Is it Really February?

We are beginning to wonder if it is really February?  The weather has been amazingly warm and one has to go looking for snow to find it these days.  In fact, it's not been a good year for the winter sports enthusiasts.  I'm glad we didn't buy season passes for skiing this year!  Fortunately, the winter Olympics are happening in Korea where it looks more like winter right now.

"Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard"  Good luck girls!!!

 Marie F. and I provided sack 'lunches' for the 8th-grade girls' basketball team (end of January) for one of their "away" games recently.  Anna gave me a specific menu to include which I obliged and Marie included the fun quote for the bags.  It's been an interesting season thus far as Anna has struggled through a mean bout of influenza and recently sprained an ankle.  She is on the mend now and hoping to have a solid final few weeks of basketball.

Anna #11 with white knee pads

Quinn is tearing it up with the community rec 3x3 basketball season.  It's not as competitive as his November basketball stint was and he seems to be enjoying this environment quite a bit.  He easily dribbles right to the basket and scores every time with his signature lay-ups.  It's as graceful as anything I've ever seen on the court.   Of course, there is a lot more to the game of basketball than this but at least he's having fun!

Heather holding Olivia, Julia with Polly, Stephanie

Last Sunday, we enjoyed dinner at Chris & Julia's along with Cam and his boys and Brandon, Stephanie and their three little ones.  They were in town from Florida to visit Stephanie's G-pa who was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  It was our first time to meet baby Olivia and fun to catch up with family we don't see very often.  Afterwards, we had a game night (in lieu of a typical Superbowl Sunday) at home with our own kids complete with yummy treats.

Random art project for school - Brinley

Brinley has been busy preparing college applications, getting letters of recommendation and making plans for her future.  She is also working 4 days a week after school at Parker Insurance in town along with cleaning Home Care Pulse offices 3x's weekly.  I'm proud of the routine she's developed to attend the temple early before school each week and manages to have frequent photo sessions (taking pics for her friends, etc.).  She's in an advanced art class this trimester and had to turn an ordinary book into something.  She painted the inside jacket to look like the nighttime sky and had fun with the rest of it - simply creating!  Rumor has it that she might return to the tennis team this spring...

Happily, I got the ok to start exercising again.  I'm reading an inspiring book right now entitled Younger Next Year and the authors are big proponents of using heart rate monitors.  The only time I've used one was while running in college and expecting Tanner so I had to keep track of such details.  Ever since then, I've been pretty low-key about recording work-outs and tracking my efforts. Feeling like a 'couch potato' for two months has kicked in all kinds of motivation to get going again and truly feel 'younger next year'.  It was a tough 2017 with two different surgeries and physical ailments but I'm ready to take on a new challenge.

Speaking of challenges, Taylor encountered a few of them this past week.  He flew into CA for business and during a ride with a group of experienced cyclists, the 2015 US Champion 'dropped his chain' and crashed into Taylor while going 40 mph.  After being picked up via ambulance and having x-rays taken at a nearby hospital, Taylor spent a miserable night in a hotel before flying to UT. Fortunately, his good buddy, Tyler, was able to make arrangements with a top orthopedic surgeon in Park City for surgery to take place.  Taylor's collarbone was a broken mess along with three broken ribs and skin missing on the left side of his body...more than a 'mere flesh wound'.  There have been miracles all around considering the circumstances and we know the Lord has preserved him.  Tyler and Sarah have certainly been "Good Samaritans" as Taylor will be recuperating for some time at their place before being able to fly back home to China.  He considers this a set-back but is still planning to race in Italy at the World Championships in September.  And he's really glad the Olympics are on so he has something to do while sitting around in the US!

Tyler and Taylor

Aaron and I have been huge fans of Greg McKeown's work for a few years now.  In fact, Aaron purchased over 100 copies of his New York Times Bestseller, Essentialism:  The Disciplined Pursuit of Less to give as gifts among business associates.  When we learned that he would be speaking locally during a Power To Become (P2B) Conference on campus, we planned our date night accordingly:).  The entire conference was inspiring but our favorite was, of course, listening to Greg's remarks.  Personally, I was surprised and impressed that he would take the time from his busy schedule to 'give back' and come to BYU-I.  It was an awesome event!

Aaron and Heather at P2B Conference

Cool ice sculpture on display

Jantzen - #11 red

The freshman basketball tournament this weekend wrapped up the season for Jantzen's team.  While everyone missed Braxton's significant contributions (6'3") after a serious shoulder injury cut his season short, the boys rallied and did what they could to play a "different game".  Though they didn't pull off the win, this final game was probably Jantzen's best so it was a nice way for him to end the season.  Tough on defense with a knack for shooting 3-pointers and jump shots, Jantzen also managed a few rebounds and steals to keep the game exciting.  All of the boys have progressed and it was fun to watch them play this year!

homemade cinnamon roll on a stick at the cocoa bar

 Even with all of the kid's activities/parties/babysitting jobs/work, Aaron and I managed two dates this past weekend as we went to the wedding reception of Aaron's cousin, Andrea (and Jay Keller)'s daughter, Makayla.  We visited with extended family we haven't seen in years - Janene's sister's family (Sheryl & Larry Raymond).  Andrea is a crafter-extraordinaire and actually loved every minute of wedding planning.  The decorations at the reception were incredible (no pics) and she did everything herself.  Wowzers.   Afterwards, Aaron and I checked out an eatery in Rigby called L'il Mikes's Bar-B-Que.  It was quite tasty and nice to have another good dining option nearby.