Lax season 2009, injuries and all

This was Conner's second year playing lacrosse, and his first playing for the high school. He was defender on the JV team. They started off to kind of a rocky start. A lot of the players were just freshmen, and they are still learning stick skills and other moves.

At a lot of the games, JV played after Varsity. This particular game went into triple overtime, and then our team won. Needless to say, this was a loooong wait, and a late game. But being the troopers they are, they played well, and won.

Hmm, can't remember which game this is. Conner is number 19. There are 3 defenders, the goalie and whatever middies that make it down field. The defenders use 6 foot sticks, and their job is to pressure the other team to drop the ball, pick it up and clear it down field. Most of them have stopped a ball the hard way, and they had beauty bruises to show off. You try getting hit with a solid rubber ball going 80-100 miles an hour.

The team began and ended each game with this cheer. I think they yelled family. I thought it was really cool.

Yup. That's my boy. I think he needs to wrapped in bubble wrap and locked in a room. He took an awesome hit at practice and dislocated his shoulder. Notice the funky bump in the picture below. I was shopping when I got a call. Ididn't recognize the caller, but answered anyway. It was the coach saying he just called 911, and I might want to come to the park. Ya think? So, I followed the ambulance, the fire truck and two police cars up the hill, (must have been a slow night :)) and arrived to see Conner flat out with coach holding his arm still. They didn't dare move him until EMT's checked him out. He was hit, flipped in the air and landed on left side. They checked him out, and said they could take him to ER. I asked, (begged) to let me take him, and they let me. And we have the most horrible, bumpy roads here, so I had to go really slow. Poor kid. This top pic is after they drugged him up an put his shoulder back where its supposed to be. Wish I had a video camera, cuz he was funny!

Conner, should you have an extra bump in your shoulder? He was out for two weeks. The last game of the season was exactely two weeks later. The doctor said he shouldn't play, but I let him, just for 10 minutes or so. Of course he chooses to go in on man down defense, when there are only 2 defenders, because one is in penalty. His team mates really took care of him though, and he didn't any bad hits. By this last game, they were really working well as a team. You could tell those who had been doing extra practices, and were hitting the wall.

Tiny, Kocherhans, Alli and her friend. Most of the players had nicknames. It was hard to know who was who without thier numbers.

Coach See getting "honored". He is an awesome coach, and the boys really liked him.

J, Tiny and Conner, and a few friends.

Oh, this was that same last game. Conner is #19 in the back, waiting for the ball to come to him. I threatened his life if he got hit. Actually I threatened the whole team. The dr thought he shouldn't play, but hey, it's the last game of the season. He had to, at least for a minute, or 10. :)

Conner is at the back putting pressure on the other team. They poke and hit with those 6 foot sticks trying to knock the ball out of the pocket. Sometimes they don't hit just the other player's stick though. Oops.

And that was a really fun (except for er visit) season. It's great to see the teamwork and friendship these boys have. Can't wait for next spring! Now Conner, go hit the wall!

Spring beauty

Brianna and I had a few extra hours one day(and that doesn't happen very often, unless she's sick) and decided to go visit the gardens. I let Brianna take a lot of the pics, and she did pretty darn good. We try to get up there a few times a year to see the flowers changing each season.

This is the view from the top of the path by the visitor center.

Part of the amazing waterfall. I think this is my favorite spot there.

The secret garden.

I take a pic of this angel everytime I go. We call it the Carson angel :)

Part of the Italian garden. The fountains were not running yet, but still pretty. And we had a learning moment when Brianna asked why the flowers on the one side hadn't bloomed yet.

She thought this fountain was too sweet, and had to copy it.

Pretty pretty girl.

Time flies.....and they grow so fast.

So this is little Miss Brianna, when she was about 3 or so. With her 'mad' face on. We had gone to the Dinosaur park in Ogden, but it was the 'haunted' time of year, and she was freaked out! She wanted to go home, NOW! But the real purpose of digging these pics out was to see how fast they grow... makes me a little sad. And dang it, this is the earliest that I have digital pictures. The rest are all on film. Need to scan me a few.

Brianna, a 6 year old Conner, and a blond me. Yip, I'm a blond. Like that should be a surprise to anyone... don't I have enough blond moments to convince you? But I actually think I should be a redhead, like I am now.

Conner playing in the park. He was never a small boy, but he was once a bit smaller than he is now.
Now we jump ahead about 3 years. Brianna is in kindergarten in this pic. She's so stinking cute!

Conner and Brianna at Temple square, during Christmas of course. Still 2003.

Jump ahead a year or so, now summer 2005. Brianna is dancing in the Strawberry Days parade, and she danced the whole route. Although she did get a little red, she made it.

Conner is totally going to shoot me when he sees this pic. But I think it's cute. And he actually had the winning run that won the championship game. So there.

I know. No way is this the same girl. But yes, it is. Her first professional photo session. Should have know by how cute she is at 8, that she will be a true knock out one day.

Lets see. This is Halloween about 2006. Everywhere we went for a year or so, people would ask Conner if he was Harry Potter. So I thought, hey, how about an Hermoine as well! They did make great Hogwarts students.

Conner right after the test to get his green belt in Karate. He was quite proud of himself. He misses Karate sometimes, but has so many other interests he wants to pursue, we have to pick and choose.

This is Conner right before his Karate presentation down at UVU. His dojo combined with several other great dojo's, all in different disciplines to do a show on martial arts. He was on a special show team called Team Xtreme.

A fun family trip to Jackson Hole in 2007. Conner is just sooo cool.

Brianna and Conner riding the tram to the top of the mountain. We had a family pic taken at the top. It was very cool.
Brianna and my dad. Notice how she is sharing her cool hat with her grandpa, and he is enjoying every minute of it! You've never looked better Papa!

And now we are in 2008. My kids are getting so darn grown up. I guess I realize it, but looking back over the years at these pictures, it makes it seem really fast.

I love this picture. Probably because although Conner and Brianna are really pretty close, they do tend to fight. A bit. Sometimes, like on a daily basis it seems. So I like to have actual photo proof that they can get along, and have fun at the same time!

Quilt runaway

A friend and I spent a few days down in Cedar City at a quilt retreat this past week. It was a three day event, with classes, prizes, show and tells, and other fun things. I had signed up for a few different classes, thinking they were going to be sooo hard. Look at the quilt above for example. It's made with a technique called paper piecing. I was really nervous to try it. But as this next pic shows, I did it! I actually understood it, and if I do say so myself, my first block looks pretty darn good. When I finish it, hopefully soon, I will show and tell!

There are 16 blocks in the quilt, and they will all be in shades of red, pink, cream or tan and brown. It it so detailed, but I'm excited to get it finished. One day, maybe.

This is my friend Tanya showing off her piecing skills. This was another class we took, called the Hunter Star. If I had thought about it before now, I would have taken pictures of some other peoples blocks as well. There were so many different color combinations, and all looked so different.

And last, but not least, this is my Hunter Star. I've almost got it done. This was a fun, fairly easy pattern to do. I think one of the funiest things about this retreat was meeting all the different people. Mostly women, a few men, but all different ages. Of course, Tanya and I were about the youngest there! But no matter what the age was, we had quilting in common, and some of those older ladies were hilarious. Especially during the 'all night' sew, which only went to about 1 a.m. Again, 'older' women just don't last as long as they used too. So, I'm excited to run away again next time!

So you think you can dance.....

Okay, if any of you watch the tv show So you think you can dance might recognize this cute guy. Thayne made it to the final 12 of the show this last season, and went on tour with them, and Brianna and some friends were able to go to the show. He is an amazing dancer, living and working in LA, but happens to be from Orem. Actually, of the 12 finalists, I believe 4 or so where from Utah. It amazes me the talent around here. Anyway, several of the teachers at Brianna's dance studio know him, and invited him to come do a special workshop. He has actually had many invites from different studios, and usually turns them down. But he decided to come and visit some of his friends. And the girls LOVED him. He is funny, talented and really has some great moves! He taught them a short combo, and then they did it over, and over, and over... you get the idea. It was great watching Brianna. She was the youngest there, (she always is), but she had so much fun. And she kept right up with those older girls. She gets nervous sometimes, but classes like this that are laid back and fun are great for her.

After the class was over, she asked Thayne for his autograph, and a picture. He was more than happy to do so. And he certainly has one more fan for life!

Snow Angel

My most amazingly talented sister-in-law came to visit over the holidays, and was able to come to the Christmas recital, and see Brianna dance. After seeing her in the gorgeous solo costume, she had a thought to have her dance in the snow for pictures. Barefoot, in a dance costume, in the snow. But Brianna is a great sport, and loves Jeri to death, so she was all for it. I actually had a blanket and coat and warm stuff off to the side, so she really didn't freeze, much.
Here is one of the great shots of her. Jeri is still working on some more, and also some great ones of Conner. But for some reason, this one is so beautiful, it makes me get teary. I guess because it shows Brianna's beauty and grace, and her incredible dancing skill, something that I get to see every day, but not everyone does. She is truly my snow angel!

2008 in review

Another year down and out. Is it just me, or did this year fly by. I can't believe it is New Year's Eve already. Hmmm. We've had a lot of fun this year though.


It started out cold and snowy, but we took a fun vacation for Spring Break. A friend and I took the kids on a cruise. Too much fun! We did the 5 day cruise to Cabo San Lucas and back. It was very interesting, 2 women, 7 kids, 1 suburban(with a Thule on top), several Gameboys, lots of movies, and only a few tears. (And only a very few from us 2 moms!)


Conner started playing Lacrosse, and it was a lot of fun learning this new sport. Brianna had several dance competitions, and she did very well at all of them.


We started the summer with just relaxing, hanging with freinds, and playing outside. We went for a short trip to the Oregon coast, and Brad was able to go on that trip with us. It was an amazing trip, even more so, because when we came home, our yard had been totally fixed up! Thank you Grandma & Grandpa James!!!!


Brianna had the opportunity to dance at the 4th of July Stadium of Fire in Provo, along with 1500 other girls. These are her good friends Rachel and Tierra. She was sad because Tierra moved just after this. It was sooo hot, and me and a few other mom's were armed with spray bottles and cold grapes to keep the girls cool. We did good, because not one of our Junior girls had any heatstroke! Yeah!

Some really fun movies came out this year too. Mamma Mia being one of my favorites. I think I saw it 6 times, then had to buy it immediately, and watch it like 12 more times. Brianna and I have all the songs memorized, and Conner wishes we would move somewhere else when we sing!

Twilight was the other really amazingly good movie that came out. I've seen that 3 times so far, and will probably see it a few more times! I'm such a dork, I even have the necklace from the movie, I made a Bella bracelet, and have a Team Edward t-shirt. At least my friends are fanatical dorks with me!

Although, the bracelt my friend and I made are cuter! But this is the general idea.

Conner got to participate in marching band this summer and fall. That was a lot of fun for him, and it ended with a trip to Cali. He had a great time at Universal Studios, and Disneyland. They even got to march in Disneyland. A few days after he got home, Brianna and I, along with my friend Tanya and her 3 youngest, went to Disneyland together. It was a lot of fun! This time it was 2 moms, 5 kids, in my Honda Pilot. Brianna and her friend Brady, (Tanya's son) had fun riding Splash Mountain over and over again. I think it was 14 times or something like that. We had fun in California Adventure as well.

A few friends and I decided to get healthier this year. Yeah. Really, that was said with a great positive attitude! It was actually. I've lost about 25lbs. since October, and I hope to continue with that momentum through next year. The only downside is that I don't eat a lot of Brad's cooking any more, so he's trying to change how he cooks. It will be good for all of us. Oh yeah, in case I forgot to mention it, Brad is the cook in our family. Except on those days few and far between that I do. Then it's Pier 49, or Bajio, or JCW's. Taco Amigo maybe.... I have them all programmed into my phone!

Then, to finish up the year, Brianna had her Christmas recital, Conner had a few Jazz Concerts and performances. Christmas was good, we didn't get spoiled too bad, only a bit.

We all got another year older, I think I may be up to 14 or 15 now. Yes, that is mentally. Ha ha to all of you thinking that.

We spent time with good Friends, and great family. We had another anniversary, 18 this year. We've kept our jobs, for the most part. Hopefully next year will find us in a better place economically. We can always hope at least. We've missed family and friends that live far away, and we don't see much. We do think about you!

And now we are here on New Year's Eve. 5 hours away from the new year. I hope the new year brings you all what ever it is you need or want.

Wishing you all the best,
Brad, Brina, Conner & Brianna