Homecoming Assembly 2016

The homecoming assembly 2016 was F-U-N! Not only was Will a part of it for the cheer dance, Carter was part of it as an alumni!!!

Carter and his friend Kramer Moreton were both a part of the assembly. Kramer sang the Homecoming song (that ironically Brianne almost had to step in to sing because he almost wasn't able to! But thankfully, she was off the hook, she wasn't very familiar with the song and it was VERY last minute) and Carter was asked to do a Chris Farley skit as the former Mr Alta!

He was also introduced with all of the other Alta Alumni that were there for the assembly. Some, including Coach Woods next to Carter, were alumni from the 80's!! Chan graduated in 1988 but has never gone back to do anything like that!

Carter did a great job, he was funny, but I wish the microphone had been better. Sometimes it was tough to understand him! But we were super proud and he HAD A BLAST!

Then it was on to Will's part! Being asked to participate as a senior in the cheer/football dance is AN HONOR! So Will was VERY excited to be able to participate with his friends!

His buddies Parker and Hayden were also cheerleaders! Their long hair was really helpful with those bows! Oh my!!! Hahaha! Don't you just love their outfits!!

I LOVED their faces in this one! They think they are pretty hot stuff! Hahaha!

He did a great job in the dance too! This lift to the shoulders was impressive!

I absolutely LOVE how spirited Alta is and Brianne told me how proud she was of her brothers that day!! They are all true Alta kids!! It is such a fun school and has been a great experience for all of them thus far!

I stole this from Will's Snapchat! I thought it was hilarious!

This is the entire group that participated! This group of seniors are just awesome! Homecoming week is going to be so fun this year!! Couldn't have had a better start! Go Hawks!

St George Trip!

On September 30, 2016 our family all went down together to St George for the weekend! It was conference weekend and we thought it would be a fun way to spend it together! We decided to take 2 cars so that the kids could enjoy some time together being silly! And honestly we didn't want to take our big truck! Haha!

We didn't have a ton planned, but we just have a good time together! The best part about this trip was just being able to spend time as a WHOLE family again! YAY!

Brianne rode with us and the dogs most of the trip, but did go over with her brothers for a little while!

We were happy that the Subaru made it down and back because we found out about 2 weeks later that it needed A TON of work done! Thank heavens it didn't break down while we were there!! Maybe the drive down and back did it in! Hahaha!

Our poochies like to come with us too! They actually do pretty well in the car, which is nice! If not, I don't know that I would bring them! They like to visit their dog friends at Tammy's house too! Haha!

Every time we go we almost ALWAYS go to Pizza Factory!! It's a favorite place for sure!

Chan had to make good on a promise too- he went and purchased an apple watch for Will! He promised him that he would do it if he did well in football and after that game with 15 tackles he earned it! He was so excited and LOVES his watch!

The weather was beautiful! We enjoyed hanging out on Tammy's back patio and running around town doing a little shopping.

Brianne and I being silly in front of the bath and body store! Haha! This trip we decided that we'd like to go to a Dixie State Trailblazers game!! It was even more fun too because one of Carter's former companions, Brock Doman, was playing as well as a former Alta player Brayden Peterson.

It was also conference weekend so we listened to the morning session of conference before going to this game.

They had a great win, and even though it was CRAZY HOT, we had a lot of fun!! I love the hat that Chan bought too!

Even though we went to Dixie State we don't remember going to a ton of games! Haha! But they are going to re-do the field and stands so maybe after that we'll come more often! :) It was really fun!

We had to go and visit Aunt Kay since she hadn't seen Carter since he got home! It was fun for him to talk to her about his mission and what he spoke about at his homecoming. She loved hearing about it too since she served a mission as well in England! And she made us a very yummy dinner!

We always make a point to go over and see her to visit! She has such a  special place in my heart since I lived with her in college with my sister Heather. She's like my second Mom!

And of course we spent LOTS of time with Tammy and Matt and it was the first time Carter met Matt too! And of course he loved him! It was wonderful to watch the Sunday morning session with them before heading back home. We wished we could have stayed longer but work and school were a must on Monday! :) Sure love our St George time!

All Clear!!

On September 28, 2016 I went in for another follow up on my awful finger. I was very nervous to hear what he was going to say. The option of surgery was still on the table as of my last visit and I was taking good care of my finger and hoping for the best!

At this visit he removed the stitches, which DID hurt by the way, and cleaned up all of the dead skin and pulled off as much as he could.

I was left with this- a nasty scab that was still not ready to come off- but my nail was still intact and the skin appeared to be healing again!

I should have taken a "before" picture because ALL of the skin under the nail was dead- literally black and nasty- but thankfully the skin underneath was pink and happy! Which meant NO SURGERY for me!! YAAAAAYYYY!!! It took several more weeks for that scab to fully heal and for the bruised nail to grow out but I am SO grateful that it healed and that I didn't lose my finger OR have to do an intense surgery. I am feeling very blessed!!

Alta JV Game vs Skyridge

On Sept 28, 2016 our alta JV team played Skyridge at home. Will was VERY excited for this game because his former coach, Robert Stephens, was now a coach for Skyridge and would be there watching.

Will was chosen in this game to be a captain and was thrilled to represent his team. I am certain he would have rather played more varsity time that week, but to be a leader on JV was also very important to him. He came out BLAZING in this game! He was all over the
 place!

He had a total of 15 solo tackles in this game which was HUGE for him! And Skyridge is a good team too! I just think he had something to prove to his former coach and he came to PLAY!

We were SO proud of our #50!! He played for pretty much the entire game and had a HUGE grin afterward because he knew he played well! That is all you can ask for!

Chan and I also worked in the concessions for the sophomore game on this day. We always have a good time serving with our fellow booster parents! It's such a great way to make friends and get to know our school community! We love our HAWKS! :) Nice job today Will!!

Carter's first day at College!

On Sept 27, 2016 Carter started his first day at college! When he was on his mission I set him up in a course through LDS Business College. It is a course designed for students who are unsure what they want to do moving forward in their schooling. It helps them to focus through spiritual revelation and other means to create a plan to help them move forward. He took tests to see where his strengths lie as far as subjects etc and even had a class on marriage and family. It was a big help to him and he said it was actually very similar to the last few weeks of his mission in planning to come home. I was glad it helped him and I am hopeful that moving forward he will have the tools he needs to make the right decisions for his future! I am so excited to see what his future holds! Way to go Carter!

Zone Night Fun

On September 25, 2016 Carter was asked to come and speak at Zone Night in our Stake. It is the mission prep class and it is done by the Debry's in our Stake and they do an amazing job. They asked him to come and share a story from his mission and Carter was more than thrilled to come and do that! I was NOT going to miss it so I came along too!

He did an amazing job and shared with all of them that it was the best decision he has ever made and challenged them to go. He is such a gifted speaker and knows how to reach those he is speaking to. He had a lot of kids come up to him and thank him for coming.

They also taught a lesson and included photography and challenged us to go out and take interesting pictures and to come back in and share. We had WAY TOO MUCH fun doing that!

I think Carter and Will were going for an album cover type photo! Hahaha! But these profiles turned out pretty cool too!

 I love how the clouds looked like they were coming out of the steeple in this one! And it's funny to see Brianne so serious! Haha!

Carter's profile! Looking sharp!

You can see other kids in this one taking their pictures! It was a wonderful lesson and I know that the kids are going to learn a lot from these new Zone Nights! And of course I was incredible proud of Carter and his message. I hope that many will follow his example!

Welcome Bentley Skinner!!

On September 17, 2016 Bentley J Skinner was born!!She is a beautiful baby girl and has been born into a loving and EXCITED family! They are going to smother her with their love!

And we will love her to pieces too! This was the first time Carter has held a newborn baby and he thought it was pretty neat! We are thrilled for our friends and love this new addition to their sweet family! :)