America's Next Top Model

Right after Quincy's 5th birthday, I had my friend and photo-extraordinaire, Abbey, take her pictures. Can I just say that this girl was in camera heaven! She came up with the funniest, silliest poses and knew how to work the lens! The pictures of her hula-hooping seriously had Abbey and I peeing our pants from laughter! It was a day I'll remember forever...spending a fun afternoon with just my girl. Love her to pieces. I'm so glad I'll always have these pictures to remind me of her fun, spunky personality at this stage of her life. Now, if I could narrow it down, I'd get some ordered! It's too dang hard to decide. Abbey suggested Quincy wallpaper....Now that's an idea!
*Click on the link on the right side of my blog to go directly to Abbey's site to see more photolicious pics of Q!

Little League 2010

It's hard to believe that we haven't even had the first day of summer and the Little League regular season is already over. In the course of the eight weeks of play, I think there were only about three games that we didn't have to come bundled up in sweatshirts and blankets. We had multiple games that it actually snowed on us!

Treyson moved up an age division this year, and was drafted by Carter Enterprises. The team had finished in last place last season, so we knew that it would be a growing year for the team. Trey was ecstatic to get on that team, because his BFF would be returning for his second year on the team. The two of them had a great time together. Jace even commented that the two of them are like peanut butter and jelly and that they just do better when they're together. Treyson would either pitch, catch or play shortstop and had a great batting average. The team ended the regular season 5-7, which was a great improvement over last year. In the league tournament, they knocked out the fourth place, and then the first place teams to make it to the championship game. The championship game was kind of (ok, really) ugly, and they lost by ten runs. The boys had a great time though, and were proud of how they finished.

On a happy note, Treyson was selected to be on the 11-12 year old all-star team. This is the age group that has the opportunity to advance to San Bernadino if they win the state tournament. We are keeping our fingers and toes crossed for a big tournament win the second week of July!

The Princess Turns Five!

Clear back on May 6th, our Quincy-girl had a birthday (I'm a little behind, I know)! She counted down for weeks and couldn't wait for the big day to get here. Being the younger sister of boys that live and breathe baseball, we shouldn't have been surprised when she asked for a "combat" baseball bat (Combat is a brand of bats that the boys love). She also had outgrown her bike and was hoping for a bigger one. She has us wrapped pretty tightly around her finger, so her wishes were our command.

Q debated for months what type of birthday party she wanted to have. She loves the books "Pinkalicious" and "Fancy Nancy" so was thinking along those lines, but then decided that all of her boy friends just wouldn't appreciate those party themes. She finally decided to have a big ice cream bar. The kids seemed to like picking from the 20 items to put on their ice cream sundaes. Some (like Dawson!) had to have a little bit of everything. We played some fun ice-cream themed games and giggled a lot.

I'm so glad Q had a good day. I love her to pieces. I love the spunk and craziness she adds to our lives. By the same token, I love the compassion and tenderness that she also brings to the family. Love you, Quincy!

Easter 2010

Am I way too late to post about Easter? I'm running a little behind these days (it's the middle of the little league season. No more explanation should be needed).

We were able to spend the Saturday before Easter down in St. George with the Cowan clan (we missed you Marriotts!). My kids adore their cousins, so we jump at the chance to get together any time we can! Grandma and Grandpa went super early to a park to stake out some picnic tables. The kids just loved running around together and finding the eggs that G-ma and G-pa had brought for them.

Sunday was a little different because of General Conference falling on Easter Sunday. We had our bi-annual Conference breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa Esplin. Devin, Melissa, and Parker were in town for the weekend, so they also joined us. We loved getting to play with Parker, although I'm afraid my kids taught him bad conference etiquette!

We had a great weekend, with two days spent with some of our very favorite people. What more could we want?

Max getting some Parker love!

Doin' Disney

For the past two years we've been talking about going to Disneyland. We wanted to go while Quincy was still young enough to truly believe in the princesses and to let her experience the magic of Disney. We finally were able to go at the end of March while the boys were out for spring break (if you can call it that...it snowed non-stop while we were gone!). We had such a great time rediscovering the park together. Treyson and Tanner love anything that goes fast, just like their mom, so they were usually my coaster buddies. Quincy amazed me with how brave she was. She went on Tower of Terror multiple times. She really wanted to go on Screamin' but wasn't tall enough. Her favorite ride was Big Thunder Mountain. Max is a huge Buzz Lightyear fan, so he loved all of the Toy Story rides. He was such a trooper and went with the flow each day.

We decided to do lunch with the princesses one day so that we could see each of them without searching all over the park for them. It was a highlight of the trip. Q couldn't wait to put on her Snow White costume, and luckily we were able to convince Max to dress like Buzz instead of Cinderella (like he tends to do at home. Issues? Maybe.) This picture below is while they were waiting to be seated. One of my favorite pictures.

Her first peek at a princess!
Max and his "crush"

Tinkerbell tried to fix Quincy's hair just like her own. Tink was quite certain that Quincy was part fairy. I think she's right.

I got to celebrate my birthday at the Happiest Place on Earth. Pretty darn lucky, I think. My kids found me a pin at the park that said "Happy Birthday" on it, so throughout the day I was getting birthday wishes. It was seriously the best way to spend my birthday. I loved watching my kids enjoy each other and the opportunity we had of creating these memories together.

Paradise (Plus A Little Wind And Rain)

Nate and I were able to go on a Caribbean cruise over Valentine's Day with various people from the Leavitt Group. Most of the people were agency people that had earned the trip through sales, and luckily Nate is good at what he does, so they invited us along. Neither of us had ever been on a cruise, so we were excited, but not really sure what to expect. We LOVED it! We were absolutely amazed at the amount of food that was ALWAYS available. There wasn't a night that passed by that we didn't stop for pizza and cookies at 12:30 a.m. We're just glad that we each only added five pounds to our bodies!

Although the food was amazing, the weather was less than desirable. Every day was super windy and overcast. We always had jackets on and were never able to just lounge by the pool. The day we stopped at Haiti, there was a major rain storm. Within two minutes of getting off of the boat, we were drenched from head to toe. Because of the storm, we weren't able to do much, but Nate and one of the guys we were with braved the rain and canoed. We were able to walk around the little shops where the locals were selling items. The day we were in Jamaica started out sunny. We went and hiked the Dunn's River Falls which was beautiful. We were able to spend about an hour on the beach and then the clouds and rain moved in again. We just weren't destined to come home with a tan!

Even though the weather was depressing, we had a great time just being together and exploring the boat and the fun things it had to offer. We definitely want to do it again, we'll just pray extra hard for some sun!

Trey Ray

I just wanted to tell Treyson how proud I am of him. He was recently selected as the "Warrior of the Month" for the 6th grade at Cedar Middle School. He's always been such a great leader and such a good student. He's received 4.0's both quarters so far while at the middle school and has set a goal to finish the school year the same way. Here's what his teacher had to say about him on the nomination form:

"Treyson is a very responsible student. He is always prepared for class and does his best on every assignment. Treyson is a leader in our class. He sets a good example for others and is always willing to take charge when needed. He is a great help to all his teachers and comes to school each day with a positive attitude."

Way to go Treyson. Thanks for being such a huge part of our family.