Grandparents!

My brother, sister and I were able to go to Arizona to see our last living grandparents.

 Still the most adorable couple and get around great. Grandma and I went to the pool which is still part of her daily routine.

They pray for us each by name every day. What a heritage to come from. To know they love each other in spite of any differences they may have. And to know they love God and have chosen Him as Lord of their life!

 THE STRAW~ A little story here: My grandparents are known for their frugality. One and a half years ago they came to our house for a family reunion and their 60th wedding anniversary. I know, amazing right? Anyways, when at our house I cut a straw in half and gave it to her for her daily small glass of milk with one ice cube and a short straw.

I was standing at the sink right after we arrived in AZ this January and saw THE STRAW sitting on her windowsill. I had to ask because I found it hard to believe it was the same one. She had a cute little grin and nodded, "yep, that's the same straw, it's help up so nicely."

 We picked fresh oranges from the trees and made orange juice. I think that is my absolute favorite thing to drink...FRESH orange juice!

 My sister and I cooking fish that Grandma had purchased for us. It couldn't have turned out better! We had to cook it outside as the smell would have been aweful.

 Grandma made a strawberry pie that was delicious. I got the recipe to have Halley make for us.

 They still walk hand-in-hand when they go places.

 Grandma and I in the back returning from lunch with fun friends.

Hams

Just a few ramdoms from our littles (as we call the two youngest boys).

Nasty looking monkey boy. (Traeman)

 "Learning to skateboard is important, especially do it with a fire hat on."

 Great place to keep your teeth, if you were looking for a spot.

 Vance below

 Froggy skateboarding

 Look Mom, we decided we wanted to be bald. During naptime they took kid scissors and snipped off all the top hair of each other. Their wish for baldness came true.

 In an attempted to save as much hair as possible I started shaving at #4, ended with #1  and it still wasn't short enough in places.

 Vance (2 almost 3) on the left, Trae (4 1/2) on the right

 Cowboy wanna-be!

First Basketball Season!

The boys were able to play basketball for the first time this year. I'd have to say I was super impressed with how much they learned in that three month stint of three times a week with games on Saturday. Todd started out double dribbling and not making many shots. By the end of the season he was point guard (spelling on that?) and making quite a few shots a game. Of course the other kids improved as well and the competition got harder. They all did amazingly well for 3rd graders.

 The tongue is hereditary!

 Nate co-coached Nate M.'s team with a friend of ours. We thought the age group was 5-6th graders. By the end of the season we realized that it was 6th only and Nate was actually a young 5th grader. Oops, nothing like setting your little man up for a hard season.

 He did really well and scored at least one point in most of the games. He learned why it is important to dribble with his left hand as well as his right.

 Again, the tongue is hereditary.:)

 Just to let you know of the size that we were up against. I think we had most of the smallest guys on our team. It was adorable. They just hang on and try to mess the other guys up as much as possible.

Ballerinas!

This year we had the privilege of putting the girls in our local ballet school. It's been an amazing experience for all three of them. They've progressed very well. It's encouraged good posture and strength. 

 (Darbi working on her feet position)

 Andi preparing for exercises. She takes her lessons very seriously.

Halley jumped up two classes and has continued to prove she is ready for the challenge.

You know you live in the northwest when...

...you go outside and find your children with a homemade slip 'n slide on the first sunny day of the year. It's only February and the weather spiked to a nice 45 degrees! 

 They had an absolute ball; laughed and played in the sun for an hour or so.