Wow!

WOW! I have been a TERRIBLE blogger!!!!! I find that my lack of blogging always occurs around this time of year and I think its just cause life is pretty much filled with the normal day to day things that we all do. Besides that, I don't find myself taking a lot of pictures in the winter either. I guess there's just not a whole lot going on. BUT, for posterity sake, here is a brief summary of what we have been doing.

Jackson--This kid amazes me! He has been working soooooooooooooo hard in school and in basketball! At the kids school there is a reading contest every year that is sponsered by the Utah Jazz. Well this year to kick it off, Jackson Emery (who plays for BYU) came to get the kids excited about reading. He talked to the kids for a bit about how hard he has to work to stay in shape for basketball and how he worked hard and graduated from high school with a 3.96 gpa. His message apparently struck a chord with my Jackson because he's a different kid! Overall he's been more driven to do his homework well, he's been going to math club for extra help in math at least once, sometimes twice a week and he's been waking up at 6:30 3 times a week to get some extra basketball practice in! Last term he had 1 A, 2 A-, and 1 B. This term his report card showed 3 A's and 1 B! He amazes me and I'm so proud of his hard work! Jackson has big dreams and he's learning that living dreams doesn't come easy and that it'll take a lot of hard work to accomplish what he wants to do! Tonight is his semi-final basketball game so hopefully they'll win since he and TJ have dubbed this year the year of the championship!

Natalie--We started the year off with a birthday party for Natalie! We went up to Classic Fun Center where Nanny and her friends scootered, skated, played video games, ate pizza and had a great birthday celebration! She's continued dancing and playing the violin and she also started playing basketball this winter and had a great season! Her team did pretty well and we saw a huge improvement in every girl on her team from the first game to the last. We learned that Natalie is a good rebounder (once she figured out how to actually grab the ball), good dribbler and good shooter. We also learned that Natalie is an AWESOME defensive player! It was a ton of fun going to her games and cheering her on and we're looking forward to next year! Even though her season is over she also has been waking up with Jackson for a little extra practice with the boys. She got all a's on her report card and I know I've said this before but Natalie's middle name, Rae, is very fitting. She really is a rae of sunshine in our home. She's so thoughtful and caring and fun and cheerful and she is a HUGE help. I adore her and am so grateful that I was blessed with such a wonderful daughter!

Brady--Mr. Karate! He had his first Karate Tournament back in January and it was so fun. He competed and performed 2 Kata's and he also sparred. I don't have any pictures but we do have his competitions on video. He worked so so so hard and practiced so much and ended up coming in 3rd overall on his kata's and then got beat in his sparring match but he was so pleased with himself. Now he's working on getting his yellow belt and his next tournament will be at the end of April. Brady will be starting T-ball this spring which I am looking so forward to. I think it'll be an absolute riot. He's also still brilliant at building lego's and is doing super well in school. He also lost his very first tooth, and currently has 2 more that are wiggly but he never wiggles them. Brady is such a funny kid and there's just something about him that steals everyone's heart!

Reecey--My little DRAMA QUEEN! Wow, can this girl turn it on, especially when she's sad about something. Her expressions are priceless and she keeps us all laughing, or rolling our eyes if she's trying to play something up. Reece continues to attend her weekly Dance classes and we're very excited for her dance recital in May. Pre-school is also going well for Reece and she's excited to start pre-school at the kids school next year. Thankfully I didn't have to camp out this year to get her enrolled like I did with Brady, but I did have to be quick on the computer! She still LOVES playing with her best friend/cousin Brooklyn and if Brooklyn's not here I can often find her in her room playing with her 'amimals.' She still sucks her fingers and TJ's been trying to get her to stop but I still think its adorable so I don't mind when she does it...she is only 3, after all! Recently Reece has surprised us with her excitement over B'YI'U. She gets very excited when we watch them play basketball and will run into her room to put on her B'YI'U coo-goo's shirt on. A couple weeks ago we had an errand to run down on campus and as we were sitting in the car she was going on and on about how much she loved the B'YI'U. I asked her what people do at BYU and she promptly told me that they 'watch fings at B'YI'U.' I thought that was pretty funny!

As for me and TJ we're just plugging along trying to keep everything and everyone under control! We've both been diligently working out and just trying to enjoy this season of our lives, which most of the time isn't hard to do! We love being parents and all the craziness that goes along with it! In my spare time I've been doing a little digital scrapbooking and TJ has been playing a bit of basketball and I say a bit because he sprained his ankle AGAIN, so he didn't get the chance to play a ton! We're so excited to the end of April when we get to go to Hawaii and have a little break from life!!!!!

So that's what we've been up to. With spring and summer upon us soon (hopefully) I hope to have a bit more motivation to blog!