The Tacoma Boat Show.

Spring Break: Thursday, April 2

Larry took the day off to make an attempt at a family "vacation". We thought we'd check out the Tacoma Boat Show with our discount coupons downloaded the night before. Then we'd spend the afternoon at the History Museum down the road after a yummy lunch. Well.... we made it to the boat show. The kids thought it was pretty cool to climb into each and every boat. Try out all the seats and pretend to drive some. They also loved the "mini-yachts". Who wouldn't?! When asked, "Why don't we buy this one?" I my only response was, "We'd have to sell our house and live on it." They thought that was doable. Me- not so much. But it was fun to check out the amenities on a recreational vehicle. Larry fell in love with more than one ski boat on the way. He had a handful of deep conversations with some insistent sales people. And we decided that if we were actually in the market for a boat, this would be a great place to strike a deal. Did you know that they also had trucks at the Boat Show. Yes. Very large, very expensive trucks. I guess you need one to pull your very pricey boat. Payton thought that a truck as her first car was a pretty viable option. Hee. Hee.

By the time we made it around the entire show, the kids were spent. There would be no museum for me. Oh well. A day with the family wouldn't be the same without some degree of whining and Porter escaping a handful of times. Larry and I promised ourselves that the next day would be "kids' choice" so that we might tip the balance of happiness to the other side.

Sidenote: Payton and Riley were able to remember every inch of the Tacoma Dome from their Dance Festival last summer. They reminisced fondly and wished they could do it all over again.

Regionals in full swing...

I can't let the day get away without mentioning the game we went to today. Yes, it was very far- Bellevue Stake Delphie?- and, yes, I had to ditch my prom-decorating-activity but I have to say it was very much worth it. Payton and Riley have been playing basketball with our wards' young women this season. They ranked #1 in the Stake and thus went on to Regionals. Friday night was their first game. Larry took them because the women's team, which I play on, also made it to the tournament as first seed. What's crazy this year is the Men and Young Men's teams both made it as second seed. Anyway, the girls did great and easily won last night. But today's game was equally matched. They had to work really hard to win this one- and they did. They finished with a score of 27 to 23, with 2 free throws made by Alyssa with 4.4 seconds left! I wish I had the camera. Payton and Riley have both been playing so hard, along with all the rest of their team. They play again next Saturday in Auburn and we are excited to see them move on in the tournament. Way to go, girls!

Update: Larry and his team played in North Seattle today and won also! Yeah! They play again Thursday night. The Young Men lost their first game by 2 on Thursday so they're out of the tournament. And the women's team lost our Friday night game (very badly) and decided to forfeit todays so we could watch the girls instead. I believe it was a very smart decision. We love to play together but it's about fun and excercise- definately not the win! So good luck Men, too, I guess. It will be fun to see how far these teams can go!

April Fools!

Yes, Sydney is quite the trickster. And thanks to Disney Channel teaching hysterical April Fools jokes all week. She got her dad. Take a close look. I'm sure you can picture it now. He sits down with his bowl and spoon. Milk at the ready. Grabs the Frosted Flakes... but lo and behold! Pours out the Apple Jacks! HYS-TER-ICAL! Dad found the humor in it and even paused to let me get photographic proof of this little prank. Nice one, Sydney- can't wait to see what you drum up for next year!

Yeah, that's gross...

Riley is a very talented child. But this is just gross. I'm not quite sure how she discovered this hidden gem... but I thought you should all be mesmerized right along with me.

Her back bend.

Attempt #1 (again with the annoying camera!)

Attempt #2: Success.

Gross, isn't it. Amazing, indeed. Bet you can't stop looking either!

Riley's Gymnastics Season

Riley made the gymnastics team this year at MMS. She struggled with wanting to practice so much but stuck it out and had a great season. She has taken gymnastics for one year back in 5th grade but is totally built for it. She enjoys the floor. I think she learned a lot and her score improved at every meet. I personally feel that they should get an automatic 6 points just for wearing leotards in front of all the crowds!. They have every girl perform the same routine to the same song all season long. This is nation wide, I heard. So it helps the girls with their skills even though we hum that song in our sleep. Riley worked hard from the beginning. Finally, at the district meet, she earned herself a 10th place ribbon. Yeah, Riley! She continues to flip and bounce, bend and twist all over the house, so hopefully it will pay off with another great season next year!

Play(dough)-time

Once again, I am frustrated with my camera. I can't seem to get a non-blurred picture! Aaargh!
But anyway...Porter seemed to like me to play with the playdough more than play with it himself. Although, perhaps it is me that likes playing with it and I made him wait and watch. Hmmm... He enjoyed the little creations and it was very sweet at how impressed he was. Even Larry was impressed... maybe I should play with playdough more often...

Larry's big weekend!

Thank you, Suzy, for the buddy pass. And since I couldn't figure out where I would want to go and with whom, and we couldn't get away without kids, Larry got to use it! This was his very first "guys weekend". After catching up with Vasu a few years back, they have discussed meeting in St. George for golf and it finally happened. It sounds like it was a good time, too. Mark and Larry flew down and stayed in a house Vasu hooked them up with. Quite nice. They golfed twice, went to a Snow College basketball game, or is it Dixie? (I knew Larry should have done this post himself!) They met Vasu's family and got to check out the golf course that was in High School Musical 2 - yes, THE golf course! I don't have any video of them dancing or leaping on said golf course unfortunately. It was a quick weekend, Thursday-Saturday, but well-deserved and enjoyed!

Larry called me from the golf course asking how our camera could take timed pics. These are 3 of their attempts. Hee! Hee!

One of the homes on the golf course- St. George doesn't look so bad!

Mark and Vasu

Larry and Vasu

At the house...

The last day after lunch. I'm not sure where the fire engine comes into play, but nice backdrop none-the-less. Vasu, his wife and older daughter (the younger one wasn't with them)

Mark, Larry and Vasu: Then

and NOW....

Until next year I guess....

This is for Elizabeth!

I promised I would post pics of my kwakse (pronounced: cow-sway, a Burmese soup with chicken and coconut milk, noodles and lots of yummy condiments). So this is it. The whole family loved it- maybe not Riley, but that doesn't count. There was plenty to go around and I love the french-fried onions on top- so good! So there. Proof that I did make it and my family did eat it!

P.S. It's still better with the rest family, though! Miss you guys!

Valentine's Day

It was a pretty uneventful day, just another Saturday. But Larry and I did sneak away for dinner and our ward's temple night. We came home to sweet surprises all around! There were cute valentine's notes on the table (in the sparkling clean kitchen!).

And a bed covered with colored pictures, hearts made from candy and a platter of goodies, too. The floor was sprinkled with cut out hearts with darling messages on them. A very nice thing from a very sweet bunch of kids!

Larry surprised me, too, with a tickets to see Grease in May. Yeah! My gift to him wasn't so much a surprise (he was with me and picked it out himself) but a fun treat for the whole family- a pull-up bar! So turns were taken as we enjoyed the end to another holiday- Happy Valentine's Day!

Porter and his cars.

It cracks me up to watch Porter sometimes. He is such a boy. And, wow, what a difference between him and the girls! Yes, they loved sports and wrestling with Daddy, but nothing like this! The sun was kind of shining one afternoon in February. He followed his dad outside and proceeded to go for a "drive". He commands the entire back yard - lawn, patio, bball court - with his little jeep. One handed turns, checking his blind spots, and - new to this driving session! - pulling a trailer. He calls it his bike, but the scooter worked perfect as a trailer after Larry tied it to the back of his jeep. Boys!


Earlier that week, I was running around the house getting stuff done and came back to find this. It has begun. I don't know if it's because I passed on my anal retentiveness or this is a boy thing. But he now lines up all of his cars in a row and makes car noises while he is "working". Again... boys! I love this one!

Side note: As of today, April 13, Porter has been bottle-free for 8 straight days! Yippee! Yes, I'm taking a bow for this one. I never thought we'd here. Pacifier is only used IN the crib at nap and bedtime. One battle at a time!