junior high dances....here we come

My younger brother, Dallin AKA: Keithtwentyone/crowdpleasa, is a true original.  He has dabbled in extreme unicycling, among other things, and now has moved on to breakdancing.  When we were home for Thanksgiving, he and his friends had nightly jam sessions in the gym in my parents' basement.  We would all gather around the window and watch, it was quite entertaining and my kids were super impressed.  Here is just a small sample:

We may not have our own gym to jam out in but there does tend to be a lot of kitchen dancing whenever a good song comes on.  So, while I may not have passed on any athletic genes to my kids.....they have definitely inherited the family rhythm.  Watch out junior high, these kids have moooooves.  Watch this in full screen, it is much better.....

so, basketball....

We are smack in the middle of basketball season around here.  At the moment, Jordan and Emma are both playing on teams and both practicing 2x a week.  Along with gymnastics, scouts, baseball, Halle's activities(more on that later), church stuff, homework, etc......our evenings are quite complicated.  Em is having a great year.  She is my child who is hesitant in new situations and she has to feel comfortable in her surroundings to really shine.  We really lucked out this year with a super coach.  He is loud and very enthusiastic about the game and Emma is thriving and really gaining a lot of confidence in her abilities.  Travis is assistant coach which is great because he really has problems functioning as a mere spectator:) 

I don't bring my camera to the games much because the gyms are always so dark and it is hard to get a good shot.....and also the younger two are usually jumping off the bleachers, running on the court, or causing trouble at the snack bar.  Here are a few from last week:

Em is always very serious during her games.....she won't crack a smile or change from this expression.  She got hurt in one of her games and didn't even react until the game was over and we were driving home and the tears were unleashed in the backseat.  Funny, because Jordan wears his heart on his sleeve when he plays and she is completely opposite.

Here are a few clips of her in action....she is the point guard, #5

excuses, excuses

So, I have kind of fallen off the blogging bandwagon the last few months.  Sometimes I actually feel like I have most things under control around here.  And, then every few months it seems like a giant tsunami hits and I have to merely focus on survival and give up all the little extra things that distract me from keeping the family going.  Does anyone else feel that way??  Lately it was the holidays, Eli not napping (seriously cramping my style), Travis working from home, sports/church/laundry/parties/extracurriculars/baking, etc etc....  And, although we have been busy busy busy, I have to say that we had a wonderful December and I think I took all of about 10 pictures the whole month.......which is just fine by me because I was trying to make an effort to live in the moment rather than worry about making everything photo-worthy.  At some point I may try to catch up on all the happenings but it will most likely be shoved into the archives for record keeping purposes.  I will leave with a recent photo of Eli doing what he does best during the day if I leave him unsupervised......

This picture is for my friend Mindy (and all those who have ever owned a set of perler beads, which are fantastic for keeping kids busy but they always always end up all over the floor)  She gave us a huge set of them years ago and I swear, no matter how many I vacuum up or throw away, they just keep multiplying and never go away!  I think she just wanted us to have something to remember her by, long after she moved away....

So, I am hoping that the latest storm has passed us by for a little while and that I can get back to posting a bit more frequently.  I also want to share my New Year's resolutions, because if I don't share them, they will be a lot easier to break!  I have decided to set a goal in the spiritual, physical, and temporal areas of my life.  

Spiritual:  Read the scriptures every single day. 

Physical:  No desserts/sweets (at least until my birthday) After one week, the tremors have gotten slightly better from chocolate withdrawals......this is a hard one!

Temporal:  Learn something new and complete a project each month using my newfound skills.  I have a lot in mind for this one.  Excited to do some re-decorating, learning more about photoshop/graphic design/photography, finance, and home organization to name a few.  

I may be a bore as I share my progress but hopefully it will help me stay motivated.