Shoe shopping & literacy

Ellie and Jessi have so much fun together.

And there's nothing like shoe shopping than with your bestie.

During our school literacy night we took advantage of the Dr. Seuss photo booth.

"Oh, the Places You'll Go"

Spring is in the air and the valley we live in is so beautiful this time of year.

Look out everyone!

Grand America weekend

While Ethan was gone on his soccer tournament trip in a falling apart hotel,  the rest of us decided to find a fancy hotel to stay.  Not really, Kelly and I were invited to attend an award dinner for his boss at the Grand America.  With it we got a night stay in one of their suites.  So we brought Ellie along for the fun.

We had a great view on the 24th floor.

Out on the balcony Ellie found some little eggs and was super concerned about what to do for them.

It was quite the view and could be quite the fall if one was not careful.

While dad and I went downstairs to the dinner and party, Ellie did the home alone in SLC thing taking advantage of the fancy bathroom, bathroom, snacks and television.

Fun night for dad and I to dress up.

He's gotta wear shades

Ellie's best friend Jessi's brother is the goalie on the soccer team so they are excited to get to hang out together at the games.

With out other dogs we always wanted to be able to take them out on walks and in public and not have them be totally crazy.  Well Cooper has been able to be that dog for a lot of the time.  During a morning walk, off leash, we came upon the ultimate test.  Several deer in the road right in front of us.  Kelly told Cooper to leave it, made him sit, and told him to stay.  

Cooper wanted to chase them SO SO bad but followed his master's command and stayed put.

Good boy Cooper!

Getting more driving hours in.

This is still one of those things that I can't wrap my head around.  

My baby old enough to drive (insert tear drop).

Why do I succeed?

Since the beginning of last summer Ethan has been attending high soccer practices with the hopes that come this spring he would try out and make it onto the team.  This included hot summer evenings, late weekend nights (almost every Saturday night for a couple months, which is tough on a social teenager) and many hours in the weight room.  He put in so much work for the past 8 months and we were so nervous for him as tryouts came about (we tried not to let him know how nervous we were for him).  I think he was nervous too, but didn't really show it. 

He attended the first round of tryouts and was happy to get the invite to come back for the second round.  After the second round they told the boys that everyone would be notified late that evening.  During this tryout time Ethan ended up getting really sick.  He was exhausted that night and went to bed early while Kelly and I sat nervously waiting for the notification.  Well, the coaches are big on having the boys be in communication and so Ethan would be notified on his phone.  So Ethan was in bed and we ended up going to bed without knowing the results.  

The next morning I got up at my early hour.  I looked at Ethan's phone and saw a message from one of his friends asking if he made it, but I felt bad going in to check if he got notification of whether he'd get on the team.  I decided I would wait and let him find out first so he could go through whatever emotions may be in store.  So I headed out for my run.  As I returned to the house I received a message from Kelly saying "He made it!" 

Needless to say we were all super excited for him.  I was worried after all that time and dedication he put in to not make it would be such a huge disappointment.  He was part of the 50% of freshman who made the team.  The odds were better since there is a varsity, JV, and sophomore team.  

Only about a week after tryouts the soccer team headed down to St. George for a tournament.  We were sad to not be able to go down and support him, but he loved having the independence and experience.  He even took his own pictures while there.

partly Sunny St. George

The hotel that the team stayed at was not the best of quality (according to Ethan).  

As evidenced by this picture of some of the other boys' room, he was accurate.  Apparently during the night their ceiling fell in on them.  Luckily it was not over anyone's bed.

We were excited for them to return and play on their home field.

DNA

For my birthday one of my friends gave me an ancestry DNA kit.  

Kinda cool

There are no coincidences.

This picture came up in my email one day.

Miss her every day.

Good morning!

There are so many miles stones in growing up that are completely different when you hit them as a parent.   You do not realize all of the multi-tasking required for driving until you are in the passenger seat of the car as your first born is behind the wheel.  Our brain is amazing with the number of things we do without having to specifically think about it while driving.  Can I just say there is an especially important reason why no new driver should have their phone even close to them in the car. 

So I wonder, how long until it all becomes muscle memory?