Chris breaks his arm.

So I missed the first game of Chris' football season because I had a Girl's Night planned (don't judge me... nothing interferes with Girl's Night!). So imagine my surprise when Scott calls me and tells me to meet them at the ER- Chris broke his arm. Well, luckily I was sitting with a friend that is a nurse at a local ER and she told us to make sure that there was an orthopedic specialist on call so we don't get sent to another ER and double charged on co-pay. So they were redirected to another ER and I met them there. We got in and seen very quickly (thanks to a call from said nurse to her friends at the hospital). Chris was very calm. Scott was calm, but I could tell he was upset. I was ok. (Turns out, Scott had received an impression to have Chris come out of the game after Chris got hit pretty hard but Chris said he was ok. Next play... broken arm.) The only time Chris got upset was when the Dr. set the bone. They gave him painkillers, and he had a flash of fear/pain and then he was fine. 2 weeks in the splint to let the swelling go down and then we could take him for a cast. He was so brave. He missed 2 games- which he minded, and about 10 practices- which he didn't.

Mom and Dad's 50th Anniversary

We were lucky enough to be able to come out to celebrate my parents' 50th wedding anniversary in August. I love my parents very much, and I feel so blessed to have them as such good examples of what marriage can be. I am sure it hasn't always lived up to what they expected, but I can see how much they love each other through their dedication to each other and our family. I love you Mom and Dad. Happy Anniversary!

Mani/Pedi for Brittany and Me!

So it came up that Brittany and I were able to escape for a few hours to go get pedicures and Brittany got nails and I got a manicure. I have loved pedis for a loooong time, but it sure is fun to go get them with a good friend. And who better to grab than one of my favorite people! It was a lot of fun. We'll have to do it again!

Visiting Utah

So in August, we came out for to Utah. We were lucky to be able to stay with family and spend some fun time with cousins we don't get to see often enough. Here are some pics of our fun times! We went to the dinosaur museum and Thanksgiving Point and to a splash pad where we got to spend the morning with Brittany and her kids, and Kristi and her kids. Kenna and Chris got to go to the Tabernacle with their grandpa and some cousins and hear the bell choir and get a behind the scenes tour, then spent the night at grandma and grandpa's, and Max got to spend the night with his VERY missed favorite cousing, Ethan. He looks forward to doing that again this next summer! (if that's ok with you Lindsay! =) It was over too quickly, but soooo worth it! We miss you guys and hope to see you this next summer!

Conner is sooo cute!

Lending Conner a helping hand!

Chris' 12th Birthday!!!

So my eldest boy turned 12 last June. Wow. He is such a neat boy. I am truly amazed by him and his tender heart. He probably won't appreciate me saying that, but it's true. Here are some of my favorite things that you may or may not know about Chris:

1- He L-O-V-E-S football. I think his love of the game rivals even Scott. And he's good at it. He's always been athletic, but he has a drive and intensity when he's playing that is inspiring to watch.

2- He is a natural born leader. He doesn't know it, and he doesn't consciously use it. But people trust and respect him and will follow him and his example. Now we just have to wait and see if he uses his powers for good or evil.... =)

3- He has huge feet. He wears the same size shoes as Scott. And he's still growing. I'm a little afraid.

4- Parent/Teacher Conferences are never dull. Chris' teachers love him. However, he tends to be a little chatty. He gets bored really quickly and likes to talk. So while his grades are never a source of worry, his citizenship is. Every year, the teacher looks at me with a smile and says, "Chris is a great student and a joy to have in class. And his sense of humor is.... well, hilarious and surprisingly mature. It's just not always appropriately timed." Hmmmmm.... wry humor that's not always appropriately timed? Welcome to the Thompson's Chris!

5- Chris is funny. Not just a little funny. A LOT. He is so quick-witted that sometimes I think he lies awake at night coming up with zingers for any possible conversation he may find himself in. And while body noise humor is still funny to him, his sense of humor is smart enough that he could write for Pixar films.

6- Chris loves to read. He's impossible to buy books for because he goes through them so quickly. So he is relearning how to use the public library. He'll read almost anything. He asked for The Odyssey for Christmas. I was surprised. I love to read too, but I'll settle for seeing that movie!

7- He plays the violin. And apparently he's pretty good at it. He's first chair in the middle school orchestra. I like to think that it's because he's THAT good. He says it's because everyone else is THAT bad. And you can't necessarily tell which one of us is right by listening to them play.

8- He looks forward to Ultimate Frisbee every week. His 6th grade teacher plays Ultimate every Friday with select kids from current and past classes, and he keeps inviting Chris back. He's pretty good at it too.

9- He has found a great mentor in his 6th grade teacher. I was so pleased when I found out who he got for his final elementary year. Mr. Sanderson is a great, tough teacher who expects a lot from the kids- which is JUST what Chris needed. They play games online and still communicate through email and his teacher invites kids to play strategy games and Ultimate Frisbee at the school. He has expected much from Chris and never hesitates to let Chris know if he's disappointed with him. Sounds harsh, but it's just what Chris needs.

10- He's a great big brother. It feels like hunting snipes at our house to catch these elusive moments, but in those brief glimpses I get, I can see what a great young man and brother he's turning into.

I was blessed to be there when Chris received the Priesthood and it is a continuous blessing to see him worthily pass the Sacrament each week. I love you Chris. Happy (super late) birthday!

End of School...

No pic for this post, but I just wanted to OFFICIALLY tell my kids how proud I am of the year they had last year. Kenna, Chris, and Max each had great years! I couldn't believe that I had 2 kids out of elementary, and my youngest was going to be starting Kindergarten (ALL DAY!) the next August. It's crazy how fast it all happens. I know it's trite to say that, but I am truly amazed at how quickly my kids are growing, and learning. What a blessing to be able to watch these 4 wonderful people grow and mature.

Baseball

BASEBALL(Max)

Luckily, our experience with Max was MUCH better than Cam's! Max LOVED baseball. In fact, he excelled at it. His coaches were surprised at the first practice that Max could throw from first to past third base and he steadily improved at batting. He even became the catcher. They kept trying him at other positions, but he was one of the only kids on the team that would take off the catcher's mask to try to catch the foul balls.

Watching him at his games was a lot of fun. Listening to him cheer on a teammate and staying positive when the game wasn't going their way was really nice. It's so fun to catch little glimpses of what you hope they are learning and seeing acts of kindness when they don't know you are watching!

While he can't wait until we allow him to sign up for football, I think baseball is what he really loves. He's playing again this year. And I broke my rule and told him (and Cam) that he could play soccer this year also. Hopefully we have another great season!

T-ball

T-BALL (Cameron):

So Cameron wanted to play T-ball this last year, so we signed him up with his friend Anna. He was super excited to get baseball pants and a mitt. He enjoyed going to practices a few times a week and enjoyed the games.... right up until about the second game. He grew very bored with how slow the games went and how the ball rarely went anywhere near anyone other that the pitcher. So there really wasn't much for him to do. Games became a frustrating part of the week for me and him. I'd often find him sitting on the grass flipping his mitt over and over, or straddling second base covering it with dirt. But we made it through the season- barely. So what did I learn from this? Apparently not much. He starts practice for this season in the coming weeks.

Catching up... again!

So, part of the reason I didn't post for so long, is because as I was trying to import pics from my camera (pics of Chris' birthday, Max playing baseball, T-ball for Cam, and other-what I deem important- photos) they were deleted! I would get very upset whenever I thought about it and thinking about posting just added salt to the wounds. I love pictures. I love taking pictures. I'm not very good at it, but I love it anyway. I love the pics that don't turn out quite right the best. My fave pics of the kids are the laughing shots! We laugh a lot. And if I never have a perfect family picture again, I am ok with that, as long as we get a good goofy shot- which, frankly, is a better representation of my family anyway! So here's what you missed:

It's official.... I am a TOTAL slacker!

We have had a very loooong, busy year. It doesn't feel like it until suddenly you're facing another new year, not quite sure where the last one went. We had a lot of ups and a few more downs this past year. But we've rebounded and now I'm trying to catch up on this blog. One of my resolutions for this year was to be more consistent with posting. I know, you're thinking, "It's March. You can call that a failure." But I was also considering abandoning this all together. But as I started to browse others blogs, I just decided that it isn't a failure until I give up. So, here's my mid-month resolution. I am going to be more consistent with my blogging. So here are some highlights of what I missed last year!