January - March 2016

[Yes, it is August and this is a post about January.  My apologies, but better late than never!]

2016 is going to known as the year of big changes.  New job, new company, new house, new school, new state, etc etc etc.  In January, Ryan finished up with Fisher Investments and began his training with State Farm.  It has been a crazy few months but we are looking forward to our new adventure.  

Also in January, our BYU Cougars came to play in Portland.  Ryan surprised Sam with a trip downtown to see them.  He didn't tell Sam where they were going.  As they parked the car, Sam started to notice that there were other people wearing BYU gear and finally figured it out.  What a fun surprise!

This was Sam's first real-life basketball game.  He loved it!

Unfortunately we lost the game :( but that didn't dampen Sam's spirit.  

As usual, he was optimistic until the very end.

Austin wasn't able to attend the basketball game, so Ryan took him out for a surprise trip to Big Al's.  Austin was so excited when they pulled into the parking lot!

On track for a perfect strike!

Afterwards, Ryan took Austin out for his favorite treat: Menchie's Frozen Yogurt.  Austin loved every second of his day out with dad.

In February, Sam joined the Camas Youth Wrestling Team.  It was our first real venture into wrestling and it was great!  Sam (and all the boys, really) is a natural wrestler and picked up the moves very quickly.  It may have something to do with daily practice on his brothers and dad.  Even our "group hug" after family prayer turns into "group wrestle".

First Place in his weight class at the tournament!  He earned it!

Every February, Ryan and I try to take a little vacation without the kids.  This year we were busy getting everything ready for the move and the new business, so we took our trip to Bend, Oregon and played tourist in our soon-to-be new home.  We found a bunch of amazing places to eat, scoped out the neighborhoods, interviewed some potential employees, and learned to ski (well, I did.  Ryan already knew how).

This is my excited yet slightly panicked face on Day 1.

Day 1 was a bit frustrating, but by the end of the day I was starting to get the hang of it.  The stunning views at the top of the lifts helped!

Mt. Bachelor is a gorgeous ski resort and only 30 minutes from town.  

We can't believe we are going to live here!

In March, we finished up wrestling season with the final tournament.  This photo is a little grainy, but it was one of my favorites because his Dad, Grandpa Jeff, & Uncle Carson were all enthusiastically coaching him during the match.

Sam was so excited to have a big cheering section complete with Aunt Catherine and Grandma & Grandpa Great!

Eli loves his "Aunt Taffrine"

We don't get to see the Greats very often so we had to take a few more pictures at home.

Ryan's cousin Tessa and her husband Michael stopped by too for games and dessert.

So much fun to see extended family!

It's so hard as a parent to know what schoolwork and artwork to keep and what to recycle.  I thought this one of Sam's was hilarious though, so we had to save it.  "Wii!!!"

Look who is 3!!!  This cute boy has grown up so much the past year.  His stats were 35.5 lbs and 39 inches tall.  His favorite color is blue and his favorite toy is the Duplo Chug truck from the movie Planes.  He still loves his blankies (white swaddling blankets that are basically rags now) and insists on snuggling them all at once when he gets tired.  His favorite fruit is strawberries and his favorite thing to eat for breakfast is yogurt & granola.  He loves doggies, trucks, and smoothies.  Eli loves music and especially singing.  He can often be heard breaking out in songs like "We will rock You" or "We are the Champions" but he also loves to sing Primary songs.  His favorite game is wrestling Dad and/or his "brudders".  If he could, he would watch Team Umizoomi and Cars 2 all day every day.  Eli is a maniac on his balance bike and has been giving his mom heart attacks with his need for speed.  His best buddies right now are his Nursery buds Asa, Samuel, and Mikey.  When he grows up he wants to be a pilot like Grandpa Earl and sit in the front (aka the cockpit).  We sure love Eli and can't imagine our family without him.

Just for a dose of reality, this is what was happening behind the scenes as I begged for one (just one!) decent photo of Eli for his birthday.

Finally it was time for birthday cake!  Eli requested his favorite, Tres Leches with lots of strawberries on top.

Presents make us happy!

Aunt Catherine and Uncle Carson joined us for cake and presents.

It's so fun to have them living close by.

Bet you can't guess Sam's favorite holiday?  Green smoothies + Green Clothes + Green Grandma Swag + Green Dishes = Sam's ideal day.

Life was super busy as we frantically scrubbed and packed our house so it could be market-ready.  But, we still tried to get out and play as much as possible.

Easter Time!  Not pictured is Gammy (aka Grandma Elizabeth) who was a rock star and took care of the kids, humored their teasing, and made sure the Easter Bunny was ready while Ryan and I continued the house hunt in Bend.  Thank you!!!

Happy Spring!  Next up, house photos!!!