It's officially spring

Our home has a little courtyard in the front and when we bought it, we were so excited to create a little garden escape.  Nearly a year later, I bought some pots.  And FINALLY tonight we planted.  I am so excited that I had to post some pictures.  (Even though there are probably WAY more exciting things like our friends visiting, Ernie's trip to Panama, and Easter.) 

There are still two areas to the left of what you can see in the picture that need pots as well.  And hopefully it doesn't take a year to get those done! But I am SO excited I had to share.  (I guess first we'll see how our green thumbs do........)

And I promise more exciting posts will follow shortly; well I won't go as far as to promise.  How about I just say I hope :).

The Leprechauns Came!

The night before St. Patrick's Day at our house we leave a shoe by the front door.  While you are sleeping, the Leprechauns come and fill your shoe with candy.
My kids are always so excited. (In fact, when Ernie learned about the true identity of the Easter Bunny when my sisters failed at being quiet last year while they were filling in while we were on our cruise, the first thing he said was, "that means the Leprechauns......." with a very sad face.  Not any other major character one would assume a child would think of first.)
And they must have been good kids, because their shoe was filled this year.

Skiing

A few years ago, when Caleb was only 3 and Ernie 6, my boys had their first skiing experience. (And yes, watching a 3 year old ski had to be one of my favorite all time moments.) Since then, we have tried to take them at least 2-3 times a season.  They LOVE it.  They are fearless, and it is adorable.
This year, with basketball and our change in cabin locations for Christmas, we just weren't able to ever make it up to Brian Head.  Until a few weeks ago.  It is one of my absolute favorite thing to see.

 Caleb:

 

Ernie:

                                      I can't wait to be able to take them again next year. 

Just Another Birthday

So, this year I got an amazing birthday gift.  Drum roll please........Strep throat! I had never had it before, and it was the best birthday surprise a girl could ask for. Despite the misery, how could one not still have a great day when they wake up to this:

And it was all on their own.  (I know, because the husband was sleeping next to me :)  They also made me this card:

They are such sweet kids. I am pretty blessed.  Luckily the weekend before, my sweet husband had planned a little night away at the Mandalay Bay.  (And the next day, I got a late check out, and after basketball stuff, I brought the boys back to swim.)  

I started my morning off thinking, "well, it's just another birthday".  But it most definitely is not just another birthday when you have so many people that love you, even when you have strep throat.  I feel pretty spoiled.

The End Of a Season

 This one was particularly enjoyable this year. Ernie coached again, and had a great couple that helped out as the assistant and the team mom.  And they ended up in 3rd place, which was a HUGE improvement from the summer.  And they only lost two games the whole season. 

 

But then, they barely lost in the semi finals of the play off tournament.  It was so sad.  All of the kids were crying and very emotional.  They loved the game, and they loved their team.  When I asked Ernie about why he had gotten so emotional (because that is very unlike him for a sports event) he said, "Mom, that was the most important game I have ever had.  Ever.  And we lost.  I have never felt this miserable."  I loved that a little group of 8 year olds cared that much about each other! Above  is the team with their 3rd place trophies. 

Caleb was very supportive of the team. 

 

He spent most of his time making sure all of the other siblings of boys on the team felt welcome and had someone to play with and talk to. 

 

We will surely miss them.  This was the best team we have ever been a part of.  They were very, very good.  But it was a lot more than that.  They were so kind to each other, as well as the other teams (even if there were some pretty, well, not as nice of kids)  and had a blast with each other.  We only knew one of the kids going into the season, but we sure hope to end up with them again. 

Remember when a loss seemed like the absolute end of your world? 

Ah, the simpler times of childhood.

Our first 911 Experience

February 26th.  A day to remember.  The day every parent hopes will never come. We had our first encounter with paramedics being called.  

Ernie had his last game before the playoffs, which he won, and big E was still fishing.  I went to get gas.  My kids love to help.  And every once in a while I will let them assist me. I told Ernie that he could help me take the pump out when the gas was finished pumping. Right as it finished, my sister in law called and I turned to answer the phone. And so I turned my back to him.  My fault, I know.  As he pulled the gas pump out, the lever was still pulled up and it sprayed all over him. I mean ALL over him.  It went straight into his face, including his eyes.  He started screaming, with good reason.  I immediately started to poor water in them to help wash it out, unsure of what else to do.  

The gas attendant came running out in a major panic and yelled that she had called 911.  Of course, that put Ernie in an even worse state because he was more worried about having to go to the hospital than anything else.  I was trying so hard to remain calm, while completely freaking out inside.  A sweet man next to us came over and suggested that Ernie hold his eyes open rather than  hold them shut to help the air get in them.  To which Ernie sweetly replied, "Thank you so much sir" in between sobs. I still kept silently praying that I could just stay calm because the gas attendant was frantic enough for everyone, which just made Ernie more and more upset. Then another guy came over who worked with chemicals and was able to help tell me what to do to help him.  He didn't think 911 was even necessary, but it was a little late at that point :).  

By the time the paramedics get there, Ernie was still having a hard time letting me wash it out like I should.  So it was nice that they were there to help him stay calm and figure out how to wash it out.  

WOW! That is all I can say.  It was quite the day.  I am grateful for a few things though.  First, that it ended up being okay and was not as serious as I originally thought when the lady came out yelling.  Second, I learned a huge lesson about how important it is to remain calm.  If I had started freaking out, it would have made the entire situation MUCH worse.  A calm head makes everything so much easier.  And ever since then, I have made a much greater effort to always try to remain calm. 

And I am also grateful that after 5 washes, I was able to get the gas smell out of all of our clothes and shoes.

  

(And in case any of you ever need to know: My mother in law is always right.  Coke cures everything.  I read online to wash the clothes in coke.  And After 3 washes in everything else I could imagine, coke did the trick.  One more wash with regular soap, and they were good to go!)

While Dad Was Gone

Ernie recently went on a trip to Panama with his Dad and Uncles to go fishing.  He had SO much fun! He was gone for 12 days.  While he was gone we partied! Okay, well, I will be honest.  It wasn't a party mode the whole time.  In fact, the night before he left, son 1 came into our room with a fever.  Yes, again.  He had just gotten over pneumonia a few weeks before.  So, needless to say, I was less than thrilled.  Poor little guy. (Of course the first thing he was worried about was worried about was missing school work.  He just did not have time to be sick!)  So after a few sleepless nights, son 1 was much better.  However, don't you worry.  The very night that son 1 was feeling better, son 2 come in my room with a fever.  Yes, it was a wonderful time.  Don't worry, we were still able to manage some fun.

We went bowling with my family (Ernie's EXTREMELY  nice Aunt Layne stayed home with him while we went.)

 Micah, Claire, her friend Robert and his sister Kristy, and Sophie hanging out at the table eating the food we weren't supposed to bring in.  Whoops. 

 My man Boogs.  He LOVES bowling and he is adorable to watch. 

 My Dad is so lucky.  Caleb was coaching him on how to bowl the whole time. 

Here is Claire in one of the gazillion pictures that Caleb took.

The Globe Trotters were in town, and despite Caleb's not feeling well at that point we went with some of our friends to see them. 

Before we went over, I rewarded the boys for their GREAT grades with Macayos for dinner. (One of my favorites from when I was younger!)

 I had a hard time getting their picture, but at least I kind of have one. 

 The boys were so excited to finally get to there to see the infamous Globe Trotters.

Here are the boys anxious for the game to start.

It was a really fun show. Caleb was in hysterics the whole time.  He could barely breather sometimes because he was laughing so hard.  And if he wasn't laughing, he was getting his dance moves on.  He is quite the boys.

And yes, I think it wore them out!