Snow Campout

Colton headed up north to Strawberry, AZ with the scout this weekend for a snow camp out. We had to borrow some warm stuff from Bumpa, and buy him a new coat to get ready. All I can say is BRRRR!

Look how cold they look. He said that they weren't too bad. Colton took a lot of little hand warmers, and his sleeping bag was suppose to keep him warm up to 40 below 0.

What's a snow camp out without a snowball fight. I love this picture. I totally looks like Colton is about to bean Brother Johnson in the head.

WARNING- Teenager!

Colton turned 13 today. It's official, he's a teenager! He chose orange pancakes with sprinkles for breakfast.

And of course, he ordered an ice cream cake! (Kennedy just practicing up for next month)

Colton got tons of nice gifts from many friends and family. He mostly got money, and gift cards which he was super excited about. Landon and I helped fill up his sword display with 6 new swords.

He is officially 6 feet tall! He weighs a whopping 170 lbs. and wears a size 13 shoe. His hands are bigger than Landon's and his legs are as long as Grandpa Scott's. He eats like he was just let out of prison, and he doesn't seem to be slowing down!

What can I say about Colton that I haven't already said. He is such an easy child to raise, and I can't wait to see what this next stage of his life brings. I feel lucky to be on this journey with him. I love you Colton! Happy Birthday!!

This is My Box

What is with a kid and their box! It doesn't matter what size it is, if there's an empty box, there's gonna be someone who has a "need" for it. Today, Kennedy's need was a little TV watching box.

Street Rats!

The west coast is getting nailed with some big storms, and we have had rain for 4 days solid! For us, that's insane! We even had a tornado warning on the news tonight. Nothing happened but the wind was blowing so hard that is was knocking trees down all over the place. Kinda scary.

There are greenbelts all over in the neighborhoods, and most of them look like lakes right now! My kids took this golden opportunity to have some fun. They played out in the rain and water for hours! They couldn't figure out why I wouldn't join them.

Deacons Basketball Tournament

The deacons in our stake had their basketball tournament today. The word tournament implies that you have had a season beforehand, and that this the ending to crown an overall champ. Not so fast! Our deacons have not played 1 game prior to today. In fact, they haven't even practiced. So they got together at 11am to warm up a bit, and maybe throw together a play or two.

The tournament started at 1pm, and they played 20 minute games, double elimination. Colton did a great job rebounding, and blocking shots. It helps when you tower over the other deacons! His team had a couple really good players, and they were beating most teams easily. The boys were really good about trying to help everyone on their team make a shot. It's nice to see good that their leaders are emphasizing good sportsmanship and that the boys are demonstrating it. I was very proud. Anyway, after 4 games, they finally lost. Then had 2 more games, which they won, and they came back to play for the championship! By now it was 5pm, and all of the boys were hamburger. They could hardly get up and down the court! They lost to the same team that beat them the first time, but they took second place.

Poor Colton was so exhausted when he got home that he ate and was in bed by 7:30pm. They played basketball for 7 hours straight today!

That's What Little Boys Are Made Of

Boys are so different from girls. It's not their fault, they're just born that way!This is the thought that is running through my head tonight as I watch Colton take apart his remote control car that he got for Christmas. He had to put it together to begin with, and tonight he bought some kit that makes it faster, and another one that makes the head lights work (I think). I would no more, at 12 years old, know how to do what he's doing than fly to the moon. Let alone have any interest in it. He asked me to check on one step to make sure he was doing it right. Yeah right! I told him what I thought it was saying to do, and he told me that I was holding the car backwards. Where is this child's father??

Freestone Park Fun

This was the first weekend without Landon in almost a month, so we were feeling a little sad. The kids were getting bored, and we needed something to do. We decided to go to Freestone Park, and have some fun. We had scooters, skateboards, and Whitley even brought her roller blades. This was just an accident waiting to happen!

We even got Grandma Ruth in on the action!

We had a few wipe outs and even a little blood. But all in all, we had a great time!

Of course Whitley had to try it standing up.