The California Rods came to visit for New Years and we rented a cabin in Island Park. We had some more good times and made some fun memories! As they do every year, the kids enjoy sitting in the outside hot tub in the freezing cold. They are even known to go jump and roll in the snow and then pile back in the hot tub. Crazy kids!

Spoons is another family tradition. Uncle Bob (Bill - don't ask) and Chad are especially competitive. There are not too many good losers or winners in our family. We all like to win and rub it in! But we have lots of fun!
The kids even got the parents to compete at Just Dance. Fun times!

Pine Wood Derby Champ

Chad made a Pine Wood Derby car, with a little help from his dad. We had the Parker 1st Ward Pine Wood Derby in January. It didn't start out so good. The first race down the track, Chad's car basically exploded at the bottom. His wheels came of the axels and Mom, Dad and Chad all nearly had a heart attack. It was nothing that a little super glue and black tape couldn't fix! So from there on out he did really well. He ended up in the top 4 at the end of the regular races. Then he ended up in a tie for 1st place after the race off and ended up winning in the end! He was super excited! It was a fun night!

Thanksgiving in Nevada

Last week we went to Nevada for Thanksgiving to visit Jeff's mom, Sue and her husband, Dennis and his twin brother Joe and his family. We left right smack in the middle of one of the worst winter blizzards we've had in a long time. (My parents were not happy about this. They did not want us on the roads.) It was the longest drive. A normal 10 hour drive took us 15 hours. The kids were surprisingly good. We broke it up and stopped in Provo the first night. Then on the way home, we decided to leave a day early to try and beat the next round of snow that was supposed to hit. We ended up driving all night long. We left Pahrump, NV about 6:00pm and arrived home in Parker at about 6:00am. We had good roads all the way until Ogden, UT. Our 10 hour drive only took us 12 hours.

I'm too old for overnighters, (even though I was in and out of sleep in the car.) I think Jeff and I will both pay for that for the rest of the week. We had a good time and it was worth the drive to spend some time with family.

Aunt Shanda and the girls took us up into the mountains to see some petroglyphs. It was on a crazy road and we had a great time piling into one vehicle and climbing hills. When we pulled up to our stopping point, there was a herd of wild horses. We quickly scared them off with all of our action. The kids had fun climbing around on the rocks.

The kids are all growing up way too fast! Back row: Mataia, Whitney, Jessica and Haly Front: Chad, Morgan and Kace.

Jeff finishes his first Half-Ironman Triathlon

Jeff drove to Las Vegas last weekend with a couple guys and did the Pumpkinman Half-Iron Triathlon. That means he swam 1.2 miles, then biked 56 miles and finished with a Half-marathon (13.1 miles.) He finished in 6 hours and 13 minutes. He is amazing! Someday I hope to accomplish even half of what he does!

This is him just about at the finish line.

Looking strong on the bike.

Checking out the water the day before the race.

Chad and Kace's First Wrestling Match of the Year

Chad and Kace started wrestling again. Their first tourney was last night and Jeff had a responsiblity with the SF Football team who were playing their first State playoff game down at ISU in the Dome. So that left me to help the boys wrestle. Scary! I know nothing about wrestling. Luckily, they have some good coaches and they both did great. I had told Chad if he got a pin that I would take him to the Straw Maze today. Looks like we're going to the Straw Maze tonight! He came out and pinned his first guy in Round 2! I was so proud of him! Here's a video of it. Chad is in the red. (And one of these days I'll remember that I have the camera in my hand and I'll quit being a screaming idiot mother!)

Chad excited about his Gold medal!

Kace looks so cute in his singlet! (Can't get Chad to wear one.) Kace loves putting it on and rubbing his tummy. He's such a fun kid! He has come a long way since last year. He didn't even get pinned last night! He beat his first kid 10-3 and lost his second match to a really good wrestler. But he put up a good fight and never quit! Here's one round of the match he won. Watch near the middle when he gets on top of the kid's back and his little legs just go a kickin'! He also shoots a smile at the camera a couple times. Kace is wearing the red singlet. So cute! He got a second place medal that he hasn't taken off yet. I'm pretty sure that's going to school this morning for show and tell.

Kace sporting his silver medal.

Chad and Kace NFL Flag Football

Chad and Kace both played NFL Flag Football this year. Chad's team was the Cowboys and Kace's team was the Colts. Jeff coached both teams and this kept us hoppin'! They both did great. Chad's team made the playoffs and ended up 3rd place. They did awesome and it was fun to watch.

This is Chad running for one of his many touchdowns this year!

He's a quick and was easy to see in his red cleats!

Kace had a blast. He loved spending time with his dad and being just like his brother!

Jeff loves coaching his kids!

Below is a video of one of Chad's touchdowns.

The video below is of a run Kace made.

I know, I know......it's been a really long time since I updated my blog. I have no excuses, other than my intimidation of technology. Since it would be too hard to back and catch up on all I've missed, I'm just going start with the here and now. So here goes.

Since our life seems to revolve around what activities the kids have going on, we'll start there. Mataia just finished up her first high school volleyball season. She transferred to Madison this year and she played on the JV Volleyball team as their setter. She made some great new friends and they had a very successful year, ending up with the best record in the conference. She was moved up to Varsity for the District tournament, where the team did not do so well. They ended up 4th in the Conference. Mataia felt really good about being moved up as a Freshman and totally enjoyed the volleyball season!

Morgan also transferred to Madison School District this year and attends Madison Middle School where she is in the 6th grade. She is loving it! She has made many new friends and is enjoying being in the orchestra. She has been playing competitive soccer this fall and will be starting her indoor soccer season tomorrow. She is having fun with this, too. She just turned 12 and is excited to move into the Young Women's organization at church.