Brianne's School Honors!

 I have to go back a bit and celebrate Brianne for getting this Warrior of the Day at school! It is a very big deal at Indian Hills Middle school! The teachers are the ones who choose the kids they think are deserving of these awards and there is only a few chosen each week. Carter and Will were never chosen! Hahaha! But Brianne was chosen and by one of the toughest teachers in the school- her choir teacher Mr Abbott! Even the school secretary commented to her how he rarely even chooses someone for this award! So it was quite the honor! Nice job Brianne!!!!

I also have to brag a bit that this year Brianne has really stepped up her studies! She is trying very hard to do well in school and it is showing! She has made the honor roll for the first two trimesters!! It's awesome!! Only one more to go and she fully intends to do the same! I am so proud of her and her efforts! She has always been a good student but this year has really brought her A game! Way to go Brianne! :)

Prom anyone?

 Hard to believe but Prom is just around the corner so it was time for Will to ask someone and he knew exactly who he wanted to ask! He wanted to ask Hannah, a good friend he works with and the one he went to Bingham Ball with, so he waited for her to be at work and then got her some Chick-Fil-A and handed it to her in the Swig drive through window with this message written on it!

A week or two later we found this answer on the porch! I love that she calls him "Swill"!! And I love the pigs flying! AKA- pink balloons with pigs drawn onto it. So clever! So prom planning here we come! :)

My doggies

 One day after a snow storm Brianne went out with her phone and took pictures of the dogs. They turned out so well that you would have thought that it was a photo shoot!! I'm not sure if it was the snow that made it look so good or what, but I just love how they turned out!

 Here is sweet Duke!

 And our loving Vladamir!

I love that they are so sweet and love each other! They will often lay like this with me when I am watching TV! Such sweet dogs and I love them to death! :)

Paint Nite

 This was Kristi's birthday celebration part two!! She came up with the idea of doing a Paint Nite! It's a company that puts on these paint craft nights at local restaurants and they teach you to do a painting while you eat some good food and have a drink! I have wanted to do this for a LONG time! And getting to do it with my besties was SO MUCH FUN!!!

 This was about halfway through the painting... more to come...

 Kristi and Jen

 Kelly and Jennie

 Me and Monet

 All of us with our finished products! We had a blast doing this! Some were more fond of it than others, in fact my friends all told me that I had been holding out on them because they had no idea I could paint! hahaha! I told them I had not purposely done that but that I really do LOVE to paint! These ladies are just the best!! We were talking that night that our friendship all began with PTA years ago and how grateful we were that we found each other! I have no doubt we'll be life long friends!

My finished product! There was a guy there selling frames for the paintings for $15 so I figured why not!! And if I do any other paint nights I can use the same frame if I want and switch it out! :)  Now to figure out where to put it!

Mission Update!

Carter is absolutely loving his mission. With each email we receive he sounds more and more like an adult! He has been a zone leader for months and loves the challenges it brings. He is constantly setting goals for himself and for his companion and will regularly achieve them! The area he is in right now is the area his friend Jaden was in before being assigned the Assistant to the President. He has taken his spot and kept pressing forward and has continued to keep that area doing well, which I know has made Jaden very happy. A few weeks ago Jaden and Carter were able to go on an exchange together! It was the first time that they had been able to serve together and they were THRILLED!! They got to spent the night together before the exchange and they were up late talking about mission life and making goals and then hit the ground running the next day and had a fantastic exchange.

 They sent a few pictures of their time together!

Hard to believe that they have been friends since 4th grade! It's amazing that they ended up in the same mission! :)

Then a few weeks later they had the opportunity to do a training together! It was all about setting goals and the importance of that. They managed to sneak and get a video of it and sent it to us to watch. It was awesome! They did and amazing job and I am certain that it will bring results!

I am so proud of Carter! There's only about 5 more months until he will be home and that just shocks me! His time in the mission field has gone SO quickly!! We talk often in our emails about plans for when he gets home and he is very anxious to start school and work on his future. He even has said here and there that he's working on his diet still so he can impress the ladies when he gets home! haha! All of that will come in time, but for now I am just proud of his service and dedication to missionary work. He is putting all  he has into the work and I know he will be blessed for that! We love our missionary!!!!

Kristi's 40th Birthday!!

 I have said over and over again how lucky I am with the friends I have and it only gets more true as the time passes! This year was a BIG birthday for one of my great friends Kristi! I was so happy to celebrate her big day with her, her friends and our other shared besties!

She looks so good for 40!! Makes me jealous!! But seriously we had so much fun at dinner, chatting away, eating good food and cake! I was impressed with her gluten free cake! I had never seen one that amazing! And it tasted just as good as it looked! :)

Utah Valley University Anthem

 It just so happened that the night of this opportunity to sing for the Utah State Wrestling Tournament landed on the same night of Chan's surgery. At first Brianne thought we wouldn't be able to do it, but I made a quick call to Chan's parents and they jumped right in to help!! We weren't going to miss this opportunity!!

 Kathy ended up falling ill with the flu so it was just Grandpa that came to pick her up and get her to the event. I had given her detailed instructions so I wasn't worried! Chan and I were at the hospital and waiting to hear how it all went! We even sent her a quick video wishing her luck! We knew she would do an amazing job!

 When I got home that evening she was telling me all about it and how it was the most fun performance of the national anthem she had done so far! She said that they had gotten the crowd all amped up and the lights were down and she said that people were cheering. It made her feel VERY good!

It was a fun night with her Papa too! He was a wrestler in high school and even ran into an old high school friend when he was there that he wrestled with! It was fun for them to watch a few rounds before they left. I am SO thankful he was able to help and I am so thankful for every opportunity she has had thus far to sing! Each performance gets a bit easier and she can only improve from here! Nice job Brianne!

Valentine's Day

 Valentine's Day landed on day two of being home from Chan's surgery. He was still feeling pretty bad, but thankfully I had thought ahead and bought cards and treats for him and the kids. The card made him happy even though he felt awful he didn't have one for me! I gave him a pass this year! He deserved it! hahaha!

For the kids I got them all a little something- even Carter- I had sent him a box with silly cards, candy etc. It wasn't much, just a little something to tell them I loved them! It was a low key day this year! Happy heart day all!

Surgery 2K16

 Surgery 2016! I don't want to even THINK about another surgery but it was upon us and had to be done. This photo shows just how pushed forward his vertebrae were. His poor nerves were just being squished and was causing all kinds of pain and numbness which was NOT good. His surgeon actually called it a "break" which startled me! So off we go!

 Chan cracks me up when it comes to doctors and nurses. He is OVERLY kind and always makes a point to tell them how awesome they are and makes them laugh. It amazes me that he does this! It's THEIR job to do that for HIM!! But that is my hubby, always thinking of others before himself!

 We had to arrive at the hospital very early!!! We were there by 6:30am to check in so he could be the first in there at 7:30. Chan's Mom was kind enough to come with us that day. I don't think I could have handled another waiting room by myself!! She snapped this picture right before he went in.

 Kathy and I chatted away in that waiting room!! We talked about the kids, politics, whatever! I SOOOO needed that! It made the hours tick by faster and before we knew it Dr Berry was out and saying all went well!

 The "after" x-rays

 He's got even more hardware in him now! But you can totally see how much better it all looks! Spacing and all! Amazing!

 This was taken right after he got into his room. He was groggy but doing okay. It took a while to get his pain meds figured out due to a mistake by the nurses (somehow he was only getting HALF of the pain meds that were prescribed) but we got it sorted out! They had him up and walking that same day!! He stayed in the hospital for 2 nights and then came home. He had to learn how to get in/out of bed without twisting etc and I wanted him to feel "ready" to come home.

 We came home on a Saturday morning and I am not going to lie that first day was just terrible. The ONLY good thing was this cute note/Jello brought over by a sweet neighbor and a wonderful dinner that was brought over by a friend. Other than that it was just bad. He was in SO MUCH pain and moving in/out of our bed was HARD. Will and I were up on the bed at times helping him sit up. However, it got better a small bit every day. The blessing of good friends was with us as we had a meal every day for over a week. I could focus on getting him better! We watched a lot of TV and movies and tried to make the best of it.

A few days after Chan came home Will went out and bought this book for him to cheer him up! It was the sweetest thing and he was AMAZING during this whole ordeal. Will would run to buy ice, come home from school during lunch to check on him, etc he was just plain AWESOME! Brianne was too! She would do anything I asked of her! How grateful I am for that too!

It's been a few weeks now since the surgery and he is healing well. My mom sent out several essential oils to help in the healing process and they have been wonderful. This wound healed quickly and beautifully and I am certain that played a huge role in that. He is already back at work, not totally full time yet, he's still working from home a bit. He's doing better every day and I am looking forward to the day he wakes up totally pain free and feeling like himself again! Thanks to all who prayed, brought in food, or was just there on the other end of the phone for support! It all meant the world to us! :)

Temple Time

There are times when the stresses of life just seem to overwhelm us. For me, I tend to become emotionally overwhelmed when I have a lot going on in my life. So, when things get like that my go to spot is the temple. My favorite thing about the temple is the peace and simplicity it offers there. It brings back your focus to your priorities, the stuff that really matters so that all the other "stuff" that tends to fog your focus is just gone away. On this particular week I really needed the focus because Chan was going in for back surgery. He has been suffering with back issues since around 2003 but had managed to do okay managing it with chiropractic and other methods. But unfortunately we were past that point and the surgery was necessary. I came to the Jordan River Temple this day with a prayer in my heart that it would go as planned, that the doctors would perform well, that it would solve his pain issues and that recovery would be quick. Once I entered the doors, my worries were less, and I know it's because I was serving others. It felt good to set aside myself and do that. Such a great reminder of that principle!! I left there that day with so much peace in my heart. I knew that my Heavenly Father loves me, those who loved us would step in to help, I knew that it was the right decision, and I knew that all would be okay. What a blessing and a comfort the temple is! Temple time is truly so important and I am grateful to have one close, several as a matter of fact, and I am going to make a commitment to go more often! I need it!

Alta Anthem

The night of the Freshman Orientation I made a point to go over and introduce Brianne to Morgan Brown, our athletic director at Alta, because he is the one responsible for making sure that the national anthem is performed at the sporting events. I wanted him to know that Brianne was DYING to perform it at the school. Will is his Teachers Assistant and he LOVES him, so when I came over that was the first thing he commented on was how much he LOVES Will!! And he wants him to be his TA next year too! Haha! (And he is going to be too) Anyway, I then introduced him to her and he asked if she was a student and she said no and that she would be NEXT year. He commented that they usually only invite students to do that like the pep band, choirs etc but that if there was an opportunity next year he would let her know. Now fast forward about a week and I get a text from Will, for Morgan,  asking if Brianne could sing the anthem on Thursday night for the wrestling tournament! Apparently he had forgotten to get it covered and needed someone to sing last minute! We jumped on it and said YES!!!

 (You can see Morgan in this picture- he's holding a paper on the far left) So we arrive on Thursday and made sure with Morgan where we needed to be and when and went to a bathroom for a quick run through before she performed. She did an amazing job and right afterward she was approached by one of the referees who told her she did an amazing job and that she needed to come to State tournament to perform! He pointed out the guy in charge and said, "Go talk to him and tell him you want to do it!" and followed that with, "And then The Voice is next" (referring to the popular TV show) which was SOOOO NICE!!

Me being her "Momager" I went right over to that gentleman he pointed out and asked if they needed someone for the State Tournament! And sure enough they DID! We exchanged information and he told me he would get back to me after he checked with the other event planning people. Two days later it was confirmed and she was going to be singing at the State Wrestling Tournament at Utah Valley University! Wow!!! Way to go Brianne!!!!

Here is the video from that night at Alta. My favorite thing is watching Morgan Brown's reaction! I don't think he was expecting her talent! In fact he called me later that evening and was remarking how incredible she was!  He wanted her to come back the very next day to perform at a varsity Basketball game but unfortunately she had already committed to babysit! Otherwise, she would have been there with bells on! Hopefully, more opportunities at Alta will come! :)

Sweethearts Dance

 In February Will was asked to go to the Sweethearts Dance- a first for him! He was pretty excited!

 He was picked up that Saturday morning to go on a day date to Airborne, a local place that has LOTS of trampolines, and you just go and jump your brains out! They had a lot of fun there, but I'm not going to lie I was worried!! We don't have the best luck with Trampolines! Haha! So I told him MULTIPLE times to go easy and not do anything crazy! Hahaha!!

 Then later that afternoon Ally came and picked him up and they went to dinner at an Italian restaurant before going to the school for the dance. I think they looked VERY nice :)

 I was grateful for these other pictures that were taken with their group before the dance! Such a fun group of kiddos! He didn't have to buy any new clothes to wear, so I got him some new shoes and a matching belt to switch it up a bit! He's ALWAYS had black, so he was excited for a change.

Sweethearts was a success! Thanks to Ally for the fun date and I am thrilled that Will had a great time! Making fun memories!!

Superbowl Tradition Continues

 Well I am very happy to report that our Skinner/Crismon family Superbowl party continues!! This year was at our place and unfortunately James was on call and was unable to come. But the girls (plus one friend) and Maverik were there. We made some fantastic Mexican food, that we ate entirely too much of, and loved watching the game and commercials all snug on our small couch area!

 At one point I suggested we have some of the kids watch downstairs and I was immediately told NO by some of the Skinner gals! We HAD to be together!!! Hahahahha! I thought that was pretty awesome! It was the Broncos and the Carolina Panthers and most of us were rooting for the Broncos since we knew it would be Payton Manning's last year. And turns out they WON and that everyone was right. He DID retire after that win- and probably the right thing too- he's getting up there in age!

Such a fun night together eating, watching the game and commercials, eating cupcakes that Halle and Brianne made and laughing A LOT! How lucky we are to have such great friends! And you can never go wrong with some FOOTBALL!!! :)

Freshman Orientation

 Believe it or not my kids continue to grow even though I tell them often they need to slow down or STOP! Carter is only a few months out from coming home from his mission, Will is going to be a senior next year and Brianne.... well we went to her Freshman Orientation for High School!!!! AAAAHHHHH!!! I am officially an old lady! Yikes! Seriously though she is SO excited!!! And this Freshman Orientation was the best of all I've been to! They had performances by the choir, cheer, dance company, theater department and also had all the clubs in attendance for the incoming kids to see. It was great! She LOVES Alta as much as her brothers because she's been going there with them for football etc for YEARS! She is the only incoming Freshman that I know already knows the words to the fight song! Hahaha! It was a fun night and we ended it at Wendy's getting Frosty's to mark the occasion!

Hard to believe that next year these two will be at the same school! A Senior and a Freshman!! It's going to be a fun year!! But until then, I will remain young, for a little bit longer! Hahaha!

SISTERS!!!!!

 On January 21st my sister Heather turned the big 40!!! Her sweet hubby planned an early surprise party for her and let her know that we had all planned a secret birthday trip for her! She flew in and so did my other sister Lisa and our good friend Kim who went to BYU with Heather back in the day! She is truly like a sister!! So it was a SISTERS WEEKEND!!! The first place we went once Heather arrived was to go to City Creek downtown. They have shopping and restaurants and it's just pretty! She and Kim had not seen it yet so it was a must. One funny side note- we went into Desert Book there and it smelt just awful! Like a sewer!! And we were all pretty silly laughing etc while we were in there- those people working there thought we were nuts! Then we went to Yankee Candle and met the most FORWARD customer service person EVER!! A man that kept throwing candles and other items in our face to smell! It was ridiculous! Haha!

 Later that night after a yummy dinner at home- made by Chan- we decided to go to Leatherby's. It's a family restaurant/creamery in Draper. It's fairly new to our area and I had not been there yet. And W-O-W!!! The ice cream there was not only HUGE but was soooooo tasty!!! They had all kinds of flavors too!

 We all had our phones out snapping pictures of our treats! It was funny! We enjoyed VERY much having time to visit and talk and talk and talk!!! For me there is no more special thing than my relationships with my sisters! They are my best friends! We talk about everything and laugh and love being silly. It's almost like we are kids again! It's the best!

 On the Saturday of our weekend Brianne had an honors choir concert. So we went out shopping during the day and then came home to get dressed up before heading out to dinner before the concert. Chan took Brianne up to the concert hall and stayed up there and we went to Iggy's for dinner before meeting up with him there.

 You can't go to a concert on an empty stomach right?!! Hahaha! The concert was at Abravanel Hall downtown and they had never been there before, neither had I as a matter of fact! It's a beautiful building and Brianne was VERY excited to perform! There was only a few chosen from her school, I think only 10, and she was one of them. It was students from middle school and high school's from all over the state that were chosen by their teachers.

 When we got there they weren't letting people in to sit yet, we waited about 15 minutes and then finally started filing in. They had ushers telling people to move to the center, but we were wanting to sit on an end since we were waiting for Chan to arrive. He had gone across the street to get a quick bite of dinner. The usher was SO RUDE!! We did end up sitting "near" the end and he kept giving us crusty looks that we wouldn't scoot over! We had to tell him more than once that we weren't moving! Hahaha! It's a funny memory of that night!

 This was a HUGE group of kids and they sounded amazing! The songs were unique and done very well.

 You can see Brianne to the left of the director! He was a guest conductor and Brianne loved him! She was also thrilled that during one of their practices he gave her a compliment on her vowels!! It made her feel very good! :)

 We all enjoyed the concert and I was excited that my sisters could be there to see it! It was awesome!

 This is Brianne and one of her friends Elle who was there in the choir with her. They are good friends and both love singing!

 I was so proud of her! Singing is really her favorite thing!! It was a fun evening together too!

 The next morning we decided to go to temple square to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir perform in Music and the Spoken Word. They record it every Sunday and none of us had been to one, so why not!

 It snowed a lot the night before and the roads were covered and were slick! So we arrived early and managed to be there during their full practice. They sang every song they were going to sing and each was magnificent! Since we saw the whole thing before the scheduled recording we decided to go and walk temple square and see the visitors centers.

 I took them to see the new missionary area, the cut out of the Slat Lake temple etc. It was awesome. We also talked to several sister missionaries who were there that morning. All of them challenged us to be more open about sharing the gospel- they are such great examples. :)

 Not long after this picture was taken we started for the truck to head home. You can kind of tell in the photo but it was STILL snowing lightly and the grounds crew were doing their best to keep the sidewalks clear. They were VERY slushy and we were being so careful not to slip. Buuuuuuttt.... I totally DID!! And I BAILED!! I mean seriously, I am sure it looked like I was sliding for home plate! I was totally on my belly laid out! I was soaked and VERY embarrassed but totally okay! Remarkably I didn't hurt myself! We got back to the truck and headed home in time for church. I was still wet too! Hahaha!

 Our last day together we spent hanging out at home chatting away until a few hours before Heather needed to be at the airport. She left on Monday and Lisa and Kim left on Tuesday. we did hit a few spots before she left- we went to a couple other stores and then did a drive on the northeast side of the valley. It had been YEARS since any of them had been over that way. we went to This is the Place State Park, up by the U of U, Sugarhouse Park etc on our way out to drop off Heather. It was a beautiful day, cold, but lovely!

One last sister selfie at the park before she left! :) Honestly the timing was just perfect!! I was missing my family over the holidays and knowing that they were coming made me excited! I LOVED spending every minute with them and wish I could do it several times a year! I miss them terribly when we are apart, but it makes me cherish them even more when I am around them! Thank heavens for technology and the ability to talk to each other every day via text, calling or silly apps! Without that I would be SO sad! I am one lucky gal to call these amazing ladies my sisters!!! Love you both! Happy Birthday Heather!