Watching the World Cup

One of Aubrey's friends gave her a hula hoop for her birthday!  Oh my gosh, we are obsessed with it.  We all use it all the time.  Funny, how those old toys always bring you so much joy.  The kids love timing themselves.  Ian and Aubrey are really good!  Ian is loving the Soccer World Cup.  I realized yesterday that Ian loves all sports.  Like really loves them.  He watches hockey, football, lacrosse, rugby, soccer, and anything in the Olympics.  Ok, he gets that last one from me!  He even knows all the athlete's names and everything!  I am very impressed!  Now, as he watches the World Cup, he uses the hula hoop!  Yes, he is up to 31 minutes!  He was in so much pain yesterday, that Don had to take it away from him and tell him to take a break.  By the end of summer, his abs are going to be amazing!

Happy Father's Day!

Don is an amazing father.  He is totally involved in his children's lives and he just adores them.  He would rather be at home playing with his children than doing anything else.  He works so hard for our family and is always there for us.  I wish I could do more for him for Father's Day, but he never asks for stuff! 

 

So for Father's Day this year we got him some much needed clothes.  He loved that. We also got him a new mouse pad for his computer with pictures of the kids on it.  Don also wanted steak and seafood for dinner with chocolate cheesecake for dessert.  My chocolate cheesecake!  Of course, what he wants he gets!

This year I asked the kids these questions.  Here are their answers about their dad.

Zach:

He Loves To....... do yard work, watch football, go on family camping trips

He Always Says............ be yourself? I don't know. I can't think of any repeated quotes. He sometimes mangles his idioms though and that always makes me laugh.

He is the Best At....................... being an educator

He Is Not Very Good At.......... understanding some of the weird art house films that I love watching

My Dad and I like To.... recently? Drive to work together. Although I was usually so tired that I wouldn't like to talk, but I appreciated when he asked wanted to talk. I just usually wasn't very responsive. 

He loves me because..................... I'm his son.

And I love him because..... He's my father, and a good example to me. He gives me an example to work towards.

Austin:

He loves to............. Write his son awesome emails
He always says....................Roll tide
He is the best at............ Everything! What isn't he good at? He's my dad?
He is not very good........... At being bad at things.
My dad and I like to.......... Write emails to each other and skype two times a year.
He loves me because........... I love him to!
And I love him because........... he truly is my best friend!

Aubrey:

He loves to...........watch football

He always says..........signal, don't turn too sharp

He is the best at.............handy work stuff

He is not very good at.....shopping

My Dad and I like to ............watch Downton Abby  together

He loves me because............I'm his favorite daughter

And I love him..............He's my Daddy of course

Ian:

He loves to........play games

He always says.........I'm gonna clean your plow

He is the best at......fixing the car

He is not very good ........being hip with the time

My Dad and I like to......play the NCAA Football 12

He loves me because.......I am his favorite son and I play games with him

And I love him.........Because He's my papa bear!

 

Formal Dance Pictures

Aubrey, Aubrey, Aubrey!  That is how I feel this month.  I feel like every post is about Aubrey.  What can I say?  These pictures are great!  These are Aubrey's dance pictures at Bunker.  Her tap, ballet, and we threw in her high school dance team pictures.  Not bad huh?

Still Partying!

Honestly...how long are we celebrating this sweet sixteen????  Well, this is the last party!  She didn't want a big deal made for her birthday this year, so we kept it simple.  She just wanted a few friends over.  Her friend Jose (dance) gave her this headband.  Oh yeah, she loves the hippie look! 

She wanted her party in the evening so we just did desserts.

Aubrey wanted to watch a movie outside.  Uh, we really didn't know how to work that out.  Her Dad is an amazing man and figured it out and made it happen.  They watched "Back To The Future" outside.  We were worried because the day before was really windy, but the winds calmed down and the weather was perfect.  She loved it.

It was a great night.  The funniest card that she received was one from her good friend Haley.  Haley took all of the pictures of actors they love and if there was a girl in the picture, she cut out the girls face and put a picture of Aubrey in it's place.  How funny is that???  We laughed and laughed about this!

I think we are finally done celebrating this sweet sixteen!!

Dance Camp!

Aubrey just got home from dance camp in St. George, Utah.  Oh my gosh, was she tired.  She barely spoke to us.  She just went up to bed with a few grunts and that was it.  We think she enjoyed it.  Then the next day she got up and headed out of the house to do things.  I barely saw her. Then during the evening she perked up and started talking all about it and even showing me dances.  She loved it!  It is hard work, but she loves it.  Well, this year they made them take drill team and she hated that.  I guess they taught them this zombie dance that Aubrey says it is super cool.  She is hoping they get to perform it for the school.  She said they want to do it for Homecoming regardless of the Homecoming theme!  Hey,  the student body president is on the team, so they should be able to do that!  She also loved their team mom.  She is currently a Courgarette for BYU (dance team).  Aubrey just loved her.  There were a lot of former or current Courgarettes there.  They were great and set a wonderful example for these girls.  Of course the girls also loved being together and getting to know the new members of the team!  It was a great camp.

Happy Birthday Aubrey!

 Sweet 16!!!  Oh my gosh, where did the time go???  This one was hard for me.  I don't know, when the kids turn 16 they can drive, date, and work.  I feel like we kind of loose them to independence!  Aubrey was such a blessing.  I really thought I would be the mother of all boys, then this little girl came into my life and shook things up.  She was just a precious baby!!

Of course Aubrey wanted Retro Bakery cupcakes.  She loves them.  They are the best!

 

For her birthday Ian got her some workout clothes and a shirt.  She loved it.

Aubrey also went driving!

Aubrey also wanted tickets to see the Neon Trees.  Yes, I took her and she has a wonderful friend that went with her.  They had a blast.  It was a very good concert!

So now for Aubrey's birthday questions.  Here they go:

1.  Describe a childhood friend and something you did with him/her.

Well my childhood friend has always been Rachel.  We used to do fashion shows together and play Polly Pockets.

2.  How do you like being the oldest, middle, or youngest child?

(Shrugging shoulders) It's cool and all.

3.  What did you do when you were a child that got you in the most trouble and how did your parents handle it?

When I flooded Aunt Dot's basement.  I don't remember how you handled it.  (Oh I do!  Wet Vac!)

4.  How did you feel about school?

I really like school. If I was a loner without friends, it would really suck!

5.  What is your favorite smell, and what does it remind you of?

(Without hesitation) VANILLA!!!  It reminds me of cooking!!!  Oh, I love the smell of vanilla.

6.  What was your favorite song in high school?

I like so many songs.  Ummm, are we talking about musicals?  I love "Man On Fire" by Edward Sharpe.  My favorite from Les Mis is, "Red and Black".  My favorite from West Side Story is, "Maria".  My favorite group right now is, First Aide Kit!

Fourth Year Hike...Finally!

 One night we were talking with our home teacher (Home teaching is the responsibility of all Melchizedek Priesthood holders and of those who are teachers and priests in the Aaronic Priesthood. As part of their responsibility to watch over the members of the Church, home teachers visit their assigned families at least once each month to teach and strengthen them. Home teachers establish a relationship of trust with these families so that the families can call upon them in times of need.) and we figured out that Aubrey has never been on a Girl's Camp (Church Camp for girls) hike.  We were kind of shocked!  For the first two years they did the hikes before camp because of the 4th of July holiday, one year they did them with the wards and our ward counted the 20 mile temple walk, and then last year they counted the pioneer trek.  She kind of felt like she was ripped off!  She didn't get her fun fourth year hike.  It was a bummer.  Well, as we talked to our home teacher (He is also in our Stake Presidency) he told us that he was going on the fourth year hike this year because his wife was in charge of it.  He needed more leaders to help him out, so he asked Don if he would be willing to go.  It is easy for Don to go and do these things because he is off for the summer.  He said, if Don goes, Aubrey can go.  Oh boy, she was excited!  Of course Dad said he could go!  So this year, Aubrey got to go on the fourth year hike even though she is a YCL (Youth Camp Leader, 5th year).  It was kind of hush, hush.  Other girls in the stake were upset too that they didn't get a fourth year hike.  If they had taken all the girls from last year and this year, it would of been too many girls.  Aubrey was lucky!  She helped Sister Edwards (She was in charge.) by making cookies for the lunches.  She also helped cook some of the food.  She wanted to help out, if she was going.  They went to hike Slot Canyon in Kanarraville, Utah.  Don has always wanted to do this hike.  He had the scouts do it when he was over the encampment.  He was busy organizing the encampment, he didn't get to go on this hike.  The first day they tubed down a river.  The girls loved it.  I don't have pictures of that because Don didn't want the camera to get wet.  Then the girls slept out and the next morning they went on the hike.  Aubrey was a little tired from all the fun the night before.

 

 

Aubrey had such a good time!!!  She hooked up with some friends she hasn't spent time with in a long time.  It is so great the way these girls (who are so busy with sports and other things) can come together and not miss a beat!  It is like they have been hanging out every day!  It is neat to see them together and having fun!  Awesome girls!!!

Aubrey said one thing she loved about the hike was getting to know all of these girls.  She played games with them and got to know them!  Aubrey feels this will really help her when she is a YCL at girl's camp!  She bonded with these girls, and they loved having fun with her!  It was a successful weekend.

 

I am so thankful that Don has a job that will allow him to take off and do these kind of things.  If it wasn't for him, she wouldn't of been able to go on this hike!!