Throwback Thursday

Preparing to slide down the stairs!

Fort-Tastic!!!

Snug as 3 bugs in a rug:

Jessica found a cozy place to read:

A long drive home from the basketball game:

This sequence of pictures of Lexi pushing Sophi on the swing was just too precious to pass up:

Growing Up

There are so many and varied emotions as you watch your kids grow up.  It is an amazing thing to see them become more and more mature, making weighty decisions, thinking about and planning for life as an adult, growing into big, strong bodies.  It is humbling and exciting and scary to watch them grow.  It's also painfully, tragically sad to look back at the pictures of them when they were so little.  When you (as parents) were their whole world.  One of the things that can vividly bring to remembrance the days when they were small is looking at things they used to wear.  Going through a box of 3-year-old clothing can really tug at the heart strings.

One particularly meaningful item of clothing in our family is a pair of flip-flops we bought for Taylor when he was two or three.  When we bought them, they had little palm trees on them, now long since worn away.  These flip flops went through Taylor, Parker, Jessica and Sophi.  Amazingly, they are still wearable and still here.  Hard to believe we never lost one of them.

Last year Christi was going through some old things and getting rid of stuff we didn't need any longer.  She called me down to look at some of the clothes for one last walk down memory lane before we discarded them.  Little striped shirts and jeans and jammies were hard to say good bye to.  But we both had the most difficult time with this pair of flip flops.  I decided to surprise Christi by framing them:).  Hard to believe these once belonged to our 6'4" basketball star!

Lookin' Good!

Christi and I were talking in the office on Sunday.  Suddenly Parker strutted by looking like this:

No wonder the girls can't resist him:)

-Dad

Ride'em Cowboy!

Every June, Herriman hosts a  PRCA rodeo.  As part of the festivities, they hold a "special needs rodeo" in the afternoon.  Local police and firefighters help the special needs children enjoy horseback riding, a mild mechanical bull, petting various farm animals and enjoying the outdoors.  It has become a tradition of ours to participate.  Here are some pictures and video from last year:)

-Jer

Cutest Cousins!

I can't remember if we've already posted this video of Sophi and her cousin, Emery.  Either way, it's sure to put a smile on your face:)

Jer

Ultimate Competitor

The world at large is seriously missing out by our lack of a family reality show.  Sophi alone could easily supply enough must-see-TV moments to fill a weekly program.  She is absolutely hilarious, often meaning to be and often not.  Since you don't have the benefit of watching Soph on a TLC show next week, I'll attempt to share one of her moments from last night.  It loses something in the telling, but such is life...

Most of our family members were playing games at the kitchen table.  Sophi scooted her way up to Christi, Taylor, Parker and me.  We were playing a word game that was a bit over Sophi's head.  As we finished up, Sophi asked, "Do you want to play Spot It?"  Spot It Junior is a great game that allows younger kids to be competitive with adults.  We played a few rounds and Sophi did very well.  Suddenly, caught up in the excitement of playing - and competing in - a fast-paced game, she switched gears.  She challenged me:  "Do you want to play Rock, Paper, Scissors?"  "Sure," I said.

So we began a game.  She chanted, "rock, paper scissors, ROCK!", pounding her little foot on the table with each word and ending with her 'fist' shaped like a rock.  I had chosen scissors, so she smashed my two fingers.  Again, "rock, paper, scissors, ROCK!" Again her little foot fist was a rock, but I had chosen rock this time as well--a draw.  Again she chanted with gusto, "rock, paper, scissors, ROCK!"  Again with the rock.  I had chosen paper and covered up her little fist with my open hand.  A fourth round, "rock, paper, scissors, ROCK!"  Sensing what she might choose, I went back to scissors and her little face lit up as she smashed my fingers.

At this point, Christi, Taylor, Parker and I were all desperately fighting the urge to devolve into fits of laughter.  Sophi's intensity combined with her fierce commitment to ROCK! was utterly hilarious.  I am guessing that her propensity for this choice is at least partly due to the difficulty of making scissors or paper with her foot.  We continued to play a few more rounds.  She continued to choose rock and I continued to choose scissors.  She continued to smash my fingers with gusto each time!  She then shared this with us:  "I play this with my friend at school and I ALWAYS win!"  Again the other four of us were left trying to avoid belly laughs at the thought of the rather poor strategy demonstrated by this friend of hers.

It was such a cute moment I had to take a picture:

Sophi looked at the image and exclaimed, "What?!?  That doesn't look like a rock!!!"

Love that girl:)

-Jeremy

Random PIcs

Taylor came home from church and was so exhausted he crashed on the couch.  Lacking a pair of earplugs, he dove under the cushion.  He is legitimately asleep here:)

I would love to know what dastardly plan Graci is concocting at this moment!

Xander seems to be her evil henchman...

My three bedraggled helpers as we shopped in the rain from some flowers to plant in our yard for Mother's Day 2015:

 Inseparable sisters!

Snug as a bug in a rug!

Cutie Cali:

 Basement flooding is a real bummer!

 Sophi selfie:

Fun conversations...

I drove Conner, Lexi and Sophi home from the basketball game last night.  In those 6-7 minutes Conner's cuteness made me smile over and over.

Sophi:  Mom, why can Conner have another piece of pizza when we get home and I have to go to bed?

Me:  Because Conner is older and doesn't need as much sleep as you do.

Conner:  Sophi!  You don't want to eat right before bed because you are a girl and you will get fat!  Me, I want to get fat.  It is my wish.

Me:  Your wish is to get fat?

Conner:  (very sincerely) Yes!  To get fat and get a girlfriend!

Later...

Conner:  I very like Skylee.  She is so cute.  I very want to have a daughter like her.  I want lots of daughters because girls are very good.

Sophi:  I want sons and daughters.

Lexi:  Me too.

Sophi:  I want 18 kids.

Conner:  18!!!!!  That is too many!!   That is too hard to take care of.  You should have maybe 10 or less.  I want to have maybe four.

Lexi:  I want 8 kids!

Me:  I want 10 kids!  Wait, I have 10 kids!!  I got my wish!!!  (lots of giggles) But did you know that when Dad and I were dating, I didn't want 10 kids?  He wanted 8 and I said maybe that was too many.  

So we kind of fought about it.  (Backpedaling...) Well, not really fought about it.  Just argued about it.  (Backpedaling again) I mean talked about it.  It wasn't a fight.

Conner:  Yes, Sophi, like when someone thinks one thing is right and another person thinks they are right and you just talk about it.

Me:  Yes, Dad and I don't fight.  We disagree sometimes.  But we don't yell at each other.

Conner:  (in earnest admiration) Yes!  You are right.  I never hear you fight.  Dad is a very good man.  Crazy, but very good.

Ha!  I love those cute kids of mine....

So Cute!

We are so grateful for the many fantastic programs available to visually impaired kids (and adults)!  These programs involve overnight programs, opportunities to meet well-known people who are blind, athletic activities, exposure to the arts, outdoor experiences and other activities which help our kids become more well rounded.  A big thanks to the many people who put these programs together and make them such wonderful experiences.  Earlier this month, Lexi and Conner attended a Project Strive activity.  They started out at Cracker Barrel for a great breakfast.  (If you've never been to Cracker Barrel, you're missing out.  Any of our friends from Tennessee can't understand that concept. Cracker Barrel is more ubiquitous than McDonalds in the south.  But if you live out west, find one and give it a try:)  After the meal, they went to the Hale Center Theater and saw the play "Beau Jest." They had a really fun day.  Every Cracker Barrel restaurant has rocking chairs on a covered porch.  Here are Lex and Conner resting up:

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Christi and I came home from a date the other night and found several of the kids watching a movie.  It warmed our hearts to see Sophi cuddled up to her big brother.  They are both so lucky to have each other!

Christmas in Argentina!

Sophi had to do a school report on Christmas in Argentina.  Here it is:  (guess which parent helped her.  Hint: she's really cute!)



-Jeremy

Happy Birthday Lexi!

Our sweet Lexi Li turned 11 on December 28.  With it being so close to Christmas, we are sometimes at Grandma's house for her big day.  Such was the case this year.  I was in Ferron with all of the kids except Elli.  Christi and Elli were sick and stayed in Herriman.  Lexi's day started out with breakfast in bed made by Grandma Nelson.  As per Lexi's request there were sausages and a smoothie (among other things!)  Most of the family then traveled down to Cedar City to watch her brothers play in a basketball tournament.  She got to stay in a hotel for one night, visit her aunt Leslie in St. George a second night, and enjoy a birthday dinner at Chili's.  She loved it when the servers came out to give her a birthday cake and sing Happy Birthday.  Can't believe how fast our sweet girl is growing!  Love you, Lex:)

-Dad

PS.  If you look closely at the first picture above you can see some rather talented toes resting on the side of Lexi's bed.  Pretty cute!!!

Honest Evaluation

Tonight I was putting some medicine on Sophi's toe before she went to bed.  She asked me, "How old are you?"  I replied that I was 43.  She started counting up from there.  "44, 45, 46, 47" and on and on.  She made a few mistakes along the way and I corrected her.  By the time she got into the 80's, I had completely forgotten what had started her counting.

She continued, "96, 97, 98, 99, 100, and then you will die?"

It took me a minute to grasp what she was saying.  Then I had to laugh and say, "Probably!"

Love that girl!!!

Jeremy

Blessed

We are so blessed!  It is tremendously humbling to see the many people who serve our family in so many ways.  We still have our amazing laundry fairies, who cannot possibly know what a blessing their service to our family has been.  We have grandmas, grandpas, siblings and other relatives who help to bear our burdens.  There are those who leave comments on our blog, Facebook and Instagram about how much they love our kids and how our kids have lifted their spirits.  The love they show in these comments lifts our spirits as well.  We still feel the love of the many, many, many people who helped to envision, design and build this incredible home.  (And we never take it for granted!  On a daily basis Christi and I talk about just how special an opportunity it is to live in a home not only tailor-made for our family, but a home in which the very walls are infused with the love of those who made it a reality.)  At this Christmas season we have felt the love of the many neighbors and friends who have sent cards and knocked on our door with neighbor gifts.  Thanks to all of you who continue to serve our family.

Today I want to specifically thank whoever brought the beautiful gift basket and left it on our porch a couple of days ago.  Not only was it filled with treats and delicious bread, it also had a Visa gift card with a balance that will help our family as we go through this holiday season.  We are so grateful!  Know that even though we are not sure who gave us this special gift, we are truly grateful.  And in some ways, it is wonderful not to know.  It allows us to think about the many people who may have been so generous.  So if you see Christi's or my smile linger on you for an extra second sometime in the next few days, we may be thinking "I wonder if it was them:)"

Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

-Jeremy

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

Yes, Christmas is without a doubt the most wonderful time of the year.  Celebrating the birth of our Savior is such a special opportunity each December.  The kids love the decorations and the music, the traditions and the extra time together.  We all love the spirit that fills the air.

There is, however, another thing that I look forward to this time of year...BASKETBALL!

Taylor and Parker both made the Providence Hall High School team.  They worked hard in pre-season practices, and then poor Taylor injured his knee in the first game and will be out until
January :(.  Poor kid!  He loves basketball so much, it's killing him to miss these games.

Parker is doing SO well.  As a 9th grader he is starting on the varsity team as the point guard.  He runs the offense very well, he averages 3 or 4 assists and 4 or 5 points per game.  But his defense and energy is what really sets him apart.  Defensively he gives the other teams fits.  Their point guards can't get in rhythm with Parker's constant deflections, steals and overall disruption of their sets.  He is so fun to watch!  (And so AWFUL to play against!)

Last night was fantastic!  (I'm not sure when my voice will recover;)  We played Rockwell, who is crazy good from the 3-point line.  They hit 70% (13/19) from behind the arc last night.  That is an almost unbelievable percentage.  We started out slow and they went up by 17 points.  It looked like it was going to be a long night.  Parker started slow and came out after a couple of minutes.  At the end of the 1st quarter we were down by about 15.  To start the 2nd quarter, Parker came in and never left the game again.  Parker's defensive intensity really helped the team to slow Rockwell down.  We closed out on their 3-point shots, limiting the number they could get off.  We rotated well to the ball.  And slowly we started to close the gap.  We were down by 5 at halftime.  Up by four at the end of the 3rd quarter.  Then it was a back and forth game in the 4th quarter.  Our big guy and our best 3-point shooter both scored a lot of points.  With 13.8 seconds left, we were down 45-44 and we were inbounding the ball.  We ran a play for our big guy in the middle.  He had scored 25 points on the night and was doing very well.  They anticipated that and as soon as he got the ball, 3 guys smothered him.   He spun around, but couldn't get a shot up.  He passed it down to Parker, who was on the left side of the hoop, about 5 feet away.  Parker took the shot...and made it!  With no time left on the clock!  We won 46-45.  Like I said, my voice is still just a hoarse whisper:)

Congratulations, Parker.  He was named player of the game by his coaches.  Here is the quote from Max Preps:

Player of the Game

Congratulations to #5 Parker Green for being selected the Providence Hall Basketball Player of the Game.

5 points, including game winning basket with no time remaining, great ball pressure defense leading to 4 steals plus numerous deflections and bad passes, 3 rebounds, 4 assists.

Taylor has been so supportive of his brother's success.  I'm so proud of both of them!  Her are some pictures.  They are from a game last week when our team got to play at the arena the Utah Jazz play in.  Fun!  Love you guys!  -Dad

Looks like he's trapped...

Not so much:)

Taylor looks glumly on.  Hope that knee heals quickly!!!

Wonderful boys.