they done good

Third term ended a week ago at school and I'm happy to say the boys all did really well. Hopefully that will carry through the fourth and final term of the year. Jared worked really hard this past term and it paid off with straight A's. He was proud of himself, and he had reason to be -- it wasn't easy. Elementary school has a different grading system, but Jacob & Ryan were A equivalent as well. When the boys do great in school, they often come home and ask what they are going to get for a reward. According to them, lots of parents pay their kids off with money and other cool and expensive prizes for good grades. We don't really do that kind of thing. We've always told the kids that good grades are rewards in and of themselves and we just expect them to do their personal best. We totally believe that good grades pay off big dividends in the long run. And then maybe we'll take the family for ice cream at DQ :)

As long as I'm on the subject of "they done good", I have to mention that I've been proud of Jared for trying his best to serve as a good deacon quorum president. He's been doing this for a long time, but in the last few weeks especially I've noticed how good he is about leading out and following through on assignments, even when its not easy. As an example of that, a week or so ago his quorum had the assignment to pass out stake conference flyer reminders. The day they were supposed to do it was rainy. He called everyone to remind them about the assignment (about 8 kids) and every kid but one had an excuse for not being able to help -- some were valid, others were simply excuses for not wanting to do it. Jared asked Ryan if he'd help and then the two of them and the one other kid headed out in the rain. A soaking hour or so later, they returned having completed the assignment. (If all the boys had helped, it would have taken about 15 minutes) All this was done without adult reminders, encouragement, nagging, or supervision. He has to do the same thing every week as he organizes everyone in the quorum to fulfill their priesthood assignments at church. He won't have this calling much longer, but I'm grateful for the opportunity he's had to serve and for the things he's learned that are making him a better person.

We aren't perfect around here -- far from it, but I'm grateful for the good kids I've been blessed with and the good things they are trying to do.

heartbreaker

Ryan's team played their first and only tournament game on Tuesday. Obviously, from the title, you know what happened -- they lost. I'm pretty sure there were a few tears shed. They played a hard game and in the last minute and a half were ahead by 5. Then as luck would have it, the refs made some poor calls and we lost by 1 point. Yep, blaming it on the refs. We made our mistakes too, but the refs failed to call an important "ball carry" call on the other team. I thought some of our parents were going to lose it -- we are normally a very quiet and well mannered group -- but that about put us over the edge. I have to hand it to Ryan's coach though, he was calm and collected about the whole thing and praised the kids for a job well done, despite the loss. It's been a fun season and we hated to see it end so soon. Ryan's team is finishing up the season with a pizza party tonight and a Jazz game later this month.

st. patricks day menu

We don't get into the leprechaun stuff much around here or the Irish, but I do like to make a green dinner to celebrate. Here's tonight's menu:

Green chili chicken enchiladas with shredded lettuce
pistachio salad
lime jello -- cut in shamrock shapes
green cauliflower
cucumber slices
green shamrock sugar cookies

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

march madness started in february

We do LOTS of basketball around here, not only playing, but faithfully listening or watching Jimmer & BYU and the Jazz. We love it when we get to go see the Cougs in action at the Marriott Center or the Jazz in action at the ESA. But really the best of all, is watching our boys play on their basketball teams. They love playing the game -- more love when they win, of course. Either way, its still fun. Jared plays on a rec team and here's a few photos of the action during a recent game:

Ryan plays on a comp team and over Presidents Day weekend, they played in an AAU tourney. They played 3 games - won the first and lost the other two. But, they had a GREAT time! Ryan had his best game of the season during the tourney, scoring 16 points, and I can't remember the other stats! Here's a few photos (Ryan is #8):

suess fest

Today's Suess Fest Menu:

Breakfast: Green eggs & ham (ok, we really had bacon)

Lunch: Ham sandwiches

Dinner: Roast Beast (beef) & Who Hash (cheesy potatoes), goldfish (One fish, Two fish, Red fish, Blue fish), sliced apples (Ten Apples Up On Top), chocolate milk (Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?), and Cat in the Hat jello cups.


I left so many ideas off the menu. Oh, the possibilities are endless!