Spring Break 2016

You would think that with the boys getting older that they wouldn't be as into Easter egg making and hunting, but food is food and candy is candy, so they were as enthusiastic as ever.

I should've have put sports mode on my camera because they were moving so fast to find eggs, but the blur gives you the idea of their enthusiasm.

This year I bought three dozen eggs, 2 cartons of 18, so we could color a bunch and then use the others to make delicious rolls and ham sauce.

I carefully marked one carton as boiled, so as to keep them apart.  After the Easter egg hunt DJ went to crack a colored boiled egg and we were both surprised to see yellow yolk dribbling from his hands.  I was seriously flabbergasted because I was so careful to mark the boiled ones as boiled.  I cracked another colored egg and sure enough, it was raw!  I'm one who likes to learn something from everything, so here's the lesson, which I posted on Facebook:

 After dyeing eggs, hiding and finding them, DJ said, Mom, watch this, I can crack and egg with one hand. He squeezed the egg, and to our surprise, a raw egg exploded out! It turned out that we dyed the raw eggs instead of the boiled ones that I actually marked "boiled" on the carton. I'm still laughing about it! Just a simple reminder that Easter is about remembering Jesus, who helps us fix mistakes, made do-overs possible, and that he can help us see the light and find joy in life, despite, or because of mistakes. I hope your Easter was meaningful!

While the boys were breaking from school we decided find some things to fill time before we left for Colorado to visit the Astlings.  We decided to make chocolate molds by pushing objects into cornstarch, removing them and filling the mold with chocolate.  It worked fairly well, and even in the instances it didn't work, it still tasted good!

I love going to the bookstore or library with my kids.  I'm not so sure the bookstore employees like it so much, but we do.

At the end of the week we went to Colorado to visit our new nephew/cousin Oscar Daniel as well as Lieve, David and Stephen.

We had a wonderful time making him laugh and letting him make us laugh.

Go Utes!

We delivered one of Granna's one-of-a-kind, cute baby sweaters (I still have all of the sweaters she made for our boys, tucked away nicely).

What's a vacation without video games and a few Brian Reagan videos that made us nearly pee our pants.

A game with Uncle David late into the night.

Swimming fun with boys and a hot tub with snow flurries coming down.

All in all, a great Spring Break for us!

Wrestling Season 2015-2016

I'll just open this post with a bunch of bananas.

This is about how many bananas we would go through in one week during wrestling season.  Bananas were the choice of quick energy. In addition to the shocking amount of laundry during the season, I was shocked by the amount of bananas.

Spencer and D.J.'s wrestling season was a new adventure this year.  In order for Spencer to be on the Varsity Jr. High team and D.J. to be on the Junior Varsity Jr. High team, both were asked to drop weight.  D.J. had to drop 4 pounds to achieve his desired weight (132), so he cut out seconds and sweets.  Spencer had to drop 12 pounds to achieve his desired weight (140), so he cut out sweets, meals, spit, portions and more.  We were also treated to daily updates of pre and post weight bowel movements.  It was rough, but the boys were determined to maintain their positions on the team, which they did throughout the season.  They learned a lot about themselves, about nutrition, meal-timing, self-control, the uselessness of whining.

I am not very good at getting still pictures during wrestling meets for a few reasons: 1) the boys like me to take video of their matches so they can watch them again and learn from what they or their opponents did, 2) I forget that I now have a picture button I can use WHILE I'm taking video and 3) and most importantly, I get fairly involved in these matches and seem to make it high priority to yell very helpful things like "keep him down!" and "head up!" and "hold him!" I therefore lose my ability to multi-task anything else.  I feel like I need an hour massage after each five minute match.  The pictures below come from other, more cool-headed, able to detach themselves, parents.  Some are good quality and some are not.

 Part of the wrestling team in their cool new sweatshirts that they wear with wrestling pride.

D.J. had a great season! This was his second year on the wrestling team and he was very happy to be on the J.V. team, which guaranteed him a match at almost every meet.  I think he ended his season with a 8-4 record.  He did so well during the season that D.J. was one of a few J.V. wrestlers who qualified for the South End Tournament where he competed with half of the Jr. Highs in the district.  While he fought very hard to place at South End, he lost in double elimination. D.J. is a tough wrestler who really tires out his opponents and then muscles them down.  He remains calm, cool and collected, just the opposite of his mother.

One of his South End matches.  His first match was a nail biter, but I was so proud of how he endured until the very end of the match and tired his opponent out enough to pin him! 

You can't see very well here, but D.J. has two rolls of cotton shoved up his nose.  He was prone to bloody noses throughout the season and during South End really had a problem with it during his last match.

What can I say about Spencer's season?  Oh, I know, it was dramatic!  Beginning with the 12 pound weight loss, the season was literally up and down.  It took until the end of the season for him to wrap his head around eating consistently and not pigging out after every match. Lesson learned.  Spencer had a great season though and ended with an 8-2 record, which qualified him for the South End tournament.

At South End, Spencer went into the tournament as a 1 seed, which maybe went to his head a little.  He didn't have to wrestle for a while and when he did he won the first match pretty easily then lost the next two to kids he had beat before.  He did win his last match though, which put him is fifth place for his weight class and qualified him for the District Tournament. Not what he had hoped for, but he was happy to be able to go to district.

Again, I did not get still pictures of the District Tournament, only videos of me squealing as if he could hear me from 60 feet away.  The District tournament was an all day event that made our butts sore, but it was a great finish!  Spencer began as a lower seed so he ended up wrestling six matches.   Spencer won his first match and then he had to wrestle the number 1 seed and lost to him.  After losing that one, he had to work his way through the loser bracket, which he did admirably.  He faced two of the opponents that beat him during the season, so he was out for revenge, and he got it! His second to last match was so exciting that at the end of the match I screamed like I was being chased by zombies or something. I will not be posting the video unless I can figure out how to mute me.

He wrestled in the finals and received fourth in his weight class in all of the district!  A dramatic end to a dramatic season.  

We are pleased with both of our wrestlers and are grateful to their coaches for encouraging, training and instructing them.  Whew! At the end of the season, Spencer received the Charger Award, voted by his teammates, for his endurance, self-discipline and good attitude.

My Beloved Grandma Wheeler

My Grandma Sherry Wheeler passed away on January 12, 2016.  I love her so much!  She was an inspiration to me in many ways, but mostly in the way that she loved people unconditionally.  She could figure out how to love even the most difficult person.  She loved everyone.   Her optimism and humor were contagious and necessary.  That's how she got through life, and she had a wonderful life. I certainly miss her, but the many wonderful memories I have of her make me feel like she is close by.  In commemorating her life at her funeral, there were many tears, but many more smiles.  I think she would have it that way.

I made this Springville Devils mascot cake for her 80th birthday, where a small group of the high school marching band came to play happy birthday for her.

One of the many costumes she donned to perform her skits for the Wheeler Family reunions.

One of the last pictures I took with her in the nursing home before she passed away.  Even while on oxygen, barely able to eat or move or carry on conversation, the most common words out of her mouth to anyone that would come to visit were: I love you!

All of the Paul Wheeler family came into town for the funeral, and when we are together, there is fun to be had.  The Watson kids, Jesse and Grandpa joined us at the South Davis Rec Center for an hour of the new family favorite: pickle ball. I was still in a shoulder sling so I was happy to play with Chase and Chloe.

D.J. and his trickery.

James is too speedy for a still picture.

Chloe and I chased the ball more than hit it.

Here is the more intense game. Jesse is in the green shirt, Grandpa in the grey, Devin in the red and I think Spencer is the other player.

We moved from pickle ball to the climbing wall.

James and Chase.

After the viewing, in honor of Great Grandma and Grandpa Wheeler, we dined at Chuck-a-Rama (Sam, Chase, Spencer, DJ, Devin) . . . 

. . . where you can slurp jello through a straw (Miles) . . 

 . . eat whatever concoction of desserts you want (Mason) . . . 

. . maybe have an adult discussion in between buffet runs (Ryan, Jesse, Mark, Loni) . . 

. . have your own girl table (Tessa, Jara, Chloe) . . 

. . sleep if you don't feel well (Elise). . 

. . drink three slurpees at the same time (Chase).  Needless to say, the waitress deserved and received a great tip.  I don't think Great Grandpa and Grandma would have it any other way. . pure, unadulterated crazy!

Great Grandma always set up a fish pond at every family reunion that I can remember.  In honor of her, we had one last fish pond where we received things like whoopee cushions, green bowler hats, pig chip clips that oink, beads and a number of other wacky items.  The Paul Wheeler family cousins all together!

The Paul Wheeler family all together!

The Paul Wheeler family in their true form.  Complements of DNA from Sherry Wheeler.  How proud she would be!  Seriously.