Tyler's Game Plan

On Saturday, January 15th Tyler had his second basketball game.  And this time they were playing the Lakers...BOO!  Not really, but Tyler has gotten way into sports and knows that as an NBA team we aren't down with the Lake Show.  Zach took Tyler to the park before the game and they practiced some basketball.  Tyler came home and said that he was going to fake a pass and shoot the ball.  And you know what?  He totally did!  He made the shot and it was so awesome.  Such a proud mom moment.

Time for a Party? Rapunzel...Let Down That Hair!

Lucy's birthday is coming up and we are in full-on party planning mode.  Her theme is Tangled and she wanted to dress up like Rapunzel for her invitation.  Our plan was to get her the dress and take her picture, but wouldn't you know, we get to Target and hanging by the dress is just ONE Rapunzel wig left.  Only available at Target...and only $20.  This turned out to be one expensive invitation...but it's really priceless when you see this face inviting you to her party, right?!

Pee Wee Basketball

 This year we decided to sign Tyler up for a recreational basketball team.  We figured we didn't like having free time on our Saturdays, so why not?  No, really, we want him to try all sports and get some exercise and have a good time with friends.  And, it gave Mom the opportunity to just be Mom and not Coach for a season.  So far, Tyler has enjoyed his practices and seems to enjoy the game.

The first game was this past Saturday and randomly enough we were playing an all girls team.  On that team was a girl from his class.  Emma is also our neighbor and she and Tyler ended up guarding one another.  It couldn't have been cuter!

 There are four quarters and each quarter is ten minutes long.  The coach has 5 kids play quarters 1 and 3 and 5 kids play quarters 2 and 4.  Each kid gets an armband with a particular color and a kid on the other team has a matching armband and that's who they guard that quarter.  It worked pretty well and the kids really seemed to understand the game.  It was so much fun, and much as I don't want to admit it, probably one of the more fun sports to watch.  It really gives you a different perspective when you're not the coach and you can focus on just your child.

Grandma Barbara, Grandpa Gary, Grandma Karla, and Isaiah came out to support Tyler.  He had a pretty good crowd cheering for him.  We're looking forward to next week's game!

From the Mouths of Babes...

Tyler: Upon seeing a commercial where people are kissing. "Yuck. Kissing is disgusting."

Mom: "But, Tyler, that can mean that people love each other. When Daddy and I kiss it means we are in love."

Tyler: "It also means you're disgusting."

We were singing the song "WAR" and the line is "War, what is it good for..." Well, Lucy had her own version. "What are you good for? Absolutely nothing!"

Following In Daddy's Ski Boots

Ever since the Winter Olympics in 2010 Zach has been even more obsessed with skiing than he was before. And now he wants the kids to love to ski as much as he does. On December 27th we packed up the kids and headed up to a place called Soda Springs. There was a tiny bunny hill that the kids could practice on and Mom and Dad could run up and down the hill. We went with Kara, Ryan, and Quillan and made it a family day. It was so much fun to watch the kids learn to ski. And probably so much fun to watch a gimp run down a snowy hill...

Here is our littlest snow bunny figuring out how to ski so quickly!

Tyler James did such a good job on the slopes and he never gave up! He makes his Mama proud.
Zach was super proud of his kids and can't wait to take them to a lesson. You know, so they can learn and he can go ski too.

Merry Christmas...Happy New Year...A Wee Bit Late...

Merry Christmas (alas, belatedly) and a Happy New Year! We were able to spread the Christmas festivities over three days of family gatherings. It was one of the most relaxing years we've had in a long time. Or maybe ever. On Christmas Eve we spent the early part of the day with Grandma Karla and Auntie Michelle's families. But, first the kids had to get fancied up and take a picture for Mom! Cheese! We took the opportunity to have someone else take our family picture for once. Uncle Matty was nice enough to let us borrow a flash for our camera so that we look more natural. It must have been a magic lens, because we look pretty decent with Photoshop! We wrangled the kids together and had them take a picture with Grandma before they could open presents. Bribery! Lucy and Quillan both got dolls that resemble them. That's just too cute! Grandma Barbara is lucky that the girls don't know what an American Girl doll is. Those things cost an arm and a leg and we like Grandma all in one piece!
Little Baby Evers! Zach was having too much fun taking pictures of Everleigh. Most of them are of her! But, that's okay, because she's too cute.
When we got home on Christmas Eve we put the kids to bed and hoped and prayed that they would stay asleep. But, lately we've been having sleep issues and Christmas Eve was no exception. Where's that Christmas magic when you really need it?! Mom was in the kitchen making monkey bread for the next morning...and luckily that's all Mom was doing...and the kids came out and did this. We were really close to leaving them out there and letting them just wake up to Santa's gifts in the morning. But, who knows, that could have forced festivities to begin at 4 a.m. I want to say that Lucy was excited here...
Tyler made up a new dance. The Mighty Bean jig...Leave it to the homemade gifts to bring tears to your eyes. Well, that and the credit card bill...
Another homemade goody. It's so much fun to have both kids in school! This is Zach's excited face. He actually really liked the gloves and got pretty spoiled this Christmas.
Even Mom got spoiled! We all did really. It was a very nice Christmas at home. We stayed in our pajamas all day long and enjoyed our toys. Shoot...it was such an inviting holiday the ants even decided to partake in the fun. Even though they weren't really welcome.

Santa left Lucy some makeup for Christmas. She had a GREAT time applying it to every crevice of her face and then singing like a rock star into her microphone. The look is interesting, but hey, it works for Lady Gaga, right?!

Tyler really loved his penguin Pillow Pet. He sleeps with it every night, along with the Pluto that Santa left. Wonder if he would have liked the original Panda Bear he asked for...

On the day after Christmas we went over the highway and through the side streets to Grandma's house. Dad, Rebecca, Flip, and Grandma were there to celebrate and eat a good meal. It was a very nice time to spend together and we wanted to commemorate it with a picture. Well, some of us did. Grandma wasn't too keen on the idea, but too bad!

We had a very nice holiday filled with family and lots of love. In addition to celebrating Christmas we celebrated our cousin Jonathan turning 21 and the marriage of another cousin, Courtney. It was a lot of family time! Do you think our resolution was to spend less time with family?! Nah...resolutions are always broken, so that wouldn't really work, would it?

Hush Little Baby...My Version

Hush little baby, don't say a word

Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird.

If that mockingbird won't sing

Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring.

If that diamond ring don't shine

Mama's gonna buy you a bottle of wine.

If that bottle of wine tastes ick

Mama's gonna buy you a walking stick.

If that walking stick won't walk

Mama's gonna buy you a box of chalk.

If that box of chalk won't draw

Mama's gonna buy you a drinking straw.

If that drinking straw won't suck

Mama's gonna say...who gives a f$@^!