Hockey game, Basketball, & Dance

This past weekend was lots of fun.  On Friday we had tickets for a Grizzly Hockey game in Salt Lake.  We got to go visit grandma and grandpa Curtis and then headed to the game.  We had front row seats and it was so awesome!  None of us had ever been to a hockey game before and we all really enjoyed it.  Matthew was in awe, he would hold his knuckle up to the glass and the hockey players would skate by and give him knuckles.  He wanted us to buy him a hockey stick, but I was too worried about the damage that would happen to my house if we let him loose with a hockey stick!

Saturday Connor had his last Junior Jazz game. Their team was an awesome group of boys and ended up finishing 1st and undefeated in the league.  They practiced hard and played hard and obviously their hard work paid off.  Connor is beyond excited to try out for the Middle School team next year and all the boys are excited to go out for ice cream with their coach to celebrate.

Saturday afternoon Kinlee had the opportunity to perform at the USU Eastern Women's basketball game.  That little group of girls is the most adorable thing you will ever see.  They got out on the court and danced their hearts out to, "Crazy Little Thing Called Love."  I wasn't sure how Kinlee would do because she tends to get shy in public places, but she totally rocked it!  

Baseball Weekend

Because of the long weekend, Thursday the kids had their Valentines parties at school.  Kadee and Kinlee made their Valentine bags at school and Matthew made his with grandma Debbie, so I got off pretty easy this year.  I guess Connor thought he was too old to make one because he just brought his valentines home in a sack.  They all seemed to enjoy their parties but didn't really tell me much about them.  I did my annual heart attack on their doors and gave them each a new book and some chocolates.  We even ended up sending Taylor a Valentines package.  He seems to be doing really well and has had a wonderful mission so far.  Derek and Nicole are getting another divorce, I was worried that Taylor would have a hard time being so far away, but it seems like he is taking it well.  Zac and Devin are really struggling with it, but it has been a long time coming and I definitely think it's for the best.     
  
I can't believe baseball season has already started again.  I wasn't looking forward to going, but once we got to St. George I was so happy we went! The boys were scheduled to play on Saturday and Sunday, so Friday we got into town early enough to eat, hike, and hang out at Lorla's.  The weather was beautiful and it was a perfect weekend for baseball.  Connor's team ended up losing 3 out of the 4 games, but they held their heads high and played their hearts out.  Connor hurt his elbow pitching, so I have an appointment for him to go to an orthopedic doctor in a week or so.  I definitely don't want him to have any long term damage from playing baseball as a kid.  When we weren't playing ball we were playing outside, swimming in Lorla's hot tub, relaxing by her fire pit or simply just taking it easy.  We went on a short hike (Connor wouldn't come with us because he was obsessed with playing basketball on the big court across from Lorla's house), the kids ran and jumped and poor Matty was scared to death that we were going to see a rattlesnake.  Kadee had a fun time using her new selfie stick and we got some cute pictures with it.  

Life seems to be flying by so fast.  I can't believe another Valentines day has come and gone, before we know it Easter will be here and then it will be summer vacation.  I am not ready for my kids to grow up.  They are each in such fun stages right now and I just want it to stay this way forever.  I am so proud of them and hope I can be an example to them and teach them to be honest, good people.  Here's to another week down and hopefully many more to go.    

Happy Birthday Kadee!

Yesterday our beautiful Kadence celebrated her 10th birthday!  I can't believe it!  Since her birthday was in the middle of the school week we had her party last Friday at Apple Country Crafts.  It was the easiest party I've ever done and the girls had so much fun.  Each of the girls got a wood cut out of their first initial.  They got to paint it, modge podge their choice of paper on it, tie ribbon around it, and put a wire at the top to make it a photo holder.  We also had cake and drinks and the girls were of course silly and laughed a lot.

Yesterday, for Kadee's actual birthday, I took cupcakes to her class at school, we had parent teacher conferences (all the kids are doing fabulous and are right where they need to be, the only negative I heard was that Connor likes to talk a lot, just like his dad), then we went to dinner at Arby's (Kadee's choice).  After dinner grandma Debbie took her to Coldstone for ice cream and when she got home Rory surprised her with a rose and a stuffed panda.  She decided to go to Activity days at the church and they made sugar cookies and sang Happy Birthday to her.  She said she had a great day but it went by way too fast.

Kadence is such a sweet girl!  She loves gymnastics, dance, musical majors, and anything that keeps her busy.  Her favorite book series right now is Dork Diaries and her favorite colors are blue and green.  She loves school (especially art) and is the best student.  All of her teachers rave about her perfect behavior and how hard she works.  She also has Perfect Attendance so far this school year and is trying to not miss a day of school all year.  She is a very loyal friend and loves to be silly with her friends.  She is such an awesome addition to our family and I'm so excited for her to be 10 and to see what's in store for her.  

Spelling Bee fun!

This past week Connor and Kadence participated in the school spelling be.  All 4th and 5th graders were invited to participate and were given a list of words to study and prepare for it. Only 11 kids decided to participate and of those kids Kadee took 4th and Connor took 5th. I couldn't be more proud of them for trying and putting forth the effort.

Thursday my friend Brittnee got us tickets to the Provo City Temple Open House. She had enough extras we were able to invite Debbie, grandma Rhea, and Hyrum, Paola and the kids.  It was a beautiful open house and the kids were very well behaved.  At the end of the tour grandma Rhea got out of the wheelchair she used through the temple and pushed each of the kids around the visitor area, they loved it and it was so cute to watch her push them around. Afterward we all went to eat and visit.  It was a great day to spend with friends and family. 

Monday Kinlee's kindergarten class celebrated their 100th day of school. They dressed like they were 100 years old, had 100 different treats, and each brought 100 small items to count. They made a picture of what they would but if they had $100 and Kinlee said she would buy a big orange bus.  They made lots of fun memories and looked so adorable as little old people. Kinlee's teacher is so fun and even dressed up as an old lady with the kids.  What a fun way to learn to count to 100! 

 

Service

On Martin Luther King Jr. day I had the opportunity to spend the day volunteering.  As part of my job with AmeriCorps I am required to volunteer several hours throughout the year.  It has been a life changing experience.  Serving others has been such a blessing in my life and has made me realize the importance of service and helping others.  For our big service project we went to the Carbon County Animal Shelter and cleaned the dog cages and played with the dogs.  I fell in love with those precious animals and was so heartbroken to see them caged up.  After we helped feed them, cleaned their cages, and played with them we were able to visit with the people who run the animal shelter.  They truly love their job and take such good care of the animals there.  I pray all the dogs (there weren't any other animals there) get adopted out quickly and to loving families. 

After volunteering at the animal shelter the other volunteers and I went to the Community Closet on Main St.  It is a non profit clothing store for people in need.  Everything there is absolutely free and is in decent condition.  Any clothes that have stains our holes are bagged up and made into rags.  They then sell the rags to local businesses to pay the building rent space and utilities.  The girls and I took several large garbage bags and cut rags for hours.  It was very tedious and we didn't even get half way done before our day of service was over.  I brought a few bags home for the kids and I to work on, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.  Hopefully we can get them done soon and do our part to help keep this amazing business open.

One of our New Years Resolutions was to go to church more frequently and to pray and read scriptures as a family.  We've been doing really well and the kids seem to enjoy the consistency.  Connor even set a goal to read the entire Book of Mormon, and has been getting up early every morning to read it for 20 minutes.  Sundays meeting went way over and the kids were really good but getting very antsy so I gave them my phone and they took these adorable pictures I just have to share. 

Basketball & Scooter Party

Not much new has been going on at the Bradley's.  Connor is still playing basketball and so far his team is still undefeated.  He practices morning and night and is really in love with the sport.  We have had a great time watching him play and cheering for his awesome team.  Rory is the coach and he loves it just as much as Connor.  Sorry about the terrible team picture, I didn't have time to edit it before updating my blog this week.  

Kinlee's teacher has each student set individual goals and then has a party for the kids who completed their goals.  This months party was a scooter party.  The kids got to bring their scooters to school and scoot around the gym.  Kinlee was bringing her Princess scooter and everything was fine until she was riding it up to the school and the handle fell off and she fell face first onto the concrete.  Luckily she wasn't hurt at all, but she was super sad her scooter broke.  Connor let her borrow his (big brother saves the day) so the day wasn't a total bust, but I feel really bad that her scooter fell apart on her. 

January 2016

Happy New Year!  So far the year has been fabulous!  Last week I was asked to be the mystery reader in Kinlee's Kindergarten Class.  I chose to read the book Pete the Cat and his Four Groovy Buttons.  After reading the book we sang Pete the Cats version of Wheels on the Bus, played pin the button on Pete's coat, who stole the button from Pete's coat, had a graham cracker treat that looked like Pete's coat and had a Pete the Cat coloring page.  I think I had just as much fun as the kids!  I love being at the school and being involved in the kids activities.

As the end of 2nd term is next week I have some bragging to do.  The kids have done fabulous this term and all have straight A's.  They have awesome citizenship and Kadence hasn't missed a day of school all year.  At the beginning of 2nd term Connor, Kadence, and Kinlee sat down with me and wrote down some goals they had for the term.  Everyone of them completed their goals.  Each of them had a goal to read 1000 minutes (Kinlee to read 500), Connor to memorize his Constitution Bee facts and learn 90 new spelling words, Kadence to memorize her times tables and learn 90 new spelling words, and Kinlee to learn 30 new sight words and receive her Silver Math Medal.  Matthew is still working on speech and is learning how to spell and write his name.  I couldn't be more proud of these crazy kids of mine.

Connor's basketball team has won all 3 of their games they've played so far and Kadence has begun working on her front walk over in gymnastics.  We are living and loving life!