Jr Jazz Ace Face Style...

Ace got to play Jr. Jazz for Lehi city again this year.

Our neighbor was brave enough to wear the coaching hat again too.  :)

I'll tell you what, what Ace lacks in shooting form, he sure does make up for in hustle, heart and defense.

I am selling him short - this little dude is a baller.  I love watching him fly superman style to get a lose ball and steal every pass his little hands can get hold of.

A bunch of these guys are from the neighborhood and they're almost like brothers sometimes... bossing one another and coaching one another and devising NBA level plans.  :)

Especially these two.

Proud of our little basketball star and his need for speed. 

I hope I get to watch the magic happen for years to come!

Arching Party...

Dax Man celebrated his ninth Birthday on May 1st.  Remember that?

He wanted to have a water party complete with a dunk tank and water balloons.  And of course, it rained until June 43rd and then baseball took over our lives.

Finally, in September, we made the magic happen for our little dude with an Arching party at Jake's Archery Range. He invited a dozen friends to join him and I'm happy to report that no one was speared or impaled.  HUGE victory.

They really had the best time and were such cute little competitors.  The facility provided an instructor and a bow and set of arrows for each kiddo along with a wrist guard.

I provided the dollars that were stuck to the targets to be given to whomever could hit the target.  

I only had to give away four bucks.  :)

Dax had a great time and it was easy peasy.  I felt bad that he had to patiently wait for SO long, but Dax is a trooper and he waited like a true gent.

I still can't believe I was brave enough to take that picture.  I really took my life into my own hands!

We love you, Dax Man.  And we're so glad you're such a good friend to so many awesome little guys.  You deserve all the happiness the universe has to offer during your ninth year - and always.

This is Halloween...

Halloween 2019 was nice and chilly.  We didn't have snow on the ground, but we had snow earlier that week and little fingers and toes got pretty cold by the end of the night.

Dax was a Morph.  Don't ask me what that is, exactly, or where it stems from.  Just know he was happy as a clam under that breathable suit of weird.  :)

Kael was a baseball player - Ryne Sandberg to be specific.  This is the third year in a row, so at least he is consistent.  He did sport Royal Blue and red for the Cubbies instead of the Yankees this time.  We attribute that change to the Cubs organization replying to his fan mail with a bobble head.

Ace Face was a werewolf.  He asked to borrow Grandpa Hooky's mask and wore it for photos, but we also had to master a make up look since masks aren't allowed in school.  It required some You Tube video tutorials, but he was thrilled with the way it all turned out.

(The very famous, very OLD mask that Grandpa used to nearly give me a coronary every dang year)

Boone knew he would be Black Panther since LAST YEAR.  We were somewhat amazed that he stuck to it for so long.  Again, we had to get creative with some face paint since masks aren't allowed.  He basically stayed in character ALL DAY LONG. 

Even RyGar and I got in on the action.  The hunter and his deer.  I may repeat this every dang year because someone told me at the school parade that I "had a nice rack".  Thanks so much.  

Yep, Deer for life. :)

The kiddos had a great time roaming the hood to collect their STACKS and STACKS of candy with cousin Zane and Robert - the other brother across the street.  Even better, the Dad's all walked with them and I manned the door whilst eating sugar cookies.

Not too shabby at all for October's finale.

Love you, goons.

Random Acts of Cuteness...

A post about random, cute things:

Boone has started wrestling.  It's a reminder to me that all good things start with team work and it is possible for singlets to be adorable.

Ace writes the world's best thank you notes.  He always includes a cool drawing to represent his feelings. I hope he never ever stops.

Dax and his buddy cheering on American Fork football in the Championship game.

The future is bright for AFHS.

Mom and Boone snuggling in for a few books and a few selfies.  He wins at selfies.

Ace Face won an award of excellence in the Reflections contest!

He took that picture of Boone.

Boone did not win an official Reflections contest, but here he is with his masterpiece entitled, "Grandma Gail in a Purple Shirt".  

Award of Excellence-worthy.

Ryan and I escaped to the desert and enjoyed the warm sun and palms of Arizona for a few days.

It was HEAVENLY!

 Random cute fact about Booner - when he sleeps he regresses into baby-hood again.  Don't you think he could pass for about a year old in this picture?  Heart Eyes.

Dax won the Reflections contest in Photography at his school.  He went on to compete at the District Level.  He took a picture of his specs and his favorite book for the theme, "Look Within".

Boone has accepted the baton that was passed to him and is a bonafide jungle-cat enthusiast.

Last but not least, Kaelster won the Photography award for his grade.  He took a picture of my hand holding his favorite geode.

Solid gold, dude.

Casanova is 8...

Our handsome little Ace Face turned 8 Years Old and also morphed into a GQ model on us.  :)

More of that later, but first, pictures from the big guy's big day...

Ace's birthday fell on a Friday.  He patiently opened just one present that morning and then tore into the rest of them when we all got together again at the end of the day.  We'll call this the year of the Bey Blades since they are all the rage with all the pint sized people.

He got 8 birthday spankins from us and 5 pinches to grow inches.  

Ace wanted a Costa Vida salad for dinner. 

CHECK

He also requested a forest cake.

CHECK

And his smile said it all.

I got to go highlight our Ace Face at school and bring "Blueberry Donuts" per his request.

His class just adores him and they laughed hysterically at the funny antics I shared and the pictures we put on his "Star Student" poster.

And then we got Ace's light gray suit in the mail along with his new shoes and we dressed him up for his Baptism pictures.

He looked SO handsome and dapper.

Saturday, October 12th couldn't come fast enough for our little dude.  He had been praying for over a year that he would feel the Holy Spirit when he got baptized and I know he was SO thrilled that the day had finally arrived.  

Ace had the best support group there to love him and smile for him.  All his little friends, cousins and brothers sang the most beautiful songs and his cousins gave prayers and talks.  Grandma Gail and Grandma Janice took care of the music.  Grandpa Hooky and Grandpa Bob along with Kael and Dax were the witnesses.

 It was a beautiful fall day full of all the good things including 4 soccer games and a baseball game.  :)

Let it be known the star of the show scored 4 goals in his game after his Baptism.  He was on fire!

We hope Ace knows how much he is loved.  He is a chosen member of the Lord's battalion and he is an example and light to all who are lucky enough to know him.  We love you, Ace.  We're proud of you and we hope you always remember the spirit you felt on Saturday, October 12, 2019, the day you became an official member of the Church.

XO Buddy.