School's Out!

Earlier in the week Chase received an invitation to a neighbor's party.  It was to celebrate the last day of school.  The invitation was addressed to Chase only.  At the bottom of the invitation it said "please don't bring anyone else."  So when Matt read the invitation to Bridger he said "Well! Apparently I won't be coming."  He says the funniest things.  Where did he get the word "apparently?"  I was feeling all bad for Bridger for not getting invited and I was thinking of just doing something as a family.  But on the day of the party, the little neighbor girl came over and talked to Bridger and said that he was invited too. He came running inside and was so excited that he could go too.  The kids had a blast at the party.  It was a water party with lots of games.  At the end of the party they handed out cans of shaving cream to every child.  You can see that it was a BIG hit!  

Another Free Soccer Game

 We are utilizing our pass of all passes!  We went to another FREE soccer game.  Our seats were even better than last time.  We sat on the west side in the $40 seats!  I love it! We ate at Crown Burger before the game so we could get free parking. Chase is showing off his new summer buzz.  I buzzed his hair last night.  He LOVES having a buzz.  The boys love coming to these games.  Chase is glued to the game the entire time.  Unfortunately Matt couldn't come because he was on-call.

  We went with the C's.  Aliyah just cracks me up.  She is so fun to be around.  She is so good during the games.

Memorial Day Breakfast

Monday morning I was getting ready to go for an early bike ride when I heard the fire truck sirens.  I realized that we forgot about the race we normally do and the breakfast.  I still had to go on my bike ride because my friend was already at the house and Matt had a meeting.  Towards the end of my bike ride around 9:30, I called the boys and asked them if they wanted to go to the firehouse breakfast.  They said "YES!"  I told them to hurry and be all ready and I would take them.  I peddled even fast and made it home at 9:55.  The boys jumped in the car and we were at the firehouse by 10:00.  We were the last in line but at least we made it.  Matt met us while we were in line.  Shantelle, Robby, and Aliyah had just finished their breakfast so they came and stood in line with us for a little.  The kids had a great time playing on the firetruck.  Shantelle saved our place in line while I took the boys over to the rescue helicopter.  I'm so glad we were able to continue our tradition and go to the breakfast.  

In the afternoon, we went and spent the rest of the day with the Adams.  Mike and Amy and all of their kids were there.  The boys love playing with Mike and Jake.  Ashtyn brought her guitar and gave Chase a lesson. We had a wonderful time hanging out with the A's.  

Mom's Birthday Party

 Happy Birthday Mom!  For Mom's birthday we met at Mylissa's church and had a big family party.  Mom made sloppy joes and we had lots of salads and fruit.  Mom broke the rules and made her birthday cake.  It was ice cream sandwiches with lots of caramel and hot fudge with toffee on it.  It was delicious!!!  The kids loved playing in the gym.  Shantelle made this awesome present for mom.  It's a sign so she can measure the grandkids inside of marking up her wall.  Shantelle is so creative!

I love my mom so much!  She is such a great example to me.  She is constantly serving others.  She has a heart of gold!

Children's Museum

 So Bridger's preschool ended a couple of weeks before Chase's ended.  I was planning on just taking Bridger and his friend Brody to the Children's museum while Chase was at school.  But that morning, Chase was complaining that his stomach hurt.  I asked him if he wanted to stay home and go to the museum with us.  He got a big smile on his face.  Sometimes Chase doesn't like to go to the museum.  He says it's for babies.  But I guess this time, he didn't want to be left out.  I'm glad I let him play hookie for a day because we had such a great time.  We ended up staying at the museum for over four hours.  It wasn't very busy.  Brody was totally mesmerized by the the rescue helicopter.  He had never been to the museum before and his mom told me that the next day he said "that was the best day ever!"  He is such a fun friend of Bridger's.  The boys put on several plays and their costumes cracked me up.

 We went to a class on "liquid to solid."  They taught the kids how to make ice cream.  Every child was able to add an ingredient and then at the end of class, we ate the "solid" aka ice cream.  It was great!  There are so many fun things to do at the museum.  They played with the horse for almost an hour.  It was a great day!

Alpine Loop

So one of my biking buddies, Nicki, talked me into riding the "Alpine loop" with her.  We wanted to ride it before they opened the road to cars so we biked it the day before they opened it.  I've heard of bikers talk about the "Alpine loop" and I've always envied them.  It's been on my bucket list but I've been very intimidated by it.  But my cute friend Nicki convinced me that I could do it.  She was right, I did it!  I made it a lot worse in my mind so as I was biking it I thought "this isn't that bad."  I never had to get off my bike and walk.  We just took our time and enjoyed the scenery.  It was a beautiful day! It was so nice not worrying about cars so I'm so glad we did it before they opened the road.  We were really hot going up the climb but then we froze on the way back down.  My fingers were ice cubes.  Even though it was freezing, I loved the ride down!  With no cars on the road we were able to go really fast!  My hands were too frozen to keep the brakes on.  All the hard work of climbing is paid off when you go down hill.  I had a big smile on my face when I past Sundance resort.  I was so proud of myself that I had biked the Alpine loop.  It took us a little over three hours to make the round trip.  We stopped at Subway at the bottom of Provo canyon and had a quick bite to eat.  I was running on empty so it tasted great.  We got a little lost on the way home but eventually found our way.  I love it when I can bike and just enjoy the day. (Thanks to Shantelle for watching Bridger while I biked.)

I made it to the summit!!!!!  It was a huge accomplishment for me! Now I know that I can do the Alpine loop!

Bridger's Legacy Preschool Graduation

 Bridger has had an amazing year at Legacy preschool.  He went to school Tuesday-Friday from 9:15-12:00.  Ms. Cheri is wonderful!!!!  She has prepared Bridger so well for kindergarten.  I sometimes wonder what he's going to do in kindergarten.  She has made learning so fun.  He brought home so many fun projects.  She loves to sing so Bridger is always singing something that he's learned in preschool.  I love the little songs.  She has loved these kids with all her heart.

 Ms. Cheri made each child a special graduation book.  She made a scrapbook page for every month to remember their preschool experience.  It was so nice having Bridger go to this preschool because he could walk with Chase to school.  Bridger sees himself as a "big kid" because he can walk to school.  It's been a great year!

The Three Amigos - Bronco, Bridger, and Brody.  

Bridger made so many friends in school.  There were six kids just in our neighborhood that went to the preschool.  We made a carpool schedule so we only had to pick the kids up from school about once every 6 weeks.  It was chaos trying to get seven crazy kids in the car at once but the weeks off made it worth it.
 Bridger had to give a very long part.  He worked so hard on memorizing it.  This is what he said:  "In February we learned about two presidents, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.  Ms. Cheri taught us that Abe Lincoln was honest and never gave up and we should try, try again.  George Washington was the father of our country.  He rode a white horse.  He was a good man, a brave man, and a wise man.  Let's sing the George Washington song."

Bridger's Spring Soccer

The Red Bulls:  Top Row:  Coach Angie N., Seth, Logan, Ashton, and Bridger. Front row: Makay, Adiene, Faith and Brody

Bridger has had a great soccer season.  He played on the same team as last fall, the Red Bulls.  The N's have been amazing coaches.  I'm impressed that they can teach them so much at such a young age.  They are so patient with the kids.  Bridger is really learning a lot about soccer.  Every day he'll ask me "how many more days until my soccer game?"  He loves Saturdays because they are game days.  We usually go to Bridger's game and then head over to Chase's.  I guess you could call us a soccer family.  

Bridger scoring a goal!

 Bridger has had so much fun playing with some neighborhood friends.  His best friend Brody was on the team. They love to "practice" in the backyard.  He's a great little friend.

Chase's Spring Soccer

Top row: Coach Jon, Daniel, Raeder, Nicko, Tanner, Sam, Coach Devon. Front row; Chase, Evan, Stockton, Soren, Reed and Hunter.

Chase has had a great spring soccer season.  His x-leauge team took second place in their league.  They played some teams that were 10 year old boys.  It didn't matter how big the other team was, our team went out and played with their heart.  It's been fun to watch the team jell and learn to play with each other.  We have been amazed with how much Chase has improved this past year.  His coach Devon and Nicko's dad said that Chase should win an award for the player that has improved the most.  His skills have really improved.  He's no longer afraid to go after the ball and fight for it.  That's why I love this picture.  The other teammate is taller and is pushing Chase but Chase is pushing right back and fighting for the ball.  He is so fast when he runs after the ball.  He's got great speed!  We're so proud of his hard work.  It's been so fun to watch his games!

Last week, Chase had soccer tryouts on five different nights.  We looked into another team that is close but we just didn't feel good about it.  They wanted soccer to be his "top priority" and they said he would be required to play on some Sundays.  When Chase read that in their handbook he said "I don't want to be a part of this team."  I was really proud of him.  So after much contemplation, we're sticking with Rangers.  Coach Jon and Devon are stepping down but they said they will keep a close eye on the team.  Only three boys are leaving the team so we're excited that most of the team is sticking together.  Most importantly, Raeder and Chase will be able to play together.  After comparing other teams, we're so grateful for our good group of boys and their supportive parents.  We're excited for another year with Rangers.

Women of Steel 2012

Krista, me, Nicki my biking buddy, Pam, Savannah, and Sarah

Saturday morning I woke up at 5:30 and got ready for my race.  It's silly but I was really nervous for this race.  It's my third year doing the Women of Steel triathlon.  I actually love this race because it's with all my swim friends and I race right in my neighborhood.  The energy is great at this race!  I love that everyone is racing for a different reason and that you see all types of women and bikes.  I love that we celebrate just being able to cross the finish line.  I was shocked with my finish time.  I was hoping to at least keep my time from last year (1:16) but I didn't want to pressure myself.  I was disappointed with my swim because the stupid girl in front of me lied about her time and started walking after 100 meters.  Boo that!  So my swim time was off by about a minute.  I felt really strong on my bike.  The boys and Matt were waiting for me at our church on my second loop.  I loved seeing their big smiles and hearing their cheers!   When I got ready to run my legs were shaking.  I could barely get my shoes off and on.  So I took a little bit longer on my T2.  When I started running, my feet felt like concrete.  I was so happy to have the first mile over with because it's all uphill.  I was feeling tired when all of a sudden I saw Matt and the boys by the park.  The boys came out and ran with me for a little bit.  They had such big smiles on their faces.  I loved having them with up.  Their support means so much to me.  It was just what I needed to stay strong till the end.  After the boys have I soccer game, one of the questions that I ask them is "did they do their best?"  As I was feeling tired and wanted to slow down, I thought of that question.  I wanted to be able to say that I did my best the entire race.  So I felt really good that I was able to stay strong and push it till the end.  I was so happy when I saw my final time of 1:14. My final times were S 6:48, T1 2:08, B 39:46, T2 2:16, R 23:30.  I placed 9th in my age group out of 134, and 33 overall out of 700.  So that means I placed in the top 5%.  CRAZY!   I feel so grateful for my strong, healthy body!  

 I love these pictures of my friends.  Coach Jenn is on the left and has been our swim coach for the last three years.  She's done wonders for my swimming.  She makes me do things that I would never do on my own.  There are days that I want to quit but she helps me push through it and finish strong. Sarah is on the right.  She is so fun to be around.  She is a hard core athlete and has taught me a lot about training.  She helps me keep a balance and to remember to have fun!  She's the best!

Kimmy is on on the left.  She's been so supportive during my hard times the last couple of years.  She fixed my hair when I went a little crazy and it turned it orange.  She shows up with the best cupcakes when I'm down in the dumps.  How lucky am I to have such wonderful friends.  There are not just my swim friends but my best friends!  

Bridger loves Subway

 Today at Bridger's preschool they celebrated the summer birthdays. Ms. Cheri gave Bridger a big bottle of bubbles.  He had so much fun celebrating his birthday at school.

 Matt and Bridger love to go to Subway.  Whenever Matt is home, Bridger will ask "can we eat at Subway."  He is such a good eater.  He eats all of his sandwich, cookie and chocolate milk.  He's the first one done with his food.  Bridger keeps asking if I'll go to Subway with them.  So today I got to experience Subway with Bridger and Matt.  Bridger loves it!!!!  I've never seen him eat his food so fast!  I couldn't believe he fit all of that into his belly.