Learning to Crochet!

My first attempt at crocheting anything since I was about 12 or so and Grandma Johnson taught me to make a granny square!  I don't know why I'm nesting when SHE is having a baby, but the thought of being a grandma makes me want to make things!  I'm sure I made a million mistakes, but I'm pretty pleased with the result, and I'll bet Grandma is too! 

Girls Play Week!!

Last week, Ammon was going down to Cedar City for a football camp at SUU.  Naturally, I had to take him and stay for the week, so the girls came with me for a little girl time.  We had a great time visiting with Jayme and doing girl things.  The girls swam a lot, we ate a lot, and just relaxed and had fun.

Here's Jordyn enjoying an orange at the Chinese Buffet we enjoyed while taking a break from swimming.
It was pretty hard to get Jordyn out of the pool, ever, but food did the trick.  It was funny, because even though she is terrified of the water, and clings to her floaty or one of us, she loves it and wants to stay in all the time.  Finally by the end of the week she got a little braver, and would let us play with her more.

We went to see the new Disney movie, "Brave", and Jordyn rocked out at the display for the movie "Rock of Ages".  Brave wasn't what I expected, but it was still pretty good.  Of course Jordyn loved it, the heroine is a "fighting, princess", just like her!

Jordyn was all ready for a day shopping the outlets in St. George.  It was a HOT day, but we had fun finding bargains, and of course we had to buy a few baby things.  We also found the perfect parking space!  What I want to know is, why am I nesting when she is the one having the baby??  What grandma-to-be can resist baby clothes, certainly not me!  If only we knew whether to buy pink or blue... oh well, buy one of each!!

What girl time is complete without pedicures, right?  Jordyn worked very hard to give her sisters pedi's and they gave her a mani/pedi.

The finished product!  Notice the fine job Jordyn did on Jenn's nails! :)  As the polish was dripping off one side, Jordyn was trying to tip Jenn's foot to the other side so it wouldn't drip off.  She didn't quite get the hang of the less is more philosophy.

Finally we made funnel cake, yummy!!

We had a great time, but on Thursday morning, it was time to leave. :(  It was so wonderful to spend time with my girls, I'm so glad we can have so much fun together!  We even let Cassidy and Ammon hang out with us a little bit.  On the way home, we saw all the smoke from one of the terrible fires we are having this summer.  This one is burning near Delta.

 It was an exhausting week, and everyone was pooped on the way home.  Ammon said the camp was good, definitely worth it, and that he learned a lot.  He sure was beat, so I guess they worked him hard.  It's just not fair that I couldn't nap on the ride home too!!
 

Let's Play Catch-Up!!!

 Easter:  Easter was pretty different this year.  Jenn and Adam were still in Boston, Jayme and Cassidy were coming for dinner only, and I couldn't find a leg of lamb!!  Ok, take that back.  I found one, but it was $80!!  We were all pretty disappointed, but we made some really yummy teriyaki steaks.  The "thing" on all the blogs this year was coloring eggs with Kool-Aid.  It was supposed to be cheaper and produce brighter colored eggs.  Well, wrong on both of those counts, but it did smell much better!

 Everyone gets in on the act

 Jordyn's cute cover-up fashioned from a garbage bag.

Track:  Matthew decided to run track this year.  That boy is just full of surprises!  He ran the 800 meter, and also gave the high jump a shot.  He decided that "white boys can't jump", but improved his time on the 800 by about :30 over the course of the season.  I call that great success!!

 The approach

 The jump

 Run like the wind!!

 We Stone's have mad hops you know

Dance:  Jordyn completed another year of dance, and had her dance recital.  She was all prepped and ready, she knew her dances, but had an attack of nerves when she got on stage and was a little shy.  She still did great, and has improved a ton this year.  She has decided she would like to be on a competition team next year, so we are preparing for that.  Fun, fun, fun!!

Last day of School:  Jordyn had such a fantastic year in first grade!  She had the best teacher in the world, and we love her to death!!  Miss Wilkinson made everything so much fun for everyone, and she is such a sweetheart, we are really going to miss her.  For the end of year program, the kids did short plays of fractured fairy tales.  Jordyn was in one called The Bremertown Rappers.  She was Donkey MC, and the star of the day.  Everyone thought she did a great job, it was pretty darn cute!

Dad's 80th Birthday Bash

My dad turns 80 on March 14 this year. We wanted to do something special for him, but we wanted it to be a surprise. We started out by hacking his facebook and e-mail, and sending out requests to friends and family. His sister, my Aunt Kathleen and her husband, Ed Pipkin, were able to come up on Friday. Unfortunately, she had posted on facebook a message to her son that led Dad to guess that she would be here. We all had dinner at our house on Friday, and it was great, even if he wasn't totally surprised. On Saturday, we hung out, went to lunch, and got ready for the party. We all went to Goodwood's for a delicious dinner, and came back to our house for cake.


A lady that Dad knew from Santa Ana found out what we were doing and drove down from Logan to see Dad and wish him a happy birthday. They hadn't seen each other in over 30 years, and neither one recognized the other, but the both enjoyed the reunion. Another couple from his ward in Spanish Fork also came over for a bit. We had put together a book of letters from friends and family, and made a video with lots of pictures for him. It was a great weekend!! Happy Birthday Dad, I love you!!!

Maple Mountain --- State Wrestling Champs!!!

This wrestling season started with Ammon saying he didn't want to wrestle. He had thought it out, prayed about it, and made a list of pros and cons. I wasn't going for force him, but I sure tried hard to convince him to wrestle. His coaches tried the whole guilt trip, "you owe it to the team" thing, but that didn't work. Ammon was poised to have a great year and the team was expected to dominate, but that wasn't enough. Finally, a very special coach called Ammon, invited him to his home, and really listened to what Ammon had to say. After about an hour, they were able to work out some compromises, and Ammon agreed to wrestle.

The team went undefeated in dual matches. They traveled to the Reno Tournament of Champions and placed 7th. They took first place at The Rumble, Millard Iron Man, Delta Great Basin Grapple, West Jordan Jaguar Classic, Region 8 tournament and were state champions!! Maple Mountain is only in it's first year, and it was the first state championship the school has ever won. It was so exciting and fun to be a part of that.

Ammon still had some challenges, after all, he is a sophomore wrestling 195 lbs. Almost all of the wrestlers he lost to were seniors this year, since they will be gone next year, that sets him up pretty well for next year. He was one match shy of placing at the Rumble, took second at Maple Mountain Madness, and placed 4th at region. Because of the totally stupid way that Utah brackets the state tournament, he had the first place kid in the first round. He fought a hard fight, and only lost 5-1 to the eventual state champion. He was able to win one match in the consolation bracket, and then lost to the kid who was the number 2 seed, and eventually took third. His overall record for the year was 28-13 with 24 wins by pin. I am so proud of Ammon. He worked hard, and it paid off for him. He had a great year, was part of a record setting, state championship team, and had a little fun along the way. I can't wait to see the great things ahead for him next year!!

Ch-ch-ch-changes....

Twenty seven years ago, I graduated with my bachelors degree in dental hygiene. It was a good career choice. I worked for ten years at various dental offices. I was able to work part time, help support our family, and help Dennis work his way through school. Sixteen years ago, when Ammon was born, I was blessed to be able to stay home to raise our children full time. I never had any desire to go back to work, and have been totally fulfilled staying home. People have asked me if I would go back to dental hygiene, and my answer was always something like, "If it's the end of the world and I'm forced to." I've been very happy staying home with my children and caring for our family and home.

This fall, Jordyn started first grade, and I was home all day. Alone. For the first time. Ever. I got bored. I sat around being incredibly un-productive, and wasted more days than I care to admit. I decided that I needed something different. I started applying for jobs at the schools as an aide or a tech or something. I wanted to be able to be on the same schedule as my kids, be home when they are, and have time to be involved in their activities. I finally was hired last week as a Title 1 Tech at Rees Elementary. I started Monday, with much anxiety and trepidation. After all, how would I ever fit in lunch dates while working 10-2 every day? Would I be able to do all I need to do every day? What about lunch? Would my family suffer? When would I go to lunch?

Well, so far so good. I think I like my job, and I believe that the family is doing fine. I am more organized, and waste much less time. I think this will be a good thing.

Matthew Wrestles?!?

Like all of our boys, Matthew started wrestling in kindergarten. After first grade, my mild- mannered, tender-hearted little boy decided that wrestling wasn't for him. We didn't fight him on it and let him quit. After all, Matt didn't have the aggressive, killer instinct that his two older brothers did. Every year, we'd ask if he wanted to try it again, and the answer was always "no". Last year, he waffled a little, but then decided he didn't want to try to compete with or measure up to Ammon. I tried telling him that everyone knows he isn't Ammon, and if he wants to do something he should just do it. No one would think badly of him if he wasn't as good as his brother. He still chose not to wrestle. This year, he shocked us all by announcing he was going to wrestle. The first week, he had a particularly hard practice, came home super discouraged, and wanted to quit. I wouldn't let him, and by the next day, he was fine.

Matthew went into the season with three goals: win five matches, be the best at his weight once, and be able to do 50 burpies. I am thrilled to announce that he has achieved all of his goals. Matthew has come so far and improved so much in just this one year, and I couldn't be more proud of him. The best part of Matt is his attitude though. He never gets upset when he loses, and he listens and learns to correct his mistakes the next time. He told me that as long as he does his best, he doesn't care what anyone else thinks. How's that for a winner? Even though it was a tough season, and he was wrestling older kids with much more experience and strength, Matthew had a positive attitude. He had fun making new friends and being part of the state championship team. Keep up the good work Matthew, I love you and am so happy you are my son!!