Easter

 Kate, Summer, Caleb

Ethan, Summer

Ethan

Jade, Caleb, Summer, Kate

Sunny, Drue, Summer, Caleb, Kate

Kate

Drue, Sunny, Jade, Caleb, Summer

Caleb, Aunt Sandy, Kate, Summer

Ethan

Caleb, Summer, Mackenzie, Kate

Mackenzie

The Saturday before Easter Aunt Sandy, Sunny, Jade, Drue, Aunt Laura, Summer, Caleb, Mackenzie and our family all had an Easter egg hunt in our back yard.  After we had a picnic dinner together.

Easter Sunday Jeff was out of town so we stayed home and attended our ward instead of going to Ogden to church with Grandmummy.  After church and our Easter egg hunt we headed to Grandpa and Grandmas for dinner with the family and more fun!

Spring Soccer

 Family support!  Aunt Sandy, Jared, Sunny, Drue and Jade came to see Emily and Savanah play a soccer game

 Emily, Savanah

Ethan, still like the treats after the game :)

All five kids played Spring soccer again.  Not sure what happened to Justin and Kate's picture but they all loved it!  Emily and Savanah decided this would be their last season playing, they are getting too busy with school to keep up the practice that soccer requires.

Emily and Savanah's coach sent me this email when they finished the season:

This has been a special team that has improved from week to week.  The difference from the start last fall until now has been so fun to watch.  I really appreciated Emily and Savanah's dedication - they were some of the most consistent.

Emily had a lot of self-doubt initially (Her and Makenna, my daughter were very similar) but it was wonderful to see her really light it up this spring, playing hard - more decisive - and faster.  She was a lot braver than even I thought she would be and was core to the best defense in the league.  Only one score during regular play all season!!! And that in some severe wind.

Savanah's knowledge of the game really improved a lot.  It was really noticeable this Spring.  We had a lot of our success because she was in the right spot at the right time, doing the right thing.  I ran her a lot but always knew I could count on her to with that transition from defense to offence.  Mid field can be rough and tiring but I don't think I ever heard even a single complaint from her.

They will both be missed at our last game.  We'll get together again after the end of the season and hope they can join us.  I also wanted to say they are some sweet girls.  I know many girls at this age are backbitting, hurtful, etc...what really made this team so special was how kind every player was to everyone else.  From our best players to the ones that had the most to work on, everyone was  accepted fully.   Emily and Savanah played a VERY big role in this teams chemistry.

Thanks for letting them play, I will miss them.

Steve Holm

Soldier Hollow

One of our favorite things to do with our family!  We are so lucky to have such a generous Grandpa and Grandma that take the whole family to Soldier Hollow every year to go tubing and enjoy some yummy treats.  We look forward to it every year!

Kate lost tooth

Kate lost her first tooth!  She was so excited!  Her first tooth to come out was one of the bottom front teeth she was born with.

Ice Breaker Tournament

Justin's soccer team went the Ice Breaker Tournament in St. George.  Unfortunately they didn't have any wins.  Jeff and Justin went with Ben and Dylan next door and stayed with Ben's mission president and his wife.  I think that might have been the highlight of the trip!  Sister Valentine treated them well with her good food and hospitality.
On the way home the boys stopped at some hot pots off the freeway that Ben had known about, another highlight of the trip.

Porter/Oyler Dinner

We met Grandmummy and all the Oyler's at Cheesecake Factory for our annual Christmas Dinner.  This year we had to wait past Christmas to get everyone together.  We are glad we waited because everyone made it this year!

New Years Eve

Jeff and I met the Brown's for dinner before we let the kids take off which was nice to have a little celebration for the adults since we were going to be stuck home the rest of the night!  Emily and Savanah went to a party at Grace's house with their friends and spent the night.  Justin hung out with Dylan and they both slept over at our house.  Ethan and Kate were asleep by 9pm!

Christmas Day

We had such a nice Christmas!  Opened gifts then headed to Grandpas and Grandmas for Christmas Dinner and Santa.

Front Runner/Temple Square

We decided to take Front Runner this year to see the lights at Temple Square - we loved it!  On the way to SLC Front Runner was pretty crowded so we didn't get to sit together but on the way home it was a lot less busy.  So nice not to worry about traffic and parking in SLC!

Everyone enjoyed seeing the lights and the nativity at Temple Square.  We walked to City Creek to grab some dinner,  then we went through more of Temple Square before heading back to Front Runner.

Durango

We have had the Durango for sell for a while with no luck.  Unfortunately it was hit when it was parked out in front of our house.  The people (some neighbors) who hit it had insurance and to our benefit the insurance company declared the Durango totaled!  They gave us high book price and insurance and taxes back on it.  We felt bad that it got hit but were glad to get the price we wanted anyway without having to sell it.  Kind of sad to see it go - we really enjoyed having it!

Justin's first talk

Justin was asked to give a talk in Church for the first time!  He was asked to speak on the Joseph Smith's life.  Justin said he was pretty nervous and didn't want to sit on the stand after his talk was finished, I guess he wanted some relief by coming to sit with the family after.  He did a great job and was sure glad when it was over!

Living Nativity

We decided to go to the Living Nativity this year in Alpine.  It was really neat and we were glad we went even though it was cold!

December 2013

We have had such a fun month!  December is always packed with a lot, luckily this year it all seemed doable which made for a nice Christmas season.  I got most of my Christmas shopping finished in November, just had to wait for packages in the mail in December, which is so much nicer than to be out shopping! With Jeff's business slow we decided against family pictures and Christmas cards, which made things less crazy then usual this time of year.

We had piano, choir, band performances, company party, friend party, church party, Santa at Jeff's office, lights at Thanksgiving Point, lights and Temple Square and the Living Nativity.  Of course Christmas day was spent and Grandpa and Grandma's.

Having two weeks off of school the kids loved being with their friends, seeing LOTS of movies, sledding/playing in the snow, shopping trips, Stake Dances, Baptism for the Dead, one ski trip for Justin and Jeff, and they all enjoyed eating out more than usual :)