When I pulled into the house today after dropping the kids off at school, this is what I saw all over the driveway...  

That says "Our parents rock!!"

Mike, maybe they really do love us...

It's about time!

It's official.  My dad finally retired!  It's about time and I am so excited for him.  

Look at this funny clock I found for him...  

My parents took all the adult children and our significant others out to celebrate...  It is so rare for me to see all my siblings - esp at the same time.  Gosh, I didn't realize what a shortie pants I am... 

Just the sisters....  Aren't they cute! 

Because you're dying to know what happened at The Regional Championship Game...

The night before the game, this good luck candy gram showed up for Mike on our doorstep from our good friends the Hesses.  I wish I knew how to explain the full-head-of-hair picture of Mike, but that's difficult.  Let's just say these particular friends had a baggie of Mike's hair clippings from his last haircut and they put it to good use.  Yes, it is a picture of Mike with his own real hair glued on.

It's much easier to explain why the headband at the bottom says "you can beat them and cancer".  A couple weeks ago Mike had some PREcancerous cells burned off his nose and he hasn't heard the end of it.  Mike does NOT have cancer - I repeat, Mike does NOT have cancer.       

Saturday morning came and we all gathered to watch.   

The cute little guys cheering on their dads.  

Before I get to the game, I need to point out one of the players on the other team... See #15 white directly under the hoop?  His name is Josh Grant and stands at a whopping 6'9".  That's not all....  Josh played for the University of Utah and then went on to play a year in the NBA for The Golden State Warriors before playing abroad for many years.  Did you catch that - he played in the NBA.  Our team knew this was going to be an uphill battle!  

Mike is #12, and yes he made that shot!  Along with many, many others!!  

We were down for a good chunk of the game, but stayed within reach.  Then with 19 seconds left (we were up by one) Mike was fouled and shooting two...

He came through, like he always does, and sunk them both.  The team was fired up and could smell victory.  

Fans on the sidelines were sharing play-by-plays to those that weren't able to come...    

With the championship within reach, our guys started fighting even harder...  They had a steal and some clutch free throws that pulled us through for the win.  YEAH!  

VICTORY

And here they are... The 2013 Bountiful Region Champions!  

One more picture with Josh Grant in the back.  He was good sport and was very fun to watch.

I couldn't be more proud of my man.  They all had a good game, and it was a team effort, but I thought Mike played exceptionally well!  Way to go babe!

Final 4 baby!

When you look at this group of guys don't you automatically think basketball rockstars?  Well, if not, you should!

This is our ward's basketball team.  Don't be deceived by their lack of height, these guys rock.  Right now we are in the thick of playoffs searching for the most deserving team to call the regional champions.  Last night the final four teams battled it out.  It was exciting.  It was nail biting. It was hair raising.  It was physical.  Players were thrown out.  And our ward's team came out victorious, earning them a spot in the regional championship game!  

I forgot my camera (again!), so I only got a couple with Mike's phone.  I know - what a lousy wife I am... But I did get this picture of him making one of many free throws he made last night.  Mike was on fire which made it so fun to watch.  I get so nervous for him - I felt like my heart was pounding out of my chest the entire game.    

They only have today to recover for the Championship game in the morning. Stay tuned...    

Look who's outside in just a onesie...

Yup, it finally feels like Spring!  

Onesie babies are my favorite.  I can't get enough of their chubby little arms and legs poking out free.

Can you feel the love the warm sunshine brings?

Be sure to stay hydrated!  

Without a doubt, this is my favorite time of year!!  

A bunch of random pictures that don't really go together...

Saturday morning I woke up to a quiet house and thought I was the first one up.  I climbed out of bed and went to go peek at the kids. When I walked around the edge of my bed, this is what I saw...  Seriously.  I didn't even hear them in my room.  They each found an electronic device of some sort and turned the volume down so we couldn't hear them.  Sneaky little rascals...

Speaking of sneaky...  Two weeks ago at church, Will decided he wasn't feeling like joining his Sunbeam class. So without Mom and Dad seeing, he snuck into the CTR6 class with big brother.  I didn't find out until class was almost over, but apparently he said the opening prayer, raised his hand to answer all the questions, and sat like a perfect little angel.  The teacher is my next door neighbor that adores Will and she took this picture of him to show me how cute he was being.  He loves feeling like a big kid.  

I love this picture.  Look how cute Meg is watching basketball with her daddy. 

Rock n' bowl with the kiddies.  

Will and his favorite cousin Easton... Twice a month my twin and I swap boys so they can play while the big kids are at school.  Will looks forward to it all month long!  

This picture makes me smile.  

The weather is warming up and I couldn't be happier.  My itch to run has finally come back and I am so thankful.  (For a while there, I really thought it may have been gone forever).  Mike bought me some new shoes and I am in love.  They aren't the prettiest, but man do they feel awesome.  They are called Nike Frees and they are so light I barely notice they are on.  When I first tried them on, they felt awkward and I didn't like them, but after a day or two, they molded to my foot and felt just right.  Try them if you haven't!!  

There definitely are things about this house that drive me crazy and I have dreams of changing one day, but then there are things that I absolutely love.  The open space in the kitchen is my favorite thing about this house.  The kids love to ride their bikes and run around in circles together.  I would love to know the number of times they've lapped the kitchen in the almost 2 years we've lived here -- I'm sure it would be shocking.  

This particular morning they spent a good 30 minutes chasing each other around and around.  Mike and I just sat on the side and watched, it was so cute.  I tried to capture the fun they were having, but I just ended up with a bunch of blurry pictures...  Oh well, you get the idea.

Meg loves this game and she is quite the little runner already.  She is sturdy and quick for such a tiny lady.

Check out that long lizard tongue...  no wonder she has trouble keeping it in her mouth...

She loves bananas

But old banana peels???

Not so much...