Wrestling

Tucker wanted to wrestle again this year so we signed him up.  He practiced two nights a week for an hour and a half each night.  I would go to all the practices and help him out.  One time I didn't arrive until the end of practice and he was bummed I wasn't there.  I know some other kids didn't like having their dads there, so I asked him what he preferred.  Without hesitating he said that he preferred I was there to help him.  I had fun spending two nights a week with him at the high school.

Wrestling is hard work, but can also be very rewarding.  At times Tucker would get tired of the work required, but he enjoyed the results of the hard work.  He is a very smart kid, which helps a ton in wrestling.  People think wrestling is all about brute strength.  While strength can help, smarts will beat strength more often than not.  Tucker tends to be a more mild mannered kid.  Not really aggressive.  That hurts you in wrestling.  So after his first tournament we talked to him about being the aggressor on the mat.  Going after the other kid instead of letting his opponent come to him.  The next tournament he did just that it was awesome to see the improvement.  We entered him into 3 tournaments this year.  He took 3rd at one and 1st at the other two. He was so proud of his medals he won.  The season is now over until next November.  

We also signed Cole up for the really beginners class.  He enjoyed it.  I think he just enjoys the rough and tumble style of play.  That's his type of fun.  We will put him in the beginners class one more year and then he can move up to the next level.

January catch up

I surprised Cody with tickets to the Monster Truck rally for Christmas. We had both never been so we doubled with my brother Spencer. It was loud and a lot of fun. 

 On January 13th I took Aubrey to the allergist to have her retested for peanuts and envirnmental. This girl lucked out and is no longer allergic to peanuts. They tested her twice for peanuts because her back test came out negative. They tested her forearm as well and still negative. They had her do an in office eating test so I went to the vending machine and bought her Reese's peanut butter cups. She ate one and didn't want to eat the other one yet. We had to wait 20 minutes after to see if she had any side effects. None so she was clear and I took her back to school. Happy day! Tucker isn't happy about it. He wants to be peanut free, but now we are down to only 2/4 allergies in our home. 

 We went skiing as a family on January 17th up at Brighton ski resort. We put Blake in ski school for the day and the rest of us hit the slopes. Tucker received poles for Christmas so he was excited to use those this year. He is finally ready for them. Aubrey skis great and Cole remembered a lot. He skied with Cody the first couple of runs and did awesome. We enjoyed a beautiful day that wasn't too cold and were able to look down into our Heber Valley from the top. You can even see Memorial Hill and our neighborhood if you zoom in on the picture below. 

 Cole fell asleep before we were halfway down the canyon. Blake's ski instructor said he did a great job. We plan to go again this Saturday. This seems to be the year that winter skipped Utah, but thankfully the resorts are still making snow and the mountains have enough to  make it fun for the kids. We are living the dream!

New Years Day

On New Years Day we drove down to Spring City with Cody's parents to visit Cody's uncle Rees. He recently moved down there. He lives alone and is also Cerola's twin brother. He took us up the canyon to ride his snowmachines.  First the kids had to pick the icicles off his house.

 My Grandpa's snowmobiles are fun, but these machines, especially the one in most of these pictures is FAST. 

 My silly kids did snowangels face first in the snow. 

Mickey and Cerola

 On our way home we spotted a bunch of mountain goats on the rocks up Provo canyon. If the picture can enlarge you will see them on the lower ledge. They are cream colored. It was a fun way to kick off the new year.

Christmas break

After Christmas I headed up to our family cabin for a couple days with my family while Cody had to work unfortunately. The last week of the year is always busy for him while patients try to get as much out of their insurance. The temperatures were freezing, but the kids had fun playing with their cousins and ventured outside to ride the snowmobiles and sled. I was able to visit with my cousin Heidi that I don't see often and make yummy caramel corn.

 

 Aubrey and Blake are good buddies.

 It was fun having uncle Spencer around this year. He's been gone the past 2 years on his mission.

 We love the cabin.

 We stayed home for New Year's Eve and I let Tucker and Aubrey stay up until midnight. Cody went to bed early and these two were my dates. We watched the ball drop in Times Square complete with some Taylor Swift singing and dancing and then we busted out the sparkling cider. I'm sure they thought I was a little crazy!

 Then we gave kisses cheered to a New Year and were off to bed. You can see Tucker struggled to stay awake.

Christmas Festivities

This year we spent Christmas Eve with the Calderwoods. We drove down and spent the afternoon playing games and ate dinner and opened our gifts since we wouldn't see them on the 25th. Car selfie with Aubrey trying to photobomb in the background. 

 Comefords showing some pda.

 Cole looks like he needs a few more minutes of sleep. I have a few traditional photos I like to take and the pre presents stairs photo is one. I got lucky and am in it this year.

 Where's my stocking?!!

 Aubrey's loot! Santa brought her a Secret Password Journal.

  Little man wanted Shark Mania, but he still won't let me call him shark bait.

 Tucker received a microscope. He really wanted to look at his boogers!

 Crazy Cole received Disney Infinity, but forgot to specify to Santa to buy it for the Wii and got it for XBox. Thankfully Santa left a receipt.

 After a fun morning of playing with presents we headed down to Great Grandpa Fosters for lunch and our white elephant trading game. Then off to Grandma and Grandpa Fosters house for more presents. Tucker and Parker received lego sets.

 All of the Foster kids pitched in and gave my Dad a big ladder to replace the scary ladder he's been using for years. Now we can feel safe when he climbs on the roof.

We had a nice small Christmas. Our big gift for our entire family is that we are headed to DisneyWorld in January for a week. Originally we were going to wait until Christmas to tell them, but decided to tell them early. We actually leave in 2 days!

Chop Chop

I have been wanting a change for awhile now and with the weight loss I've been finally having you would think that is enough, but nope I want more. I decided to chop my hair off. I have been letting it grow since I stopped radiation on April 2, 2012. I had two hair trims since then to help the hair grow out a little better. One of my friends I met through my Bunko group works at a salon and so we made an appointment and she cut off 10 inches for me. I love the final result! Of course I saved my ponytail. Who knows if I'll ever need it again. Habit. : )

 I didn't tell my family and showed up to our family party that next Sunday night with my new short locks. It's fun to swish my hair around my face. Much faster to get ready. Aubrey actually yelled at me when I picked her up from school that day. Poor girl has all the hair in the family again. My hair grows so fast that I'm sure it'll be back in a ponytail by the time the school year is over.

 And my husband can have a nice unicorn Mohawk look!

 I get a lot of folks asking me what Cody thinks of it. He doesn't really mind what I do with my hair. He used to joke, as long as I don't buzz it, but then we shared buzz haircuts for a few months, but that wasn't my choice! The Balderwoods were a cute couple!

Aubrey's 2nd grade program

Aubrey's 2nd grade program was on December 18th. Grandma and Grandpa Foster were both able to come and watch it. Aubrey did a great job singing. The classes sang songs, danced and talked about Christmas traditions from around the world.

 Here she is with two of her friends/twins, Ava and Alma.

 Tajia Landon and Aubrey. 

 Aubrey's teacher Mrs. Tibbetts, Beck and Tajia and Grandpa in the background. All the kids named in the pictures are in the dual immersion program. There are 5 2nd grade classes at Midway Elementary.