Sambo's Skiing & Superbowl Birthday!

My firstborn son is 12. Twelve!

I can't stand it, and yet I am so excited for him.  12 is a big year...going to YM and becoming a Deacon, going in to Junior High, puberty, becoming aware of girls...

He really, really wanted a cell phone for his birthday. So much that he decided not to have a friend birthday party so money could be spent on a phone. I couldn't stand no doing anything on his birthday, so I let him choose somewhere we could go as a family to celebrate.  He wanted to go skiing, so we went to Sundance for night skiing and dinner.  His buddy Seth came too.

We love Sundance. Everything about it. But especially eating in this cozy lodge by the fire. Yum!

The next day was Superbowl Sunday.  Broncos vs Patriots. We had the family over for dinner and a party!  Most of us were cheering for the Broncos.

The Patriots won. It was probably one of the worst games we've ever watched, but we still had fun!

Sambo got what he wanted...a cell phone! He was so, so happy!

For another gift, he also got to be able to go back to Ridgeline!  BS and I decided that he had earned it and we could tell he was missing his friends too much.  Here he is on his first day back before school:

I just love this boy so much!

Cougar football

We love going to the BYU football & basketball games so we joined the Cougar Club again this year!

There is usually enough tickets for our whole family to go and sometimes even bring friends along. 

We enjoyed cheering for Cody Hoffman, Taysom Hill, JD Falslev (Heidi's friends), & Kyle Van Noy.

Football season just ended but we look forward to some basketball games in the coming months!

 Will was lucky.  His friend Trevin invited him to a game with sideline tickets! So he got to hang out on the sidelines with the players.  He loved every second!

Sambo the Rambo

Sambo had a fantastic football season!  He played with a new team and a new coach and it sparked something inside him!  He was able to play the positions he wanted and turned out to be one of the best players on the team.  As his Coach put it, "he is the rock of our team."

He scored many touchdowns and it was so fun to watch him play and be so happy!

He made new friendships with team mates and he will forever admire coach Rogers.  He taught him so much and pushed him to do his best.  We are so proud of Sambo and his hard work.  Such a good kid!

Quincy was a trooper.  Every Saturday for 2 months she had to go to 2 or 3 games, between the 2 boys and Millie. First it was hot, then it was cold. But she found creative ways to entertain herself. And the iPad and snack shack is a complete life saver!  Here, she is keeping the sun out of her face while she plays a video game.

They ended the season with 5 wins and 3 losses. They made it to the championship tournament but lost the first play-off game.  Even though he was disapointed that they didn't make it further, he {and we} couldn't be more happy about how he played and the positive experience he had.

Coach Dallin Rogers

Wilbur the Wonderful

Will had a wonderful football season!

Because of the new Elementary school boundaries, he also played on a new team.  But luckily there were a handful of the same friends that were on his team last year.  BS was an assistant coach and loved every minute of it!  He enjoyed coaching with his friends.  I loved hearing him tell me all about how awesome Will did at practice and all of his funny mannerisms and all of the funny things Will says. 

He played "center" and did not have one fumbled snap which is amazing!

He also played outside linebacker on defense and did a great job keeping the ball on the inside.

Despite his lack of love for of running, he was a trooper and went to every practice without too much complaining.  In his perfect world, he would play in games and see his friends everyday...but not have practice :)  They finished the season with 6 wins and 2 losses.  They made it to the second round in the championships and we were so proud of them!

Gimme a K!

Millie and cousin Connor

Another fun day on the field.  Grandma Cindy and Grandma Sue and Grandpa John came to cheer on Connor and Millie.  Best fans ever!

 Millie in action on the field and sidelines at PG High School.  How fun that they get to cheer for the boys their age.  And even better, their team is really good! Even though they are only in 8th grade...they do a pretty good job!  Way better than we were as 9th graders!

 

#63 - AO - he might be significant in someone's life right now ;)

And is that #63 on the right?  I don't mean to embarrass anyone but somebody may or may not really like him

JJ, Mckayla {got injured in a mishap with a quad Razor, Collin

After the games we went back home and started on chores.  But soon when we looked out our back window we saw a big group of Millie's guy friends.  We have this awesome grass hill behind our house and they were sliding down a giant wet tarp for Noah's birthday party!  It was pretty brave of Millie to walk out there and say hello....being the only girl.  

Lately she seems to be liking boys more :)

Double Victory

The boys after their first wins

Warning: There is going to be A LOT of pictures and talking about football games, because for 2 months we spent every Saturday at 3 games - Sam, Will, and Mille's {cheer}.

This particular Saturday in September was a winner all around.  Both the boys' team's won their games and it was beautiful weather. We really love to watch them play and be outside with our friends as well! 

Mom is their biggest fan

BS coaching in action

Sam's coach Dallin at half time

 

Going to the first practice of the year.  They were so excited!