Swimming and a Cook Out

On Saturday, March 26 we took the kids to the Rec Center in Cortez.

Grandma Grover, McKady, Candice and her kids came too!

 I was grateful for Stetson's floatie, because Lucy was a full-time job!  Notice how I don't have any pictures of her in the water?  This girl is fearless, and she LOVES the water.  She would put her face over the little fountains, go down the little slide, and try to crawl in the water.  She loved the lazy river, didn't care if she got splashed or got water in her face, and she never got cold!

Stetson had a blast!  He loves his cousin J.D. and follows him around EVERYWHERE!  I think the two of them went down the slide a million times in the three hours we were there.  The only problem was keeping them in kid pool, and then keeping them OUT of the pool during the 10 minute time outs.

Lucy wore herself completely out, and finally fell asleep - so cute!

I love taking picture of my kids before church because they look so cute - for a minute!  Just havin' some lunch before 1:00 church.

Yes, Stetson LOVES to sit on the counter.  Usually he sits up there when he's "helping" me cook, or when he "needs" something out of one of the cupboards.  But on this day, he was just chillin' up there eating his lunch.

And the beautiful Lucy Mae, happy as usual.  She had just crawled in for a snack, and thought it was pretty funny that her brother was sitting on the counter.

On Conference Weekend, between sessions, Kenny had the great idea to have a little cookout down at the field.  He has fond memories of many cookouts down there when he was a kid, and wanted to pass the tradition on.  It was a little windy, but once we got down between the rocks, it wasn't too bad.  Stetson helped his dad find the PERFECT roasting sticks, and this was his (the longsest one, of course).

Lucy just LOVES to be outside.  She doesn't mind the wind, or being cold, or getting dirty.  I guess that is good because she is going to have to be a tough little cowgirl if she's gonna make it in this family!  She really wanted to get down and play, but it's hard when they are crawling (that will be one nice thing about her learning to walk).

There were some ropes hanging from the tree above us, and Stetson had a great time swinging on them.  He wasn't scared, he would just climb back up the rock and swing out, over and over again.  I got a little nervous watching him, but I guess that is a mom's job, right?

Then we broke out the marshmallows, and Lucy didn't want to be left out!  I started breaking off little pieces and feeding them to her, but I guess I just wasn't fast enough because she grabbed the whole thing and stuffed it in her mouth.  At that point, I just let her have it, keeping close watch that she didn't choke, of course.  She ate the whole thing!  Yum!!

Kenny and Stetson, roasting marshmallows on our cute little fire.  These are the moments I live for!

New Beds!

Okay, I realize that I am about a year behind, but I FINALLY got Stetson's new bed set up, and the crib set up for Lucy - hey, she is only 10 1/2 monts old! She has been sleeping in the basinet we borrowed from Kenny's parents until about a month ago, when she started climbing out of it. I feel lucky we were able to use it THAT long! Since then she has been sleeping on the floor in my bedroom. That worked great until a few days ago when she woke up and crawled out of my room and right over to the stairs - luckily I was awake to catch her before she went down! And that is when my patience ran out!!! Kenny and I rearranged the office and set Stetson's new bed up in there - it is a little tight, but it will work until we get the office done. And then I put the crib together for Lucy. She was so excited, and her and Stetson played in there for the longest time! I know the novelty will wear off and soon she will HATE being put in bed, but for now she loves it.

Lucy in her new bed

Stetson and Lucy playing in the crib

I thought Stetson might be a little sad to give away his old bed - but he wasn't. He was super excited to have a real big boy bed, and even said that he might need to start wearing underwear now - maybe we are getting somewhere! We will keep our fingers crossed!

Stetson in his Big Boy Bed



Sleeping Stetson

It's Official!

On April 1, my brother J.J. asked the beautiful Tamra Luke to be his wife . . . and she said YES!!! And the best part is - none of this is a joke! But I am sure they will always remember the day he asked her. Congratulations you guys! I am so excited for you, and excited to have Tamra a part of our family.

My Birthday

As you get older, your birthday becomes 'just another day', and is sometimes dreaded as we are reminded that we are yet another year older. But this year, everyone went out of their way to make me feel special, and I just wanted to say THANK YOU!!! Kenny took me on a trip for my birthday, just me and him (thanks so much to Suzie and Steve for tending our kids!). We spent almost a full day watching a ballroom dance competition, which I know is not his favorite activity, but I loved it! Thanks so much to Jordan for giving me a reason to go, and for doing so awesome! Kenny's parents took us out to lunch at the Olive Garden, which I LOVE! Thanks guys! And then I pampered myself and got my hair done at a salon. I have been wanting something different for awhile, and decided on highlights and layers. It turned out great, and I am excited for the change. We slept in late, I took a whirl pool bath, and we did some relaxed shopping and ate some great food. All in all it was an awesome trip - thanks Kenny! Suzie and Jeanna got the drill team moms together and they made a yummy dinner for me on my birthday so I didn't have to cook! Okay, so the dinner wasn't for me, but it was on my birthay, and it was good, AND I didn't have to cook! Plus, they all sang to me and gave me some nice gifts! Thanks so much Suzie and Jeanna, and all the drill team members and parents - it was a great party!!! My family usually gets together for dinner to celebrate each person's birthday. Mine was a little delayed, but we got together last night for dinner and family home evening. My dad grilled some yummy steaks and my mom and Candice made some other yummy food to go with it. How lucky am I to get steak for my birthday? Anyway, after dinner they said they had a surprise for me, and it was a home video of my 10th birthday! It was hilarious!!! Holy cow, I was a funny kid; I had made each member of my family a gift for my birthday - who just does that? It made me feel so good when my parents said, "yup, that is our awesome Amber." Thanks so much mom and dad, that was an awesome ending to an awesome birthday celebration!

Where did he learn that???

Stetson's latest trick is throwing a fit every time we go to leave somewhere. He kicks and screams until I put him in the car, and then he sits quietly. I am used to this, but Kenny isn't. A couple weeks ago when Lucy was very sick, we were leaving my parents' house and I was carrying Lucy because she was so miserable, this left Kenny to fight Stetson all the way out the door. As usual, he calmed right down when we got in the car, but after a few minutes he said, "mom, I don't like daddy, I don't want him in my life." I just about died! Where would a 3 year old learn to say something like that - does he even know what it means? When we got home I talked to him about it, and assured him that even though he was angry with his daddy right now, he still loved him and wanted him in his life. I asked him to go and apologize to Kenny. He left and came back a few minutes later. When I asked him if he had told his daddy he was sorry, he just said, "yup". Later Kenny told me that he came up and said, "I'm sorry daddy, but I don't want you in my life." Wow, what a nice apology! Yesterday the kids and I went with Kenny to help out with the chores. Lucy and I stayed in the pickup and drove, while Stetson and Kenny distributed the hay. When they got back in the truck, Stetson said, "mom, dad is so cool! He does cool work!" That made Kenny feel pretty good, and convinced me that Stetson really does want his dad in his life. Crazy kid!

Saying Good-bye

In the spring of 1996 I was chosen to be a member of the San Juan High School Royals Dance team. At the time I didn't realize how many years I would actually be a part of this team, but looking back, it was definately a turning point in my life. I was a member of the team for four years, and on the coaching staff for seven and a half. What an amazing program! I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have had to be a part of it. I have had the opportunity to rub shoulders with some truely amazing women and girls. We have laughed together, we have cried together, helped each other through the hard times, and cheered each other on through the good times. I will treasure each friendship and memory FOREVER! Thanks so much to ALL my Royal sisters through the years, you will always be a part of my family!

It is with bitter/sweet emotions that I step down as a coach of the San Juan Royals, but I really believe that the program needs some new blood, and my kids need to see more of their mom. This last year has been a tough one, not only for the team, but also for me personnally. I have two small children now, and have been working full-time, as well as coaching. I have an amazing husband and family that has been so supportive and helped out a ton with my kids, but it has still been hard on all of us.

I think this is the best decision for everyone, and the future of the Royals looks bright with Kate Palmer as the new head coach, and how can anyone go wrong with the incredible Jeanna Grover showing her the ropes? My kids are only little once, and my focus is on them for now. When they get older, I will definately look into coaching again.

Thanks so much to all the parents who have been so supportive, and to all the girls who have worked so hard. A very special thank you to Lori and Jeanna for all that they have taught me through the years. They are truely AMAZING women! If I can become half the women they are, I will consider my life a success. Thanks so much for your friendship and example - I love you guys TONS!!!

AMBER AND JEANNA
SAN JUAN ROYALS COACHES FOR 6 YEARS

Here are a few pictures from my years of coaching:

DANCING IN THE RAIN
CAMP 2006

MATCHING BEANIES
CHRISTMAS 2006

BASKETBALL 2007

DEAL OR NO DEAL

2007 - 2008

ZOMBIES
HALLOWEEN 2008

LOOKIN' SHARP

2008-2009

STETSON AND HIS GIRLS
BASKETBALL 2009

KUNG FU PANDA BREAKFAST

STATE 2009

MILITARY 2010

DANCE 2010

NEW YORK, NEW YORK
REGION 2011

SAN JUAN ROYALS

2010-2011

Spring Break

Well, I don't have any kids in school yet and I didn't plan on taking any time off during spring break, but Lucy had other plans. On Sunday she had a runny nose and a cough, but we have all had that almost all winter, so I didn't think anything of it - until she woke up in the night with a fever. I gave her Tylenol and figured that she is probably just teething. The next morning I bathed her and gave her a bottle and continued to get ready for work - then she thew up. She was burning up again, so I decided I better stay home with her. I have been wishing I didn't have to work, and that I could stay home with my kids, but after that day I almost changed my mind! Lucy was miserable and cranky, Stetson was SUPER naughty, my house was disgusting, and I was buried in laundry. I just about had a come apart. Kenny assured me that not every day would be like this, I hope he is right!

I went in to work at 5 am the next morning to try to get caught up. Lucy was still running a fever and not feeling well, so I took her and the swing with me to work and left Stetson with Suzie. Lucy slept quite a bit, and I was able to get the pressing things done, but by about 2:00, she was done. I noticed that she had been tugging at her ears quite a bit, so I decided to take her in to the doctor. Sure enough - BOTH ears were infected! Plus, she had white spots on her tonsils that looked like strep; since kids under 2 don't usually get strep, they didn't test her. They just gave me some antibiotic and sent me on my way. We started the antibiotic at about 5:00 that evening. I had been giving her tylenol every 4 hours, but the doctor recommended that I alternate tylenol and ibuprofin to get the fever down, as her fever had not broke since Sunday night.

Wednesday morning came and she seemed to be doing worse, plus Stetson was stuffy and had a cough, so I decided to stay home again. I was trying to do some stuff for work on my home computer when I heard water running. I went into the kitchen and there was water pouring out of my celing light - seriously! It was like something out of a movie! I ran upstairs and found Stetson in our new, not quite finished, bathroom having a great time with the sprayer. The water was on full blast into the tub, a five gallon bucket by the tub was full to overflowing, and the floor was covered in water. Of course he got in trouble for the upstairs mess, but I figured we had broken pipes or something to cause the mess downstairs. I tried to think positive, and told myself that at least it was in the kitchen where I could just wipe the water off the tile and not in the front room where I would have to try and dry out the carpet.

I figured that Lucy would be feeling better by Thursday, so I got the kids ready and took them to my sister's house. Lucy was still burning up and screaming her head off; Candice said she didn't mind keeping her, but she was also tending a baby for someone else, so I decided to take her to work with me again. She screamed and screamed, and I knew she was in pain because she kept tugging at her ears and hitting her head with the back of her hand. I FINALLY got her to sleep and laid her in her carseat by my desk, then tried to get some work done. That is when I noticed that she was very raspy, and her breathing was pretty labored. She started coughing, which woke her up, and her cough sounded awful! My boss came in and suggested that I take her home - I agreed. So I went home and made another appointment at the doctor because I thought she should be doing better than this by now! When they listened to her lungs and watched her breathe, they thought she had RSV, so they tested her and it came back negative. They recommended that I take her to the hospital for some breathing treatments and possibly to be on oxygen for awhile. I found Kenny and talked to him about it and he kind of chastized me for overreacting and not being patient - "just wait for the antibiotic to kick in," he told me. I was angry and nervous about my baby, and didn't know what to do. I ended up going home and just holding her, watching her every move. Mostly she just laid there with her eyes half open, her body limp as a a wet noodle. A million things went through my mind as I sat there and held her. I felt like the worst mom ever! Stetson kept wanting me to play football with him, or help him with a puzzle, but if I laid Lucy down, she would scream. By evening I was a mess; I couldn't even think straight enough to make a decision. My mom was having the grandkids over to decorate cookies for St. Patrick's day, so I decided to take the kids over there and get her opinion on what to do. I loaded up the kids and started to back out; at first I thought I was running over something, but when I got out to look, my front passenger tire was sitting on the rim. That made me feel even more helpless! I called my mom and my sister came by to pick Stetson up and take him over to decorate cookies. When Kenny got home and saw how bad off Lucy was, we decided to take her to the ER. She still had a fever, her ears were still infected, and her oxygen levels were low. So they gave her a shot, put her on oxygen and gave her several breathing treatments to try to open up her lungs. It worked, and at about 11:30 her oxygen stats were high enough that they let us go home. Thanks so much to my parents for keeping Stetson all that time!

For the first time all week, Lucy and I got a little sleep - it was wonderful! Kenny stayed home with the kids while I went in to work for a few hours, trying to get caught up. Lucy is doing tons better, though she is still not herself. We missed our planned trip to the Rec Center on Saturday, but did get some work done on the house. After some investigation we found that the water leaking through the ceiling light in the kitchen was not due to broken pipes or a drain not hooked up properly (thank goodness, I sure didn't want to have to tear out that new tile that has taken so long to put in!). The water actually leaked through the edge of the tile and the wall where we have not yet applied culk. The floor was easy to clean up, but it sure made a mess of our ceiling!

I also realized that there is a silver lining behind every cloud. This may sound mean, but some of my favorite mommy moments are when my kids are sick, they just snuggle up to me and let me rock them for hours - it is wonderful! It also makes me feel like they actually need me and want to have me around. Stetson is now getting to the age where mom is more in the way than anything else. But we had a great time building forts, playing ball and doing puzzles together while Lucy snoozed in her swing. Lucy is doing much better, we actually saw a smile on Friday for the first time in a week, and today she is crawling everywhere and climbing up on things again. Thank goodness for modern medicine!I'm sad I didn't get a picture of some of Stetson's other forts, cuz there were some pretty cool ones. But we did get a picture of the "bed fort" that he made for the three of us to sleep on. You will note that he took the mattress off his bed and put it in the doorway (that is what I am laying on).

After all of this, I truely am grateful for my wonderful kids!

My Amazing Family

I don't mean to brag, but I really do have an amazing family! I love them all so much, and enjoy watching them in their various activities and competitions. Here is a summary of what they have been up to the last couple months:

WRESTLING

Jade (junior) and Jens (freshman) both wrestled this year. Thy both did very well, and qualified for state, Jade in 3rd place and Jens in 6th. Lucy and I were able to travel up to UVU with my mom to watch them wrestle at state. Jens didn't place, but he did awesome considering he has been fighting two types of the flu, mono, and epson bar all season - plus, he is only a freshman! Anyway, Jade did a great job and placed 6th in the State. It was so much fun to watch them, a little tense at times, but fun! Good job guys!THE STUDS BY THE BRONCO WALL OF FAME

(JADE & JENS)

JENS (DOWN) AGAINST GRAND

JADE (ON TOP) AGAINST DOVE CREEK

MISSIONARIES

J.J. returned with honor after serving two years in Guatemala, and then just one month later Jesse entered the MTC. After 9 weeks of studying the gospel and the spanish language he will head to Sacramento, California where he has accepted a call to serve for two year as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These two awesome young men shared a meeting, both giving incredible talks that edified all who were there to listen. Afterwards we had a super yummy dinner for friends and family at the Middle School. Best wishes to both of them in their future endeavors!THE ELDERS GROVERELDER J.J. GROVER, MEETING MISS LUCY FOR THE FIRST TIMEJJ AND HIS BEAUTIFUL GIRLFRIEND, TAMRA, AT THE DINNER AFTER THE MEETING

JESSE WITH ALL HIS NIECES AND NEPHEWS JUST BEFORE LEAVING FOR THE MTC

CHURCH BASKETBALL

Jens was the star of the 6th ward church basketball team this year, and they made it to the semi-finals! I was only able to watch one game, but he did great! He is the red guy (#3).

VOLLEYBALL

McKady is not going to be outdone by all these athletic brothers of hers! She was on the 7th grade volleyball team last fall, and is participating in JO Volleyball this spring. I was able to watch a few games, and I was very proud of her. She has improved so much in the last few years! Good Job McKady, it was fun to watch you play!

MCKADY AT THE NET #18

JUNIOR PROM

Well, we have a tradition in our family where the girls do what we call a "mixed up" breakfast for the boys and their prom group their Junior year. Jade was a junior this year, so we opened up the "Breakfast of Champions" kitchen for him and his group the morning of Prom. They were each given a menu where they chose from a list of sports items such as a football or running shoes; each item stood for a breakfast food, like pancakes or eggs. The best part about this breakfast is that they have no idea what they are ordering. Of course we let them order again after they receive the first round, just in case they got a bowl of cold cereal with no milk or something like that. You can see here that Jade, far right, is eating his breakfast with chopsticks, which is what he chose off the menu as a utincil. This was a fun group, and they were very good sports about it all. After breakfast we had them all put on the jersey that was on the back of their chair and pose for a picture - pretty good looking group, don't you think?

BACK: WHEELER HECK, KELLI MEYER, KENDRA PARKER, JADE GROVER

FRONT: HANS HURST, TISHA JACOBSON, JOLENE KIRK, TAYLOR FRANCOM

I was honored when my niece, Brielle, asked me to do her hair for her Junior Prom. It turned out great, and I think she was the most beautiful girl there! Thanks Brielle!

DON'T YOU THINK SHE LOOKS LIKE CINDERELLA?

The kids did a great job with Promenade, but my pictures were aweful, so I will spare you. However, I did get pictures of the royalty, since Brielle was the queen and Jade was the 1st attendant. Congratulations guys - you totally deserved that honor!

BRIELLE FRANCOM (QUEEN), WHEELER HECK (KING), JOLENE KIRK AND JADE GROVER (1ST ATT), KENDRA PARKER AND TALON JACK (2ND ATT), KELLI MEYER AND BEN ALDER (3RD ATT)

JADE AND HIS DATE KENDRA PARKER, ALSO HIS PROMENADE PARTNER

It was so much fun to see all the girls in their beautiful dresses, and the guys dressed up, trying to act like gentlemen. I was impressed with how many modest dresses there were - and I know they are not easy to find (or cheap) - good job girls!

BALLROOM DANCING

My brother Jordan is a student at BYU, and a member of their local ballroom dance team. They have performed a several local events in the Provo/Salt Lake area. He has also competed in some competitions, and done very well. I was so excited to be able to go watch him this last weekend. We missed the standard ballroom comptition that took place on Thursday, where he danced with his partner Natalie. But we were able to watch the Latin competition on Friday, where he competed twice with his partner Ruth. They did awesome, and it was so much fun to watch him dance, I could tell he really enjoyed it!

This is a type of dance that I am not very familiar with, but I LOVED it! Good job Jordan, and thanks for giving me the opportunity to watch!

MORE MISSIONARY NEWS

my nephew Taylor just got his mission call! Look out Seattle, Washington; you are about to get the fastest, most hard working missionary there is! Good luck Taylor, I know you will do awesome!