Dance Attack!

Kelsey and I just returned from her 3 day dance camp in Park City called Dance Attack. It is a great opportunity for Kelsey and her teammates to take classes from such accomplished choreographers! She had a great time and learned a lot!!! Dance Attack is just as much fun for me as it is for Kels! I have become good friends with a lot of the other moms at The Dance Club and we had fun shopping, eating WAY to much food and staying up late having girl talk. Thanks Tiff, Trist and Kath for the great week!! Dance Attack would not be nearly as much fun without you ladies!!!

This is my FAVORITE picture from Park City. Several of us took our kids to the Alpine Slide in Park City; the Slide is a HUGE concrete slide they built into the mountain that goes from the top of the mountain down to the base. In order to get to the top of the Slide you ride the chairlift. Kelsey has a HUGE fear of heights so needless to say she was so scared being on the chairlift. In order to take this picture my friend had to beg Kels to turn her head slightly to the right to look at the camera!!! I was laughing so hard; she was trying to be so brave but the fear is written all over her face in this picture!!!! Once we got to the top and got on the sled to ride down the slide she had relaxed. I love ya Kels!!! Thanks for the fun week!!!

The Triathlon...

As many of you may know Adam has been triathlon training since October. Well today was the day he put all of his training to the test! The first triathlon date finally arrived!! Adam was originally doing this triathlon with his brother Jeremy and sister Heidi (whom both run marathons and are in excellent shape). However last week Jeremy got into a horrible bike accident while training for the race and broke several bones, including 3 broken ribs, a punctured lung, and an entire list of other injuries. Thankfully he will make a full recovery, it is just going to take time and physical therapy. Needless to say he was not able to compete in the Tri this weekend :-( We were all so sad about it; Adam and Heidi decided to mark themselves with his initials, J H C, to dedicate this race to him!!

The race was at Jordanelle Resevior, which is very close to Park City. It was BEAUTIFUL!!! This is definitely one of the most gorgeous lakes I have ever been to!

I was sooooo nervous for the swim! In a Triathlon Jeremy did last year a racer drown during the swim course. I was so anxious for Adam to get OUT of the water!!! When he emerged from the lake I was overjoyed!!! He looked a bit tired, but that is to be expected after swimming 1/2 a mile!

Biking is by far Adam's strongest event. He loves to bike and passed 30 other racers on the bike course! Go Adam!! The bike leg was 13 miles.

And finally the 3.1 mile run to Finish the race. When he crossed the finish line I was so emotional. He set this goal of doing a triathlon last October and he has worked dilligently every week to prepare himself for it. I was so proud to see him cross the finishline and accomplish his goal!!!

This is just the first Triathlon of the summer, he has 2 other Triathlons to compete in before fall. CONGRATULATIONS ADAM AND HEIDI!!!!!! We are so proud of you!! I cannot wait to see Adam compete again next month!! I love you Adam!!! You are MY triathlete ;-)

The Natural...

Let me begin by saying I know NOTHING about baseball, teeball, softball or any other sport that involves a bat. My husband on the the other hand, grew up playing baseball and LOVES the sport! So naturally when the Teeball flyer came home from school there was no question about whether or not Kelsey was going to play! Adam immediately went to Walmart and bought Kels her very own tee, ball and bat so they could practice. Today was Kelsey's first tee ball game and I must say I am impressed. She throws a baseball better than I do!! She definitely does not "throw like a girl"! Adam is convinced she is a "natural". I don't know what a natural looks like, but she loves teeball and looks super cute in her ball cap! Kelsey is even more excited about teeball because her best friend Hailey is on the same team as her! Bonus for me because I get to chat with Hailey's mom Laurie whom I just adore. All in all, her first game was really fun and she has got a great swing (according to Adam, I am not sure what a great swing looks like!). Great job Kels! We look forward to watching all of your games this season!!

Learning to Swim...

Wow. Learning to swim is harder than I remember. I should start out by saying both of my girls have a huge fear of the water. So needless to say, I signed them up for swimming lessons this year with the one and only Miss Heidi. I know all of you have heard me gushing over Miss Heidi's amazing ability to teach dance; but little did I know she and her family also own a swim school!!! And it took special, caring, kind and patient people like Miss Heidi and her family to teach my girls to swim! The first day of class Maya screamed bloody murder whenever the teacher came near her or asked her to join the class. The 2nd day, the first teacher was replaced by Miss Heidi who forced Maya to do all the swimming excersises with the rest of the class. At first she SCREAMED and CRIED at the top of her lungs whenever she had to get off of the steps of the pool. I have never seen her so upset about anything before! She kicked and tried to hop out of the pool whenever it was her turn! Thankfully by the end of day 2, she did what she was asked without the tantrum. The next 2 days were even better. Maya still HATES to get in the pool, but at least now she takes her turn without freaking out! Kelsey, I must say, did awesome! By the 3rd day she was jumping off the diving board without help from the teachers, and for a child who is deathly afraid of the water that is a huge accomplishment! She still has a lot to learn but she has a great head start! This was the girls first swimming session; they have another session in July. Keep your fingers crossed Maya will be a willing participant! Great job girls! I am so proud of both of you!!

Goin Back to Cali

Zachy, also known as "Boy Wonder", has decided to return to California to live with his Mom. We will miss him sooooo much, but we understand. Being a child of divorce is hard and we have LOVED every minute of the 2 1/2 years Zac has lived with us! We will miss you Bud!!!

Since Zac had SO much stuff to bring to Cali, Adam and I decided to make a mini-vacation out of it!!! We LOVE Northern California. It is one of the places I feel most at peace and at home. I always have to drag myself back to Utah!! We had a great time visiting with Kris and Erin, eating out at all of our favorite Nor Cal restaurants (Tex Wasabi anyone??), going to the local festivals, and we even went on a few vineyard tours!! It was a wonderful trip and we brought Tylre back with us for the summer!!! Yay!!!

How long until 11.20.09????

I know. You want to hit replay again and again. Oh heaven on earth New Moon is coming and Dang It if Jacob doesnt look FINE!!!!!! I am in total countdown mode...

I have a Graduate...

Today was Kelsey's kindergarten graduation. I didn't realize how emotional I would be! I cried the entire time! Since I am one of the 2 the room moms for her class, I had to speak at the end of graduation and present her teacher with the classroom gift. As soon as I started thanking her for the wonderful year and telling her how much we all loved her I started crying!!! Hello embarassing! Then the other room mom started crying while she was presenting the gift. I looked into the audience and all the parents were crying!!! Jeepers! For me, the tears were of joy and sadness. Joy because this year Kelsey has learned so much and grown so big! She has lost teeth and grown even taller. Miss Gurney has increased Kelsey's love for learning and love for school. Kels walked into Kindergarten knowing her ABC's and the sounds they make. She left Kindergarten reading level 3 books!!! I am amazed at her progression. She loves to read and is a whiz at math! I must admit, I am sad that next year she will be in 1rst grade. She will be spending more time at school than she will be at home. Then after you throw dance and friends in she and I will not get to "hang out" very much :-( First grade is when you are officially a "Big Kid". I know its silly, but I will miss eating lunch with her! We have eaten lunch together everyday for 6 years and I have loved each and every bite with her. I will miss you Kels! Lunch just wont be the same!!

I want to take a moment and publicly thank the two woman that have turned my sweet 5 year old into a confident and proud 6 year old. Miss Gurney and Miss Heidi Stoddard (Kelsey's dance teacher). As a mom, you pray that the teachers who influence your child are kind, considerate, and loving individuals who help your child learn and grow. You want them to think your child is as special as you think they are. It is always difficult to trust a stranger with your most precious gift. This year Miss Gurney and Miss Heidi have truely cared about Kelsey as more than just a student. They both took an interest in her and went above and beyond to make her feel special. When Miss Gurney came to one of Kelsey's dance performances Kelsey was beyond ecstatic! I thought it was pretty amazing that with 30 kids in her class she wanted to come and watch Kelsey perform! She said she had never gone to one of her kids activities before, but Kelsey talked about her dance school so much that she wanted to come and support her. Dancing is a huge part of Kelsey's life and this year under the direction of Miss Heidi she has learned to feel confident in her dance abilities and enjoy performing. She smiles and glows when she is onstage and I am positive it is because she knows Miss Heidi is offstage grinning from ear to ear. Miss Heidi is all about positive teaching and always finds a way to single the girls out and make them feel special about what each individual girl does best. She and Miss Gurney both are amazing woman who have touched my heart. I will never forget how they treated my sweet Kelsey. As she continues to grow, she will take with her the lessons these two incredible woman have taught her. And for that, this mom says Thank You for treating my greatest blessing with such love and compassion. You will both always have a very special place in my heart.