Christmas Part 2

 After our fabulous Skype call with Carter we went up to Chan's parents home to have our usual Breakfast of sausage fondue and to spend the day with them. The kids all opened gifts from Gamma & Papa and we all had a few small gifts for them as well.

 Brooke and Mark had the best gift for Tom & Kathy (pictured below) a "selfie"! A telescopic pole that holds your phone away for great selfies! We all got quite a kick out of it!

 The kids all got fun toys and things they had asked for! I was proud of Sophie & Myles for patiently waiting! Aren't they so cute!

 We took our time opening gifts and enjoying conversation with each other. We also shared our conversation with Carter and showed them a short video he had made for the family.

 This was one of Will's favorite gifts! A new Utah Utes jersey! Yay! Papa did a great job finding the exact one he wanted.

 Brianne got another One Direction book! Just what she needed... NOT! Her favorite gift from them was new Converse Chuck Taylors in white! MADE HER DAY!

 The rest of the day was spent talking to my parents on the phone and catching them up on my conversation with Carter, playing games with the family, eating yummy food and making sure our kids were ready to stay with Gamma & Papa for a few days.

 Here is the "selfie" shot I spoke of earlier! Tom is a HUGE selfie taker and has been for YEARS! We've seen many photos of his nose hair, so we were all excited for him to try out this new device! Haha!

 Later that evening we received these pictures from Carter! He didn't say where he was or who he was with, but it appeared he was with several missionaries celebrating Christmas.

 They are all wearing Kimono's, again I am not sure why, but they sure look cute!

I was thrilled that he was having a fun time celebrating the holiday with some fun people! It was the perfect ending to a lovely Christmas Day! Merry Christmas 2014!

Christmas 2015- part one

 Christmas morning started for us around 6:45am! I got a text from will saying Merry Christmas around 6:30! They were ready to get going! So we grabbed the camera and got started!

 When they came in they opened up the items in their stockings first. When they got old enough Santa started to wrap each thing in there! It helps make Christmas fun last a bit longer when they are older! I found lots of fun things and was excited for them to open them- even Chan! :) And I HAD to lay out Carter's stocking like he was there... it felt strange not filling it.

 Will's big gift was something we weren't sure about getting at first, but you can tell from his reaction he REALLY wanted it!

 Chan kept leading him astray and assuring him that it was too expensive and not to plan on getting it etc.

 So you can SEE how happy he was when he GOT it! YAY!! His very own helmet! It's the latest and greatest (and hopefully safest) one out there! He is very excited to put it to work!

 Brianne's big gift is something she's been asking for over the last year or so. It wasn't something she put on her "list" but we lucked out and came across one over the summer for a steal through Chan's work so we just bought it.

 We KNEW she would love it and we had a blast "outfitting it" with a sticker she'd like and Chan even added some extra memory so she could install her favorite game.

 This face says it all! She is SOOOOO happy to have her own computer! She loves it!! :)

 After we opened gifts we just waited until this cute boy called us and got set up on Skype! We were able to talk to him for an hour and I LOVED every second! He looked good and sounded incredible! We talked about all kinds of things from what his house is like now vs the apartment, the funny foods he is eating, the people he has met, how he accidentally bleached his socks, how he played basketball with Jaden and they kept calling each other by their first names, how the Mission President makes him nervous and about how he is doing now that he is a trainer. He also told us how much he loved all the gifts and letters. It was so wonderful! He is LOVING his mission!

 Carter had the idea to take pictures with his brother and sister that they could post on social media! I loved the idea and helped snap the photos! He also let me record a video shot of him for the family that I was able to show Chan's family and text to mine to show them how well he is doing. It was fun!

His face in Brianne's picture is priceless! Hahaha! He also did a couple short videos for a couple friends that I text them- made their day too! Of all the gifts I received Christmas day talking to him over Skype was by far the best! It was so fun to SEE him and chat! I can't wait for the next one on Mother's Day!

After our video chat it was time to go over to Chan's parents home for breakfast and to spend time with family. So off we went to get dressed to go! More to come.....

Christmas Eve

 Christmas Eve this year was spent at our place! However, it was a bit smaller group- just us, Chan's parents and Brooke & Mark and their kids. Annie and her family were up in Oregon this year with Gerardo's family.

 We kept it simple and had pizza and salad so that we could just hang out and visit! It was very nice and the kids had fun playing with the Lego train and village Chan and Will had set up! It was awesome!

 And in usual fashion we had to open up ONE present.... bet you can't guess what it was?! Hahaha!

 That's right! They got PJ's! Will got University of Utah stuff and loved it. I also got these pictures of the kids in a Santa hat. I usually do it when I decorate for Christmas and put the pictures out as part of the decor, but I never got to it this year! Oops!

 Brianne's PJ's were softball related- her shirt says "like a boss" and is softball colors etc. She LOVED it!

Once they opened their PJ's and had full tummies it was time for bed so Santa could come! Everyone went home and our kids helped us clean up before taking ZQuil to help them sleep! Hahaha! It's become sort of a tradition since they have been older to help them sleep! Pretty funny! And they were even more excited since the next day they'd be talking to Carter too! So off to bed they went! :)

The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!

That title is one of my favorite quotes from the movie Elf! And it's SO true! I think Christmas music is magical and I love that there's new songs and different arrangements each year that I hear and love!

The week of December 15th this year was a big one for Brianne! FIVE musical performances! She was to perform on Wednesday night and was also the person to introduce the songs on the microphone since she is the President of her choir class. So wouldn't you know it that on the Tuesday before the performance she called me from school to tell me she had a horrible sore throat!

She was very worried that her throat being so awful was going to affect her performance. So I went and picked her up and took her to the doctor. And as I suspected it was just a virus, so off we went to get cough drops and tea! On Tuesday night we also took her over to the church and had her Dad and the bishopric give her a blessing. She knew she had a lot of performances and didn't want to disappoint!

 On Wednesday she was still having a rough time, throat was hurting and cough was still there. But like the true performer she is, she just kept drinking tea, sucking on cough drops and praying all would work out! And her sweet choir teacher even helped by letting her sip her tea right up until they had to walk out AND he gave her a cough drop to suck on during the performance!

 Chan's parent's and Grandparents all came to watch her choir performance! It was fun to have them there to watch with us! It wasn't a long concert- only 3 songs!

 Brianne did an amazing job introducing the songs and they jumped right in. The choir she is in is the Concert Choir. They are a large group! I couldn't get them ALL into one picture! And they sounded amazing!

We were all very impressed with their sound! The songs were difficult and they were beautiful! I could hear Brianne singing- she has such a strong voice- and it made the alto's sound even more amazing! I was thrilled she was able to sing okay! But during the assemblies the next morning she wasn't as successful! Her throat was worse and she was hurting. She told me that during those she just mouthed the words! I took her home right after and told her to rest and take care of herself! She still had 2 more performances to go!

On Saturday it was her voice recital. She has been practicing her song with her voice teacher for over 2 months and every time I would go to her lessons to hear it I was amazed and so excited for her to sing it. She was very anxious about this performance! On Saturday she still wasn't 100% and the cough was bad. But again.... like before.... she got up to perform!

 She sang Billy Joel's "Lullabye Goodnight My Angel" and did SO GREAT!! I was SO proud of her! I knew how hard that was and how worried she was and she nailed it!

 One of her BFF's Halle came with us to hear her sing! I am so glad she was there! They have been friends since they were babies! :)

Her voice teacher Rebecca and Brianne! She has been such a wonderful teacher to Brianne! She has learned so much and grown so much in her singing abilities since she started with her! I am grateful that we found her!

After this performance there was only one more... our Ward choir performance for our Sunday Christmas service the next day. We were BOTH singing in that one, but only choir numbers, no solos etc. Brianne had to excuse herself for a moment during the first song when it was men only because she started to cough. I really thought she may not come back! But thankfully she did! She got right back up there and sang beautifully the last 3 songs! She is a rock star! I am so grateful for her talent and the sweetness it brings to our home! I love hearing her singing from her room or near the piano! It makes my heart happy!

Merry Christmas everyone! Go out and sing a Christmas hymn and spread some Christmas cheer!

Unexpected changes

After I put in my notice that I was no longer going to be the football booster president we already thought changes were coming. We were looking forward to having more family time, having less stress etc. About two weeks after this decision was made on a Sunday morning we received a call from the Stake Presidency asking to meet with Chan and I. Oh boy..... Chan has been serving in the Bishopric for over 3 years and I have been in Young Women's organization for about that same time. We immediately started to guess what it may be about, but as these things go, it is impossible to guess. Later that afternoon we found ourselves in their office and a call being extended to Chan to be the 1st Counselor in the new Elders Quorum Presidency. Wow... This was a total surprise. I share this experience because I am a firm believer in all things happen for a reason. When you look back at the sequence of events over the past few weeks you can almost SEE why things happened.

1.) Things with the football boosters went south financially which made me re-evaluate my position there that I had originally agreed to 2 years.
2.) I resigned my position and found out that coach was leaving as well- saving me much stress.
3.) Only a few weeks later we find out that Chan now has this new calling- and suddenly it all falls into place.

The Lord was preparing a way for him to serve in this capacity. It's amazing to me! Chan accepted the call and was set apart today. We are truly blessed and know that the Lord is looking out for us! Now just pray for us that we'll do well at what is asked of us!

Missionary Christmas Card

Last Saturday I was thrilled to get this card in the mail! Please excuse the bad photo of it I took with my phone! I have no idea if this was Carter's doing, his companion or the Mission President, but it SOOOO made my Christmas! I just love this Missionary of mine! How blessed we are!

Varsity Football Banquet

A few weeks before Thanksgiving a bit of drama happened in my football booster life. I got a call from Coach that our football fund was empty, actually well beyond empty. It was horrifying and I didn't want the last few items of the season, that had already been planned, to be cancelled. After many phone calls, texts and emails with administrators we found out we could continue. But those two weeks where things were up in the air it was really hard on me. I was beyond stressed! (I won't go into details or we'd be here a very long time!) After a lot of chats with Chan we decided that I would step down after this year was complete. I already had a meeting planned with Coach and I was going to let him know then. That following Monday I had that meeting and was shocked to discover that he had resigned as head coach. It made MY decision an even better one! I could NOT imagine having to go through this year all over again AND add into it a new coaching staff! NO WAY! I let him know that I would finish out the season and that from there they would need to find someone else. I also notified the Principal at Alta, Brian McGill, whom I REALLY like and he was sad but totally understood.

On December 8th we had the banquet at The Gathering Place at Gardner Village. It was wonderful! The check in area went perfectly, the food was great, the gifts were ready and beautiful, the DVD played and was done very well and the program went without a hitch. Coach acknowledged me and Chan for all the work we had put in, which was nice. But the best part of the night was seeing the boys with smiling faces! They had a great night and that is what I wanted!

The best part of the night was that Will received his first Varsity Letter award! I was so proud of him! He got it as a Sophomore which is awesome!

 You'll have to excuse his goofy look! But this kid is PUMPED! He came right home and put it in the frame on the wall in the basement! And he is VERY excited to go and get a letterman's jacket! Chan and I told him it might be a good early birthday present! :)

 I had to get a couple photos of him with coaches- this is Coach Woods. Will loves him! He was his Sophomore head coach last year, but this year he was the varsity defensive coach. He is a great man and has taught Will a lot.

This is Coach Schuck who was his Sophomore Head coach this year. He has coached at Alta for years and was the line coach with Carter. He is also a great man and taught Will a lot this year. I am thrilled for Will and the season he had this year. I am even more excited to see how he performs next season!

As for me, the day after the banquet I finished out my records etc and am DONE. I will always be a part of Alta Football! You can't keep me away! But I am thrilled to NOT be in charge anymore! I am looking forward to a whole new season next year! New coaches, new program and hopefully a kick butt season! Go hawks!!