Ski Trip

Justin going off a jump

Hayley wanting the model ski pose

Zach doing what he can to scare the crap out of his mom.  He even did a front flip off a jump twice (he wasn't able to land it, but still!)

We called this the Tyler Tuck. As soon as he got off the lift, he would point his skis straight down the hill, and squat down and take off.  He was so fast, there were times I couln't even keep up with him!  I have a feeling he is going to be like Zach someday trying anything stupid and crazy!

The fam at the top of Brian Head

We just got back from our first ski vacation, and I am pretty sure we will be doing this one again.  Our original plans were to take the kids out of school on Thursday and Friday and drive down to Grand Junction, CO Wednesday after school and ski up at Powderhorn resort where Kris skiied as a kid and then visit his family there.  Our plans were unexpectedly changed when one of Kris' family friends was killed in a car accident last Friday.  He lived in Hurricane, UT, was married with 6 kids. Very sad deal.  He was like family to Kris, so we ended up switching our trip to Brian Head ski resort so we could make it to his viewing on Thursday night.  We felt bad still taking our family trip, but we had planned on this for a couple of weeks and last year at spring break, we had a trip planned, but my great aunt Eunice passed away and her funeral was in the middle of spring break.  We couldn't take the vacation away from the kids again, so we tried to do both.  We stayed up at the resort for 3 nights, got 2 full days of skiing in and had a great time.  Having the two back to back days skiing really helped Justin and Tyler gain confidence, and by the end they were doing jumps, getting on and off the lift all by themselves (Tyler even rode the lift by himself 3 or 4 times, only because he wanted too!) and we even took them on some harder runs off of lifts that went to the very top. 

Spelling Bee

Justin was in the school spelling bee today, and made it through the first round and misspelled his 2nd word, MALICOUS, in the 2nd round.  He did very good and I am proud of him, in fact, I had to look up how to spell that word just to post this.  He was disappointed, but he did very well considering the fact that he was one of the younger kids in the spelling bee.  Not to mention the fact, that a lot of kids got easy words, such as lizard, kangaroo, etc in their 3rd, 4th and 5th rounds.  Good job Justin! 

Finally!

It's official.  Zach finally got his Learner's Permit, and now he can officially drive us around.  Only nine more months until the real license! 

Busy Month

We have had a busy month and with Christmas around the corner, it is going to get busier.  Our youngest, Tyler was baptized on November 12th.  It was bittersweet.  He was so excited to get baptized and I was sad to see my last child get baptized, but I am so proud of him and the awesome example he is to me.  Then, last week, a windstorm hit our neighborhood, hard!  Most the homes were okay with minor damage, such as blown tramps, a few shingles, Christmas lights blown off, etc.  Then the rest of us got hit really hard.  We lost 2/3 of our roof, broke one window and cracked another, destroyed our basketball hoop, ruined most of our soffet/facia, bent our garage door, broke some house lights by garage, completely blew out our fence on one side, and then minor crap like tar splashed all over our house.  The wind blew non-stop for about 10 hours.  It was the scariest thing ever.  To look out the window and see big objects flying through the air, is indescribable.  At the end of the day, the house is a mess, but it's only material.  Going through this, makes you appreciate your family that much more.

Halloween

Zach's Pokemon Pumpkin

Becca and Hayley as the "Dead Couple"

No, Tyler is not sick...He is an alien!

Just getting around to posting Halloween pictures. Pictures were taken by Dad this year, so they are a little more goofy and fun.  Enjoy!

Mini Bowl Champs!

After Game Celebrations

This weekend, Zach's football team went undefeated for the entire season and won the Mini Bowl Championship game at Weber State against West Point.  The score was 28 to 6.  It has been such a fun season, and the boys have worked so hard to get here.  For most the team, this was their last game together because most of them go to high school next year, and the team will be divided between two different high schools. Zach had an awesome season as wide receiver and scored 10 touchdowns!  We will miss the Farmington Eagles, but look forward to the Viewmont Vikings sophmore team next year.

Zach doing what he does best-catching!

Always a prayer before game

Student/Friends cheering section

In the endzone for the after point

Zach has a few fans of his own

Friends

The team with Coach MacQueen

On another note, Justin also played football this year for the first time.  His team struggled and didn't win any games, but maybe in 6 years, they will be Mini Bowl champions too! 

8th Birthday

Tyler just celebrated his 8th birthday.  Kinda sad when I think that this is my youngest and last to be baptized.  All Tyler wanted to do for his birthday was to have a football party (I couldn't get him to bite on Classic Skate Center or going to a movie with friends), so we had to plan an outdoor football party.  Fortunately for us, the weather was absolutely beautiful so we had the entire party outdoors.  We converted our backyard into a football field complete with a concession stand and had all the boys report for football training camp.  They had to earn tickets at different stations, such as passing, catching, punting and kick-off.  Then they spent their tickets at the concession stand for food.  Hayley and her friend Whitney were gracious enough to spend their Friday night working the concession stand, so thanks girls!  Afterwards, we had a pinata, then played a game under the lights.  The boys had a blast, and it turned out really well!  Happy Birthday Tyler!