I went on my annual girls trip and because one of the wonderful women in our trio is having a "big" birthday this year we went all out and spent 5 days in New York. It was a very fun trip but I think the three of us could manage to have fun anywhere. I truly love these women and am so glad I have been blessed with such great friends.

 The tree in the picture below is called the "Survivor Tree" and it is located on the grounds of the World Trade Center Memorial. This tree was in the plaza near the towers and survived the collapse of the twin towers and was relocated for a while to be nursed back to health. It was then uprooted again by a storm but again, nursed back to health. It has now been transplanted back onto these sacred grounds and is flourishing. There are many lessons to be learned about this tree and the people who cared for and about this tree...amazing.

 I wanted to add a picture in here of Janelle...Hailey's friend who survived that horrible car wreck and is not only healing, but absolutely thriving. A little over 3 months after the crash she is out of the wheel chair and off crutches and walking perfectly. She cannot run or jump yet but I'm sure that will come with time. When I was teaching a lesson a couple of months ago at church I asked the girls if any of them had seen the Lord's hand in their lives. Janelle's hand was the first one straight into the air. We all definitely agreed with her.

 While I was in New York, Nick went to Lowe's Extreme Air Sports with some friends as well as Hailey and a friend. While he was on one of the trampolines he was doing a front flip and his nose met his knee in a bad way and the result was a broken nose. (Hailey later confessed to me that he hurt himself doing a trick that she had dared him to do.) :) So a little over a week ago he went in for surgery to repair the break...they actually had to re-break it then fix it. Fun. He was most nervous about the IV but it ended up not being bad at all!

 The funniest part (besides the pose for the picture below) is that he didn't need to put that cute hat on until they were wheeling him into the OR but he thought it was awesome so he wore it the whole time getting prepped for surgery.

 Off he goes...the surgery was only about 25 minutes long.

 Here he is in the recovery room and we got some GREAT video of him waking up and coming out of the anesthesia...he was hilarious!! We go back for his check up this Wednesday but it seems like everything went great and is healing well.

 Hailey turned THIRTEEN last Saturday and I cannot believe my baby is a teenager. For her birthday she wanted to go back to Lowe's (the trampoline place) so we took a group of girls and this time came out with NO injuries...thank goodness. Hailey really has a great group of girls she hangs out with and I appreciate what good girls they are. Of course when they came back for pizza and dessert afterwards our house has never heard so many high pitches screams, etc...girls are noisy...but I do love her friends!!!

This is just a small sampling of the things that have happened so far this year as it's been a crazy busy year, but at least it serves as a slight catch up to this point. I'm going to try hard to do better at updating since I print this blog off into a book each year to serve as "family history" of our year. So consider me recommitted. :)