MoM

Mother's Day weekend began nice and quiet with a Girl's Night, just me and my girl (the boys were at the Father and Sons campout).  Miss J and I had a great time eating at Wendy's, going to the Dollar Store, watching a movie, painting nails, eating treats and then sleeping in my big bed.  As we were laying in bed together that evening Jilli turned to me and said, "I love Girl's Night!"  Besides spending extra time with my girl, I loved that she slept until 9:30 the next morning -- a record for any child in this family.

Mother's Day is always a bit of a let down for me.  Not for lack of effort on anyone's part, but for some reason on this day I expect my children and husband to behave perfectly and do exactly what I want them to do without me even having to ask -- really is that too much to expect?
This year I decided was going to be different -- I was going to mentally prepare myself for just a regular day, nothing special, and I actually think it helped.  When I found my sweet husband reclined back in his jammies, browsing the IPAD three minutes before we needed to leave for church, I didn't completely lose it.  When we squished our family of six into the end of a pew and I fought feelings of claustrophobia for over an hour, I kept my cool.  When my children had to be hushed and quieted through sacrament, I did it just like any other Sunday. And when we came home and I heard arguments and complaining and "I'm bored" statements, I did my best to handle it even tempered.
There was no feeling bad for myself that "they just didn't understand that this is MY day," but there was much more of "this is my everyday life and it's not too shabby."  Honestly, every day my family showers me with hugs, kisses and cuddles and I guess I'd rather have that everyday than just one epic day each year.

My Mother's Day loot.

Happy Mother's Day!  Here's to not setting expectations too high and in return not feeling disappointed and  to enjoying the every day pleasures of being mom.

P.S. And just for the sake of remembering, Nate did make me a beautiful salmon dinner . . . and he did buy me a new van -- he 's a good guy!

Spring Has Sprung!

I'm a little late posting on Easter but nonetheless, we had a great one!

I love this picture at the church egg hunt.  When it comes to competition, Mac is full force!

Easter Sunday -- happy these kids are mine!

The bushes in front of our house bloom with bright purple flowers every April.  The bright color only lasts for 2 weeks, but it sure is pretty while for that short while.

Love this kid and his passion.

When you have three brothers, you do as brothers do.

I couldn't help myself -- they were so thrilled!

Jaxton was honored at the County Art Show.  So proud of him!

Beckam lost his first tooth -- and I thought that little smile couldn't get any cuter!

Be Still My Heart . . .

I love this little girl and her blooming ballerina skills.

Jilli's second ballet session was so much better than her previous one. While she wasn't thrilled about performing in front of all the parents during the last class, this time she did let go of my hand long enough to stretch and by the end of the show she was doing her across-the-floors with only the comfort of her teacher's hand -- baby steps at least.

One thing is for sure, she makes for one beautiful little ballerina!

Holidays

Valentines: As tradition has it, I continued the "love notes" (a note to each child about something that I love about them and a small treat) every day in February leading up to V-day, but I also included Nate in on the fun and did "14 days of Valentines." On Valentine's day I gave everyone a sack of Valentine's and we ate and drank as many red things as I could come up with. It was a lovely LOVE day!

St. Patrick's Day: I let my OCD'ish tendencies slide a bit and I let the kids take the lead on setting up the leprechaun trap. Beckam came up with the idea of luring the leprechaun into the trap by setting up a fake leprechaun friend and gold. All night long and into the next day Beck was convinced that he kept seeing the little green leprechaun around the house.

We are now in the thick of Easter planning and I couldn't be more thrilled. I had the combined YW lesson for March, which was on the Atonement. I made up this little handout and poem and after I read it to the girls the room erupted in a united, "Ohhhhhhh! That's so sweet! Sis. Peterson, you should be a poet." Have I ever mentioned how much I love this group of girls -- it doesn't take much to impress them and I love them even more for that!

All Things Basketball

The most anticipated sport season for our family came and went, leaving us all with great memories and the taste of satisfaction with each of my fellas.

In basketball, Beckam did as Beckam does.  He followed his coaches instructions to a T and was happy to participate in practices and games.  After his first game, he told me that he was so mad -- I figured it had to do with not getting the ball as much but when I asked him why he was mad he explained, "Because Talan got to sit out twice and I only got to sit out once!"
Needless to say, we're still working on releasing that "go get 'em" competitive spirit on the playing field/court with Beck, but we did see progress as the season went on.  To motivate Beck a bit I had promised him a sweatband of his choice if he made a basket during the game.  Happy to say that the pictures don't lie -- he got that basket and later told me that he had a hard time not smiling through the rest of the game because he was so happy.  Love that little guy SO much and I loved seeing him try hard and succeed.

Jaxton, on the other hand, we often have to tell him to ease up a bit.  He's fast, he's aggressive and he understands the game better than most his age.  It definitely helps him having an older brother who is obsessed with all things basketball.  Jax enjoyed this league and loved keeping track of his points, steals and assists.

After one of Jax's games, a lady came down from the stands, put out her hand to Jaxton and said, "I just want to shake the hand of a future NBA star.  You have everything it takes to get there and I just want to be able to say that I met you and shook your hand."  Jax beamed for a good hour afterward.

In the county league Jax and Beck played on the same team. Jaxton did a great job of mentoring Beck and looking out for him, even though Beck is just about as tall as Jax.  I loved watching Jaxton pass the ball to Beck, cheer him on and give him pointers throughout the game.

The team had a definite winning season and those trophies were well-deserved!

Jaxton also played with Mac on the city team with Nate as their coach.  Mac was happy to have Jaxton on the team and they could often be found outside practicing plays and chest bumps for their upcoming game.

Mac had a super successful county season.  He loved his games and practices each week and kept up his own several hour long practices at home on his own each day.

He played point guard in both leagues and seems to love this position the best.  He enjoys taking the ball down the court and is a great shooter and defender.  Mac has also mastered dribbling in between his legs and behind his back, which became some of his signature moves.

Doing what Mac does best . . .

Mac had a great coach who was always so positive with him.  Coach Clem told us on several occasions that he couldn't decide if Mac was the next Michael Jordan or Larry Bird (no pressure, buddy).  He helped Mac keep his emotions in check, encouraged him and challenged him.  Coach Clem said that of all the kids he has ever coached, Mac has not only the most talent, but also the work ethic, the knowledge, the love and teachability of a great ball player.

Okay, I think I'm done tooting my children's horns.
Next up, baseball!