JAXSON'S "ROCK"- ING BIRTHDAY

I had a fabulous time preparing for Jaxson's 10th birthday! He decided he wanted a rock climbing birthday,which I was very supportive of, I had been so busy recently with work and other responsibilities that the idea of not having to plan the birthday party was awesome (which is very unlike me.)

I checked out several places and we decided on Life Time Fitness because we could schedule the party during a time the rock climbing wall was closed to the public and we would have the entire place to ourselves. So my job included getting the invitations out, making cupcakes and putting together the goodie bags!

We had everyone come directly to the gym for the party and I was able to decorate the party room with green and charcoal decorations and balloons. The kids all enjoyed the 1st hour or so of the party rock climbing. It wore them all out so it was perfect to serve them pizza right after.   All of the boys did an incredible job climbing the wall and were so polite and well behaved throughout the party. Even the party hosts commented on what a great group of kids it was. Reagan had a blast too and had no problem getting up the wall. She has already decided that her 6th birthday will be a rock climbing party.

After pizza and soda Jaxson opened his presents and tried guessing who each present was from as his eyes were closed and back turned to the wall.  It was pretty funny to have the boys come up with different accents to say happy birthday.  

The party hosts were also so accommodating and when I got up to help serve the pizza, they said "No, No, you sit down, we'll do this." I have never had a party where I couldn't do anything - IT WAS AMAZING!

We ended the party by serving"Rocky Road" cupcakes. I made chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting, then added toasted marshmallows and chocolate rock candy on the top. DELICIOUS!

The boys all played basketball until their parents came to get them. I sent them all home with a nylon, drawstring back pack, that said ROCK ON. It was filled with all sorts of rock climbing goodies, including; trail mix connected to a carabiner, bottle water, pop rocks, air heads and a rock bouncy ball.

This was by far the easiest party I have ever done!

VOCAL POINT

Dan and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary yesterday! Wow, that is a long time! We would have loved to have gone on a cruise to celebrate (I found one for $452 per person, that went to the southern Caribbean for seven days) however, we did not have the funds to go on a trip, so I started thinking about what we could do to celebrate. Obviously a date night was in order, but I wanted to do something than the usual dinner and a movie. I started looking around at all the productions shows going on and there was nothing. Then I remembered that the group Vocal Point was performing. Unfortunately because I had waited until the last minute, tickets were sold out. I came across some tickets on KSL for second row and thought for sure they must of been sold already. To my great surprise the guys still had the tickets and was willing to sell them for face value. His wife ended up going out of town and he couldn't use the tickets.

I was so EXCITED to watch them perform! I loved their performances on the Sing-Off and felt that they should of won the show. It was really entertaining to watch them in person, because I sort of felt a connection to them watching them on TV (even though I really didn't know them). Some of the performers had changed since the show; however my favorite performers including; Jake and McKay were still there! One of the most exciting parts of the evening was when Tanner the beatboxer did a solo on stage. I could not believe or explain the sounds that came out of his mouth. Needless to say he is AMAZING! Apparently he won first place in a international competition last year and I am not surprised. The group sang several of the songs they sang on the Sing-Off, including my favorite, The Way You Look Tonight! Another fun part of the evening was when the base Robert started talking just like Elmo and then said he wanted to sing with the guys, he asked what part does Elmo sing, and he replied with a very low voice "Base!"

After the show Dan and I went to the Olive Garden at 10:30 for some appetizers! I really had an enjoyable time - what was most enjoyable was spending the evening with my wonderful husband, who I love and adore!

BLACK EYE REAGAN

So we left my parents in charge of the children and went out on a date with Jared and Erin while they were in town. Madi usually babysits for us; however she had plans with her friends, so they agreed to watch Jaxson and Reagan while we went to dinner and a movie. We had my parents bring the kids back around 10:00 after Madi got home, so they could go to bed.

Saturday morning Reagan comes running into our room and tells us that she has a black eye. I didn't have my contacts in, so I couldn't quite see what she was talking about and thought she was making it up anyway. When I was able to focus, there it was, a big shiner in her left eye. When we asked her what happened and she told us that she ran into the piano bench. I guess she had been turning off the lights and then ran straight into it, in the dark. I am assuming when she made contact with the bench, she fell onto the corner, which is what blackened her eye. Her eye was black and blue from the inside corner, all the way around. Not to mention swollen as well. The rainbow of colors we saw throughout the coming weeks around her eyes were beautiful; Reagan and I would comment on them as we were doing her hair each morning.

The great thing about her eye was Reagan had tumbling pictures a few days later, I was able to cover it up pretty good with makeup and the pictures turned out better than I hoped.

I guess this is my dad giving us a clue that they don't want to babysit or be in charge of the children anymore. I guess this is what happens when you leave the grandparents in charge. I told people that my dad gave her the black eye a few times and Reagan got so upset with me.

Her black eye lasted over two weeks. (Her eye is still not quite back to normal to this day as is is still bumpy and and swollen where she made direct contact with the bench - and it has been nearly a month.)

BASKETBALL FEVER

Jaxson had another fantastic basketball season. His team went undefeated in his division and the games are so excited and intense to watch. I really saw Jaxson come to life on the court this year, he can shoot and whne given the opportunity he can really score. During one game of the season he had the highest points of the game, scoring double digits. The great thing about his team is when they are playing for each other, they really do well. Another game during the season, everyone of the players scored in the same game - Now that's teamwork! His coaches are incredible and we love being a part of their team (Scott, Kody and Jeremy). Jaxson played on the same team the previous year and I believe they are going to continue playing with this same team for years to come!

Because the season went so well, they signed up to play in a Junior Jazz tournament, they played four games, however lost in the second round of the tornament. The coaches told them not to hang their heads beucase in the past two seasons, they had only lost 3 games. They had an outstanding record!

One of the things Scott said during the season to the boys I will never forget and I think it is a great slogan for these boys "Hard work is talent when talent doesn't work hard enough!"