Memories for February: She Walked!

My mom loved to go on walks.  From the time I was very young, I can remember going on walks.  We had several different routes around our neighborhood depending on how long of a walk we wanted to go on...over to the junior high school, up to the elementary, just around the block...we went in all kinds of weather.  We went on lots of Sunday walks...usually in the late afternoon or evening.  It was just something we did on that day.  Sometimes we would bring a treat along to nibble.  I remember specifically graham crackers or candy bars!  We always talked as we walked...telling stories to each other all the time.  One time when we were teenagers, we went for a Sunday walk.  I remember walking along 400 East (most likely holding hands because we liked to hang on each other!) and we passed a guy from our ward.  I think he was on a motorcycle or maybe walking by too...but he pointed at our family and stated, "I'm jealous!"  We laughed about it for years...and considered it a high compliment, too.

My mom walked almost every weekday morning with her friends...we called them "The Walking Ladies" and the faster they talked, the faster they walked.  They also went out in all kinds of weather which I know was a sacrifice for my mom because she was always cold!  Those ladies were just the best.  They had all the information on everything and everybody, but not in a gossipy way, just in a caring way of making sure people and things were being taken care of.  I never realized how wonderful and therapeutic that must have been for my mom until last summer when I started walking in the evenings with a good friend.  Each day, I would look forward to our walks...a time just to talk and be understood and validated...I'm sure it was the same for my mom.

Now, whenever I go home to see my dad or my siblings, we go on walks.  I love to walk around the Provo neighborhood with my dad and Pat.   And when we vacationed last summer in Park City, we took walks.  I have walked with Katy in Texas, with Mellie in Tooele and when Chris and his family came here, we took a long Sunday walk.  My kids love to go on walks...and often when I go around the block, I think of my mama!  One day, we will walk together again.

(Katy and Sutton on a walk here in Iowa back in 2010)

(On a walk with Mel in 2007)

(Not a walking picture with Chris's family in 2012...but we went on a walk after we went to church!)

The Month of February and Musical Notes

I must explain the title of this post....First, today is February 1.  I know it sounds strange, but I really love February.  It is the month of love!  And Valentine's Day is one of my very favorite holidays.  As you may know, my mom's birthday is on Valentine's Day!  And so I thought that I would try and blog a memory about her each day leading up to February 14.  My girls are always asking about her and I wanted to record some of my memories for my family to enjoy.  So I will start that tomorrow!
Here is a picture from last Valentine's Day...I am glad that I feel a lot better this February...and that I have my baby Luke to enjoy this year!

And now for the "musical notes" portion of the title!  It has been an amazing musical month for Ashton.  First, she was selected to perform in the SEISTA Honors Orchestra.(stands for South East Iowa....)  She spent the day at a local high school with other students from the area...they practiced and rehearsed and then that night presented a fabulous concert.  She has excelled so much on her violin and really loves it.

Ashton was also asked to sing in the Southeast Iowa Youth Honor Choir which was held yesterday.  It was at a high school in a small town just up the road...and it was an amazing experience!  Ashton has such a great middle school music teacher...she really admires Mr. T so much, and he is just the best.  So he had asked a handful of his students to participate in this great opportunity...and I got to go along too!  (Thanks to good friends and Tod who pitched in at home to make it possible for me to be gone for the whole day!)  There were students from about 20 different schools at the event and during the last month or so, they had all been working on the same music.  Then they came together and worked all day to really polish the songs.  The evening ended with a spectacular concert.  I had brought a bag with me of things to read, but I ended up just sitting the whole day and watching everything that was happening and soaking it all in.  The director was amazing and the kids were so talented.  I absolutely love to see kids participating in music and finding joy in it.  There is such an energy to choirs.  It took me back to my days in choir which I absolutely loved!  The music that they performed was very diverse from a South African song to a Bolivian lullaby to Irving Berlin's "Play for Me a Simple Melody."  It was all wonderful.  And of course, a highlight for me was spending time with just Ashton, such a treat!  We had Subway for lunch and then went out to dinner at Pizza Hut with her classmates and teacher.  It was a very long day (9 AM- 8 PM) but so memorable and worthwhile!  I'm glad that Ashton loves music as much as I do!

Celebrating our Ten Year Old

So for some reason, January is whizzing by...it is sooooo cold and snowy and school is cancelled yet again today...but I am looking at the calendar and realizing this is the last week of January.  And Jordan's 10th birthday was actually 2 weeks ago, so I want to get some things recorded about this spectacular girl and her big day.
Our celebrations actually started the night before with a pre-birthday dinner and brownies.  We also make some oreo treats for school.

The next morning, she was up early to open up a birthday sweatshirt and get ready for the day.  It was so fun to have the whole day just to celebrate my girl.  I love birthdays for that reason...I love to think back on my baby's birth and the joy and happiness surrounding their lives.  I was pregnant with Jordan when we moved to Iowa 10 years ago!

This year was one of the warmest January 13th days I can ever remember.  Blue sky and melting snow...gorgeous.
We snapped a few pics before school.

Tod was really sick (someone is always sick on Jordan's birthday!), but it worked out because I got to take her to lunch all by myself.  Time alone was priceless.  This girl is so fun to be with...she has the best sense of humor and is such an interesting conversationalist.

After our feast at Burger King (her choice!), we went and picked out some new tennis shoes.
After school, we had her traditional birthday present treasure hunt...different presents in each room of the house and lots of help unwrapping things.

Jordan was her usual good sport with her scatter-brained mother...I had been on the hunt for a certain lego set...there was a mix up and it wasn't going to arrive until a few days later.  She was so sweet about it though and reassured me that she didn't mind!  (A picture of her reading the note I had made explaining the situation!)

What's a birthday this year without a rainbow loom?

For dinner, Jordan chose homemade pizza and special guests were our wonderful neighbors whom Jordan adores.  Jordan had requested that Krystin decorate sugar cookies as softballs and snowmen.  They were so cute!

 The babies that are only 4 days apart!

It was a wonderful, wonderful day spent celebrating a wonderful girl.
Here she is a few days later when her Lego house arrived.

And then a week later we had her birthday party at the bowling alley...bowling on Martin Luther King Day is getting to be a birthday tradition for Jordan..it was lots of fun.  She has the cutest group of friends...they are  her teammates, class mates, and neighbors and they all get along so well.  Of course, we had to have her doughnut cake.  It was a fantastic, simple party.

Some things about Jordan at age 10:
- I do not know how I would have survived this past year without my Jordan.  Hands down, she has been my best helper with Luke.  She is so patient with him and has such a special touch.  When he is especially fussy, she can calm him down, and she has so much confidence with him.
-Speaking of confidence, this girl has got it!  I love 10 years old...they are still the best in their own eyes, they love their parents and live life with such zest and fun.  Oh, may she somehow keep that with her through the next years.
-Jordan loves to play school.  She has a classroom set up in her bedroom and loves all types of school supplies.  Her lesson plans are amazing and rival the plans of any seasoned teacher.  When she and her friend started their recycling club this year, they went into several classrooms to teach mini-lessons about their ideas.  The teachers couldn't believe how well these girls could handle the class.  I totally credit Jordan for Regan's success with reading.
- Lest you think this girl is perfect...don't even touch her stuff without asking, and even then she is a little uptight.  She has an inventory of all her things and cannot stand clutter or disorganization.  I drive her a little nuts in this way.  Occasionally, she has a bit of her dad's honory streak in her, too...especially when she is tired or sick of people.  She loves her alone time.
-Jordan loves her sports and being active!  Right now she is playing indoor soccer, basketball, and practicing softball indoors.  She tries so hard...her biggest challenge is being a perfectionist...she thinks you should make all your shots, block all the goals and only throw strikes.  She is one tough cookie, and we love to watch her play and improve.
-Jordan is always willing to do better...at the beginning of the year, she was struggling just a little bit with math, but she made up her mind to work even harder.  Now she is acing all her tests and excelling even more.  She often asks her coaches what she can work on and improve.  She works hard at reading her scriptures and understanding and applying Gospel principles.
-Jordan is good at thinking of others.  She is a good example to me in this way.  For her birthday, Cole had insisted on getting a certain banner at the Dollar Store.  It was a little boyish, but he was just sure that Jordan would love it.  When I explained the situation to her, she was so cute making him feel important and like he had just picked out the perfect thing for her.  She is good at putting others feelings first.

-She is just fun to have around...a great sense of humor, a shrewd understanding of sarcasm, and a kind and helpful spirit make this girl one of a kind!

Year in Review 2013

A look back at 2013!
January:  Jordan celebrated her 9th birthday, and it was a memorable birthday because she was so sick! Despite getting the flu shots, Cole, Regan and Jordan all got very sick and spent most of the month recovering.  It seemed especially hard, as I was pregnant.  Ashton and Jordan both started their winter seasons of Wildcat basketball, and Regan played Dad's Club basketball for the first time.

February:  As my pregnancy progressed, I started to get more and more uncomfortable and it really just became survival at this point.  I was having a lot of contractions and just hoping to make it to my due date. We played a lot of basketball and had a lot of fun at the NGBA tournament.  Steve and Cindy came up and spent that weekend with us.  I was able to continue coaching Ashton's team (mainly from the bench!) We celebrated Valentine's Day with classroom parties and fun.  Ashton participated in her first Solo Festivel for violin, and Meg and Jeremy and their girls came up for a wonderful visit that same weekend.  Tod completed his 2nd year as Bishop of our ward.

March:  We continued to have cold weather and even more snow!  The kids and I attended a Big Brothers/Big Sisters class at the hospital to prepare for our big event.  Cole celebrated his 4th birthday.  Tod and I took him to Chuck E. Cheese and we had friends over for dinner.  He didn't want a friend party.  We had spring break, and all I did was try to get through it. I felt bad that we didn't do anything really fun, but I was so uncomfortable and ready for the baby to come!  We enjoyed a fun, simple Easter at home.  Jordan started learning to play the viola.

April:  My wonderful friends threw me a baby shower during the first week of the month.  And just a few days later, the biggest and most important event of the year was here...the birth of our Luke Angelo on April 8.  We were so happy and relieved to finally have him here.  We spent the month enjoying our "big" baby, adjusting to our new life style, enduring endless rain, and enjoying visits from Steve and Cindy as well as Aunt Katy.  Spring soccer also started up for the girls.

May:  It was such a busy month with so many events and a newborn baby sprinkled in the mix.  Jordan's softball (with her dad as coach) was in full swing, along with soccer, field trips, orchestra concerts, Regan's dance recital and other end of the year events.  Ashton "graduated" from 5th grade.  Jordan finished up 3rd grade, Regan completed kindergarten and Cole finished his first year of preschool.  We all enjoyed my Mother's Day gift...a trampoline.  We worked hard in the yard and were so glad to see our front grass finally growing!

June:  It was a fun birthday month.  Ashton turned 11 and had a mini-golf party.  Regan celebrated her 7th birthday on Father's Day and had a swimming party.  We spent lots of evenings at the ball park watching Jordan's softball team and Regan's coach pitch team.  Ashton and Jordan held their "summer preschool" for neighborhood and church friends.  We also went swimming a lot with friends and all 3 girls participated in the Wildcats Sports Summer training program.

July:  We spent most of the month in Utah and had such a wonderful time.  A highlight was blessing Luke in the Bountiful 14th ward and spending time with family and friends.  We also spent a week in Park City at the Anderson/Harris family reunion.  The government workers officially began their "furlough" of having one day a week without pay.

August:  I turned 37 and celebrated with a trip to Nauvoo.  We loved our annual ward trip to the River Bandits baseball game and also went boating with friends.  School began very early this year, and we ventured into new territory as Ashton started middle school.  Jordan started 4th grade, Regan started 1st grade and Cole started preschool each afternoon.  The corn was so beautiful and so green this year, and I took many pictures of the Iowa views.  Steve and Cindy left for their church service mission in Utah.

September:  I took a wonderful trip to Virginia with Dad and Pat and it was great to see my old mission area.  We slowly adjusted to a busy school routine.  We loved watching the girls play fall soccer and enjoyed spectacular fall weather.  We took a day trip to the Maquoketa caves with friends and loved hiking around.  We attended a few high school football games and got to watch Regan as a junior cheerleader.  Jordan played double headers once a week in a fall softball league. Ashton continue to thrive and really loved middle school.  Cole tolerated school and spent every other spare moment playing outside with his neighborhood buddy.  We had our primary program at church- it was my 3rd one as the music leader.  I continued to enjoy my calling as the Activity Days leader, especially since Jordan and Ashton are both in the program.

October:  Uncle Jed popped in for a weekend visit which was awesome.  The government shutdown was in full swing and added some stress to our lives as we wondered about the future of Tod's job. Thankfully, it was short lived for the moment, although the uncertainty remained.  We took the trip of a life time to the Wisconsin Dells and had an amazing time together as a family. We enjoyed all the Halloween festivities including trick or treating in the rain.

November:  Basketball season was in full swing again for Ashton and Jordan along with trying indoor soccer for the first time.  Regan started taking weekly tumbling lessons which she loves.  Tod and I went with friends to the BYU versus Notre Dame game in Indiana.  My dad and brother and nephews met us there and then Dad came home to Iowa for a few days.  Tod turned 37. We spent Thanksgiving at our dear friends the Despains home with many church friends.  That weekend we also got to have a visit from Megan and Jerimy and the girls.

December:  A busy month full of all things holiday along with lots of sports.  We loved going to Ashton's Christmas orchestra concert and Cole's preschool program.  We really enjoyed the music of the season and the addition of Luke to our family this year for his first Christmas. Of course girl scout parties, the ward Christmas party and making gingerbread houses are always fun.  Our Christmas Eve was made memorable by our trip to sing at a local retirement center, as well as dinner with neighbors.  Christmas Day was a wonderful time to be together enjoying new gifts.  We invited several friends over from church for the evening.  We loved relaxing over Christmas break, especially sleeping in and staying up late and having a break from all lessons and practices.  We felt thankful for a wonderful year...a year with some challenges but a year full of many, many blessings.