Easter 2026

 After a dissapointingly boring spring break (we didn't go anywhere and rained most of the week) we had a nice Easter. It was conference weekend, which I really love. On Saturday the girls went to Haley's baby shower at Angie's. She and Sue always go all out, it was so cute. On Sunday the kids got their baskets and we had crepes, and then we watched the morning session. We made a quick visit to Tim's parents and then came back for the afternoon. Then we went up to Brigham and had an egg hunt and a rocket launch and ham dinner. We also drove up to Mantua to see Emily and Brady's beautiful new house since they just got all their furniture. I love being around my people, so it was a good weekend.

Bus was stressed late Saturday night because Mason at 11:00 he remembered that he hadn't set a trap for the Easter bunny and Mason wouldn't help him AND made a rude comment about it being Mom and Dad. It took a while to console him so the Easter bunny couldn't come until after midnight, but he made it.

A Phoenix cheer comp

Brielle had another travel competition this weekend. She has 5 comps in 6 weeks and two of them have been travel, so its been a lot. We decided to bring Ava this time and make it a girls trip. 

Flying to Arizona was a lot easier than flying to Atlanta. Our plane left around lunch time so we were able to take our time packing in the morning and then we were there by early afternoon. Our hotel was right by the airport, but we decided to go to eat and get some things at the store before we headed there, so we got to see a little bit of Phoenix right off the bat. It is so beautiful! I wouldn't mind moving there at all.

On Friday morning we went to a mall and a park and drove around a little bit more. Brielle had her practice round at the Phoenix Convention Center downtown. Then they hung out in the hot tub with Rylee. Saturday she competed for the first time and they did amazing. Then we were feeling kind of sick so we went and spent the rest of the day in the hotel sleeping and laying around. The girls hung out in the hot tub again in the evening.

Sunday we competed again, bright and early, and they won! If anything will make a travel competition worth it, its winning. Then we went to wave pool in Mesa and I chatted with Jen while they swam with Rylee. 

All in all, it was good trip. I love spending time so much time with my girls, and I was very excited to get home to the boys. Now she has one more competition this weekend and then a little break.

Brielle's Cheer in Atlanta

 Brielle had a cheer competition in Atlanta, Georgia over the weekend. The flight options were terrible, so she and I flew into Burminham, Alabama and then drove an hour and half to Atlanta in the middle of the night. The hotel we were staying in was about 15 minutes outside the city center. 

Friday she had a practice at the Georgia World Congress Center, where the even was being held. Driving downtown there is crazy but we finally found our parking lot and got to walk around a little bit to have lunch and see the Olympic park. This competition was huge. The building was actually four connected buildings and there were tens of thousands of people there. 

Friday night we went to a little restuarant mall type thing with Anna and her family (her mom, Brandi, and dad, Andy, and the foreign exchange student that is staying with them) that is next to the Braves stadium. The girls made videos and took pictures and then we went to dinner.

She competed for the first time on Saturday and they did excellent. We were so tired that day so we didn't do much.

Sunday morning we went to church in the closest building with a 9:00 AM meeting, which was about a half hour away. Then that afternoon she competed again. They had a stunt fall that the judges somehow missed, and they ended up getting 4th overall. While we were waiting for awards we walked over to the Coca Cola museum. It was kind of dumb, not sure what we were expecting, but we did get to try lots of different sodas that they make for other countries. Right after awards we drove about 15 minutes north to meet the Goodyears for dinner. We haven't seen them since 2022 when they stayed here for Christmas and it was fun to catch up. 

The trip home was the longest trip of my life. In the morning we drove to Burmingham and had lunch at Hattie B's Hot Chicken, then still got to the airport way too early. Then we flew to Baltimore for a layover. THEN we flew to Salt Lake on the longest, hottest flight ever. I don't why, but we were both dying.

The trip was so fun, though. Bri was happy and fun the whole time, and other than driving around downtown it was just a chill, fun trip.

Brielle's 15th Birthday

 My sweet Bri is 15, and she's driving! Brielle recently changed her school schedule so that she has online classes on A days and in-person class on B days, which means she is home with me every other day. It also means she got her birthday off of school. She did have that day, so we went to Tepenyaki the night before the celebrate with the family. We spent the morning of her birthday assembling the new vanity she wanted for her room. Then we had an appointment to go to Brigham City and get her learner's permit. Luckily she passed the test the first time! She wanted to drive home but after she drove from the DLD office to Costa Vida for lunch, she decided she might need more practice first. After she got home from cheer and Tim and Bus got home from basketball we finally got to sing happy birthday and eat her tres leches. All in, it was a very good day. 

Brielle is impressive. I feel like that's the best word for her. When she gets it in her mind that she wants to do something, she does it. This year she made the level 3 cheer team, taught herself guitar, and improved her grades to a 4.0. She also decided that she wanted to make money on YouTube and posted consistenly for about 9 months before she got monetized. She figured it all out herself and now she's making good money. She stretches every day to improve her flexibility, works out consistently. I wish a little bit of her hard work and motivation would wear off on me! She's also a sweetheart and a mama's girl and I just love her so much. 

Ava's a teenager!

 Ava just had her thirteenth birthday and it was great day! She took the day off school and slept in, and then she and I and Brielle went to Cafe Zupas for lunch and got some Swig. Then she got to go across the street and get her nails done. She got cute some cute frogs on her nails. Her grandma and grandpa stopped by for a visit, and then we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. She got airpods and a Coach bag and some random stuff. Successful birthday.

Ava is seriously wonderful. She is so loving and kind. She is quick with a complement and you'll almost never hear an insult from her. She has a great group of friends. She works hard in school and gets good grades and her teachers love her. She took orchestra this year and was excelling at the cello and then decided to quit that haf-way through the year and take art instead. She is curious about other people and will talk to anyone. She is naturally strong and talented. But her heart is the best part. She is just such a sweet, fun, easy person to be around.