Amazing

"Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them." - Lady Bird Johnson

Sledding Fun

On Saturday, we went to Soldier Hollow (in Midway, Heber area) to go sledding. It was so fun! The tubing hill has a tow rope, so they hook your tube to the rope and it takes you up the hill. Takes all the work out of sledding! Here is the whole group. One of the times they came down the hill, they all hooked together in a chain. Didn't look like a chain at the end, though, just all bunched up.We had to make reservations, and were there from 4-6 pm. It was snowing quite heavily, and it was beautiful! I think it slowed the hill down just a bit, though. But no one seemed to mind.It was about an hour drive to get there, driving through Provo Canyon. It's a nice drive and is so beautiful. It was a bit scary, however, because of the falling snow.We all loved it and hope to make this an annual tradition! Next year we want to stay a couple of days in a condo and enjoy some time away in the mountains. What a fun getaway!

Family

Give Your All

"Think about your particular assignment at this time in your life. It may be to get an education, it may be to rear children, it may be to be a grandparent, it may be to care for and relieve the suffering of someone you love, it may be to do a job in the most excellent way possible, it may be to support someone who has a difficult assignment of their own. Our assignments are varied and they change from time to time. Don't take them lightly. Give them your full heart and energy. Do them with enthusiasm. Do whatever you have to do this week with your whole heart and soul. To do less than this will leave you with an empty feeling."--Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Patience

"Everywhere in nature we are taught the lessons of patience and waiting. We want things a long time before we get them, and the fact that we want them a long time makes them all the more precious when they come." -- Joseph F. Smith

Be Mine

I hope you all had a great Valentine's Day. I had great visions in my head of what dinnertime would be - but all did not go according to plan! It was a busy night with Savanna at volleyball, Kayden at basketball and Kennedy at cheer. Three places to be and two drivers made for a hectic evening! We didn't all assemble together until about 7:30. So our Valentines evening together was short, but sweet.I wanted the table set with our nice china and goblets and candles . . . and a red tablecloth. (Even a simple dinner like pizza tastes better on your best plates, am I right?) Well, the red tablecloth we have only fits our table when smaller. So, I had to also put a blue one with it (yes, I did not plan ahead and so had zero time to find another option). Not quite the same affect! Kayden didn't like eating by candlelight (couldn't see his food!), and Kennedy was mad because I got pepperoni pizza and she likes Hawaiian. But it was heart-shaped, so I thought that would appease her. She didn't cheer up for a while, so trying to get her to cooperate for pictures was not happening. (And taking pictures at this time of day - inside with no natural light? Not my finest photography moment.) I had pink lemonade for our glasses, but the sentiment was lost on everyone until I pointed it out. Come on people - get on board with me here!Although a simple dinner, we did finish it off with chocolate fondue - which we hadn't had before. It was a success! My neighbor had a fondue pot which she loaned to me and it was a lot of fun. We had lots of items to dip: fresh strawberries and pineapple, pretzels, marshmallows, pound cake, and cinnamon bears. All were yummy - but we agreed that the pretzels were our favorite. The salty pretzel with the chocolate was a great combination. Kennedy was in heaven - as chocolate is her most favorite thing in the world. I think she was covered from head to toe. She especially loved the strawberries. (And I think it takes some concentration to dip those small foods - as evidenced by Savanna's tongue in just the right spot.)
By the time dinner was over and cleaned up, our evening was almost gone. We had to get Kennedy to bed, and Savanna needed to study for a test the next day. So, we presented the kids with a small valentine's gift and called it good. Although the evening was not as picture-perfect as I had planned and envisioned, I was with the ones I love most - and that's what matters, right?!! I love you.

Going to Battle

Be Kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

--Plato

Go Jazz!

We are big Jazz fans in our house, and each of us have a favorite player (or two). We watch as many games as we can, and have gone to some live. We're usually right near the top of the upper bowl, but we still enjoy being there! However, Savanna and I, over the past few weeks, have gotten to experience the game up close and personal. What a different perspective it is.

Savanna's good friend, Carly, and her family have tickets on the third row, across the court from where the players sit, right at mid-court. They've invited us to join them a couple of times. This week, me, Savanna, Carly and Kristen went to the Jazz vs. the Bulls. Savanna was beyond excited! I had promised her tickets to this game (for her birthday) so that she could see a former Jazz player whom she really likes - Kyle Korver. He is pretty cute! (There were also 2 other former Jazz players on the team.) As the date got closer, I tried to get tickets, but the game was sold out. The day of the game, we got a text inviting the two of us. I was very happy, since I was feeling bad I left it so late to get tickets.
I don't know if you can read the price on this ticket, but it's $579 -- that's for one game! Crazy. These tickets are part of the "100 Club" which means that we got to eat a complimentary dinner before the game (in a suite above the court). It was so nice. Lots of yummy food, and the company was even better. We could watch the goings on down below through the windows surrounding us. At halftime, we also went into a room that had lots of snacks we could eat. We weren't hungry after such a great dinner, but they had lots of choices.



It was a good game, although we lost by a few points. There were lots of great plays, plenty of excitement, energy and electricity in the air, and seeing it from that close to the court was so amazing. It will be hard to go to future games and back to our regular spots up in the rafters!

I took lots of pictures, but it's hard to get pictures of the players facing you! I wanted to get some of Kyle Korver (#26 in the red uniform). I also wanted to be sure and get Deron Williams (#8 -- my favorite) and Raja Bell (#19 -- Kayden's favorite).

We really appreciated this opportunity and the fun night out with friends who were so gracious to share. Great evening that we'll remember for a long time.

P.S. Apparently we got to see the last game that Coach Sloan will coach, as he resigned the next day. I'm so not happy about it; I really like Sloan and he's been the only coach of the Jazz that I remember. Sad day. Glad I got a few pictures of him in the background!

Judging

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

--Mother Teresa