The 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Boise, Idaho!

In February, Boise hosted the World Winter Games for the Special Olympics. Peyton's school was visited by Olympic athletes and the Olympic torch on its way to the Opening Ceremonies. They had an "Olympic Plaza" of sorts downtown and the kids, Jeff, and I visited to celebrate. Ashley loved all the mascots who came out for the events, and she didn't mind if she was the only one dancing to the live music. Peyton loved the games they had set up in Boise Center on the Grove. Jenny loved the free Coke (in designer bottles!), Jeff loved seeing everybody out and about downtown. Ashley got a chance to go on stage and help out the Singin' Cowboy, but we didn't get a picture--in fact, Mom and Peyton were inside playing the Wii so Dad was the only one to witness Ashley's first glimpse of fame.

Ashley dancing to the music with her Special Olympics blue and white scarf...

...and then I made her put her coat on.

Peyton playing Olympic video games...

...and floor hockey.

Posing with the mascots

Justin, Holli, Bailey, Brady, & Grandma Chewy visit Boise

Happy 8th Birthday Peyton, Owen, Matthew, Ty, & Geoffrey!

Peyton = Chess King

Peyton played in his first chess tournament of the year last weekend. His team, the Washington Wildcats, had a pretty large team and they all did very well. The 2nd graders for Washington took home the 1st place team trophy and Peyton took home the 5th place individual trophy for 2nd grade. His good friend, Ty, took home the 2nd place trophy. Peyton will want you to know that even though Ty is taller, Peyton is older (by 2 whole days!). Aren't they cute?

We are SOOOOO proud of Peyton - not just for the trophy, but for trying his hardest and practicing every Monday after school, for being an understanding loser and a gracious winner, and especially for telling his teammates "good job" after their matches. Way to go, Peyton!

Ashley Stars in HSM3!

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Peyton, Jeff, and Ashley get Jib-Jabbed

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Don't Spoil The Fun!

Here's a little email quiz my mom sent to me. It's always fun to figure out what my answers are. And it's always fun to read other people's answers so blog away people!

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? No
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Watching the movie Martian Child
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Yes
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Roast Beef
5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Two angels (at least when they’re sleeping in their own beds)
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? YES!
7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? NEVER!
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Not from anything higher than 5 feet
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Frosted Flakes, even though all the sugar makes my teeth hurt (and not just because Michael Phelps is on the box).
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No, waste of time.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Strong-minded
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Vanilla Bean
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Probably their hair – I had hair issues in my youth.
15. RED OR PINK? RED – Go Utes!
16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My gut
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My Grandma & Grandpa
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Sure
19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Black
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Pain Perdu from Le Café de Paris (that’s French toast for you ignorant folk)
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? A big truck rolling down Idaho St.
22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Crimson Red
23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Coffee, Rain, Autumn in Boise’s North End, football games (you know – hot dogs, popcorn, the cool autumn air, the whole thing), my kids after they take a bath, Scentsy – Sage & Sweet Grass – why did they cancel it, Melissa?
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Aaron at work – I should have a dedicated line put in just for him.
25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Yes, it was my mommy!
26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? College football
27. HAIR COLOR? Dark Brown (Nice & Easy #420)
28. EYE COLOR? Hazel
29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Yes, I look like a nerd in my glasses
30. FAVORITE FOOD? All of it – that’s the problem!
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS Happy endings
32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Girls Just Wanna Have Fun – I Tivo’d it for Ashley and she loved it, too!
33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Maroon
34, SUMMER OR WINTER? SUMMER!
35. HUGS OR KISSES? It depends on who’s doing the kissing…
36. FAVORITE DESSERT? Why, Jenny’s Favorite Dessert, of course (for those of you who don’t know, I have my own dessert in the Oswald family and that’s what it’s called)
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? My sisters-in-law are good at these things
38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? I’d say my mom but she sent it to me!
39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Club Dead by Charlaine Harris – after reading the Twilight series I’m all about vampire books now.
40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Nothing here at work, but at home we have one of Ashley and one with Peyton’s artwork on it – even though we never use the desktop computer any more I can’t stand to take them off the desk.
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? American Idol & Private Practice
42. FAVORITE SOUNDS? My kids sleeping in their own bed, the cheer of the crowd after the Utes make a touchdown
43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? I cannot answer this without alienating someone so I pick New Kids on the Block.
44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Hawaii with my hubby
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I can whip out an awesome spreadsheet…
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? “Omaha, somewhere in middle America…” (Name that band)
47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? All of them.

Cute Kids (& Cousin Kylee)

Thanks for these pictures, Mom!

Twilight

I did it. I read the books I told myself I wouldn't read. I told myself: "why read books from the juvenile section, especially ones written by a BYU graduate?" Really, though, I secretly wanted to read them all along; so when Sandy suggested we read "Twilight" for book club I was all for it. And then I had to read the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th books. And now I secretly wish Jeff were a vampire and he would change me to one and we could be beautiful and live forever. Ah, well. It's been fun--even though Joshooah thinks I'm crazy after NKOTB and now Twilight.

So for book club this month we went to see the movie. I have to say that Edward was all he was cracked up to be in the book. The special effects were not so great and detracted a bit from the story, but I still liked it and I'm still anticipating the next movie. And Melissa has me reading a whole new set of vampire books -- "Dead Until Dark" by Charlaine Harris and the rest of the "Dead..." books. These are a little bit juicier than Stephenie Meyer--you don't have to wait until book four for the two lead characters to "get together."

So here are pictures of me and the girls in book club. Do we know how to have a good time or what? I love all of you and thanks for the fun times!

Carolyn, Carrie, Jen

Katie (happy birthday), Teri, Melissa

31 - 17 UTE! There It Is!

The Utes win the Sugar Bowl! The Utes win the Sugar Bowl! The Utes win the Sugar Bowl! Utah beats Alabama! Utah beats Alabama! Utah beats Alabama! The Tide Rolls Over! The Tide Rolls Over! The Tide Rolls Over!

HOW SWEET IT IS!!!

Needless to say, Jeff and I enjoyed our trip to New Orleans to see the Sugar Bowl. It was completely unbelievable. I was scared when Alabama received the kickoff and we almost lost our voices on their first few plays--cheering for the defense to stop them. Sure enough, it worked, we stopped them and scored 21 unanswered points. We were still nervous, but screaming our lungs out. Our seats were in the end zone, amidst a whole tribe of Utah fans. There were a few Bama fans scattered around us, but they shut up pretty soon into the game. In fact, there were 14,000 Utah fans total compared to 70,000 Alabama fans in the stadium. They all shut up pretty quickly.

Our hotel in New Orleans was in the middle of the French Quarter, on the corner of Bourbon and Canal streets. We followed a procession of Ute and Tide fans walking to the game -- they closed off most of the roads so we just walked down the middle of the streets. We heard a lot of cute southern accents but their cuteness ended as soon as they said "roll tide." It's true, I showed them the Northwest Finger Salute on at least one occasion. And you know the song "Sweet Home Alabama"? It's ruined for me forever. I can still listen to it, since we kicked their butts, but it just reminds me of the smug faces of those 'Bama fans and I want to puke. You remember the year the Utes played in the NCAA Championship game against Kentucky? 1998 maybe? Yep, I hate everything Kentucky now. They rank right up there with BYU.

The game is something we will never forget. It was worth every penny. We shared our popcorn with the fans sitting around us (I even offered some to the Alabama fans since we were winning and I was in a good mood) and kept high-fiving everyone after each sack, touchdown, and field goal. We even hugged at the end of the game -- it was euphoria, I tell 'ya! For you Ute fans who missed it, I expect to see you at the next big bowl game with your bellies painted red and white. UTAH FOREVER! UTES #1! Damn it's good to be undefeated.

Walking to the game in a sea of red...
At the Superdome!..
Utah's in the house!
I love our fans!!!

The final scoreboard says it all...