APRIL BLOSSOMS

I recently read the following and it made me chuckle:

"What is the best that lies within us?  Of how much are we capable?  None of us yet knows.  An old Arabic legend tells of a rider finding a spindly sparrow lying on its back in the middle of the road.  He dismounted and asked the sparrow why his feet were in the air.

Replied the sparrow, 'I heard the heavens were going to fall today.'

'And I suppose you think your puny bird legs can hold up the whole universe?' laughed the horseman.

'Perhaps not,' said the sparrow with conviction, 'but one does whatever one can.'"

Cheers to bird legs and April's magic blooms!

SAVANNA SWEET 16 BIRTHDAY PARTY!

 (No boys allowed - the girls just wanted to have fun!)

 SENIOR BALL - Savanna and Logan

(So gorgeous!  Logan is such a gentleman, he even brought mom a rose.

There could not have been a more perfect first dance date for her and

for this - we will always love and appreciate Logan.  He is a great friend!)

IAN GETTING READY TO RUN HIS SCHOOL TRACK MEET

IAN CROSSES FINISH LINE & TAKES 1ST IN 3RD GRADE 200 RELAY

YES Indeed!

"And will you succeed? Yes indeed, yes indeed!

Ninety-eight and three-quarters percent guaranteed."

                                                                                                                     Dr. Seuss

The kids have been working hard and have been enjoying the success of their labors in March.

Here is a few of them:

Beau voted "Most likely to Succeed" by his high school student body 

Wins Sterling Scholar for Business and Marketing

Becomes Captain of his high school soccer team - 2nd year

Cole finishes an outstanding performance as his school lead in "Seussical the Musical Jr."

Receives Certificate of Excellence for Science Award at school

Made first cut in BYU Ballroom National Dancesport Championship Competition 

Ian takes up Golf. His buddies Mitch and Trevor help him practice

Ian starts competitive soccer

Africa

Our family in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

Todd and I enjoying one incredible ride!

Beau soaking (literally) in the energy from Victoria Falls.

The largest water fall in the world.

Cole and his new friend in Johannesburg

Ian and Cole with Cape Town in the distance

A lioness we were closer than comfortable too

We have been home almost one month.  Our trip was AMAZING!  We fell in love with Africa, its animals, and its people.  I have hesitated to blog because out of hundreds of pictures and many incredible experiences, what do I pick to share?  Here is my quick attempt.

When visiting Africa, one comes to understand that no photo or description can bring more than a mere glimpse into its beauty and its heritage.  It is so BIG and INCREDIBLE!  If you are interested in understanding our tiny glimpse, we would love to share our memories with you in person, in hopes of course that we can convince you to visit yourself.  Better yet, we'd love to re-visit Africa with you - for we are truly in love with it!

HAPPY SNOW DAY!

To our great surprise, we woke up to SNOW this morning!  We could not have been more excited!!  Ian, Cole and I were out the door and in our snow gear by 8 am.  We beat everyone out to our neighborhood park.  Indie (our Golden Retriever) loved it!!  However, he made snowman making a little difficult as he would pounce any ball of snow we attempted to make.  Ian and Cole had a great time using our ramp as a snow hill.

This is the only sled we own.  I think we bought it when Beau was two.  That was sixteen years ago!

I love Cole's shorts!  True St. George winter attire.  (What's a mom to do?)

By 10:00 am the rest of the neighbors began to trickle out.  I love my neighbors!  We had a great time talking, snowball fighting (I'm told, as I had missed this part, that I should be grateful I have no broken windows) and sipping hot chocolate.  What a great way to end our Christmas vacation.  The kids start back to school tomorrow.

The Beginning

We dedicate this blog to our aunt, Karenina.  We are grateful for her example in working to keep us connected as a family through her fabulous blog.  And so, we are now joining the thousands of bloggers in hopes that the rest of our clan will feel connected to our family.  This is our New Year's resolution project for 2011.  Wish us luck!