Kenna's Talk on Good Works...

Dad asked Kenna to speak in sacrament. She is so much more brave than I am...I still have 3 years left on my pass, haha. Here's her talk that she wrote all by herself, with a little direction and guidance from dad. We are so proud of her.

Both grandma and grandpa Nichol and grandpa and grandma Sill came to listen to Kenna's talk and it was a sacrament meeting that will probably live in infamy!  Right in the middle of the sacrament when everything was still and so quiet, ABBA started playing somewhere in the chapel.  It sounded like it was coming from where the priests sit to administer the sacrament, but within seconds everyone could see Brother Francis, Garrett's 2nd counselor in the bishopric, reach for his ipad and fumble to turn it off.  Garrett finally said 'just take it out' because they couldn't get to the off button quickly.  Everyone in the room began quietly giggling and Garrett wasn't able to hold a straight face for the rest of the meeting...it was great!  But the best part was that both of our parents were there to see it all happen under Garrett's direction...they were just checking up on him and seeing what kind of a bishop he is :)  He got up after the passing of the sacrament and made light of the situation saying if anyone wants an ipad there's one in the parking lot right now.  Brother Francis is still getting jokes made about his ABBA interruption and the best was at the roadshow when they poked fun at him again.  Good thing he's such a good sport about the whole thing!

Wyatt's a Champion!

Cupcakes...

Kenna and I had fun making these yummy peppermint chocolate cupcakes for her YW's activity. 

Daniel and the Technicolor Lion's Den...

For the last month, the youth in our ward have been practicing for the stake roadshow.  Last night was the big reveal and it was better than I could have ever imagined!! We laughed all night long at the amazing talent of the youth and the leaders in our stake as we saw stories of Noah's Ark, Samson and Delilah, David and Goliath, Army of Helaman and Nephi building a ship.

Our ward was given the story of Daniel and the Lion's Den and with the amazing talent of Sister LeBaron and Sister Anderson directing the roadshow, the story of 'Daniel and the Technicolor Lion's Den' came to be for the Maplewood Ward and it was awesome!!  We even took 3rd place overall for the youth's amazing rendition of this classic story from the Bible. 

Ashlyn (below with the dark blue tutu around her head) and most of the Beehives were lions and they totally looked the part and McKenna, along with a bunch of the Miamaids, was part of the chorus.   What a great thing to be a part of something so wholesome and so uplifting.  It was a great night!

Competitions Begin for Ashlyn...

The first competition of the season is always a bit of a dress rehearsal for the teams and for moms, too.  It seems I'm never fully ready, or I don't have the right color lipstick or enough safety pins and this time was no different.  But, I've stocked her dance bag with the right color lipstick, more bobby pins, safety pins, hairspray and bought a show routine box so things should run more smoothly next week for her many costume changes...I think she had 5 total. 

Ashlyn is a beautiful dancer and even has a solo in their 'Superman' lyrical.  I have loved to watch her dance for many years now and it hasn't changed...she is emotional and serious and has perfect facials when she dances and I love spending the day with her (when she's not mad at me for tucking in a bra strap or telling her to pin up her top so it doesn't hang down too far and show too much) ahhh, gotta love a pre-teen!

 

Ashlyn's Dig-It Program...

The 6th grade "Dig-It" program is one of the funnest!! Ashlyn has wanted to be an Egyptian dancer ever since Kenna was one 2 years ago...I think it's probably because she knew I would let her wear lots of eyeliner, mascara and lipstick! 

Ashlyn has been blessed with great friends her whole life and I feel grateful for that.  I went to the program during the day to avoid the crazy crowds that come out for school programs, but dad went to the evening show and took her out for ice cream afterwards.

Skate-a-thon...

The boys helped earn money for an Eagle Scout project by participating in a skate-a-thon at the South Davis Rec Center.  Colt and Wyatt both earned about 40 bucks to go towards the Eagle Project by getting pledges for the number of laps they could skate in an hour.  Colt skated 140 laps and Wyatt did 40...Wyatt had a game earlier in the day at the Olympic Oval and so exhaustion set in quicker for him, but he was a trooper. 

Boys at Hockey...

This is a peek into the boys' locker room at the South Davis Rec Center where the boys play hockey.  Dad always takes care of getting the boys' skates on tight...in just a few more years I won't be allowed into the dressing room, but while the boys are still young, there are plenty of us moms helping gear up our hockey monkeys. 

Hockey season is coming to an end, but the boys are already looking forward to 3v3 hockey training this summer and Colt's already registered for a week-long summer hockey camp.

Garrett took the last two weeks off from playing hockey to figure out what's wrong with his ankle and it looks like he has self diagnosed his injury (thanks to the Internet).  Looks like he's got what skaters call "lace-bite" which is a swelling of the tendons (from tightening the laces) in the front of the ankle on the less-dominant foot from new ice skates not breaking in as quickly as on the dominant foot.  He purchased some gel inserts, thanks to the info on the Internet, and hopes to be up to skating this week.

Colt's Ski Day...

Colt's 4th grade class took the day off and went skiing at Snow Basin. This is a fun tradition that the kids always look forward to. Colt loved it and can't wait to go skiing again soon...grandpa Nichol is now skiing every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at Alta and told Colt he can join him anytime!! I think he may take grandpa up on that offer during the month of April while he's off track all month. :)

All Stitched Up...

A few years ago, Garrett noticed some lumps around his stomach and chest.  He had one removed and biopsied and it came back negative for cancer.  He's been watching the others over the years and lately has felt a need to have them removed, too.  I think he really wants them out so he can have more scars that look like knife wounds :).  

So, last week I went in with him to the dr's and watched the whole procedure and at one point had to be reprimanded by Dr. Julien because I was getting a little too close to the action.  It was fun being at the dr's with him...first of all, we love Dr. Julien and second, it was kind of like a date, just the two of us hanging out, well, not really!  It was definitely more exciting for me than for him, but the best part was stopping for Chinese take-out, yum!  He healed well and the stitches came out and no sign of cancer and that's always good!

Terrible Heartache...

Sunday, February 26th, a young, popular, out-going 15 year-old boy from the Syracuse stake across from ours took his own life. He lived just across 1000 West, next to the corner church. He went to Clearfield High and was good friends with our cute neighbor, Shae, and many of the youth in our ward. He went to elementary school with all of our youth and the parents around here have known his family for years. It's hit everyone pretty hard how quickly tragedy can come and how fragile life is. As I think about his parents and his brothers and sisters, my heart aches for them, yet I know there will be peace and comfort given to them from a loving Heavenly Father. This morning in my personal prayers I pleaded for my Heavenly Father to watch over his parents and I also asked Him to watch over this young man and then I cried for quite a while. There are many who need comforting at this time.

This morning, February 29th, I got a call from my friend telling me that another boy, the Jr Class President at Clearfield High, also took his life this morning the same way the other boy did. The youth around here are reeling...it's scary to think what may happen next.

Sunday, after hearing about the tragic news, we gathered our three oldest together and talked with them about suicide and told them there's nothing that can't be taken care of with the atonement, there's nothing that can't be overcome no matter how bad it seems. Satan is truly working hard on these youth, he knows their importance and their strength. Yet, power through the Priesthood and turning to our Heavenly Father through prayer is stronger.