Miscellaneous Fabulousness

For Valentines, my Love took me to Romeo and Juliet. As in the Ballet. As in contemporary ballet.

Lest you feel too sorry for him, this is where we spend most weekend nights.
Cuddled up, in his movie theater.

Unless the basement is being used for an elaborate game of Colony.

And sometimes we escape to sunny Barcelona.
I'm so happy "he's my lobster"

And catch up on our modern architecture.
(This year they unveiled the stained glass and opened up the interior and it was breathtaking)

And catch up with old friend. (My first night in Barcelona I sat next to Ricardo. He directed me to what have become my favorite sites. Years later, he and Reed ran into each other at an after party.

Although we don't have an actual picture of Grandma Candi, I think this is proof that the boys were well taken care of while we were gone.

This guy finished The Book of Mormon before Conference. Amazingly, G wasn't far behind. It was awesome to watch them poring over their scriptures on Sunday afternoons in an effort to "win" the Newell challenge (we'll work on pondering next year :)

We got to babysit this little chunk!

Christian takes his babysitting very seriously.

Reed took Chaz to London.

This dirty pigeon presented a book report on  Pigeon Needs a Bath.

My Mom sent this beauty for my birthday.
According to Reed "My mother-in-law hates me".
It's awesome.

 

The infamous patio set.

And the infamous dog.

Madness

This March we fully embraced the madness that is sports. 

Our ward team won the Stake championship! Mostly awesome because when we moved in Reed was immediately recognized (and welcomed) by some of the guys from earlier tri-stake tournaments. 

After a great winter rec. season, Matts has entered the world of serious basketball. There have been a lot of ups and downs as he adjusts to the intensity. But, it's fun to watch him learn to work hard, hustle and improve.
Shameless brag-he earned MVP in his last game.

This maniac has started lacrosse. He practices at the same field/time as G so it works out perfectly and it's pretty much the cutest thing I've seen.
Basically, T/TH from 4:45-7:30 I made endless loops dropping off and picking up each of the boys from their practices.
On beautiful days, I love it.

After a brief foray into goalie(?) G is back working on his middie skills (especially face-offs). His current goal is to make long stick middie by U13. Which, based on this pic, isn't that far off.

Fueling his fire was the opportunity to play an exhibition match on the HS field. Also fueling his fire, is his nightly reading of the US Lacrosse Rulebook. 

Lastly, in a moment of insanity I folded and let Matts play flag in addition to Bball. Rookie mistake. Let's just say our Saturdays are entirely too crazy and C is a trooper for sitting through hours of games each week. 

Happy Easter

We celebrated a wonderful Easter weekend. I had the great joy of finally getting my wisdom tooth (yes, singular, out) so we laid low and enjoyed lots of family time. 

Luckily, Reed is all you need for a party. 

While I rested, the boys landscaped, waterfought, basketball challenged (and watched-GO DUKE!!!) 

The Intrepid Hunter

And his magical Easter Bonnet

Christian was able to "make my wish come true" and meet the Easter Bunny at our ward party.

Checking out his summer stockpile with Daddy.

G has recently become obsessed with piggies. Gma and Mom both obliged with some excellent reading material.

Because he lives...one day I will have a beautiful princess to balance out the craziness of my water fighting maniacs.

Happy 11th Mattson!

March 30, 2004 our home was filled with light and life and happiness.

March 30, 2015 we decided the best way to celebrate Matts and the responsible, thoughtful, vibrant young man he is becoming was to add some more light and life and happiness to our home.

*2weeks earlier Reed went to pick up a patio set and came home with a dog. We recently reached out to contact the Golden Rescue about adopting a dog. But, we were counting on the time it takes to go through their process. At the same time, Jeff was in contact with the Rescue due to his upcoming move to midtown. Jupiter has had 3 homes and Jeff wanted to be sure he went to a family with plenty of love and space to share. We took him on a trial basis. And he was simply wonderful-sweet, obedient and desperate for love. I know I'm a romantic. But it feels like the stars aligned and it was meant to be. So, on Matts' birthday we made it official.*

Meet "Jupiter".
We're working on the name.

SOOOOOO EXCITED!!!

11 years old

 Matts- We love you so much. 

Your curiosity and focus have expanded as your world has grown. 

I love your desire to be obedient and choose the right. 

I love the way you fill a room and live every moment to it's fullest. 

I cannot wait to see where life will take you.