Catch Up

Blogging has been one of those things that keeps nagging at me to get done, so since Elliot is home sick today (and we can't leave the house because it's been snowing all day - this is after a 75 degree week), I thought I would take the opportunity to get caught up. Here goes........

*Henry started indoor soccer in January. His team is full of his ward neighbors and playmates, so he really likes it. He hasn't scored a goal like he wants. Goals are actually hard to make in indoor soccer - without grass to slow down the ball, it just keeps rolling after it gets kicked. So, basically we watch ten little boys chase a ball around the court in one big herd. Kinds funny. His last game is this Wednesday. It will be a relief since Elliot has already started his outdoor soccer practices on the same night as Henry's games - also the same night as Nathan's scout activities and Samantha's Young Women activities. Can you say hectic? Wait a second....Henry is starting outdoor soccer too (same teammates) and his first practice is right after his last indoor game. I guess there's no breathing quite yet! These pictures are from Henry's first game. The lighting was really yellow and gross, but I don't feel like fixing them in Photoshop. So, enjoy!

Coach Summerhays and Assistant Coach Beutler

*Samantha attended her first dance in February. The sixth graders had a Valentine's Dance during school the day before Valentine's Day. They had spent the few weeks prior learning some dances, like the waltz and the swing. When I picked her up from school that day of the dance, she wouldn't give many details, but I found out later that she was asked to dance many times - in fact, she was asked by the same boy six different times! Ooh la la!

*Nathan took us to a bird sanctuary a few Saturdays ago. His buddy at work, who is a wildlife photographer, told him that there were bald eagles that were nesting in the sanctuary and we decided to go have a look. The sanctuary was about 45 minutes away, near Farmington, close to Lagoon. The sanctuary was a beautiful backdrop for photos since it had just snowed, giving the whole area a wintery marshy feel. But, because of my lack of a telephoto lens, we didn't get any close-ups of the bald eagles. We ran into John, Nathan's co-worker, who had been there all morning getting some great shots. (We always run into John when we go check out the cool places he recommends!) Here are my pics:

I bet John got some awesome pics - take a look.

http://tetontrailphotography.com/

*We went to Gillian's 5th Grade performance a couple of weeks ago. The theme was American History and immigration. The songs were cute and each child had a speaking part about one of their own ancestors. Gillian spoke about Grandpa Mortensen and how he was there when Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941. Good job Gilly!

*Here's Samantha at her St. Patrick's Young Women's activity. I made broccoli soup and green jello like I always do.

Also, on St. Patrick's Day, I got a call from my cousin Amber. Her family was in town visiting other relatives and wanted to see us too. So, we all spent the next day in Salt Lake City at Temple Square. We saw the Joseph Smith movie in the JS Memorial Building, where we also had lunch. We stopped at the distribution center and the old Tabernacle before taking a tour of the Conference Center. These were all things that I've seen, but was happy to see them again with Amber's family, who hadn't. Bella never let go of my hand and I was glad to have such a cute little buddy for the day. It was nice to see them all and spend a nice 70 degree spring day together.

*Lastly, we were fortunate to get free tickets to the Real Salt Lake soccer game on Saturday. Our friend, Greg Summerhays, got tickets for a suite and gave them to us and another family in our ward. It was super cool. We hadn't been to the brand new Rio Tinto Soccer Stadium yet. The suite was awesome. The kids couldn't get enough of the endless hot wings, nachos, popcorn, soda and cookies. The best part was the dessert cart that came by and we all got to pick what we wanted from ice cream, cakes, candy and the biggest caramel apples I've ever seen. The suite was nice, but the weather outside was even nicer, so most of us sat outside on the balcony. I've never been to a professional soccer game (all the soccer I see involves little guys ages 7 and under) and it was was fun! Thanks Greg!

Final score: Real Salt Lake 3, Austin Aztecs 1

There - all done!

Happy Anniversary

Honeymoon

Today is our 13th wedding anniversary. We celebrated on Saturday by having some friends in the ward take our kids for the day. We decided to spend the day in Salt Lake City shopping at vintage and consignment stores (my favorite thing to do - thanks Nate!) We started at the Deseret Industries in SugarHouse, thinking there would be lots of things donated by the people who lived in those neat old houses in that area. We were way wrong. A garage sale in South Phoenix would have had a better selection! We browsed through a few more shops in the area before we got hungry for lunch. We ate at the Blue Plate Diner, which was featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives recently. As we were waiting for our table, Nathan leaned over to me and said, "I love places like this." I knew what he meant. The century-old diner was packed (probably most of them locals and loyal customers). Memorabilia covered the walls and we could tell that the employees actually enjoyed working in the busy diner on a Saturday afternoon. We left the diner stuffed and ready to do some more shopping. The funnest thing about looking through vintage shops is getting glimpses of all of the dishes, Tupperware, lamps and kitchen chairs that we saw in our mother's and grandmother's cupboards, kitchens and living rooms when we were growing up. There aren't as many vintage shops in Salt Lake (especially modern vintage like I prefer) as there is in Phoenix, but there were enough to keep us busy for an afternoon. We even happened across the strangest furniture store we've ever seen. It was a huge warehouse stuffed to the rafters with old and dusty chairs, desks, piano benches, dressers, end tables.....anything made out of wood. Almost everything was broken and piled on top of each other so that we couldn't even tell what anything was. The only words Nathan and I could find to describe the place was a furniture graveyard. It felt eerie and haunted, so we couldn't get out of there fast enough - but not before we got the whole story from the only human we could find in the building. Apparently, every piece of wood in that warehouse had been collecting dust for the last 50 years in Liverpool, England until it was brought across the ocean to Salt Lake City. I don't know what they're going to do with all of it...probably not sell it! After all of our shopping, we stopped at a chocolate shop for a treat, saved the Russians* and then took a drive through the Avenues to see all of the old cool houses. I saw quite a few homes built in the 1960's that I would kill to live in. We finished the evening at Rodizio Brazilian Grill for grilled meats and pineapple and the best lemonade on the planet. It was the best day ever and I'm glad Nathan and I got to spend it together. Love you Nathan!








* We ran into some Russian women who were having some car trouble. They were late for something, so Nathan gave them a ride while I waited in a cafe' (there wasn't room for me in the car). They were so grateful that they gave him some Russian chocolate. Sweet!

I Know

I know, I know that I need to update my blog. I'm not busy, I just haven't felt like it lately. Hopefully, I'll get motivated soon!